betwixt and between - wordpress.com · 5/5/2014 · of the crusades in the middle ages. therefore,...

May 2014 Iyar/Sivan 5774 Volume 18, Issue 4

From Our Spiritual Leader

Cantor Henry Shapiro

Betwixt and Between As we say goodbye to the month of Nissan, I’m reminded of our just-finished Passover. I hope everyone had a good and meaningful holiday and seder(s). PJC also just had our joint Yom HaShoah memorial with Temple David. It was a very nice program with students from the school and a speaker, Moshe Baran. By the time the Scribe comes to press, we may be about to or have already celebrated Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) and Yom HaAzmaut (Israeli Independence Day). From here on, the next thing on the Jewish calendar is Shavuot. Or is it? There’s this little practice called counting the Omer, Sefirat HaOmer, between the period of Pesach and Shavuot. Omer - just what is it and what do we do with it? Omer means ‘sheaf’ and refers to a sheaf of barley. As it turns out, Passover is the time of the barley harvest and Shavuot the time of the wheat harvest. As the festivals have tie-ins to agriculture in Israel, this makes perfect sense. Shavuot, translates as ‘weeks’, and it is 49 days (a week of weeks) after the start of Passover. This comes from the biblical verses Lev 23:8-10 commanding us to count both the weeks and the days between the festivals. That’s why the week and day are mentioned in the blessing.

Coming Events

Friday Night Shabbat Services - 6:00 PM Saturday Morning Shabbat Services - 9:30 AM May 16th Shabbat Dinner/Birthday Kiddush $10 Dinner 6 PM, services at 7PM followed by Birthday dessert reception May 20th Israeli Dancing - with instructor Lynn Berman 7-8PM with live music May 30th Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat 6:00 PM June 29th 5 PM - Summer Jazz Concert See calendars for Candle Lighting times

Parkway Jewish Center

May 2014 Iyar/Sivan 5774

Because of this interplay of time periods, and because of the connections to early Rabbinic Judaism, there is a Kabbalistic custom to assign a quality and intention to each week and each day of the Omer. Not only is the Omer a connection between the two holidays, it can represent a progression. if we think in terms of the Biblical chronology, we are going from our freedom as a people on Passover to the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai on Shavuot. Since we increase our spiritual stature as we ‘count up’ during this period, this should be a joyous season. It is tempered however by a number of historical incidents, a plague by the students of Rabbi Akiva and some tragedies during the time of the Crusades in the Middle Ages. Therefore, the time up till Lag b’Omer is considered a semi-mourning period with some customary restrictions. When I used the word ‘progression’ above, I can’t help but think in terms of my first profession - musician and composer. Therefore, I’m also hearing it as ‘music progression’ and ‘chord progression’. Some upcoming musical programs I’m working on for PJC are a Klezmer Kabbalat Shabbat and concerts starting next month. Keep posted for details on some truly world-class music and musicians coming soon. Chodesh tov, Cantor Henry Shapiro

Chubby Zumba Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Eastmont has ‘Chubby Zumba’ on Wednesdays, 6PM. Cost is $8/class. Eastmont Farm Share Update We launched our Emmanuel Lutheran/PJC joint venture a few weeks ago. Emmanuel Lutheran Church is now the designated pickup site for the Penns Corner Farm Cooperative for the whole Monroeville/Wilkins/Penn Hills area. The spring farm share has begun and we’ve already garnered some publicity in the Penn Hills Progress and the Pittsburgh Tribune. To find out more and to sign up for the Summer Share, go to: ttp://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourpennhills/yourpennhillsmore/5995882-74/penn-corner-shapiro#axzz313O329T2 http://parkwayjewishcenter.org/farmshare/ or eastmontfarmshare.org



