Congregation Sinai Milwaukee Newsletter--Fall, 2015
Content
SINAI NEWS
A quarterly publication
Issue 22, Volume 1
August, September, October 2015 • Av 5775-Cheshvan 5776
In this issue
Presidents Message
Here I am again. President. Some 20+ years after I did it
before. Am I crazy? Is this a good idea? Why, you ask
would I be willing to do it again? For me the answer was
easy and clear. I saw Sinai at a turning point. With Rabbi
Cohen at my side I was willing to take the job again, to
take us to the next step in our maturation. Sinai is my
Jewish home. I hope most of you feel the same way. And,
because it’s our home, we need to support it to the best of
our ability from a financial point of view and from a volunteering point of view. As we do these things, we will continue to make it the place we want to grow and live our
Jewish lives.
As I embarked upon this new role (again) as President, it seemed to me
that changes were imperative to ensuring the future of our Jewish home: Step One
was to change our fair share dues commitment structure to a voluntary pledge program. As a result of this change, many of our families were incredibly generous and
increased their annual pledge. Others told us of hardship their families are currently going through and told us that they needed to pay less. Being a part of our family, we are happy to understand each family’s needs and welcome them. We had a
congregant tell us that they are snow birds for the winter and belonged to another
congregation for half of the year. Generously, they kept their Sinai pledge the
same. Our bottom line is that everyone's story is unique and everyone's contribution is meaningful and important to us. Thank you, thank you!
Step Two is to listen to you so that we can best meet the Jewish needs of
our Sinai family as a whole. To that end, we held some listening sessions this past
spring. To those that attended we learned a lot. To those who did not attend I am
available to listen to you. Our entire Board of Trustees is also available to listen. Please call or email any one of us.
Step Three has not yet been written. Helping me this year I have an incredible group of Officers, Trustees and of course our professional staff. I am confident
and excited how "our" Sinai family is going to grow and flourish. Let's write this next
step and our future together.
Chip Mann
[email protected]
262-238-1535
Outdoor Shabbat Continues Thru September at Sinai!
Outdoor Shabbat Services continue thru September 25th at 6:00 pm. Join
us for Kabbalat Shabbat at 5:30 pm for wine & cheese.
Friday, September 18 Shabbat Shuva Services will be held lakeside at the
home of Moshe and Deb Katz.
See page 6 of the HHD section for more details.
Shabbat/Holiday Schedule 2
Reflections, Sinai @ 60
3
Sinai @ 60 Honors
4
Create a Jewish Legacy
5
Sinai Engagement
6
Lifelong Jewish Learning
7-11
What’s Happening
12-16
Women of Sinai,
B’rit Nashim
17
Brotherhood
18
Social Action Committee
19-21
Chesed
22
“Scene” at Sinai
23
Library News
24
Supporting Sinai
25
Calendars
26-28
In the Sinai Family
29-30
Contributions
30-32
Those We Remember
33
Rabbi David B. Cohen • Cantor Lauren Phillips • Rabbi Emeritus Jay R. Brickman
Director of Youth Education Barb Shimansky, MSW • Director of Administration Karen Lancina • Program Coordinator Jen Friedman
Assistant to Rabbi and Cantor Karen Hintz• School Administrator Jeri Danz • Bookkeeper Ilene Wasserman • Sinai News Nicole Sether
Congregation Sinai • 8223 N. Port Washington Road• Fox Point, WI 53217
414.352.2970• 414.352.0944 (fax)• www.congregationsinai.org
August-October 2015
Page 2
August-October Shabbat & Holiday Service Schedule
Shabbat Vaetchanan
Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11
July 31
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
August 1
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Eikev
Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25
August 7
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
August 8
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Ki Teitzei
Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19
August 28
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Softball Shabbat 6 pm
August 29
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Jordan Berger Bar Mitzvah 5 pm
Shabbat Ki Tavo
Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
September 4
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
September 5
Selichot
September 5
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Dessert Reception 8 pm
Selichot Study Session 8:30 pm
Selichot Service 10 pm
Shabbat Nitzavim
Deuteronomy 29:9 - 30:20
September 11
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Shabbat Service 6 pm
September 12
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Erev Rosh Hashanah
September 13
Erev Rosh Hashanah Service 8 pm
Rosh Hashanah
September 14
Rosh Hashanah
September 15
Yom Kippur
September 24
Morning Service 9:30 am
Young Children & Family Service,
Tashlich & Shofar Blowing Contest 3 pm
2nd Day Service 9:30 am
September 26
Kol Nidre Service 8 pm
Morning Service 9:30 am
Afternoon Study Session 12:30 pm
Young Children & Family Service 2 pm
Afternoon Service 3 pm
Yizkor 4:30 pm
N’ilah 5:30 pm
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Erev Sukkot
September 27
Erev Sukkot Service 6:15 pm
Sukkot
September 28
Sukkot Morning Service 9:30 am
Shabbat Vezot Haberakhah
Deuteronomy 33:1 - 34:12
October 2
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
October 3
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Miranda Lile Bat Mitzvah 10 am
Simchat Torah
October 4
Erev Simchat Torah Service 6:15 pm
October 5
Simchat Torah Morning Service w/Yizkor 9:30 am
Shabbat Bereshit
Genesis 1:1 - 6:8
October 9
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
October 10
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Ethan Schlesinger Bar Mitzvah 10 am
Shabbat Noach
Genesis 6:9 - 11:32
October 16
Green Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
October 17
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Lech-Lecha
Genesis 12:1 - 17:27
October 23
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
October 24
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Lauren Glusman Bat Mitzvah 10 am
Shabbat Vayera
Genesis 18:1 - 22:24
October 30
“Friday Night Lights”
Family Shabbat: Unplugged Service 5:15 pm
Congregational Dinner 6 pm
Shabbat Service 7:30 pm
October 31
Shabbat Vayeilech
Deuteronomy 31:1 - 31:30
September 18
Shabbat Shuva Service 6 pm (off site)
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Ha’ Azinu
Deuteronomy 32:1 - 32:52
September 25
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Shabbat Service 6 pm
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Shoftim
Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9
August 21
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
August 22
Erev Yom Kippur
September 23
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Re’eh
Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17
August 14
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
August 15
September 19
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
August-October 2015
Page 3
Reflections
Certainty
Unlike its daughter religions, Christianity and Islam, Judaism viewed “certainty” with suspicion.
The ordinary populace AM HAARETS was assumed to have small capacity for understanding. Those individuals who were closest to God, and who were recipients of revelation in visions and dreams, were the
prophets. Of all of these, the one whose awareness of God’s word was most accurate, was Moses. The
moment that Moses stood closest to God was atop Mt. Sinai when he was presented with the “Ten
Words”. But even when the greatest prophet was afforded the greatest of revelations, Moses did not
confront God “face to face”. The most perfect of men was only granted a vision of God’s back. Henry
Slonimsky, beloved dean of my seminary, suggested that all that Moses saw was the knot of the Tephillin
on the back of God’s head.
Our contemporary world is threatened by the rivalry of contending visions of what is correct. The continued existence
of the universe rests upon our capacity to devise compromise postures which prove partially satisfactory to each, and allow
rival dominions to live side by side in relative tranquility.
Rabbi Jay R. Brickman
Sinai@60 Brick Campaign
Dear Sinai,
Thank you for your support of the Sinai@60 Brick Campaign.
We surpassed our goal of 115 bricks donated, and the order has been
submitted. We are hoping for a late August installation. The new meditation space will be dedicated sometime in early fall. A date will be set
and announced in the future based on delivery and installation. The
brick campaign will continue throughout the next year or until we have
reached another 100 plus bricks on any order. (No shipping costs!).
Remember, any time you would like to honor someone or commemorate a special event why not donate a brick?… Make your mark and
support your Sinai community!
Visit the website: www.congregationsinai.donationbricks.com Order
forms in the lobby at Sinai. Questions? Email [email protected]
Shelly Seesel or Terry Jacobs [email protected]
Now is the time to Share Sinai!
What is it that YOU love about Sinai?
Warm, inclusive & musical worship? Engaging, interesting and challenging
learning? Nights at the theatre, the ballpark or on the hiking trail with your
Sinai community?
Share what YOU love about Sinai with a friend!
We are proud to offer you the opportunity to bring your friends and families into the amazing community that
is Congregation Sinai.
Know someone interested in checking us out?
Please contact our Program Coordinator, Jen Friedman at (414) 352-2970 or
[email protected]. She’ll give you a token to share with your unaffiliated friends or family.
Good for a one-year membership at Sinai.*
Bring your friends & family into our congregational family! Share what you love!
*Religious School fees not included
August-October 2015
Page 4
Sinai@60 Honors...
Save the
Date!
Celebrating Sinai at 60!
L’Dor Va Dor - From Generation to Generation!
Honoring Generations of Leadership at
Congregation Sinai
Saturday October 17, 2015
7:00 - 10:00 pm
Dining, Honoring, Entertainment
Dr. Jay Larkey and Lois Malawsky
KETTER TIKKUN OLAM
The Crown of Social Action Award
In recognition of their lifelong passion and efforts in the areas of Social Action and
Repairing the World
Dr. Marvin and Marlene Lauwasser
KETTER MALCHUT
The Crown of Exemplary Leadership Award
In recognition of their vison, commitment, and devotion to the Congregation Sinai and
Milwaukee Jewish community.
Tedd and Julie Lookatch
KETTER KEHILLAH
The Crown of Community and Engagement Award
In recognition of their involvement and dedication in the areas of Community,
Engagement, and Volunteerism
Join us as we honor these couples who exemplify exceptional leadership and
dedication at Congregation Sinai and in the wider community. We honor their
passion and talents that they share with our congregation and the connections
they make in our community. They inspire us with their ruach (spirit)
enthusiasm and their wonderful ability to lead by example.
Invitation to follow
August-October 2015
Page 5
Create a Jewish Legacy
As others may do, I
joined Congregation Sinai when
it came time for my son Noah’s
Bar Mitzvah preparations. I expected that Noah would receive
a fine education and have a
positive Bar Mitzvah experience. I did not expect that I
would find a second home.
A single mother, I had
become tired of coming solo to
“group” events. Even so, I began popping into Shabbat services. Despite my rusty prayer
book recollections, I was entranced by the services’ sweetness, the Rabbi’s kindness and affirming spirit, and the
comfort of my fellow worshippers. After a while, my Hebrew
school teachings returned, and I began to say or sing the
prayers in earnest. Shabbat services, when I could get to
them, became my favorite part of the week.
Later, on a whim, I emailed Idy Goodman about the
Social Action Committee. With her warm “Welcome!” I
moved from passive congregant to active Sinaite. Shyly at
first, then brimming with energy, I found my place, and my
Sinai kindred spirits. From environmental Shabbats to Immigration Seders to Pathfinders Barrels to Voting Rights
Speakers, we have the most active Social Action Committee
in the Milwaukee area, if not the state. Our immigration
work has been nationally honored by the RAC’s Irving J. Fain
Award.
Along with committee involvement, I have begun
taking classes. Well, I took one class with Rabbi Cohen and
had to miss its last session. I am still determined to take
another, when schedules permit.
The point is, Sinai has so much to offer. But services, classes, committees, and programs need more than
attendees to thrive. They need financial security.
When the Sinai eNews began promoting the Create
A Jewish Legacy program, I watched as the numbers of Legacy Circle members grew each month. Surely, I thought, the
intended commitment would be too rigid, the financial investment too steep, for my circumstances. I am happy to
admit I was wrong.
The Create A Jewish Legacy program is my way to
thank Sinai for welcoming this lapsed and religiously ignorant woman into its family and reigniting my Jewish identity.
To thank Rabbi Cohen for focusing us all on our spiritual
obligation to make the world a better place for everyone,
Jew and non-Jew alike (and for not showing me the door
when my adolescent son blew off religious classes for car
rides with his friends). To thank Idy Goodman, Craig Johnson
and all the Social Action Committee members for their continued spirited, concrete work to fulfill that Jewish mission.
The Legacy program is my way to make sure that the Congregation Sinai that I adore will continue for my son and
grandchildren (if I ever get to be a Bubbie). And for you and
yours.
Every Sinaite has his own favorite congregation program, class or event. Yours may be the religious school, adult
education classes. Shabbat Congregational Dinners, the Brotherhood, Women of Sinai, B’rit Nashim, or even Mah Jongg.
Whatever is special to you, is special to other congregants.
Your Legacy will help it continue.
As for me, I’ve missed services lately, but I’ll get back
to them. I even bought the Shabbat prayer book and sing
some prayers while I cook. When I joined Congregation Sinai
those years ago, I could not have imagined I would be doing
these things today. Who knew?
Diane Slomowitz
August-October 2015
Page 6
Hidden Path to Engagement: Getting in Touch with our “Inner Sinai”
Hello, my name is Larry Glusman, the self-denominated “Engagement Czar” of Congregation
Sinai. I am one of your Vice Presidents and was previously a Board Member serving most recently on
the Executive Committee. My wife Caroline and I joined Sinai in 1996. We have two children, Jack (14)
and Lauren (12), who will celebrate her bat mitzvah in late October.
As part of Chip Mann’s new presidency, he has asked each of the officers to concentrate on
one aspect of the synagogue such as membership or education. He wants us to try to function without
formal committees, in a more organic and independent manner. My concentration is engagement, and
I lightheartedly likened my position to that of a US-style czar.
During World War I, Woodrow Wilson appointed financier Bernard Baruch to head the War Industries Board — a position dubbed industry czar (this just one year after the final Russian czar,
Nicholas II, was overthrown in the Russian Revolution). Franklin Roosevelt had czars during
World War II, overseeing such aspects of the war effort as shipping and synthetic-rubber production. The term was then essentially retired until the presidency of Richard Nixon, who appointed the first drug czar and a well-regarded energy czar, to navigate the 1970s oil crisis. Most recently, we’ve had
a green jobs czar and a car czar to deal with the auto bailout.
-A Brief History of White House Czars, Time Magazine, Randy Jones (9-23-2009)
Engagement is a very broad topic and essentially encompasses the entirety of the Sinai experience. How and when
and why each of us engages with Sinai or any institution in our lives is complicated and differs greatly from person to person.
Sinai’s goal is to provide avenues for engagement for everyone and to increase the frequency and depth of engagement. Certain paths to engagement are clear – worship services, adult learning, religious school, life-cycle events, sisterhood, brotherhood, committees. You will continue to hear about the many great opportunities available at Sinai, and I encourage you to
participate wholeheartedly.
Over the next several months, I will continue my dialogue with clergy, administration, board members, committee
chairs and congregants to gather views on engagement – How do you define it? What’s working? What isn’t? Why? My door
is always open, and I encourage anyone who would like to talk to reach out to me by phone or e-mail, or we can meet in person. It is vital that we hear from you.
I strongly believe that in order to increase and strengthen engagement, we have to look beyond the traditional avenues. We must uncover the hidden paths to engagement, what I call our “Inner Sinai”. What hidden interests, skills and talents exist within our Sinai community just waiting for us to tap into and connect with? Are you tech savvy? Are you a history
buff? Are you musical? Are you a great cook? Are you an educator? Are you a writer? Are you willing to share more about
yourself and your family to help inform new and existing programming and to help create opportunities for meaningful connections between congregants and Sinai itself? We will be designing some surveys later this fall to try to mine this data and then
put it to work forming new affinity groups and using our soon-to-be-introduced new website and social media to provide additional platforms to engage.
So please take me up on my offer to talk about engagement. I look forward to hearing from you soon and often. Let’s
discover our “Inner Sinai” and make the most of our warm and welcoming Sinai community.
Larry Glusman
[email protected] or (414-303-5853)
August-October 2015
Page 7
Lifelong Jewish Learning
In the Rabbi’s Study
Sunday, October 18 10:00 am
Author and veteran Journalist Avi Lank and
Rabbi David Cohen discuss Avi’s book:
The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story
of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North
Woods by Ron Legro (Author), Avi
Lank (Author)
As a young boy Frank Kovac Jr. fell deeply in love with stargazing, painting glow-in-the-dark constellations on his bedroom wall
and inviting friends to an observatory he built in his Chicago backyard.
As he reached adulthood, Kovac did not let go of his childhood
dreams of reaching the stars. He began scheming to bring the universe home. While working at a paper mill as a young man, Kovac
tirelessly built a 22-foot rotating globe planetarium in the woods. Despite failures and collapses, the amateur astronomer singlehandedly
built a North Woods treasure, painting more than 5,000 glowing
stars—dot by dot in glowing paints. Today, Kovac and his unique planetarium take visitors to the stars every day.
The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods introduces readers to the mildmannered astronomy enthusiast whose creativity, ingenuity, fervor,
and endurance realized a dream of galactic proportions. The story of
this stargazer from Wisconsin’s North Woods so inspired two newspapermen, authors Ron Legro and Avi Lank, that they sought to document the story of the Kovac Planetarium for a new generation of stargazers and dreamers.
Avi Lank is an essayist for Milwaukee Public Radio and panelist on the Interchange public-affairs program on Milwaukee Public
Television. For almost 40 years he was an award-winning reporter,
columnist, and editor at the Milwaukee Sentinel and later the Journal
Sentinel. Born in Penn Yan in the Finger Lakes region of western New
York State, he grew up in Rochester, New York, and
holds degrees from Antioch College and the Medill
School of Journalism of Northwestern University. He
lives in Whitefish Bay,
Wisconsin, with his
wife, Dannette Lank.
Rethinking Modern Judaism: The Role of
Ritual, Commandment and Community
Session 1 Tuesday nights Oct. 6 – Dec. 15
7:30 - 9:00 PM
The story of modern Judaism often features traditional beliefs being changed or discarded
because of the Enlightenment. Newer thinking places an emphasis on the role of the Emancipation
(new roles for Jews in non-Jewish society) as the
engine of Jewish transformation. How did the civil
rights, economic possibilities, and social challenges
that came with the Emancipation shape the Judaism we
know today? What new factors
have come into play to shape
the Jewish future of tomorrow?
Cost:
Members - free
Non-members - $36
Please register at:
http://rethinkingmodernjudaism.eventbrite.com
Kuzari: Arguments in Defense of Judaism
with Rabbi Jay Brickman
Mondays, 4:00 – 5:15 pm
The Kuzari is a defense of classical Jewsh
theology written by Judah HaLevi, an outstanding
poet-philosophy who lived in 12th Century Spain.
Class will read the Kuzari in Hebrew and in
English (Reading knowledge of Hebrew is required).
The class will meet at
the home of Rabbi & Mrs. Jay R
Brickman.
RSVP to Karen Hintz at
(414) 352-2970.
Young-at-Hearts Senior Singles Group
Young-at-Hearts is a social group for those looking to connect and make new friends in a social
setting. This is not a grief group, or matchmaking group, but a social group intended to bring
together people who may be divorced, lost a spouse or just want to regain the fun in life! Young
-at-Hearts conducts monthly meetings and then often go to lunch together at Maxfield’s. Outings and activities include: card games, lunches, dinners, sporting events, mah jongg, theater etc. Young-at-Hearts is
open to all Jewish seniors in the community. Meetings are held at Congregation Shalom, 7630 N. Santa Monica Blvd.,
Fox Point.
Next meetings:
Dates: Wednesday, September 9, Wednesday, October 14
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 am followed by lunch at Maxfield’s
To sign up for a meeting contact Jen Friedman at [email protected] or call 352-2970.
August-October 2015
Page 8
Lifelong Jewish Learning
Ongoing Adult Learning
Lunch & Learn
Rambam’s Shmoneh Perakim:
Maimonides
Day: Mondays, beginning October 19
Time: 12:00 PM
Facilitator: Rabbi David B. Cohen
RAMBAM’s Shmoneh Perakim: Maimonides
Commentary on Pirke Avot, Sayings of
our Ancestors
Join us on Mondays at noon for sixty
fast-paced minutes of learning. Our
text will be Maimonides’ commentary
on Pirke Avot. Living in Cairo, Egypt in
the 12th century, RAMBAM reads the
rabbis’ collection of
Wisdom Literature and aphorisms with
the eye of an Aristotelian philosopher,
endeavoring to find structure and a set of core
principles that comprise all of Judaism.
Cost: Members - free
Non-members - $54
To register: http://lunchandlearnrambam.eventbrite.com
A Modern Rabbi’s
Approach to the Bible
Day: Wednesdays
Time: 9:30 AM
Facilitator: Rabbi Jay Brickman
Rabbi Brickman is a trained Jungian, a
philosopher, and a practitioner of Tai Chi.
If you haven’t studied with him now is the time!
Shabbat Morning Torah Study
Day: Saturdays
Time: 8:00 AM
Through the Eyes of Women
Day: Fridays
Time: 9:30 AM
Facilitator: Dr. Sherry Blumberg
Using the Torah: A Woman's
Commentary as a text, we are
discussing the Torah, verse by verse using critical
questions, feminist readings, modern midrash,
traditional commentaries and women's poetry.
Registration for this class will be open thru October 30th.
To register:
http://thrutheeyesofwomen2015.eventbrite.com
Cost: Members - free
Non-members - $54
Facilitator: Rabbi Jay Brickman
Verse by verse, line by line, word by word, the
Torah comes alive!
August-October 2015
Page 9
Lifelong Jewish Learning
School News
In a recent class I took on Educational Leadership,
my colleagues and I were challenged with the question,
“What is the point of Jewish education?” Or, to put it another
way, what is the fundamental human need that is derived
from Jewish education – and by extension, Judaism?
What evolved was a rich conversation
where we attempted to put into words the things
that we each, as Jewish educators, inherently felt.
There was talk about the communal aspects of Judaism. Namely, there is a need for people to feel that they belong to a community, as
well as a desire to feel connected to something
larger than oneself. In our modern American
world, we often belong to multiple communities,
but it is the Jewish community that frequently
allows people to feel grounded among all the other things we have going on in our lives. Our connections to friends in the Jewish community can
sometimes run far deeper than our connections with others;
this is mostly due to an underlying shared values system
that is rooted in Judaism. We are not only connected to other Jewish people locally and throughout the world, but also
to thousands of years of Jewish history before us, and to all
that will come after us. Seeing ourselves as a vital part of
the thread of Jewish continuity can serve as a powerful reminder of the role we each play in contributing to the Jewish
community and to making the world a better place.
But the majority of our discussion focused on individual rather than communal needs. We mentioned the opportunity, through our work as Jewish educators, to help
people develop a moral compass and to work toward selfactualization. What greater jobs do we each have in life than
these? And how fortunate we are to have Judaism as a guiding force in this work! It was also mentioned that Judaism
provides a structure in which this work can take place. This
is largely done through the fulfillment of mitzvot – the 613
commandments that we find in the Torah. Although many
can no longer be carried out (as they pertain specifically to
the Temple in Jerusalem, which no longer exists), and many
others may no longer be relevant in and of themselves,
there is moral intention behind all of them that we can use
as a framework for living as good people in the world.
Another aspect we identified is the human desire to
make a difference. This is such a fundamental part of Judaism that we have a phrase for it – Tikkun Olam, which literally
means fixing the world. Through our teachings, we learn the
ways in which the world needs healing, and discover the gifts
we each have to contribute to that cause in our own corners
of the universe. Sometimes it may feel like our
efforts are not enough. But as Hillel said, “It is not
our task to complete the work, nor are we free to
desist from it.” Anything we can do in the spirit of
G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness) can
help in improving our world. This is also a vital
way in which we can live out those mitzvot I mentioned earlier – to walk through the world with the
intention to make it better. As my long-time teacher Cantor Ellen Dreskin says, “If it doesn’t make a
difference, what difference does it make?”
Toward the end of our discussion, someone quoted the wise sages John Lennon and Paul
McCartney by pointing out, “All you need is love.” Psychologist Abraham Maslow would disagree that this is ALL we
need, though it is certainly the basis for being able to achieve
all of the other needs we encounter throughout our lives. And
if there is one fundamental truth that Judaism can offer, it is
love. We can find that throughout our tradition – not always
overtly, but it is there. In fact, when we complete the cycle of
Torah on Simchat Torah and immediately, without taking a
breath, begin again, we are connecting the last letter of the
Torah, a lamed, with the first letter, a bet, which can also be
read as a vet. The letters lamed-vet spells lev, the Hebrew
word for heart. This indicates that the Torah, God’s gift to the
Jewish people, is wrapped in love, an essential need that can
be met through our teachings. Perhaps love is not ALL we
need, but so many of our fundamental human needs – community, developing a moral compass, self-actualization,
learning, and making a difference – can be met through Jewish living.
So what is the point of Jewish education? Learning
gives us the tools to do all of this, and to do it well, and to
continue refining it throughout our lives.
Join us at an upcoming event with the North American Federation
of Temple Youth (NFTY)! All NFTY-Northern regional events are
open to Sinai members in grades 9-12.
NFTY-Northern Summer Kallah
(with the Chicago Area region):
August 12-16 at OSRUI, Oconomowoc, WI
NFTY-Northern Fall Kallah: October 9-11
in Duluth, MN
Barb Shimansky, MSW
Director of Youth Education
Questions about any
of our youth group
programming?
Contact Barb Shimansky at:
[email protected]
August-October 2015
Page 10
Lifelong Jewish Learning
School News
"Tzedakah" is the Hebrew word for justice. One of the many ways that we create justice in the world is by contributing
money to organizations that help "lift up the fallen," thereby moving closer to a day when everyone will have what they need.
During this past school year, each class was assigned a month in which they determined the recipient of the school's
tzedakah funds. This proved to be a great way for our students to examine their values, learn about various organizations that
speak to those values, and then educate our Youth Education Program community about the importance of giving to their chosen recipients. Here are some thank-you notes from the organizations that were chosen.
Page 11
August-October 2015
Lifelong Jewish Learning
School News
BE A SINAI MADRICH(A)!
Congregation Sinai Teen Counselor Program
* Earn money or community service hours
* Stand out on college applications
* Be a stronger candidate for summer jobs
* Make a positive impact upon Jewish kids
Be sure to join us for our Youth Education Program
Open House on Sunday, September 20!
Stop in any time between 9:30 am and noon to meet the
teachers and Madrichim who will be working with your child
(ren) in the upcoming school year, and participate in some
fun family holiday activities! We look forward to seeing you!
All 8th-12th grade post B’nei Mitzvah are eligible
Madrichim (assistants) help out
in Religious School classrooms
or the office on Sunday
mornings, and may have the
opportunity to help plan and
lead other events within the
Youth Education Program!
For an application, please contact Barb:
[email protected].
Applications are due by Friday, August 21, 2016.
Back-to-School Cereal Breakfast!
Sunday, September 27 at 9:30 am.
Bring your favorite box of cereal and
your excitement for another year of
learning in the Youth Education Program!
CoSY Pizza in the Hut!
Families are invited to join
us for a Shabbat pizza
dinner in the Sukkah on
Friday, October 2 at 5:30 pm.
More details to follow, but
mark your calendars now!
Save the Date!
Mark your calendars
for Sinai Mitzvah Day on
Sunday, October 25!
Projects for all ages! Lets come
together as a Sinai community
and make a difference!
