April & May 2013 - Congregation Beth El

ISSUE 136 • April & May 2013 Congregation Beth El IS a MEMBEr of The Union for rEform JudAISM
In this issue
“Honoring Tradition, Celebrating Diversity, and Building a Jewish Future”
From the Rabbi p.2
Member Spotlight p.3
President’s Message p.4
Youth & Family Education p.6, 17
Guest Articles p.7, 9
Beth Elders p.8, p.15
Events
p.10-11
B’Nei Mitzvah p.11
New Members
April
p.12-13
Board Buzz p.14
Supper & Schmooze p.15
Staff Profile p.18
Highlights
Supper & Schmooze – Saturday, April 13
Israel Independence Day – Tuesday, April 16
WBE: Havdalah in the Hills – Saturday, April 20
Zionism: What Was It – Thursday, April 25
MaY
Beth El Annual Meeting – Sunday, May 5
Celebration of Education – Friday, May 17
Israel Consul General Briefing – Tuesday, May 21
Men’s Club Day at the A’s – Monday, May 27
New Board Installed/Volunteer Recognition –
Friday, May 31
Features
New Series on Jews by Choice, p. 9
Men Are From Minsk, Women Are From..., p. 7
Board (of Directors) Buzz, p. 14
Camping With 800 Kids, p. 18
Chug Mishpacha p.19
New Books in the Library p.21
Music Room p.22
Torah Study Schedule p.23
Tzedakah
Calendars
p.23-25
p.26-27

FROM thE rABBI
Reform Jews Organizing
Immigration Reform & Gun Control
The Pesach liturgy begins with
these words of invitation, “Let all who
are in need, come and celebrate! Let all who are hungry, come
and eat!” With these words, we begin the annual retelling of
our people’s ancient and most important story. After retelling
the story, whether in the cherished words of the traditional
haggadah or in our own, we are reminded: Throughout the
generations, every person must see herself/himself as if she/
he personally had gone forth from Mitzrayim. The Pesach story
of seeking freedom in a new land resonates for us; the vast
majority of our families are at most two or three generations
from being an immigrant to America. By recalling our own
journeys — as families and as a people — our awareness
and sensitivity to the vulnerability and powerlessness of the
immigrant is heightened. We are taught in the Torah, “You shall
not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of
a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Mitzrayim.”
(Exodus 23:9).
In California today, approximately three million undocumented
immigrants drive our taxis, harvest and prepare our food,
and build and maintain our homes, buildings and yards.
While contributing in numerous ways to our economy and our
society, they live in constant fear of arrest, deportation and
being separated from their loved ones and homes. Many have
been in California longer than we have. Easily exploited when
defrauded of their wages or as victims of crime, they are terrified
of interactions with the police or any institution of authority. As a
state and as a nation, we readily accept their labor and benefit
from their contributions but continue to insist that they live on
the margins — metaphorically and literally — of our society. In
the imagery of the Torah, they are the ones who sit “outside the
camp.”
For more than 150 years, Reform Jews have considered it
our special mission to be the guardians and upholders of
the teachings of the prophets of ancient Israel and Judaism’s
prophetic tradition. Reform Jewish rabbis and synagogues
across the state are banding together to form a new group,
Reform California, with the intention of organizing and acting
for the sake of justice. Our leaders have identified immigration
reform – and, specifically, California Assembly Bill 4, known as
the “TRUST ACT” – as the focus of our first statewide Reform
Jewish organizing campaign for justice.
Currently, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s
(ICE) Secure Communities program shifts the burden of federal
civil immigration enforcement onto local law enforcement.
To operate the Secure Communities program, ICE relies on
voluntary requests, holds or detainers, to local law enforcement
to hold individuals in local jails for additional time beyond when
they would be eligible for release in a criminal matter. There
is no requirement for a warrant and no established standard
of proof, such as reasonable suspicion or probable cause, for
issuing an ICE detainer request. Immigration detainers have
erroneously been placed on United States citizens, as well as on
immigrants who are not deportable. The TRUST Act, if passed,
would instruct California’s law enforcement to refrain from
holding people for ICE if they are otherwise eligible for release
and have not already been convicted of a felony.
While an apparently small step, the approval of the TRUST
Act would make a qualitative difference in the lives of
undocumented immigrants, as well as the millions of citizens
and residents who may “look like” an undocumented person.
Our engagement with this issue – in addition to being a
worthy cause in its own right – is an opportunity to partner and
organize with other communities of faith and other Californians
around an issue that touches all of our lives, whether we are
aware of it or not. With success in this campaign, I hope, we will
be empowered and energized to renew and deepen our shared
commitment to fulfill the prophet Amos’s teaching, “Let justice
roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The campaign will be announcing specific action steps that we
can do based on the legislative process. If you are interested
in participating in Beth El’s and our wider efforts to organize
around the TRUST Act and immigration reform, please contact
Social Action Chair Emily Marthinsen, emilymarthinsen@
comcast.net.
After the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, many of us resolved
in our hearts that it is time for us to personally get involved in
doing something about gun control and gun violence. I have
been in conversation with other local clergy and am inviting you
to an interfaith evening for Listening and Organizing about Gun
Control and Gun Violence in our local communities. We are
inviting clergy and congregants from local congregations to join
us on May 16 at 7:00 pm at St. Albans Episcopal Church, 1501
Washington Ave. (at Curtis St.) in Albany to explore what is most
important for us and our communities to address how we can
come together to respond. If you can attend, or if you cannot
but want to participate in this organizing work, RSVP to the St.
Albans office at info@st-albans-albany.org.
Rabbi Yoel Kahn
2 The Builder: April & May 2013

The Sugarmans Continue Their
Dedicated Service to Beth El
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
by Elisabeth Wechsler
Paul and Susan Sugarman
have been active at
Congregation Beth El since the
1980s. Paul has served on the
board of directors for 17 years.
He is now first vice president of
the board and, “barring a palace
revolt,” will be elected president
in May. Susan also served on the
board in the 1980s as finance secretary and more recently has
helped lead the Beth El mental health task force.
Paul has also served as Beth El’s vice president of fund-raising;
co-chair of the capital campaign that raised funds for our
new building; member of the steering committee for the new
building project; member of the rabbi search committee; trustee
of the board; member of the Camp Kee Tov, Gala and Finance
committees; and co-chair of the Program Council, which
coordinates Beth El’s many programs and activities.
soon be on the way!), quilting and her book group. She also
swims, does yoga and takes bicycle and hiking trips with Paul.
She and Paul were members for 20 years of a family-based
chavurah at Beth El until their three daughters were grown.
Paul has retired as a corporate attorney but has very little free
time because he’s on four other boards and 16 committees, and
does a lot of face-to-face fund-raising. When he can, he loves
being in the outdoors and is very committed to classical music.
In fact, three of the other boards he serves on involve classical
music performance. “As a result, we go to a lot of concerts!” he
said. (The fourth board is for a children’s theater group.)
As a couple with such busy lives today, it’s hard to imagine
that they ever had a chance to meet, but they obviously did:
They met in 1976 at a SFJCC folk dancing class. Paul was in
the middle of the bar exam and decided to take a break that
evening. At the time Susan was working as a paralegal in San
Francisco and had vowed never to date a lawyer. She made an
exception in Paul’s case, figuring that anyone who could go folk
Paul identified three main goals as he ponders his new
responsibilities: 1) He wants to ensure that the synagogue’s
strategic plan continues to be implemented on its five-year
schedule; 2) He wants Beth El to remain “financially stable”;
and 3) He wants every adult at Beth El to develop at least one
personally meaningful way to connect with the synagogue.
Paul is very impressed by the success of the synagogue’s
youth-oriented programs. The youth and family education
(YAFE), early childhood education, Camp Kee Tov and teen
programs “have never been stronger,” he said, adding that
“you don’t want to break what’s working so well.”
Paul understands that Beth El’s members connect in
different ways to the synagogue: spiritually, intellectually
and/or through service and that, as is typical of Reform
Jews, members have “a lot going on, with a variety of
outside interests. Everyone can find her or his own way to
connect with the synagogue that is not dependent on children’s
involvement,” Paul said, listing Shabbat services, social action,
adult education (including Torah Study) and other programs as
examples. “Members can also help Beth El by volunteering in
any number of ways,” he added. “If it weren’t for volunteers,
our budget would be $15 million rather than the $3 million
it is now.” Paul believes that it is essential that members form
adult-oriented connections to the synagogue’s programs and
community so that, as children become b’nei mitzvah and
eventually age out of the youth and teen programs, parents
continue to have ways to participate in the life of the synagogue
and remain active lifelong members.
Susan is a private psychotherapist who works part time. Her
free time is devoted mainly to friends and family, including her
two-year-old granddaughter (she hopes more grandchildren will
dancing in the middle of the bar exam might be worth a look.
It was serendipity, because after the bar exam and Paul’s return
from a six-week trip to Europe, they got together. Susan and Paul
were married in July 1978. They moved from San Francisco to
Oakland in 1979, where they reside now.
Paul was raised in Newton, Mass. – “in a Jewish ghetto” – as
he describes it. His family belonged to a large Conservative
synagogue two blocks from their house. They celebrated all the
Jewish holidays and often gathered for Friday Shabbat dinner
before attending services. “My parents were raised in Orthodox
kosher homes, but our home was conservative – kosher-style,”
he said.
Continued on p.5
www.bethelberkeley.org 3

FROM thE PRESIDEnt
Shabbat: What Kind of Gift
As I write this, I am sitting on a plane
in the 10th hour of a 12-hour flight from
Beijing to San Francisco. I have been online
using United Airlines’ new satellite-based Internet service since
our departure. I’ve spent my time responding to emails, working
on product plans and instant messaging with my co-workers. It
occurs to me that I have lost one of the few times I used to have
to disconnect. These days, I can be online and available at all
times. And for me, being online and working is like an addiction
— I know I should put it aside more often but I cannot resist.
How do I get a break My only respite now is Shabbat. And
Shabbat is only a respite because I choose to observe (some of)
its restrictions. It is becoming clear to me why the Torah instructs
us not only to “remember” Shabbat but to “protect” it.
In the Babylonian Talmud Tractate Shabbat 10b, we are taught
that “The Holy One said to Moses, ‘I have a precious gift in
My treasure house called the Shabbat and I desire to give it
to Israel.’” Yet, to many of us, Shabbat is simply a container
of restrictions: we are not supposed to work, drive, cook, play
soccer or carry stuff around. We can’t post to Facebook, check
email, play video games or watch TV. What kind of a gift is
that So many trends today move us in the opposite direction of
Shabbat observance. We are increasingly living in households in
which all the adults work in demanding careers. We are always
online and available via email or cellphone. Our children are
increasingly online or otherwise electronically engaged, as well.
Three years ago the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that
American children ages eight to 18 were spending more than
seven-and-a-half hours a day on electronic devices — increased
by an hour from the last study, five years before.
Clothing Donations
by Mary Jacobs
Beth El will no longer be collecting children’s clothing for
the Berkeley Women’s Drop-In Center; the center has
no space for donations. If you have children’s clothes to
give away, please contact: Bananas, 5232 Claremont
Avenue, Oakland, 510-658-0381.
We always need adult clothing to give away at the Beth
El Homeless Meal, the third Sunday of each month.
Please put donations in the red and green barrels in
the education wing. Many thanks for your continued
generosity!
Shabbat is designed to break those patterns. Its rules force us
to stop engaging in our Type A behavior. It is meant to be a
day to find joy in our connections with our family, friends and
community. After all, it is not an accident that we are given
a specific day to celebrate Shabbat. We are not told to stop
working at least one day a week. We all have the same Shabbat
day. So, we are all taking a break together.
For me, it all begins with the miracle of the Friday evening
Shabbat meal. I call it a miracle because we actually get
everyone together to sit down at the dinner table. My wife,
Robinn, believes that the Shabbat evening rituals were designed
by moms who were doing most of the meal preparations.
On Shabbat, she points out, no one can start eating until the
candles have been lit and the blessings have been said, so
everyone must wait until mom (or whoever is preparing the
meal) is ready to join in. During the blessings, everyone must
wash their hands before eating – another nod to something that
my mom always wanted us to do.
After the candles are lit, parents take a moment to bless their
children – a weekly reminder of their importance. I love this
blessing because it says more than simply “I love you.” As
part of a prescribed ritual, it says that wanting the best for
our children is a cultural value to be practiced and regularly
communicated.
Saturday is a day to be with friends and the community at Beth
El. We start with the spirituality and unity of our early morning
minyan, move on to the intense intellectual exercise of wrestling
with the Torah in our Torah Study discussion, and finish our
programmed ritual with the joy, learning and music of our
regular Shabbat morning service. The Shabbat oneg then gives
me the once-a-week opportunity to just sit with my really good
friends and talk about stuff. We generally extend the oneg for
a couple hours because we don’t often get the chance to be
away from work, email, telephones, televisions, and all the other
everyday distractions that keep us from simply being together.
By the time havdalah and the end of Shabbat roll around, I
don’t even notice that I haven’t looked at email or Facebook
or work-related stuff for 24 hours. So, if you are looking for a
break from the hustle and bustle of the workaday world, come
find us on Saturday. Take some time to experience the wonderful
gift that is Shabbat at Beth El.
Dan Magid
President, Board of Directors
4 The Builder: April & May 2013