From the President’s Desk………………………….Robert E. Korfin Late last month we observed Yom HaShoa (Holocaust Memorial) at a joint program held at Temple David. It was a beautiful cloudless day, with temps in the 60’s. Believe me, there were plenty of things I would have enjoyed doing rather than attending the memorial program. But then I thought about it; you see and read the same news as me; the increases in anti-Semitism in Europe, Scandinavia, the Ukraine and even in our own Kansas. We hear over and over, “Never Again, Never Again” but then we look around the world and see its still happening. Not many politicians or “captains of industry” are speaking out. I felt I had to make the effort to attend the Memorial this year as in the past several years. Quite honestly, there weren’t many members of PJC attending on that day. In fact, there were only 6 of us. And there weren’t that many members of Temple David present either. Most of the attendees were folks that I didn’t recognize; they were the parents and grandparents of some of the eighth grade class that was playing a major part in the program. So I listened to the passionate talk of a Holocaust survivor telling his tale of horror. Having this man tell us of the conditions for which he lived in order to survive was extremely sad. And then I looked around at the attendance and was even sadder. Let me be honest….when I was younger, I knew very little about the Holocaust. In fact, I wasn’t even familiar with that word. As I got older and learned more and more I wished my grandparents were alive today so that I could ask them about their memories of those years. So many people have thrown up their arms and said, “Why didn’t anyone speak up? Where were the political leaders? Why didn’t anyone speak up and stop the insanity?” And then I thought about the 6 members of our Parkway Family who took the time on that beautiful Sunday morning. So now I can ask, “Where were the people? Isn’t this important to them as Jews? Isn’t this important to them as human beings?” There are changes taking place right before our eyes and not many are speaking about it. The French city of Marseille has an estimated 30 to 40 percent Muslim population and has been ranked as the most dangerous city in Europe. Just as Jews from northern states make their pilgrimage to Florida each week, hundreds are leaving Sweden, Norway and Denmark for Israel. They simply don’t feel safe in their homelands anymore. Some people worry about the deficit and the financial legacy we are leaving for future generations. I worry about the Jews of the world and Kansas, USA. “When they came for me, there was no one left to speak.” We’ll talk again….



Kiddush & Oneg Shabbat Sponsors

PJC Sisterhood Cantor Shapiro Gail Levine Susan Tell Bernie Bernstein Edy Dickman Bob Caplan

Kiddush Oneg Sponsorships Sisterhood invites you to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other Simchas by sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat or Saturday Morning Kiddush. You can also sponsor in memory of a loved one’s Yahrzeit. For more information, call Diane Bloomfield at 412-373-9240 or Leslie Rubin at 412-371-8437

Donation Contacts: Donations to the Marilyn Markowitz/Phyllis Stein Memorial Library Fund can be made by calling the shul office.

Mazel tov to: Jordan Jacob, son of Michael Jacob, on passing the bar exam and his graduation from law school L.J. Tell, Son of Susan and Michael Tell, Grandson of Marvin Tell, on his graduation from law school Lois and Alan Forman, on the birth of their grandson, Scott Zachary Forman Gabe Bloomfield, son of Diane and Harold Bloomfield, on his graduation from Pitt Johnstown. Annette and Chick Felser, on the Bar Mitzvah of their Grandson, Daniel Felser

