INSIDE THIS ISSUE

14 Adar - 15 Iyar 5778 / March - April 2018

the Shofar Cantor’s Column 1

Purim Festivities 1

Adult Education 1

Passover 2

Second Night

Seder

2

Yom Hashoah 3

Israel

Independence

Day

3

Choir News 3

Safety at ICM 4

Kid’s Stuff 4

Update on Gretta 4

Condolences 4

A Weekend of

Comedy

5

Birthdays &

Anniversaries

5

Save the Dates 5

Advertisements 6

Purim Festivities

Our Purim festivities begin Thursday,

March 1 at 5:30 pm. Come in costume to

enhance the mood of the night! We will

read “The Whole Megillah (Not)” during

which everyone will be able to make noise

to drown out the name of H***n. Cantor

Buckner will lead us in song and Ida Mae

Specker will play her fiddle to get us

moving. We’ll eat pizza and enjoy

hamantaschen.

Adult Education

Cantor Buckner’s new adult study

group begins Tuesday, March 13 at 10:30

am.

Our adult study group will begin by

reading and analyzing the Book of Job. The

Book of Job confronts the most perplexing

questions of divine reward and

punishment. The God of Torah is a God of

justice, or so the story goes. Job questions

that assumption and addresses the moral

issue of why bad things happen to good

people. Come and join in the discussion

and wrestle with what many consider one

of the greatest books of the Bible. To quote

Victor Hugo - "Tomorrow, if all literature

was to be destroyed and it was left to me to

retain one work only, I should save Job."

Study Group Schedule for March &April

All classes are Tuesdays @ 10:30 am

March 13, 20 & 27

April 10, 17 & 24

Our Friday evening prayers begin with Kabbalah Shabbat (the welcoming of Shabbat),

a series of psalms leading up to Lech Dodi (Come my beloved ). The psalms are in poetic

form, lending themselves perfectly to musical settings. Music is an essential part of our

worship and I have been uplifted and moved by the level of engagement and participation

we have during our very musical services. This has been so inspiring to me, while also

seeming to be the natural state of things at Israel Congregation. I have noticed from my

first days here the great desire in our congregation to be engaged intellectually, spiritually

and artistically. It’s no wonder that the music of our services is so important to all who

come to worship in our sanctuary.

continued on page 2

“Shiru Ladonai Shir Chadash” - Sing Unto God a New Song -

Psalm 96 By Cantor Buckner

To continue the Purim vibe, on Friday, March 2 during services we’ll

have a light-hearted debate in an attempt to settle one of the most

pressing culinary questions in Judaism: which is superior, latkes or

hamantaschen?

Of course, we’ll have a joyful communal meal after services. We hope

that everyone will bring something special to share during this dinner.

Our days of excitement will be capped off with more hamantaschen.

Reserve Your Place at Our Community Seder

Passover is a fantastic time to be together with

friends and family and to share the wonders of this

festival with the entire community. Please join us on

Saturday, March 31 at 7:00 pm when Cantor Scott

Buckner leads our Second Night Seder. ICM will

provide all of the food including ritual dishes and in

order to do so, we will be charging $18 per person.

Our invitation is open to everyone, members and

nonmembers, but reservations are a must. Please call

the office and make your reservation no later than

Friday, March 23.

If you would like to help with the seder, please

contact the office.

Page 2 14 Adar - 15 Iyar 5778 / March - April 2018

Passover Starts March 30

Passover, the celebration of our redemption from

Egypt, begins the evening of Friday, March 30. Most

people will be attending seder after an early service

beginning at 5:30.

We want to make sure that everyone has a place to

go for seder. If you have space at your seder table for

extra guests or if you need a place for seder please

let us know in the ICM office.

See the accompanying article about our Second

Night Seder on March 31.

Yizkor service will take place on Friday, April 6 at

5:30 pm. Shabbat services will follow at 6:30 pm.

There will be no pre-neg or Communal Shabbat

Dinner.

The office will be closed on Friday, April 6 in

observance of the seventh day of Passover.