CONGREGATION BETH EL
1301 Oxford Street
Berkeley, CA 94709-1424
Phone: 510-848-3988
Fax: 510-848-2707
Youth and Family Education Office
Direct Line: 510-848-2122
Nursery School Office
Direct Line: 510-848-9428
Camp Kee Tov Office
Direct Line: 510-848-2372
Midrasha Office
Direct Line 510-843-4667
CLERGY & STAFF
Rabbi Yoel H. Kahn
Rabbi of the Congregation
ext. 215 - rabbikahn@bethelberkeley.org
Rabbi rEUBEn ZellMAn
Assistant Rabbi & Music Director
ext. 228 - rabbirz@bethelberkeley.org
Norm FranKEl
Executive Director
ext. 212 - norm@bethelberkeley.org
Debra Sagan MASSEY
Director of Education
ext. 213 - debra@bethelberkeley.org
Annual Meeting
Congregation Annual
Meeting on Sunday, May 5
The Annual Meeting is open to all members and is an opportunity to conduct
important congregational business and communicate information on the financial state of
the congregation.
We will begin the meeting at 10:00 am with brunch and the presentation of the Marion
Magid Award for Excellence in Leadership. We will be honoring one of our members whose
efforts and leadership epitomize the vital importance of volunteer participation at all levels in
building and sustaining our community.
The business portion of the meeting will begin at 11:00 am and will include reports on the
state of the synagogue, a review of our current year’s finances and the operating budget for
the coming fiscal year. There will also be an update on the status of our financial obligations
to the bank and others, and an opportunity for you to ask questions on the fiscal state of the
synagogue.
The agenda will include a vote on the Board of Directors’ recommendation for standard
membership dues for the next fiscal year, as well as a vote on the proposed slate of
candidates for the 2013-14 Board of Directors. Details on these two items, as well as other
items that may be added to the agenda, will be sent at least 10 days prior to the meeting.
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday, May 5.
MagUY WEIZMAnn-MCgUIre
Early Childhood Education Director
ext. 219 - maguy@bethelberkeley.org
ZACh lAndrES-Schnur
Camp Kee Tov Director
ext. 217 - zach@bethelberkeley.org
Tameka Young-dIABY
Bookkeeper
ext. 210 - tameka@bethelberkeley.org
Rebecca dEPalMA
YAFE Administrative Coordinator
& Youth Group Advisor
ext. 214 - rebecca@bethelberkeley.org
MargEE Burch
Communications Coordinator
ext. 211 - margee@bethelberkeley.org
LorIAnna SEIdlitz-SMIth
Administrative Coordinator
ext. 235 - lorianna@bethelberkeley.org
EMILY SChnITZER
Camp Kee Tov Admin. Coordinator
ext. 223 - emily@bethelberkeley.org
Diane BernBAUM
Midrasha Director
510-843-4667 - diane@midrasha.org
Odette BlAChMAn
Gift Shop
ext. 240 - oblachman@sbcglobal.net
Rabbi fErenc rAJ
Rabbi Emeritus
ferenc@bethelberkeley.org
SugarMAns, ContinUEd from Page 3
After his bar mitzvah, he continued his Jewish education through
the 11th grade at an after school, Sunday-through-Thursday
Hebrew high school. He spent one year at the Hebrew College
of Boston, overlapping with his senior year of high school. After
graduating from Harvard in 1969, Paul joined the Peace Corps as
a volunteer in Ethiopia, where he taught middle school English as a second language
for two years and then pedagogy for an additional year at one of the country’s teacher
training institutes.
Paul returned to the U.S. in 1972 and headed to Yale Law School, graduating in 1975.
He then relocated to San Francisco. After a one-year clerkship for a Federal District
Court judge, he practiced at a large private law firm before retiring (for the first time)
in early 2008. Eight months later he was asked to un-retire and to help manage the
dissolution of his 100+ year-old, 600-attorney firm. He retired again in late 2010.
Susan’s upbringing was quite different, she explained: “We didn’t live in a Jewish
neighborhood (a western suburb of St. Louis). We belonged to a classical Reform
synagogue that didn’t allow bat or bar mitzvot or the wearing of tallitot or kippot, used
virtually no Hebrew during its services, and held its religious school on Sunday.” She
added that she didn’t study Hebrew until adulthood. While Susan did become active in
Temple Youth in high school, her family practiced “Judaism lite.”
Susan came to California to attend Stanford. Her undergraduate years included
two overseas stints – in Austria and France. While her daughters – Sarah, Emily and
Hannah – were still young, she returned to school and received a Master’s of Social
Work degree at UC Berkeley. In June, Susan will begin studying for her adult bat
mitzvah in 2014 with Rabbi Zellman and others.
www.bethelberkeley.org 5

yAFE: Youth and Family Education
Connecting to the CoMMunity
by Debra Sagan Massey, RJE, Director of Education
Sometimes all the different options
we have can feel really overwhelming. Our
children are presented with so many different
choices of activities — from sports to theater
and clubs. It is no wonder that there has been renewed focus
on how we can help our children be less stressed about school
and extracurricular activities. Many schools and educators are
showing the film Race to Nowhere, an education documentary
that challenges current thinking about how to best prepare our
students for success. I believe that it is our duty as adults to
create a culture where children can learn and grow without a lot
of pressure and to discover what naturally piques their interest
and curiosity.
A supplemental school can often challenge this basic belief. By
adding another activity to our children’s already busy schedules,
we take away important time for relaxing and playing. That is
one reason why our education programs are filled with activities
that keep our children engaged in hands-on learning and
connecting with their friends.
Students who attend the after-school Kadima program get to
participate in Israeli dancing, music, nature, cooking and art
— all with a Jewish twist. Our Shabbat family school, Chug
Mishpacha, brings families together for quality time on Shabbat
— something that is more and more challenging to carve out
of our busy lives. I hope that Beth El as a whole can feel like
a sanctuary in space for you, a place where you can come
to connect with friends, to be with family, and to enjoy being
Jewish.
Finally, I invite everyone to mark your calendar for the
Celebration of Education on Friday, May 17 as we celebrate the
year of learning together. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Race to Nowhere is an education documentary that challenges current
thinking about how to best prepare our students for success. See more
at www.racetonowhere.com/#sthash.TwMYioD3.dpuf.
Gala Fundraiser Exceeds Expectations
What a fabulous time was had by all last month at the
Chai Noon Saloon. The Gala was a beautiful snapshot of the
multigenerational community that is Beth El. It was truly moving
to look around the room that evening and see members, young
and old, having a great time together.
The list of volunteers who helped make the evening a success is
endless. Please know that we are so grateful to each of you who
helped tending bar, serving, cooking, decorating and cleaning
up. The evening could not have happened without your time and
energy.
Thank you so much to our Gala co-chairs, Jen Brand and Dana
Zell, who organized this incredible event. They had a fabulous
team of helpers, including Lorianna Seidlitz-Smith and Jen
Brysk, who transformed Beth El into a scene from the Wild West
(including the covered wagon). Thanks to the work of the Gala
Committee: Max Cooperstein, Chrissy Meuris, Robin Wenrick,
Robin McMahon, Cori Kesler, Sarah Bevis, Kim Zvik, Anna
Fogelman, Jason Turbow and Laura Turbow. We were blessed
to have delicious food catered by our member, Oded Hilu of
Jasmine Catering, and the fabulous music by the Swinging
Doors, courtesy of Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse and our
member, Steve Baker.
We also extend our many thanks to those who donated services
for our live and silent auction; you enabled us to reach our
fundraising goals! Through this year’s Gala, we have raised over
$30,000 to provide scholarships to all of our youth and family
education programs: Beth El Nursery School, Camp Kee Tov,
Kadima, Chug Mishpacha and our youth groups.
On behalf of the entire staff of Congregation Beth El, we are
thankful to everyone who made the Gala such a fabulous event,
and we look forward to many more occasions to gather as a
community.
More Gala pictures on pages 26 - 27.
6 The Builder: April & May 2013

Guest Article
Men are from Minsk.
Women are from Vilnius. Discuss.
by Marc Breindel
When a philosopher wrote, “Men are from Mars,
women are from Venus,” he may or may not have been thinking
of synagogue social groups. Is Beth El’s long-standing Men’s
Club from Minsk, and one-year-old Women of Beth El from
Vilnius Men’s Club Treasurer Bob Goldstein and Women of Beth
El Coordinator Cathy Stevens noshed on this theme:
Marc Breindel: Let’s start
off with some popular club
activities.
Bob Goldstein: Well, the first
Friday night in March, the
Men’s Club honored former
Beth El President Stu Berman,
as one of our outstanding
congregation members who
has performed dedicated
service and leadership to
Beth El.
Cathy Stevens: And you
honor women, too
Bob: We do honor women,
absolutely! This is a nondiscriminatory
event. Last
year we honored the women who put on the Homeless Meal:
Ruth Spear, Adele Amodeo and Ellie Goldstein-Erickson. The
year before we honored Bev Eigner. So we honor women.
Cathy: Equally.
Bob: Equal opportunity to be honored.
Marc: What other kinds of events does the Men’s Club host
Bob: Under (Men’s Club President) Andy Ganes’s leadership,
we’ve tried to get more kid-oriented events. We’ve always had
the “Day at the A’s,” and this year we’re having a barbecue at
the Coliseum before the game, on Memorial Day.
Marc: It’s the A’s versus the Giants this year. Who’s your team
Bob: I root for the Red Sox myself.
Marc: What events does Women of Beth El host
Cathy: Every second Sunday of the month we have a craft party.
Women bring their own crafts of any kind. We’ve had jewelry,
knitting, crochet, whatever they feel like. Also we make “chemo
caps” for women at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in
Oakland.
Marc: Nice. What else
Cathy: One recent quarterly meeting was a potluck, and we
talked about generations. So we had a speaker talking about
the different generations, and we all brought foods from our
childhoods. That was fun: lots of aspic salads and Jell-O,
macaroni and cheese…
Bob: Didn’t you go to the Magic Theater
Cathy: Yes, we did. And we went to a movie as an alternative to
Superbowl Sunday. We went to see Life of Pi.
Marc: That one won some Oscars.
Cathy: Yeah, it was really good. So, mainly, I guess the
emphasis is that we’re a social group, too. Our next quarterly
event is April 28, and we’re going to have Israeli dancing and
a potluck of some dish important to your heritage. So it’s fun!
Marc: That does sound like fun.
Cathy: And what else did somebody come up with (Thinks a
moment.) Oh, yeah, sliders! Wouldn’t it
be fun to have a slider party, only we’d
have different kinds of sliders
Marc: You mentioned folk dancing. I’m
guessing you’ll be inviting men to that
event
Cathy: We haven’t thought about
that yet… We gals sometimes don’t
mind having line dances and stuff by
ourselves.
Bob: I want to make clear that the
Men’s Club accepts women members.
Marc: You do
Bob: Yes, in fact one of our first woman
members, who encouraged other
women to join, was Marian Magid. She
was very active in the Men’s Club.
Cathy: (Laughing with delight) I didn’t know that!
Bob: Oh, yeah. She was great. We’re totally unbiased, even
though we’re the Men’s Club.
Cathy: We’re biased. (Laughs heartily.) You can’t come to ours!
Marc: Really, if a man wanted to join Women of Beth El, what
would happen What if he just wanted to go to the craft event
on Sunday, for example
Cathy: Well, we have not exactly discussed that, but I can tell
you what the philosophy is: There is a felt need for women to
have a place to gather and just talk and schmooze and visit…
We don’t have a grand philosophy – we just want to have fun.
Marc: What are you doing to build up club membership
Cathy: We have a Facebook page, and we’d like to have
people join that. Because if they “Like” our page, then they can
get all of our notifications, and they can also post there.
Bob: That’s a great idea!
Marc: You might start a
Facebook page, too, Bob
Bob: Well, it won’t be me. But
I do think it’s a great idea.
We could have poker parties,
maybe.
Cathy: There you go!
Women of Beth’s Facebook
page is at: www.facebook.com/
WBEBerkeley.
Marc Breindel
www.bethelberkeley.org 7