MAY ANNIVERSARIES

19 Annette and Harold Felser 24 Laurie and Arnie Levine

26 Helene and Howard Goldstein

APRIL BIRTHDAYS

MAY BIRTHDAYS 1 Norman Mayer

2 Gabriel Bloomfield Theodore Bikel 3 Golda Meir 4 Ava Cain

6 Sigmund Freud 8 Marissa Cooper

Don Rickles 11 Michael Jacob

Phil Silvers 12 Burt Bacharach 13 Shirley Kaufman

16 Debra Winger 20 Lois Goldberg

Moshe Dayan 21 Ruth Daniels Lisa Edelstein

Al Franken 22 Holly Brown

Richard Benjamin Susan Strasberg

24 Shirley Melnick Bob Dylan

25 Marjorie Moidel Arnold Levine Ron Goldberg

27 Henry Kissinger 29 Joanna Drummond

30 Mel Blanc Benny Goodman

31 Marian Hershman



May Yahrzeits Week of April 25, 2014 - 25 Nisan William Schiff, Rae Eisner, Harry Feinberg, Israel Rudoy, Max Kalser, Allison Krause, Jacob Langbaum, Murray Davis, Esther Davis, Fannie Lillian Mervis, James Sloan, Harriet Silberman, Anne Bluestone, Israel Rosenzweig, Sara L. Dickman, Joseph Farkas, Joseph Feder, Albert Malhmood, Miriyam Kass, Minnie Gabriel Peritz, Gunther Peritz, Lena Silber Schreiber, Reb Josef Schreiber, Adolf Rosenwasser, Bertha Schreiber Rosenwasser, Louis Rosenwasser, Isaak Rosenwasser, Judith Rosenwasser, Simon Perelstine Week of May 2, 2014 - Iyar 2 Rose Gross, Beau Seidenstein, Saul Mandel, Laura Rozensky, Bertha Silverblatt Victor Katz, Nathan Miller, Abraham R. Schwartz, Susan Regina Klein, Joseph Loundy, Martha Peritz, Samuel Price Week of May 9, 2014 - Iyar 9 Julian Zilber, Fred Michael Katz, Faye E. Freehof, Reva Neustadt, Rose Zuckerman, Lewis W. Gumerman, Harry Caplan, Diane Korfin, Emanuel Stein, George Weintraub, Anna Temeles, Mary Marks, Joseph Rozensky Week of May 16, 2014 - Iyar 16 Fannie Ann Samuels, Izze Kaufman, Ruth Weinberg, Esther Zlatkin, Estelle Cutler Anne Leonard, Matthew Levenson, Samuel Feinberg, Joseph Feldman, Sophie Richman, Melvin Fischman, Nathan Weisman, Max Wolfson, Miriam Hurwitz, Isadore Losman, Sherman Shapiro Week of May 23, 2014 - Iyar 23 Mary Kaufman, William Bluestone, Irwin Tatar, Sidney H. Brown, Samuel Goodman, Stephen Saltzman, Rebecca Goldstein, Irving Kordish, Marilyn Markovitz, Irving Levenson, Benjamin Solomon, Zelic Robbins, Sally Garfinkel Rosenberg, Harry Rosenfeld, Elizabeth “Libby” Quint Week of May 30, 2014 - Sivan 1 Max Stern, Miriam Stern, Nathan Berlin, Robert Milton Greenbaum, Abe Halperin, Jacob Zukerman, Henry Melnick, Joseph Marcus, Goldine Hirsch, Anna Shefsky, Laura Gross Jacob, Marion Cohen, Robert Moldovan, Charlotte Perelstine, Coleman Holtzman, Bertha Braun Perlman, Roy Temeles

Refuah Schleimah A Speedy Recovery to: Shirley Kaufman, Myrna Korfin



LIBRARY NEWS Wonder what other Jewish people in the USA are reading…..well below is a list of Jewish Best Sellers courtesy of

www.MyJewishBooks.com. TOP TEN JEWISH BEST SELLERS

Fiction

The Museum of Extraordinary Things: A Novel by Alice Hoffman The Interestings: A Novel by Meg Wolitzer

The Art Forger: A Novel by B.A. Shapiro

The Storyteller: A Novel by Jodi Picoult*

Defending Jacob by William Landay*

Non-Fiction

My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit

The Israel Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East

Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Y. Ottolenghi and S. Tamimi

Little Failure: A Memoir by Gary Shteyngart

Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Scott Anderson

*--If this appears by a book it is available in the PJC library.

See you in the library,

Betty Ann



Temporary Beard - by Rabbi Eli Seidman by permission

I know to you it may seem weird

But now I wear a temporary beard

that I will have for 33 days

and remember olden days. When Roman legions ruled the land

Jewish soldiers took a stand

Bar Kochva was leader of the fight and Rabbi Akiva gave his insight. But things did not go quite so well Our brave forces the Romans did dispel and handed us a tough defeat Israel was in total retreat. So we mourn what might have been

and painful exile did begin

I wear some whiskers now to show

sadness over long ago

and prayers for exile to be done

and peace to spread to every nation. Shabbat Dinner/Birthday Kiddush - May 16th, $10/adult Dinner 6 PM, services at 7 PM followed by Birthday dessert reception We are having a dinner and then Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday, May 16th. Weather permitting, we’ll have the dinner and services outside. Following services we’ll have a dessert kiddush in honor of our May birthdays. Call/email for dinner reservations and/or to help sponsor the kiddush.

Buy One, Bring One - Dinner Invitation Special, May 16th Since we’ve had a number of events in the last months, some new people and old friends have come to PJC. Many have said they intend to come for Friday night services some time. Let’s not wait, let’s give them a good reason to come. For every member who buys a dinner, they get a free ticket for a friend! You can act the big spender and invite people who you think will enjoy our PJC family. How can they refuse when they get a personal invitation from you? Please let the office know you’ll be bringing someone when you make your reservation.



