congregation sha’arai shomayim founded 1844 springhill...
TRANSCRIPT
VOLUME 58 EDITION 9
1 May 2016
23 Nisan 5776
Congregation Sha’arai Shomayim Founded 1844
Springhill Avenue Temple
The Temple Bulletin
springhillavenuetemple.com
We are coming together as a caring, inclusive community united in a common commitment to Judaism and to furthering
our spiritual growth. We desire to do this recognizing that worship of God, study of Torah, caring for the Jewish people
and our community, are central to our being as a Reform Jewish congregation. With these principles as our foundation
and guided by a historic past, we anticipate our future, one of continual lifelong self-renewal.
RELIGIOUS SERVICES Wednesday, May 4 7:00 p.m. Yom Hashoah – Holocaust
Commemoration Service
Friday, May 6 6:00 p.m. Student/Teacher Appreciation Service
with the Congregational Choir
Friday, May 13 6:00 p.m. Yom Haatzma’ut Shabbat Service
Friday, May 20 6:00 p.m. Shabbat Evening Service
Welcome Leonard Wells to Judaism
with the Congregational Choir
Friday, May 27 6:00 p.m. Shabbat Evening Service
with the Congregational Choir
The Temple Offices will be closed on Monday, May 30th
in observance of Memorial Day
Torah Selection:
Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30
Haftarah – I Samuel 20:18 – 42
ALL SHABBAT SERVICES ARE CONGREGATIONAL SERVICES.
PLEASE JOIN US IN WORSHIP
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FROM OUR RABBI
e are hosting a Yom Hashoah
Commemorative Service on
Wednesday, May 4th at 7:00 p.m. in
our sanctuary. This service is being
organized by Don Berry of the Gulf
Coast Holocaust Center. We are
hoping to read from our Holocaust
Torah, which was brought from
Czechoslavakia to us via London in
the late 1970s. There were many
members of our congregation who
played roles in arranging for this
transfer with Lowell and Bobette
Friedman and Perrye Lewis and the
late Dr. Julien Lewis being central to the effort. The term Holocaust was first used by American
journalist Paul Jacobs. In one of the reports that
he sent back from the Eichmann trial, he wrote
of “the Holocaust, as the Nazi annihilation of
European Jewry is called in Israel.” The Israelis
actually used the Hebrew word shoah , meaning
catastrophic upheaval, or hurban, meaning total
destruction. Both words had very different
implications than the English word Holocaust,
which could be understood as implying that
those who died did so as a noble religious
sacrifice paralleling the ritual sacrifice of
animals in the Jerusalem Temple. Despite the
potential theological problems with the term,
Elie Wiesel popularized it throughout the 1960s,
making the word Holocaust synonymous with
the Nazi murder of the Jews. Wiesel had written Night, a short book dealing
with his experience in Auschwitz. First
published in English in 1960, the memoir
described a teenage boy deported from his
Orthodox home in Hungary along with his
family. He was shocked to realize that God
could betray His own people, but is even more
upset by the way he behaved toward his dying
father. The book became a publishing sensation
because the language was graphic and yet
mythic, its events both set in a specific historical
context yet seemingly timeless. In 1986, Wiesel
was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, an award
that was widely viewed as acknowledging the
importance of the Holocaust and the suffering of
the Jewish people. The Eichmann trial marked a turning point for
how Holocaust survivors were perceived. Up
until this point they had kept a low
profile. Believing that nobody wanted
to hear their stories, they tried to
rebuild their lives and avoid looking
back. But the Eichmann trial changed
the way they were perceived by others
as well as the way they saw
themselves. Holocaust survivors
played a key role at the Eichmann trial,
providing testimony concerning all
aspects of the Final Solution as
planned and implemented by Eichmann and
other Nazis. Now these Holocaust survivors
began receiving requests to speak, not only at
synagogues, but schools and churches and the
gamut of other venues. Their status as survivors
gave them an authenticity and legitimacy that
was irreplaceable. In the years following the Eichmann trial, both
fiction and nonfiction works on the Holocaust
became international best-sellers. American
Jews as well as many others became interested in
the Holocaust and wanted to understand it in
historic, as well as religious terms. By the 1970s, the inhibitions that had
encouraged repression of such discussion lifted.
