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If you have not yet registered, please visit our website at www.bethesdajewish.org or call Mindy Silverstein at 301.469.8636 x4.

Welcome Back to the 2016-2017 school year. The teachers, madrichim (teen assistants), Education Committee and I are looking forward to an exciting and productive school year. We have many activities and programs planned for each grade level and we look forward to your participation in all.

•The first day of school is Saturday, September 10, 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. For this session only, grades Pre K-7 are being asked to arrive by 9 a.m. For all other Saturday sessions, the schedule is Pre K-1st grades, 10 a.m.-12:15 p.m., and 2nd -7th grades, 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. All Pre K-7th grade students, parents and teachers are invited to Memorial Hall for a short school-wide program. This will be followed by a family Scavenger Hunt. •The first day of the midweek religious school program for grades 4 -7 is Wednesday, September 14, 4:30-6 p.m. •The first day of school for our Tichon students, students in Grades 8-10, is Tuesday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. (dinner provided). There is a special program planned for the students at that time. A parent meeting is planned for 7:30 p.m.

Of course, the first day of school wouldn’t be complete without a special treat! Before the students and teachers return to the classrooms, “Saturdaes” will be served.

After a brief school-wide parent meeting, parents are invited to visit their child’s classrooms. The first session is from 10:45-11:05 a.m. and the second session is from 11:10-11:30 a.m. This will allow parents with more than one child in the school the opportunity to visit each child’s class.

A Special Note to our 7th Grade Parents: Due to the structure of the 7th grade, parents are asked to attend the 10:45 a.m. session. If you have other children in the school, you may leave at 11:05 a.m. to attend the other session.

It is an honor and privilege to be able to work with your families. I look forward to creating wonderful memories together.

Bethesda JewishC O N G R E G A T I O N N E W S

August|September 2016Rabbi Elhanan ‘Sunny’ Schnitzer

Tammuz|Av|Elul 5776

Volume 52, Issue 11-12

Calendar

Congregation News

From the Rabbi

Cuba Comes to Bethesda! Welcome David Tacher to BJC

Thursday August 4, 7:30 p.m. – Lounge BJC members who have visited Cuba will remember David as the affable president of the Jewish communities of Santa Clara, Sancti Spiritus, and Cienfuegos. David is passionate about his Judaism and his native country. Join us as David presents: Cuban Jewry- From Columbus to Castro.

BJC Book Club

The BJC Open Book Club meets in the Library at 8 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of every month. Anyone is welcome to participate. For more information, please contact Evelyn Ganzglass at 202.966.7037. The following are upcoming selections:

• August 24- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferante is a modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors. The book is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila as well as the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship.

• September 28-The Yacoubian Building: A Novel by Alaa Al Aswany is a controversial international bestseller that offers a window to the political corruption, sexual repression, religious extremism, and modern hopes of Egypt today. In the novel, a fading aristocrat and self-proclaimed "scientist of women"; a sultry, voluptuous siren; a devout young student, feeling the irresistible pull toward fundamentalism; a newspaper editor helplessly in love with a policeman; a corrupt and corpulent politician, twisting the Koran to justify his desires all reside in this once-elegant temple of Art Deco splendor now slowly decaying in the smog and bustle of downtown Cairo

Back to Shul Night and Shabbat Under the Stars

Friday September 9, 6–8:30 p.m. Summer’s over, now the time is right for back to BJC!Don’t keep your love of BJC a secret. Share your passion for our unique expression of Judaism with others. Bring your friends to our outdoor Musical Shabbat. Enjoy our Food Trucks and activities for children. Let’s get the word out about our warm, inspiring, and exciting synagogue and school. We’ll be stronger for your efforts.Please RSVP for the barbeque to the BJC office

Chant and Meditation Circle is Back with Rebetzin Yaffah!

Saturday September 10, 4:30 p.m. Chanting is a form of meditation that can open the doors of the heart. Repetition of a sacred phrase can clear the mind of clutter and connect us to each other and the divine. Return to the Land of Your Soul.

Great Names in the Neighborhood presents - Filmmaker Aviva Kempner

Sunday September 18, 3 p.m. Aviva Kempner has been making independent films since 1979. A child of a Holocaust survivor and a US Army officer, Ms. Kempner was born in Berlin, Germany after World War II. This legacy inspired Ms. Kempner to produce and co-write Partisans of Vilna and executive produce the 1989 Grammy-award nominated record, Partisans of Vilna: The Songs of World War II Jewish Resistance.