Israel Committee Talk
Zionism – What was it What is it
Who needs it
The Israel Committee of Congregation Beth El has
invited Ron Feldman to teach a three-session series on the
origins, history and contemporary relevance of Zionism and
Zionist ideas. This is an opportunity to learn more about issues
and ideas important to Israel and the Jewish people. Each talk
will be at 7:30 pm in the Beit Midrash.
Session 1: Thursday, April 25
Zionism – What was it
The state of Israel was established 65 years ago, but Zionism
existed for over 60 years before that. In this session we will
focus on the history of Zionist ideas, with a special focus on
that earlier period, when most Jews were not Zionists, and
many Zionists were not in favor of establishing a Jewish
state. We will discuss some of the varieties of Zionism, what
they agreed on and how they differed. Among the topics to
be touched on will be peoplehood, homeland, statehood,
nation, diaspora, exile, Arabs/Palestinians, the tension
among religious, cultural and political forces, and the effect
of the Holocaust on Zionist ideas.
Session 2: Thursday, May 2
Israel — Why does it matter
Israel has become central to American-Jewish identity, yet
Israel means something different to American Jews and to
Israelis. In this session we will explore those differences,
focusing particularly on the meaning and importance of
Zionism to Israelis, to Jews in the diaspora and, particularly,
to American Jews. Is Zionism still relevant or do we live in a
“post-Zionist” era What, if any, is the distinction between
anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism
Session 3: Thursday, May 9
Israel – Does it still matter, and why
Today there are great debates within the Israeli and American
Jewish communities about Israel’s future. At the same time,
it seems that Israel matters less than ever to larger numbers
of American Jews, and that disengagement has grown. In
this concluding meeting we will open the floor to discuss why
Israel still does—or does not—matter to us, the importance
of Zionism to our conception of Israel and the differences
between being pro-Israel and pro-Zionist. We hope to
provide a forum for reflection on how our views today link to
the lineage of ideas about Israel and Zionism discussed in
the first two classes. Participation in this session is open only
to those who participated in the previous sessions.
Ron H. Feldman, Ph.D., is a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate
Theological Union in Berkeley. He edited and co-edited two
collections of essays by Hannah
Arendt on Jewish identity and politics,
more recently, The Jewish Writings
(Schocken, 2007), which has been
translated into Spanish, French and
Hebrew. Dr. Feldman has also been
published in Moment, Judaism, Dissent,
j. Weekly and San Francisco Chronicle.
He has taught Jewish studies courses
on contemporary Jews and Judaism at UC Santa Cruz, San
Francisco State University, Sonoma State University and the
University of San Francisco.
Beth Elders
Maximizing Your Doctor’s Office Visit
by Marilyn Margulius
Sunday, April 14, 3:00 to 5:00 pm at Beth El’s Beit
Midrash.
Join Marion Anderson, RN, PhD, to learn more about making
the most of your doctor visits:
•What are questions you should be prepared to ask
•What materials and documents should you bring
•What should you know about your condition and your
medications before you leave your doctor’s office
Learn how to be prepared for a doctor’s visit and to effectively
advocate for yourself. Marion is the chair of the MedPals Team
at Ashby Village. MedPals are volunteers who go to a doctor’s
appointment with Ashby Village members. They are available
to support you before the visit, as well as act as note takers
during the appointment itself. They provide an extra set of
eyes and ears, and can also provide the ride to and from the
appointment.
Ashby Village is a community-based nonprofit supporting
independent and healthy living for seniors in their own
homes: www.ashbyvillage.org.
In addition to the Ashby Village presentation, Neil Gozan, a
physician specializing in gerontology, will join the question-andanswer
period.
8 The Builder: April & May 2013

Jews By Choice
My Conversion to Judaism
by Martin Dodd
I remember my first bagel. I was about 13 (interesting,
don’t you think) and was sitting for the one Jewish family
on our block. The kids wanted a snack and asked if I would
fix them a bagel. I didn’t know what they were talking about,
which they thought was hysterical. So, they showed me. I still
remember how it tasted, toasted and dripping with butter. I went
home and told my mother about this amazing new delicacy I
had discovered. That was the last bagel I ate until college, but
I believe there was something portentous about the fact that I
never forgot what a revelation that simple bagel seemed.
Around my junior year in college, I began dating the first of what
would become a list of exclusively Jewish girlfriends, culminating
with my wife, Jill. There was clearly a common cultural trait that
drew me to Jewish women, which is interesting in itself, since
as a rule they were quite unlike my mother, a proper Southern
wasP. The first of this succession of girlfriends invited me to my
first Pesach Seder. The Seder itself was more or less a disaster,
as my girlfriend’s mother was emotionally unstable and, looking
back on it now, I realized that she was uncomfortable having
the goy boyfriend at the Seder table. Nonetheless, through it
all, I found myself completely stunned by the Pesach message of
liberation from bondage, internal and external.
Fast forward about 10 years or so. Jill and I had been married
several years. We celebrated Pesach and Chanukah but also
always put up a Christmas tree. Jill attended services on the
High Holy Days; I stayed at home with our young daughters.
As our oldest, Sarah, was getting ready to start school, Jill and
I went to a school fair and learned about Tehiyah Day School
in El Cerrito. It became very clear that Jill wanted Sarah to have
a Jewish education. That was fine with me, so we sent her to
Tehiyah. One Friday evening in 1987, in the first few weeks of
Sarah’s kindergarten year, she asked Jill, “Are we going to light
the candles” And so, we started slowly incorporating Shabbat
dinners into our lives, including attending dinner with various
other families in the school. December rolled around and I put
up a tree, just as I always had and suddenly, I felt as though I
was sending a very mixed message to my girls. And I was also a
bit embarrassed about the possibility of others from the Tehiyah
community coming to the house and seeing a Christmas tree.
That was the last Christmas tree we ever had. And the really
telling thing is that I never missed it. Christmas in my birth family
was always a significant holiday – not really religious – but it
carried lots of emotional significance. That I was able to just set
it aside gave me a pretty strong hint that I had turned some kind
of corner internally.
I began to get very active in the Tehiyah community (and stayed
active for many years thereafter). Our involvement signaled
that our lives were starting to be really focused Jewishly in
every respect. But the final step in the process leading to my
conversion came with tragedy. In 1989, my mother-in-law
passed away. Jill and I went to the funeral and it was there that
I first heard the Mourners’ Kaddish recited, and I witnessed
Jewish ritual take over to provide emotional support during life’s
saddest moments. The deep and ancient wisdom reflected in the
ordered and staged grieving process hit me at a very deep level,
and it was then that I knew I would convert.
I started studying. As I learned more, I had an experience
fairly common among Jews-by-choice, and that might also
explain why my memory of that first bagel, my series of Jewish
girlfriends and my experience at my first Seder were all so
significant: I had the sense that I was coming home. Judaism
felt “right” and spoke to me in a way that Christianity never did.
But I did have one last hurdle from my former life to get past.
Although we were never particularly religious or observant,
my family’s life among Southern Protestants is infused with
evangelism. It is just part of the cultural backdrop. So, as I
was studying for conversion, I kept waiting for a blinding flash
of light to be “born again,” as it were, before I would pick a
date for my conversion ceremony. The rabbi with whom I was
studying assured me that Judaism didn’t necessarily work like
that; it is an unfolding process that becomes richer over time.
And then he said, “Pick a date.” So I did. One of the best
decisions I’ve ever made.
This guest article, by Martin Dodd, Past President of Congregation Beth El, is the first of a series about
our members who made the choice as adults to convert to Judaism. If you would like to submit an essay
on this subject, The Builder will publish it. Contact Elisabeth Wechsler at emwechsler@earthline.net or
phone 510-644-2152 with any questions. In future, we would like to keep the length of the essays to
500 words or so. —Editor, The Builder
www.bethelberkeley.org 9

EVENTS
SerIES
Lunch and Learn Spring Series
Thursday, April 11, noon
“The Arab Bedouin Community of the Negev”
Presented by Zimra Vigoda
Thursday, May 9, noon
“The Finkler Question”
Presented by Rabbi Yoel Kahn
10
April
Yom HaShoah
Congregation Netivot Shalom will host the Berkeley Jewish
community’s annual commemoration of Yom haShoah,
Holocaust Memorial Day, on Sunday, April 7 at 7:00 pm. This
somber program will include song, reflection, testimonials
and prayer. Our guest speaker will be Rita Kuhn, a Holocaust
survivor, long-time Berkeley resident and member of
Congregation Beth Israel. Our annual service is jointly organized
by Congregations Beth El, Netivot Shalom and Beth Israel, and is
co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Federation of the
East Bay.
Men’s Club Hike
Date: Sunday, April 7
The entire Congregation is invited.
Where: Tilden Park Inspiration Point to Lake Anza.
Leaders: Sandy and Vivian Golden 510-482-4426; svgolden@
comcast.net.
Meet: Tilden Park Inspiration Point parking lot at 9:45 am; hiking
begins at 10:00 am and ends at approximately 2:00 pm.
The Hike: Hike down Meadows Canyon trail to Wildcat Gorge.
Hike up Gorge Trail across from caves to Lake Anza. Return via
Curran trail.
Food: BYO lunch at Lake Anza picnic area.
Distance/Difficulty: About 4 to 5 miles, moderate.
To Bring: Smiles, walking poles, day pack, water, lunch, snacks,
hat, and sunscreen recommended.
This hike is suitable for kids 11 and older.
Directions from Congregation Beth El:
Take Spruce St. north .5 mile to Marin Ave.
Turn right on Marin and go .4 mile to Grizzly Peak Blvd.
Turn right and go .7 mile on Grizzly Peak to Shasta Road.
Turn left onto Shasta Road for about .5 mile (in Tilden Park).
Turn slight right onto East Wildcat Canyon Rd. for .7 mile.
Turn left into Inspiration Point parking lot.
Yom HaAtzmaut – Israel Independence Day
Come celebrate Israel’s 65th birthday with us on Tuesday, April
16 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Congregation Beth El!
There will be music, dance, art, food and video from our Beth
El members traveling in Israel with Rabbi Kahn and the East
Bay Jewish Federation. We will also have our students’ art work
on display. Dinner will be available for purchase from the Liba
Falafel Truck. All are welcome.
The Builder: April & May 2013
Havdalah in the Hills Hike!
Saturday, April 20 from 4:15 pm to 6:00 pm
The Women of Beth El will hike up to Inspiration Point in Tilden
Park for havdalah under the stars. This three-mile loop is
moderately difficult with ups and downs. Meet at 4:15 pm sharp
at Beth El to carpool, or at 4:30 pm at Lone Oak picnic area in
Tilden Park.
Driving directions: Take Spruce Street to Grizzly Peak Blvd. Cross
over onto Wildcat Canyon Road and make an immediate left
turn onto Canon Drive. At bottom of Canon Drive, turn right
onto Central Park Drive and make the next left turn onto Lone
Oak Road. The Lone Oak picnic area is straight ahead where
the road turns to the left. Wear layers for warmth and hiking
shoes. There is a port-a-potty and a water fountain at the picnic
area. Optional dinner afterward at Saul’s Deli in Berkeley!
Please RSVP to janetbyron@att.net or 510-848-4008 so that we
can make a dinner reservation.
MAY
Shavuot and All-Night Study Session
Tikkun (all-night study) will be held at the JCC of the East Bay,
1414 Walnut Street, Berkeley on Tuesday, May 14.
Shavuot, the third of the Torah’s three ancient pilgrimage
festivals, is considered the anniversary of the giving of the Torah
at Mount Sinai. For hundreds of years, Jews have gathered in a
study-vigil, lasting until midnight or dawn. The Berkeley Jewish
community gathers – in all its diversity – each year at the JCC
of the East Bay for a celebration of study and community. Beth
El’s rabbis and members will be among the many presenters
offering classes and teaching throughout the evening. You are
welcome to come at any time and stay as long as you wish;
childcare is provided. Additional information on teachers and
the evening’s schedule will be in the e-update.
Celebration of Education Shabbat
Please join us on Friday, May 17 at 6:15 pm for appetizers,
6:30 pm for a catered dinner and 7:30 pm for the service.
This service will be led by our Confirmation students (10th
graders) along with the Beth El band. The evening we will also
honor this year’s b’nei mitzvah class, our madrichim and our
graduating seniors.
Midrasha Graduation
Please join us for Midrasha graduation on Sunday, May 19 at
10:15 am. The graduation epitomizes the pluralistic nature of
our Midrasha community. Twenty graduates come from five
different synagogues and represent the general community.
Mazel tov to the following Beth El students and their families:
Noah Amme, Milo Dubinsky, Rachel Graup, Lauren Hoffman,
Sonya Malamut, Seamus Nelson, Harry Pollack and Sam Roditti.
Our other Midrasha graduates are: Henry Coonley, Clara
Cunradi, Yaron Greenwald, Joshua Herman, Shari Kimball,
Orionne Malool, Celeste Pain, Yonah Radousky, David Sibony,
Savyon Sordean, Jake Sullivan and Dina Zangwill.