Many books were being written about the
Holocaust itself, as well as the passive role that
the American government played in allowing
mass murder to take place. The Jewish
community became obsessed with the subject. Not only was it important to teach the history of
the persecution and destruction, it was also
important to convey what was generally
acknowledged to be the central lesson: Jews had
an obligation to perpetuate Jewishness so as not
to let the Nazis retroactively “win the war.” Philosopher and Reform rabbi Emil Fackenheim
spoke of a 614th commandment. Every Jew
living after the Holocaust should know that he or
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(continued from previous page) she was, in a sense, a survivor, part of “an
accidental remnant.” Fackenheim said that “the
authentic Jew of today is forbidden to hand
Hitler yet another, posthumous victory” by
failing to survive as a Jew. Fackenheim’s
understanding was based on the fact that “a Jew
today is one who, except for an historical
accident — Hitler’s loss of the war — would
have either been murdered or never been born.”
As a consequence of this horrible reality,
religious faith cannot continue as it was before
the Holocaust because faith in the covenant
presupposes “an unbroken historical continuity
from past to present.” That continuity was
traumatically ruptured by the murder of six
million Jews. Fackenheim was, of course, aware
that many might see this as proof that the
omnipotent God of the Torah could not possibly
exist, but that was not his message. Rather, he
felt that Jews should devote themselves to
making sure that the Jewish people survive as a
religious, as well as political response, to the
Nazis’ attempt at genocide. Please consider attending this commemorative
service. It is our way of paying our respects to
the six million Jews and the large number of
other people who were killed by the Nazis during
the Holocaust.
Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan
FROM OUR PRESIDENT
ow, it is already May and the middle
of spring. Where does the time go?
As always, this time of year brings in
a lot of new life, both animal and vegetable. The
plants and trees are turning green, the flowers are
blooming, the eggs are hatching, and new life is
all around us. It may be the "most
wonderful time of the year" (with
apologies to Edward Pola and
George Wyles)! There are also a lot of eggs
hatching and flowers blooming at
our Temple. Not only is the garden
blooming at our beautiful facility,
thanks in large part to master
gardener Larry Miller, but Sha’arai Shomayim is
growing and blooming, as well. As you know by
now, we are in the process of hiring Rabbi
Kaplan to be our full time Rabbi. I am very
excited about this opportunity. He has been very
well received and I think he will do our
congregation well. We are very fortunate to have
him with us. While on the subject of rabbis, I
would like to take a minute and also, one more
time, to thank Donald Kunstadt for his 28 years
of service to our beloved congregation. He has
the distinction of being one of the longest tenured
rabbis of our historic congregation. For me
personally, he officiated at all three of my
children's life cycle events, from consecration to
Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, to confirmations. He was
not only my rabbi, but also my friend. Thank you
Donald Kunstadt for what you did for Sha’arai
Shomayim and for me personally, as well. There is so much going on at our beloved Temple
that if you haven't been by lately, you should
check it out. We had a very good
Town Hall Meeting where many ideas
were suggested and are being
tabulated in order to address the needs
of what our congregants want. In
order for things to bloom at our
Temple, we need all the "gardeners"
to come out and help us grow our
congregation, make it flourish, and
turn it into the most beautiful, thriving, and active
congregation in the City of Mobile, bar none. We are still pursuing the idea of wanting to do
more with others. We have had joint worship
services with other Jewish congregations and will
hopefully continue to do so. We have had many
speakers, some Jewish and some of other faiths,
and it is our intent to continue this, as well. The
more we reach out to others, the better it is for all. Please mark your calendars now for the Temple
Annual Meeting scheduled for Sunday, June 12th
at 10:30 a.m. You will get a chance to review
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anything you want to know about what is going
on and a chance to make your voice heard. I
personally welcome anything you may have to
say and, as always, I want to know what is on
your mind and your thoughts on how to
continually make Sha’arai Shomayim the best it
can be. See ya around the Temple,
Alan V Hirsch, President
Meet at springhill avenue temple Cemetery
Sunday, May 15th @ 9:00 a.m.