Midweek Mitkadem classes will begin on
Tuesday, September 29 and
Thursday, October 1.
Kulanu begins on Tuesday, October 13 at 6:45 pm.
All 8th-12th grade Sinai members are encouraged to join us
for the second year of our combined learning program with
Congregations Beth Israel Ner Tamid and Emanu-El B’ne
Jeshurun. NEW THIS YEAR: We will begin later and will not
serve dinner; instead, we will have a longer break between
classes that includes a snack. We
are moving to a trimester system,
so you will choose three electives
throughout the year, and each congregation will host Kulanu for a full
trimester. We are also planning
more collaborative programs with
BBYO. Our first trimester will be
hosted at Sinai! Not sure about
Kulanu? Join us for the opening
evening and check it out!
Sinai Family Retreat
SAVE THE DATE!
Our Sinai Family Retreat will
be held this year from
November 20-22 at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union
Institute camp in Oconomowoc, WI.
Registration will open soon!!
Page 12
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Sinai in in the City
What does it mean to be a young, professional Jewish adult in 2015? Are you
looking for a point of entry into metropolitan Jewry? Do you have a child or
know someone – affiliated or unaffiliated - that is looking to meet other young
Jewish professionals? Look no further….
Join Cantor Lauren Phillips for a unique alternative Shabbat and Holiday experience downtown for
young professionals. We’ll utilize media, music, current topics, and alternative venues to worship,
share, and get to know each other. This is a chance to meet like-minded Jewish adults to
schmooze, eat, share in a little Torah and a lot of conversation! Come be a part of Judaism in a
meaningful way that is relevant to you and your life. Young adults and grad students – 20’s and
30’s, singles, couples, married – all are welcome!
Thursday, September 17th at 7:30 pm (location TBA—watch the eNews!)
"Sin Before You Atone" - A chance to eat, drink, and schmooze before casting the sins of
the past year into the water. Bring flashlights for this moonlight gathering on Milwaukee's
lakefront.
Please RSVP at: https://sinaiinthecityseptember2015.eventbrite.com
(Birth - 3)
Itsy Bitsy Sinai
Sunday, September 20th at 10:15 AM
We value every member at Congregation Sinai – even our youngest! Our
preschool age program (birth-3) is called “Itsy Bitsy Sinai”. It includes
Sunday morning fun with the rabbi and the cantor.
Activities will include:
Songs
Stories
Instruments
Craft & holiday projects
We want to make coming to synagogue something that our youngest
children look forward to – a place of joy and laughter and fun. We strive to
help parents connect to others with similar aged children, to develop
bonds that will enable them to share their Jewish journeys together.
RSVP to: https://itsybitsysinaiseptember2015.eventbrite.com
Page 13
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Dine at the Annual Sukkot BBQ!
Sunday, October 4th
5:00 PM - BBQ - rain or shine!
Celebrate in the Sukkah with Rabbi Cohen and Cantor
Phillips. Enjoy delicious food, socialize and shake the lulov!
Cost: Adults $10, Children 12 and under $7,
Children 3 and under are free
RSVP by September 29th at
https://sinaisukkotbarbeque2015.eventbrite.com
Co-sponsored by Sinai Brotherhood, Israel Committee & Mitbach Sinai
Erev Simchat Torah!
Sunday, October 4th at 6:15 PM
Come see the Torah completely unrolled!
Together we rejoice in the celebration of
Torah! We’ll sing, dance, and read Torah as we
roll our scroll back to the beginning.
Caramel apples for all!
Who Wants to be in a Band?
Perform at Simchat Torah
Attention kids:
Are you interested in being
in a band?
Playing music?
Singing?
Join the Sinai Youth Band!
*Thursday September 24: 6:00-7:30 pm
*Sunday September 20: 12:00-1:30 pm
(right after religious school)
*Thursday October 1: 6:00-7:30 pm
Please make sure that your child attends at least
two of the three rehearsals.
If your child would be interested in participating,
please e-mail Cantor Phillips at
[email protected] with your child’s
name and instrument (vocalists are welcome, of
course).
Page 14
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Friday Night Lights!
Shabbat for everyone at Sinai!
Our community is comprised of young families, empty nesters, seniors, singles,
couples, etc. Let’s come together for a Shabbat dinner - you choose the service that
fits your needs!
Friday, October 30th
5:15 PM: Family Shabbat Unplugged Service
with Special Guests Marc & Wendy Cohen
6:00 PM: Shabbat Dinner - All welcome!
7:30 PM: Shabbat Service with Oneg to follow
Congregational Shabbat Dinner
Cost:
Adults: $10, Children 12 and under: $7, Children 3 and under: free
Please RSVP by Monday, October 26th at
https://sinaishabbatdinneroct2015.eventbrite.com
Sinai Mitzvah Day
Interested in helping to plan the
day and/or lead a site activity?
Sunday, October 25th
Please contact Julie Turetsky
at [email protected].
Page 15
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Youth & Family Programming
Sinai Youth & Family Programming 2015-2016
Weekly Shabbat: We welcome everyone to experience Shabbat at Congregation Sinai. Family Friendly Friday Shabbat services
are at 6:15 PM weekly during the year and 6:00 PM during the summer months when we are outdoors. We have 5:15 PM
musical “unplugged” services and 6:15 PM “Rockin’ services. All Shabbat services last approximately one hour – please visit
the website for updates.
Tefillah: All religious school Sunday mornings begin at 9:30 AM with a VERY family friendly 25 minute service, with song and a
“Dvar” of the weekly Torah portion. All ages are welcome to come experience this beautiful way to start the day.
High Holy Days: Interested in sharing a holy day experience? We’d love for you to join us! Give us a call for some
complimentary seats for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
August
Friday 7
6:00 PM
Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Friday 14
6:00 PM
Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Friday 21
6:00 PM
Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Friday 28
6:00 PM
Outdoor Shabbat featuring the softball team recap followed by BBQ and S’mores!
September
Friday 4
Friday 11
Monday 14
Sunday 20
Sunday 20
Wed. 23
Sunday 27
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
3:00 PM
10:15 AM
9:30 AM
2:00 PM
6:30 PM
9:30 AM
Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Final Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Rosh Hashanah Children’s Services,Tashlich & Oneg & Shofar Blowing Contest
Itsy Bitsy Sinai - – story, song, crafts - ages 0-4
1st day religious school
Yom Kippur Children’s Service
Break-the-Fast (all welcome)
Back to School Cereal breakfast
October
Sunday 4
Sunday 25
Friday 30
5:00 PM
9:30 AM
5:15 PM
6:00 PM
Sukkot BBQ followed by Simchat Torah celebration, Dancing and Taffy Apples
Sinai Mitzvah Day
“Friday Night Lights” – Family Shabbat Unplugged Service with special guests Marc
and Wendy Cohen
Congregational Dinner
Sunday 15
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
10:15 AM
Rockin’ Family Shabbat
Congregational Dinner
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts ages 0-4
December
Friday 11
6:15-7:00 PM
Channukah Shabbat Unplugged with school participation followed by
Sufganiot Oneg
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts - ages 0-4
Consecration (families new to religious school)
Design-Your-Own Chanukiyah Contest, Mitzvah Menorah gift wrapping &
Latke Lunch
November
Friday 13
Sunday 13
January
Sunday 10
Friday 22
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
12:00 PM
9:30 AM
10:15 AM
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Pancake Breakfast
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts - ages 0-4
Rockin’ Family Shabbat
Potluck Dinner
Page 16
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Youth & Family Programming
February
Friday 19
March
Friday 18
Sunday 20
Wed. 23
April
Friday 15
5:15 PM
6:00 PM
“Friday Night Lights” – Family Shabbat Unplugged Service with special guests
Marc and Wendy Cohen
Congregational Dinner
6:15 PM
10:15 AM
4:30 PM
6:30 PM
Rockin’ Family Shabbat
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts - ages 0-4
Purim Carnival (come in costume!)
Family Megillah reading & Hamentashen
5:15 PM
“Friday Night Lights” – Family Shabbat Unplugged Service with special guests
Marc and Wendy Cohen
Congregational Dinner
6:00 PM
May
Friday 13
Sunday 22
6:15 PM
11:00 AM
12:00 PM
Shabbat Unplugged & Teacher Appreciation with school participation with guests
Marc and Wendy Cohen
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts-ages 0-4
Year End Family Picnic
For information on any of our programming or to RSVP for an event at Congregation Sinai, please contact:
Jen Friedman – Program Coordinator 414-352-2970 or [email protected]
Visit our website at www.congregationsinai.org
Mitbach Sinai
(Sinai Cooks!)
October 26th at 6:00 PM
Do you enjoy cooking for fun with friends? Or do you
find yourself in the kitchen at every party? Come have a
glass of wine with Sinai Cooks! We gather in the Sinai kitchen (Mitbach) to cook and bake
for the Sinai community and our own fun.
Projects include Sinai events, soup for our congregants who need a little TLC, classes,
onegs, and whatever we want to plan. We promise laughter, great conversation and
friendship! Please look to your eNews for cooking dates and times. Looking forward to
seeing many new faces!
Have a great Sinai Cooks! Idea? RSVP to Jill Weinshel @ [email protected]
August-October 2015
Page 17
Sinai Committees
Women of Sinai
Break-the-Fast with Sinai
Break-the-Fast
Kugels & Desserts
Each year, on Yom Kippur, as N'ilah draws to
a close, our Sinai family comes together for a warm
and delicious break fast meal that is sponsored by
the Women of Sinai.
How can you help make this community
building meal a success?
• Make a plan to attend and join your Sinai family as
we welcome a new year. Don't miss the N'ilah
service right before the meal, as it is one of the
most spiritually uplifting services of the High
Holiday season.
• Bake for our dessert table. Cookies, bars and other
individually portioned bakery items are needed.
• Make a donation to Women of Sinai to help offset
the cost of the caterer. Donations can be sent to or
dropped off at the Sinai office.
Needed!
If you are able to bake a kugel or dessert, please let us
know by contacting Judy Shor at [email protected] or
https://bakingbreakthefast2015.eventbrite.com.
If you are unable to bake, monetary
donations are also appreciated.
Please make checks payable to
Women of Sinai. Drop off at the
synagogue office or mail to Sinai.
Join Women of Sinai
Once we begin 5776, look for your Women
of Sinai membership letter to arrive in the mail. All
women of the congregation are welcome and encouraged to join, no matter where you are on life's journey. Women of Sinai supports all aspects of congregational life, and we need our members to help us
make that happen. If you have not yet found our Facebook page, be sure to "like" us at facebook.com/
womenofsinai in order to receive event information
and updates. Have a question or idea? Contact us at
[email protected]. We are looking forward to a fun year of sisterhood!
B’rit Nashim
Join Us: Become a Member of B'rit Nashim in 5776
B'rit Nashim (Covenant of Women) is a group of
Sinai women who meet once a month for programs of personal interest and Jewish content. The purposes of the
group are: to build a community of women within the larger
community of Congregation Sinai, to share interests, and
to strengthen our connections to Judaism.
Some highlights from last year included:
Making lasagnas and donating them to Pathfinders
Youth Homeless Shelter.
Creating and leading the Erev Sukkot Service for Congregation Sinai.
An Evening with Cantor Lauren Phillips discussing The
History of The Bat Mitzvah.
A speaker from the local organization: "Common
Ground".
A Presentation by B'rit Nashim member Phyllis Wiggins
describing her experiences as a Red Cross Volunteer.
Discussion of the Book: "Once We Were Brothers” by
Ronald Balson.
A fabulous offsite Shabbat retreat with the topic of
"Happiness and Judaism"
Most important of all, we have the opportunity to
make connections with other women at Sinai.
Each fall, B’rit Nashim welcomes new members. This brings wonderful new energy and input to our
“covenant.” We invite you to join us. We meet the second
Monday of most months. Potential members are invited to
one or both of our Membership Recruitment meetings on:
Monday, October 12th at 7:15 PM
Monday, November 9th at 7:15 PM
Watch for additional details as the dates approach. Please be sure to join us as we lead Congregation
Sinai's Erev Sukkot Service on Sunday, September 27th.
If you have any questions or want additional information AND/OR have an interest, but cannot attend either
Membership Recruitment meeting, be sure to let one of us
know: Toby Colton at 351-5205 or [email protected]
or Joanne Roberts at 351-6486 or [email protected]
August-October 2015
Page 18
Sinai Committees
Brotherhood
Softball Shabbat And BBQ
Friday, August 28th
Sinai Brotherhood will sponsor our Annual Softball Shabbat. Kosher hot dogs
and other appropriate "ballpark-style food" will be served directly following
Shabbat Services and the awesome annual "sermon from the mound"!
The Sinai softball team will all be there to sign autographs! Don't miss it.
RSVP by August 24th at:
http://sinaibbqsoftballshabbat2015.eventbrite.com
Acheinu (Men’s Spirituality Group)
Day: Sunday: September 20th
Time: 8:30 - 10:00 AM
With: Joe Glassman, Mitch Colton, &
Rabbi David B. Cohen
Acheinu is sponsored by Sinai’s Brotherhood.
Share nosh & discuss spiritual & practical matters
concerning God, work, family & more.
Come Help Build the Sukkah!
Join us at 9:00 AM on September 20th as we
construct the new sukkah. Please contact
Terry Jacobs at [email protected]
August-October 2015
Page 19
Sinai Committees
Social Action Committee
Something for Everyone
Social Action at Sinai offers a wide variety of ways
you can become engaged in the social & economic justice
issues of the day: Shabbat services with a speaker, topical
films, Sunday morning or weekday evening speakers and discussion, interactive events, opportunities for you and/or your
family to volunteer.
Check out what we highlight in this newsletter and in
the weekly Sinai E-News.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Become a member of the Social Action Committee –
Help plan, organize and imagine (We also need a PR person!!! ) - Contacts - Idy Goodman ([email protected])
& Craig Johnson ([email protected]).
Contribute to the Sinai Tzedakah Fund to make all this
possible.
All-Synagogue Mitzvah Day – plan, organize, participate –
Contact - Julie Turetsky ([email protected]).
Sinai School Maven – volunteer to share your Social Justice, environmental expertise with our students – Contacts - Rabbi Cohen ([email protected]), Naomi Cobb ([email protected]), Naomi Soifer
([email protected]), Idy Goodman
([email protected]).
Pathfinders (Homeless Youth) Drop-In Center – Serve
Meals; Donate designated items to our collection barrel
– Contacts - Shana Harvey ([email protected]),
Craig Johnson ([email protected]).
MICAH (Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for
Hope) – support MICAH & serve on one of the following
committees: 11X15 Campaign for Prison Reform, 53206
Initiative, Jobs and Economic Development Task Force,
Westlawn Sub-committee, AODA Issues committee - Contact - Lois Malowsky ([email protected]).
Mother Scott Meal Program –Help purchase food; help
deliver food - Contact - Donna Neubauer
([email protected]).
Immigration Issues/New Sanctuary movement - Participate in Vigils; Drive people to court; attend programs,
marches and rallies; support Voces de la Fronteras –
Contacts - Rachel Buff ([email protected]), Shana
Harvey ([email protected]), Edith Gilman
([email protected]).
Environmental Projects - Contacts - Deborah Schermer,
Naomi Cobb ([email protected]), Jenni Goldbaum
([email protected]).
Jewish Community Organizations
JCRC committees (Jewish Community Relations
Council) - Contact Naomi Soifer
([email protected])
Tikkun Ha-Ir – multiple volunteer opportunities Contact - Donna Neubauer
([email protected]).
Congregation Sinai received the prestigious Irving
J. Fain Award at the Religious Action Center of
Reform Judaism’s (RAC) 2015 Consultation on
Conscience, held in Washington, D.C.
The RAC’s Commission on Social Action of Reform
Judaism (CSA) honored Congregation Sinai for its Social Action Committee’s initiative “MIKLAT – Spaces of Refuge:
Congregation Sinai Engages the New Sanctuary Movement.”
The CSA noted the Social Action Committee’s
“outstanding initiative,” which caused the CSA to be
“inspired by your congregation’s sense of community responsibility.”
Rabbi David Cohen, along with Social Action Committee members Edith Gilman and Diane Slomowitz, attended the Consultation and accepted the award on the Congregation’s behalf. They also shared and discussed the Committee’s Initiative during a Conference breakout session.
A video recognition of Congregation Sinai’s initiative, along with those of the other winners, is available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reBU5cs99Kw.
From left to right: Barbara Weinstein, Director of the
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, Edith
Gilman and Diane Slomowitz, Congregation Sinai Social
Action Committee, Susan Freidberg Kalson, Chair, Fain
Committee, Isaac Nuell, RAC Manager of Congregational
Social Action
Save the Date!
New Sanctuary Prayer Vigil
at Congregation Sinai
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
August-October 2015
Page 20
Sinai Committees
Social Action Committee
Social Action Survey Results
As part of its continuing effort to provide social
action programs of interest to all congregants and to
increase Committee participation, Congregation Sinai’s
Social Action Committee issued an email survey to congregants in the spring of 2015.
The survey’s over 75 responses confirmed congregants’ interest in, among others, issues of the environment, economic justice and social justice. Of note,
congregants’ expressed interests in various specific subissues, including the following:
Environment:
Preserving environmental resources
Maintaining safe food and water
Climate change
Public/private gardens
Economic justice:
Hunger
Homeless
Economic inequality
Social justice:
Racism
Human trafficking
Health care disparities
Immigration
Threats to all religious freedoms
LGBT issues
The Committee thanks those congregants responding to the survey, including those expressing an
interest in participating in the Committee and/or its programs.
The Committee will apply the survey results to
provide activities and programs serving members’ interests and Reform Judaism’s dictate to do social justice.
After all, and like Congregation Sinai itself, the Committee’s effectiveness is dependent on the strength of its
relationship with all members.
Protest and Nosh!
As part of our ongoing
participation in the New Sanctuary Movement, the portion of Voces de la Frontera that supports immigrants contending with deportation for themselves
or their families, the Social Action Committee plans to have a
presence at regular protest/ vigils at the Immigration Customs
Enforcement (ICE) building on 310 E Knapp Street. The vigils
take place at noon. Afterwards, we will adjourn to a local lunch
venue for conversation. All are welcome to join us!
The dates for the vigils are as follows:
August 6th
September 3rd
October 8th
November 5th
December 3rd
Help Nourish Homeless Youth
On Tuesday, June 23, over 25 young people (including
some tiny tots) enjoyed first and second helpings of lasagna,
chicken, bread, salad, cookies, festive vegan mini cupcakes,
and took trail mix to go, courtesy of a devoted group of Sinai
members.
A small but vital way you and your family can alleviate
young people’s daily struggle with hunger is to provide meals at
Pathfinder’s drop-in center. Meals can be pre-made or cooked
on site in Pathfinders’ state-of-the-art kitchen, and volunteers
are always invited to break bread with visiting youth. What a
delicious activity to strengthen ties within our congregation and
feed our city’s most vulnerable.
If you are interested in engaging in this culinary mitzvah in August, please email Shana Harvey:
[email protected].
Donations of gently-used
youth-appropriate clothing,
shoes, and new (unused)
hygiene products are always welcome additions to
our Pathfinders barrel.
Our Sinai entry hall barrel holds items collected for Pathfinders.
Please donate!
*Toiletries
*Gently used or new
clothing
August-October 2015
Page 21
Sinai Committees
Social Action Committee
Mayim: Green Shabbat Service, Pot Luck Dinner, Night Walk to the Lake
October 16, 2015 at Congregation Sinai
Join us for our 4th annual Green Shabbat Dinner, a time we reflect upon our role in caring for the earth
and water, share food from our gardens or local markets, and relish in the beauty of the night with a
night walk to the lake.
6:15 PM: Service and speaker: Ann Brummitt Co-Director Milwaukee Water Commons
7:15 PM: Dairy potluck dinner using locally grown foods, our local harvest meal
8:15 PM: Night Walk to the lake led by Naomi Cobb
Please register at https://greenshabbatpotluck2015.eventbrite.com
by October 12th.
BRING THE FOLLOWING:
1. Potluck dinner: First letter of last name, bring the following vegetarian/
dairy foods: A-F (main dish) G-O (dessert or fruit) P-Z (side dish or salad)
Please bring a Vegetarian/Dairy dish to share that is made using as many
local foods as possible. This is Wisconsin's harvest season and between our
gardens, local markets and CSA's, we can cook from our own land.
2. Bring a dining tablecloth for our Shabbat tables.
3. Bring shoes that are comfortable for walking on paths for the night walk to the lake and a flashlight if you want to use one.
4. Please pre-register to insure your place for the night hike, and to have children participate in art project by October 12th.
Sponsored by the Social Action Committee
Ann Brummitt is the Co-Director of the Milwaukee Water Commons, a cross-city network that fosters connection, collaboration and broad community involvement on behalf of our waters with 3 program areas:
Water City, producing a series of recommendations and action steps we can take to catalyze a bold water
future for Milwaukee, Water School, which cultivates neighborhood water leadership throughout the city
to cement the value of water stewardship in all our participants, and We Are
Water, supports art infused water activities. Learn more at www.milwaukeewatercommons.org
Your contributions make a
difference: Much of the
financial support for our
efforts comes through the
Sinai Tzedakah Fund
Please consider
this Fund when
making your next
contribution in
honor or memory
of someone.
Idea for “Greening” your Sinai Event
Did you know that Sinai owns six, re-usable, vinyl, white, rectangular
table cloths? They are a year old now and are
holding up beautifully. If you are planning an event
at Sinai and will be using rectangular tables for
serving food - either for a buffet, or to eat on please be sure to request the vinyl table cloths
instead of using disposable plastic covers!
Let’s work together to keep the Sinai’s landfill
contributions to a minimum!
Page 22
August-October 2015
Sinai Committees
Chesed
Would you like to get more involved at Sinai?
Give back with your time, energy and ideas to other congregants?
We are looking for members to step in and run with our Chesed initiatives. Help us
take our existing running programs (soup delivery, Chesed phone calls and notes of
thought, caring visits) and make it your own. You could add new programs you
always wanted, change how we run the current ones, invite friends or members to
offer new services for our congregants through Acts of Loving Kindness.
Please contact Karen Lancina at [email protected] or
(414) 352-2970 if you'd be interested.
Chesed has opportunities to connect with our Sinai community in small and
easy ways. Please consider including your name on our:
*Funeral House Watch
When there is a death in the Sinai
community, we offer house watching
during the funeral. We will email our list of
house watching volunteers to see if someone is available to help. Interested?
Please contact Karen Lancina at
[email protected]
*Making Soup and Delivery
When Sinai is notified of an illness, we like to bring soup
to our congregant. We are always appreciative of
members who come to Sinai to pick up our new quart
containers, fill with soup, and bring the quarts back to the
synagogue freezer, ready to deliver to a congregant in
need. Would you like to make or deliver some soup?
Contact Jill Weinshel at [email protected].
*Sacred Aging
Sally Moskol is using her skills,
knowledge and experience to
create meaningful programs for
our older congregants.
Please contact her at
[email protected] if you
would like to be a part of this
engaging group.
*Caring Connections
Consider adding your name to this
group of members. When we are
notified of a member needing a
phone call, a connection, or a
helping hand, we will email the
request to see if someone is
available to make that contact.
August-October 2015
Page 23
“Scene” at Sinai
Wine and cheese Kabbalat Shabbat!
Legacy Dinner
Donna Neubauer and Sam Golding
receive Volunteer of the Year awards at
Sinai’s Annual Meeting
Itsy Bitsy Sinai Shabbat!
Building the Sukkah Garden
Outdoor Shabbat
Sinai Affirmation 2015
August-October 2015
Page 24
√ Check out Sinai’s library
The World to Come (F Hor) by Dara Horn has on its
cover, a Chagall – like picture and in fact, Chagall is a central character in this novel. A few years ago there was a
theft of a Chagall painting from a museum and this event
became the inspiration for this novel. The “world to come”
means different things to different people. To some, it is life
after death, to others, it implies an age of redemption, and
for someone else, it hints at the future in everyday life. This
book suggests all these may be possibilities. Horn has studied Hebrew and Yiddish and interweaves Yiddish folktales
very deftly in the story. Surprisingly, she was only 28 when
she wrote this.
Love and Treasure ( F Wal) by Ayelet Waldman is a
tale about the fascinating true history of the Hungarian Gold
Train after World War II. American soldiers have captured
the train filled with heirlooms taken from the Jewish population of Hungary on their way to concentration and death
camps. A soldier is tasked with guarding the contents of this
train when he meets a survivor, ravaged by the holocaust. The story begins seventy years later when this soldier
gives his grand-daughter a necklace from the train and asks
her to return it to the rightful owner. The characters are
marvelous and stunningly described.
If you are a Faye Kellerman fan, her newest book,
The Beast (F KEL) is a bizarre case about a murdered man
who kept a pet tiger and other dangerous animals in his
small apartment. It is a Detective Decker novel but one in
which as Kellerman has continued this series has become
less and less Jewish. But, since we have most of her books
and many of us enjoy them, this is in our library. An older
Faye Kellerman book is Blindman’s Bluff (F KEL) is about a
murder which Decker is trying to solve, while his wife is serving on a jury. Decker is relieved not to have to worry about
Rina while he is working. But she encounters a court translator who needs her help and Rina lands in the middle of the
murder investigation.
More mystery novels by Batya Gur are good summer
reads. Saturday Morning Murder (F Gur) and Murder on a
Kibbutz (F Gur) take place in Israel and are Michael Ohayon
mysteries. Gur lives in Jerusalem and her depictions of the
scenery is as interesting as her intellectually challenging
psychological motives. The Collaborator of Bethlehem by
Matt Beynon Rees (F Ree) begins with the murder of a
leader of the Palestinian Martyrs Brigade.
Arrested is a Palestinian Christian who is accused of collaborating with the Israelis. This book sheds light on the
conditions in the Palestinian territories while being a deeply moving story.
Beside the popular fiction books, described above,
the Sinai library also has excellent literature by world renowned authors. Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness
(B OZ) is an extraordinary memoir of his family saga. Included in this self-portrait is 120 years of family history
from Russia, Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine to Tel Aviv
and Kibbutz Hulda. It is more than his story; it is the birth
of a nation.
It is hard to believe, but September will be here
soon. I’d like to recommend a few books to prepare for the
New Year. Beginning Anew (242 Rei) by Gail Twersky
Reimer is an anthology of women’s spiritual writing for the
High Holidays. The editors have included new interpretations of Biblical texts by many preeminent authors, scholars, and educators. Kol Nidrei (242 Ger) by Stuart Weinberg Gershon explores the synagogue service which inaugurates Yom Kippur. This part of the service is known by
many Jews, but widely misunderstood. Rabbi Gershon
explains that Kol Nidrei functions as a remedy for the problem of unfulfilled vows to God, others, and to ourselves. Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit (242 Api)
by Shimon Apisdorf answers the questions you would like
to ask during the middle of the service. He helps us understand the prayers we are saying as well as gain insights
into opportunities for personal growth. Please remember,
there are lots of books on the Holidays for young and not
so young children. The call numbers for the High Holidays
are 242 and 242.1 We also have a nice cookbook section. The call number for cookbooks is 641.5. The cookbooks are then arranged by type of cooking, i.e. appetizers,
holiday, Passover.