Israeli Dancing at PJC

May 20th - at Parkway Jewish Center

7-8 PM w/live music $5.00 per person

with dance instruction by Lynn Berman



Men's Club Spaghetti Dinner - May 4, 2014

4



On the horizon - Summer Jazz Concert - June 29th, 5:00 PM Swing Concert w/ Henry Shapiro and Swing Fever

“He does the right kind of stuff in the right kind of way with the right kind of style.” Mike Plaskett – Rhythm Sweet and Hot, 90.5 WESA FM

“If swing is your thing, this is the band to present.” Maura Minteer – Superintendent, Allegheny Co. Bureau of Cultural Programs

Maybe you heard of the days when a slimmer, darker-haired, but just as flippant band leader Henry Shapiro started the swing dance revival in Pittsburgh. Join him and the guys for a relaxed back-yard dinner and concert of swing classics/big-band tunes as we kick off the summer in high style.

******************************************************

תשב קבלת כלזמרKlezmer Kabbalat Shabbat - Friday, May 30th Pittsburgh had the Three Rivers Klezmer Festival last month. It was a very successful program indeed. I’ve been thinking for a while about arranging a service with Klezmer music so I’m striking while the iron is hot so to speak. The service will be a mix of the familiar and old. Meaning some melodies you will know, but some traditional Klezmer and other tunes you may not. Kol tuv as they say - it’s all good. Joining me will be some extraordinary musicians - clarinetist Susanne Ortner Roberts and accordionist Vladimir Mollov. Of course I will play my guitar and maybe a little mandolin. Look to see my large old friend, Mr. Bass, make a return appearance too. It will harken at times to the sound of an authentic Old World, European-style Klezmer ensemble. It doesn’t get more heymish than that.

****************************************************** Tikkun Leil Shavuot 5774 - June 3rd, JCC Not only is there a tradition of eating dairy (cheesecake - yeah!) there’s also a tradition of studying thru the night. On the evening of June 3rd, from 10 PM to 1AM, there will be a community-wide study session at the JCC in Squirrel Hill with classes by a number of rabbis and cantors. Cantor Henry Shapiro will be giving a lecture on ‘Mi Sinai’ tunes. Traditional melodies used in services and Jewish ritual that are considered as coming ‘from Mt. Sinai’.



Your Answers Matter

A Survey of Jewish Pittsburgh Sender: The Pittsburgh Jewish Community Scorecard

If you consider yourself – or if anyone in your household considers himself/herself – Jewish and lives in the Greater Pittsburgh area, the Community Scorecard invites you to fill out a 5‐6 minute survey. Your anonymous answers will provide information that will help improve communal decision making and allow us to assess how needs in the community are being met. Copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/jewishscorecard.

Please respond no later than May 25, 2014.

After you have finished completing the survey, please forward this URL your friends and family who live in Jewish households, especially those who may otherwise be unaware of this study.

Your answers will be treated confidentially. That means that we will never share your identity or individual answers with anybody. We’ll be sharing the compiled results of the survey with you as soon as they are ready for distribution. Should you have any comments, you can visit www.jewishscorecard.com or contact [email protected].



Parkway Jewish Center 300 Princeton Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15235

DATED MATERIAL PLEASE DO NOT DELAY

Or Current Resident

Congregation Sha’ar HaShamayim 412-823-4338 www.parkwayjewishcenter.org

Cantor Henry Shapiro, Spiritual Leader ([email protected] or [email protected])

Officers President Bob Korfin

Board Members Marvin Heyman Mike Jacob Ira Mazer Harold Bloomfield Donna Wolfson Committee Chair Persons

House Chair Alan Levine Ritual Chair Hal Lederman Cemetery Chair Arnie Levine & Syma Levine

Office Administrator Gail Levine

Sisterhood Officers President Laurie Barnett Levine Vice Presidents

Membership Susan Mazer Program Vera Greenberg Fundraising Vacant Catering Leslie Rubin & Diane Bloomfield

Corresponding Secretary Vacant Financial Secretary Amy Mayer Treasurer Lynda Heyman Auditor Lynda Heyman

Scribe Staff Editor Harold Bloomfield

PUBLISHED MONTHLY VOLUME 18, ISSUE 4

MAY 2014 [email protected]

NON-PROFIT ORG U.S.POSTAGE PAID PITTSBURGH, PA PERMIT NO. 3000

betwixt and between - wordpress.com · 5/5/2014 · of the crusades in the middle ages. therefore,...

Documents