December 20 - Temple Israel of Great Neck

B’nai mitzvah in Ourtemple israel FamilyClara GoldbergerClara Goldberger will be called to the Torahas a Bat Mitzvah on January 5. She is thedaughter of Maggie and Daniel Goldbergerand has a brother, Eli, 9. Clara is a seventhgrade honor student at Great Neck SouthMiddle School. She is the recipient of theJudaic Scholar Award from the TempleIsrael Religious School. Clara plays theviola in both the school orchestra and theGreat Neck Music Conservatory Orchestra.She also performs in school plays and enjoyssinging, reading and bicycling, as wellas playing basketball, softball and runningcross-country. Clara will be attending theWaxman High School and attends CampRamah in the Berkshires. She plans to visitIsrael with her family in the near future.Lauren PerlmanLauren Perlman will be celebrating her BatMitzvah on January 12. She is the daughterDr. Michal Gombos and William Perlmanand has a brother, Jonathan, 14. Lauren is aseventh grade honor student at Great NeckSouth Middle School. She enjoys cooking,as well as playing soccer and tennis. Laurenis currently attending the Waxman HighSchool and Youth House and plans to visitIsrael in the near future.From the President: The Week That Was——Continued from page 2in which he argues, stated (perhaps too)simply that Israel, in “occupying” the WestBank, was becoming “undemocratic” in away that risks alienating America’s collegeagedJews who, over time, would withdrawtheir support for Israel in a countryessential to her survival. Emotions ran highconcerning whether Israel has any choice,given threats to her security; whether thepresent Israeli government genuinely is interestedin a two-state solution; and whetherthe Palestinian Authority, not to mentionHamas, would ever actually accept theexistence of Israel as a Jewish State. Giventhe strong feelings elicited in our own congregation’sdiscussions of the book as thelaunching of our Am HaSefer program, theheat of the discourse was unsurprising. Butwhat resonated most wasn’t the fact of dispute,but the respect showed by each speakerto the other despite their fundamentaldisagreement and their recognition thatpeople can disagree and still talk to eachother. This was a lesson not lost on thoseattending. And it was especially poignantgiven that the event showed something alltoo rare: synagogues of all denominationsjoining together. We can only hope this wasa forerunner of more interaction.While not Great Neck-centered, we cannotforget the horror in learning about themassacre of 26 innocent elementary schoolstudents, teachers and administrators inNewtown, Connecticut. We as yet have littleclue as to what motivated the shooter, thoughit is hard to fathom how anyone can mowdown so many, so innocent. While murder is,of course, never acceptable, no parent can seeyoung children killed without experiencingthe utmost depths of sadness.Finally, the week concluded with our annualdinner dance. There, too, emotions wereplentiful, though here in a positive vein. WeAccountability——Continued from page 2bus only a few hours after the request wassent. They also capably staffed a carnivalat our Hanukkah party to raise money forstorm relief.At its best, Judaism strengthens ourmost positive inclinations. At MidnightRuns to provide food and clothing for thehomeless, and in so many other settingswithin and beyond our synagogue, wehave multiple opportunities, across thegenerational span, to demonstrate our accountabilityto others.To temper SSSCU, let’s add a new message:SGTBATH. So glad to be able to help.How fortunate we are to be heirs to sucha longstanding tradition of accountability.——4——celebrated two wonderful couples, who reflectthe beautiful diversity of our kehillah.One couple, Bracha and Marty Werber, haveestablished themselves as leaders not onlyin our synagogue but also on the nationaland international front, with involvement inactivities of JTS, Solomon Schechter, UnitedSynagogue, Mercaz USA and the FuchsbergCenter in Jerusalem. The other, Joanna andDavid Eshaghoff, have emerged as leaders ofthe next generation, with activities rangingfrom Beth HaGan programming and fundraisingto issues of building maintenanceand development. They participate in manyof our family-oriented events, bringing otherswith them to broaden their involvement.We couldn’t help but feel the high esteem inwhich both couples are held by their friendsand family in the remarks made to them. Thatwarmth continued through the balance of theevening, where the hard work of the DinnerDance Committee, couldn’t be missed, in arrangingan elegant affair. It exemplified whatmakes our synagogue so special.Congregation SaysThank You to ManyKiddush SponsorsAppreciation is expressed by the TempleIsrael officers and Board of Trustees tomembers who have generously sponsoredand enhanced the Sabbath kiddush.Contributions toward the kiddushon November 10 were made by Lisa andMartin Ghatani and Diana and Steve Kadanin honor of the Bar Mitzvah of their son,Benjamin, and Tina and Avraham Kasab inhonor of the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Solly.A contribution toward the kiddush onNovember 17 was made by Neda and FaridSedgh in honor of the Bat Mitzvah of theirdaughter, Victoria.Contributions toward the kiddush onNovember 24 were made by Kitty andHaim Dadi in honor of the Bar Mitzvah oftheir son, Michael, and Fariba and SamShamouilian in honor of the Bat Mitzvah oftheir daughter, Sally.daily minyan timesMon. & Thur. 6:45 A.M. 8:00 P.M.Tues. & Wed. 7:00 A.M. 8:00 P.M.Tues., Dec. 25 8:15 A.M. 8:00 P.M.Tues., Jan. 1 8:15 A.M. 8:00 P.M.Fri., Dec. 21 7:00 A.M. 6:30 P.M.Fri., Dec. 28 7:00 A.M. 4:30 P.M.Fri., Jan. 4 7:00 A.M. 4:30 P.M.Sat., Dec. 22 8:45 A.M. 3:50 P.M.Sat., Dec. 29 8:45 A.M. 3:55 P.M.Sat., Jan. 5 8:45 A.M. 4:00 P.M.Sunday 8:15 A.M. 8:00 P.M.