Happy Reading!
-Jayne Butlein
Page 25
August-October 2015
Supporting Sinai
Shop
& Support Sinai!
Support Sinai whenever you shop on-line at amazon.com.
•Go to the Sinai homepage: www.congregationsinai.org.
•Click on the amazon.com banner. You’ll be linked directly to amazon.com.
By using the website link, your purchase will support Congregation Sinai.
Support Sinai While
Shopping at SENDIK’S!
Purchase your Scrip card at times that
are convenient!
Scrip cards can ALWAYS be
purchased during regular Sinai office hours.
What is Scrip?
Scrip means “substitute
money”. Through Sendik’s
Food Market Scrip
program 5% of what you
pay for your Scrip card
is donated to Sinai.
Shaina Shops!
Such gorgeous Shofarot, challah
plates, mezuzahs, B’nei Mitzvah
gifts, Kiddush cups and jewelry! I’m telling you
there is no better place to shop for that perfect
piece of Judaica (as if you would go anywhere
else knowing your purchase is a mitzvah at
Congregation Sinai)! Come by and see what
my Shaina has done! Oh, and if you know any
nice boys…my Shaina is quite the catch!
-Your Bubbe
Sponsor an Oneg or Bima Flowers
If you are looking for a wonderful way to honor or
remember someone, or recognize a special occasion, you
can do so by sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat after a Friday
night service
Congregation Sinai typically provides these items for
Friday evenings when there is no Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Simply
let us know that you would like to sponsor and we will do the
rest. All sponsorships will be acknowledged in the Sinai
Shabbat Pamphlet and the Sinai News. We will also send a
Gift
Shop
note of congratulations or thanks to the
honorees. The cost of sponsoring Bima
flowers is $80.00 and an Oneg Shabbat is
$260.00.
Please email Jen Friedman at
[email protected] or call
(414) 352-2970.
17
24
16
23
30
10
9
31
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
3
O N
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Executive Committee
Meeting 7 pm
M
2
U N
Teacher Orientation 9:30 am
CoSY Board Meeting 12 pm
S
25
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
18
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
11
4
U E
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
T
26
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
19
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
12
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
5
E D
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
W
27
Board Meeting 7 pm
20
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
13
6
H U
Finance Committee
Meeting 7:30 am
T
August 2015
28
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Softball Shabbat &
BBQ 6 pm
21
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
14
Social Action Committee
Meeting 12 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
7
R I
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
F
1
A T
29
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Jordan Berger Bar
Mitzvah 5 pm
22
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
15
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
8
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
S
13
6
U N
Erev Sukkot
Back to School Cereal Breakfast 9:30 am
Religious School 9:30 am
Wine & Cheese 5:30 pm
Erev Sukkot Service 6:15 pm
27
Acheinu 8:30 am
Religious School Open
House 9 am
Religious School 9:30 am
Brotherhood Sukkah
Building 9:30 am
Itsy Bitsy Sinai 10:15 am
Madrichim Training 12 pm
Simchat Torah Band
Rehearsal 12 pm
20
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Service 8 pm
S
1
U E
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
29
Sukkot
Sukkot Service 9:30 am
28
23
30
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
Yom Kippur
Office Closed
Yom Kippur Morning
Service 9:30 am
Yom Kippur Adult Study
Session 12:30 pm
Yom Kippur Family
Service 2 pm
Yom Kippur Afternoon
Service 3 pm
Yizkor Service 4:30 pm
N’ilah Service 5:30 pm
Break the Fast 6 pm
22
Kol Nidre
Office closes at 12 pm
Kol Nidre Service 8 pm
21
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
16
9
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
Young at Hearts (@ Cong.
Shalom) 10 am
2
E D
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
W
2nd Day Rosh Hashanah
Office Closed
2nd Day Rosh Hashanah
Service 9:30 am
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
15
Rosh Hashanah
Office Closed
Rosh Hashanah Morning
Service 9:30 am
Rosh Hashanah Children &
Family Service, Tashlich and
Shofar Blowing Contest 3 pm
14
8
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
T
Executive Committee
Meeting 7 pm
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
7
O N
Labor Day
Office Closed
M
24
Simchat Torah Band
Rehearsal 6 pm
17
Board Meeting 7 pm
Sinai in the City 7:30 pm
10
3
H U
Finance Committee
Meeting 7:30 am
T
September 2015
25
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Last Outdoor Shabbat
Service 6 pm
18
Shabbat Shuva Service
(off site) 6 pm
11
Social Action Committee
Meeting 12 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
4
R I
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
F
26
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
19
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
12
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
5
A T
Selichot
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Selichot Dessert
Reception 8 pm
Selichot Study Session 8:30 pm
Selichot Service 10 pm
S
4
U N
Religious School 9:30 am
Sinai Mitzvah Day 9:30 am
25
Religious School 9:30 am
In the Rabbi’s Study 10 am
18
Acheinu 8:30 am
Religious School 9:30 am
Social Action Film 10 am
11
Erev Simchat Torah
Religious School 9:30 am
CoSY Board Meeting 12 pm
Simchat Torah Band
Rehearsal 12 pm
Sukkot BBQ 5 pm
Simchat Torah Service 6:15 pm
S
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Kulanu 6:45 pm
Rethinking Modern
Judaism 7:30 pm
27
Lunch & Learn with Rabbi
Cohen 12 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Mitbach Sinai 6 pm
26
20
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Kulanu 6:45 pm
Rethinking Modern
Judaism 7:30 pm
19
Lunch & Learn with Rabbi
Cohen 12 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Kulanu 6:45 pm
Rethinking Modern
Judaism 7:30 pm
28
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
21
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
Young at Hearts (@ Cong.
Shalom) 10 am
14
7
E D
13
W
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
6
U E
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Rethinking Modern
Judaism 7:30 pm
T
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
B’rit Nashim Open
Meeting 7:15 pm
12
5
O N
Simchat Torah
Office Closed
Simchat Torah Morning
Service w/ Yizkor 9:30 am
Executive Committee
Meeting 7 pm
M
1
H U
29
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
22
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
15
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Board Meeting 7 pm
8
Finance Committee
Meeting 7:30 am
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Simchat Torah Band
Rehearsal 6 pm
T
October 2015
30
Friday Night Lights
Family Shabbat Unplugged
Service 5:15 pm
Congregational Dinner 6 pm
Shabbat Service 7:30 pm
23
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
16
Green Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
Green Shabbat Potluck 7:15 pm
9
Social Action Committee
Meeting 12 pm
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
2
R I
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
F
31
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Yoga Shabbat 9:30 am
24
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Lauren Glusman Bat
Mitzvah 10 am
17
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Sinai @ 60 Celebration 7 pm
10
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Ethan Schlesinger Bar
Mitzvah 10 am
3
A T
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Miranda Lile Bat Mitzvah 10
am
S
Page 29
August-October 2015
In the Sinai Family
B’nei Mitzvah Bios
Miranda Ruth Lile
Miranda Ruth Lile will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on October 3, 2015. She is the
daughter of Sandra Saltzstein and Darrin Lile, and the sister of Malcolm Lile. She is the granddaughter of the late Arthur and Judith Saltzstein, as well as Darrell and Frances Lile of Glendale.
Miranda is a 7th grader at Whitefish Bay Middle School. She loves music, and is a member of the Middle School choir, the women’s choir, and she plays flute in the band. Miranda loves
to express herself through writing stories and drawing. She is a huge fan of the science fiction/
fantasy genre, and her favorites include Dr. Who, Supernatural, and Percy Jackson.
Miranda’s Bat Mitzvah project is to raise awareness and support for Charity: Water which
helps to provide access to clean and healthy water for people in need all over the world
(my.charitywater.org/bat-miztvah-project).
Miranda would like to thank Rabbi Cohen, Cantor Phillips, and Linda Ross for their teaching and support throughout her preparation process.
Ethan Michael Schlesinger
Ethan Michael Schlesinger will become a Bar Mitzvah on October 10th celebrating with
his friends and family. Ethan is the son of Jill and Andrew Schlesinger, brother of Avery Schlesinger
and grandson of Sheila and Ronald Nathan and Iris and Mel Schlesinger.
Ethan is a 8th grader at Lakeshore Middle School and his interests include film editing,
music and traveling with his family.
Ethan is very excited for his Bar Mitzvah and has really enjoyed working with Rabbi Cohen
and Cantor Phillips. We would like to extend our gratitude to everyone as Congregation Sinai for
their kindness and immense support in helping Ethan reach this mitzvah.
Lauren Glusman
Lauren Glusman will become a Bat Mitzvah on October 24, 2015. Lauren is the daughter
of Caroline Hogan and Larry Glusman, sister of Jack Glusman and grandson of Judy and Pat Hogan and Carol and Sheldon Glusman.
Lauren is a 7th grader at University School of Milwaukee. She enjoys theater, singing,
dancing, ballet, piano, swimming and tennis. Lauren enjoys traveling, reading and spending time
with friends and family.
Lauren is very excited about this important Jewish milestone. Lauren and her parents
would like to thank Rabbi Cohen and Cantor Phillips for their assistance and guidance in preparing
her for this special day.
Life Cycle Events
If you learn of any events - births, engagements, marriages, ordinations - that should be included in
our “In the Sinai Family” page, please notify the Sinai office at [email protected] or
(414) 352-2970.
When there is a death in our immediate family, please notify the synagogue office, even if the
funeral is out of town. The clergy and the Sinai community would like the opportunity to express
sympathy for your loss.
Page 30
August-October 2015
In the Sinai Family
Mazel Tov to:
Sinai's newly installed Board of Trustees.
The 2015-2016 CoSY Board,
installed during Shabbat services on May 29!
President: Maya Goldbaum
Social Action Vice President: Jack Styler
Religious & Cultural Vice President: Aviva Silverman
Membership Vice President: Lia Oren
Communications Vice President: Noah Borkin
Sinai High School Graduates: Naomi Arenzon, Eli Cohen,
Jacob Cohen, Alexander Elias, Joey Flegel-Mishlove, Jacob Lappin,
Noah Lookatch, Ma'ayan Oren, Jack Rhead and Dylan Ross.
To Andrea Bernstein on her recent appointment as Co-President of
the National Council of Jewish Women.
Chip and Kate Mann on the birth of their granddaughter,
Emma Josephine Mann.
Al and Dorothy Meyers on the birth of their great grandson Morris
Joseph Azose.
Joanne and Keith Roberts on the birth of their granddaughter, Olivia
Mae Bladwin.
Linda and Bill Ross on the birth of their grandson, Roman Wilkinson.
Director of Youth Education, Barb Shimansky on her appointment as
Treasurer of the Chicago Association of Reform Jewish Educators.
Sydney Stelzer on her election as S'ganit (Vice President) of
Wisconsin Region B'nai B’rith Girls!
Micah Sweet on becoming a Bar Mitzvah.
Ellis Bromberg for his retirement from MPTV.
Ilana Friedman on her election as N'siah (President) of Wisconsin
Region B'nai B'rith Girls!
Andy Gollin for becoming an Administrative Law Judge in Cincinnati.
Condolences to:
Alan and Shirley Horowitz on the birth of their twin grandsons Nathan Marshall Horowitz and Samuel Albert Horowitz.
Dorothy Bein-Arenzon and Steve (Robin) Arenzon on the death of
their husband and uncle, Simon Arenzon.
Brad Houston & Sarah Etlinger on the birth of their son, Gabriel
Itzhak Etlinger-Houston.
Herb Bratt on the death of his wife, Rosalee Bratt.
Rebecca Katz graduated from Berkeley law school. She will be
working in the public defender's office in Marin County San Francisco, California.
Michael (Barbie) and Gage Grossman on the death of their
grandfather and great grandfather, Lowell R. Grossman.
Sheri and Lloyd Levin on celebrating their 50th wedding
Anniversary.
Victor Manuel (Ramona), Temoc, Cecilia, Ricardo and Sarai Tenorio
on the death of their mother and grandmother,
Trini Ochoa Salomon.
Dr. Paul Loewenstein and Jody Kaufman Loewenstein on the recent
marriage of their son Scott to Shu Fen Situ.
Contributions
Donations received from 4/7/15-7/2/15
In Memory of Leo Wexler
Fred & Ellen Eckman
Adult Programming & Education Fund
In Memory of Simon Arenzon
Jim Fowler
Judy Joseph
Tzedakah Fund
In Memory of Simon Arenzon
Bill & Idy Goodman
In Memory of Tillie Goldstein
Bob & Donna Neubauer
In Memory of John Bradbury
Theodore Bradbury
In Memory of Arthur Ross
In Memory of Katherine Ross
Judith A. Ross
In Memory of Frances Fershtman
Mort & Naomi Soifer
In Memory of Lois Schatz
In Memory of Sidney Schatz
Marc & Carol Schatz
In Memory of Ervin Teplin
Jeff Teplin & Susan Engler
Building Fund
In Memory of Mamie Muchin
Toots Hassel
In Honor of Gerry Salinsky’s 85th Birthday
Herb & Rosalee Bratt
In Memory of Eugene (Gene) FranK
Jeff Frank & Family
In Honor of Idy Goodman being honored by
Tikun Ha’Ir
Joan Lubar
In Memory of Bessie Kohlenberg
Simon & Dorothy Arenzon
In Memory of Herman Larkey
Jay Larkey
In Memory of Hirsh Larkey
Jay Larkey & Lois Malawsky
In Honor of Donna Neubauer-Volunteer of
the Year
In Memory of Irwin Porter
In Memory of Trini Ochoa Salomon
Bill & Idy Goodman
In Memory of Edith Sarah Schermer
The Schermer Family
In Memory of Kenneth Schmidt
Lois Schmidt
In Memory of Bede Segal
Edith Gilman
Lewis & Leatrice Marshak
In Memory of Harry Soifer
Mort & Naomi Soifer
In Honor of Micah Sweet’s Bar Mitzvah
Mike & Joan Friedman
Page 31
August-October 2015
Contributions
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
In Appreciation
The Goodmans
Terry & Dena Grossman
Shu Situ & Scott Loewenstein
Dean & Laurie Segal
Jack Shlimovitz
In Memory of Daniel Burton Albert
In Memory of Hana Mae Albert
Michael & Wendy Lerner
In Memory of Maurice J. Ansfield
James & Joni Ansfield
In Memory of Jeanette Barnow
In Memory of Eugene (Gene) Frank
Bernice Fagan
In Memory of Robert Brill
Marian Brill
In Memory of Nellie Cherniack
Gerry Cherniack
In Memory of Robert Eiseman
Eva Eiseman
In Memory of Erwin Grossmann
In Memory of Donna Resek
Ron & Beth Shapiro
In Memory of Helen Grossman
Ron & Beth Shapiro
In Memory of Lowell Grossman
Barbara Shafton
In Memory of Jeffrey Hayes
Jim Phillips
In Memory of Sam Kaufman
Barbara Shafton
In Memory of Selma Joy Kay
Stanley Jolton & Sons
In Memory of Lillian Rosenstein Pugach
In Memory of Paul Pugach
Bill Rickards & Marleen Pugach
In Memory of Herb Reiss
In Memory of Leo Shafton
Barbara Shafton & Family
In Memory of Nina Rotman
In Memory of Rose Taitelman
Sheila Taitelman
In Memory of Jane Shlimovitz
Dick Kahn & Sue Freeman
Don & Helen Polacheck
In Memory of Beatrice Segal
Marshall & Bonnie Medved
In Memory of Bede Segal
David, Elaine, and Benjy Elkind
Herbert Rubin & Mindy Segal
Barbara Shafton & Family
In Memory of Dr. Eugene Jack Usow
Barry & Leslie Usow
In Honor of Neal Zechman’s 75th Birthday
Morrie & Sheila Rudberg
Cantor’s Discretionary Fund
In Appreciation
The Goodmans
Dean & Laurie Segal
In Memory of Siegfried Lowin
In Memory of Frances Pories
Bill & Linda Ross
In Memory of Mollie Razeper
Doje Sherman
In Honor of Bill & Linda Ross’s New Home
Richard and Gayl Franz
In Memory of Morton Wolfe
Gary & Rona Wolfe & Family
Floral and Oneg Fund
In Memory of Shirley Barnes
Marty Barnes & Jan Rosenberg
In Memory of Sadye Brown
In Memory of Solomon Brown
In Memory of David Lipschultz
George Lipschultz
In Memory of Dr. Theodore Cayle
In Memory of Adele Frumin
In Memory of William E. Miller
Shari Cayle
In Memory of Jack D. Levin
Jim & Deborah Gollin & Family
Ketten/ Miringoff Simcha (Celebrations)
Fund
In Memory of June Berg
In Honor of Idy Goodman’s Social Action
Award
In Memory of Miriam Miringoff
In Memory of Bede Segal
In Honor of Shu Situ
In Memory of Gisha Swernoff
Michael & Judi Ketten
In Memory of Sol Gollin
In Memory of Harold Ottenstein
Jim & Deborah Gollin
In Honor of Michael & Judi Ketten’s New
Granddaughter
Gary & Marley Stein
Music Fund
In Memory of Joseph Aaron
John Yopps & Melissa Chudnow
In Memory of Selma Cherniack Nasberg
Gerry Cherniack
In Memory of Louis Cohen
Beverly Rattner
In Memory of Eugene Horenstein
Beverly Rattner
In Memory of Robert Rice
Marion Rice
In Memory of Regina Jacob
In Memory of Simon Jacob
In Memory of Fred Neubauer
In Memory of Raymond Neubauer
In Memory of Ruth Neubauer
Fred & Eva Jacob
In Memory of Bess Rosenberg
Gerald & Marcia Cherniack
In Memory of William Kopans
Fred & Ellen Eckman
In Memory of Muriel Levin
George Levin
Chesed (Caring) Fund
In Memory of Irvin M. Becker
Mike & Joan Friedman
In Memory of Anna Lauwasser
Marv & Marlene Lauwasser
In Memory of Rose Fishkin
Debra Zarne
Pauline Zarne
In Honor of Scott Loewenstein’s Marriage to
Shu Situ
In Honor of Scott Lowenstein’s Medical
School Graduation
Marv & Marlene Lauwasser
In Memory of Jeffrey Hayes
Leslie, Zach, & Eli Hayes
In Memory of Bede Segal
Marleen Pugach & Bill Rickards
In Memory of Beatrice Hoffman
Hugh & Robin Hoffman
In Honor of Jerry Salinsky’s 85th Birthday
Stephen Colburn & Marlee Sabo
Colburn
In Memory of Cheryl Lubotsky
BJ & Elyse Cohn
In Memory of Mathilda Luff
Al & Dorothy Meyers
In Honor of Barry & Leslie Usow’s Granddaughter’s Bat Mitzvah
Richard & Elyce Lernor
In Memory of Betty Miller
Shari Cayle & Family
In Honor of Rebecca Yee’s Bat Mitzvah
Marv & Marlene Lauwasser
In Memory of Elaine Perry
Stelzer Family
Jacob M. Fine & Family Library &
Technology Fund
In Memory of Rae Baily
In Memory of Sheldon Baily
In Memory of Milton Hoffman
Hugh & Robin Hoffman
In Memory of Bede Segal
Jeff Winter & Sally Brown Winter
In Honor of Harriet Weiss’s Special
Birthday
In Memory of William Luff
Al & Dorothy Meyers
Page 32
August-October 2015
Contributions
In Memory of Beverly Bender
Herb & Rosalee Bratt
In Memory of Irvin M. Becker
Margery Becker
In Honor of Kyle Friedman-grandson of Mike
and Joan Friedman
Jim & Judy Silbermann
In Memory of Murray Bein
Dorothy Bein-Arenzon
In Memory of Morty Greenspan
Eric & Jayne Butlein
Janet Greenebaum Scholarship Fund
In Memory of Katherine Loewenthal
Janet Greenebaum
Passport to Israel Fund
In Memory of Murray Glass
Mark & Ingrid Glass
Landscape Fund
In Memory of Marc Flesch
Jim & Ellen Flesch
Jim Phillips
In Memory of Morris Mendeloff, Jr.
Alan & Lola Mendeloff
In Memory of Ardell Eisenberg
In Memory of Gerald Kahn
Rosalie Kahn
In Memory of Morris Fredlich
Rob & Lauri Roth
Happy Mother’s Day to Edith Gilman
Daniel & Jeanie Gilman & Family
In Memory of Lowell Grossman
Ronald & Marissa Grossman
Robert Mandel
Marc Rasansky & Beth Kushner
Gerry Schmidman
David & Jill Sheer
In Memory of Ellis B. Hassel
Toots Hassel
In Memory of Elza Roth
Lancina Family
In Memory of Jack Kohlenberg
Simon Arenzon & Dorothy
Bein-Arenzon
In Memory of Julius Rubin
Charles & Laura Waisbren
In Memory of R. Todd Lappin
Mike & Tracy Lappin Family
In Memory of Dolores Schlossmann
Brad & Holly Schlossmann
In Honor of Marv & Marlene Lauwasser
David Goldhaber & Davida
Amenta
In Memory of James I. Schulhof
In Memory of Pearl Schulhof
The Schulhof Family
In Memory of A. Hart Wurzburg
Mary Wurzburg
Future Fund
In Memory of Beatrice Segal
Max & Cindy Rasansky
Lieberman Memorial Arts Fund
In Memory of Allen A. Goldmann
Ruth Goldmann
In Memory of Ben E. Kolbur
In Memory of Faye Kolbur
Ruth Goldmann
Joan Lieberman
Congregation Sinai Operating Fund
In Memory of Simon Arenzon
Belle Bernstein
Daniella Nilva Cunningham
Robert & Sharon Goldstein
Blanche Kahn
Sheila Cole Nilva
Stephanie Mara Nilva
Jerry & Jill Polacheck
Gus & Joanne Ricca
In Memory of Cheryl Lubotsky
Nick & Janet Padway
Youth Engagement Scholarship Fund
In Memory of Elaine Perry
Stelzer Family
In Memory of Shirley Lederman Stolzer
The Fishbach Family
Dick Kaeppel Youth Engagement Fund
In Memory of Eva Jolton
Stanley Jolton & Sons
In Memory of Dick Kaeppel
Larry & Ellen Rowen
In Memory of Elaine Perry
Stelzer Family
Congregation Sinai Endowment at the
Jewish Community Foundation
In Memory of Eunice Kartman
Marc & Cynthia Kartman
In Memory of Edward J. Kelly Sr.
David, Madeleine, Hannah &
Patrick Lubar
In Memory of Earl Zechman
In Memory of Ida Zechman
Neal & Susan Zechman
Prayer Book Fund
In Memory of Sol Gollin
Jim & Deborah Gollin
In Memory of Everlean Wiggins
Phyllis M. Wiggins
In Memory of Lisa Phillips
Jim Phillips
In Memory of Rachel Porter
Bill & Idy Goodman
In Memory of John K. Roberts
Keith & Joanne Roberts
In Honor of Gerald Salinsky’s 85th Birthday
Philip & Rosemary Hudson
In Memory of Bede Segal
Dick & Barbara Simon
Chuck & Bunny Winter
In Memory of Milton Soref
Nita Soref
In Honor of Micah Sweet’s Bar Mitzvah
Steve & Rae Sweet
Robert Grant Marks Youth Fund
Happy Mother’s Day to Joyce Kaplowitz
Jerry & Brynn Bloch
Bruce & Debbie Parelskin
Those making donations will receive
recognition for their generosity in the Sinai
News. Those honored or the family of someone remembered will receive notice in the
mail from Congregation Sinai.
Page 33
August-October 2015
Those We Remember
August Yarhzeits
August 7, 2015
Helen Goldberg Ball
Samuel Bender
Sally Bodanskya
Eva Eisenberg Dorf
Neel Wehe Laing
Jo Ann Mann
Harry Meissner
Morris Aaron Paschen
Isabelle Polacheck
Ari Porat
Slava Porat
Rachel Presley
Leonard Roth
Lucia K. Schaub
Eugene Schlossmann
Molly Scklore
Howard Silver
Samuel Tarachow
Robin Temkin
Ethel Veit
Arthur Zechman
William Kaufmann
Louis Lebow
Larry David Lieberman
Melvin Orenstein
Jacob Schapiro
Janet Shlimovitz
Hyman Stern
August 14, 2015
Ceil Baum
Ida Heifetz Berman
Lawrence Chudnow
Laurence H. Eiseman
Bertha Falk
Natan Feldman
Bill Goldberger
Gerald Goldbaum
Marie “Mickey” Green
Margaret Kaufmann
August 21, 2015
Bernard Borkovitz
Barbara H. Bortin
Rose Bradbury
Jack Brandes
Agatha Calisch
John Feldman
Jo Anne S. Fox
Sadye Gumbiner
Herbert Samuel Heavenrich
Murray Herman
James J. Katz
Jay Marshall Lieberman
Joseph J. Lubar
Roland E. Meissner
Fanny Mossman
David Orenstein
Ruth F. Orenstein
Ronald Padway
Edgar Neuman Pincus
Henry Rosenberg
Harry Rubinstein
Molly Schwartz
Isadore Sedlet
Ben Stein
Vivianne Sulds
Louis Temkin
Yetta Usow
August 28, 2015
Helen Blesser
Richard A. Cook
Sheldon Frank
Esther Gliber
Robert Glick
William C. Heller, Jr.