“Shiru Ladonai Shir Chadash”

continued from page 1

In response to this desire for spirited, engaging

music, I have been bringing new melodies and old

favorites, with and without words, with guitar or

piano or a cappella to enhance our services. The next

exciting musical enhancement is coming beginning in

March. Kolot B’shir - Voices in Song is our new ICM

choir, which will be singing once a month during

Friday evening services - generally the third Friday of

each month. I will be collaborating with Jeff Linebeck,

the music director of The First Baptist Church, who is

very familiar with Jewish liturgy because of his many

years of singing for High Holy Days in a Reform

synagogue in NY. Jeff will be accompanying me and

our choir on the piano for rehearsals and during our

once-a-month choir enhanced musical services. I am

very excited about working with Jeff and our new

Kolot B’shir choir. If you would like to sing with us please

email me or the office and let us know. You will find

our schedule of rehearsals and services elsewhere in

the Shofar. No experience necessary – just an ability

to carry a tune and a desire to join in and help us

make ICM a sanctuary of musical participation!

Let us all raise our voices and “Sing a New Sing

Unto God.”

Page 3 14 Adar - 15 Iyar 5778 / March - April 2018

Now for the Big Choir News... from Cantor Buckner...

As I stated in my prior article, the plan is for our newly

forming ICM choir - Kolot B’shir (Voices in Song) to sing at

Friday evening services once a month - on the third Friday

of the month. We will rehearse two Tuesday evenings

leading up to each service. Below is our schedule for the

next two months. I would love to have as many participants

as we can. Please consider joining us and put these dates on

your calendar. Feel free to reach out by email or phone with

any questions or suggestions. The rehearsals will be about

learning music and gaining a deeper understanding of

prayer and liturgy. It will be beneficial if you can make all

of the rehearsals, but I plan to structure things so that even

if you must miss some rehearsals, you will still be able to

participate. I will be sending out music and recordings of

our pieces, whenever possible, in advance. I encourage you

to come and try it out.

You do not have to be a member of ICM to sing in our

choir, and you don’t even have to be Jewish. Feel free to

invite any singers you know who might be interested to join

us. I look forward to working together to bring wonderful

music to ICM!

We will be commemorating Yom Hashoah

on Friday evening April 13 at our services. We

will be looking at how Shabbat and other

Jewish observances were kept alive during the

Holocaust.

Celebrating Israel’s 70th Birthday

During services on Friday evening, April

20, Dr. Yossie Riemer will speak. His topic

will be “Reflections on Israel at 70.” Dr.

Riemer grew up with the State of Israel. A

soldier in the Six Day War, he fought on the

Golan Heights. Dr. Riemer studied at the

Technion in Israel and MIT in Boston and had

a career in the food industry in Israel and the

United States. He currently resides in East

Rupert, VT.

Carmel Furtado will be decorating for the

occasion as well as organizing food. Please

reach out to Carmel if you can help. Her

number is 802.867.7127. We’d appreciate that

anyone staying for our Communal Dinner

please bring an Israeli-themed dish to share.

Kolot B’shir (Voices in Song) ICM Choir Schedule for March and April

(all rehearsals & services at ICM):

March

Rehearsals Tuesdays March 6 and March 13, 5:30 - 6:30 pm

Friday service March 16, 5:45 pm warm-up, 6:30 pm service

April

Rehearsals Tuesdays April 10 and April 17, 5:30 - 6:30 pm

Friday service April 20, 5:45 pm warm-up, 6:30 pm service

Page 4 14 Adar - 15 Iyar 5778 / March - April 2018

Condolences

Bidi (Jeremy) Dworkin on the loss of her

mother, Sylvia Denhoff.

Safety at ICM

The new Safety Committee was charged in

December with developing a safety plan for

ICM. Committee members (Lee Fox, Ron

Lissak and Becky Fishkin), along with other

board members, David Skulnik, Cantor

Buckner, Lisa and Gert, met with Corporal

Chris Mason of the Manchester Police to kick

things off with a presentation on reacting to

an active shooter situation. Following that,

the committee began drafting an Emergency

Response Plan.