Kempner is the writer, director and producer of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (2000), a documentary about the Jewish baseball slugger. The film was awarded top honors by the National Society of Film Critics, the National Board of Review, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The film also received a George Peabody Award and was nominated for an Emmy.

Kempner also wrote and directed Gertrude Berg: America’s Molly Goldberg, a documentary on America‘s favorite radio and television personality, and most recently she released Rosenwald the story of Julius Rosenwald, co-founder of Sears and Roebuck, and the creator of the Rosenwald Schools for African Americans.

A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, DC Mayor’s Art Award, Women of Vision award and Media Arts Award from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, Kempner is also the founder of the Washington Jewish Film Festival

Selichot 5776

Saturday September 24, 9 p.m. The final hour of the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah was deemed by our rabbis to be a time of special power. Around the world Jews gather at midnight to begin the process of repentance with special prayers and songs.

This year, with millions of people worldwide dislocated by war, hunger, and poverty, the plight of the refugee should resonate as deeply as ever. This year, for our Selichot curtain raiser, we will screen the film: The Boat is Full. At the height of World War II, a group of Jewish refugees desperately attempt to escape to the safety of neutral Switzerland. The problem: too many refugees, and too little room in the boat commissioned for the trip. This tale of people desperate to reach safety resonates as strongly in 2016 as it did in 1940. The film will be followed by a fancy dessert reception followed by a Selichot service. Join us and experience the “hush at midnight.”

Yahrzeits

Thank You for your contribution

To the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund

Edward and Hannah ElsonJack Guralnik and Stacey FitzSimmonsRalph and Lena Kahn in honor of Alina’s Bat MitzvahJim Korelitz in appreciation of another great year of learning in the Torah Today classSusan Levin in honor of Rabbi Sunny’s Torah Today classSusan Polan in honor of Lincoln’s Bar MitzvahDavid and Judy ScottEd and Norma Stern in appreciation of another great year of learning in the Torah Today classLorrie Van AkkerenIra and Sheila Wolpert in honor of the yaherzeits of their parents; Jerome Schlossenberg, Michael Wolpert, Rosalie Shiffman, and Florence Wolpert

To the General Fund

AnonymousRudolph Arkin from the Rudy and Lucy Arkin Philanthropic FundBurt and Margaret Bachrach in honor of Leah Chiaverini receiving her Master’s DegreeBruce and Linda Baum in honor of the yahrzeits of Linda’s father, Sam Schwartz; Bruce’s mother, Edith Baum; Bruce’s grandmother, Rose Kline Levine; and Linda’s grandmother, Rebecca SchwartzDiane BlumenthalLen and Cindy BogoradBruce and Wynne BusmanHerbert and Aleen ChabotHelen Dalton in honor of Carol Ann Rudolph’s Mah Jong lessonsMichael and Helen DaltonJudy DashNeil Ditchek and Gabrielle Roth DitchekJames and Robin DoroshowBrian and Shoshana DrakeAlan DubinWarren and Anita FarbMarty and Evelyn GanzglassDan and Donna GoldbergAllen Grunes and Diane SzczepaniakLee Helman and Judith FalloonJim Korelitz and Liz SlossSusan LevinJeremy MendelsonAaron and Kelly MendelsohnHerbert and Nancy MilsteinDavid and Lottie MosherEileen NewmanEvelyn RabinGary and Jean RatnerTerri ReicherStacey Rose-BlassRuther SalingerRobert and Susan SchaeferDavid and Judy ScottMarvin and Ellen SirkisDan and Kathleen SpiroEd and Norma SternLisa StraussH.S. TeitelbaumSteve Turow and Linda Blumberg in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of Lincoln Polan and Jacob’s ConfirmationLarry and Davi Walders to thank Rabbi Sunny for offering Torah study to allDavid Wall and Wendy ShayDavid Williams and Rachel Mosher-WilliamsIra and Sheila WolpertGerson and Shirley Yalowitz

To the Maran Gluckstein Education Fund

Burt and Margaret BachrachEdward and Hannah ElsonJames Kretz and Sana ShtaselEllen LibermanLisa StraussCraig Winslow and Diane Blumenthal

To the Cuba Fund

Lorrie Van Akkeren

A Special Thank You to all who “rounded up” of their Synagogue Support Payments.