Carolyn Hoffman
Rose Hoffman
Sherwin J. Kader
Charlotte Schwartz
Goldene Strauss
September Yarhzeits
September 4, 2015
Ruth Gelbart
Dr. Mary Zeldes Friedman
Alvin S. Hartz
Whilemina Jacobs
Geraldine “Gerri” Kay
Gertrude Kerns
Esther Larkey
Beryl Levine
Irving Malawsky
Racine Meyerowitz
Lee Ostermann
Esther Smith
September 11, 2015
Rose Adler
Naum Akselrod
Andy Alameno
Kenneth Allschwang
Phyllis Holzman Bernstein
Andrew Cherniack
Claudia Anne Cowan
Ben Zion Hersch
Mae Horowitz
James J. Katz
Milton B. Katz
Edward Rosenberg
Molly Jeanette Rosenberg
Victor Salinsky
Benjamin Schiffer
Pauline Schwedelson
Jacob Malcom Seidman
Lilly Wallis Sidon
Jeffrey C. Siegel
Ann Simon
H. Alan Stein
Harold Stemerman
Lois Taus
September 18, 2015
Phillip Altshul
Hilda Barash
Klara Borkovitz
Leon Borkovitz
Irving A. Bram
Dr. Carl O. Diamond
Selmer Melvin Feld
Nathan Fishbach
Russell Fisher
Abe Friedman
Ethel Geisenfeld
Paul Gratch
Carl Greenfield
Edik Loxvitsky
Leah Mandel
Jim Muchin
Samuel Rothman
Maybelle Sametz
Myra Steiner
Charlotte Teweles
Aaron James Carr Thomas
Herman Veit
September 25, 2015
Wolf Armour
Sam Butlein
Jewel Calloway
William Dinkes
Henry Federlin
Margaret Federlin
Morris Hackman
Oscar Jacobs
Maureen B. Kahn
Milton Letven
Sol Lindenberg
Lottie Lubar
Mariam Medvedovsky
Anna Melcher
Joan S. Parelskin
Ethel Primakow
Eugene Prudell
Anna Reuter
Tammy Robinson
Judith Saltzstein
Eugene Schwartz
October Yarhzeits
October 2, 2015
James Buchbinder
Albert Cherniack
David Colburn
Lucille Fensin
Charles Geisenfeld
Ralph Heilbronner
Sara Kaplan
Warren W. Laing
Miles Mandel
Eli Meltzer
Sara Moskol
Ada Perlson
Charlotte Rabenn
Jonathan David Resek
Benjamin Rosenberg
Richard Saltzstein
Mildred Sanderson
Sara Shafton
Beatrice Fein Weber
Ethel Weinberg
October 9, 2015
Lillian Schwartzberg Armour
Max Fershtman
Marvin Fishman
Mary Fishman
Louis Kaufman
Sylvia Letven
Scot Alan Levin
Eleanor Mann
Joseph Pereles
Herman Pollishuke
Sofie Feld Rozoff
Ida Rugowitz
Virginia Saffro
Michael Shapiro
Charles Wiggins
Jenny Wiviott
October 16, 2015
Hannah Auerbach
Milton Auerbach
Irving Isador Cowan
Steven Doyle
Robert Fishkin
Mary Flesch
Harold Frolkis
Errol J. Glusman
Jean Golper
Sadie Schweitzer Harris
Beverly Hassel-Manburg
Thomas E. Hassel
Jody Hersch
S. David A. Hirsh
Edward Jacobson
Elise Low Kahn
Isadore Kaplan
Elizabeth Lamb
Dr. Jerome Marks
Robert Grant Marks
Morris Moskol
Fanny Padway
Geneva Rife
David Joel Schechter
Shirley St. Germain
Bernice Stein
Esther Handelman Vail
Florence Waxman
Arthur Weissman
Dora Werbel
October 23, 2015
Bessie Becker
Ishmael Bratt
Edith Bromberg
Jack Fagan
Jacob Fine
Fanny Goodman
Louis Greenebaum, Jr.
Helen Hillman
Sandra Tina Kessler
Dr. Abram Levine
Ronald Mayer
Emil Neubauer
Dorothy Polacheck
Rose Shaiken
Rabbi Ulrick Steuer
Elmer Winter
Lewis Winter
October 30, 2015
Janet Bensman
Sidney M. Eisenberg
Paul Elias
Samuel Ettinger
Joan Frazer
Lew Goldstein
Alvin Hansher
Dr. Bernard Horwitz
Abe Lipton
Nancy Mandel
Alize Quateman
Carol Siegel-Zdatny
Janet L. Stillman
Margaret Stuckert
Abraham Tepps
Robert Weber
Theodus Wiggins
Congregation Sinai
8223 N. Port Washington Road, Fox Point, WI 53217
Member of the Union for Reform Judaism
Board of Trustees, 2015-2016
Chip Mann, President
Larry Glusman, Vice President
Mike Weinshel, Treasurer
Judy Flegel, Secretary
Dan Elias, Past President
Marc Kartman, Past President
Judi Ketten, Past President
Rachel Buff, Social Action
Andrea Bernstein, Youth Education
Mitch Colton, Brotherhood
Jenni Goldbaum, Membership
Bill Goodman, Membership
Robert Hieb
Michael Hool, Finance
Terry Jacobs, Fundraising
Steve Kravit
Marvin Lauwasser, Fundraising
Julie Lookatch, Vice President
Nick Padway
Sandy Saltzstein
Michelle Silverman, Vice President
Carmel Sweet
Phyllis Wiggins, Finance/Fundraising
Deborah Wilk
The form below may be used when submitting your donation. Those remembered will be promptly informed of your
thoughtfulness. Please return form to the Sinai office. Please make checks payable to Congregation Sinai.
Note: Suggested minimum donations is $10.00.
□Adult Programming & Education Fund
□Andy Brickman Museum & Ritual Fund
□Barbara Eiseman Memorial Fund for Spiritual Growth
□Congregation Sinai Building Fund
□Cantor’s Discretionary Fund
□Chesed (Caring) Fund
□Congregation Sinai Endowment (@ the Jewish Community Foundation)
□Congregation Sinai Operating Fund
□Floral & Oneg Fund
□Jacob M. Fine & Family Library & Technology Fund
□Janet Greenebaum Scholarship Fund
□Landscape Fund
□Lieberman Memorial Arts Fund
□Ketten/Miringoff Simcha (Celebrations) Fund
□Music Fund
□Passport to Israel Fund
□Prayerbook Fund
□Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
□Robert Grant Marks Youth Fund
□Tzedakah Fund
□Dick Kaeppel Youth Engagement Scholarship Fund
□School Scholarship Fund
□Other_________________
Enclosed is a $________________ contribution
□In honor of □In memory of □Other
________________________________________________________
Send acknowledgement card to:
Name:_______________________________________
Address:_____________________________________
City:___________________ State:_____ Zip:________
From:
Name:___________________________________________
Address:_________________________________________
City:____________________ State:_____ Zip:__________
Phone:__________________________________________
□
Do not include my contribution in the Sinai News.
Congregation Sinai
wishes you
!לשנה טובה
Rosh Hashanah September 13-15
Yom Kippur September 22-23
Rabbi David B. Cohen • Rabbi Emeritus Jay R. Brickman
Cantor Lauren Phillips • Director of Youth Education Barbara Shimansky, MSW
Director of Administration Karen Lancina • Program Coordinator Jen Friedman
8223 N. Port Washington Road • Fox Point, WI 53217
414.352.2970 • www.congregationsinai.org
From Rabbi David Cohen
To Judge Others and Ourselves
If all Reb Nachman had to teach
us was every person, even the most
seemingly evil, has a nekudat Tov, a spot
of goodness, and that we have the capacity to find and nurture that spot of
goodness and to enable the person to
reach toward Teshuvah, Dayeinu! But
having focused on the ethics of judging
others, he now turns the tables.
“So now my clever friend,”
Nachman writes, “now that you know how to treat the wicked
and find some bit of good in them—now go and do it for yourself as well! You know what I have taught you: “Take great
care, be happy always! Stay far, far away from sadness and
depression.” I’ve said it to you more than once. I know what
happens when you start examining yourself. “No goodness at
all,” you find, “just full of sin.” Watch out for despair, my
friend, which wants to push you down. That is why I said,
“Now go do it for yourself as well.” You, too, must have done
some good for someone, some time. Now go look for it, just
the smallest bit: a dot of goodness.
That should be enough to give you back your life, to
bring you back your joy. By seeking out that little bit, even in
yourself, and judging yourself that way, you show yourself
that this is who you are. You can change your whole life this
way and bring yourself to teshuvah.
It’s that first little dot of goodness that’s the hardest
one to find (or the hardest to admit you find!) The next ones
will come a little easier, each one following another. And you
know what? These little dots of goodness in yourself—after a
while you will find that you can sing them! Join them one to
another, and they become your niggun, your wordless melody. You fashion that niggun by rescuing your own good spirit
from all that darkness and depression. The niggun brings you
back to life—and then you can start to pray.”
Nachman’s teaching provides an alternative to the
prevailing notion that we have to love ourselves before we
love others. While that may be true for some, for others the
reverse is true: to learn to love ourselves it is best to start
that work by trying to love others first. With enough practice,
we will be able to recognize our own best qualities, and learn
to judge ourselves with the rachmanus, compassion and patience we would want others to use when judging us.
As we judge ourselves in the weeks ahead, let us
approach Teshuvah (repentance) gently and sweetly, trying,
as Reb Nachman urges, to see ourselves as kindly and compassionately as we see others. In that compassion, we will
meet the face of God: God's endless love and limitless compassion for all of us created in the divine image, trying as
best we can to live up to who we know we can be.
For in the end, God’s attributes of Justice and Mercy
are balanced before us; the rest of the work is up to us.
In Jewish tradition, God is portrayed as giver of life,
the source of laws, values and ethics, a comforting and merciful presence, and the Judge of Truth. In particular, God as
judge is the theme at the High Holy Days, an all-seeing witness to who we are and what we’ve done.
At this season, it’s not only God’s judgment that
counts, but also the way we judge ourselves and others. The
19th century Hassidic Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav (Breslau)
taught:
“Judge one and all generously, leaning strongly
toward the good, even if you think they are as sinful as can
be. Always look for that place, however small, where there is
no sin (and everyone, after all, has such a place) And by
telling them, by showing them, that this is who they are, we
can help them change their lives. Even the person you think
is completely rotten (and he agrees!)—how is it possible that
at some time in his life he has not done some good deed,
some mitzvah? Your job is to help him look for it, to seek it
out, and then to judge him that way.
Then, indeed, as it states in the Psalms, you will
“look at his place” and find that the wicked one is no longer
there—not because he has died or disappeared, but because, with your help, he will no longer be in the place
where you first saw him. By seeking out that goodness, you
allowed him to change. You helped teshuvah take its
course.”
Reb Nachman suggests we should give others the
benefit of the doubt, seeking in them even the most minute
quantity of goodness. Interpreting a phrase from the
Psalms, Reb Nachman says the Psalm doesn’t mean that
wicked people will vanish on account of their wickedness -rather, that they will undergo a fundamental shift and will
cease to exist as they were. They will become different people, no longer enmeshed in the place they were but capable
of rising to a new level.
In contrast with our tendency to see people as inherently and irredeemably corrupt, Nachman, reminds us
that each of us has, at the very least, a small nekudah, a
brilliant point, of goodness.
Rabbi David B. Cohen
2
Cantor Lauren Phillips
We have scheduled three rehearsals prior to Simchat Torah, and we
ask that each child be able to attend at
least two of them. We wanted to give
scheduling options in order to ensure
maximum participation.
These are the gifts that we bring
that we may build a holy place.
This is the spirit that we bring
that we may build a holy place.
We will bring all the goodness
that comes from our hearts
And the spirit of God will dwell within.....
-Debbie Friedman, based on Parshat Terumah
Sunday, September 20: 12:00-1:30 pm
(right after religious school)
Thursday, September 24: 6:00-7:30 pm
Thursday, October 1: 6:00-7:30 pm
Please make sure that your child attends at least two of the
three rehearsals.
We’ll serve pizza prior to the rehearsals, so don’t
worry about your kids missing lunch or dinner!
Simchat Torah services will take place right after the
Sukkot BBQ on Sunday, October 4. The BBQ begins at 5 pm.
We ask that all of the kids and teens joining us in the band
be done eating by 5:45 pm so that we can do a sound check
and warm-up before our 6:15 pm service.
If your child would be interested in participating,
please send me an e-mail at [email protected]
with your child’s name and instrument (vocalists are welcome, of course). If you are an adult reading this who happens to have musical talents, please let me know – we’d love
for you to share these gifts with the Congregation Sinai community in the coming year.
Rabbi Cohen often explains to our B’nei Mitzvah students that the Torah doesn’t change when we read it each
year. Instead, we change. May the Torah we write in 5776 be
one where we bring our individual gifts and talents together
to find new ways to build community here at Congregation
Sinai.
These lyrics, from Debbie Friedman’s song “Holy
Place,” are based on the Torah portion Terumah. The word
“Terumah” is Hebrew for gift, or offering. The portion focuses on the individual gifts and offerings that each of the Israelites were asked to contribute towards the building of the
Mishkan, the portable sanctuary that served as God’s dwelling place as the Jews wandered in the desert. These gifts
did not have to be monetary. In fact, most of the gifts were
based on the individual talents and creativity of the Israelites.
In recent months, we have been having a lot of conversations about engagement here at Congregation Sinai,
our very own holy place. One of the strategies we have been
using for engagement is learning about the individual talents of our members and finding ways for them to use these
skills for the benefit of our community – much like the Israelites did in Parshat Terumah. This applies to both children
and adults alike.
Many of the kids and teens here at Congregation
Sinai are talented musicians. Some take private lessons,
while others are actively involved in school ensembles and
plays. This year, we are hoping to showcase the singers and
instrumentalists in our congregation during Simchat Torah.
Instead of hiring a band made up of professional musicians,
our kids and teens (fourth graders and up) will be leading
the celebration alongside Rabbi Cohen, Karen Horwitz, and
myself. We hope that this initiative will enable families to
join together as we celebrate the end of one Torah cycle and
the beginning of a new year of active participation in music
and worship at Sinai. If the band is success, there may be
other opportunities for our youth to participate in Rockin’
Shabbat or other services throughout the year.
Shana tovah u’metukah – best wishes for a sweet new year!
Cantor Lauren Phillips
3
Table of Contents
Rosh Hashanah
Page 5-6
Yom Kippur
Page 7-8
High Holy Day Youth Programming, Volunteer Opportunities
& Registration
Page 9-10
Important Holy Day Information
Page 11
Bring It On, Bubbe!
Page 12
Sukkot & Simchat Torah
Page 13
High Holy Day Guest Ticket Form
Insert
Yizkor Book Form
Insert
Selichot
Selichot: Selichot are a series of prayers we say in the month leading up to
Rosh Hashanah which are designed
to focus our intention and prepare us
for the Heshbon HaNefesh (soul accounting) that lies at the heart of the
High Holy Days, which in turn prepare
us to do Teshuvah - repentance.
Join us for Selichot
Saturday, September 5th
8:00 p.m. Dessert Reception
We will begin the evening with coffee &
dessert in the foyer
8:30 p.m. Selichot Study
10:00 p.m. Selichot Service
Simon Weisenthal’s
‘The Sunflower: On the
Possibilities and Limits
of Forgiveness’
“You are a prisoner in a concentration camp. A dying
Nazi soldier asks for your
forgiveness. What would you
do?” This is the premise of
Simon Weisenthal’s devastating book, “The Sunflower.”
We will read from the 1999
edition, which contains the
responses of dozens of notable voices in the Jewish community. From this most extreme of examples, we’ll
work our way back to ethical
challenges we face in weighing forgiveness.
4
Rosh Hashanah
1 Tishrei 5775
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Sunday, September 13, 2015
8:00 PM
Erev Rosh Hashanah Service
1st Day of Rosh Hashanah
Monday, September 14, 2015
9:30 AM
Rosh Hashanah Morning Service
See page 9-10 for High Holy Day Youth Programming.
3:00 PM
Rosh Hashanah Young Children & Family Service, Tashlich*
& Shofar Blowing Contest
*We symbolically cast away our sins by throwing breadcrumbs into a
body of water (purification). This is a way of expressing our yearning
and repentance.
2nd Day of Rosh Hashanah
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
9:30 AM
2nd Day Rosh Hashanah Service & Kiddush
Friday, September 18, 2015
6:00 PM
Shabbat Shuvah Service (see page 6 for details)
5
Rosh Hashanah
1 Tishrei 5775
Rosh Hashanah Family Special Second Day
Service, Tashlich & Shofar
Rosh Hashanah
Services!
Blowing Contest
New!
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
Monday, September 14, 2015
3:o0 PM
Kiddush will follow
The second day services for Rosh
Hashanah are more relaxed and intimate
than the day before, which often makes
the contemplative work of the High Holy
Days easier. This year we will pilot the just
published Reform Movement Machzor
(High Holy Day prayer book). Fully
transliterated (Hebrew spelled out in
English letters in addition to the Hebrew)
and filled with new readings, essays and
poetry, it will make for a refreshing
morning. Come join us as we take a closer
look at the themes of repentance and
renewal that mark this season.
Join us for the Rosh Hashanah Young Children & Family Service, stay for Tashlich
(participate in this special Rosh Hashanah
ritual) and enjoy a sweet snack!
Shabbat Shuvah-Lakeside!
Friday, September 18, 2015
at 6:00p.m.
Shofar blowing contest immediately following
Tashlich.
Join us for Shabbat Shuvah. Service will be
held lakeside at 7718 N Beach Drive, Fox
Point. Please bring a lawn chair and flashlight! Join us for this very special Shabbat.
If you wish to bring something sweet please let
us know what you will be bringing by registering
on Eventbrite at
http://tashlichbaking2015.eventbrite.com
no later than September 7th.
Questions?
Contact Linda Cayle at
[email protected]
Hosted by Deb & Moshe Katz
6
Yom Kippur
10 Tishrei 5775
Erev Yom Kippur
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
8:00 PM
Kol Nidrei Service
Yom Kippur
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
9:30 AM
Yom Kippur Morning Service
See page 9-10 for High Holy Day Youth Programming.
12:30 PM
Adult Study Session
Join us as we reflect on the messages and themes of the High Holy
Days!
2:00 PM
Yom Kippur Young Children & Family Service
3:00 PM
Yom Kippur Afternoon Service of Healing and Forgiveness
4:30 PM
Yizkor (Memorial) Service
5:30 PM
N’ilah (Concluding) Service
Please bring your children to share in a special candlelit service.
Bring your shofar and join in the final shofar blast of this holiday
season.
6:30 PM
Break-the-Fast
Sponsored by Women of Sinai
7
Yom Kippur
10 Tishrei 5775
N'ilah (Concluding) Service - Families Welcome
• Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 5:30 PM •
Join us for the final opportunity to reflect on High Holy Day themes
before the gates of repentance close.
Please bring your children to share in this special candlelit service.
Bring your own shofar for this very moving and meaningful
experience.
Break-the-fast!
The Women of Sinai
invite you to break-the-fast at the
conclusion of Yom Kippur services on
Wednesday, September 23, 2015.
Shanah Tovah
We look forward to breaking the fast with you!
Kugels & Desserts Needed!
If you are able to bake a kugel or dessert, please let us know by contacting Judy Shor at
[email protected] or registering at: https://bakingbreakthefast2015.eventbrite.com by September 15th. If you are unable to bake, monetary donations are also appreciated. Please make
checks payable to Women of Sinai. Drop off at the synagogue office or mail to Sinai.
8
High Holy Day Youth Programming
and Volunteer Opportunities for Kids & Adults
The High Holy Days at Sinai provide an opportunity for meaningful participation at all ages.
During services your children should be seated with you or in our youth programming at all times.
Rosh Hashanah—Monday, September 14, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
Yom Kippur—Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
Youth Programming K-5
Kindergarten - Grade 5
(Children will be in classrooms according to grade level and activities will be geared toward their specific
age group)
Rosh Hashanah Youth Programming Activities will include:
Age appropriate Rosh Hashanah themed stories and craft activities
Youth service (K-5 grades are all together for service--approx. 45 minutes)
Snack
Yom Kippur Youth Programming Activities will include:
Age appropriate Yom Kippur themed ethics activities (i.e. story time with Jonah and the Whale,
discussion groups, drama and movement activities related to overcoming obstacles and making good
choices for the year ahead)
Create items to hang and decorate the Sinai Sukkah from the harvest of our Sinai garden
Youth service (K-5 grades are all together for service--approx. 45 minutes)
Light Snack
*Continue on the next page for more youth programming.
9
Pre-teen/Teen Programming
6th - 8th Grades
For both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, our 6th through 8th graders will have a chance to take a break
from the main service to have a discussion in a relaxed atmosphere, led by an adult from our Sinai community, on themes related to the High Holy Days.
9th - 12th Grades
All interested 9th through 12th graders are invited to sign up to volunteer to help out in the classrooms for
the High Holy Day Youth Programming. Please feel free to sign up to volunteer for either Rosh Hashanah
or Yom Kippur, or both.
Adult Volunteers
Adult Volunteers
We need adult volunteers to work in the classrooms for our High Holy Day Youth Programs. If you are interested, please sign up and we will be in touch to discuss responsibilities and options. Please sign up for
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or both. Registration below.
Have questions about our High Holy Day Youth Programming or volunteering?
Contact Judy Flegel at [email protected] or Andrea Bernstein at [email protected].
Youth & Teen Programming & Adult Volunteer
Registration Information:
Register by September 7th
Rosh Hashanah
To register your K – 12th grade child and Adult Volunteering for our Rosh Hashanah
Youth Program please go to
https://sinairoshhashanahyouthprogramming2015.eventbrite.com
Yom Kippur
To register your K –
12th
grade child and Adult Volunteering for our Yom Kippur
Youth Program please go to
https://sinaiyomkippuryouthprogramming2015.eventbrite.com
Questions about registration?
Please contact Jeri Danz at 414-352-2970 or [email protected]
10
Important Holy Day Information
TICKETS
Tickets: Two tickets are included with this packet for each member household. Please be sure to have your tickets
with you at all times. Their children age 30 and younger (and their significant others) will not need separate tickets
and should be seated with their families. Guest tickets are available for purchase. For your safety, Sinai ushers
will be checking tickets for every service.
Guest Tickets: Congregation Sinai Guest Ticket Policy encourages families and friends to celebrate and pray
together, as well as encourages congregational affiliation.
Please purchase your guest tickets by completing the enclosed High Holy Day Guest Ticket Request Form and
returning it to Congregation Sinai no later than Tuesday, September 1st. There is a $50 per person per holiday
guest ticket cost. Payment must be received before tickets will be mailed.
Guest tickets are available to all out-of-town family and friends without limitation in receiving tickets year after
year.
Guest tickets are available to local family and friends one-time only. If your local family and/or friends wish to
attend in subsequent years, we ask these guests to consider joining Congregation Sinai.
If your guests are members of another congregation (URJ or otherwise) there will be no guest ticket
charge. Guests must contact their synagogue for a reciprocity letter and arrange to have the form sent to Congregation Sinai as soon as possible.
Visiting another congregation? If you are traveling during the Holy Days and wish to worship at another URJmember synagogue, please contact the Sinai office so that we may help you arrange for guest tickets in the
community that you will be visiting.
PARKING
Parking: We have limited spots available in our parking lot. There is additional parking available at Maple Dale
School and on Port Washington Road.
Parking Pass: Your parking pass should be on the dashboard of your car so that you are not ticketed in the parking
lot or on the street.
SECURITY
Professional Security Officers and Volunteer Ushers: are here to ease your experience and protect us in case of
emergency. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in placing your parking passes in your car and showing your
tickets to our ushers. This is for YOUR safety.
Disabled Parking Spaces: are limited. Please arrive no less than 30 minutes prior to services to ensure parking.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Congregation Sinai is an accessible congregation for all of your needs. If you are in need of hearing assistance,
transportation, or reserved seating, please contact Karen Hintz in our office, (414) 352-2970 or
[email protected]
PRAYER BOOKS
Congregation Sinai worships on the Holy Days while using the red “Gates of Repentance” prayer book. A limited
supply are available to borrow from Sinai for each service. You are encouraged to purchase your own copy of
“Gates of Repentance” for $25 by calling Karen Hintz in the Sinai office prior to the Holy Days.
For all tickets, parking accommodations, prayer book arrangements please contact Karen Hintz
in the Sinai office or by email: [email protected]
11
Bring It On, Bubbe!
(really – this will be funnier if you read it with the appropriate accent)
1. You get shvitzadik? - Sit on the ends. You get kalte? - Sit in the middle.
Not sure? - Bring a sweater.
2. Make room for Bubbe! When coming to Sinai, remember that some of us
have an easier time walking from Port Washington Road than others. If
you’re able, please reserve our little parking lot for those who need it.
3. Shush! It’s great to catch up with friends and fellow congregants. Please remember to keep your
conversations during services to a minimum. The mishpacha should also sit together. Keep your
school-aged children worshipping with you. Let’s work together to create an environment worthy
of prayer.
4. I know you think it’s standard Jewish practice to be late, but these are the Holy Days…so come
on….be on time and don’t save seats.
5. Let’s be mensches at the start of this New Year, after you finish praying and asking God for forgiveness, take a look around your chair, please pick up your pamphlets, wrappers, and your dirty
tissues. There’s a place for everything and the sanctuary floor is not one of them. Please find a
trash can.
6. The choir and Cantor Phillips are so beautiful - how lucky we are to have them. Let’s be sure to
join them in song even if you sing like me!
7. The folks who wear carnations? They are our volunteer ushers, here to make your experience
more comfortable and safe. Don’t forget to thank them!
8. Gesundheit, oy, these allergies are killing me - outside is bad enough with all that pollen in the air,
let’s keep our Sanctuary as it’s meant to be….Fragrance Free. Leave the Chanel at home.
9. Not everyone is as fortunate as we are! On Erev Rosh Hashanah there will be brown bags handed
to you as you exit. Take it home and fill it up (with non-perishable food, of course). Return it by
Yom Kippur for the Jewish Community Pantry. It’s a MITZVAH!
10. Bubbe (and Congregation Sinai) wish you and your family Shanah Tovah U’Metukah! May you
have a happy and a sweet new year! And remember, all those sweet apples have plenty of good
fiber.
P.S. Did you know the Holy Days don’t end with a little Break-the-Fast nosh???
Oh yes, there’s more……
12
Sukkot/Simchat Torah
15 & 22 Tishrei 5775
Sukkot/Simchat Torah
Service Schedule
Erev Sukkot
Hosted by B’rit Nashim
(Sinai women who meet once a month for
programs of personal interest & Jewish content)
Erev Sukkot
Sunday, September 27th at 6:15 p.m.
Sukkot Morning Services
Monday, September 28th at 9:30 a.m.
Sukkot BBQ
Sunday, October 4th
5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 27th
at 6:15 p.m.
Join at 5:30 PM for wine & cheese!
Join us for a warm and spiritual service to welcome and
celebrate Sukkot! Open to all!
Simchat Torah & Celebration
Sunday, October 4th at 6:15 p.m.
Simchat Torah Morning Service
with Yizkor
Monday, October 5th at 9:30 a.m.
Oneg to follow!
Dine at the Annual Sukkot BBQ!
Erev Simchat Torah
Sunday, October 4th
Sunday, October 4th
5:00 PM - BBQ - rain or shine!
6:15 PM
Celebrate in the Sukkah with Rabbi Cohen and
Cantor Phillips. Enjoy
delicious food, socialize
and shake the lulov!
Come see the Torah
completely unrolled!
Together we rejoice in the
celebration of Torah!
We’ll sing, dance, and read Torah as we roll our
scroll back to the beginning.
Cost: Adults $10,
Children 12 and under $7,
Children 3 and under are
free
Help us welcome our new
member families!
Caramel apples for all!
RSVP by September 29th at
https://sinaisukkotbarbeque2015.eventbrite.com
Co-sponsored by Sinai Brotherhood, Israel Committee
& Mitbach Sinai
Don’t you want to “dwell in our new hut” with your family and friends? Contact Karen Hintz at (414) 352-2970
or [email protected] to reserve time between September 21st & October 1st in the sukkah!
13
Warmest wishes for a sweet and happy New Year!
