News

Jill's Jottings can now be found on the Sisterhood main page!

Sunday, August 17 at 1 PM - Softball game against KI's Brotherhood. 
Sun Sept 7th, TBE Golf outing at the New Berkleigh Golf Club.
Sun Sept 14, Men’s Club Opening Brunch – Usher training - come learn how to use our Defibrillator and where other items for the comfort and safety of our congregants are kept. You will be glad you did.
Sun Oct 5, Sukkah Building and Brunch & Hawk Mountain Trip – This is a family outing and will take place after Religious School. Last year we saw an amazing amount of raptors!
Sun Oct 26, Sukkah Take down and Brunch.
Sun Nov 9th, Pigskin & Poker.

Visit the Men's Club Page for more information.

If you haven't already, make sure to return the Membership form that you received in the mail.  If you've misplaced it, you can download it here.

When you give a gift of Judaica you are sharing your values, beliefs, and love of our beautiful tradition with your friends and loved ones. A thoughtful gift of Judaica will most likely become a treasured possession.
When you receive that birth announcement, Bar/Bat Mitzvah or wedding invitation, anniversary or new home celebration think Judaica! Make your first stop the Sisterhood Gift Shop, the largest Judaica shop in the Lehigh Valley. Don't waste your precious gas running all around to find something special.

We offer beautiful merchandise at excellent prices, gift registry for weddings, bar/bat mitzvah and free gift wrap! We are your one stop shop.

AUGUST SALE
20% OFF ALL IN STOCK JEWELRY

Just arrived! Beautiful ladies hand made beaded Kippot in an assortment of colors and styles. Shop early for your favorite color.

Summer hours: Tuesday and Thursday 3PM-5PM

Good Shopping,
Linda and Jill

Beginning our 7th year…..Our Mah Jongg Club dates are all Monday evenings at the Temple. We will begin to play promptly at 6:45 pm. We play for about 3 hours.

Please mark these club playing dates on your 2008 – 2009 calendars:

• September 15
• November 3
• January 12, 2009
• March 16
• May 4

$10 per player donation to sisterhood

NEW FACES ALWAYS WELCOME TO PLAY !!

Don’t miss out on another year of sisterhood, laughter, and a great bunch of fun !!

Looking forward to playing Mah jongg with you !!!

Call with questions and your RSVP to
Ilene Rubel @ 610-776-1577

Our 2007-2008 school year is complete, and it is time to start working on the 2008-2009 school term. In our last bulletin, I listed the many people that worked hard for our school. I hope that I included everyone’s name, but if I missed someone, my apologies. Our final Tzedakah project was Camp to Belong. The students of our school collected over $300 for this worthy cause. In total…drum roll please…they collected almost $1200. Thank you to the students and their parents for making this happen. Speaking of making things happen, many thanks to an anonymous donor who made the closing Midrasha dinner possible. There was no cost to our Midrasha students, just a basket for donations. This family covered the cost of the meal. What a wonderful way to complete the Midrasha school year!

It was wonderful to meet our new families joining our Temple at the Shabbat under the Stars Picnic and Service. I look forward to having your children join our school. If you have any questions about our school please contact the Cantor or me at the Temple on a Tuesday or Thursday throughout the summer.

Parents please note that a new Shabbat Shalom Club Bulletin Board will be put up this summer. Please check to make sure that your child’s name is on it. All of the children, 3 year olds through 6th Grade in our congregation, will have a star with their name whether they attend our school or not. This is a Shabbat Service incentive. Each time your child comes to a Shabbat Service- Friday night, Saturday, or a Havdalah Service, please ask the Cantor for a sticker to place on their star. If he is not available I will have stickers with me as well. Your child will honored for good attendance two times during the year. The Shabbat Shalom Club will begin October 3rd.

Registration for next year is in full swing; many thanks to the families who have already registered. I hope you find our new approach easier than filling out the forms each year. Remember you can make changes to your existing forms in red, or e-mail any changes to Sheryl.

As always if you have suggestions as we plan for our next school year, please contact Cantor or me. While doing summer cleaning if you would like to donate new or gently used games and activities to use in our snack room this year, that would be appreciated. And finally, if you would like to be a class parent or would like to help our PTO in any manner, please contact me.

Enjoy the Summer!