August

Sylvia BerkowitzBurton BernardShirley CherensonHerman CohenMinnie DruckmanDaniel GoldsteinMorris Jacob HellerDora HoffmanRena JacobsonMilton KochmanIsadore KornfieldMartha KrausBernard KramerKenneth Mandeville

Anna MerelsteinJudith PosnerCorey H. RoseShirley SamuelsonMarla SchwartzSara SchlacterRosalie ShiffmanRosella SilversteinIrving TurowIrwin Yockelson

September

Jack BarskyNoah CohenAdrian CurtisEdward GoldsteinCharles HollanderLaura Jane KetchamMarvin LevitovBenjamin RosenbergNorman SamuelsonNathan Sanders WallLillian Rosenberg SilbertJack SilbermanFanny Stern

Mother of Susan BerkowitzFather of Cathy BernardMother of Ruth MaginGrandfather of Donna GoldbergGrandmother of Linda Blumberg and Mark BlumbergFather of Jim GoldsteinFather of Carrie SchaeferMother-in-Law of Phyliss HoffmanMother of Annie CifarelliGrandfather of Richard KochmanFather of Judy FolsomMother of Mitchell KrausFather of Harri KramerHusband of Dawn Mandeville and Son-in-Law of Lorrie Van AkkerenMother of Marcia LoebMother of Ted PosnerBrother of Stacey Rose-BlassMother of Doug SamuelsonSister of Linda BaumMother of David SchlacterMother of Sheila WolpertMother of Ken SilversteinGrandfather of Stephen TurowBrother of Naomi Lichtenberg

Brother of Lisa StraussNephew of Nancy GlassmanSister of Richard FogelFather of Dana GoldsteinFather of Jill CampMother of Kathy SpiroBrother of Sharon LandeFather of Phyliss HoffmanFather of Doug SamuelsonHusband of Charlotte Wall-BluestoneMother of Earl SilbertFather of Paul SilbermanMother of Ed Stern

Board of Trustees

PresidentVice-PresidentTresurerSecretary

Trustees

Committee Chairs

MarketingMembershipProgramsSocial ActionEducationHigh Holy DaysStudent RepresentativePast PresidentIntercongregational PartnershipFinancial Adviser

BJC Administration

Spiritual LeaderDirector of EducationSynagogue Administrator

Editor

Design Layout

Rachel Mosher-WilliamsShoshanah DrakeLance PelterAmy Kost

Diane BlumenthalBarry CantorDan GoldbergLorraine McMillenSandra WalterMarlene Zakai

Robin SorkinJudy FolsomOpenOpenIssie RestiWarren FarbRachel KirkpatrickJoan WolfBruce BusmanBarry Cantor

Rabbi Sunny SchnitzerMindy SilversteinShana Rosenblatt

Anita Farbanita.farb@gmail.comMeredith Newmanmeredithjn@gmail.com

The deadline for submitting articles for the October/November 2016 newsletter is: September 16, 2016

In this issue...

Back to Shul Night | Cuba Mission 2016 | Aviva Kempner 9/9 @ 6:00 pm 9/18 @ 3:00 pm

08Wednesday, Aug 3 6:00 pm

6:30 pm

7:30 pm

Time Event Location

Adult Hebrew

Torah Today

High Holiday Choir Rehearsal

Lounge

Library

Choir Room

Thursday, Aug 4 7:30 pm Adult Ed- Cuban Jewry

Wednesday, Aug 31 6:00 pm6:30 pm7:30 pm

Adult HebrewTorah Today High Holiday Choir Rehearsal

Lounge LibraryChoir Room

Wednesday, Aug 17 6:00 pm6:30 pm7:30 pm

Adult HebrewTorah TodayHigh Holiday Choir Rehearsal

LoungeLibraryChoir Room

Wednesday, Aug 24 6:00 pm6:30 pm7:30 pm8:00 pm

Adult HebrewTorah TodayHigh Holiday Choir RehearsalBJC Book Club My Brilliant Friend

LoungeLibraryChoir RoomLibrary

Wednesday, Aug 10 6:00 pm6:30 pm7:30 pm

Adult HebrewTorah TodayHigh Holiday Choir Rehearsal

Lounge LibraryChoir Room

Friday, Aug 19 8:00 pm Shabbat Service Parsha Va-Etchannan

Covenant Hall

Friday, Aug 26 8:00 pm Shabbat Service Parsha Ekev

Covenant Hall

Sunday, Aug 28 1:30 pm Grand Slam Sunday with the Nationals

Nationals Park

Thursday, Aug 11 7:30 pm BJC Board of Directors Meeting Lounge

Covenant Hall

Friday, Aug 5 8:00pm Shabbat Service

Parsha Mattote-Masei

Covenant Hall

Friday, Aug 12 8:00 pm Shabbat Service Parsha Devarim

Covenant Hall

BJC NewsBethesda Jewish Congregation6601 Bradley BoulevardBethesda, MD 20817-3042Tel: 301-469-8636Fax: 301-469-9529Bethesdajewish.orgadmin@bethesdajewish.org

