May 2008 Newsletter

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – Jon Budoff

We're coming off of a very successful Passover Seder that had great attendance.  Thanks again to all who contributed to making it happen!  We're now starting the planning process for programming for the next year.  Each year, we try to get a little further ahead so we have less "just in time" planning for events, and so far, things are looking great in this area.  Stay tuned ...

TREASURER TIDBITS – Barry Levene

I don’t get the chance very often to thank our membership for their unflagging support in 2008, but I will now.  THANK YOU!  We are financially secure, and have been able to provide the necessary funds to support our major priorities for the year, including the Jewish Cultural School and the madrikha training program for Sheila and Michelle.  We are 29 households strong, which equates to 45 adult members and their children.

The Passover seder turned into somewhat of a fund-raiser.  We were able to clear $200, once all expenses were totaled.   Extra funds will help lighten the pressure on the budget that has been hit hard with expenses related to madrikha training.  As a reminder, we still are soliciting contributions to the Marilyn Rothschild fund, which is dedicated to leadership training.  If you would like to contribute, you can do so by sending a check to me made out to Beth Ami.  All contributions are tax deductible.

Remember to place your amazon.com orders through the bethami.com website, clicking on the Amazon button, which sends a percentage of your total to Beth Ami.

BETH AMI JEWISH CULTURAL SCHOOL – Lenore Kingston

The Jewish Cultural School donated $50 worth of gefilte fish to the Boulder Jewish Family Service for Passover goodie bags.  The students then delivered these bags to Jewish seniors living at Golden West.   One of the seniors, who was so happy to receive a goodie bag, sent us a thank you note with a donation. Our last session celebrated Israel’s 60^th birthday with an Israeli breakfast.  We feasted on Israeli salads, shakshouka and rugelach.  We put together an Israeli puzzle and learned Hebrew sudoku.  Our youngest group also wrote a letter to a first grade classroom at the Birmingham Temple. 

Special announcement: We are offering a preschool class for four and five year olds next school year.  Please contact Lenore at 303-828-0704 for more information. Our three teachers are meeting in early June to plan for next year.

Our school is running a booth at the Boulder Jewish Festival on June 15^th from 11:00am until 5:00pm.  There will be free, fun crafts for children and many family events.  It’s usually pretty hot there, so look forward to buying a cold drink from us.

Our B’nai Mitzvah class will meet over the summer to learn and discuss material prepared by the Society for Humanistic Judaism.  Our hope is that the students will enjoy their preparations and find their place in Humanistic Judaism. 

MOVIE NIGHTS WRAP UP – Michelle Davis

Beth Ami's first ever Film Series was a hit!  We gathered five times and watched Paper Clips, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, Gentleman's Agreement, The Frisco Kid, and Uprising. Due to weather we had to cancel the viewing of Rosenstrasse, so it will be rescheduled into next years offerings.  We had a nice group that met in DU Hillel's comfortable TV lounge to celebrate Havdalah, watch the movie and enjoy pizza, drinks and snacks.  As we look towards next year, we will definitely have a second Film Series, currently being scheduled. If you have movie suggestions, please call Michelle at 720-284-2231 or email her at mdavisz@yahoo.com.  Be sure to join us for our second season!
 

SUMMER LEARNING FOR ADULTS – Gerrie Karasik

Bert Rothschild would like to share a program he has from The Teaching Company (teach12.com) called Introduction to Judaism. The program consists of twenty-four 30 minute lectures on the history and development of Judaism. The first meeting, a pot luck, will be held at Gerrie Karasik's home on Sunday, May 4, at 4:00 pm.  Participants will decide how often, what day, and how long future meetings will be. If you are interested, call Gerrie at 303-422-3110.  

NEW ACTIVITIES – Sheila Malcolm

To increase member activities and recruit new membership, we have added two new programs to our busy calendar. Michelle and Sheila plan to hold welcome coffees at their homes in Highlands Ranch and Boulder, respectively, after Passover and High Holidays, when we usually greet large numbers of guests who may not be familiar with Judaism our way! The first coffee was held at the Malcolm home on April 27. The next welcome event is coming up on May 3 at the Davis/Stafford home.

