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Kama’s Corner “People often avoid making decisions out of fear of making a mistake. Actually, the fail ure to make decisions is one of life’s biggest mistakes.” – Rabbi Noah Weinberg I read this quote recently and was tickled to find it came from the mouth of a famous Rabbi. I was tickled because I have been overwhelmed by the number of decisions I find myself making as Temple Emanu-El’s Executive Director. And I experience fear around many of them. Reading the second sentence of this quote brought me some comfort. It’s not that I shouldn’t have feelings of fear…It’s just that I need to make the decisions anyway. And THAT is what I’ve been doing! These decisions mean change… Change for me, change for the A-Team, change for you – our congregants. And change is good. But it is often uncomfortable or unsettling. In the end, I tend to find that change is inevitable and that we adapt quickly and (we hope) gracefully. Some changes I’d like to acknowledge & share: 1) MaryAnn Orlowski, who served Temple Emanu-El for many years as its bookkeeper, has completed her temporary assignment with us on the Administrative Team. I am deeply grateful to MaryAnn for her willingness to return to Temple Emanu-El in this capacity and assist me in transitioning our back-end accounting function to a solution that is based in accounting best practices. Her efforts were heartfelt as is her love for our congregation. And moving forward as we embrace this change, please join me in welcoming our newest A-Team member, Andrew Scher, our part-time bookkeeper. Andrew is an accounting major at San Jose State and will be in the Temple office three days a week. He is a wonderful addition to our Team. If you have any questions regarding your account at the Temple, please feel free to email Andrew at Andrew@templesanjose.org. 2) You may have noticed slight differences in your Temple account statements. We are now fully functional in our new database – ShulSuite! We are generating monthly & quarterly account statements for all our congregants from this new tool. Your statements may not look exactly the same but we ask you to join us in celebrating these infrastructure updates with the understanding that this improvement ultimately brings new efficiencies and greater accuracy to Temple Emanu-El’s back office. 3) And finally, I want to share a change which is personal to me. I share this about me because I am quite clear that when I experience great personal change, it is obvious to those with whom I work and serve at Temple Emanu-El. Such is the nature of a closely connected work environment. My son, Calvin - my first- born - graduated from high school in June and will be departing this month for the University of Southern California. As I’m sure many of you can imagine (or have already experienced with your own children), I am so proud of him. And I am also so sad to see him go. I want to thank each person at Temple Emanu-El who has assisted me these past few months around this exciting and sometimes heartbreaking transition. A special thanks to the Sr. Staff and the Administrative Team who have opened their hearts to me and have “covered” for me when it was necessary. I am blessed with their friendship and understanding. Always feel free to email me if you have questions about changes or decisions we make on behalf of the Temple. I am happy to hear your concerns and help clarify any issues you may have. And “empty nesters” advice is now greatly appreciated! Thank you for your patience as I navigate these uncharted waters – both professionally and personally! -Kama Fletcher 4 Ritual Committee An Adult’s Bat Mitzvah Experience 1.5 years in the making -by Lori Rush I’ve been Jewish all my life, but never realized what it really felt like to be Jewish. I went to Hebrew school for four years and learned to read and recite a couple of the standard prayers like the the Sh’ma, Kiddush, and motzi. But we were social Jews, the High Holy Days Jews, and I remember how painful it was to sit through a conservative service in Brooklyn. Fast forward several decades later, after spending a couple of years at Temple Emanu-El, I became very interested in really wanting to take my rite of passage as a Jew… thus the adult Bat Mitzvah. I was encouraged to B’nai Mitzvah, but I did not want to wait until 2014 or later. Generously, Rabbi and Cantor supported me as a Bat Mitzvah. I did a lot of learning on my