The congregation is cordially invited to
attend the service and kiddush following
to honor these b’nei mitzvah candidates:
B’NEI MITZVAH
Gefen Gladstone will be called to the
Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday,
April 6 at 10:15 am. He is the son of
Jodi and Gordon Gladstone.
AJ Ingberman will be called to the
Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday,
May 11 at 10:15 am. He is the son of
Renee Elder and Daniel Ingberman.
Aliyah Ross will be called to the Torah
as a bat mitzvah on Saturday, April 20
at 10:15 am. She is the daughter of
Heidi and Andy Ross.
Ben Gilbert will be called to the Torah
as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, May
18 at 10:15 am. He is the son of Jim
Gilbert and Susan Orbuch.
Sarah Graup will be called to the Torah
as a bat mitzvah on Saturday, May 4
at 10:15 am. She is the daughter of
Robert Graup and Emily Nozick.
Noah Winkelman will be called to the
Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday,
May 25 at 10:15 am. He is the son of
Bruce and Margaret Winkelman.
Israel Consul General Andy David To Speak
Save the Date — Tuesday, May 21 at 7:30 pm for an evening
with Dr. Andy David, Israel’s Consul General in San Francisco.
We look forward to Dr. David’s presentation at Congregation
Beth El (place to be arranged) as he nears the end of his first
year representing the State of Israel in the Bay Area.
Men’s Club Day at the A’s
Memorial Day, Monday May 27 at 1:00 pm A’s v. Giants.
See the World Champion Giants and the hometown Oakland
A’s on Memorial Day. One of only two A’s home games versus
the Giants. This game is a guaranteed sellout.
The Men’s Club will have a barbeque with kosher hot dogs,
non-kosher sausages, up-scale beer, soft drink, potato chips and
more in the Coliseum parking lot before the game.
Tickets are third-level seats behind home plate and include
a $6.00 certificate good for refreshments or souvenirs at the
game. Tickets with the barbeque are $28 for adults and $20 for
kids (12 and younger). Tickets without the barbeque are $22 for
adults and $16 for kids.
Deadline to order tickets is April 29, but our tickets may sell out
well before that date. Order your tickets today and celebrate
Memorial Day at the ball game! Send a check made out to
Beth El Men’s Club to Andy Ganes, 659 Santa Barbara Road,
Berkeley 94707. Be sure to indicate the number of kids’ and
adults’ tickets, and whether you are going to the barbeque.
Enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope so that the tickets
can be mailed to you.
For those attending the pregame barbeque provide a cell
number so that Bob Goldstein can give you the location of the
tailgate barbeque in the parking area.
For more information, contact Andy at AGANES@pacbell.net or
Neil Levy at neil.levy@comcast.net or Neil’s phone, 510-524-
7824.
Farther Ahead
Register for YAFE Programs
Registration for Youth and Family Education Programs is open.
Register by Monday, July 1 and get last year’s prices. Beth El’s
Youth and Family Education program offers two options: our
midweek Kadima program (Tuesdays/Thursdays from 4:00 pm
to 6:00 pm) or our family Shabbat program, Chug Mishpacha
(Saturday mornings from 9:30 am to noon). All of our programs
explore the beauty of Jewish tradition, strengthen Jewish identity
and build Jewish community. To register, visit the Beth El website
at www.bethelberkeley.org.
Beth El Shabbaton
Save the Date: October 11 to 13 at URJ Camp Newman.
Mark your calendars now.
www.bethelberkeley.org 11

Member Corner
Compiled by The Builder Editor, Elisabeth Wechsler
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS!
Janine Baer is a long-time resident
of the East Bay. Originally from
Los Angeles, she was raised in a
mostly-secular Jewish home where
her parents spoke Yiddish when they
didn’t want the children to know
what they were saying. She first
discovered Berkeley as a UC student
in 1968. One of her favorite activities
is searching online for historical
and genealogical information about her ancestors, those by
adoption and those by birth, and tracing their immigration
from Eastern Europe to North America. Among the challenges
is finding Jewish immigrants’ names on passenger lists and
matching up their original names with their new names. With
a background in art and publication production, Janine has
been working on call as a technical editor for a San Francisco
engineering company since 2010. She has enjoyed attending
the Roots and Branches class discussions at Beth El this year and
looks forward to participating in more of the congregation’s
activities. She has also volunteered to help copy edit and
proofread The Builder.
David Leitner and Sarah
Dentan returned to Berkeley
in 2011 after years in England,
where David was a graduate
student at the University of
Cambridge and where their
daughter, Stella, was born.
“We were looking for a diverse
and child-friendly congregation
with lots of avenues for
religious and community participation,” Sarah said. The family
has been taking full advantage of the area’s parks, science
museums and zoos. Stella is in first grade and likes to create
things out of recycled materials. David is an adjunct professor of
anthropology at Cañada College in Redwood City. Sarah is the
neighborhood and children’s services manager for the Berkeley
Public Library and is looking forward to helping out with the
synagogue’s library.
Jeff Gillman is a retired landscape designer and has lived in
the Bay Area for 42 years. He explains that he was originally
drawn to Beth El through friends and has come frequently to
Torah Study when he’s in town. He reads a lot of history and
biography and is “devoted to classicism in all its forms and to
the European grand manner.” Describing his background, he
says, “I was a gay child before Stonewall, at a time when a
queer was perhaps the most terrible thing a person could be.”
But Jeff found his own cure: “a partner, a brilliant, beautiful,
talented and loving man, Brian Williams.” After 20 years
together, Brian died in 2002. Jeff’s
parents were both born in the early
20th century – the grandchildren of
immigrants from the Tsarist Pale of
Settlement. “They were confronted with
a stark choice between constricting
traditionalism and what they saw as
liberation and progress,” he noted.
Jeff was confirmed but regrets having
missed out on a traditional Jewish
education and a bar mitzvah. “In my
20’s, strangely, spontaneously, I found
myself confronting Jewish shame,” he said. “I don’t know how or
why I saw it all so clearly, but somehow I was able suddenly and
finally to cast it off and, ever since, have become increasingly
protective of my inalienable connection to Jews and Judaism.”
He looks forward to being an active member of Beth El, “in
part as a way to fortify those vital bonds.” At present, Jeff is
in London but, when he returns in May, is eager to explore
opportunities to volunteer within the Beth El community.
Sali Gold-Johnson and Paul Johnson are both Bay Area
natives and lifetime area residents, except for Sali’s four years in
college at UCLA. They were attracted to Congregation Beth El’s
“68-year tradition as a liberal synagogue and its reverence for
tradition.” They also like the congregation’s vibrant and growing
Reform Jewish community. In their free time, Sali plays golf
and Paul enjoys tai chi and aikido. Both hike and like spending
time with their three dogs and two cats. Sali has an MBA and
extensive experience in sales and marketing. She is currently an
executive with Pepsico. Paul is a certified public accountant who
works with the engineering and building industry as a finance
officer and consultant. Sali and Paul like to engage in “volunteer
activities involving nonprofit animal rescue and helping the
needy and homeless. We look forward to active involvement in
philanthropic social justice and social action programs through
Beth El,” Paul said, adding that he hopes to volunteer his expertise
on the financial budget and fiscal management areas of Beth El.
New member Lauren Kaplan is “very excited to finally
put down some Jewish roots in the East Bay.” She was born
in Boston but moved to California as a baby. Her father’s
first language was Yiddish and he came from a religious
background, while her mother’s family was “quite assimilated.”
The family attended Temple
Isaiah in Lafayette for most
of her childhood even
after moving to Berkeley
when Lauren was seven.
She remembers enjoying
both Beth El’s Camp Kee
Tov and Camp Swig in
Saratoga. Later, Lauren
12
The Builder: April & May 2013

attended the University of California Santa Cruz and received a
fashion and costume design degree from the Fashion Institute
of Technology in New York. She designed custom corsets for
On- and Off-Broadway shows until returning home to San
Francisco. In Berkeley, she was the resident costume designer
for a small nonprofit theater company for seven years. She then
got a teaching credential at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, and
currently teaches in San Pablo. Lauren hopes to complete a
masters degree in education this year. She commented that she
“loves to paint, sculpt and do mosaic tile installations. I have
also danced all my life. In college, I danced ballet folklorico with
a troupe that traveled and danced throughout California and in
Triana and Seville, Spain.” Her two-year-old daughter Shira and
Lauren speak Spanish at home. At Congregation Beth El, Lauren
wants to work on social justice programs, teaching tolerance
and tzedakah and serving the homeless. Shira and I are excited
to become a part of such a progressive, wonderful and diverse
community!” she added.
Marty, Deborah, Zoe (8) and Kaia (6) Place, and two cats
(Tangles and Sprout) live in El Cerrito. They have been in the Bay
Area since 1997. “Our
inspiration for joining
the Beth El community
came from our eightyear-old
who had been
expressing interest in
learning more about
Judaism. We were all
interested in being a
part of larger Jewish
community. In the
last month, we have
been amazed by the warmth with which our family has been
greeted,” Deborah said. Marty and Deborah have worked at
Albany Middle School for more than 10 years. As a family, the
Places love to do outdoor activities, such as backpacking, skiing,
climbing, and boating, and they regularly go to the mountains.
Also, Zoe enjoys piano, soccer and swimming, and Kaia enjoys
violin, gymnastics and swimming.
Born in Indiana, Alisa Rose Seidlitz grew up in Princeton,
New Jersey. She has lived in the Bay
Area “a bunch of decades.” She
commented that she has a family
history with Congregation Beth El:
Rabbi Abrami officiated at her wedding
and her grandmother was a member.
Currently, Alisa Rose is a member
because of Rabbi Kahn and wanting
to be part of the Beth El community.
In her free time, as she puts it, “I
gotta be outdoors – in the garden, at
the beach or in the woods, dancing,
singing, music, potlucks with friends,
ice skating, bird watching, being with my daughters and my
delicious grandchildren, one of whom is in Gan Katan.” In
her professional work, Alisa Rose is an ecological feng shui
designer, consultant, educator and longtime certified green
building professional. At Beth El, Alisa Rose wants to help to
enhance work spaces at the synagogue and she is helping Ruth
Ehrenkrantz with plantings in the synagogue’s garden. “I’m
ready to be of all-around environmental use,” she said.
The Sparks family relocated from San Francisco last year
and love living in the Bay Area. Jeff (who uses the last name
Feldman for business) is originally from Boston and Risa is
from Texas. They have lived in the Bay Area for four years and
spent two years abroad shortly after they married in 2009 – in
Almaty, Kazakhstan, for one year and Calgary, Canada, for
another year. Risa is an investment strategist in the energy
industry. Jeff is the director of business development and strategy
at Adobe Systems Inc. Jeff attended the Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania. Risa received a bachelor’s degree
in engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and
an MBA from Northwestern University. “We really like the Beth
El community,” Risa said, adding that another draw to joining
was the nursery school, which their son Max will attend in the
fall. With a young child and two busy careers, Jeff and Risa say
they don’t have much time for interests and activities, but when
they do, they enjoy hiking, day trips around the area and animal
sightings – “our son Max is obsessed with animals.” The Sparks
hope to be involved in helping with the nursery school.
Adam Winig and Veronica Monti moved to the East Bay
three years ago from San Francisco; they love the outdoors and
thought this area would
be the perfect place for
a family. Their son Oren,
almost two years old,
will be starting preschool
at Beth El in the fall.
Veronica’s parents are
from Uruguay, where
she spent part of her
childhood and still has
extended family. She
has been a registered dietitian for the last nine years in the Bay
Area, currently working as a diabetes educator at Children’s
Hospital in Oakland. Adam grew up in Lafayette and is a
licensed architect and principal of the firm Arcsine. Veronica
and Adam spend most of their free time taking Oren to places
that he can explore. Oren loves the park, playing with water,
dancing and reading books. Adam and Veronica want to raise
their son in a Jewish environment and be part of a community
that shares the same values. What drew them to Beth El is how
close and supportive everyone is. They would love to volunteer
at the preschool to help their son and his classmates enjoy this
very special and important time in their lives.
www.bethelberkeley.org 13