Spring and fall family-oriented hikes are also planned. Let’s hit the trail on Sat., May 10 from 10-12 at the South Mesa Trailhead in Boulder. Directions from Hwy. 93 south of Boulder: Turn west at the light from 93 to S.H. 170/S. Eldorado Springs Drive.  Continue for 1.7 miles to the Mesa Trailhead Open Space sign, turning right into the parking lot. Meet at the picnic tables. Please bring hat, water, snack, walking shoes, sunscreen and a thought-provoking reading to share with the group. Dogs are OK on leash or voice/sight control with Boulder County green tag. There is an outhouse in the parking lot. RSVP to Sheila at 303-499-5933 or sheilamalcolm@comcast.net.

Bonus activities! Michelle and Sheila are now busy officiating weddings (two each this season) and planning for our upcoming b’nai mitzvot.

NEXT YEAR’S CALENDAR! – Michelle Davis

As we finish up the school year, we are already turning towards the next season of Beth Ami - CCHJ events.  While there are still details to be finalized, our hope is to offer a Shabbat service on the second Friday of every month, except during those months of High Holidays and Passover.  My hope is to finalize our calendar at our May 17th retreat, which will give us plenty of time to arrange speakers for Shabbat events, and to ensure both emotionally and intellectually satisfying services.  We hope to schedule Shabbats alternating between the Countryside Rec in Westminster and the Carson Nature Center in Littleton, in order to better serve people who live both north and south.  The Carson Center will be a new venue, and we hope it will allow more people to attend.

Besides regular Shabbats, we have plans in place for Rosh Hashanah, Kol Nidre, and Yom Kippur services, as well as Passover next spring. Rabbi Miriam Jerris will visit us for the Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur services.  Additionally there are plans to schedule four meetings of the Film Series, so that we can enjoy occasional Havdalah and movie nights. We all lead such busy lives that it is nice to have the opportunity to get together at events with other Beth Ami - CCHJ members and catch up.  

FOR READERS

Gerrie Karasik suggests the book The Way Into the Varieties of Jewishness by Sylvia Barack Fishman, PhD, includes three plus pages on the SHJ as a part of "American Secular Jewishness."

If you have not yet visited the jbooks website, here’s a meaningful link submitted by Michelle Davis: http://www.jbooks.com/secularculture/Chalom.htm with Passover commentary from our very own Rabbi Adam Chalom. Check out tons of offerings and reviews at http://www.jbooks.com/.

Also from Adam, submitted by Barb Griss, is this NPR link: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18602828.

Rabbi Greg Epstein, Humanist chaplain of Harvard, has a mention in Newsweek magazine dated Feb. 25 in a piece entitled "In Defense of Secularism".  Here is the link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/112719 .   Greg has also published an op-ed elaborating on the piece at the popular Newsweek/The Washington Post website, On Faith.  His piece, entitled "In Defense of Secularism's Religious Allies" can be found here:
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/greg_m_epstein/2008/02/in_defense_of_secularisms_reli.html.

NEWS FROM NATIONAL – Harriet Maza, Communications Associate at SHJ, harrietmaza@shj.org

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A RABBI TO ENJOY LEARNING AT THE IISHJ

Did you know that the International Institute of Secular Humanistic Judaism, the training arm of the Humanistic Jewish movement, offers a little something for everyone?  You don’t have to be a rabbi-in –training to take advantage of their educational opportunities.  All IISHJ seminars at the 100 or 200 level are open to members of the Secular Humanistic Jewish movement and the general public. Whether you’re just interested in continuing your Jewish education and meeting like-minded humanists or whether you’re working to gain more knowledge or a degree as a professional Humanistic Jewish leader, the following list illustrates what awaits you this spring and summer 2008.
 
May 17-18       REDISCOVERING OUR RADICAL ROOTS  Lead faculty, author Hershl Hartman, education director for the Sholem Community of Los Angeles and guest faculty, Ralph Seliger, editor of Israel Horizons. This four-part seminar, open to the public and leadership students, will include “Hasidism as a Prelude to Haskala,” “Zionism and Bundism, Both Victorious, “Sholem Aleichem’s Understanding of Humanism,” and “The Continuing Culture War:  Yiddish vs. Hebrew vs. Israeli.” If interested, contact Ed Klein of Queens Community for Cultural Judaism at 718-380-5362 or Madrikh@PeoplePC.com. The seminar will occur at National Headquarters of co-host Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, 45 East 33rd Street in Manhattan.
 