We’re going to spruce up the Temple’s cemetery!
Bring your lawn and gardening equipment
(gloves, rakes, shovels, loppers, etc.)
You are cordially invited to
Springhill Avenue Temple’s Annual Meeting
Get a status report on your Temple!
Participate in the nomination, election, and
induction of new officers
Don’t Miss This Very Important Meeting!
Sunday, June 12, 2015 at 10:30 a.m.
Men’s Club and Sisterhood will provide
Light Food and Refreshment after the meeting
ANNUAL MEETING NOTICE
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CONTRIBUTIONS
In honor of the birth of Julianne Walsh Holberg – Iris & Nate Ginsberg, Alan Hirsch, Mazel Tov to Michael Holberg & Aimee Walsh-Holberg on the birth of their daughter
Julianne - Murray Levine & Patti Grandquest Speedy recovery for Terry Barkin – Jill Gottlieb Speedy recovery for Sandy Holberg – Murray Levine In memory of Nan Altmayer – David Rose, Martha & G.B. Kahn, Phyllis Feibelman,
Amy & Jack Friedlander, Margaret & Milton Brown, Friedman’s Fine Jewelry, Margaret Luce,
Iris & Nate Ginsberg In memory of Ralph Holberg, Jr. – Mimi Holberg, Elaine & Robert Holberg In honor of the yahrzeit of Charlotte Zivitz Martin – Terry & Peter Kopel In memory of Janet Weiner – Patricia & Howard Silverman In memory of Matilde Scheuer – Martha & G.B. Kahn In memory of Cyrus Neuman – Jill Gottlieb In memory of Max Muchnick – Frances Mutchnick, Sherry & Glen Mutchnick In memory of my grandmother, Janette P. Gardberg – Naomi Gardberg In memory of Vi Hirsch – Mary Ann Friedlander In memory of Fannie Whitehead – Mark Gilberstadt In memory of Sid Magnes – Cindy & Phil Magnes In memory of Dr. Norman Lichtenfeld – Martha & G.B. Kahn In memory of Lila Kogon – Iris & Nate Ginsberg, Peter & Gail van Oosten,
Shirley & Howard Hochman In memory of Maury Friedlander – Mary Ann Friedlander, Michael Friedlander,
Madelyn Friedlander, Beth Vorwaller, Rachel Vorwaller In memory of my husband, Joe Passero – Fran Passero In memory of Nathan N. Aronson, Jr. – Judi Aronson In memory of Leonard Metzger, Jr. – Mildred Metzger In memory of Isadore Barkin – Teresa & Terry Barkin In memory of Cecile Olensky Mishkin – Linda & Eddie Blassingame In memory of Elaine Long – Iris & Nate Ginsberg
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YAHRZEIT
It is a true Mitzvah to honor those whose memory we hold dear by attending services on the
Shabbat Yahrzeit (year’s time), joining your congregation in reciting Kaddish, and the
giving of charity in their memory.
May 6 Morris Loeb, Stanley Nussbaum, Frieda Friedman, Minnie Piser Schwarz,
Karin Appelman, Miriam Yassem Gandler,
Beatrice Zelnicker, Gladys Kahn
May 13 A.E. Fingerhut, Fran Brown, Issac Friedman, Elsa Keller Lewis,
Sylvia Rose, Milton F. Rubel, Sr.
May 20 Bruce Fox, Jennie Spitzberg, Edward Gandler, Richard Tolpin,
Camille Baer, Sarah Kopelman
May 27 Gertrude Kopelman, Valdivia Vogel, Irving Gandler,
Ellen Muhlfelder, Jerome Goldman, Molly Long,
Louis Goldman, Sarah Pozner Cherniak,
Samuel Diemar
June 3 Helen Koffler, Karen Kopelman, Kenneth Morrow,
Elaine Heart
URJ Jacobs Camp - Registration Now Open!
