February 2006 Newsletter

Beth Ami - Colorado Congregation for Humanistic Judaism

THIS NEWSLETTER IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE DENVER/BOULDER AREA SECULAR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM COMMUNITY!

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Jon Budoff

Since the last newsletter was published, we have once again enjoyed some great programs. 

Our Chanukah party in December was attended by more than 70 members and guests.  The kids from Sunday school performed the play "Herschel and the Chanukah Goblin," and also wrapped gifts that were given to charity.  There were latkes a plenty, provided by several Beth Ami members, and I think that everyone had a great time.  Thanks to all who contributed to making it such a great party!

Our January Shabbat event celebrated diversity. We enjoyed some fascinating discussions on various paths of Judaism.  Thanks go out to Ellen Inkeles for putting this together, to all of the participants who contributed to the discussions and to Elaine Bloch for providing the food for the Oneg.

Our February 11th Tu B'Shevat seder was wonderful.  Many thanks to Ellen Inkeles and Miryam Grundner for leading the seder and making it so enjoyable.  Pictures from the seder are now online on the website, and can be viewed in the Photo Gallery section.

Coming up we will be having a Shabbat service in March, and our Passover Seder in April.  We will be sending out details on these events via email, and they will also be available on the Calendar section of the website.

I am also very excited to announce that Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of Humanistic Judaism, will be joining us for our Yom Kippur service and other events in October.  There will certainly be more to come on this as we move closer to this time.

Once again, I encourage all of you to get involved whenever possible.  We will need lots of help putting together the Passover seder in April, and even if you are only able to do little things, that can be a great help.  I also encourage everyone to attend our Executive Committee meetings.  The schedule is posted on the calendar page on the website, and they are always open to all members.

I look forward to seeing you all soon at an upcoming event!

Regards, Jon

TREASURER'S REPORT

Barry Levene

Fund Established in Memory of Jim Ross

A special fund has been set up for donations to remember Jim Ross.  All funds collected will be used to purchase books and materials for the Beth Ami School. Bookplates will acknowledge the donation.  Checks can be sent to Barry Levene, 12449 E. Amherst Cir., Aurora, CO 80014.

Many, many thanks to Gordon Gamm and Gerrie Karasik for their generous donations to the Beth Ami School. With their contributions, the school will be able to remain self-supporting for the rest of the school year.

BETH AMI JEWISH CULTURAL SCHOOL

Gerrie Karasik

Over the next five months our students will be learning about and celebrating the following subjects:

·        Jewish Family Genealogy (Aitz Chaim/Tree of Life) 

·        Tu B'Shevat, Shabbat, Purim, Passover (Exodus)

·        Darwin’s Birthday

·         Israel

·         Tzedakah

·        Hebrew.

In addition, our Bnai Mitzvah class curriculum will include selections from  Judaism in a Secular Age,  bible history,  history of modern Israel and Jewish heroes, plus an introduction to the Talmud and the Mishna .

On February 12, the class will learn about and celebrate Charles Darwin's birthday by participating in a reader's theater presentation about his life and ideas. The script was prepared by Terri Gorsky, who also adapted the script for "Hershel and the Hanukah Goblins," presented at our Hanukah celebration. Terri has also volunteered to direct the Darwin play, which we plan to present at the next family service.

Gerrie will continue to bring in library books to share with all students.

SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS

Calendar events will be updated on the website, www.bethami.com.

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

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

- Fri., Mar. 10 Shabbat service at Aspen Village

- Sat., Apr. 15 Passover Seder

- Sept. 30 - Oct. 2 Rabbi Wine visit to Denver for High Holidays

COMMITTEE NEWS

The Program Committee is Looking for a Few Good People!

The Beth Ami Program Committee is looking for additional people to help plan and carry out the monthly programs being offered.  The Committee meets monthly.  If you are interested in quality events that meet the needs and interests of our members, please join us. This year will be particularly important because of Rabbi Wine’s visit in October.  Also, with more members, the committee can better distribute all the tasks that need doing to make sure all events come off smoothly.  For more information, contact Barry Levene at blevene@ecentral.com or 303-750-4317, or Ellen/Bennett Inkeles at beink@iglide.net, or just come to the next Program Committee meeting.