The plan considers high impact but

improbable events like an active shooter,

more-likely emergencies such as a fire or an

illness/injury of one of us while we are at ICM

and non-life-threatening hazards like data

breaches. We considered snow storms, loss of

power, and flu outbreak: sixteen hazards in

all.

We have begun to develop reaction plans

to each of the hazards. For instance, for fire,

evacuate when the alarm sounds; a board

member or employee or activity leader will

take command. For a flu outbreak or loss of

utilities, we will develop a means of notifying

all congregants that ICM may be closed or

partially closed to avoid spread of disease. A

few years ago, the standard for reacting to an

active shooter was shelter in place. After

Columbine, though, emergency planning

officials now believe it is better to act when

attacked – the mantra being “Run, Hide,

Fight.” Again, your board and employees will

be trained in how to direct reaction.

We are beginning to develop and

implement plans to mitigate future potential

hazards. Examples include writing a food

allergy policy, installing CO detectors, and

placing waterless hand cleaner stations in the

hall.

This new plan will be posted on the ICM

Webpage on the Members’ Page. If you would

like to talk about the plan or make

suggestions, please contact either Lee at

802.867.0199 or Ron at 802.297.9292.

Kid’s Stuff By Morgan Taylor

We’ve had a great few months with families. Once-a-

month Shabbat mornings are a wonderful time for children

to get a taste of a Saturday morning service with an interlude

in the classroom for an educational activity. This year’s Tu

B’Shvat seder with Rabbi Michael Cohen was enjoyable for

the children and enlightening as always – the kids sang

songs and shelled many peanuts.

We are looking forward to our next celebration at Purim

in March!

An Update on Gretta Bendik, Our Administrator’s Daughter

Gretta’s on a bit of a hiatus from her immunotherapy/

vaccine treatment with the goal of decreasing inflammation

from it and her cancer. In March, she’ll be on her way to the

Red Sox training camp in FL with other kids from the Dana

Farber Jimmy Clinic in Boston, MA. She promises to be nice

and not wear any Yankees-related regalia.

Lisa, our administrator, wishes to thank all of you for

your incredible generosity during this time. She wants to

make sure you too get the best care and asks that before

you come to ICM to drop something off, call to make sure

there’s someone here to let you into the building. She’s

trying her best to be here, but Gretta’s not always as

cooperative.

Thanks for understanding!

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March & April Birthdays & Anniversaries

March Birthdays

Ellen Alpart · Jerry Alpart ·

Loni Bader Argovitz · Jennifer Atlas ·

Mindy Bloom · Rabbi Michael Cohen ·

Sara Eisemann · Gary Fishkin · Ed Glazer ·

Phyllis Gottdiener · Sydney Katz ·

Julie Kotler · Joseph Linfield · Lucas Mason ·

Barbara Pepper · Carri Rubinstein ·

David Skulnik · Lenore Szuchman ·

Morgan Taylor · Tim Taylor · Michael Weiss

March Anniversaries

Valerie & David Heisler ·

Alison Hill & Rabbi Michael Cohen ·

Carol & Paul Miller · Debby & Rick Polivy

April Birthdays

Anita Bunis · Carole Cohen · Roi Hill-Cohen

· Joshua Lee Coppola · Gert D’Eredita ·

Pablo Elliott · Philip Goldsmith · Alison Hill

· Chuck Hordiner · Janet Kleinberg ·

Boris Kotler · Leah Linfield ·

Marjorie Magner · Gary Mayerson ·

Lilli Mayerson · Paul Miller · Beverly Morse

· Ann Schaffer · Anthony Stein ·

Dinah Stevens · Yura Stoley · Rachel Stoll ·

Elizabeth Torak

April Anniversaries

Linda & Chuck Hordiner ·

Elisabeth & Jonathan Prial

Save the Dates

*May is our month to staff the Community Food Cupboard on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

*Begin spring cleaning in May so that you will have stuff to drop off for our Tag Sale. Jewelry should be

left with Lisa in the office and you may do so now (remember to call ahead to ensure she’s available). Please

don’t leave your drop off to the last minute; last year we had to stop accepting donations because we had

too many! Volunteers: please reach out now to Sheila Mills at mills@sover.net to let her know you can

assist.