Sheryl Block - Administrator

Features

The Holocaust Resource Center (HRC) of the Lehigh Valley is dedicated to Holocaust remembrance through education, preservation of primary sources and outreach to present and future generations in the fight against hatred and bigotry. As an outreach and education organization, the HRC is available to assist all segments of the community, both in the Jewish Community and the community at large. A collection of over 1,000 books, visual and audio media, curricula, artifacts and art dealing with the subject of the Holocaust and the times and circumstances around it, as well as books and curricula dealing with anti-Semitism, hate crimes, genocide and overcoming oppression are available to the public. Most materials may be checked out free of charge. The HRC provides research assistance and a speaker’s bureau on all of the above subjects. The HRC also helps to assist with workshops dealing with the Holocaust and tolerance training through the public schools and coordinates teacher training workshops.

The HRC materials are house primarily at Temple Beth El Allentown. Materials are available Monday-Friday during Temple office hours. To arrange for assistance with the collection, research, workshops or speakers, contact Shari Spark, HRC coordinator, for an appointment.

The HRC is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. In keeping with our mission of “Memory, Education, Tolerance”, we are eager to assist the community in any way we can, and welcome your calls and visits.

We can be reached at:
Temple Beth El
1305 Springhouse Road
Allentown, PA 18104
(610) 435-3521

IT’S A SIMCHA MAZEL TOV

Marlene & Murray Saltzman on the graduation of their grandson, Adam Louis Goldstone, from medical school.

Judy & Dave Greenberg on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Jill & Ivan Schonfeld on the engagement of their daughter, Toby, to James Blasingame.

Miriam Zager on receiving the George Feldman Achievement Award for Young Leadership from the Jewish Federation.

Marc Diamondstein on receiving the JFLV Volunteer Award.

Linda & Ron Glickman on their 40th wedding anniversary.

Lisa & David Listwa on the birth of their daughter, Abigail Ann Listwa; and to the grandparents, Sherree & Howard Listwa.

Barbara & Fred Sussman on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Marilyn & Elwood Kolb on the graduation of their granddaughter, Stephanie Garman, from Kutztown University with a Master’s Degree in Social Work.

Laini Wolf, daughter of Marlene & Clifford Wolf, on her graduation cum laude from University of Florida.

Steven Gordon, son of Marsha & David Gordon, on his graduation from Middlehury College.

Adam Furmansky, son of Carol & Stewart Furmansky, on his graduation from New York Law School.

Stuart Glaser, son of Vicki & Larry Glaser, on his graduation from Washington University.

Linda & Greg Hamilton on the engagement of their son, Eric; and to the grandmother, Libby Glass.

Amy Silverman on receiving the Daniel Pomerantz Award for Excellence in Campaign from the Jewish Federation.

Rabbi Barbara Goldman-Wartell receiving the Mortimer S. Schiff Award for Prejudice Reduction from the Jewish Federation.

Beth & Howard Kushnick on the birth of their daughter, Emily Isabel.

Ilana Sherer, daughter of Susan & Howard Sherer, on her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Jessica Wiener, daughter of Lori & Joel Wiener, on her graduation from Tulane University.

Erin Schechtman, daughter of Sue Schechtman, on her graduation from Syracuse University.

Jared Westheim, son of Adrienne & Alan Westheim, on his graduation from Dartmouth.

Alex Mishkin, son of Lisa Mishkin, on his graduation from
Colgate College.

Jason Toff, son of Alla & Kenneth Toff, on his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania

Ilana Levin, daughter of Susan & Marc Levin, on her graduation from Penn State University.

Eric Hamilton, son of Linda & Greg Hamilton, on his acceptance to a PhD. program at the University of Southern California.

(Continued in the next column)

Monday - Thursday:  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
         Friday :            9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

The Temple office closes at 3:00 p.m. for Shabbat now that Daylight Standard Time is in effect.

The mosaic Tree of Life has found a beautiful new home in the hallway adjacent to the Social Hall. Leaves on the Tree commemorate happy occasions in the lives of our congregants and memorialize loved ones. The rates for leaves on the tree are $600 for those leaves in the center on the trunk of the tree, and $500 for those on the branches.

Don't forget that buying Scrip is a no-cost way to help Temple Beth El.  Make us a part of your regular shopping routine.  Contact Lori Weiner at 610-398-8669.