A quarterly publication
Issue 22, Volume 1
August, September, October 2015 • Av 5775-Cheshvan 5776
In this issue
Presidents Message
Here I am again. President. Some 20+ years after I did it
before. Am I crazy? Is this a good idea? Why, you ask
would I be willing to do it again? For me the answer was
easy and clear. I saw Sinai at a turning point. With Rabbi
Cohen at my side I was willing to take the job again, to
take us to the next step in our maturation. Sinai is my
Jewish home. I hope most of you feel the same way. And,
because it’s our home, we need to support it to the best of
our ability from a financial point of view and from a volunteering point of view. As we do these things, we will continue to make it the place we want to grow and live our
Jewish lives.
As I embarked upon this new role (again) as President, it seemed to me
that changes were imperative to ensuring the future of our Jewish home: Step One
was to change our fair share dues commitment structure to a voluntary pledge program. As a result of this change, many of our families were incredibly generous and
increased their annual pledge. Others told us of hardship their families are currently going through and told us that they needed to pay less. Being a part of our family, we are happy to understand each family’s needs and welcome them. We had a
congregant tell us that they are snow birds for the winter and belonged to another
congregation for half of the year. Generously, they kept their Sinai pledge the
same. Our bottom line is that everyone's story is unique and everyone's contribution is meaningful and important to us. Thank you, thank you!
Step Two is to listen to you so that we can best meet the Jewish needs of
our Sinai family as a whole. To that end, we held some listening sessions this past
spring. To those that attended we learned a lot. To those who did not attend I am
available to listen to you. Our entire Board of Trustees is also available to listen. Please call or email any one of us.
Step Three has not yet been written. Helping me this year I have an incredible group of Officers, Trustees and of course our professional staff. I am confident
and excited how "our" Sinai family is going to grow and flourish. Let's write this next
step and our future together.
Chip Mann
[email protected]
262-238-1535
Outdoor Shabbat Continues Thru September at Sinai!
Outdoor Shabbat Services continue thru September 25th at 6:00 pm. Join
us for Kabbalat Shabbat at 5:30 pm for wine & cheese.
Friday, September 18 Shabbat Shuva Services will be held lakeside at the
home of Moshe and Deb Katz.
See page 6 of the HHD section for more details.
Shabbat/Holiday Schedule 2
Reflections, Sinai @ 60
3
Sinai @ 60 Honors
4
Create a Jewish Legacy
5
Sinai Engagement
6
Lifelong Jewish Learning
7-11
What’s Happening
12-16
Women of Sinai,
B’rit Nashim
17
Brotherhood
18
Social Action Committee
19-21
Chesed
22
“Scene” at Sinai
23
Library News
24
Supporting Sinai
25
Calendars
26-28
In the Sinai Family
29-30
Contributions
30-32
Those We Remember
33
Rabbi David B. Cohen • Cantor Lauren Phillips • Rabbi Emeritus Jay R. Brickman
Director of Youth Education Barb Shimansky, MSW • Director of Administration Karen Lancina • Program Coordinator Jen Friedman
Assistant to Rabbi and Cantor Karen Hintz• School Administrator Jeri Danz • Bookkeeper Ilene Wasserman • Sinai News Nicole Sether
Congregation Sinai • 8223 N. Port Washington Road• Fox Point, WI 53217
414.352.2970• 414.352.0944 (fax)• www.congregationsinai.org
August-October 2015
Page 2
August-October Shabbat & Holiday Service Schedule
Shabbat Vaetchanan
Deuteronomy 3:23 - 7:11
July 31
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
August 1
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Eikev
Deuteronomy 7:12 - 11:25
August 7
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
August 8
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Ki Teitzei
Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19
August 28
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Softball Shabbat 6 pm
August 29
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Jordan Berger Bar Mitzvah 5 pm
Shabbat Ki Tavo
Deuteronomy 26:1 - 29:8
September 4
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
September 5
Selichot
September 5
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Dessert Reception 8 pm
Selichot Study Session 8:30 pm
Selichot Service 10 pm
Shabbat Nitzavim
Deuteronomy 29:9 - 30:20
September 11
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Shabbat Service 6 pm
September 12
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Erev Rosh Hashanah
September 13
Erev Rosh Hashanah Service 8 pm
Rosh Hashanah
September 14
Rosh Hashanah
September 15
Yom Kippur
September 24
Morning Service 9:30 am
Young Children & Family Service,
Tashlich & Shofar Blowing Contest 3 pm
2nd Day Service 9:30 am
September 26
Kol Nidre Service 8 pm
Morning Service 9:30 am
Afternoon Study Session 12:30 pm
Young Children & Family Service 2 pm
Afternoon Service 3 pm
Yizkor 4:30 pm
N’ilah 5:30 pm
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Erev Sukkot
September 27
Erev Sukkot Service 6:15 pm
Sukkot
September 28
Sukkot Morning Service 9:30 am
Shabbat Vezot Haberakhah
Deuteronomy 33:1 - 34:12
October 2
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
October 3
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Miranda Lile Bat Mitzvah 10 am
Simchat Torah
October 4
Erev Simchat Torah Service 6:15 pm
October 5
Simchat Torah Morning Service w/Yizkor 9:30 am
Shabbat Bereshit
Genesis 1:1 - 6:8
October 9
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
October 10
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Ethan Schlesinger Bar Mitzvah 10 am
Shabbat Noach
Genesis 6:9 - 11:32
October 16
Green Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
October 17
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Lech-Lecha
Genesis 12:1 - 17:27
October 23
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
October 24
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Lauren Glusman Bat Mitzvah 10 am
Shabbat Vayera
Genesis 18:1 - 22:24
October 30
“Friday Night Lights”
Family Shabbat: Unplugged Service 5:15 pm
Congregational Dinner 6 pm
Shabbat Service 7:30 pm
October 31
Shabbat Vayeilech
Deuteronomy 31:1 - 31:30
September 18
Shabbat Shuva Service 6 pm (off site)
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Ha’ Azinu
Deuteronomy 32:1 - 32:52
September 25
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Shabbat Service 6 pm
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Shoftim
Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9
August 21
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
August 22
Erev Yom Kippur
September 23
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Shabbat Re’eh
Deuteronomy 11:26 - 16:17
August 14
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
August 15
September 19
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
August-October 2015
Page 3
Reflections
Certainty
Unlike its daughter religions, Christianity and Islam, Judaism viewed “certainty” with suspicion.
The ordinary populace AM HAARETS was assumed to have small capacity for understanding. Those individuals who were closest to God, and who were recipients of revelation in visions and dreams, were the
prophets. Of all of these, the one whose awareness of God’s word was most accurate, was Moses. The
moment that Moses stood closest to God was atop Mt. Sinai when he was presented with the “Ten
Words”. But even when the greatest prophet was afforded the greatest of revelations, Moses did not
confront God “face to face”. The most perfect of men was only granted a vision of God’s back. Henry
Slonimsky, beloved dean of my seminary, suggested that all that Moses saw was the knot of the Tephillin
on the back of God’s head.
Our contemporary world is threatened by the rivalry of contending visions of what is correct. The continued existence
of the universe rests upon our capacity to devise compromise postures which prove partially satisfactory to each, and allow
rival dominions to live side by side in relative tranquility.
Rabbi Jay R. Brickman
Sinai@60 Brick Campaign
Dear Sinai,
Thank you for your support of the Sinai@60 Brick Campaign.
We surpassed our goal of 115 bricks donated, and the order has been
submitted. We are hoping for a late August installation. The new meditation space will be dedicated sometime in early fall. A date will be set
and announced in the future based on delivery and installation. The
brick campaign will continue throughout the next year or until we have
reached another 100 plus bricks on any order. (No shipping costs!).
Remember, any time you would like to honor someone or commemorate a special event why not donate a brick?… Make your mark and
support your Sinai community!
Visit the website: www.congregationsinai.donationbricks.com Order
forms in the lobby at Sinai. Questions? Email [email protected]
Shelly Seesel or Terry Jacobs [email protected]
Now is the time to Share Sinai!
What is it that YOU love about Sinai?
Warm, inclusive & musical worship? Engaging, interesting and challenging
learning? Nights at the theatre, the ballpark or on the hiking trail with your
Sinai community?
Share what YOU love about Sinai with a friend!
We are proud to offer you the opportunity to bring your friends and families into the amazing community that
is Congregation Sinai.
Know someone interested in checking us out?
Please contact our Program Coordinator, Jen Friedman at (414) 352-2970 or
[email protected]. She’ll give you a token to share with your unaffiliated friends or family.
Good for a one-year membership at Sinai.*
Bring your friends & family into our congregational family! Share what you love!
*Religious School fees not included
August-October 2015
Page 4
Sinai@60 Honors...
Save the
Date!
Celebrating Sinai at 60!
L’Dor Va Dor - From Generation to Generation!
Honoring Generations of Leadership at
Congregation Sinai
Saturday October 17, 2015
7:00 - 10:00 pm
Dining, Honoring, Entertainment
Dr. Jay Larkey and Lois Malawsky
KETTER TIKKUN OLAM
The Crown of Social Action Award
In recognition of their lifelong passion and efforts in the areas of Social Action and
Repairing the World
Dr. Marvin and Marlene Lauwasser
KETTER MALCHUT
The Crown of Exemplary Leadership Award
In recognition of their vison, commitment, and devotion to the Congregation Sinai and
Milwaukee Jewish community.
Tedd and Julie Lookatch
KETTER KEHILLAH
The Crown of Community and Engagement Award
In recognition of their involvement and dedication in the areas of Community,
Engagement, and Volunteerism
Join us as we honor these couples who exemplify exceptional leadership and
dedication at Congregation Sinai and in the wider community. We honor their
passion and talents that they share with our congregation and the connections
they make in our community. They inspire us with their ruach (spirit)
enthusiasm and their wonderful ability to lead by example.
Invitation to follow
August-October 2015
Page 5
Create a Jewish Legacy
As others may do, I
joined Congregation Sinai when
it came time for my son Noah’s
Bar Mitzvah preparations. I expected that Noah would receive
a fine education and have a
positive Bar Mitzvah experience. I did not expect that I
would find a second home.
A single mother, I had
become tired of coming solo to
“group” events. Even so, I began popping into Shabbat services. Despite my rusty prayer
book recollections, I was entranced by the services’ sweetness, the Rabbi’s kindness and affirming spirit, and the
comfort of my fellow worshippers. After a while, my Hebrew
school teachings returned, and I began to say or sing the
prayers in earnest. Shabbat services, when I could get to
them, became my favorite part of the week.
Later, on a whim, I emailed Idy Goodman about the
Social Action Committee. With her warm “Welcome!” I
moved from passive congregant to active Sinaite. Shyly at
first, then brimming with energy, I found my place, and my
Sinai kindred spirits. From environmental Shabbats to Immigration Seders to Pathfinders Barrels to Voting Rights
Speakers, we have the most active Social Action Committee
in the Milwaukee area, if not the state. Our immigration
work has been nationally honored by the RAC’s Irving J. Fain
Award.
Along with committee involvement, I have begun
taking classes. Well, I took one class with Rabbi Cohen and
had to miss its last session. I am still determined to take
another, when schedules permit.
The point is, Sinai has so much to offer. But services, classes, committees, and programs need more than
attendees to thrive. They need financial security.
When the Sinai eNews began promoting the Create
A Jewish Legacy program, I watched as the numbers of Legacy Circle members grew each month. Surely, I thought, the
intended commitment would be too rigid, the financial investment too steep, for my circumstances. I am happy to
admit I was wrong.
The Create A Jewish Legacy program is my way to
thank Sinai for welcoming this lapsed and religiously ignorant woman into its family and reigniting my Jewish identity.
To thank Rabbi Cohen for focusing us all on our spiritual
obligation to make the world a better place for everyone,
Jew and non-Jew alike (and for not showing me the door
when my adolescent son blew off religious classes for car
rides with his friends). To thank Idy Goodman, Craig Johnson
and all the Social Action Committee members for their continued spirited, concrete work to fulfill that Jewish mission.
The Legacy program is my way to make sure that the Congregation Sinai that I adore will continue for my son and
grandchildren (if I ever get to be a Bubbie). And for you and
yours.
Every Sinaite has his own favorite congregation program, class or event. Yours may be the religious school, adult
education classes. Shabbat Congregational Dinners, the Brotherhood, Women of Sinai, B’rit Nashim, or even Mah Jongg.
Whatever is special to you, is special to other congregants.
Your Legacy will help it continue.
As for me, I’ve missed services lately, but I’ll get back
to them. I even bought the Shabbat prayer book and sing
some prayers while I cook. When I joined Congregation Sinai
those years ago, I could not have imagined I would be doing
these things today. Who knew?
Diane Slomowitz
August-October 2015
Page 6
Hidden Path to Engagement: Getting in Touch with our “Inner Sinai”
Hello, my name is Larry Glusman, the self-denominated “Engagement Czar” of Congregation
Sinai. I am one of your Vice Presidents and was previously a Board Member serving most recently on
the Executive Committee. My wife Caroline and I joined Sinai in 1996. We have two children, Jack (14)
and Lauren (12), who will celebrate her bat mitzvah in late October.
As part of Chip Mann’s new presidency, he has asked each of the officers to concentrate on
one aspect of the synagogue such as membership or education. He wants us to try to function without
formal committees, in a more organic and independent manner. My concentration is engagement, and
I lightheartedly likened my position to that of a US-style czar.
During World War I, Woodrow Wilson appointed financier Bernard Baruch to head the War Industries Board — a position dubbed industry czar (this just one year after the final Russian czar,
Nicholas II, was overthrown in the Russian Revolution). Franklin Roosevelt had czars during
World War II, overseeing such aspects of the war effort as shipping and synthetic-rubber production. The term was then essentially retired until the presidency of Richard Nixon, who appointed the first drug czar and a well-regarded energy czar, to navigate the 1970s oil crisis. Most recently, we’ve had
a green jobs czar and a car czar to deal with the auto bailout.
-A Brief History of White House Czars, Time Magazine, Randy Jones (9-23-2009)
Engagement is a very broad topic and essentially encompasses the entirety of the Sinai experience. How and when
and why each of us engages with Sinai or any institution in our lives is complicated and differs greatly from person to person.
Sinai’s goal is to provide avenues for engagement for everyone and to increase the frequency and depth of engagement. Certain paths to engagement are clear – worship services, adult learning, religious school, life-cycle events, sisterhood, brotherhood, committees. You will continue to hear about the many great opportunities available at Sinai, and I encourage you to
participate wholeheartedly.
Over the next several months, I will continue my dialogue with clergy, administration, board members, committee
chairs and congregants to gather views on engagement – How do you define it? What’s working? What isn’t? Why? My door
is always open, and I encourage anyone who would like to talk to reach out to me by phone or e-mail, or we can meet in person. It is vital that we hear from you.
I strongly believe that in order to increase and strengthen engagement, we have to look beyond the traditional avenues. We must uncover the hidden paths to engagement, what I call our “Inner Sinai”. What hidden interests, skills and talents exist within our Sinai community just waiting for us to tap into and connect with? Are you tech savvy? Are you a history
buff? Are you musical? Are you a great cook? Are you an educator? Are you a writer? Are you willing to share more about
yourself and your family to help inform new and existing programming and to help create opportunities for meaningful connections between congregants and Sinai itself? We will be designing some surveys later this fall to try to mine this data and then
put it to work forming new affinity groups and using our soon-to-be-introduced new website and social media to provide additional platforms to engage.
So please take me up on my offer to talk about engagement. I look forward to hearing from you soon and often. Let’s
discover our “Inner Sinai” and make the most of our warm and welcoming Sinai community.
Larry Glusman
[email protected] or (414-303-5853)
August-October 2015
Page 7
Lifelong Jewish Learning
In the Rabbi’s Study
Sunday, October 18 10:00 am
Author and veteran Journalist Avi Lank and
Rabbi David Cohen discuss Avi’s book:
The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story
of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North
Woods by Ron Legro (Author), Avi
Lank (Author)
As a young boy Frank Kovac Jr. fell deeply in love with stargazing, painting glow-in-the-dark constellations on his bedroom wall
and inviting friends to an observatory he built in his Chicago backyard.
As he reached adulthood, Kovac did not let go of his childhood
dreams of reaching the stars. He began scheming to bring the universe home. While working at a paper mill as a young man, Kovac
tirelessly built a 22-foot rotating globe planetarium in the woods. Despite failures and collapses, the amateur astronomer singlehandedly
built a North Woods treasure, painting more than 5,000 glowing
stars—dot by dot in glowing paints. Today, Kovac and his unique planetarium take visitors to the stars every day.
The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods introduces readers to the mildmannered astronomy enthusiast whose creativity, ingenuity, fervor,
and endurance realized a dream of galactic proportions. The story of
this stargazer from Wisconsin’s North Woods so inspired two newspapermen, authors Ron Legro and Avi Lank, that they sought to document the story of the Kovac Planetarium for a new generation of stargazers and dreamers.
Avi Lank is an essayist for Milwaukee Public Radio and panelist on the Interchange public-affairs program on Milwaukee Public
Television. For almost 40 years he was an award-winning reporter,
columnist, and editor at the Milwaukee Sentinel and later the Journal
Sentinel. Born in Penn Yan in the Finger Lakes region of western New
York State, he grew up in Rochester, New York, and
holds degrees from Antioch College and the Medill
School of Journalism of Northwestern University. He
lives in Whitefish Bay,
Wisconsin, with his
wife, Dannette Lank.
Rethinking Modern Judaism: The Role of
Ritual, Commandment and Community
Session 1 Tuesday nights Oct. 6 – Dec. 15
7:30 - 9:00 PM
The story of modern Judaism often features traditional beliefs being changed or discarded
because of the Enlightenment. Newer thinking places an emphasis on the role of the Emancipation
(new roles for Jews in non-Jewish society) as the
engine of Jewish transformation. How did the civil
rights, economic possibilities, and social challenges
that came with the Emancipation shape the Judaism we
know today? What new factors
have come into play to shape
the Jewish future of tomorrow?
Cost:
Members - free
Non-members - $36
Please register at:
http://rethinkingmodernjudaism.eventbrite.com
Kuzari: Arguments in Defense of Judaism
with Rabbi Jay Brickman
Mondays, 4:00 – 5:15 pm
The Kuzari is a defense of classical Jewsh
theology written by Judah HaLevi, an outstanding
poet-philosophy who lived in 12th Century Spain.
Class will read the Kuzari in Hebrew and in
English (Reading knowledge of Hebrew is required).
The class will meet at
the home of Rabbi & Mrs. Jay R
Brickman.
RSVP to Karen Hintz at
(414) 352-2970.
Young-at-Hearts Senior Singles Group
Young-at-Hearts is a social group for those looking to connect and make new friends in a social
setting. This is not a grief group, or matchmaking group, but a social group intended to bring
together people who may be divorced, lost a spouse or just want to regain the fun in life! Young
-at-Hearts conducts monthly meetings and then often go to lunch together at Maxfield’s. Outings and activities include: card games, lunches, dinners, sporting events, mah jongg, theater etc. Young-at-Hearts is
open to all Jewish seniors in the community. Meetings are held at Congregation Shalom, 7630 N. Santa Monica Blvd.,
Fox Point.
Next meetings:
Dates: Wednesday, September 9, Wednesday, October 14
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 am followed by lunch at Maxfield’s
To sign up for a meeting contact Jen Friedman at [email protected] or call 352-2970.
August-October 2015
Page 8
Lifelong Jewish Learning
Ongoing Adult Learning
Lunch & Learn
Rambam’s Shmoneh Perakim:
Maimonides
Day: Mondays, beginning October 19
Time: 12:00 PM
Facilitator: Rabbi David B. Cohen
RAMBAM’s Shmoneh Perakim: Maimonides
Commentary on Pirke Avot, Sayings of
our Ancestors
Join us on Mondays at noon for sixty
fast-paced minutes of learning. Our
text will be Maimonides’ commentary
on Pirke Avot. Living in Cairo, Egypt in
the 12th century, RAMBAM reads the
rabbis’ collection of
Wisdom Literature and aphorisms with
the eye of an Aristotelian philosopher,
endeavoring to find structure and a set of core
principles that comprise all of Judaism.
Cost: Members - free
Non-members - $54
To register: http://lunchandlearnrambam.eventbrite.com
A Modern Rabbi’s
Approach to the Bible
Day: Wednesdays
Time: 9:30 AM
Facilitator: Rabbi Jay Brickman
Rabbi Brickman is a trained Jungian, a
philosopher, and a practitioner of Tai Chi.
If you haven’t studied with him now is the time!
Shabbat Morning Torah Study
Day: Saturdays
Time: 8:00 AM
Through the Eyes of Women
Day: Fridays
Time: 9:30 AM
Facilitator: Dr. Sherry Blumberg
Using the Torah: A Woman's
Commentary as a text, we are
discussing the Torah, verse by verse using critical
questions, feminist readings, modern midrash,
traditional commentaries and women's poetry.
Registration for this class will be open thru October 30th.
To register:
http://thrutheeyesofwomen2015.eventbrite.com
Cost: Members - free
Non-members - $54
Facilitator: Rabbi Jay Brickman
Verse by verse, line by line, word by word, the
Torah comes alive!
August-October 2015
Page 9
Lifelong Jewish Learning
School News
In a recent class I took on Educational Leadership,
my colleagues and I were challenged with the question,
“What is the point of Jewish education?” Or, to put it another
way, what is the fundamental human need that is derived
from Jewish education – and by extension, Judaism?
What evolved was a rich conversation
where we attempted to put into words the things
that we each, as Jewish educators, inherently felt.
There was talk about the communal aspects of Judaism. Namely, there is a need for people to feel that they belong to a community, as
well as a desire to feel connected to something
larger than oneself. In our modern American
world, we often belong to multiple communities,
but it is the Jewish community that frequently
allows people to feel grounded among all the other things we have going on in our lives. Our connections to friends in the Jewish community can
sometimes run far deeper than our connections with others;
this is mostly due to an underlying shared values system
that is rooted in Judaism. We are not only connected to other Jewish people locally and throughout the world, but also
to thousands of years of Jewish history before us, and to all
that will come after us. Seeing ourselves as a vital part of
the thread of Jewish continuity can serve as a powerful reminder of the role we each play in contributing to the Jewish
community and to making the world a better place.
But the majority of our discussion focused on individual rather than communal needs. We mentioned the opportunity, through our work as Jewish educators, to help
people develop a moral compass and to work toward selfactualization. What greater jobs do we each have in life than
these? And how fortunate we are to have Judaism as a guiding force in this work! It was also mentioned that Judaism
provides a structure in which this work can take place. This
is largely done through the fulfillment of mitzvot – the 613
commandments that we find in the Torah. Although many
can no longer be carried out (as they pertain specifically to
the Temple in Jerusalem, which no longer exists), and many
others may no longer be relevant in and of themselves,
there is moral intention behind all of them that we can use
as a framework for living as good people in the world.
Another aspect we identified is the human desire to
make a difference. This is such a fundamental part of Judaism that we have a phrase for it – Tikkun Olam, which literally
means fixing the world. Through our teachings, we learn the
ways in which the world needs healing, and discover the gifts
we each have to contribute to that cause in our own corners
of the universe. Sometimes it may feel like our
efforts are not enough. But as Hillel said, “It is not
our task to complete the work, nor are we free to
desist from it.” Anything we can do in the spirit of
G’milut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness) can
help in improving our world. This is also a vital
way in which we can live out those mitzvot I mentioned earlier – to walk through the world with the
intention to make it better. As my long-time teacher Cantor Ellen Dreskin says, “If it doesn’t make a
difference, what difference does it make?”
Toward the end of our discussion, someone quoted the wise sages John Lennon and Paul
McCartney by pointing out, “All you need is love.” Psychologist Abraham Maslow would disagree that this is ALL we
need, though it is certainly the basis for being able to achieve
all of the other needs we encounter throughout our lives. And
if there is one fundamental truth that Judaism can offer, it is
love. We can find that throughout our tradition – not always
overtly, but it is there. In fact, when we complete the cycle of
Torah on Simchat Torah and immediately, without taking a
breath, begin again, we are connecting the last letter of the
Torah, a lamed, with the first letter, a bet, which can also be
read as a vet. The letters lamed-vet spells lev, the Hebrew
word for heart. This indicates that the Torah, God’s gift to the
Jewish people, is wrapped in love, an essential need that can
be met through our teachings. Perhaps love is not ALL we
need, but so many of our fundamental human needs – community, developing a moral compass, self-actualization,
learning, and making a difference – can be met through Jewish living.
So what is the point of Jewish education? Learning
gives us the tools to do all of this, and to do it well, and to
continue refining it throughout our lives.
Join us at an upcoming event with the North American Federation
of Temple Youth (NFTY)! All NFTY-Northern regional events are
open to Sinai members in grades 9-12.
NFTY-Northern Summer Kallah
(with the Chicago Area region):
August 12-16 at OSRUI, Oconomowoc, WI
NFTY-Northern Fall Kallah: October 9-11
in Duluth, MN
Barb Shimansky, MSW
Director of Youth Education
Questions about any
of our youth group
programming?
Contact Barb Shimansky at:
[email protected]
August-October 2015
Page 10
Lifelong Jewish Learning
School News
"Tzedakah" is the Hebrew word for justice. One of the many ways that we create justice in the world is by contributing
money to organizations that help "lift up the fallen," thereby moving closer to a day when everyone will have what they need.
During this past school year, each class was assigned a month in which they determined the recipient of the school's
tzedakah funds. This proved to be a great way for our students to examine their values, learn about various organizations that
speak to those values, and then educate our Youth Education Program community about the importance of giving to their chosen recipients. Here are some thank-you notes from the organizations that were chosen.
Page 11
August-October 2015
Lifelong Jewish Learning
School News
BE A SINAI MADRICH(A)!
Congregation Sinai Teen Counselor Program
* Earn money or community service hours
* Stand out on college applications
* Be a stronger candidate for summer jobs
* Make a positive impact upon Jewish kids
Be sure to join us for our Youth Education Program
Open House on Sunday, September 20!
Stop in any time between 9:30 am and noon to meet the
teachers and Madrichim who will be working with your child
(ren) in the upcoming school year, and participate in some
fun family holiday activities! We look forward to seeing you!
All 8th-12th grade post B’nei Mitzvah are eligible
Madrichim (assistants) help out
in Religious School classrooms
or the office on Sunday
mornings, and may have the
opportunity to help plan and
lead other events within the
Youth Education Program!
For an application, please contact Barb:
[email protected].
Applications are due by Friday, August 21, 2016.
Back-to-School Cereal Breakfast!
Sunday, September 27 at 9:30 am.
Bring your favorite box of cereal and
your excitement for another year of
learning in the Youth Education Program!
CoSY Pizza in the Hut!
Families are invited to join
us for a Shabbat pizza
dinner in the Sukkah on
Friday, October 2 at 5:30 pm.
More details to follow, but
mark your calendars now!
Save the Date!
Mark your calendars
for Sinai Mitzvah Day on
Sunday, October 25!
Projects for all ages! Lets come
together as a Sinai community
and make a difference!
Midweek Mitkadem classes will begin on
Tuesday, September 29 and
Thursday, October 1.
Kulanu begins on Tuesday, October 13 at 6:45 pm.