Editor’s Column
Board Buzz
by Elisabeth Wechsler
I’ve been invited to attend Congregation Beth El Board
meetings, which are open to the membership, and write about
what I hear and see. It seems like a good way to demystify the
work of our synagogue leaders. There were occasionally details
that the Board felt should not be published on Beth El’s public
website, but members may always ask Board members about
anything to do with Beth El.
The February 26 meeting in the Beit Midrash started off with
pizza and salad for Board members who didn’t have time to
eat before the 7:00 pm start time. Paul Sugarman, first vice
president, called the meeting to order in President Dan Magid’s
absence. After the opening prayer, Lisa Feldman gave the D’var
Torah, a short summary of the golden calf story in the weekly
parashah.
The first item on the agenda concerned a proposed partnership
with Rosh Pina, a Jewish organization that helps institutions
become more responsive and accessible to people with special
needs. Beth El Education Director Debra Sagan Massey and
Elana Naftalin-Kelman, the representative from Rosh Pina,
spoke about the needs of some Beth El families, which include
nonverbal individuals and children with hearing difficulties,
learning disabilities and autism. Rosh Pina is derived from
Psalms 118:22: “the stone that builders refused has become the
cornerstone.”
If approved by the Board, Beth El will pledge $3,000 to have
the congregation’s needs assessed and then Rosh Pina will
offer solutions for making the synagogue more convenient for
disabled members without feeling the stigma of asking for help.
Beth El is invited to be part of a pilot program and to participate
in a formal certification process. After much discussion, the
Board decided to ask for more details about expectations and
time involved for staff and volunteers.
Next on the agenda was the proposed budget for the fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2013. Norm Frankel presented a preliminary
draft budget, which still requires refinement and adjustment
before being presented to the Board for approval. The Board
discussed a small increase in annual dues recommended by the
Finance Committee in line with inflation, though no decision
will be made (subject to approval by the membership at the
Annual Meeting) until the final budget is available for review.
It was noted that credit card fees accrued in payments to Beth
El currently cost the synagogue about $20,000 per year, and
there was discussion about how to decrease that expense. Some
suggestions were offered but no decision was made.
The Board also discussed the upcoming principal “balloon”
payment to be made in March on Beth El’s mortgage in the
amount of $425,000, as well as the synagogue’s overall debt
structure. Beth El will make the balloon payment on time.
Another agenda item addressed the Nominating Committee’s
slate for Board positions. According to the bylaws, the slate
must be approved by the Board one month before the Annual
Meeting, scheduled for Sunday, May 5. It was noted that a
number of positions were still unfilled.
Nancy Turak gave an extensive report about the status of
membership, which has increased to 495. In particular, she
conducted exit surveys with the members who did not renew
their membership this year. No single reason was given but the
conclusion was that those members did not develop a strong
connection to Beth El. One departing member joined for only
one year; another had been a member for 33 years. It was
noted that new members responded to dinners set up in private
homes to welcome new members over the last year; most of the
people who attended those dinners (which included both new
and current members) became more active in Beth El programs
and volunteer opportunities. Nancy concluded by observing that
“we need to find out people’s passions so that they can make a
connection at Beth El that’s meaningful to them.”
Other short agenda items included:
• Progress on the Berryman Path fence, which is 75
percent complete. Beth El paid for the materials
and Boy Scout volunteers supplied the labor.
• Beth El’s driveway is misused and dangerous when
cars take shortcuts through the synagogue, and
by cars exiting on the Oxford Street side or turning
left onto Spruce Street. Speed bumps and/or traffic
monitors were suggested.
• The House Committee is considering a wide
variety of projects, including changes that could be
made to the sanctuary to make the room warmer
and more appealing, and also to improve the
acoustics.
The meeting ended about 9:45 pm with the closing song, “Mi
Chamocha.”
Present: Paul Sugarman, chair for the evening as Dan Magid
was out of town; Lisa Feldman; Jeff Seideman; Joanne
Backman; Odette Blachman; Nancy Turak; Rabbi Yoel Kahn;
Michael Fajans; Allen Nudel; Amy Resner; and Wendy Lukas.
Guests were: Debra Sagan Massey; Elona Naftalin-Kelman; and
Elisabeth Wechsler.
Absent: Dan Magid, Jim Offel, Lori Perlstadt, Marc Derewetsky,
Steven Branoff and Thomas Lurquin.
14
The Builder: April & May 2013

Events
Supper & Schmooze Coming
on Saturday, April 13
by Michelle Bergtraun
There are many reasons why people join a congregation,
but perhaps chief among them is the desire to become more
connected to the community we live in, meet new friends and
expand our social circle. This is why we have embraced the
Supper & Schmooze event so enthusiastically since its inception
over 10 years ago, when it was introduced as the Lichvod
Hatzibur Dinners, the name recently simplified to more readily
convey what it’s all about: food and community, a.k.a. the heart
of Judaism as we know it!
Here is a brief explanation of how this event is structured, for
those of you who have not experienced it yet:
1. Some congregants offer to host dinner and they let Beth
El know how many people they can accommodate in
their house. Occasionally friends pair up to be hosts (e.g.,
“bigger house” friend + “enjoys cooking” friend).
2. The rest of the congregation signs up to attend through the
online link at www.bethelberkeley.org/supper, so you can
list allergies, etc.
3. Beth El randomly matches hosts and guests, taking
into consideration any special requests by either one
(vegetarian, no red meat, etc.). Depending on demand,
childcare can be arranged by Beth El for a small fee. This
event is geared for adults to connect with each other. We
don’t get enough “parent nights” as it is!
4. On the evening of the event, all guests gather at Beth El
at 6:00 pm for havdalah and light appetizers, but most
important, to open the envelope with the name and
address of their secret host — suspense and excitement
rivaled only by Oscar night!
5. Everybody takes off for a fun evening, either getting to
know familiar faces you’ve seen so often in the hallway but
never met, or someone you’ve never even seen before —
and who knew they were members
6. From this day on you have a larger number of people
you know and recognize when you come to Beth El and in
your community in general, and possibly form new lifetime
friendships!
Thanks to these dinners over the years, Alex and I have
discovered resources in our community we didn’t know about;
met congregants with whom we intersect in other aspects of
life (school, sports, etc.), which we didn’t realize; met people
in different age groups whom we wouldn’t normally know;
attended a “musical dinner” courtesy of some very talented Beth
El members...all while sharing a meal and good cheer. This is
one event we wouldn’t want to miss!
know if you’d like to host a dinner. Contrary to most events in
Berkeley, this one is about the people, not the food: gourmet
dinners not required or necessary; pasta, chicken and you will
do!
Buon Appetito, we look forward to meeting you and sharing
good times together on Saturday, April 13.
If there is anything else you’d like to know, contact the Beth El
front office and they will find an answer for you!
Beth Elders
Oral and Written hIStory
ProJECt “Very SUCCESSful”
Our oral and written history program in
which participants writing their stories and
sharing them with the group, has been
well received and appreciated. Our eight
sessions are over, but the participants
have chosen to continue for an additional
six weeks. Many who have never written
anything before are surprised to find that
they are good writers, and are gaining
new insights in the process.
This program will be offered again in the
fall, and this time it will be in the evening
so that men and women who are still
working can participate. Even though
the program falls under the Beth Elders
umbrella, everyone has stories and it
is never too early to start writing them
down. So, in the fall this program will be
open to all ages.
There are already congregants signed up waiting to have you
over to their house, but there’s room for more — let Beth El
www.bethelberkeley.org 15

YAFE
Thank You, BENS
Teachers
by Maguy Weizmann McGuire
The month of May is Teachers’ Appreciation Month,
a time when we pay tribute to our remarkable teachers at Beth
El Nursery School (BENS). I pay tribute to BENS teachers for:
Creating unique spaces so our children can discover
their own magical powers.
Providing our children with opportunities to experiment
with objects and natural materials so they can develop
and be aware of their senses.
Introducing them to many concepts (gravity, buoyancy,
height, weight) and encouraging them to reach their
own logical conclusions.
Instilling a passion for rhythm, songs and movements.
Fostering in them a love for art and encouraging them
to become accomplished artists.
Setting up dramatic scenes so they can role-play and
act with confidence.
Making them notice similarities and differences, and
developing a sense of respect for one another.
Helping them develop connections and meaningful
friendships with one another.
Allowing them to openly express their emotions and
feelings.
Comforting, understanding and making them feel safe
when they are sad, angry, frustrated or lonely.
Assisting them to overcome obstacles and challenges
and scaffolding them through it so they can become
independent builders and critical thinkers.
Teaching them how to become their own teachers.
In the wisdom of Carl Jung, “One looks back with appreciation
to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched
our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw
material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant
and for the soul of a child.”
BENS teachers are all that and more!
The One Note Poet
by Esther Simon
I realized the other day
I am a One Note Poet
and though I have variety
I do not care to show it.
And so I there decided to
go off and seek my style
and leave behind my comfort zone
for just a little while.
I went and read some Robert Burns
and resolved to write in Scots
then read tha’ thing I di’ create
and then thought I’d rather not.
Or perhaps I’ll be consumptive
cough into a bloody rag
Leave a string of ruined lovers
And then die, my praise un-sang.
I’ll reinvent the genre and
I’ll be lauded shore to shore.
I’ll lay down my poet’s pencil
and then write these things no more.
Fine, perhaps my expectations
are a little less than sane.
So perhaps I’ll keep it one note
and with that I’ll make my name.
This poem was written as part of the
Scribes youth group.
16
The Builder: April & May 2013

Youth Groups
How Do We Measure the Success of
Youth Programs
by Rebecca DePalma
This year at Beth El has been exhilarating.
Our youth are more active than ever. I think Beth El is
a place that many of them love, feel like they belong
and are safe. More than this, I want them to love
themselves and take pride in their Judaism. That is
what I would call success. I don’t really know any ways
to evaluate this other than through their anecdotes;
it isn’t an easy numbers count of how many showed
up or how much it cost. But this year is the end of my
sixth year at Beth El and I feel that the relationships
I’ve built with families are what make our youth
programs valuable. I am working to understand what
our students know, do, what they believe in and where
they feel they belong. It is a privilege to get to know
our students and see them grow up.
I really hope you will join me for our Celebration of
Education Shabbat on Friday, May 17 where we will
honor our madrichim, confirmation class, graduating
class and 7th grade. We have nine madrichim who
are graduating seniors this year and I am so privileged
to get to work with them. Ari Bolton, Milo Dubinsky,
Rachel Graup, Hannah Lehman, Alana Levine-
Gorelick, Aaron Lieberman, Sonya Malamut, Jacob
Pearlstein and Scarlett Tucker are all extraordinary in
many different ways. We are excited for them, but we
will also miss them as they move forward in their lives.
Their skills vary from community building to calculus,
from lesson planning to computer science, from
volleyball to poetry, from fashion to media technology,
from cross country to viola and much more. I hope
they know that whatever they do in the world, Beth El
will support their endeavors. We’ll be available to talk
about what they believe, and they can always come
home if they need somewhere to belong. I measure
success in knowing this graduating class is full of
mensches who are going to do amazing work in the
world. I thank them for all the energy and time they
have spent making Beth El a very special place for
themselves and everyone around them.
April 9
April 14
April 16
April 23
April 25
April 26-28
May 7
May 17
May 17-19
May 19
April 18
April 28
May 9
May 17
April 14
May 23
UPCoMIng EVEnts for
Youth GroUP
High School
Scribes of Beth El, 6:15 pm – 7:15 pm
J Serve, 9:00 am – 1:30 pm
Teen Band Performance at Yom Ha’Atzmaut,
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Scribes of Beth El, 6:15 pm – 7:15 pm
Teen Band Rehearsal, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Midrasha Retreat
Scribes of Beth El
Celebration of Education Shabbat
confirmation, Honoring Graduates &
Madrichim – Teen Band Performance,
6:15 pm – 9:00 pm
NFTY-CWR Spring Conclave at Camp Newman
Midrasha Graduation
SABABA, 6th – 8th graders
Sababa Board Meeting & Call Party,
6:15 pm – 7:30 pm
Sababa Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Trip,
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sababa Board Meeting & Call Party,
6:15 pm – 7:30 pm
Sababa Elections and Honoring Board
Members at Celebration of Education Shabbat
Ruach, 4th & 5th Graders
Ruach Israel Adventure, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Ruach End of Year Celebration,
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Madrichim Applications
Accepted Now!!
We are currently accepting applications for the madrichim program for the 2013-14 school year at
www.bethelberkeley.org//learning/teens/madrichim
www.bethelberkeley.org 17