A limited number of pew seats are still available. If you made a pledge of $10,000 or more ($5000 for single members) to the capital campaign, you may become a pew seat holder by committing to an additional $125 per seat per year over annual dues. Please contact the synagogue office for more details.

Please Let us Know! 

We Need Your Help

The synagogue is not always notified when congregants are admitted to the hospital. HIPAA laws prevent hospitals from releasing the names of patients.  If you know of a friend or relative in the hospital, please E-mail or phone the Temple so that the Rabbi and Cantor will know.

Another way of notifying the Rabbi or Cantor is to give the hospital our code which is 017. A member of the Temple staff phones the local hospitals every day to check if any of our members are in.

Our Rabbi and Cantor also make many visits to members who are in hospitals, rehabilitation centers or nursing homes.  Please notify the temple office when you or someone you love is in one of these facilities (or is ill and homebound.)

If you have lost a relative, please notify the Temple office so you will receive Yahrzeit notification.

Enjoy the “New” Berkleigh Golf Club

Sunday, September 7, 2008
12:00 pm Registration
1:00 pm Shotgun Start

$150 per person
Includes:
Greens fees, cart, dinner, and prizes
Access to Practice Green and Driving Range
Hole-in-one prizes on every par three hole!

A variety of sponsorships are available
(and greatly appreciated!)

Come and feel the spirit of Shira Chadasha (music Shabbat), on Friday, August 29 at 7:30 p.m. Sing along with the beautiful music (and the Rabbi's guitar) and give Shabbat a real welcome.

All those in our synagogue family who can blow a shofar or would like to learn, please contact Cantor Wartell as soon as possible!

New shofar blowers are welcomed and encouraged!

Contact Cantor Wartell as soon as possible to begin the training process!

As an egalitarian conservative synagogue, Temple Beth El warmly welcomes interfaith families.  Click here for more information about our current policies.

We need 10 people each day to make the minyan. If you can commit to coming one day a week, more or less often, you will be performing an important mitzvah.

Minyan meets on weekdays at 7:45 a.m. and on Sundays and holidays at 9:00 a.m. Come daven with the Rabbi. He’ll be very happy to see you there.

Thursday August 7th, 7-8pm, at Temple Beth El Chapel. We will be creating a safe space to bring our pain and our questions and our yearning. This one-hour service will include music, silent meditation, traditional prayers and Torah study. For more information, please contact Rabbi Re’em (610-435-3521) or Rabbi Klein (610-435-3775). This program is co-sponsored by Temple Beth El and Congregation Am Haskalah.

The College Connection -
A Must for Every College Student

The goal of the College Connection is to keep in touch with your college student compliments of the Temple Beth El Sisterhood. Students will receive 3 holiday packages and greetings, a college directory, and a monthly Temple Beth El bulletin from September through April.

College Connection forms are available in your August Bulletin or from the Temple.

Many compliments have come to Sisterhood from the college kids and their parents about our packages. They always appreciate the goodies, and especially like the fact that each box is different! They also enjoy getting the bulletin and knowing what is going on in their Temple at home.

One last thought. This package is totally supported from our Sisterhood’s budget, with a few generous donations. We do not charge for this service but we could use some help. When you make donations to the Temple, remember the College Connection once in a while. In addition, if you, your employer, or someone you know can donate any items that might be appropriate to include, please think of us as well. Sisterhood and the students appreciate your generosity.

Thank you and we hope to see your form soon and some information about your graduates.

An exciting new committee has formed at Temple Beth El -- the Social Action Committee. This committee is open to any congregant who wants to participate in Tikkun Olam, repair of the world. Many little changes add up to big changes. Please help us make a difference. This committee is off and running with some exciting projects for this upcoming year.  Click here for more information about the Social Action Committee and how to get involved.

Our own Cantor Kevin Wartell returns to host a weekly radio program entitled “KOL HAEMEK,” The Voice of the Valley, every Friday morning on WMUH FM Allentown, 91.7 on your radio dial or on the web at www.muhlenberg.edu/wmuh.

The Hadassah Study Group will continue to meet through the autumn and winter. Our sessions occur every other Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. at Temple Beth El. We have just begun Lost Tribes: Jewish Fiction from the Edge, edited by Paul Zakrzewski.

Please call Lolly Siegel, 610-439-1851, for future dates and stories

See pictures of the Mother's Day Bruch and of our Hebrew School Classes.