URJ Jacobs Camp (jacobs.urjcamps.org) is a Reform Jewish
summer camp in Utica, MS serving children from the Deep
South entering grades Pre-K to 12. Plan now for a great
summer experience! Registration is now open! Due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, Temple
youth will be able to receive a $1,000 incentive grant for
first-time campers and $500 for continuing campers. These
funds are in addition to the first time campers scholarship
program of $1,000 from the Goldring Family Foundation. In addition to these scholarships, supplemental funding may also be available. Interested parents should contact Rabbi Kaplan at the Springhill Avenue Temple for
more information (251)478-0415.
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FROM OUR SHALIACH, ARAD LERNER
Shalom y’all! As we know by now Shalom has three
meanings: hello, goodbye, and peace. Hello
It’s me, that Israeli that came here two years
ago, not knowing much about the south,
except for some stereotypes that
didn’t really matter to him. I have seen a beautiful part of
this country and experienced the
culture of all of its ingredients -
from food (as much as I could)
to Mardi Gras, through you
guys, your families, and friends. Before coming to this Shlichut, we were told
the Shaliach doesn’t only bring something to
a destination, but also takes something away
with him from that destination and I have
boxes on boxes of feelings and memories to
take back with me. Goodbye
I always like to be on the giving end and not
the receiving, since it is always hard for me to
show how grateful I am for what people do
for me. It seems like there are not enough
words and acts that will describe how
thankful I am for the past two years.
Everything that was done for me, it does not
go unnoticed, just so you know. I understand
the greatness of each and every one of you for
going out of your way to do something for the
Shaliach, community, or your synagogue. Being involved in your community isn’t so
obvious these days and I would like to thank
you for that and for opening your hearts and
homes for me. Shalom
You can’t say Shalom without thinking of
unity, togetherness, and the sense of comfort
that fills you.
My only request for you guys when
I’m gone, is to make sure you try to be
more involved at your house, at your
temple, and mostly, in the community. With the rise of anti-Semitism in the
world, it is important to remember
that we are all in the same boat. We
are all in this together. We all share
that amazing thing of being Jewish and all of
its components. We would all love to see our
community thriving, uniting, and working
together in doing good. It is for our kids, our
future, and for Israel. In Hebrew we have a saying, “L’hitraot”,
which basically means, until I see you again
(in Israel). It is not a goodbye. Last year, when I thought I was going back to
Israel, I wrote a goodbye for the bulletin that
ended with a quote that I carry with me every
day: “A successful journey never ends, the miles
do, but the time stays engraved in you,
becomes a part of you, at the end of the
journey I don’t feel as if I won, but
grateful, like the road has passed through
me and not like I’ve passed through the
road.”
Arad Lerner
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Annual Yom Hashoah Commemoration Service
Wednesday, May 4
7:00 p.m.
This is a special commemorative service and program at which we remember the victims
of the Nazi Holocaust and announce the annual Essay and Poetry Contest winners from
submissions sent in by Mobile area grade school students. There will also be a reading of
names of some of the Holocaust victims.
Please make time for this very special event.
A couple of years ago, at the ripe old age of 96, Simon Wiesenthal died in his
sleep. Wiesenthal survived nine different concentration and labor camps and
faced certain death on two occasions, but somehow, he outlived his Nazi
tormentors. Following the war, Wiesenthal appointed himself advocate of the
tortured, the starved, the degraded and the slain. It is estimated that the Holocaust was perpetrated by at least 600,000
Germans and very willing collaborators from other nations – but to date, only
7,000 executioners have been tried. To measure Wiesenthal’s achievement,
we need only recall that of the 7,000 prosecuted, it was Wiesenthal who
discovered and brought to justice 1,100 of them. Most notably, he is credited with leading the Israeli
government to notorious Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. Why did he do it? In an interview that he gave to the New York Times Magazine in 1964, Wiesenthal
told of a Shabbat that he spent at the home of a former concentration camp inmate who had become a
wealthy jewelry manufacturer. After dinner, the host said to him, “Simon, if you had gone back to
building houses, you’d be a millionaire. Why didn’t you?” Wiesenthal told him, “You’re a religious man. You believe in God and life after death. I also believe.