*June 3 - Our Annual Meeting Day. ^

*June 4 through 6 - Set up for the Tag Sale.

*June 10 - Tag Sale.

^Due to various holidays in May, our Annual Meeting has been moved to June.

A Weekend of Comedy (and Do We Ever Need One!)

Stand-up comics Rabbi Bob Alper, local Vermont

resident and Reverend Susan Sparks, Senior Pastor of

NY’s Madison Avenue Baptist Church, will provide

some thought-provoking laughs over a weekend.

Rabbi Bob speaks during ICM’s services on Friday,

April 6 at 6:30 pm about “The Spirituality of

Laughter.” On Saturday night at 7:30# pm, Rabbi Bob

and Reverend Susan perform stand-up comedy at

ICM. And on Sunday morning at 10:00 am Reverend

Susan will preach at the United Church of Dorset and

East Rupert.

These sessions are co-sponsored by ICM and the

United Church of Dorset and East Rupert.

#Changed from 7:00 pm as previously communicated.

Page 5 14 Adar - 15 Iyar 5778 / March - April 2018

Though he can’t join them in April, comedian Lewis Black urges you to come laugh with Susan and Bob.

Israel Congregation is a thriving 160 household

synagogue that draws from diverse Jewish

backgrounds, of both full-and part-time residents

of Southern Vermont. We are a welcoming Jewish

space for all. Our doors are always open on Friday

night where worship is followed by our Communal

Shabbat Dinner, on Shabbat morning, for Jewish

festivals and holy days, adult and children’s

education, and an array of social events. Join us.

ICM is located at 6025 Main Street (Route 7A)

between the medical offices and Town Hall. Our

building is ADA accessible.

Office: 802.362.4578 Website: www.icmvt.org Email: office@icmvt.org 6025 Main Street / P.O. Box 1050 Manchester Center, Vermont 05255

Page 6

Shabbat at ICM

Preneg (pre-service refreshments) @ 5:45 pm

Friday Evening Services @ 6:30 pm

Communal pot luck dinner follows our 6:30 pm

services. (Please bring a parve or dairy side dish or

dessert.)

Saturday Morning Torah Study @ 9 am: Torah

study through a Mussar lens. Mussar is an

engaging practice of turning everyday life

situations into opportunities for spiritual growth.

Shabbat Together! Kids and adults engage in

prayer, learning and music @ 10 am the second

Saturday of each month.

Our weekly calendar updates, FB page and website will

keep you apprised of any scheduling changes.

Clergy and Spiritual Leader: Cantor Scott Buckner

Board of Directors

Rebecca Fishkin, President

Elisabeth Prial, First Vice President

Sheila Mills, Second Vice President

Phil Perlah, Treasurer

Carol Goldsmith, Record ing Secretary

Cathy Rano, Past President

Lee Fox, Ed Glazer, Lana Hauben, Ron Lissak,

Marvin Rappaport, Morgan Taylor

Shofar Editorial Committee: Ann Cole, Carol

Goldsmith, Lana Hauben, Marlene Skulnik, Laurie

Sullivan, Morgan Taylor

Synagogue Administrator: Lisa Bendik

Rabbi Emeritus: Rabbi Michael Cohen

14 Adar - 15 Iyar 5778 / March - April 2018

ICM’s burial section in Bennington Park Lawn Cemetery was chosen not only for its spectacular views, but also because of its fine reputation and reasonable prices, including perpetual care. Moreover, the management has a proven sensitivity in honoring our service with the dignity, sanctity and modesty required of a Jewish funeral. Double and single plots are available. Contact ICM’s office for more information.

The Grave Subject Your Estate Planner Doesn’t Discuss

Remove the burden from your heirs and choose your final

resting place.