All 8th-12th grade Sinai members are encouraged to join us
for the second year of our combined learning program with
Congregations Beth Israel Ner Tamid and Emanu-El B’ne
Jeshurun. NEW THIS YEAR: We will begin later and will not
serve dinner; instead, we will have a longer break between
classes that includes a snack. We
are moving to a trimester system,
so you will choose three electives
throughout the year, and each congregation will host Kulanu for a full
trimester. We are also planning
more collaborative programs with
BBYO. Our first trimester will be
hosted at Sinai! Not sure about
Kulanu? Join us for the opening
evening and check it out!
Sinai Family Retreat
SAVE THE DATE!
Our Sinai Family Retreat will
be held this year from
November 20-22 at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union
Institute camp in Oconomowoc, WI.
Registration will open soon!!
Page 12
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Sinai in in the City
What does it mean to be a young, professional Jewish adult in 2015? Are you
looking for a point of entry into metropolitan Jewry? Do you have a child or
know someone – affiliated or unaffiliated - that is looking to meet other young
Jewish professionals? Look no further….
Join Cantor Lauren Phillips for a unique alternative Shabbat and Holiday experience downtown for
young professionals. We’ll utilize media, music, current topics, and alternative venues to worship,
share, and get to know each other. This is a chance to meet like-minded Jewish adults to
schmooze, eat, share in a little Torah and a lot of conversation! Come be a part of Judaism in a
meaningful way that is relevant to you and your life. Young adults and grad students – 20’s and
30’s, singles, couples, married – all are welcome!
Thursday, September 17th at 7:30 pm (location TBA—watch the eNews!)
"Sin Before You Atone" - A chance to eat, drink, and schmooze before casting the sins of
the past year into the water. Bring flashlights for this moonlight gathering on Milwaukee's
lakefront.
Please RSVP at: https://sinaiinthecityseptember2015.eventbrite.com
(Birth - 3)
Itsy Bitsy Sinai
Sunday, September 20th at 10:15 AM
We value every member at Congregation Sinai – even our youngest! Our
preschool age program (birth-3) is called “Itsy Bitsy Sinai”. It includes
Sunday morning fun with the rabbi and the cantor.
Activities will include:
Songs
Stories
Instruments
Craft & holiday projects
We want to make coming to synagogue something that our youngest
children look forward to – a place of joy and laughter and fun. We strive to
help parents connect to others with similar aged children, to develop
bonds that will enable them to share their Jewish journeys together.
RSVP to: https://itsybitsysinaiseptember2015.eventbrite.com
Page 13
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Dine at the Annual Sukkot BBQ!
Sunday, October 4th
5:00 PM - BBQ - rain or shine!
Celebrate in the Sukkah with Rabbi Cohen and Cantor
Phillips. Enjoy delicious food, socialize and shake the lulov!
Cost: Adults $10, Children 12 and under $7,
Children 3 and under are free
RSVP by September 29th at
https://sinaisukkotbarbeque2015.eventbrite.com
Co-sponsored by Sinai Brotherhood, Israel Committee & Mitbach Sinai
Erev Simchat Torah!
Sunday, October 4th at 6:15 PM
Come see the Torah completely unrolled!
Together we rejoice in the celebration of
Torah! We’ll sing, dance, and read Torah as we
roll our scroll back to the beginning.
Caramel apples for all!
Who Wants to be in a Band?
Perform at Simchat Torah
Attention kids:
Are you interested in being
in a band?
Playing music?
Singing?
Join the Sinai Youth Band!
*Thursday September 24: 6:00-7:30 pm
*Sunday September 20: 12:00-1:30 pm
(right after religious school)
*Thursday October 1: 6:00-7:30 pm
Please make sure that your child attends at least
two of the three rehearsals.
If your child would be interested in participating,
please e-mail Cantor Phillips at
[email protected] with your child’s
name and instrument (vocalists are welcome, of
course).
Page 14
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Friday Night Lights!
Shabbat for everyone at Sinai!
Our community is comprised of young families, empty nesters, seniors, singles,
couples, etc. Let’s come together for a Shabbat dinner - you choose the service that
fits your needs!
Friday, October 30th
5:15 PM: Family Shabbat Unplugged Service
with Special Guests Marc & Wendy Cohen
6:00 PM: Shabbat Dinner - All welcome!
7:30 PM: Shabbat Service with Oneg to follow
Congregational Shabbat Dinner
Cost:
Adults: $10, Children 12 and under: $7, Children 3 and under: free
Please RSVP by Monday, October 26th at
https://sinaishabbatdinneroct2015.eventbrite.com
Sinai Mitzvah Day
Interested in helping to plan the
day and/or lead a site activity?
Sunday, October 25th
Please contact Julie Turetsky
at [email protected].
Page 15
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Youth & Family Programming
Sinai Youth & Family Programming 2015-2016
Weekly Shabbat: We welcome everyone to experience Shabbat at Congregation Sinai. Family Friendly Friday Shabbat services
are at 6:15 PM weekly during the year and 6:00 PM during the summer months when we are outdoors. We have 5:15 PM
musical “unplugged” services and 6:15 PM “Rockin’ services. All Shabbat services last approximately one hour – please visit
the website for updates.
Tefillah: All religious school Sunday mornings begin at 9:30 AM with a VERY family friendly 25 minute service, with song and a
“Dvar” of the weekly Torah portion. All ages are welcome to come experience this beautiful way to start the day.
High Holy Days: Interested in sharing a holy day experience? We’d love for you to join us! Give us a call for some
complimentary seats for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
August
Friday 7
6:00 PM
Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Friday 14
6:00 PM
Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Friday 21
6:00 PM
Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Friday 28
6:00 PM
Outdoor Shabbat featuring the softball team recap followed by BBQ and S’mores!
September
Friday 4
Friday 11
Monday 14
Sunday 20
Sunday 20
Wed. 23
Sunday 27
6:00 PM
6:00 PM
3:00 PM
10:15 AM
9:30 AM
2:00 PM
6:30 PM
9:30 AM
Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Final Outdoor Shabbat (5:30 PM wine & cheese)
Rosh Hashanah Children’s Services,Tashlich & Oneg & Shofar Blowing Contest
Itsy Bitsy Sinai - – story, song, crafts - ages 0-4
1st day religious school
Yom Kippur Children’s Service
Break-the-Fast (all welcome)
Back to School Cereal breakfast
October
Sunday 4
Sunday 25
Friday 30
5:00 PM
9:30 AM
5:15 PM
6:00 PM
Sukkot BBQ followed by Simchat Torah celebration, Dancing and Taffy Apples
Sinai Mitzvah Day
“Friday Night Lights” – Family Shabbat Unplugged Service with special guests Marc
and Wendy Cohen
Congregational Dinner
Sunday 15
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
10:15 AM
Rockin’ Family Shabbat
Congregational Dinner
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts ages 0-4
December
Friday 11
6:15-7:00 PM
Channukah Shabbat Unplugged with school participation followed by
Sufganiot Oneg
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts - ages 0-4
Consecration (families new to religious school)
Design-Your-Own Chanukiyah Contest, Mitzvah Menorah gift wrapping &
Latke Lunch
November
Friday 13
Sunday 13
January
Sunday 10
Friday 22
10:15 AM
11:30 AM
12:00 PM
9:30 AM
10:15 AM
6:15 PM
7:15 PM
Pancake Breakfast
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts - ages 0-4
Rockin’ Family Shabbat
Potluck Dinner
Page 16
August-October 2015
What’s Happening
Youth & Family Programming
February
Friday 19
March
Friday 18
Sunday 20
Wed. 23
April
Friday 15
5:15 PM
6:00 PM
“Friday Night Lights” – Family Shabbat Unplugged Service with special guests
Marc and Wendy Cohen
Congregational Dinner
6:15 PM
10:15 AM
4:30 PM
6:30 PM
Rockin’ Family Shabbat
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts - ages 0-4
Purim Carnival (come in costume!)
Family Megillah reading & Hamentashen
5:15 PM
“Friday Night Lights” – Family Shabbat Unplugged Service with special guests
Marc and Wendy Cohen
Congregational Dinner
6:00 PM
May
Friday 13
Sunday 22
6:15 PM
11:00 AM
12:00 PM
Shabbat Unplugged & Teacher Appreciation with school participation with guests
Marc and Wendy Cohen
Itsy Bitsy Sinai – story, song, crafts-ages 0-4
Year End Family Picnic
For information on any of our programming or to RSVP for an event at Congregation Sinai, please contact:
Jen Friedman – Program Coordinator 414-352-2970 or [email protected]
Visit our website at www.congregationsinai.org
Mitbach Sinai
(Sinai Cooks!)
October 26th at 6:00 PM
Do you enjoy cooking for fun with friends? Or do you
find yourself in the kitchen at every party? Come have a
glass of wine with Sinai Cooks! We gather in the Sinai kitchen (Mitbach) to cook and bake
for the Sinai community and our own fun.
Projects include Sinai events, soup for our congregants who need a little TLC, classes,
onegs, and whatever we want to plan. We promise laughter, great conversation and
friendship! Please look to your eNews for cooking dates and times. Looking forward to
seeing many new faces!
Have a great Sinai Cooks! Idea? RSVP to Jill Weinshel @ [email protected]
August-October 2015
Page 17
Sinai Committees
Women of Sinai
Break-the-Fast with Sinai
Break-the-Fast
Kugels & Desserts
Each year, on Yom Kippur, as N'ilah draws to
a close, our Sinai family comes together for a warm
and delicious break fast meal that is sponsored by
the Women of Sinai.
How can you help make this community
building meal a success?
• Make a plan to attend and join your Sinai family as
we welcome a new year. Don't miss the N'ilah
service right before the meal, as it is one of the
most spiritually uplifting services of the High
Holiday season.
• Bake for our dessert table. Cookies, bars and other
individually portioned bakery items are needed.
• Make a donation to Women of Sinai to help offset
the cost of the caterer. Donations can be sent to or
dropped off at the Sinai office.
Needed!
If you are able to bake a kugel or dessert, please let us
know by contacting Judy Shor at [email protected] or
https://bakingbreakthefast2015.eventbrite.com.
If you are unable to bake, monetary
donations are also appreciated.
Please make checks payable to
Women of Sinai. Drop off at the
synagogue office or mail to Sinai.
Join Women of Sinai
Once we begin 5776, look for your Women
of Sinai membership letter to arrive in the mail. All
women of the congregation are welcome and encouraged to join, no matter where you are on life's journey. Women of Sinai supports all aspects of congregational life, and we need our members to help us
make that happen. If you have not yet found our Facebook page, be sure to "like" us at facebook.com/
womenofsinai in order to receive event information
and updates. Have a question or idea? Contact us at
[email protected]. We are looking forward to a fun year of sisterhood!
B’rit Nashim
Join Us: Become a Member of B'rit Nashim in 5776
B'rit Nashim (Covenant of Women) is a group of
Sinai women who meet once a month for programs of personal interest and Jewish content. The purposes of the
group are: to build a community of women within the larger
community of Congregation Sinai, to share interests, and
to strengthen our connections to Judaism.
Some highlights from last year included:
Making lasagnas and donating them to Pathfinders
Youth Homeless Shelter.
Creating and leading the Erev Sukkot Service for Congregation Sinai.
An Evening with Cantor Lauren Phillips discussing The
History of The Bat Mitzvah.
A speaker from the local organization: "Common
Ground".
A Presentation by B'rit Nashim member Phyllis Wiggins
describing her experiences as a Red Cross Volunteer.
Discussion of the Book: "Once We Were Brothers” by
Ronald Balson.
A fabulous offsite Shabbat retreat with the topic of
"Happiness and Judaism"
Most important of all, we have the opportunity to
make connections with other women at Sinai.
Each fall, B’rit Nashim welcomes new members. This brings wonderful new energy and input to our
“covenant.” We invite you to join us. We meet the second
Monday of most months. Potential members are invited to
one or both of our Membership Recruitment meetings on:
Monday, October 12th at 7:15 PM
Monday, November 9th at 7:15 PM
Watch for additional details as the dates approach. Please be sure to join us as we lead Congregation
Sinai's Erev Sukkot Service on Sunday, September 27th.
If you have any questions or want additional information AND/OR have an interest, but cannot attend either
Membership Recruitment meeting, be sure to let one of us
know: Toby Colton at 351-5205 or [email protected]
or Joanne Roberts at 351-6486 or [email protected]
August-October 2015
Page 18
Sinai Committees
Brotherhood
Softball Shabbat And BBQ
Friday, August 28th
Sinai Brotherhood will sponsor our Annual Softball Shabbat. Kosher hot dogs
and other appropriate "ballpark-style food" will be served directly following
Shabbat Services and the awesome annual "sermon from the mound"!
The Sinai softball team will all be there to sign autographs! Don't miss it.
RSVP by August 24th at:
http://sinaibbqsoftballshabbat2015.eventbrite.com
Acheinu (Men’s Spirituality Group)
Day: Sunday: September 20th
Time: 8:30 - 10:00 AM
With: Joe Glassman, Mitch Colton, &
Rabbi David B. Cohen
Acheinu is sponsored by Sinai’s Brotherhood.
Share nosh & discuss spiritual & practical matters
concerning God, work, family & more.
Come Help Build the Sukkah!
Join us at 9:00 AM on September 20th as we
construct the new sukkah. Please contact
Terry Jacobs at [email protected]
August-October 2015
Page 19
Sinai Committees
Social Action Committee
Something for Everyone
Social Action at Sinai offers a wide variety of ways
you can become engaged in the social & economic justice
issues of the day: Shabbat services with a speaker, topical
films, Sunday morning or weekday evening speakers and discussion, interactive events, opportunities for you and/or your
family to volunteer.
Check out what we highlight in this newsletter and in
the weekly Sinai E-News.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Become a member of the Social Action Committee –
Help plan, organize and imagine (We also need a PR person!!! ) - Contacts - Idy Goodman ([email protected])
& Craig Johnson ([email protected]).
Contribute to the Sinai Tzedakah Fund to make all this
possible.
All-Synagogue Mitzvah Day – plan, organize, participate –
Contact - Julie Turetsky ([email protected]).
Sinai School Maven – volunteer to share your Social Justice, environmental expertise with our students – Contacts - Rabbi Cohen ([email protected]), Naomi Cobb ([email protected]), Naomi Soifer
([email protected]), Idy Goodman
([email protected]).
Pathfinders (Homeless Youth) Drop-In Center – Serve
Meals; Donate designated items to our collection barrel
– Contacts - Shana Harvey ([email protected]),
Craig Johnson ([email protected]).
MICAH (Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for
Hope) – support MICAH & serve on one of the following
committees: 11X15 Campaign for Prison Reform, 53206
Initiative, Jobs and Economic Development Task Force,
Westlawn Sub-committee, AODA Issues committee - Contact - Lois Malowsky ([email protected]).
Mother Scott Meal Program –Help purchase food; help
deliver food - Contact - Donna Neubauer
([email protected]).
Immigration Issues/New Sanctuary movement - Participate in Vigils; Drive people to court; attend programs,
marches and rallies; support Voces de la Fronteras –
Contacts - Rachel Buff ([email protected]), Shana
Harvey ([email protected]), Edith Gilman
([email protected]).
Environmental Projects - Contacts - Deborah Schermer,
Naomi Cobb ([email protected]), Jenni Goldbaum
([email protected]).
Jewish Community Organizations
JCRC committees (Jewish Community Relations
Council) - Contact Naomi Soifer
([email protected])
Tikkun Ha-Ir – multiple volunteer opportunities Contact - Donna Neubauer
([email protected]).
Congregation Sinai received the prestigious Irving
J. Fain Award at the Religious Action Center of
Reform Judaism’s (RAC) 2015 Consultation on
Conscience, held in Washington, D.C.
The RAC’s Commission on Social Action of Reform
Judaism (CSA) honored Congregation Sinai for its Social Action Committee’s initiative “MIKLAT – Spaces of Refuge:
Congregation Sinai Engages the New Sanctuary Movement.”
The CSA noted the Social Action Committee’s
“outstanding initiative,” which caused the CSA to be
“inspired by your congregation’s sense of community responsibility.”
Rabbi David Cohen, along with Social Action Committee members Edith Gilman and Diane Slomowitz, attended the Consultation and accepted the award on the Congregation’s behalf. They also shared and discussed the Committee’s Initiative during a Conference breakout session.
A video recognition of Congregation Sinai’s initiative, along with those of the other winners, is available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reBU5cs99Kw.
From left to right: Barbara Weinstein, Director of the
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, Edith
Gilman and Diane Slomowitz, Congregation Sinai Social
Action Committee, Susan Freidberg Kalson, Chair, Fain
Committee, Isaac Nuell, RAC Manager of Congregational
Social Action
Save the Date!
New Sanctuary Prayer Vigil
at Congregation Sinai
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
August-October 2015
Page 20
Sinai Committees
Social Action Committee
Social Action Survey Results
As part of its continuing effort to provide social
action programs of interest to all congregants and to
increase Committee participation, Congregation Sinai’s
Social Action Committee issued an email survey to congregants in the spring of 2015.
The survey’s over 75 responses confirmed congregants’ interest in, among others, issues of the environment, economic justice and social justice. Of note,
congregants’ expressed interests in various specific subissues, including the following:
Environment:
Preserving environmental resources
Maintaining safe food and water
Climate change
Public/private gardens
Economic justice:
Hunger
Homeless
Economic inequality
Social justice:
Racism
Human trafficking
Health care disparities
Immigration
Threats to all religious freedoms
LGBT issues
The Committee thanks those congregants responding to the survey, including those expressing an
interest in participating in the Committee and/or its programs.
The Committee will apply the survey results to
provide activities and programs serving members’ interests and Reform Judaism’s dictate to do social justice.
After all, and like Congregation Sinai itself, the Committee’s effectiveness is dependent on the strength of its
relationship with all members.
Protest and Nosh!
As part of our ongoing
participation in the New Sanctuary Movement, the portion of Voces de la Frontera that supports immigrants contending with deportation for themselves
or their families, the Social Action Committee plans to have a
presence at regular protest/ vigils at the Immigration Customs
Enforcement (ICE) building on 310 E Knapp Street. The vigils
take place at noon. Afterwards, we will adjourn to a local lunch
venue for conversation. All are welcome to join us!
The dates for the vigils are as follows:
August 6th
September 3rd
October 8th
November 5th
December 3rd
Help Nourish Homeless Youth
On Tuesday, June 23, over 25 young people (including
some tiny tots) enjoyed first and second helpings of lasagna,
chicken, bread, salad, cookies, festive vegan mini cupcakes,
and took trail mix to go, courtesy of a devoted group of Sinai
members.
A small but vital way you and your family can alleviate
young people’s daily struggle with hunger is to provide meals at
Pathfinder’s drop-in center. Meals can be pre-made or cooked
on site in Pathfinders’ state-of-the-art kitchen, and volunteers
are always invited to break bread with visiting youth. What a
delicious activity to strengthen ties within our congregation and
feed our city’s most vulnerable.
If you are interested in engaging in this culinary mitzvah in August, please email Shana Harvey:
[email protected].
Donations of gently-used
youth-appropriate clothing,
shoes, and new (unused)
hygiene products are always welcome additions to
our Pathfinders barrel.
Our Sinai entry hall barrel holds items collected for Pathfinders.
Please donate!
*Toiletries
*Gently used or new
clothing
August-October 2015
Page 21
Sinai Committees
Social Action Committee
Mayim: Green Shabbat Service, Pot Luck Dinner, Night Walk to the Lake
October 16, 2015 at Congregation Sinai
Join us for our 4th annual Green Shabbat Dinner, a time we reflect upon our role in caring for the earth
and water, share food from our gardens or local markets, and relish in the beauty of the night with a
night walk to the lake.
6:15 PM: Service and speaker: Ann Brummitt Co-Director Milwaukee Water Commons
7:15 PM: Dairy potluck dinner using locally grown foods, our local harvest meal
8:15 PM: Night Walk to the lake led by Naomi Cobb
Please register at https://greenshabbatpotluck2015.eventbrite.com
by October 12th.
BRING THE FOLLOWING:
1. Potluck dinner: First letter of last name, bring the following vegetarian/
dairy foods: A-F (main dish) G-O (dessert or fruit) P-Z (side dish or salad)
Please bring a Vegetarian/Dairy dish to share that is made using as many
local foods as possible. This is Wisconsin's harvest season and between our
gardens, local markets and CSA's, we can cook from our own land.
2. Bring a dining tablecloth for our Shabbat tables.
3. Bring shoes that are comfortable for walking on paths for the night walk to the lake and a flashlight if you want to use one.
4. Please pre-register to insure your place for the night hike, and to have children participate in art project by October 12th.
Sponsored by the Social Action Committee
Ann Brummitt is the Co-Director of the Milwaukee Water Commons, a cross-city network that fosters connection, collaboration and broad community involvement on behalf of our waters with 3 program areas:
Water City, producing a series of recommendations and action steps we can take to catalyze a bold water
future for Milwaukee, Water School, which cultivates neighborhood water leadership throughout the city
to cement the value of water stewardship in all our participants, and We Are
Water, supports art infused water activities. Learn more at www.milwaukeewatercommons.org
Your contributions make a
difference: Much of the
financial support for our
efforts comes through the
Sinai Tzedakah Fund
Please consider
this Fund when
making your next
contribution in
honor or memory
of someone.
Idea for “Greening” your Sinai Event
Did you know that Sinai owns six, re-usable, vinyl, white, rectangular
table cloths? They are a year old now and are
holding up beautifully. If you are planning an event
at Sinai and will be using rectangular tables for
serving food - either for a buffet, or to eat on please be sure to request the vinyl table cloths
instead of using disposable plastic covers!
Let’s work together to keep the Sinai’s landfill
contributions to a minimum!
Page 22
August-October 2015
Sinai Committees
Chesed
Would you like to get more involved at Sinai?
Give back with your time, energy and ideas to other congregants?
We are looking for members to step in and run with our Chesed initiatives. Help us
take our existing running programs (soup delivery, Chesed phone calls and notes of
thought, caring visits) and make it your own. You could add new programs you
always wanted, change how we run the current ones, invite friends or members to
offer new services for our congregants through Acts of Loving Kindness.
Please contact Karen Lancina at [email protected] or
(414) 352-2970 if you'd be interested.
Chesed has opportunities to connect with our Sinai community in small and
easy ways. Please consider including your name on our:
*Funeral House Watch
When there is a death in the Sinai
community, we offer house watching
during the funeral. We will email our list of
house watching volunteers to see if someone is available to help. Interested?
Please contact Karen Lancina at
[email protected]
*Making Soup and Delivery
When Sinai is notified of an illness, we like to bring soup
to our congregant. We are always appreciative of
members who come to Sinai to pick up our new quart
containers, fill with soup, and bring the quarts back to the
synagogue freezer, ready to deliver to a congregant in
need. Would you like to make or deliver some soup?
Contact Jill Weinshel at [email protected].
*Sacred Aging
Sally Moskol is using her skills,
knowledge and experience to
create meaningful programs for
our older congregants.
Please contact her at
[email protected] if you
would like to be a part of this
engaging group.
*Caring Connections
Consider adding your name to this
group of members. When we are
notified of a member needing a
phone call, a connection, or a
helping hand, we will email the
request to see if someone is
available to make that contact.
August-October 2015
Page 23
“Scene” at Sinai
Wine and cheese Kabbalat Shabbat!
Legacy Dinner
Donna Neubauer and Sam Golding
receive Volunteer of the Year awards at
Sinai’s Annual Meeting
Itsy Bitsy Sinai Shabbat!
Building the Sukkah Garden
Outdoor Shabbat
Sinai Affirmation 2015
August-October 2015
Page 24
√ Check out Sinai’s library
The World to Come (F Hor) by Dara Horn has on its
cover, a Chagall – like picture and in fact, Chagall is a central character in this novel. A few years ago there was a
theft of a Chagall painting from a museum and this event
became the inspiration for this novel. The “world to come”
means different things to different people. To some, it is life
after death, to others, it implies an age of redemption, and
for someone else, it hints at the future in everyday life. This
book suggests all these may be possibilities. Horn has studied Hebrew and Yiddish and interweaves Yiddish folktales
very deftly in the story. Surprisingly, she was only 28 when
she wrote this.
Love and Treasure ( F Wal) by Ayelet Waldman is a
tale about the fascinating true history of the Hungarian Gold
Train after World War II. American soldiers have captured
the train filled with heirlooms taken from the Jewish population of Hungary on their way to concentration and death
camps. A soldier is tasked with guarding the contents of this
train when he meets a survivor, ravaged by the holocaust. The story begins seventy years later when this soldier
gives his grand-daughter a necklace from the train and asks
her to return it to the rightful owner. The characters are
marvelous and stunningly described.
If you are a Faye Kellerman fan, her newest book,
The Beast (F KEL) is a bizarre case about a murdered man
who kept a pet tiger and other dangerous animals in his
small apartment. It is a Detective Decker novel but one in
which as Kellerman has continued this series has become
less and less Jewish. But, since we have most of her books
and many of us enjoy them, this is in our library. An older
Faye Kellerman book is Blindman’s Bluff (F KEL) is about a
murder which Decker is trying to solve, while his wife is serving on a jury. Decker is relieved not to have to worry about
Rina while he is working. But she encounters a court translator who needs her help and Rina lands in the middle of the
murder investigation.
More mystery novels by Batya Gur are good summer
reads. Saturday Morning Murder (F Gur) and Murder on a
Kibbutz (F Gur) take place in Israel and are Michael Ohayon
mysteries. Gur lives in Jerusalem and her depictions of the
scenery is as interesting as her intellectually challenging
psychological motives. The Collaborator of Bethlehem by
Matt Beynon Rees (F Ree) begins with the murder of a
leader of the Palestinian Martyrs Brigade.
Arrested is a Palestinian Christian who is accused of collaborating with the Israelis. This book sheds light on the
conditions in the Palestinian territories while being a deeply moving story.
Beside the popular fiction books, described above,
the Sinai library also has excellent literature by world renowned authors. Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness
(B OZ) is an extraordinary memoir of his family saga. Included in this self-portrait is 120 years of family history
from Russia, Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine to Tel Aviv
and Kibbutz Hulda. It is more than his story; it is the birth
of a nation.
It is hard to believe, but September will be here
soon. I’d like to recommend a few books to prepare for the
New Year. Beginning Anew (242 Rei) by Gail Twersky
Reimer is an anthology of women’s spiritual writing for the
High Holidays. The editors have included new interpretations of Biblical texts by many preeminent authors, scholars, and educators. Kol Nidrei (242 Ger) by Stuart Weinberg Gershon explores the synagogue service which inaugurates Yom Kippur. This part of the service is known by
many Jews, but widely misunderstood. Rabbi Gershon
explains that Kol Nidrei functions as a remedy for the problem of unfulfilled vows to God, others, and to ourselves. Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit (242 Api)
by Shimon Apisdorf answers the questions you would like
to ask during the middle of the service. He helps us understand the prayers we are saying as well as gain insights
into opportunities for personal growth. Please remember,
there are lots of books on the Holidays for young and not
so young children. The call numbers for the High Holidays
are 242 and 242.1 We also have a nice cookbook section. The call number for cookbooks is 641.5. The cookbooks are then arranged by type of cooking, i.e. appetizers,
holiday, Passover.