תמוז |אב |אלול תשע״ו

August

09Friday, Sept 2 8:00 pm

Time Event Location

Shabbat Service Covenant Hall

Saturday, Sept 3 10:30 am Shabbat Worship Smith Bat Mitzvah Parsha Re-eh

Wednesday, Sept 21 6:00 pm6:30 pm7:30 pm

Adult HebrewTorah Today High Holiday Choir Rehearsal

Lounge LibraryChoir Room

Friday, Sept 23 6:30 pm8:00 pm

Tot ShabbatShabbat Service Simcha B’Shabbat

Lounge Covenant Hall

Wednesday, Sept 14 4:30 pm6:30 pm7:30 pm

Religious SchoolTorah TodayHigh Holiday Choir Rehearsal

ClassroomsLibraryChoir Room

Thursday, Sept 8 7:30 pm BJC Board of Directors Meeting Lounge

Tuesday, Sept 13 6:30 pm Tichon Class Lounge

Friday, Sept 16 8:00 pm Shabbat Service

Covenant Hall

Friday, Sept 30 8:00 pm Shabbat Service

Covenant Hall

Friday, Sept 18 3:00 pm Speaker Series Aviva Kempner

Covenant Hall

Friday, Sept 9 6:30 pm7:30 pm

Back to Shul NightShabbat Under the Stars

Outside

Covenant Hall

Wednesday, Sept 7 6:30 pm7:30 pm

Torah TodayHigh Holiday Choir

Library Choir Room

Saturday, Sept 10 9:00 am9:00 am10:30 am

4:30 pm

Religious SchoolAdult HebrewShabbat Worship Weisman Bat Mitzvah Parsha ShofetimChant Circle

ClassroomsLounge Covenant Hall

Covenant Hall

Saturday, Sept 17 9:00 am9:00 am10:30 am

Religious SchoolAdult HebrewShabbat Worship Chazin Bat Mitzvah Parsha Ki Tetzay

ClassroomsLounge Covenant Hall

Saturday, Sept 24 9:00 am9:00 am10:30 am

9:00 pm

Religious SchoolAdult HebrewShabbat Worship Parsha Ki TavaLate Night Study Selichot Program/ Service

ClassroomsLounge Covenant Hall

Covenant Hall

September

Kriat HaRav – The Rabbi’s Call Rabbi Elhanan ‘Sunny’ Schnitzer

Meet a Board Member!President Rachel Mosher-Williams

Letter from the Director of EducationMindy Silverstein

Once again we return. Like salmon responding to some unseen summons to swim to the place of their birth, the Jewish soul hears the call to return to our highest spiritual aspirations. This Season of Repentance, the Days of Awe, really do not begin on the first of Tishrei, this year arriving in the early autumn, but rather during these dog days of summer, on Tisha B’av.

Tisha B’Av, (the Fifteenth of the month of Av) which this year occurs on August 14, is the nadir of the Jewish soul. We “bottom out” on this day which commemorates the destruction of both ancient Temples and the beginning of multiple historical exiles. On Tisha B’Av we sit in the darkness on the ground and with candles begin our journey back toward the light.My teacher, the late Rabbi Alan Lew wrote in his book, This is Real, and You are Completely Unprepared:

“This dance that begins on Tisha b’Av and ends on Sukkot…stands for the journey the soul is always on. It is a map, drawn by the soul, of the journey it must take, the journey it is already taking. The journey… is one of self-discovery, spiritual discipline, self-forgiveness, and spiritual evolution. It is the snapshot the Jewish people pull out every autumn of the journey all human beings must make across this world: the journey from Tisha b’Av to Sukkot, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, from birth to death and back to renewal again. Seeing yourself in this snapshot will help you chart the course of your own spiritual evolution. Every soul needs to express itself. Every heart needs to crack itself open. Every one of us needs to move from anger to healing, from denial to consciousness, from boredom to renewal. These needs did not arise yesterday. They are among the most ancient of human yearnings, and they are fully expressed in the pageantry and ritual of the Days of Awe, in the great journey we make between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur... It became clear that this was a process that never ended, that rather it stretched out to the infinite horizon… The business of transformation was going on all the time. It never stopped. The two-month period in question was merely a time when we focused on it, when we gave form to something invisible that lay dormant yet was possible to awaken at every moment of our lives.”