Interested in a Beth Ami Book Group?

Several people have mentioned that they might be interested in participating in a book group that would read Jewish themed or Jewish-authored books.  If you are one of those people, please contact Barry Levene at 303-750-4317 or blevene@ecentral.com.  The plan would be to meet every two months or so at someone’s house to discuss one book.  If there is enough interest, Barry would hold the first meeting at his house on Sunday evening, March 19.  That meeting would focus on organization and selection of books to read in the future. Each participant would be asked to suggest candidate books to read and a schedule of meetings would be determined.

January Shabbat

The theme of our Shabbat program at Lowry was Jewish Diversity. While we tend to think of Jews as Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Humanist, or Secular, we wanted to hear from people who define their approach to Judaism in other ways. Topics that our panelists discussed, very poignantly, included issues of sexuality, conversion, Jewish roots of Christianity, how mainstream synagogues treat our disabled, and incorporating other cultures into ritual. Common to all of the speakers was the notion that the search for spirituality and one's place in our culture is a never-ending quest. Thank you to Judith Heller, Joey Locke, Susan Mund, Nora Bender, Judith Stein Stutman, and Nancy Cronk for making this a moving and unforgettable event.

LOCAL EVENTS

Beth Ami Helps Sponsor Holocaust Lecture

The annual Fred Marcus Memorial Holocaust Lecture will be held at Temple Sinai, 3509 S. Glencoe, on April 2 at 4:00 p.m. Beth Ami is co-sponsoring this event and encourages all its members and friends to attend.  The lecture is titled, “Shanghai Revisited: The Refugee Diaries of Fred Marcus.”  Speakers will be Rena Krasno, who was born in Shanghai and is writing a book based on the diaries, and Audrey Friedman Marcus. The cost for adults is $12, which includes the lecture, the exhibition of materials depicting Shanghai during that time, and hors d’oeuvres.  Reservations are needed.  Call 303-759-1827 or go to http://www.fredmarcusmemorialwebsite.com/ .

Genealogy 

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado is offering an all-day seminar, “Find Your Roots,” at the Denver Public Library on Feb. 26.  See http://www.jewishgen.org/jgs-colorado/ for more information.

Denver Jewish Film Festival

February 9-16 at the Mizel Center for the Arts and Culture.  For more information, http://www.mizelcenter.org/

DU Arts Event

On January 12-March 10 the University of Denver’s Center for Judaic Studies presents "Diaspora," celebrating the diversity of Jewish art and culture around the world.  This includes photography, music, films, educational opportunities.  See http://www.du.edu/cjs

ISIME Events

Every Monday morning between 8-9 am, Professor Shaul M. Gabbay will be analyzing world affairs news on the FOX31 "Good Morning Colorado" show hosted by Steve Kelly. Professor Gabbay is the Executive Director of the "Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East" at the University of Denver.  You can find out more about him at http://www.du.edu/gsis/isime/gabbay_background.html

NEWS FROM NATIONAL

SHJ Conference 2006

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX:

Building, Growing and Inspiring Humanistic Jewish Communities

Friday-Sunday, April 28-30, 2006

Join in a weekend of Friendship, Learning, Creativity

Programs for adults, young adults and teens!!!!

Post conference tour April 30-May 1

Royal Sonesta Hotel, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Hosted by Kahal B’raira Congregation

$235 for a Teen/Young adult

$445/$345, Chaperone (single/double)

Registration deadline 3-1-06

For further information, contact the SHJ office at 248-478-7610 or info@shj.org

SEND A LITTLE SMILE…

Rapid recovery wishes to a number of members undergoing surgery or experiencing other ailments: Don Griss, Barb Griss, Terry Fleischer, Irving Franke, Len Karasik and Julie Lapides. Isn't that most of us? Let's be careful out there…

Many thanks to Elaine Bloch for her recent donation of a satin, embroidered challah cover to make our Shabbat services even more meaningful.

*****

This newsletter will be 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@earthlink.net.

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