Staff Profile
Camping With 800+ Kids For a Living
by Elisabeth Wechsler
How do you manage to get 400+ kids home safely
from Camp Kee Tov every day The answer is: very carefully.
This responsibility is the biggest challenge of Emily Schnitzer’s
job. The Kee Tov administrative coordinator commented that
“3:30 pm to 4:15 pm is the most stressful part of the day for me
– if kids miss their pick-up.”
The two drop-off sites after the day’s camp session are the
North Berkeley Library and Chabot Elementary School in
Rockridge. Some of the older campers walk home alone, she
added. Buses and their long-term drivers are contracted for the
summer from Berkeley Unified School District and from Marin
Country Day School.
Other than getting the campers home safely, Emily says she
is “totally and happily consumed” by Congregation Beth El’s
summer camp. She started coming to Camp Kee Tov when she
was eight years old and has tallied up eight years as a camper,
11 years as a counselor and finally a year and a half in her
present position. This job is her first after graduating from
University of California San Diego with a degree in biology and
education studies.
Emily is in charge of all the camp registration forms, payments
and scholarship administration. With 800 or more campers,
that’s a lot of forms and checks to organize. In addition, there
are health and allergy forms to be filled out by the parents of
campers. She also helps train counselors a week before camp
starts, which is an off-site, five-day camping trip. Usually, this
training takes place at Negro Bar, a park in Folsom, where
it’s “very hot, but there’s a river,” she noted. There are also
overnight camping trips in the Bay Area, with the location
depending on the age of the kids. Some are held at Tilden Park
and some at Beth El’s Social Hall.
Emily is also the go-between for parents and the Camp Kee
Tov staff; she passes on concerns from parents to the camp
staff, and vice versa. Plus, she mediates registration issues that
come up.
The after-camp care, called Chaverim (Hebrew for “friends”),
is basically “structured free time for everyone. Typically, we play
quiet games, use the Gaga pit” and do arts and crafts on Beth El’s
campus, she said. After everyone is cleared from the bus stops,
Emily gets to play with the kids – something that she really enjoys.
Another perk of her job is popping into the nursery school
classrooms – “the future Camp Kee Tov-ers,” she said. Emily
also attends the Friday Shabbat service for the Aleph and Bet
classes (for young children).
The hours for Kee Tov staff are long: a good day is when Emily
can leave at 6:30 pm, but often she and other staff members
work until 9:30 pm visiting overnights or going to staff potlucks.
She and Camp Director Zach Landres-Schnur work together
collaboratively, Emily said. “We work pretty much on everything
together,” she explained. “It’s an adult’s dream to work with a
good friend,” she added. (See the Summer 2012 issue of The
Builder, page 7, for a profile of Zach.)
Emily was raised in a “culturally Jewish” home. Her maternal
grandfather was the only member of his family to survive the
Holocaust; he was sent to a number of concentration camps, but
spent the longest time at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen in Poland.
Her paternal grandfather fought in Europe in World War ii. While
her parents were not raised religiously, Jewish values were instilled
in Emily growing up and have come to shape her adult life.
Nominated by Debra Sagan Massey to attend a conference of
the National Association of Temple Educators, Emily represented
Beth El in Phoenix, Arizona, this past December. It was a good
“professional learning experience,” she said, adding that she
looks forward to implementing what she learned there.
“The biggest take-home message I got from the conference was
to create activities and projects that make a difference in the
child’s immediate world,” Emily said. She reflected that while
Camp Kee Tov emphasizes Jewish values and teachings, “we
could further help incorporate them by showing our campers
how to put them to use in their everyday life.”
Letters to the Editor
Your thoughts and opinions are important to us. If you have
a subject of interest to the Congregation, write a letter or
essay of a maximum of 500 words and submit it to:
Editor, The Builder, emwechsler@earthlink.net by
May 1, 2013 for the June-July issue.
Letters, essays and guest articles may be edited for
length and at the discretion of the Marketing &
Communications Committee.
No anonymous submissions will be accepted.
EditorIAl Staff of The Builder
Elisabeth Wechsler, Editor and Senior Writer
Marc Breindel, Martin Dodd: Guest Contributors
Janine Baer, Copy Editor
Jennifer Robinson, Layout and Design
Margee Burch, Production Coordinator
The Marketing and Communications Committee will offer
guidance and suggestions for future issues of The Builder.
Interested members are invited to join the committee.
Contact jeff.seideman@earthlink.net
18
The Builder: April & May 2013

Learning Together as a Family in
Chug Mishpacha
by Elisabeth Wechsler
Chug Mishpacha
No dropping off the kids on Shabbat at Congregation
Beth El: the whole family attends Chug Mishpacha. “Kids
appreciate that their parents are participating,” said Ethan
Andelman, who along with his wife, Laura Mytels, and their
two children, are regulars at the Saturday
morning program.
Some of the parents in Chug Mishpacha
are grateful that Beth El’s program is
different than the model they grew up
with. “The formal way of learning didn’t
make much of an impression on me or my
husband,” commented Sharon Friedman,
who is married to Leo Meier. “Neither of us
had a great experience in Hebrew school
that we’d want to perpetuate with our kids,”
she added.
The goals for the program, started by
Debra Sagan Massey and Rabbi Bridget
Wynne five years ago, are specific.
They include having fun together while
experiencing Shabbat; developing Jewish
community within the group of families
in Chug Mishpacha, beyond in the larger
synagogue; learning about the Jewish
calendar and life cycle while engaging
in prayer and spiritual exploration; and
studying Torah as well as other Jewish texts.
The idea is to learn together as a family so
that each household can develop its own
ways of being Jewish, including Shabbat
and holiday rituals, said Rabbi Wynne. “We
want Jewishness to be more like life rather
than just a classroom experience.”
About 20 families with 33 kids attend Chug Mishpacha on
a regular basis, she said, adding that the range of Jewish
knowledge is wide and that not all participants are Jewish.
The parents enjoy the Shabbat morning experience as much
as the kids do, observed Adam Eigner, another parent in Chug
Mishpacha. “It’s hard to imagine how the program could be
improved,” he added. “It’s a wonderful experience in contrast
to my Hebrew School experience, which was isolated from my
family life. It’s more joyful and fun to do it with Evelyn and
Enrique.” Evelyn Herrera is his wife and Enrique Eigner-Herrera
is his seven-year-old son.
Chrissy Meuris, another parent, echoed that sentiment: “Rabbi
Wynne explores and explains absolutely everything. She’s very
clear but doesn’t dumb anything down, even though I didn’t
know that much about Judaism before Chug. Rabbi Wynne
answers really difficult questions for us.”
The program is divided for kids by age level,
and the parents study separately for part of the
morning. Most sessions also include time for
everyone to come together for a family activity.
The morning’s theme, perhaps an upcoming
holiday or a biblical story, is emphasized
throughout the session. For example, the
younger kids might do an art project while
the older kids study the same subject in more
depth, and the parents might explore the
philosophy behind the theme of the day. About
one-third of the themes are the parashah of
the week, according to Ethan Andelman.
He and his wife, Laura Mytels, commented
that their family feels much more integrated
with the Beth El community as a result of Chug
Mishpacha. “It’s a great opportunity to meet
other families with kids the same age, and
Chug acts as a support group,” Ethan said.
The Chug Mishpacha teaching staff is
headed by Rabbi Wynne. The other teachers
in the program are: Lauren Byrne (prekindergarten),
Nicole Maderas (kindergarten
and first grade), Linda Miller (second and
third grade) and Abra Greenspan (fourth
and fifth grade). All are “professional
Jewish educators with excellent knowledge
of Judaism and extensive backgrounds in
teaching, and they enjoy being part of this program in which
they get to connect regularly with parents as well as children,”
said Rabbi Wynne.
Occasionally, the program does need tweaking, such as when
participants arrived late for the family prayer service at the
beginning of the program. Rabbi Wynne said the parents
brainstormed about how to deal with that and many suggestions
were offered. The solution was to ask everyone to arrive 15
minutes early and to have coffee before the Chug program
begins. “Parents decided to call one another to remind them
about the new start time and just to connect; it builds attendance
and community,” she said, adding that “parents also planned
Continued on p.20
www.bethelberkeley.org 19

DONATE TO BETH EL!
Please make checks payable to Congregation Beth El and
mail to 1301 Oxford Street, Berkeley, CA 94709
CONGREGATION BETH EL Fund Contributions
This contribution of $_________ is * in Memory of* * in Honor of*
*
Please credit the fund checked at the right:
Contribution___________________________________________________________
Acknowledge__________________________________________________________
From__________________________________________________________________
To____________________________________________________________________
Address 1_____________________________________________________________
Address 2_____________________________________________________________
It is a Jewish tradition to give Tzedakah to commemorate life cycle events
and other occasions. Are you celebrating a birthday, engagement,
anniversary, baby naming, Bat/Bar Mitzvah or recovery from an
illness These are just a few ideas of appropriate times to commemorate
with a donation to Beth El. These tax-deductible donations are greatly
appreciated and are a vital financial supplement to support the wonderful
variety of programs and activities that we offer at Congregation Beth El.
Thank you for your support.
General Fund - Use Where Most Needed
Aaron Plishner Children’s Library
Allan and Tybil Smith Kahn Memorial Fund
Arjmand Adult Education Fund
Building Fund
Camp Kee Tov Scholarship Fund
Chevra Kadisha Fund
David Cotton Memorial Swig Fund
Ellen Meyer Childcare Fund
Endowment Fund
Freed Flower Fund
Homeless Meal Program
Israel Scholarship Fund
Bar Lev Landscape Fund
Marian Magid Memorial Fund
Men’s Club
Mitzvah Committee
Music Fund
Nursery School Fund
Oneg/Kiddush Fund
Prayerbook Fund
Rabbis Kahn’s Discretionary Fund
Rabbi Emeritus Raj’s Discretionary Fund
Rabbi Vida Library Fund
Social Action Fund
Youth and Family Education Fund
* Youth Groups Fund
Chug MIShPACha, ContinUEd from Page 19
to start having lunch together after the program as another
way for families to get more connected with one another.”
Sharon Friedman said that as Chug Mishpacha has evolved,
“it’s become richer and the program helps meet changing
needs. Also, going as a family has made such a difference
in our son’s attitude: Chug has changed the whole nature
of going to Jewish school for him.” Her son, Jonah Meier,
is 11 and started to go to the program when he was in
second grade.
Adam Eigner summed up a sentiment noted by several
others: “Chug Mishpacha gives us the chance to experience
Shabbat together with our families, which is really how I
want to spend it.”
Would You lIKE a
Printed CoPY of The Builder
If you would prefer to read The Builder
in a printed format,
please contact Margee at the Beth El front office.
She will put your name on the list
to mail you a hard copy.
Email margee@bethelberkeley.org or
phone 848-3988, ext. 211.
20
The Builder: April & May 2013