Andrew Barson
Daniel Cohen
Arielle Combs
Jonathon Davis
Naomi Ehrich
Rachel Fisher
Sean Fogelman
Brian Goldman
Jack Grossman
Rachel Horowitz
Samantha Jacobs
Alex Kahan
Michael Kahan
Joshua Krawitz
Haley Lesavoy
Jonathan Markson
Max Munves
Sasha Neulinger
Jonathan Rau
Joshua Rosenberg
Nikki Roth
Matthew Schechtman
Jenna Schlags
Ari Wartell
Sara Westheim
Michael Wiener
Daniel Zimskind

Noah Belman
Zev Greenberg
Ryan Sacher

It's a Simcha (continued)

Susan & Marc Levin on their 40” wedding anniversary.

Jason Torban, son of Arlene & Dwight Griffin, on his engagement to Mindy Rubinlicht.

Alison Kopyt, daughter of Andy & Nelson Kopyt, on her graduation from University of Wisconsin with her Masters Degree.

Spencer Davis, son of Melody & Edwin Davis, on his graduation from Bucknell University.

Barnet Fraenkel on his appointment to the Trexler Estate Board.

Roberta & Alan Penn on the birth of their granddaughter, Sophie Emma Newman, born to Dara & Andrew Newman; and to the great-grandmother, Muriel Frank.

Ilene Prokup on being appointed to the Lehigh County Board of Health.

Claire & Irwin Salitsky on their 60th wedding anniversary.

Debbie & Morton Zelickson on their 60th wedding anniversary.

Evelyn Brown on the birth of her granddaughter,
Cyan Montana Smoyer, daughter of Ali & Pete Smoyer.

Sue & Sy Traub on the birth of their granddaughter; and to the great-grandparents, Bea & Abraham Kuller.

David Brooks, son of Ellie & Charlie Brooks, on becoming president of Jewish Family Services of central New Jersey.

Ellie & Charlie Brooks on the birth of their granddaughter, Talya Leah Brooks, daughter of Lesley & David Brooks.

Dottie & Jerry Kaplan on their 50th wedding anniversary.

David Marcus, son of Roberta & Norman Marcus, on receiving his Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology

Elizabeth & Mauricio Misdrahi on the birth of their son, Isaac Misdrahi.

Steven Rosen, son of Debbie & Scott Rosen, winning 1st place
in State of Pennsylvania National History Day Contest on his performance of the Holocaust. Also to his sister, Danielle, on taking 2nd place in the State on her historical paper on the Camp David Accords.

Marlee Senderowitz, daughter of Randi & Donald Senderowitz, being named Merit Scholar at the Swain School.

Andrew Ginsburg, son of Barbara & Larry Ginsburg, on his graduation from Penn State University.

Beverly Volk being named “Volunteer of the Year” by Jewish Family Service.

Todd Listwa, son of Sherree & Howard Listwa, on his graduation from Brigham and Women’s Emergency Room Medicine residency.

Administration

We are organizing a "Provide-a-Ride" service to help congregants who wish to attend services on Friday evenings but cannot drive at night. Many of our older congregants who wish to observe a yahrzeit, or to just enjoy sharing Shabbat services with their Beth El family, can no longer drive at night. We are in the process of compiling a roster of congregants who attend Friday evening services, even if only occasionally, and would be willing to make it possible for a fellow congregant to attend with them. Please call the Temple office at 610-435-3521 to register as a driver if you can provide this valuable service.

Honor or memorialize our loved ones by endowing a tree for $1000 at Beth El Memorial Park.  A permanent marker will be erected by the tree chosen.

Contact Ivan Schonfeld at 610-395-8770.  Other items also available to endow.

Back by popular demand…printed renderings of our sanctuary at 17th Street are available again. The price is $136 each whether matte or gloss finish.

Contact Amy Holtz or the synagogue office to purchase your keepsake picture.

Keruv means “Bringing Closer.” Another word from the same Hebrew root (krv) is kerovim, family.

The Temple Beth El Keruv Committee was formed in the fall of 2005 with Henry Luftman as Chair in order to better address the needs of our interfaith families.  Click here for more detailed information about this very important Temple effort.

The Keruv Committee warmly welcomes new members, programming suggestions and feedback on its efforts. We invite you to contact Henry or Pat Luftman (610-966-0167) or luftman@ptd.net to become involved in this program.