Temple Beth Emet of Burbank

From Our President . . .

For many years my family has been spending the first night of Passover with some friends. One of the staples of their seder is a game played after dinner. One person starts by saying “I’m leaving Egypt and I’m taking …” completing the sentence with some item that starts with the letter A. The person next to them repeats the sentence, adding a second item starting with the letter B. Each person adds another item going down the alphabet, having first recited the growing list of items. It can get pretty silly, but it is a lot of fun. You have to listen carefully! One trick to being able to recite the list is to take a good look at each person at the table as you go down the list. It helps remind you what that person added, and sometime they offer a hint with a gesture.

Several months ago Temple Beth Emet started a Strategic Planning committee chaired by our Executive Vice-President Steve Abrams. The committee is charged with evaluating the temple’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, setting goals and creating strategies for meeting those goals. One of the first goals we set was to increase the membership of the temple by 10% over the next year. Meeting this goal will take the involvement of all of us. If each of us becomes more aware of who might join our temple family, we would not only meet, but would exceed our goal. But how do you approach a friend, family member or acquaintance about visiting Temple Beth Emet? I suggest using the trick from the Passover game.

When you take a good look at someone, sometimes you can see what qualities they are bringing with them and what burdens they might be carrying that we can lighten. You might approach someone you know by asking them what they are doing for Passover. Nothing? Maybe they would like to come to our Community Seder. Perhaps you can share your experience at one of our family Shabbat services or something you learned at an Adult Education class. Maybe all it takes is to listen a little more carefully to what someone else is saying about a need in their life to prompt an invitation from you to visit us. Who knows what qualities the new person or family you invite might bring to Temple Beth Emet! Perhaps altruism, blessings, comrade, dedication, enlightenment, fun, gratitude, helpfulness, interest, jocularity, knowledge, love, music, nurturing, openness, playfulness, quality, resolve, stoicism, talent, usefulness, vision, wisdom, xenodochialism (x words are always hard), youth, or zeal!

Happy Pesach to each of you!

Ira L. Goldstein, President
March 2010

From Our Rabbi

"(I) will strike all the first born in the land of Egypt and this day shall be to you a memorial." -- Exodus 12:12-14

Last month I received a very sad email about the sudden death of a colleague’s son who was away at school. It bothered me so much that I couldn’t attend the funeral. Maybe it was because Joshua was home that weekend, and, in fact, would be on the freeway at the time of the funeral and I didn’t want to be thinking about him and the grief of my colleague and his wife at the same time. So I decided to write this column about Passover and about loss and about new life as a way to channel my grief and sympathy for my colleague. My dear friends, you all help me overcome my fears, sadnesses and pain in so many ways. One of which is this column. With your permission:

I have seen firsthand what the loss of a child can do to parents. My grandparents lost my mother when she was 51, they were already in their 70s but it still affected them for the rest of their lives, they were never again the robust people they had been. Even with me, their regret was for my mother never having seen Mina, Shariyar, or Joshua. There was always this loss haunting them. Every situation, every incident, every hurt feeling came to the surface. Had they acted correctly? Had we acted correctly? Had anyone acted correctly? Soon after that further tragedy struck my family again with the loss of my cousin, also to cancer, in her 20’s. My uncle and aunt, and my cousin have never fully recovered from their loss. The sickness, the loss, the inability to save one’s child can never be forgotten by any observer of one who knows the loss of a child.

So, I can say I have been witness to this devastating loss personally. Now, I understand why we have the Fast of the First Born the morning of Passover. The Egyptians were struck by the Tenth plague quite suddenly and while not all were children of living parents, I am sure many were. In fact the text says, “From the house of the Pharaoh to the lowly prisoner in the dungeon, not one family was spared (Ex. 12),” the innocent with the guilty.

We spend that morning in prayer, in community and in empathy with the parents of those first-born who were cruel to us, but who were slain to free our people. We are commanded to forget our anger and bear with the loss and pain of our enemies. We are to spiritually travel back in time to that day long ago and relate the sprinkling of the blood on the doorposts with the rescue by G-D from that ultimate grief, the loss of a child. We are with family later that night in a re-enactment of the exodus of our people from Egypt but also from a nation of parents mourning the death of one’s flesh and blood, one’s life, one’s “ticket to immortality”. Then, if we are able, for a moment to feel an iota of what the parents of those first born must have felt we know the meaning of “In each generation one must feel as if he himself had gone out of Egypt.” This is truly freeing!!!! When you can push aside your anger, no matter how deserving someone may be and still see the common bond between you and another, this is freedom of an eternal nature.

Innocent Egyptian blood and tears were paid for our freedom. For one day and two nights we recount innocent sacrifice. Let us make a covenant with our families to speak freely each and every Pesach about the sacrifice of our enemies for our freedom and make it as important to us as the martyrdom of our friends for our liberty.

Hag Sameach v’b’ahava,

Rabbi Mark
March 2010

Men's Club

Personally, I on behalf of the Men's Club, would like to thank all those who helped make the Spring BBQ a successful event. Everyone I've talked to had a good time. The raffle brought in $362.00 for the Temple and the silent auction sold all of what we had left from the 50th Anniversary.