Happy Reading!
-Jayne Butlein
Page 25
August-October 2015
Supporting Sinai
Shop
& Support Sinai!
Support Sinai whenever you shop on-line at amazon.com.
•Go to the Sinai homepage: www.congregationsinai.org.
•Click on the amazon.com banner. You’ll be linked directly to amazon.com.
By using the website link, your purchase will support Congregation Sinai.
Support Sinai While
Shopping at SENDIK’S!
Purchase your Scrip card at times that
are convenient!
Scrip cards can ALWAYS be
purchased during regular Sinai office hours.
What is Scrip?
Scrip means “substitute
money”. Through Sendik’s
Food Market Scrip
program 5% of what you
pay for your Scrip card
is donated to Sinai.
Shaina Shops!
Such gorgeous Shofarot, challah
plates, mezuzahs, B’nei Mitzvah
gifts, Kiddush cups and jewelry! I’m telling you
there is no better place to shop for that perfect
piece of Judaica (as if you would go anywhere
else knowing your purchase is a mitzvah at
Congregation Sinai)! Come by and see what
my Shaina has done! Oh, and if you know any
nice boys…my Shaina is quite the catch!
-Your Bubbe
Sponsor an Oneg or Bima Flowers
If you are looking for a wonderful way to honor or
remember someone, or recognize a special occasion, you
can do so by sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat after a Friday
night service
Congregation Sinai typically provides these items for
Friday evenings when there is no Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Simply
let us know that you would like to sponsor and we will do the
rest. All sponsorships will be acknowledged in the Sinai
Shabbat Pamphlet and the Sinai News. We will also send a
Gift
Shop
note of congratulations or thanks to the
honorees. The cost of sponsoring Bima
flowers is $80.00 and an Oneg Shabbat is
$260.00.
Please email Jen Friedman at
[email protected] or call
(414) 352-2970.
17
24
16
23
30
10
9
31
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
3
O N
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Executive Committee
Meeting 7 pm
M
2
U N
Teacher Orientation 9:30 am
CoSY Board Meeting 12 pm
S
25
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
18
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
11
4
U E
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
T
26
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
19
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
12
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
5
E D
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
W
27
Board Meeting 7 pm
20
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
13
6
H U
Finance Committee
Meeting 7:30 am
T
August 2015
28
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Softball Shabbat &
BBQ 6 pm
21
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
14
Social Action Committee
Meeting 12 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
7
R I
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
F
1
A T
29
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Jordan Berger Bar
Mitzvah 5 pm
22
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
15
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
8
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
S
13
6
U N
Erev Sukkot
Back to School Cereal Breakfast 9:30 am
Religious School 9:30 am
Wine & Cheese 5:30 pm
Erev Sukkot Service 6:15 pm
27
Acheinu 8:30 am
Religious School Open
House 9 am
Religious School 9:30 am
Brotherhood Sukkah
Building 9:30 am
Itsy Bitsy Sinai 10:15 am
Madrichim Training 12 pm
Simchat Torah Band
Rehearsal 12 pm
20
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Service 8 pm
S
1
U E
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
29
Sukkot
Sukkot Service 9:30 am
28
23
30
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
Yom Kippur
Office Closed
Yom Kippur Morning
Service 9:30 am
Yom Kippur Adult Study
Session 12:30 pm
Yom Kippur Family
Service 2 pm
Yom Kippur Afternoon
Service 3 pm
Yizkor Service 4:30 pm
N’ilah Service 5:30 pm
Break the Fast 6 pm
22
Kol Nidre
Office closes at 12 pm
Kol Nidre Service 8 pm
21
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
16
9
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
Young at Hearts (@ Cong.
Shalom) 10 am
2
E D
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
W
2nd Day Rosh Hashanah
Office Closed
2nd Day Rosh Hashanah
Service 9:30 am
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
15
Rosh Hashanah
Office Closed
Rosh Hashanah Morning
Service 9:30 am
Rosh Hashanah Children &
Family Service, Tashlich and
Shofar Blowing Contest 3 pm
14
8
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
T
Executive Committee
Meeting 7 pm
HHD Choir Rehearsal 7 pm
7
O N
Labor Day
Office Closed
M
24
Simchat Torah Band
Rehearsal 6 pm
17
Board Meeting 7 pm
Sinai in the City 7:30 pm
10
3
H U
Finance Committee
Meeting 7:30 am
T
September 2015
25
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Last Outdoor Shabbat
Service 6 pm
18
Shabbat Shuva Service
(off site) 6 pm
11
Social Action Committee
Meeting 12 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
4
R I
Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30 pm
Outdoor Shabbat Service 6 pm
F
26
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
19
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
12
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
5
A T
Selichot
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Selichot Dessert
Reception 8 pm
Selichot Study Session 8:30 pm
Selichot Service 10 pm
S
4
U N
Religious School 9:30 am
Sinai Mitzvah Day 9:30 am
25
Religious School 9:30 am
In the Rabbi’s Study 10 am
18
Acheinu 8:30 am
Religious School 9:30 am
Social Action Film 10 am
11
Erev Simchat Torah
Religious School 9:30 am
CoSY Board Meeting 12 pm
Simchat Torah Band
Rehearsal 12 pm
Sukkot BBQ 5 pm
Simchat Torah Service 6:15 pm
S
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Kulanu 6:45 pm
Rethinking Modern
Judaism 7:30 pm
27
Lunch & Learn with Rabbi
Cohen 12 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Mitbach Sinai 6 pm
26
20
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Kulanu 6:45 pm
Rethinking Modern
Judaism 7:30 pm
19
Lunch & Learn with Rabbi
Cohen 12 pm
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Kulanu 6:45 pm
Rethinking Modern
Judaism 7:30 pm
28
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
21
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
Young at Hearts (@ Cong.
Shalom) 10 am
14
7
E D
13
W
Bible Study w/ Rabbi
Brickman 9:30 am
6
U E
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Rethinking Modern
Judaism 7:30 pm
T
Kuzari w/Rabbi Brickman 4 pm
B’rit Nashim Open
Meeting 7:15 pm
12
5
O N
Simchat Torah
Office Closed
Simchat Torah Morning
Service w/ Yizkor 9:30 am
Executive Committee
Meeting 7 pm
M
1
H U
29
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
22
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
15
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Board Meeting 7 pm
8
Finance Committee
Meeting 7:30 am
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Mitkadem 4:15 pm
Simchat Torah Band
Rehearsal 6 pm
T
October 2015
30
Friday Night Lights
Family Shabbat Unplugged
Service 5:15 pm
Congregational Dinner 6 pm
Shabbat Service 7:30 pm
23
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
16
Green Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
Green Shabbat Potluck 7:15 pm
9
Social Action Committee
Meeting 12 pm
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
2
R I
Shabbat Service 6:15 pm
F
31
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Yoga Shabbat 9:30 am
24
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Lauren Glusman Bat
Mitzvah 10 am
17
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Sinai @ 60 Celebration 7 pm
10
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Ethan Schlesinger Bar
Mitzvah 10 am
3
A T
Torah Study 8 am
Morning Minyan 9:30 am
Miranda Lile Bat Mitzvah 10
am
S
Page 29
August-October 2015
In the Sinai Family
B’nei Mitzvah Bios
Miranda Ruth Lile
Miranda Ruth Lile will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on October 3, 2015. She is the
daughter of Sandra Saltzstein and Darrin Lile, and the sister of Malcolm Lile. She is the granddaughter of the late Arthur and Judith Saltzstein, as well as Darrell and Frances Lile of Glendale.
Miranda is a 7th grader at Whitefish Bay Middle School. She loves music, and is a member of the Middle School choir, the women’s choir, and she plays flute in the band. Miranda loves
to express herself through writing stories and drawing. She is a huge fan of the science fiction/
fantasy genre, and her favorites include Dr. Who, Supernatural, and Percy Jackson.
Miranda’s Bat Mitzvah project is to raise awareness and support for Charity: Water which
helps to provide access to clean and healthy water for people in need all over the world
(my.charitywater.org/bat-miztvah-project).
Miranda would like to thank Rabbi Cohen, Cantor Phillips, and Linda Ross for their teaching and support throughout her preparation process.
Ethan Michael Schlesinger
Ethan Michael Schlesinger will become a Bar Mitzvah on October 10th celebrating with
his friends and family. Ethan is the son of Jill and Andrew Schlesinger, brother of Avery Schlesinger
and grandson of Sheila and Ronald Nathan and Iris and Mel Schlesinger.
Ethan is a 8th grader at Lakeshore Middle School and his interests include film editing,
music and traveling with his family.
Ethan is very excited for his Bar Mitzvah and has really enjoyed working with Rabbi Cohen
and Cantor Phillips. We would like to extend our gratitude to everyone as Congregation Sinai for
their kindness and immense support in helping Ethan reach this mitzvah.
Lauren Glusman
Lauren Glusman will become a Bat Mitzvah on October 24, 2015. Lauren is the daughter
of Caroline Hogan and Larry Glusman, sister of Jack Glusman and grandson of Judy and Pat Hogan and Carol and Sheldon Glusman.
Lauren is a 7th grader at University School of Milwaukee. She enjoys theater, singing,
dancing, ballet, piano, swimming and tennis. Lauren enjoys traveling, reading and spending time
with friends and family.
Lauren is very excited about this important Jewish milestone. Lauren and her parents
would like to thank Rabbi Cohen and Cantor Phillips for their assistance and guidance in preparing
her for this special day.
Life Cycle Events
If you learn of any events - births, engagements, marriages, ordinations - that should be included in
our “In the Sinai Family” page, please notify the Sinai office at [email protected] or
(414) 352-2970.
When there is a death in our immediate family, please notify the synagogue office, even if the
funeral is out of town. The clergy and the Sinai community would like the opportunity to express
sympathy for your loss.
Page 30
August-October 2015
In the Sinai Family
Mazel Tov to:
Sinai's newly installed Board of Trustees.
The 2015-2016 CoSY Board,
installed during Shabbat services on May 29!
President: Maya Goldbaum
Social Action Vice President: Jack Styler
Religious & Cultural Vice President: Aviva Silverman
Membership Vice President: Lia Oren
Communications Vice President: Noah Borkin
Sinai High School Graduates: Naomi Arenzon, Eli Cohen,
Jacob Cohen, Alexander Elias, Joey Flegel-Mishlove, Jacob Lappin,
Noah Lookatch, Ma'ayan Oren, Jack Rhead and Dylan Ross.
To Andrea Bernstein on her recent appointment as Co-President of
the National Council of Jewish Women.
Chip and Kate Mann on the birth of their granddaughter,
Emma Josephine Mann.
Al and Dorothy Meyers on the birth of their great grandson Morris
Joseph Azose.
Joanne and Keith Roberts on the birth of their granddaughter, Olivia
Mae Bladwin.
Linda and Bill Ross on the birth of their grandson, Roman Wilkinson.
Director of Youth Education, Barb Shimansky on her appointment as
Treasurer of the Chicago Association of Reform Jewish Educators.
Sydney Stelzer on her election as S'ganit (Vice President) of
Wisconsin Region B'nai B’rith Girls!
Micah Sweet on becoming a Bar Mitzvah.
Ellis Bromberg for his retirement from MPTV.
Ilana Friedman on her election as N'siah (President) of Wisconsin
Region B'nai B'rith Girls!
Andy Gollin for becoming an Administrative Law Judge in Cincinnati.
Condolences to:
Alan and Shirley Horowitz on the birth of their twin grandsons Nathan Marshall Horowitz and Samuel Albert Horowitz.
Dorothy Bein-Arenzon and Steve (Robin) Arenzon on the death of
their husband and uncle, Simon Arenzon.
Brad Houston & Sarah Etlinger on the birth of their son, Gabriel
Itzhak Etlinger-Houston.
Herb Bratt on the death of his wife, Rosalee Bratt.
Rebecca Katz graduated from Berkeley law school. She will be
working in the public defender's office in Marin County San Francisco, California.
Michael (Barbie) and Gage Grossman on the death of their
grandfather and great grandfather, Lowell R. Grossman.
Sheri and Lloyd Levin on celebrating their 50th wedding
Anniversary.
Victor Manuel (Ramona), Temoc, Cecilia, Ricardo and Sarai Tenorio
on the death of their mother and grandmother,
Trini Ochoa Salomon.
Dr. Paul Loewenstein and Jody Kaufman Loewenstein on the recent
marriage of their son Scott to Shu Fen Situ.
Contributions
Donations received from 4/7/15-7/2/15
In Memory of Leo Wexler
Fred & Ellen Eckman
Adult Programming & Education Fund
In Memory of Simon Arenzon
Jim Fowler
Judy Joseph
Tzedakah Fund
In Memory of Simon Arenzon
Bill & Idy Goodman
In Memory of Tillie Goldstein
Bob & Donna Neubauer
In Memory of John Bradbury
Theodore Bradbury
In Memory of Arthur Ross
In Memory of Katherine Ross
Judith A. Ross
In Memory of Frances Fershtman
Mort & Naomi Soifer
In Memory of Lois Schatz
In Memory of Sidney Schatz
Marc & Carol Schatz
In Memory of Ervin Teplin
Jeff Teplin & Susan Engler
Building Fund
In Memory of Mamie Muchin
Toots Hassel
In Honor of Gerry Salinsky’s 85th Birthday
Herb & Rosalee Bratt
In Memory of Eugene (Gene) FranK
Jeff Frank & Family
In Honor of Idy Goodman being honored by
Tikun Ha’Ir
Joan Lubar
In Memory of Bessie Kohlenberg
Simon & Dorothy Arenzon
In Memory of Herman Larkey
Jay Larkey
In Memory of Hirsh Larkey
Jay Larkey & Lois Malawsky
In Honor of Donna Neubauer-Volunteer of
the Year
In Memory of Irwin Porter
In Memory of Trini Ochoa Salomon
Bill & Idy Goodman
In Memory of Edith Sarah Schermer
The Schermer Family
In Memory of Kenneth Schmidt
Lois Schmidt
In Memory of Bede Segal
Edith Gilman
Lewis & Leatrice Marshak
In Memory of Harry Soifer
Mort & Naomi Soifer
In Honor of Micah Sweet’s Bar Mitzvah
Mike & Joan Friedman
Page 31
August-October 2015
Contributions
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
In Appreciation
The Goodmans
Terry & Dena Grossman
Shu Situ & Scott Loewenstein
Dean & Laurie Segal
Jack Shlimovitz
In Memory of Daniel Burton Albert
In Memory of Hana Mae Albert
Michael & Wendy Lerner
In Memory of Maurice J. Ansfield
James & Joni Ansfield
In Memory of Jeanette Barnow
In Memory of Eugene (Gene) Frank
Bernice Fagan
In Memory of Robert Brill
Marian Brill
In Memory of Nellie Cherniack
Gerry Cherniack
In Memory of Robert Eiseman
Eva Eiseman
In Memory of Erwin Grossmann
In Memory of Donna Resek
Ron & Beth Shapiro
In Memory of Helen Grossman
Ron & Beth Shapiro
In Memory of Lowell Grossman
Barbara Shafton
In Memory of Jeffrey Hayes
Jim Phillips
In Memory of Sam Kaufman
Barbara Shafton
In Memory of Selma Joy Kay
Stanley Jolton & Sons
In Memory of Lillian Rosenstein Pugach
In Memory of Paul Pugach
Bill Rickards & Marleen Pugach
In Memory of Herb Reiss
In Memory of Leo Shafton
Barbara Shafton & Family
In Memory of Nina Rotman
In Memory of Rose Taitelman
Sheila Taitelman
In Memory of Jane Shlimovitz
Dick Kahn & Sue Freeman
Don & Helen Polacheck
In Memory of Beatrice Segal
Marshall & Bonnie Medved
In Memory of Bede Segal
David, Elaine, and Benjy Elkind
Herbert Rubin & Mindy Segal
Barbara Shafton & Family
In Memory of Dr. Eugene Jack Usow
Barry & Leslie Usow
In Honor of Neal Zechman’s 75th Birthday
Morrie & Sheila Rudberg
Cantor’s Discretionary Fund
In Appreciation
The Goodmans
Dean & Laurie Segal
In Memory of Siegfried Lowin
In Memory of Frances Pories
Bill & Linda Ross
In Memory of Mollie Razeper
Doje Sherman
In Honor of Bill & Linda Ross’s New Home
Richard and Gayl Franz
In Memory of Morton Wolfe
Gary & Rona Wolfe & Family
Floral and Oneg Fund
In Memory of Shirley Barnes
Marty Barnes & Jan Rosenberg
In Memory of Sadye Brown
In Memory of Solomon Brown
In Memory of David Lipschultz
George Lipschultz
In Memory of Dr. Theodore Cayle
In Memory of Adele Frumin
In Memory of William E. Miller
Shari Cayle
In Memory of Jack D. Levin
Jim & Deborah Gollin & Family
Ketten/ Miringoff Simcha (Celebrations)
Fund
In Memory of June Berg
In Honor of Idy Goodman’s Social Action
Award
In Memory of Miriam Miringoff
In Memory of Bede Segal
In Honor of Shu Situ
In Memory of Gisha Swernoff
Michael & Judi Ketten
In Memory of Sol Gollin
In Memory of Harold Ottenstein
Jim & Deborah Gollin
In Honor of Michael & Judi Ketten’s New
Granddaughter
Gary & Marley Stein
Music Fund
In Memory of Joseph Aaron
John Yopps & Melissa Chudnow
In Memory of Selma Cherniack Nasberg
Gerry Cherniack
In Memory of Louis Cohen
Beverly Rattner
In Memory of Eugene Horenstein
Beverly Rattner
In Memory of Robert Rice
Marion Rice
In Memory of Regina Jacob
In Memory of Simon Jacob
In Memory of Fred Neubauer
In Memory of Raymond Neubauer
In Memory of Ruth Neubauer
Fred & Eva Jacob
In Memory of Bess Rosenberg
Gerald & Marcia Cherniack
In Memory of William Kopans
Fred & Ellen Eckman
In Memory of Muriel Levin
George Levin
Chesed (Caring) Fund
In Memory of Irvin M. Becker
Mike & Joan Friedman
In Memory of Anna Lauwasser
Marv & Marlene Lauwasser
In Memory of Rose Fishkin
Debra Zarne
Pauline Zarne
In Honor of Scott Loewenstein’s Marriage to
Shu Situ
In Honor of Scott Lowenstein’s Medical
School Graduation
Marv & Marlene Lauwasser
In Memory of Jeffrey Hayes
Leslie, Zach, & Eli Hayes
In Memory of Bede Segal
Marleen Pugach & Bill Rickards
In Memory of Beatrice Hoffman
Hugh & Robin Hoffman
In Honor of Jerry Salinsky’s 85th Birthday
Stephen Colburn & Marlee Sabo
Colburn
In Memory of Cheryl Lubotsky
BJ & Elyse Cohn
In Memory of Mathilda Luff
Al & Dorothy Meyers
In Honor of Barry & Leslie Usow’s Granddaughter’s Bat Mitzvah
Richard & Elyce Lernor
In Memory of Betty Miller
Shari Cayle & Family
In Honor of Rebecca Yee’s Bat Mitzvah
Marv & Marlene Lauwasser
In Memory of Elaine Perry
Stelzer Family
Jacob M. Fine & Family Library &
Technology Fund
In Memory of Rae Baily
In Memory of Sheldon Baily
In Memory of Milton Hoffman
Hugh & Robin Hoffman
In Memory of Bede Segal
Jeff Winter & Sally Brown Winter
In Honor of Harriet Weiss’s Special
Birthday
In Memory of William Luff
Al & Dorothy Meyers
Page 32
August-October 2015
Contributions
In Memory of Beverly Bender
Herb & Rosalee Bratt
In Memory of Irvin M. Becker
Margery Becker
In Honor of Kyle Friedman-grandson of Mike
and Joan Friedman
Jim & Judy Silbermann
In Memory of Murray Bein
Dorothy Bein-Arenzon
In Memory of Morty Greenspan
Eric & Jayne Butlein
Janet Greenebaum Scholarship Fund
In Memory of Katherine Loewenthal
Janet Greenebaum
Passport to Israel Fund
In Memory of Murray Glass
Mark & Ingrid Glass
Landscape Fund
In Memory of Marc Flesch
Jim & Ellen Flesch
Jim Phillips
In Memory of Morris Mendeloff, Jr.
Alan & Lola Mendeloff
In Memory of Ardell Eisenberg
In Memory of Gerald Kahn
Rosalie Kahn
In Memory of Morris Fredlich
Rob & Lauri Roth
Happy Mother’s Day to Edith Gilman
Daniel & Jeanie Gilman & Family
In Memory of Lowell Grossman
Ronald & Marissa Grossman
Robert Mandel
Marc Rasansky & Beth Kushner
Gerry Schmidman
David & Jill Sheer
In Memory of Ellis B. Hassel
Toots Hassel
In Memory of Elza Roth
Lancina Family
In Memory of Jack Kohlenberg
Simon Arenzon & Dorothy
Bein-Arenzon
In Memory of Julius Rubin
Charles & Laura Waisbren
In Memory of R. Todd Lappin
Mike & Tracy Lappin Family
In Memory of Dolores Schlossmann
Brad & Holly Schlossmann
In Honor of Marv & Marlene Lauwasser
David Goldhaber & Davida
Amenta
In Memory of James I. Schulhof
In Memory of Pearl Schulhof
The Schulhof Family
In Memory of A. Hart Wurzburg
Mary Wurzburg
Future Fund
In Memory of Beatrice Segal
Max & Cindy Rasansky
Lieberman Memorial Arts Fund
In Memory of Allen A. Goldmann
Ruth Goldmann
In Memory of Ben E. Kolbur
In Memory of Faye Kolbur
Ruth Goldmann
Joan Lieberman
Congregation Sinai Operating Fund
In Memory of Simon Arenzon
Belle Bernstein
Daniella Nilva Cunningham
Robert & Sharon Goldstein
Blanche Kahn
Sheila Cole Nilva
Stephanie Mara Nilva
Jerry & Jill Polacheck
Gus & Joanne Ricca
In Memory of Cheryl Lubotsky
Nick & Janet Padway
Youth Engagement Scholarship Fund
In Memory of Elaine Perry
Stelzer Family
In Memory of Shirley Lederman Stolzer
The Fishbach Family
Dick Kaeppel Youth Engagement Fund
In Memory of Eva Jolton
Stanley Jolton & Sons
In Memory of Dick Kaeppel
Larry & Ellen Rowen
In Memory of Elaine Perry
Stelzer Family
Congregation Sinai Endowment at the
Jewish Community Foundation
In Memory of Eunice Kartman
Marc & Cynthia Kartman
In Memory of Edward J. Kelly Sr.
David, Madeleine, Hannah &
Patrick Lubar
In Memory of Earl Zechman
In Memory of Ida Zechman
Neal & Susan Zechman
Prayer Book Fund
In Memory of Sol Gollin
Jim & Deborah Gollin
In Memory of Everlean Wiggins
Phyllis M. Wiggins
In Memory of Lisa Phillips
Jim Phillips
In Memory of Rachel Porter
Bill & Idy Goodman
In Memory of John K. Roberts
Keith & Joanne Roberts
In Honor of Gerald Salinsky’s 85th Birthday
Philip & Rosemary Hudson
In Memory of Bede Segal
Dick & Barbara Simon
Chuck & Bunny Winter
In Memory of Milton Soref
Nita Soref
In Honor of Micah Sweet’s Bar Mitzvah
Steve & Rae Sweet
Robert Grant Marks Youth Fund
Happy Mother’s Day to Joyce Kaplowitz
Jerry & Brynn Bloch
Bruce & Debbie Parelskin
Those making donations will receive
recognition for their generosity in the Sinai
News. Those honored or the family of someone remembered will receive notice in the
mail from Congregation Sinai.
Page 33
August-October 2015
Those We Remember
August Yarhzeits
August 7, 2015
Helen Goldberg Ball
Samuel Bender
Sally Bodanskya
Eva Eisenberg Dorf
Neel Wehe Laing
Jo Ann Mann
Harry Meissner
Morris Aaron Paschen
Isabelle Polacheck
Ari Porat
Slava Porat
Rachel Presley
Leonard Roth
Lucia K. Schaub
Eugene Schlossmann
Molly Scklore
Howard Silver
Samuel Tarachow
Robin Temkin
Ethel Veit
Arthur Zechman
William Kaufmann
Louis Lebow
Larry David Lieberman
Melvin Orenstein
Jacob Schapiro
Janet Shlimovitz
Hyman Stern
August 14, 2015
Ceil Baum
Ida Heifetz Berman
Lawrence Chudnow
Laurence H. Eiseman
Bertha Falk
Natan Feldman
Bill Goldberger
Gerald Goldbaum
Marie “Mickey” Green
Margaret Kaufmann
August 21, 2015
Bernard Borkovitz
Barbara H. Bortin
Rose Bradbury
Jack Brandes
Agatha Calisch
John Feldman
Jo Anne S. Fox
Sadye Gumbiner
Herbert Samuel Heavenrich
Murray Herman
James J. Katz
Jay Marshall Lieberman
Joseph J. Lubar
Roland E. Meissner
Fanny Mossman
David Orenstein
Ruth F. Orenstein
Ronald Padway
Edgar Neuman Pincus
Henry Rosenberg
Harry Rubinstein
Molly Schwartz
Isadore Sedlet
Ben Stein
Vivianne Sulds
Louis Temkin
Yetta Usow
August 28, 2015
Helen Blesser
Richard A. Cook
Sheldon Frank
Esther Gliber
Robert Glick
William C. Heller, Jr.
