Note from the President

October, 2007

I fall in love with Fall every year. The baseball playoffs leading to the World Series are in full swing, and usually my beloved NY Yankees are involved in the mix somehow. Then, at around the same time, football kicks off, and when it’s so early in the season, no matter which you root for, you can harbor hopes for a successful campaign. By the way, I’ve noticed lots of Steelers fans at CEC (and you know who you are), and they are a particularly perky group. Autumn also became special to me during the three years I lived in Vermont. Imagine the foliage with its breathtaking rainbow of reds, countless shades of orange, greens, and an endless array of browns, with leaves that danced in the breeze, glistening from the rays of sunshine that streamed down from the blue, blue sky. This out worldly visual reinforced the sense that there is clearly a force that invokes the power of color in a way no human could totally comprehend. And the feeling of inevitable transformation that this landscape produced, resonated with hope borne simply by the possibility of change. It’s the same revelation created by the High Holy Days that occur not coincidentally during the same period on the calendar.

"Es gayt a naya yoor..." my mother, Regina, of blessed memory would say in Yiddish, followed by a smile. It means "a New Year is starting... The unfinished, unspoken yet understood balance of the sentence was, "...so don’t worry, there is always hope". Change, faith and hope seem tied together and embedded in the air at this time of year.

And so it is for us at Etz Chaim. We see it in the groceries brought in to fight hunger, as each bag represents a belief in making a real difference. I heard it in discussions about new faces, real opportunities to grow our membership, and the conversations about changing our space of worship for the bigger and better. We feel the tangible excitement inherent in a B’nai Mitzvah class that is by far the largest ever for our ever evolving synagogue. In the spirit of the season, and in the afterglow of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, let’s build on the momentum, both personally and as a congregation, for with faith, hope and effort, positive change can be achieved.

L’var-ache Am’cha B’chol Ayt U’ve-chol Sha-ah May G-d’s blessings reach us at all times.

Rabbi Jack

Religious School News:

• Gerry Mercado
• Wynnie Hoodis
• Dylan Friedman
• Betsy Rosen

Treasurer's News:

We thank Ed Gelman for taking on the role of Treasurer.  June through  September are the busiest months for Ed as he processes annual membership donations.  We thank you for your generous support. Your thank you letters with documentation for tax purposes will be arriving shortly. Congregation Etz Chaim is a 501 (c) 3 Non-Profit organization. Your financial gifts are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Please contact Ed at 271-8248 with any questions.  

In addition to annual gifts we thank our supporters and members for donations that honor and remember family and friends.

Donations:

Yizkor, Remembrance, donations are placed into a separate fund.  This fund will eventually enable the Synagogue to  purchase a Yizkor Memorial Board for display in our Synagogue.  Traditionally, Yizkor funds also support upkeep of a Jewish Cemetery.  We are looking to form an exploratory committee for creation of a Jewish Cemetery and memorial displays in the synagogue. Our thanks to Jean Srour for volunteering to help. Please contact Jean at 464-4128 if you would like to join the committee.

Currently, we are also looking for volunteers to keep track of Yhortzeit dates.  No prior knowledge needed!  The project and organization can be done at home and includes compiling monthly lists of Yhortzeit dates, notifying families and keeping our files updated.   Please contact Betsy Rosen at 271-9630 if you are interested in lending your time.

Todah Rabbah!

Thanks to the Crowell family, Steve, Chris, Aaron, Zach and Gabriel, for maintaining our Synagogue grounds. The lawn and flower pots have looked great all year long!

If you would like to take a turn mowing the yard (we have a riding mower in the shed) or trimming & sprucing up the landscape , please contact Paul Stuckey at 381-5862 or carolandpaul196@cox.net

Condolences

Our Congregation extends sympathy to:
Scott Berger and his family on the loss of his grandmother Yetta Grossman.
Gerri Persin and Betsy Rosen on the passing of their grandmother Ada Fiterman

Other Upcoming Jewish Events:

In Tulsa, OK:

Oct. 7 : Shalom Fest! at Temple Israel

Oct 27 : "Red Carpet Gala" The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art will host Academy Award® Winning Filmmaker Ari Sandel during the Museum’s premiere fundraising event, Saturday, October 27, 2007. Patron and individual reservations for The Red Carpet Gala are available by contacting the Museum at 918.492.1818.

In Little Rock, AR:

Oct. 21: The Jewish Food Festival sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Arkansas. Etz Chaim will be setting up a booth. Please contact Mark Levine at 636-3633 if you would like to take a shift selling t-shirt, Rick Recht concert tickets and CDs and mostly sharing news of the Jews in NWA!

Two Cents from the VP

What a fantastic year this was for the High Holidays.  I cannot express how uplifting it was to look out at the Congregation and see so many familiar friends, as well as new ones looking back at me.  There are many fond memories that I will carry with me throughout the year.  The services led by Rabbi Jack and Debbye were truly inspirational.  It was incredible to have so many different congregants taking part in the services by opening and closing the ark, coming up for aliyahs, carrying and dressing the torah, chanting from the torah and I could go on and on.  Hearing people pray and sing together, children laughing and playing, and the schmoozing after services are just a few of the things that made me feel like I was part of a tight knit Jewish Community - one that keeps growing and getting stronger every year.

Our food appeal for Helping Hands turned out great.  I delivered almost 50 bags of foods to the facility and they were thrilled.  What a mitzvah to know how much we are helping those in need.  There was also a great deal of support for Mazon.  Mazon does so many great things and our donations help them to reach a little further.  In addition, a portion of the money from the Break Fast was also donated to Mazon.  Speaking of the Break Fast, what a great community event it was.  We had 50 adults and 20 children in attendance and it was wonderful.  The food was good, the company was even better and the children had a blast exploring outside.  It was great to see everyone talking and enjoying the company of others, old friends visiting for the first time in a while, as well as new friends finding their way to each other.

I could probably go on and on, but let me leave you with a few final thoughts.  The High Holidays rejuvenated me and my passion for making Etz Chaim a lively and vibrant Jewish community.  As we move on with the year, I ask each of you to become and stay involved in all that we do as a Congregation. Let's support each other so that we thrive as a community and continue to feel the kinship that we did at the High Holidays.  I am looking forward to this coming year and all the sweetness it may bring for all of us.  Thank you for your continued friendship.

L’Shanah Tovah,
Tom

Newsletter News…

Please share you news and pictures. E-mail your Etz Chaim news and pictures to Sara Bergman  - sarabonlake@yahoo.com. Our next issue will cover December and January. The deadline for submission is Nov. 15.

We are excited to announce that Etz Chaim will again be participating in the Multi-Cultural Fest on the Bentonville Square in December. Many Thanks to Cindy Flynn for serving as our community representative/coordinator for the event. Detail will follow soon.