own with weekly supplements attending Minyan – religiously (no pun) and Shabbat at least 2 times a month. I would be at the gym from 6 AM–8 AM every Saturday, and then race to Minyan. On Sundays I would be at the gym from 8–10:00 AM then race to Cantor’s classes in the BFR. The services and Cantor’s classes taught me what the Bat Mitzvah ritual is about. Receiving and learning my parsha was soul-searching for me. I went to the depths of my life experiences, and intertwined it with what I thought the Torah was saying. The net result was my commitment to my Jewishness. Standing on the Bimah was momentous. The spiritual energy from Rabbi, Cantor and the Torahs, was radiant. The Sh’ma was profound! The following week after my Bat Mitzvah I was at Shabbat and Minyan; this was of my own free will, imagine that! I’ve asked several relatives and friends, who were B’nai Mitzvahed as young adults, what they remember about their B’nai Mitzvah. Most of them said they do not remember and this is very sad to me. To have forgotten how great this experience is is a shame. Maybe they were too young to realize what it really means. Becoming an Adult Bat Mitzvah was an amazing learning experience, and exceeded absolutely everything I thought it would be. It’s like falling in love, that beautiful warm secure feeling. ISRAEL TRIP 2014 If you have ever wanted to travel to Israel, now is the time. Rabbi Magat will be leading a trip to Israel from June 17- July 2, 2014. Join us for an informational orientation on August 21 at 6:00 PM. Please RSVP to admin@templesanjose.org. Food will be provided.
Preschool Moments Babies & Bagels Our summer was a wonderful success. The children enjoyed a Splatter Paint Party, tea parties, outer space, a rain forest, and so many more adventures. It was a summer full of memories and the innocence of being a child. It is hard to imagine that we are at the beginning of our 13th year. It is our Bar Mitzvah year and we are certain it will be a year of growth and excitement. We are starting this year with a running start! Rosh Hashanah is early and already I hear the children and teachers singing their favorite Rosh Hashanah song, "Buzz Buzz Buzz." We will spend September learning about the High Holy Days and, of course, we are all looking forward to blowing the shofar with Rabbi Magat. Preschool is a special time of exploring, growing, and learning to bond with others. I am always excited to see my old friends come back and to meet so many new little people and families. I look forward to our year and the new memories we are going to create. We are already accepting applications for the summer and fall of 2014, so please contact me with any questions or to schedule a tour. This time of year I always think of a song that the preschoolers like to sing that represents not only Rosh Hashanah but also it is our hope for our preschool friends. "L'Shanah tovah tikatevu L' Shanah tovah tikatevu a good year a year of peace we wish to you". Warmly, Barbara Smead Save the Date New Program~ Baby Shabbat August 10 at 9:00 AM in the Chapel A Shabbat experience designed for families with children ages 0-30 months. Little ones will enjoy a program full of Shabbat songs, Torah stories, and parachute play! We'll share the Kiddush and Motzi at a bagel oneg to follow. A wonderful opportunity to come together as a family and meet new friends! Siblings are welcome, and the program is open to the community. This program will continue on the second Saturday of each month. For more information contact Rebekah Sechrist at rdsechrist@gmail.com. Bagel oneg sponsored by Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood. Save the Date for Latkes and Laughs at Temple Emanu-El on Saturday Nov 9th, 2013 Join your Temple neighbors to start the new week at Zip Code Havdalah. The hosts will provide the home, the guests will provide an appetizer or dessert, and Temple Emanu-El will provide the wine and ritual! RSVP by August 10th to havdalah@templesanjose.org. Your assigned location will be provided after we receive your RSVP. 5
Page 1 and 2: Connections Temple Emanu-El, San Jo
Page 3: Words from the Rabbi Words from our
Page 7 and 8: Brotherhood Hello! Welcome to my fi
Page 9 and 10: Thank You for Your Generous Contrib
Page 11 and 12: High Holy Days News Have you renewe
Page 13 and 14: Please Support Our Advertisers “I
Page 15 and 16: August 2013 ~ Av-Elul 5773 Sunday M

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