Carolyn Hoffman
Rose Hoffman
Sherwin J. Kader
Charlotte Schwartz
Goldene Strauss
September Yarhzeits
September 4, 2015
Ruth Gelbart
Dr. Mary Zeldes Friedman
Alvin S. Hartz
Whilemina Jacobs
Geraldine “Gerri” Kay
Gertrude Kerns
Esther Larkey
Beryl Levine
Irving Malawsky
Racine Meyerowitz
Lee Ostermann
Esther Smith
September 11, 2015
Rose Adler
Naum Akselrod
Andy Alameno
Kenneth Allschwang
Phyllis Holzman Bernstein
Andrew Cherniack
Claudia Anne Cowan
Ben Zion Hersch
Mae Horowitz
James J. Katz
Milton B. Katz
Edward Rosenberg
Molly Jeanette Rosenberg
Victor Salinsky
Benjamin Schiffer
Pauline Schwedelson
Jacob Malcom Seidman
Lilly Wallis Sidon
Jeffrey C. Siegel
Ann Simon
H. Alan Stein
Harold Stemerman
Lois Taus
September 18, 2015
Phillip Altshul
Hilda Barash
Klara Borkovitz
Leon Borkovitz
Irving A. Bram
Dr. Carl O. Diamond
Selmer Melvin Feld
Nathan Fishbach
Russell Fisher
Abe Friedman
Ethel Geisenfeld
Paul Gratch
Carl Greenfield
Edik Loxvitsky
Leah Mandel
Jim Muchin
Samuel Rothman
Maybelle Sametz
Myra Steiner
Charlotte Teweles
Aaron James Carr Thomas
Herman Veit
September 25, 2015
Wolf Armour
Sam Butlein
Jewel Calloway
William Dinkes
Henry Federlin
Margaret Federlin
Morris Hackman
Oscar Jacobs
Maureen B. Kahn
Milton Letven
Sol Lindenberg
Lottie Lubar
Mariam Medvedovsky
Anna Melcher
Joan S. Parelskin
Ethel Primakow
Eugene Prudell
Anna Reuter
Tammy Robinson
Judith Saltzstein
Eugene Schwartz
October Yarhzeits
October 2, 2015
James Buchbinder
Albert Cherniack
David Colburn
Lucille Fensin
Charles Geisenfeld
Ralph Heilbronner
Sara Kaplan
Warren W. Laing
Miles Mandel
Eli Meltzer
Sara Moskol
Ada Perlson
Charlotte Rabenn
Jonathan David Resek
Benjamin Rosenberg
Richard Saltzstein
Mildred Sanderson
Sara Shafton
Beatrice Fein Weber
Ethel Weinberg
October 9, 2015
Lillian Schwartzberg Armour
Max Fershtman
Marvin Fishman
Mary Fishman
Louis Kaufman
Sylvia Letven
Scot Alan Levin
Eleanor Mann
Joseph Pereles
Herman Pollishuke
Sofie Feld Rozoff
Ida Rugowitz
Virginia Saffro
Michael Shapiro
Charles Wiggins
Jenny Wiviott
October 16, 2015
Hannah Auerbach
Milton Auerbach
Irving Isador Cowan
Steven Doyle
Robert Fishkin
Mary Flesch
Harold Frolkis
Errol J. Glusman
Jean Golper
Sadie Schweitzer Harris
Beverly Hassel-Manburg
Thomas E. Hassel
Jody Hersch
S. David A. Hirsh
Edward Jacobson
Elise Low Kahn
Isadore Kaplan
Elizabeth Lamb
Dr. Jerome Marks
Robert Grant Marks
Morris Moskol
Fanny Padway
Geneva Rife
David Joel Schechter
Shirley St. Germain
Bernice Stein
Esther Handelman Vail
Florence Waxman
Arthur Weissman
Dora Werbel
October 23, 2015
Bessie Becker
Ishmael Bratt
Edith Bromberg
Jack Fagan
Jacob Fine
Fanny Goodman
Louis Greenebaum, Jr.
Helen Hillman
Sandra Tina Kessler
Dr. Abram Levine
Ronald Mayer
Emil Neubauer
Dorothy Polacheck
Rose Shaiken
Rabbi Ulrick Steuer
Elmer Winter
Lewis Winter
October 30, 2015
Janet Bensman
Sidney M. Eisenberg
Paul Elias
Samuel Ettinger
Joan Frazer
Lew Goldstein
Alvin Hansher
Dr. Bernard Horwitz
Abe Lipton
Nancy Mandel
Alize Quateman
Carol Siegel-Zdatny
Janet L. Stillman
Margaret Stuckert
Abraham Tepps
Robert Weber
Theodus Wiggins
Congregation Sinai
8223 N. Port Washington Road, Fox Point, WI 53217
Member of the Union for Reform Judaism
Board of Trustees, 2015-2016
Chip Mann, President
Larry Glusman, Vice President
Mike Weinshel, Treasurer
Judy Flegel, Secretary
Dan Elias, Past President
Marc Kartman, Past President
Judi Ketten, Past President
Rachel Buff, Social Action
Andrea Bernstein, Youth Education
Mitch Colton, Brotherhood
Jenni Goldbaum, Membership
Bill Goodman, Membership
Robert Hieb
Michael Hool, Finance
Terry Jacobs, Fundraising
Steve Kravit
Marvin Lauwasser, Fundraising
Julie Lookatch, Vice President
Nick Padway
Sandy Saltzstein
Michelle Silverman, Vice President
Carmel Sweet
Phyllis Wiggins, Finance/Fundraising
Deborah Wilk
The form below may be used when submitting your donation. Those remembered will be promptly informed of your
thoughtfulness. Please return form to the Sinai office. Please make checks payable to Congregation Sinai.
Note: Suggested minimum donations is $10.00.
□Adult Programming & Education Fund
□Andy Brickman Museum & Ritual Fund
□Barbara Eiseman Memorial Fund for Spiritual Growth
□Congregation Sinai Building Fund
□Cantor’s Discretionary Fund
□Chesed (Caring) Fund
□Congregation Sinai Endowment (@ the Jewish Community Foundation)
□Congregation Sinai Operating Fund
□Floral & Oneg Fund
□Jacob M. Fine & Family Library & Technology Fund
□Janet Greenebaum Scholarship Fund
□Landscape Fund
□Lieberman Memorial Arts Fund
□Ketten/Miringoff Simcha (Celebrations) Fund
□Music Fund
□Passport to Israel Fund
□Prayerbook Fund
□Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
□Robert Grant Marks Youth Fund
□Tzedakah Fund
□Dick Kaeppel Youth Engagement Scholarship Fund
□School Scholarship Fund
□Other_________________
Enclosed is a $________________ contribution
□In honor of □In memory of □Other
________________________________________________________
Send acknowledgement card to:
Name:_______________________________________
Address:_____________________________________
City:___________________ State:_____ Zip:________
From:
Name:___________________________________________
Address:_________________________________________
City:____________________ State:_____ Zip:__________
Phone:__________________________________________
□
Do not include my contribution in the Sinai News.
Congregation Sinai
wishes you
!לשנה טובה
Rosh Hashanah September 13-15
Yom Kippur September 22-23
Rabbi David B. Cohen • Rabbi Emeritus Jay R. Brickman
Cantor Lauren Phillips • Director of Youth Education Barbara Shimansky, MSW
Director of Administration Karen Lancina • Program Coordinator Jen Friedman
8223 N. Port Washington Road • Fox Point, WI 53217
414.352.2970 • www.congregationsinai.org
From Rabbi David Cohen
To Judge Others and Ourselves
If all Reb Nachman had to teach
us was every person, even the most
seemingly evil, has a nekudat Tov, a spot
of goodness, and that we have the capacity to find and nurture that spot of
goodness and to enable the person to
reach toward Teshuvah, Dayeinu! But
having focused on the ethics of judging
others, he now turns the tables.
“So now my clever friend,”
Nachman writes, “now that you know how to treat the wicked
and find some bit of good in them—now go and do it for yourself as well! You know what I have taught you: “Take great
care, be happy always! Stay far, far away from sadness and
depression.” I’ve said it to you more than once. I know what
happens when you start examining yourself. “No goodness at
all,” you find, “just full of sin.” Watch out for despair, my
friend, which wants to push you down. That is why I said,
“Now go do it for yourself as well.” You, too, must have done
some good for someone, some time. Now go look for it, just
the smallest bit: a dot of goodness.
That should be enough to give you back your life, to
bring you back your joy. By seeking out that little bit, even in
yourself, and judging yourself that way, you show yourself
that this is who you are. You can change your whole life this
way and bring yourself to teshuvah.
It’s that first little dot of goodness that’s the hardest
one to find (or the hardest to admit you find!) The next ones
will come a little easier, each one following another. And you
know what? These little dots of goodness in yourself—after a
while you will find that you can sing them! Join them one to
another, and they become your niggun, your wordless melody. You fashion that niggun by rescuing your own good spirit
from all that darkness and depression. The niggun brings you
back to life—and then you can start to pray.”
Nachman’s teaching provides an alternative to the
prevailing notion that we have to love ourselves before we
love others. While that may be true for some, for others the
reverse is true: to learn to love ourselves it is best to start
that work by trying to love others first. With enough practice,
we will be able to recognize our own best qualities, and learn
to judge ourselves with the rachmanus, compassion and patience we would want others to use when judging us.
As we judge ourselves in the weeks ahead, let us
approach Teshuvah (repentance) gently and sweetly, trying,
as Reb Nachman urges, to see ourselves as kindly and compassionately as we see others. In that compassion, we will
meet the face of God: God's endless love and limitless compassion for all of us created in the divine image, trying as
best we can to live up to who we know we can be.
For in the end, God’s attributes of Justice and Mercy
are balanced before us; the rest of the work is up to us.
In Jewish tradition, God is portrayed as giver of life,
the source of laws, values and ethics, a comforting and merciful presence, and the Judge of Truth. In particular, God as
judge is the theme at the High Holy Days, an all-seeing witness to who we are and what we’ve done.
At this season, it’s not only God’s judgment that
counts, but also the way we judge ourselves and others. The
19th century Hassidic Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav (Breslau)
taught:
“Judge one and all generously, leaning strongly
toward the good, even if you think they are as sinful as can
be. Always look for that place, however small, where there is
no sin (and everyone, after all, has such a place) And by
telling them, by showing them, that this is who they are, we
can help them change their lives. Even the person you think
is completely rotten (and he agrees!)—how is it possible that
at some time in his life he has not done some good deed,
some mitzvah? Your job is to help him look for it, to seek it
out, and then to judge him that way.
Then, indeed, as it states in the Psalms, you will
“look at his place” and find that the wicked one is no longer
there—not because he has died or disappeared, but because, with your help, he will no longer be in the place
where you first saw him. By seeking out that goodness, you
allowed him to change. You helped teshuvah take its
course.”
Reb Nachman suggests we should give others the
benefit of the doubt, seeking in them even the most minute
quantity of goodness. Interpreting a phrase from the
Psalms, Reb Nachman says the Psalm doesn’t mean that
wicked people will vanish on account of their wickedness -rather, that they will undergo a fundamental shift and will
cease to exist as they were. They will become different people, no longer enmeshed in the place they were but capable
of rising to a new level.
In contrast with our tendency to see people as inherently and irredeemably corrupt, Nachman, reminds us
that each of us has, at the very least, a small nekudah, a
brilliant point, of goodness.
Rabbi David B. Cohen
2
Cantor Lauren Phillips
We have scheduled three rehearsals prior to Simchat Torah, and we
ask that each child be able to attend at
least two of them. We wanted to give
scheduling options in order to ensure
maximum participation.
These are the gifts that we bring
that we may build a holy place.
This is the spirit that we bring
that we may build a holy place.
We will bring all the goodness
that comes from our hearts
And the spirit of God will dwell within.....
-Debbie Friedman, based on Parshat Terumah
Sunday, September 20: 12:00-1:30 pm
(right after religious school)
Thursday, September 24: 6:00-7:30 pm
Thursday, October 1: 6:00-7:30 pm
Please make sure that your child attends at least two of the
three rehearsals.
We’ll serve pizza prior to the rehearsals, so don’t
worry about your kids missing lunch or dinner!
Simchat Torah services will take place right after the
Sukkot BBQ on Sunday, October 4. The BBQ begins at 5 pm.
We ask that all of the kids and teens joining us in the band
be done eating by 5:45 pm so that we can do a sound check
and warm-up before our 6:15 pm service.
If your child would be interested in participating,
please send me an e-mail at [email protected]
with your child’s name and instrument (vocalists are welcome, of course). If you are an adult reading this who happens to have musical talents, please let me know – we’d love
for you to share these gifts with the Congregation Sinai community in the coming year.
Rabbi Cohen often explains to our B’nei Mitzvah students that the Torah doesn’t change when we read it each
year. Instead, we change. May the Torah we write in 5776 be
one where we bring our individual gifts and talents together
to find new ways to build community here at Congregation
Sinai.
These lyrics, from Debbie Friedman’s song “Holy
Place,” are based on the Torah portion Terumah. The word
“Terumah” is Hebrew for gift, or offering. The portion focuses on the individual gifts and offerings that each of the Israelites were asked to contribute towards the building of the
Mishkan, the portable sanctuary that served as God’s dwelling place as the Jews wandered in the desert. These gifts
did not have to be monetary. In fact, most of the gifts were
based on the individual talents and creativity of the Israelites.
In recent months, we have been having a lot of conversations about engagement here at Congregation Sinai,
our very own holy place. One of the strategies we have been
using for engagement is learning about the individual talents of our members and finding ways for them to use these
skills for the benefit of our community – much like the Israelites did in Parshat Terumah. This applies to both children
and adults alike.
Many of the kids and teens here at Congregation
Sinai are talented musicians. Some take private lessons,
while others are actively involved in school ensembles and
plays. This year, we are hoping to showcase the singers and
instrumentalists in our congregation during Simchat Torah.
Instead of hiring a band made up of professional musicians,
our kids and teens (fourth graders and up) will be leading
the celebration alongside Rabbi Cohen, Karen Horwitz, and
myself. We hope that this initiative will enable families to
join together as we celebrate the end of one Torah cycle and
the beginning of a new year of active participation in music
and worship at Sinai. If the band is success, there may be
other opportunities for our youth to participate in Rockin’
Shabbat or other services throughout the year.
Shana tovah u’metukah – best wishes for a sweet new year!
Cantor Lauren Phillips
3
Table of Contents
Rosh Hashanah
Page 5-6
Yom Kippur
Page 7-8
High Holy Day Youth Programming, Volunteer Opportunities
& Registration
Page 9-10
Important Holy Day Information
Page 11
Bring It On, Bubbe!
Page 12
Sukkot & Simchat Torah
Page 13
High Holy Day Guest Ticket Form
Insert
Yizkor Book Form
Insert
Selichot
Selichot: Selichot are a series of prayers we say in the month leading up to
Rosh Hashanah which are designed
to focus our intention and prepare us
for the Heshbon HaNefesh (soul accounting) that lies at the heart of the
High Holy Days, which in turn prepare
us to do Teshuvah - repentance.
Join us for Selichot
Saturday, September 5th
8:00 p.m. Dessert Reception
We will begin the evening with coffee &
dessert in the foyer
8:30 p.m. Selichot Study
10:00 p.m. Selichot Service
Simon Weisenthal’s
‘The Sunflower: On the
Possibilities and Limits
of Forgiveness’
“You are a prisoner in a concentration camp. A dying
Nazi soldier asks for your
forgiveness. What would you
do?” This is the premise of
Simon Weisenthal’s devastating book, “The Sunflower.”
We will read from the 1999
edition, which contains the
responses of dozens of notable voices in the Jewish community. From this most extreme of examples, we’ll
work our way back to ethical
challenges we face in weighing forgiveness.
4
Rosh Hashanah
1 Tishrei 5775
Erev Rosh Hashanah
Sunday, September 13, 2015
8:00 PM
Erev Rosh Hashanah Service
1st Day of Rosh Hashanah
Monday, September 14, 2015
9:30 AM
Rosh Hashanah Morning Service
See page 9-10 for High Holy Day Youth Programming.
3:00 PM
Rosh Hashanah Young Children & Family Service, Tashlich*
& Shofar Blowing Contest
*We symbolically cast away our sins by throwing breadcrumbs into a
body of water (purification). This is a way of expressing our yearning
and repentance.
2nd Day of Rosh Hashanah
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
9:30 AM
2nd Day Rosh Hashanah Service & Kiddush
Friday, September 18, 2015
6:00 PM
Shabbat Shuvah Service (see page 6 for details)
5
Rosh Hashanah
1 Tishrei 5775
Rosh Hashanah Family Special Second Day
Service, Tashlich & Shofar
Rosh Hashanah
Services!
Blowing Contest
New!
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
Monday, September 14, 2015
3:o0 PM
Kiddush will follow
The second day services for Rosh
Hashanah are more relaxed and intimate
than the day before, which often makes
the contemplative work of the High Holy
Days easier. This year we will pilot the just
published Reform Movement Machzor
(High Holy Day prayer book). Fully
transliterated (Hebrew spelled out in
English letters in addition to the Hebrew)
and filled with new readings, essays and
poetry, it will make for a refreshing
morning. Come join us as we take a closer
look at the themes of repentance and
renewal that mark this season.
Join us for the Rosh Hashanah Young Children & Family Service, stay for Tashlich
(participate in this special Rosh Hashanah
ritual) and enjoy a sweet snack!
Shabbat Shuvah-Lakeside!
Friday, September 18, 2015
at 6:00p.m.
Shofar blowing contest immediately following
Tashlich.
Join us for Shabbat Shuvah. Service will be
held lakeside at 7718 N Beach Drive, Fox
Point. Please bring a lawn chair and flashlight! Join us for this very special Shabbat.
If you wish to bring something sweet please let
us know what you will be bringing by registering
on Eventbrite at
http://tashlichbaking2015.eventbrite.com
no later than September 7th.
Questions?
Contact Linda Cayle at
[email protected]
Hosted by Deb & Moshe Katz
6
Yom Kippur
10 Tishrei 5775
Erev Yom Kippur
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
8:00 PM
Kol Nidrei Service
Yom Kippur
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
9:30 AM
Yom Kippur Morning Service
See page 9-10 for High Holy Day Youth Programming.
12:30 PM
Adult Study Session
Join us as we reflect on the messages and themes of the High Holy
Days!
2:00 PM
Yom Kippur Young Children & Family Service
3:00 PM
Yom Kippur Afternoon Service of Healing and Forgiveness
4:30 PM
Yizkor (Memorial) Service
5:30 PM
N’ilah (Concluding) Service
Please bring your children to share in a special candlelit service.
Bring your shofar and join in the final shofar blast of this holiday
season.
6:30 PM
Break-the-Fast
Sponsored by Women of Sinai
7
Yom Kippur
10 Tishrei 5775
N'ilah (Concluding) Service - Families Welcome
• Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 5:30 PM •
Join us for the final opportunity to reflect on High Holy Day themes
before the gates of repentance close.
Please bring your children to share in this special candlelit service.
Bring your own shofar for this very moving and meaningful
experience.
Break-the-fast!
The Women of Sinai
invite you to break-the-fast at the
conclusion of Yom Kippur services on
Wednesday, September 23, 2015.
Shanah Tovah
We look forward to breaking the fast with you!
Kugels & Desserts Needed!
If you are able to bake a kugel or dessert, please let us know by contacting Judy Shor at
[email protected] or registering at: https://bakingbreakthefast2015.eventbrite.com by September 15th. If you are unable to bake, monetary donations are also appreciated. Please make
checks payable to Women of Sinai. Drop off at the synagogue office or mail to Sinai.
8
High Holy Day Youth Programming
and Volunteer Opportunities for Kids & Adults
The High Holy Days at Sinai provide an opportunity for meaningful participation at all ages.
During services your children should be seated with you or in our youth programming at all times.
Rosh Hashanah—Monday, September 14, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
Yom Kippur—Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.
Youth Programming K-5
Kindergarten - Grade 5
(Children will be in classrooms according to grade level and activities will be geared toward their specific
age group)
Rosh Hashanah Youth Programming Activities will include:
Age appropriate Rosh Hashanah themed stories and craft activities
Youth service (K-5 grades are all together for service--approx. 45 minutes)
Snack
Yom Kippur Youth Programming Activities will include:
Age appropriate Yom Kippur themed ethics activities (i.e. story time with Jonah and the Whale,
discussion groups, drama and movement activities related to overcoming obstacles and making good
choices for the year ahead)
Create items to hang and decorate the Sinai Sukkah from the harvest of our Sinai garden
Youth service (K-5 grades are all together for service--approx. 45 minutes)
Light Snack
*Continue on the next page for more youth programming.
9
Pre-teen/Teen Programming
6th - 8th Grades
For both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, our 6th through 8th graders will have a chance to take a break
from the main service to have a discussion in a relaxed atmosphere, led by an adult from our Sinai community, on themes related to the High Holy Days.
9th - 12th Grades
All interested 9th through 12th graders are invited to sign up to volunteer to help out in the classrooms for
the High Holy Day Youth Programming. Please feel free to sign up to volunteer for either Rosh Hashanah
or Yom Kippur, or both.
Adult Volunteers
Adult Volunteers
We need adult volunteers to work in the classrooms for our High Holy Day Youth Programs. If you are interested, please sign up and we will be in touch to discuss responsibilities and options. Please sign up for
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, or both. Registration below.
Have questions about our High Holy Day Youth Programming or volunteering?
Contact Judy Flegel at [email protected] or Andrea Bernstein at [email protected].
Youth & Teen Programming & Adult Volunteer
Registration Information:
Register by September 7th
Rosh Hashanah
To register your K – 12th grade child and Adult Volunteering for our Rosh Hashanah
Youth Program please go to
https://sinairoshhashanahyouthprogramming2015.eventbrite.com
Yom Kippur
To register your K –
12th
grade child and Adult Volunteering for our Yom Kippur
Youth Program please go to
https://sinaiyomkippuryouthprogramming2015.eventbrite.com
Questions about registration?
Please contact Jeri Danz at 414-352-2970 or [email protected]
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Important Holy Day Information
TICKETS
Tickets: Two tickets are included with this packet for each member household. Please be sure to have your tickets
with you at all times. Their children age 30 and younger (and their significant others) will not need separate tickets
and should be seated with their families. Guest tickets are available for purchase. For your safety, Sinai ushers
will be checking tickets for every service.
Guest Tickets: Congregation Sinai Guest Ticket Policy encourages families and friends to celebrate and pray
together, as well as encourages congregational affiliation.
Please purchase your guest tickets by completing the enclosed High Holy Day Guest Ticket Request Form and
returning it to Congregation Sinai no later than Tuesday, September 1st. There is a $50 per person per holiday
guest ticket cost. Payment must be received before tickets will be mailed.
Guest tickets are available to all out-of-town family and friends without limitation in receiving tickets year after
year.
Guest tickets are available to local family and friends one-time only. If your local family and/or friends wish to
attend in subsequent years, we ask these guests to consider joining Congregation Sinai.
If your guests are members of another congregation (URJ or otherwise) there will be no guest ticket
charge. Guests must contact their synagogue for a reciprocity letter and arrange to have the form sent to Congregation Sinai as soon as possible.
Visiting another congregation? If you are traveling during the Holy Days and wish to worship at another URJmember synagogue, please contact the Sinai office so that we may help you arrange for guest tickets in the
community that you will be visiting.
PARKING
Parking: We have limited spots available in our parking lot. There is additional parking available at Maple Dale
School and on Port Washington Road.
Parking Pass: Your parking pass should be on the dashboard of your car so that you are not ticketed in the parking
lot or on the street.
SECURITY
Professional Security Officers and Volunteer Ushers: are here to ease your experience and protect us in case of
emergency. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in placing your parking passes in your car and showing your
tickets to our ushers. This is for YOUR safety.
Disabled Parking Spaces: are limited. Please arrive no less than 30 minutes prior to services to ensure parking.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Congregation Sinai is an accessible congregation for all of your needs. If you are in need of hearing assistance,
transportation, or reserved seating, please contact Karen Hintz in our office, (414) 352-2970 or
[email protected]
PRAYER BOOKS
Congregation Sinai worships on the Holy Days while using the red “Gates of Repentance” prayer book. A limited
supply are available to borrow from Sinai for each service. You are encouraged to purchase your own copy of
“Gates of Repentance” for $25 by calling Karen Hintz in the Sinai office prior to the Holy Days.
For all tickets, parking accommodations, prayer book arrangements please contact Karen Hintz
in the Sinai office or by email: [email protected]
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Bring It On, Bubbe!
(really – this will be funnier if you read it with the appropriate accent)
1. You get shvitzadik? - Sit on the ends. You get kalte? - Sit in the middle.
Not sure? - Bring a sweater.
2. Make room for Bubbe! When coming to Sinai, remember that some of us
have an easier time walking from Port Washington Road than others. If
you’re able, please reserve our little parking lot for those who need it.
3. Shush! It’s great to catch up with friends and fellow congregants. Please remember to keep your
conversations during services to a minimum. The mishpacha should also sit together. Keep your
school-aged children worshipping with you. Let’s work together to create an environment worthy
of prayer.
4. I know you think it’s standard Jewish practice to be late, but these are the Holy Days…so come
on….be on time and don’t save seats.
5. Let’s be mensches at the start of this New Year, after you finish praying and asking God for forgiveness, take a look around your chair, please pick up your pamphlets, wrappers, and your dirty
tissues. There’s a place for everything and the sanctuary floor is not one of them. Please find a
trash can.
6. The choir and Cantor Phillips are so beautiful - how lucky we are to have them. Let’s be sure to
join them in song even if you sing like me!
7. The folks who wear carnations? They are our volunteer ushers, here to make your experience
more comfortable and safe. Don’t forget to thank them!
8. Gesundheit, oy, these allergies are killing me - outside is bad enough with all that pollen in the air,
let’s keep our Sanctuary as it’s meant to be….Fragrance Free. Leave the Chanel at home.
9. Not everyone is as fortunate as we are! On Erev Rosh Hashanah there will be brown bags handed
to you as you exit. Take it home and fill it up (with non-perishable food, of course). Return it by
Yom Kippur for the Jewish Community Pantry. It’s a MITZVAH!
10. Bubbe (and Congregation Sinai) wish you and your family Shanah Tovah U’Metukah! May you
have a happy and a sweet new year! And remember, all those sweet apples have plenty of good
fiber.
P.S. Did you know the Holy Days don’t end with a little Break-the-Fast nosh???
Oh yes, there’s more……
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Sukkot/Simchat Torah
15 & 22 Tishrei 5775
Sukkot/Simchat Torah
Service Schedule
Erev Sukkot
Hosted by B’rit Nashim
(Sinai women who meet once a month for
programs of personal interest & Jewish content)
Erev Sukkot
Sunday, September 27th at 6:15 p.m.
Sukkot Morning Services
Monday, September 28th at 9:30 a.m.
Sukkot BBQ
Sunday, October 4th
5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 27th
at 6:15 p.m.
Join at 5:30 PM for wine & cheese!
Join us for a warm and spiritual service to welcome and
celebrate Sukkot! Open to all!
Simchat Torah & Celebration
Sunday, October 4th at 6:15 p.m.
Simchat Torah Morning Service
with Yizkor
Monday, October 5th at 9:30 a.m.
Oneg to follow!
Dine at the Annual Sukkot BBQ!
Erev Simchat Torah
Sunday, October 4th
Sunday, October 4th
5:00 PM - BBQ - rain or shine!
6:15 PM
Celebrate in the Sukkah with Rabbi Cohen and
Cantor Phillips. Enjoy
delicious food, socialize
and shake the lulov!
Come see the Torah
completely unrolled!
Together we rejoice in the
celebration of Torah!
We’ll sing, dance, and read Torah as we roll our
scroll back to the beginning.
Cost: Adults $10,
Children 12 and under $7,
Children 3 and under are
free
Help us welcome our new
member families!
Caramel apples for all!
RSVP by September 29th at
https://sinaisukkotbarbeque2015.eventbrite.com
Co-sponsored by Sinai Brotherhood, Israel Committee
& Mitbach Sinai
Don’t you want to “dwell in our new hut” with your family and friends? Contact Karen Hintz at (414) 352-2970
or [email protected] to reserve time between September 21st & October 1st in the sukkah!
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Warmest wishes for a sweet and happy New Year!