From the chopped liver to the dinner to the desert, (I'm sorry there was no soft serve ice cream, two ninety cent washers were to blame), from Angie's coating on the salmon to the tenderness of the steaks, everything I think turned out good.

From Angie to Ira to all those who helped, both behind the scene to bar-be-cueing, again thanks. To our entertainment, to Handy Market, to the BBYO, to everyone who made this event possible, I can't thank enough.

For those who missed this BBQ, we hope to have some smaller bar-be-cueing during the year. Remember, we are the “Temple with a heart”. We need to hold more events for our members HERE at the Temple. Give us your suggestions of what you would like to see, maybe a movie night with hot dogs and popcorn in the patio to . . . you tell us

The Men's Club is a social and educational organization for all male members of Temple Beth Emet. We hold monthly meetings with an optional bagel brunch ($5 charge - Ladies are our guests). We meet in a spirited atmosphere on the 4th Sunday of the month (subject to change) at 9:30 a.m. Our meetings and programs are open to all Temple members and guests. We attempt to provide topical programs throughout the year as well as field trips such as a Day At The Races and attending Dodger games. Our dues are $15 per year.

But don't think it is all fun and games. We are responsible for moving Temple Beth Emet for High Holiday Services and erecting and removing the Sukkah. Cleaning the storage shed and storage room and helping with minor repairs and chores around the Temple are nothing new to us.

Join us! DON'T FORGET . . . we need YOU as a member; YOUR ideas and YOUR support.

Chai Society

Happy Spring from Chai Society! May the new season bring you and yours much happiness & fulfillment! The season brings many opportunities for all to join in helping and celebrating at Temple, and we hope you will sign up to help Chai Society and our Temple family with Spring plans! Let's spring into action and all work & celebrate together as we enjoy the blooms & fruits of our labor and the season.

Further, when's the last time you attended one of our Chai Society monthly planning meetings? Last month, last year, never? Well, it's never too late! We need everyone to lend their ideas, energy, hearts and hands. It's Chai Time that others join us for Chai Society meetings, on the first Sunday of every month - pretty please! Please join us for our next meeting on Sunday, March 7 at 10:00 a.m.! We'll also be planning our upcoming Temple Beth Emet's Got Talent Show, hosted by Chai Society, at the next monthly planning meeting, March 7, and at a committee meeting on a day and date T.B.A. soon. Would you like to help with the plans and/or join the Talent Show committee? Come on! It's gonna be fun! Call Lisa DeLuca at 818-434-2244. And speaking of talent, the talented Leona Zollman is organizing our Temple's Women's Seder again this year, which will be held on Tuesday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. Please join us!!

This Spring, we could use a helping hand with:

1. Weekly Oneg Shabbat set-up, serving & clean-up helpers needed; sign up on sign-up sheet on social hall bulletin board by the door or call Lucy at Temple office to volunteer! All Onegs in March and April available now! Please help! Thank you!!
2. Passover Gifts Sale on Shabbat Across America night, March 5. Call Lisa D. to help.
3. Temple Spring Cleaning Day on Saturday, March 13, 12:00 noon - ? p.m., following religious school. Come to clean with fellow congregants and make our Temple shine!
4. T.B.E. Community Passover Prep on Saturday, April 3; lotsa matzah, matzah balls and boiled eggs needed, volunteer veggie cutters & rice pilaf cookers needed, plus set-up at 12 noon or thereafter & clean-up help. Big thanks to Barry Verdi for organizing, buying and preparing our Passover feast again this year! Please call Lucy in Temple office to volunteer.
5. “Temple Beth Emet's Got Talent” Show on Saturday, April 24. Call Lisa D. to help.

Have you heard? Chai Society recently purchased 10 new, navy blue fabric tablecloths for our round tables at Temple! Thank you Chai Society! We look forward to using these nice, new tablecloths in our temple’s social hall for our special events for years to come, including for upcoming Shabbat Across America’s Potluck Dinner at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, March 5th and Temple Beth Emet’s Community Passover Seder at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 3! Please join our Temple family at our newly clad tables for these upcoming events soon!

Havurah 007

Our next meeting is March 21st.

Shachar Havurah

Shachar Havurah is our brand new Havurah that was formed consisting primarily of religious school parents. They seem to have boundless energy that is welcomed by all.

Simcha/L’Chaim

Contact Bernice Dacher for information about Simcha/L’Chaim.

Interested in knitting?

Gloria Kurey is.

Would anyone be interested in forming a knitting group and meet at the temple during the week, twice a month in the morning when Lucy or Sylvia are there? Probably meet for one to two hours per session. Or, if someone works, we could do it on Sunday a.m., also twice a month. If interested, call Gloria at 818/845-1753. If no one answers leave a message. I don't know how to knit and want to learn; maybe others are in my situation. I know a lot of people know how to knit and may enjoy teaching others, and/or working along side each other!