May 30-June1  AFTER THE BIBLE: RABBINIC AND MODERN MIDRASH will be taught by Rabbi Adam Chalom in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Open to all who wish to begin or further their Jewish education, it provides excellent preparation for adult bat/bar mitsva or adoption/conversion.  It also offers leadership training credit. Sponsored by Oraynu Congregation. Contact Roby Sadler, 416-385-3910 or roby@oraynu.org

July 17-21 JEWISH EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM PLANNING This is a rare opportunity and a required seminar for students in the IISHJ Leadership,* Educator and Rabbinic programs that shows up about once every four years. Lead faculty will be Rabbi Adam Chalom; guest faculty, Andy Pass of Andrew Pass Educational Services. This is a five-day intensive seminar over a week-end that will include “Approaches to Secular/Humanistic Jewish Education,” “Pedagogy and Child Development,”  “School Administration,” “Adult and Family Education,” “Youth Groups,” “Mitsva Programs,” and hands-on workshops on creating curriculum.  For more information, please contact Linda Glass in the IISHJ office at 248-476-9532 or LGlass@iishj.org.* Michelle and Sheila will attend this seminar.

Some of these seminars have registration information and flyers available at the Institute website www.iishj.org so you can sign up directly. AND YOU THOUGHT THE SUMMER WAS JUST FOR SUNNING—SILLY YOU!

SHJ NATIONAL CONFERENCE – Lenore Kingston

We went to the SHJ conference in Los Angeles, California this past April.  Wow! .  The Irvine California Congregation hosted our conference.  In addition three other California congregations attended!  The conference began with a lovely Shabbat dinner and service as a tribute to Sherwin.  Being in a room with over 200 Humanistic Jews was quite powerful. 

On Saturday and Sunday, we attended fantastic workshops led by several Rabbis in our movement.  We became reenergized knowing that we have wonderful Rabbis to lead the Society forward.  We also enjoyed listening to other communities tell their stories, struggles, and successes.  We heard communities doubling in size through exciting programming and advertising.  The Boca Raton, Florida congregation reported that their school increased in size from 10 to 21 students in one year!

Rabbi Chalom, Dean of the International Institute for the Society of Humanistic Judaism, asked local communities to consider hosting a seminar.  It is a terrific opportunity to have a weekend scholar in residence.  Current and perspective members are enriched by the experience.

Machar’s Rabbi, Ben Biber encouraged all congregations to promote tikkun olam projects.  They are very meaningful activities for Humanistic Jews.  We need to take responsibility for repairing the world.  In addition,  unaffiliated Jews are looking for ways to give back to the world.  Tikkun olam projects allow us to be part of a community that is larger than ourselves.

Lori Lipman Brown of the Secular Coalition of America reported their congressional efforts.  You may remember a recent email that referred to a piece of legislation describing America as a Christian nation.  Due to the huge number of emails, Senator Waxman plans to keep the bill in committee.  Lori is a dynamic speaker and is available to come to a local community. 

UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS

Allied Jewish Federation’s annual community Yom HaZikaron (Israel Remembrance Day) program is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, from 7:30-9 pm, at Rodef Shalom, 450 S. Kearney Street, Denver. This meaningful event pays tribute to Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror. Community members of all ages are invited. There is no cost for this memorial service, which features readings, songs and prayers. For information, call 303-316-6449 or visit www.jewishcolorado.org.                                                                                  

Visit boulderjewishfestival.org for information about the event on Sun., June 15. Over the past 13 years, the festival crowds have grown to 17,500 people due to the great involvement by many Jewish non-profits and the location in front of the historic courthouse on the Pearl St. Mall. The Festival includes art booths, ethnic foods, live entertainment and lots of community organization involvement.

ABOUT OUR MEMBERS - Barb & Don Griss

I was born in Denver, as were my parents. That makes five of our seven grandkids 4th-generation Colorado natives. The fact that Don and I are still in our original home of 45 years is a bit unusual, too, since our grandparents immigrated from Russia, Romania, Poland and Austria.

I had a sheltered, upper-middle-class childhood, attending a reform temple for Sunday School and confirmation. I’m fairly sure my father was an atheist. My mother never lit Shabbat candles, etc., but did have a god belief. I graduated East High School in 1958. That summer, while swimming with friends, I noticed a handsome guy sitting on the other side of the pool next to an acquaintance.  I went to say "hello" and met Don, who just moved from Brooklyn the day before.