This High Holiday season, when there is so much at stake, when the world has become so violent, chaotic, and angry, our journey has the potential to renew our faith in each other. Still reeling from the almost daily acts this summer of violence and terrorism in too many places to name without forgetting to name one of them, we would do well to remember that it is because we are in the throes of the last gasp of the old paradigm that the actions of those who fear the inevitable evolution of humankind are so intemperate and agitated. We are moving towards a more egalitarian world. A world where sexism, racism, homophobia, and xenophobia will no longer be the dominant ethos.

Our arc through the High Holidays and beyond can restore our hope and we can then turn our hope into action. It just takes faith, and faith is what Judaism is all about. So, hold on my friends. The darkest hour is always before the dawn.

Happy summer! And what a DC summer it has been – such high heat and humidity that I’m beginning to pine for the cooler temperatures of fall and the introspection and peace of the High Holy Days.

As we start a new fiscal year at BJC and look toward the new Jewish year on October 2, we are also pleased to welcome new members to the BJC board. Following in the footsteps of Immediate Past-President (and my buddy) Joan Wolf, I’d like to introduce one new board member in each of the next few newsletters so you get to know who is leading your community. We start this series with Treasurer Lance Pelter. Lance and his wife, Maureen, have been members of BJC for somewhere between 10 to 12 years (he’s not exactly certain). They attended two years of High Holiday Services and realized that BJC was their new spiritual home. What really attracted them to BJC, Lance says, was the congregational diversity – our unique openness to multi-religion families and those who have converted – and Rabbi Schnitzer.

Now for his life story: Lance was born in the Bronx, lived in NYC, Long Island, upstate New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and New Jersey before coming to the DC area. Lance went to college and grad school at NY State Universities. He and Maureen have four grown children, six grandchildren and three grand-dogs, and have been married for 43 years.

Lance worked for GE and then a spin-off company GXS. In both of those companies, he held leadership positions in finance, sales, and marketing. After leaving GE, Lance was recruited to become the treasurer and a director of The Boston Camerata, America’s pre-eminent early music ensemble. He is still involved with the Camerata as the past president and a director. In what appears to be little spare time, he is also the senior vice president of a green energy start-up company. For fun, Lance plays with his grandchildren and golf, and listens to his wife. We should all be so lucky!

Please give Lance a big thank you and handshake if you see him! Next newsletter: Secretary Amy Kost.

Please be in touch with me in times of joy, sadness or illness in your life or in the lives of a loved one or another member of the congregation. This is particularly necessary now that the HIPAA regulations have made getting any kind of information from the hospitals extremely difficult. I greatly appreciate your help in keeping me informed of the health needs of our congregation. Office Number: 301-469-8636, #3.

High Holidays5777

All Services Begin Promptly

Rosh Hashanah

Sunday, October 2 8 p.m. Evening Service

Monday, October 3 10 a.m. Morning Service 1:30 p.m. Family Service for All Ages 3:30 p.m. Tashlich Cabin John Park, 7400 Tuckerman Lane, Bethesda

Yom Kippur

Tuesday, October 11 8 p.m. Kol Nidre

Wednesday, October 12 10 a.m. Morning Service 1:30 p.m. Family Service for All Ages 2:30 p.m. Yom Kippur Discussion 3:30 p.m. Musical Meditations 3:30 p.m. Chant Circle 5 p.m. Reading of the Book of Jonah 5:30 p.m. Yizkor and Neilah Services

BJC Cuba Mission 2016, November 29 – December 10With Special Musical Guests!

• Cost $3,900 per person, double occupancy (A Real Bargain – Comparable trips run $4,500 or more)Plus Cuba Departure tax $25 (Cash Only)

• Includes: Flights Miami – Havana / Camaguey – Miami; Hotel 11 Nights (Miami, Havana, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus, Caibarien, Camaguey); All breakfasts and lunches and seven dinners; Air-conditioned motor coach; Full time guide; Hotel and restaurant tips; Cuban Visas; and Miami Departure Taxes.

Only 14 double rooms available – act quicklyTo register or for additional information contact Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer (rabbi@bethesdajewish.org)

Wednesday, Sept 28 6:00 pm6:30 pm7:30 pm8:00 pm

Adult HebrewTorah TodayHigh Holiday Choir RehearsalBJC Book Club The Yacoubian Building: A Novel

LoungeLibraryChoir RoomLibrary