When we come to the other world and meet the millions of Jews who died in the camps and they ask
us, ‘What have you done?,’ there will be many answers. You will say, ‘I became a jeweler.’ Another
will say, ‘I have smuggled coffee and American cigarettes.’ Another will say, ‘I built houses.’ But I
will say, ‘I didn’t forget you!’” When Simon Wiesenthal took his last breath and closed his eyes, he could rest assured that he had
done more than any other person to keep the world from forgetting the Shoah, the darkest moment in
all of human history.
Taken from http://www.reformjudaism.org/blog/2012/04/19/never-again-bystanders
Simon Wiesenthal
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FROM OUR ARCHIVES
By Susan Thomas, Archivist James Gilbert Adler, an insurance executive,
served as president of the Temple’s Board of
Trustees from 1945 to 1946. Adler served as
secretary from 1917 to 1941 and as vice-president
in 1944. His term as president was cut short as he
was forced to resign due to illness in April 1946.
He died at home on June 8, 1946, at age 60.
Apparently, he never married. At the time of his
death, he resided with his brother, C. H. “Booney”
Adler and his wife Lurline. The only survivors
listed in his obituary were Booney and Lurline
Adler and their daughter, Mrs. C.P. Rowan. James Adler is buried in the Temple cemetery, as
are his parents, Louis Adler and Belle Strauss
Adler. Interestingly, Booney Adler died in
Montgomery and is buried in Mobile’s Pine Crest
Cemetery. The Temple Archives contains little
additional information about the Adler family. James Adler resided in Mobile for at least 40
years. His career included working as an office
manager for the Tom Boone agency and later as
an insurance solicitor for the Schley and Boone
Realty Company. In 1944, the Mobile City
Directory lists him as president of the Brown-
Adler Insurance Agency. (Another Temple
congregant, Hugo Brown, was vice-president of
the agency.) The Temple Archives contains a
collection of cancelled checks from 1932-1933
from Adler’s business. These checks offer a
glimpse into the expenses of running an office
during this time period: During one month, Adler
paid Alabama Power $1.18, Bell Telephone $9.75,
and Western Union Telegraph Company $5.66.
He also wrote a check for cash for $5.00. James Adler’s tenure as Temple president was
relatively uneventful. Minutes from that year
indicate he dealt with problems that seem
surprisingly contemporary, such as trying to get
the Temple insurance to cover damages from a
windstorm, asking members to pay delinquent
dues, and considering whether to raise cemetery
fees. During his term as president, a part-time
bookkeeper was hired, apparently for the first
time. As far as can be ascertained at this time, James
Adler has no descendants living in the Mobile
area. It is not known how the Temple Archives
came to possess the collection of cancelled checks
from his business. The small amount of
information on Adler in the Temple Archives
indicates he was a dedicated business man and an
involved congregant at the Temple.
Springhill Avenue Temple Gift Shop Think of the gift shop for confirmation, graduation,
wedding, and baby gifts. Take time to visit our beautiful
selection of candles, Shabbat candlesticks, mezuzahs,
Groom's glass, menorahs and many additional items.
This is the time of year we buy gifts for many occasions.
Proceeds from sales support many Sisterhood projects.