Don went to Erasmus Hall (with Barbra Streisand) and graduated in 1955. He attended a conservative synagogue and was a Bar Mitzvah. Don transferred from Fordham University to Colorado University to complete his pharmacy studies. I offered to show him around the Boulder campus (not telling him I had never been there!) After a year at Texas University, I transferred to C.U. to be with Don. My studies were suspended in favor of marriage in 1960. Kari, was born in 1961, Lori arrived in 1963, and Rob in 1966. We settled in suburbia to raise our three darlings… and life was pretty good.

Don worked for various pharmacies, then was hired by King Soopers, where he worked for over 30 years, serving as the president of the Pharmacist’s Union for 12 years. He was appointed to the State Board of Pharmacy and elected president for a year. He retired from King’s in 2003 and has worked at other pharmacies over the past few years.  After our kids started school, I worked as a dental assistant while I completed my undergraduate work in Philosophy and Psychology (1982). Ten years later, I earned a graduate degree in Library Science, and have been employed at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center Medical Library for 25 years as an Information Specialist.

During my undergraduate studies, I was introduced to the philosophy of Humanism and learned about Humanistic Judaism and Rabbi Wine. In 1991 we were part of a small group that founded the Colorado Congregation for Humanistic Judaism.  We love to travel and have been to the highest and lowest places on earth, from a base-camp trek to Mt. Everes to the Dead Sea. At that time we were in Israel with Rabbi Wine.

Don and I now work part time, balanced with family obligations that include soccer, basketball, volleyball and dance.  Having all our children and grandchildren close by is wonderful! Our seven grandchildren range in age from 8 to 18...  Oy, such beautiful children you've never seen!

RESULTS OF BETH AMI MEMBER SURVEY– At this time, 8 survey responses have been received. Please feel free to reply to or comment on any of these responses, which are in italics. SM 

Purpose: To review the types of events that are of most interest to our members, and reasons for (not) attending our

scheduled activities.

Goal: To increase participation in all Beth Ami services, events, Jewish Cultural School and Adult Education.

1. In 2007, I attended Beth Ami events approximately ____ times.

   Responses varied from 1 – 25+ times, with an average of 17 times. This includes Board meetings.

2. My favorite types of events were: Multiple responses

    Holidays 5, Lectures/Speakers 3, Movies 2, Feasts 1, Adult Ed 1, All of them 1, Book Club (?) 1

3. I prefer the following venues: Multiple responses

    DU Hillel 5, Jefferson Unitarian 4, Countryside Rec Center 3, Homes 2, Parks 2, National Jewish 1

4. I’d like to see more of the following scheduled:

   Lectures/speakers 3, Movie Nights w/ Havdalah 1, Outdoor activities 1, Shabbats (at Countryside) 1

  (Only 5 responded to this item.)

5. I’d like to see less emphasis on:

    Jews and more on Humanism as it applies to all people 1, Friday night 1

   (Only 2 responded to this item.)

6. To be informed of upcoming events, I rely mostly on:

___ the website (4)            ___ the newsletter (3)         ___ email updates (8)

7. We can improve communication by:

     More frequent newsletters 1, More phone contact (incl. phone tree) 3, More advertising 1, It’s fine 2, Personal contact 1

8. We can increase turnout by:

     Varying venues (north/south) 1, Scheduling more regular events 1, Social action in community 1, Regular advertising 1,

              Conversations with members 1

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 

Check updates at www.bethami.com.

For Jewish events in Boulder, link to www.boulderjcc.org.

For Jewish events in Denver, link to www.jccdenver.org.

May

3 Sat   Welcome coffee at 10 am at the home of Michelle Davis & Ben Stafford in Highland Ranch (Note date change!)

10 Sat  Family & Friends Hike at 10 am at Mesa Trailhead, Boulder

17 Sat  Beth Ami Executive Committee Retreat, 9 am - 1 pm

June

15 Sun  Boulder Jewish Festival from 11-5 on the Pearl St. Mall

This newsletter is published at least four times/year with the goal of communicating events and information to inform our members and those interested in celebrating “Jewish culture and identity consistent with a humanistic philosophy of life.”  Kindly send submissions by email to sheilamalcolm@comcast.net.

Send mail to webmaster@bethami.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 11/05/06