The names of the four
scouts and the projects
they did are, in order
from left to right: Asher
Bergtraun (gaga pit),
Yang Ren (planter boxes),
Joseph Belman (Berryman
Path fence), and Michael
Long (garden fence). To
the left of the scouts is
Debra Sagan Massey,
director of education at
Beth El; and on the far
right, Norm Frankel,
executive director of Beth
El, and an Eagle Scout.
New Books in the Library
IF YOU HAVE HAD BOOKS CHECKED OUT FROM
THE LIBRARY FOR A LONG TIME,
PLEASE RETURN THE BOOKS SO OTHERS CAN USE THEM.
Donations to the Aaron Plishner and Rabbi George
Vida Funds make it possible to buy new children’s and
adults’ books. Here are some new adult books:
Scenes from Village Life is a newly
translated novel by Amos Oz. The events
occur in a century-old pioneer village, where
the past – generations, war, farm tools,
disused air-raid shelters, and the like –
affects the present, and possibly the future.
Imre Kertesz, the seventh Jew to be awarded
the Nobel Prize for Literature, is little known
here, because so little of his work has been
translated. In The Holocaust as Culture, a short book,
he reflects on his time as a teenager in the Auschwitz and
Buchenwald camps, on being a writer under Communist rule,
and on the culture of Holocaust stories.
Hebrew Manuscripts: The Power of Scripture and
Image by Ilana Tahan, Curator of Hebrew Collections at the
British Library, has a color picture on every page of beautiful
manuscripts spanning 900 years from the entire Diaspora. This
lovely book is for art-lovers and text-lovers.
Jews in Nazi Berlin from Kristallnacht to Liberation,
ed. by Beate Meyer, et al., is a closely-examined history of its
subject matter in all its aspects, written by 12 scholars deeply
involved in that time and place, several now living in Berlin
and associated with the New Synagogue Berlin.
Jacob: Unexpected Patriarch by Yair
Zakovitch, emeritus Otsuki Professor of Bible
at Hebrew University, is the latest in a series
of Jewish biographies published by Yale
University, presenting not only this complex
figure of the Bible but also reconstructing
stories about Jacob suppressed in the Bible,
through extraordinary literary archaeology.
by Scott Spear, Library Chair
Jon Levenson, List Professor
of Jewish Studies at Harvard, who had
been earlier awarded the National Jewish
Book Award, has a new book, Inheriting
Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch
in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Here, he subjects the story of Abraham in
the Bible to careful analysis, then moves
on to how three faiths have given unique
interpretations to this story, often in mutually
exclusive ways, differing sharply and showing signs of
profound and enduring divergences, alongside commonalities,
asking finally: Are there three Abrahams, or one
www.bethelberkeley.org 21

MUSIC ROOM
by Rabbi Reuben Zellman
News of Beth El’s MUSIC ProgrAM
I hope you’ll join us for some of the musical happenings at Beth
El! If you have questions or want to join in, contact me any time:
RabbiRZ@bethelberkeley.org, or 848 3988, ext 228.
YISM’chu Chanting SerVICE
Come on the third Friday of every month at 6:15 pm. Upcoming
chanting services are April 19, May 10 (2nd Friday) and June 21.
Join us for meditative song and chant to welcome in Shabbat
and bring your harmonies and your spirit to share. There’s
hardly any talking in this service, just music: sacred words and
wordless melodies from many corners of the Jewish world,
with spontaneous harmony and gentle drumming. You are
enthusiastically welcomed whether or not you think you can sing.
The service lasts one hour and will include the Sh’ma, Mourner’s
Kaddish and quiet time for the Amidah or reflection. Begin your
Shabbat with music for your soul!
CoME hEAr the BAnd…
Mark your calendars for our Yom haAtzmaut celebration
Tuesday, April 16, roughly 5:30 – 7:00 pm and our Celebration
of Education Shabbat, Friday, May 17 at 7:30 pm.
Band rehearsals for adults and teens are usually on the fourth
Thursday of every month, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, and at 6:15 pm
before each Band Shabbat. The teen band is open to musicians
in 8th grade and above. A full band schedule is available on
the website. Visit www.bethelberkeley.org/learning/teen-band.
For more information, contact Rebecca DePalma: rebecca@
bethelberkeley.org.
Sing WIth the ChorUS
The chorus is always open to new singers, and musical
background is not necessary — all Beth El members who love
to sing are encouraged to come check it out! Upcoming Chorus
activities this year include representing Beth El at Berkeley’s
Multi-Faith Thanksgiving celebration and singing in a unique
concert series featuring Jewish music of the Renaissance period
(see announcement following). Rehearsals are weekly on
Wednesdays. Contact Rabbi Zellman, RabbiRZ@bethelberkeley.
org, with questions or to join in.
JEWISh Choral MUSIC of the rEnAISSAnCE and
BaroqUE To Begin thIS fAll
Beth El is fortunate to host a rare and beautiful concert series,
focused entirely on Jewish choral and vocal music of the
Renaissance and Baroque periods. The Beth El Chorus and
other area musicians will collaborate with the professional San
Francisco Renaissance Voices and Baroque chamber musicians.
We encourage you to sing with the Chorus for this unique
opportunity! The first set of rehearsals for this concert series will
be weekly on Wednesday evenings, April 3 to June 12. The first
performances will be music for the end of Sukkot, at the very end
of September or beginning of October. Full details coming soon!
Leading SErVICES or chanting Torah or
hAftarah
These fun, important and much-appreciated musical mitzvot are
available all year ‘round. Slots are available almost every week.
If you know how to chant Torah or lead prayers — or would like
to learn — please contact Rabbi Zellman and he will be very
happy to sign you up!
How to Chant Torah: Adult Education Class begins in May
6 sessions: Thursdays May 16 – June 20, 7:00-9:00 pm.
The system of chanting Torah is ancient, beautiful, fun and
totally learnable. No musical background or previous familiarity
is required; all are welcome. Join Rabbi Zellman and fellow
community members to learn how to perform this mitzvah.
For more information, contact Rabbi Zellman, RabbiRZ@
bethelberkeley.org.
PerforMAnCE of Ludus Danielis (the MEdIEVAl
PlAY of dAnIEl)
The students of Beauvais Cathedral in Northern France
composed one of the earliest music dramas ever found in
1140: a proto-opera based on the Book of Daniel. We are
delighted to host a production by the professional ensemble
San Francisco Renaissance Voices, including our own Rabbi
Zellman on Saturday, June 30, 4:00 pm in Beth El’s sanctuary.
The libretto has been slightly modernized to eliminate the anti-
Jewish sentiment of the medieval period…and otherwise, you’ll
see the Play of Daniel as it was written nine hundred years ago.
See Daniel in the lions’ den saved by God from the furnace, and
defending the Jewish people before the King of Babylon, set in
the style of Gregorian chant, with costumes, choir and inventive
staging. Rabbi Zellman will give a short pre-concert talk on the
ever-mysterious, fiery Book of Daniel. Don’t miss it!
22
The Builder: April & May 2013

TORAH STUDY
APRIL
April 6
Parashat Shmini
Leviticus 9:1-11:47
Naomi Janowitz
April 13
Parashat Tazria-Metzora
Leviticus 12:1-15:33
Alison Bernstein
April 20
Parashat Achrei Mot-Kedoshim
Leviticus 16:1-20:27
Barry Levine
April 27
Parashat Emor
Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Rabbi Yoel Kahn
MAY
May 4
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai
Leviticus 25:1-27:34
Leigh & Amy Marymor
May 11
Parashat Bemidbar
Numbers 1:1-4:20
Robert Brandfon
May 18
Parashat Nasso
Numbers 4:21-7:89
Jerry Weintraub
May 25
Parashat Beha-alotcha
Numbers 8:1-12:16
Alisa Einwohner
TZEDAKAH
Allan and Tybil Smith Kahn Scholar-in-
Residence Fund
Ralph & Gail Bernstein
Lisa Feldman
Steve Kurzman & Kim Nies
Dan & Robinn Magid
Miriam & Stanley Schiffman
Cathy Stevens
Phyllis Zisman in memory of Dorothy Scherr Wollins
Annual Appeal
Maria & Alfred Barzoloski
Daniel Berko
Stuart & Judy Berman
Ralph & Gail Bernstein
Steven Branoff & Elizabeth Friedman Branoff
Judy Chess
Brian & Juliette Fershtman
Ellen Goldstein & Jack Holleman
Susan Goldstein & Andy Kivel
Kenneth & Kathie Goode
Avrum Gratch & Beverly Cheney
Anthony Hecht & Michelle Wolfson
Esther & Mark Hudes
Naomi Janowitz & Andrew Lazarus
Seth Kaufman & Tatiana Roegiers
Denise & Cary Lapidus
David Lieberman & Carol Brownstein
Michael & Barbara Liepman
Debra & Oren Massey
Adam & Lauran Mizock
Alisa & Calvin Morrill
David & Gail Offen-Brown
Douglas & Lori Perlstadt
Andrew Pollack & Deborah Jordan
Harry Pollack & Joanne Backman
Daniel Portnoy
PJ & Marty Rosenthal
Isaiah Roter & Trina Ostrander
David Rothenberg & Lorraine Sandoval
Alan Siegel & Tracy Green
Shelley & Steven Simrin
Paul & Susan Sugarman
Zimra & David Vigoda
Paul & Jodi Warner
Niloufar & Jahandar Yadegar
B’nei Mitzvah Tzedakah Fund
Jim Ferlin, Mari Ferlin & Phyllis Steiber in honor of
rabbi Kahn & Rabbi Zellman
Ben Gilbert, Susan Orbuch & Jim Gilbert
Mogill family
The Builder newsletter
Anonymous
Building Fund
Anna Mantell & Robert Goldstein in honor of
Jayden Maxwell’s birth
David & Judith Tabb
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in memory of Henry Weil
Camp Kee TOV Scholarship Fund
Annette Delarosa
DAVID Cotton Memorial Swig Fund
Alfred & Anita Cotton in memory of David Sol Cotton
Endowment Fund
Edythe Heda in memory of Dr. Burton Heda
Gala
Denise & Steven Baker
Mona Cain
Sara & Robert Kupor
Marilyn & Harry Margulius
Continued on p.24
www.bethelberkeley.org 23

TZEDAKAH
TzedAKAh, ContinUEd from Page 23
24
Jonathan Simon & Christina Spaulding
Paul & Jodi Warner
Pearl Wolffs
Andrew & Lauren Ganes
General Fund
Alisa Einwohner in memory of Hada Korc
Alisa Einwohner in memory of Abraham Rosaner
Alisa Einwohner in memory of Marian Magid
Dan Fendel
Jean Henderson in memory of Joan Langley
Jean Henderson in memory of Sarah Blacker
Harold Hoffman
Edward Holly
Mark & Esther Hudes in memory of Sala Hudes
Spencer Klein & Ruth Ehrenkrantz in memory of Sidney Klein
Melvin & Dorothy Lemberger
Ann Manheimer & Arthur Swislocki in memory of Paul Lasoff
Ann Manheimer & Arthur Swislocki in memory of
Zola Manheimer
Ann Manheimer & Arthur Swislocki in memory of
betty Manheimer
Julie Matlof Kennedy & Patrick Kennedy in memory of
June Gallop & Genevieve Matlof
Rosa Mayeri
Alice Meerson
Marvin Pearlstein in memory of Aaron Greenberg
James & Jovanne Reilly in honor of Mark & Estie Hudes
John Scott & Ann Gonski in honor of Cathy Stevens
John Scott & Ann Gonski in memory of Jordan Duty
Lloyd & Lassie Ulman in memory of Dr. Harry Finck
Vadjiheh Yadegar in memory of Aziz Olah Benlevi
Vadjiheh Yadegar in memory of Benjamin Benlevi &
Jahangir Yadegar
Phyllis Zisman in honor of Lina Swislocki’s engagement
Martin & Jill Dodd
Karen & Stuart Gansky in honor of Bonnie & Max Cooperstein
on their 59th wedding anniversary
Homeless Meal Program
Mark Aaronson & Majorie Gelb in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Adele Amodeo in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Diane & Edwin Bernbaum in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Odette Blachman in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Jay Boekelheide & Beth Goldman in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Mary Jane & George Brimhall in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Richard & Linda Clymer
Bonnie & Max Cooperstein in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Janaki & Heine Costello in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Clarke & Maria Daniels
Rebecca DePalma & Sam Lockhart in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Beverly & Richard Eigner in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Tamar & Joe Fendel in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Barbara Fierer & Robert Brandfon in memory of
benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Norman & Jan Frankel in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Juliet & Peter Spear Gardner in honor of Beth El Staff
Linda Gerson in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Marlene Getz & Robert Gilden in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
The Builder: April & May 2013
Elio Gizzi & Valerie Gutwirth in honor of Lillian Leavitt
Arthur & Carol Goldman in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Eleanor Goldstein-Erickson in memory of Peregrine Elan
Gardner
Lisa Hillman in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Esther & Mark Hudes in memory of Tauby Hudes
Esther & Mark Hudes in memory of Malka Celick Stern
Esther & Mark Hudes in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Steven Joseph & Corey Hansen-Joseph in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Barbara Kanter in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Allen & Hannah King in memory of Harvey Bailey
Spencer Klein & Ruth Ehrenkrantz in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Steven Kurzman & Kim Nies in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Jennifer & Richard Larson in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Debbie & Jeff Leon in honor of Ruth Spear, Adele Amodeo &
Ellie Goldstein-Erickson’s many years of service
Sharon Levy & Marvin Sternberg in memory of Ruthie Levy
Florence & John Lewis in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Anna Mantell & Robert Goldstein in memory of Peregrine Elan
Gardner
Marilyn & Harry Margulius in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Lloyd Morgan in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Rose Ellen Morrell
Herbert & Sondra Napell
Emily Norzick & Robert Graup in memory of Peregrine Elan
Gardner
Elisha & Ilana Novak in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Joan & Steven Ominsky in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Lon Poole & Karin Bliman in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Wilma & Stephen Rader in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Rabbi Ferenc & Paula Raj in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Jennifer & Michael Robinson in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Emily Schnitzer in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Elisabeth Schwartz in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Betty & Thomas Seaton in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Steven & Barbara Segal in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Stacy Shulman & Alan Spector in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Guy & Laura Spear in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Cathy Stevens in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Paul & Kathy Terrell in honor of Peregrine Elan Gardener
Amy Tick
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in memory of Peregrine Elan
Gardner
Jason & Laura Turbow in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Claire Ungar & George Lavender in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Linda & Robert Walker in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Ashley & Jamie Warner Costello in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Elisabeth Wechsler & Jeffrey Seideman in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Leah Witus
Vadjiheh Yadegar in memory of Sinoor Yadegar
Vadjiheh Yadegar in memory of Benjamin Benlevi &
Jahangir Yadegar
Sasha Zeldin in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Phyllis Zisman in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Susan & Bill Zarchy in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner

TZEDAKAH
Legacy Campaign
Iren Suhami
Bar Lev Landscaping Fund
Jill Cooper & Clyde Murley in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Eileen Crumm & Dave Glasser in honor of
Peregrine Elan Gardener
Deb Hummel & Judy Fendell in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Robinn & Daniel Magid in memory of Marian Magid
Alisa & Calvin Morrill in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Ruth & Scott Spear
Anna Portnoy in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Jacob Sarasohn, Sara Sarasohn & Ellen Evangeliste in memory
of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Daniel & Herschel Portnoy in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Sharon, Miles & Michael King in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Jena, Jon, Zach & Eliza Loran-Resner in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Phyllis, Jim & Mari Steiber-Ferlin in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Alan, Katherine, Isaac & Aaron Sanstad in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Brad Glasser & Sharon Goldfarb in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Joshua & Ruth Simon in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Ma Tovu
Marc Derewetzky & Jennifer Kawar
Elio Gizzi & Valerie Gutwirth
Rabbi Yoel Kahn and Dan Bellm
Joshua Langenthal & Diane Halberg
Thomas & Amy Lurquin
Dan & Robinn Magid in memory of Marian Magid
Jim Offel & Nancy Lewin
Julie Matlof Kennedy & Patrick Kennedy
Harry Pollack & Joanne Backman
Ellen Singer-Vine & Edward Vine
Alan & Paula Statman
Paul & Susan Sugarman
Martin & Jill Dodd
Marian Magid Memorial Fund
Susan Goldstein & Victor Herbert in honor of
Albert Magid’s birthday
Jean Henderson in memory of Marilyn Hemmings
Jean Henderson in memory of Robert Hemmings
Jean Henderson in memory of Sylvia Gross
Daniel & Robinn Magid in memory of Marian Magid
Cathy Stevens in honor of Dan Magid
Mitzvah Committee
Barbara Fierer & Robert Brandfon in memory of Leon Fierer
Sandy & Vivian Golden in memory of Vernon Heyman
Music Fund
Alex & Michelle Bergtraun
Marc Breindel in memory of Samuel and Betty Breindel
Juliet & Peter Spear Gardner in honor of Rabbi Zellman
Moshe Maler & Susan Frankel
Ruth & Scott Spear
Zimra & David Vigoda
Beth Zeitman in honor of the 2012 adult b’nei mitzvah class
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in honor of Rabbi Zellman & the
chorus’s Purim shpiel
Nursery School Fund
Lisa & Deirdre Joy Bernard-Pearl in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Gene & Ann Clements in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Mimi & Bob Epstein in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Juliet & Peter Spear Gardner in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Ella & Neal Krucoff in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Joe & Carrie Regenstein in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Gladys Sharnoff in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Jean & Cushing Strout in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Susan & Marvin Adleman in memory of
Benjamin Anani Gershon Feinstein
Oneg/Kiddush Fund
Steven Joseph & Corey Hansen-Joseph in memory of
Belle Rosenstein Joseph
Prayerbook Fund
Donna Breger Stanton & Llewellyn Stanton in memory of
Samuel Breger
Rabbi Vida Library Fund
Merle & Michael Fajans in memory of Peregrine Elan Gardner
Ruth & Scott Spear in honor of the bar mitzvah of Yoav Vigoda
Rabbi Kahn’s Discretionary Fund
Michael & Susan Austin in memory of Kurt M. Austin
Juliet & Peter Spear Gardner in memory of
Peregrine Elan Gardner
Nicole Harris & Rattanoch Hort
Rabbi Yoel Kahn & Dan Bellm
Allen & Hannah King in memory of Ruth Guthartz
Lloyd Morgan in memory of Lawrence Morgan
Norman Postone & Lisa Fruchtman in memory of
Rabbi Abraham Postone
Rabbi Ferenc & Paula Raj
Marty & PJ Rosenthal in memory of Arnold Rosenthal
Elaine & Allen Sobel in memory of Benjamin Sobel
Ruth & Scott Spear
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in memory of Romi Turak
Zimra & David Vigoda
William & Susan Zarchy in memory of Jeanette Tulman Zarchy
Youth and Family Education Fund
Jewish Community Federation
Steven Kurzman & Kim Nies
Herschel & Judith Langenthal in honor of Urban Adamah
Herschel & Judith Langenthal
Albert Magid
Nancy Turak & Marc Davis in honor of Dana Zell, Jen Brand &
the 2013 Gala Committee
www.bethelberkeley.org 25

calendar
April 2013 / Nisan - Iyyar 5773
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
7th Day Pesach
No BENS
6:00 pm Yizkor Circle
7:00 pm Pesach Yizkor
Service
2
8th Day Pesach
No BENS
No Kadima
3
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
7:30 pm Midrasha
Board
4
No Kadima
7:00 pm Israel
Committee
7:30 pm Ritual
Committee
5
6:15 pm Shabbat
Service
6
Erev Yom HaShoah
No Chug Mishpacha
8:30 am Early Minyan
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Gefen
Gladstone bar
mitzvah
7
Yom HaShoah
No Midrasha
9:45 Men’s Club Hikemeeting
time
7:00 pm Yom
HaShoah service
(offsite)
8
9:30 am Parent-Child
Play Group
9
Oakland Community
Yom HaShoah
6:15 pm Scribes of
Beth El
7:30 pm Executive
Committee
10
Israel Trip begins
(Wed April 10, 2013 to
April 19)
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
11
Noon Lunch & Learn:
Zimra Vigoda
12
5:30 pm BENS Shabbat
6:15 pm Shabbat
Service
13
9:00 am Shabbat
B’Yachad
10:00 am Learner’s
service
6:00 pm Supper and
Schmooze
14
Erev Yom
haZikaron
2:00 pm Ruach’s Israel
Adventure
3:00 pm Ashby Village
Presentation
15
Erev Yom
haAtzmaut, Israel
Independence Day
Yom HaZikaron
9:30 am Parent-Child
Play Group
16
Yom haAtzmaut
5:00 pm Yom
HaAtzmaut, Israel
Independence Day
7:00 pm Program
Council
17
6:00 pm Ma Tovu
Campaign
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
18
6:15 pm Sababa &
Call Party
7:00 pm People of the
Book
19
Israel Trip ends
6:15 pm Yismechu
Shabbat
20
8:30 am Early Minyan
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Aliyah Ross
bat mitzvah
4:15 pm WBE:
Havdalah in the Hills
21
2:00 pm Homeless
Meal-Medical Clinic
5:00 pm Homeless
Meal
22
9:30 am Parent-Child
Play Group
23
6:15 pm Scribes of
Beth El
24
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
25
6:00 pm Teen Band
Rehearsal
7:30 pm Zionism: Part I
26
Midrasha Retreat
6:15 pm Shabbat
Service
27
Midrasha Retreat
Erev Lag baOmer
8:30 am Early Minyan
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Shabbat
Service
11;00 am Tot Shabbat
28
Lag baOmer
No Midrasha: Retreat
8:00 am Sababa
Santa Cruz Trip
29
9:30 am Parent-Child
Play Group
30
7:00 pm Board of
Directors
27 28
7:00 pm Perspectives
on Israel
3:00 pm WBE: Israeli
Dancing & Potluck
26
The Builder: April & May 2013

calendar
May 2013 / Iyyar - Sivan 5773
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
No BENS-Parent-
Teacher Conferences
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
7:30 pm Midrasha
Board
2
7:30 pm Ritual
Committee
7:30 pm Zionism:
Part II
3
6:15 pm Shabbat
Service
4
8:30 am Early Minyan
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Sarah Graup
bat mitzvah
5
10:00 am
Congregation Annual
Meeting
1:30 pm Mental
Health Task Force
6
9:30 am Parent-Child
Play Group
7
6:15 pm Scribes of
Beth El
7:30 pm Executive
Committee
8
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
9
Noon Lunch & Learn:
Rabbi Yoel Kahn
6:15 pm Sababa
7:00 pm People of the
Book
10
5:30 pm Tot Shabbat
6:15 pm Yismechu
Shabbat Service
11
8:30 am Early Minyan
9:15 am Torah Study
10:00 am
AJ Ingberman
bar mitzvah
7:30 pm Zionism:
Part III
11:00 am ShabbaTot
5:00 pm CKT Reunion
12
13
9:30 am Parent-Child
Play Group
14
Erev Shavuot
4:00 pm Kadima-last
b’nei mitzvah class
7:00 pm All-Night
Study for Shavuot
(Offsite)
15
Shavuot
Office Closed
No BENS
6:00 pm Ma Tovu
Campaign
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
16
4:00 pm Last day of
Kadima
7:00 pm Adult Ed: How
to Chant Torah class
7:00 pm Gun Control
and Gun Violence
Organizing Meeting
(offsite)
17
7:30 pm Shabbat
Service: Education &
Confirmation
18
BENS Camping Trip
Chug Mishpacha
Camping Trip
8:30 am Early Minyan
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Ben Gilbert
bar mitzvah
19
BENS Camping Trip &
Family Picnic
Chug Mishpacha
Camping Trip
9:30 am Midrasha
Graduation
20
9:30 am Parent-Child
Play Group
21
6:15 pm Scribes of
Beth El
7:30 pm Israel Consul
General
22
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
23
4:00 pm Ruach Endof-Year
Celebration
7:00 pm Preparing for
Fathers Day for Dads
24
6:15 pm Shabbat
Service
25
8:30 am Early Minyan
9:15 am Torah Study
10:15 am Noah
Winkelman bar
mitzvah
2:00 pm Homeless
Meal-Medical Clinic
5:00 pm Homeless
Meal
26
27
Memorial Day-
Office Closed
1:00 pm Men’s Club at
the A’s
28
7:00 pm Board of
Directors
29
7:00 pm Chorus
Rehearsal
30 31
6:15 pm Shabbat
Service: Board
Installation &
Volunteer Recognition
www.bethelberkeley.org 27

congregation beth el
1301 Oxford Street
Berkeley, CA 94709-1424
Camp Kee Tov 2013
Session 1: June 24 - July 19
Session 2: July 29 - August 23
Limited spots available. Sign up soon!
Visit www.campkeetov.org for more info!