Judy and Amy
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May Birthdays and Anniversaries
Happy Birthday To … 1 Donald Friedlander 12 Lori Michaelis 22 Mark Brown
1 Ralph Holberg 12 David Rose 22 Debbie Clolinger
1 Robert Zimmerman 12 Richard Rose 25 Julie Kogon
2 Jerry Schjott 12 Ryan Sophie Small 25 Alan Lewis
2 Carrie Waldrop 14 Stephen Conrad 27 Diane Franco
2 Kimberly Zelnicker 14 Joseph Fetterman 27 Maure Sternberg
3 Alain Gamble 15 Heidi Kinsella 28 Lisa Emanuelli
4 Becky Hoffman 16 Todd Lewis 28 Irving Koffler
6 Ron Berman 17 Ira Frederic Cherniak 29 Aaron Denson
7 Randall Kogon 19 Christine Norris 29 Abbe Fass
8 Arik Sokol 19 Mike Pereira 29 Richard Zimmerman 10 Nicole Appelman 20 Michelle Klein 30 Shirley Boyd
10 Dana Handmacher 21 Kenneth Altman 30 Gladys Cherniak
10 Elsa Simon 21 Lucas Ryan Michaelis 30 Sloane Maisel Parker
12 Lauren Friedlander 21 John Webster 30 Allen Levy Ross
Happy Anniversary To .. 9 Christine Norris & Daryn Glassbrook
15 Ada & Sam Small
17 Cindy & Benjamin Bloom
24 Yaffa & Mark Brown
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June Birthdays and Anniversaries
Happy Birthday To …
1 Emily Miles 7 Addison Hall 19 David Brown
2 Joshua Denson 8 Rick Hirsch 19 Jonathan Gardberg
2 Cheri Silverman 9 Phil Linnick 19 Alan Goldberg
3 Veronica Cherniak O’Brien 9 Sarah Webster 21 Mark Berklin
3 Vickie Cherniak Shuchart 10 Shirley Gaggstatter 21 Samuel Feibelman
3 Gretchen Goldberg 10 Albert Klein 22 Jill Conrad
3 Lynn Zelnicker 12 Richard Mazey 23 Robert Brown
4 Paul Bergman 13 Matt Friduss 23 Roy Hoffman
4 Patricia Fishbein 13 Amy Holberg 26 James Barkin
5 Bradley Ennis 13 Adam Sack 26 Sandra Gandler
5 Kim Zimmerman 16 Jerry Dobbins 27 Benjamin Fishbein
6 Bonnie Kidd 17 Marc Gottlieb 28 Harriet Kahn
6 Sam Small 18 Dana Friedlander 30 Jeff Silverman
30 Brian Susman
Happy Anniversary To ...
1 Pinkie & David Cherniak 14 Sherry & Glen Mutchnick
2 Flo & Tom Kessler 16 Kay & Gerald Friedlander
4 Nancy & Charlie Brown 18 Elaine & Robert Holberg
5 Emily & Harold Fink 19 Bettina & Steve Prager
12 LeNae & William Denson 22 Alain & Gary Gamble
13 Iris & Albert Klein 23 Susan & Michael Rosenbaum
13 Lynne & Harvey Switzkey 27 Jenny & Gary Rich
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CALENDAR Torah Study Wednesday 5:30 p.m. May 11, 18, and 25th
(no Torah Study May 4th) Weekly Torah Saturday s 10:00 a.m. May 7, 14, 21 and 28th Hebrew School Sundays 8:30 a.m. May 1 and 15th
Friday 5:00 p.m. May 6 (Student/Teacher Appreciation)
(no Religious School May 8th) Religious School Sundays 9:45 a.m. May 1 and 15th Wednesday, May 4 7:00 p.m. Yom Hashoah – Holocaust
Commemoration Service
Friday, May 6 6:00 p.m. Student/Teacher Appreciation Service
with the Congregational Choir
Friday, May 13 6:00 p.m. Yom Haatzma’ut Shabbat Service
Friday, May 20 6:00 p.m. Shabbat Evening Service
Welcome Leonard Wells to Judaism
with the Congregational Choir
Friday, May 27 6:00 p.m. Shabbat Evening Service
with the Congregational Choir
The Temple Offices will be closed on Monday, May 30th
in observance of Memorial Day
THE TEMPLE BULLETIN (USPS-
966-900) is published monthly by
Springhill Avenue Temple,
1769 Springhill Avenue
Mobile, AL 36607.
“Periodicals Postage Paid at Mobile,
Alabama.” POSTMASTER:
Send address change to:
1769 Springhill Ave.
Mobile, AL 36607
Dana Evan Kaplan, Rabbi Jerry Silverstein, Second Vice-President
Alan Hirsch, President Aaron Solomon, Treasurer
J. Michael Pereira, First Vice-President Maure Sternberg, Secretary