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Contact Us
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Temple Beth Tikvah
P.O Box 7472
Bend, OR 97708
541-388-8826
Make a secure online donation or payment to Temple Beth Tikvah
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February Celebrations
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Celebrations in February honor the following:
Birthdays:
Camille Smith Feb. 1
Carl Schlosberg Feb. 5
Jay Luber Feb. 6
Chuck Shattuck Feb. 7
Andrew Cogen Feb. 9
Stan Fridstein Feb. 10
Kim Muinch Feb. 10
Eliana Canas Katz Feb. 13
Mathew Mosetick Feb. 13
Julie Geveshausen Feb. 16
Gene Hudson Feb. 18
Missi Baldwin Feb. 19
Asher Mahony Feb. 19
Jo Ann Ray Feb. 20
Rudolph Gold Feb. 21
Phyllis Greenbach Feb. 25
Bradley Slate Feb. 27
Tracy Smith Feb. 28
Anniversaries:
Joy Victor &
Mathew Mosetick
February 13th
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Board Officers:
President:
Jeanne Freeman
jgfree925@gmail.com
Vice President:
Naomi Chudowsky
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Lester Dober
Members-at-Large:
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Adult Education
Mary Jane Eisenberg
Bikkur Holim
Suzanne Schlosberg
Calendar Master
Ann Rosenfield
Chevra Kadisha
Ralph Uri
Communications/PR
Ann Rosenfield
Facilities
Mark Schindel
Finance
Mark Schindel
Fundraising
- TBD -
Membership
Terry Reynolds
Religious Education
Kathy Schindel
Rituals
Ralph Uri
Social Action
Burt Litman
Website Development
Sheila Ross Luber
Youth Group
Naomi Chudowsky
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TBT Event Planning
Quick Guide
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Step One:
Step Two:
with date, time, location, & details to have event added to the calendar.
Step Three:
If there are any changes to your event date, time, or location, email Ann so calendar can be updated ASAP.
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Special Interest Group Contacts
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Book Club
Beverly Adler
fiberartist@
bendcable.com
Cross Country Skiing
Ann Rosenfield
ann@rosenfield
online.com
Downhill Skiing
Larry Barker and
Jo Ann Ray
joannbray1940
@gmail.com
Families With Young
Children
Allison Cogen
allisoncogen@
gmail.com
Knitting & Yarn Arts
Sara Charney Cohen
sarrava@gmail.com
Mah Jongg
Jill Muinch
jmuinch@msn.com
Movie Club
Sara Charney Cohen
sarrava@gmail.com
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Quick Links
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Forward this newsletter to a Friend
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February Calendar of Events
FEBRUARY EVENTS SCHEDULE
Sa Feb. 4 6:30 p.m. - Havdallah and a Movie
M Feb. 6 12:00 p.m. - Weekly Torah Study
5:00 p.m. - Adult Hebrew Class
4:00 p.m. - Hebrew School
Sa Feb. 11 --- Tu B'Shevat ---
Su Feb. 12 10:00 a.m. - Sunday School
M Feb. 13 12:00 p.m. - Weekly Torah Study
5:00 p.m. - Adult Hebrew Class
T Feb. 14 4:00 p.m. - Hebrew School
W Feb. 15 7:30 a.m. - Back Door Caf
é
Sa Feb. 18 9:00 a.m. - Adult B'nai Mitzvah Class
10:30 a.m. - Shabbat Torah Service
M Feb. 20 12:00 p.m. - Weekly Torah Study
5:00 p.m. - Adult Hebrew Class
T Feb. 21 4:00 p.m. - Hebrew School
R Feb. 23 11:59 p.m. - March Newsletter Deadline
F Feb. 24 6:00 p.m. - Shabbat@Home
Su Feb. 26 10:00 a.m. - Sunday School
M Feb. 27 12:00 p.m. - Weekly Torah Study
5:00 p.m. - Adult Hebrew Class
T Feb. 28 4:00 p.m. - Hebrew School
ON THE HORIZON
Mar. 10th - Purim Family Service
Apr. 22nd - Bat Mitzvah of Eliana Katz
February Torah Study
Weekly-Monday noon: 2/6, 2/13, 2/20, 2/27
February School Activities - at Shalom Bayit unless noted otherwise
Sunday School - 10:00 a.m: 2/12, 2/26
Hebrew School - Tues. 4:00 p.m:
2/7, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28
For more details about any TBT events, see our complete schedule of Services, School activities, and Events online:
www.bethtikvahbend.org/calendar
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Shabbat Shira - February 10th
Sabbath of Song
Once a year, we celebrate song and life during Shabbat Shira, the Sabbath of Song. Come join us Friday night, Feb 10th, at 7:00 p.m. We will enjoy a special musical service while honoring our Angels of Music - Lauren, Julie, Jo, and Eileen. Tributes, surprises, and a special Oneg follow the service. Add your voice in giving thanks to those who help make our services so lovely and meaningful.
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Adult Education Class
February 14th, 2017
Time: 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Location: Deschutes Public Library Downtown Bend: The Brooks Room
RSVP to Mary Jane Eisenberg at maryjanee112@yahoo.com or 415-572-1741.
Please DO NOT bring snacks. Due to Library Policy we will not have food.
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TBT Library Upgrades 
Try out our new TBT library catalog by logging in to:
tbt.libib.com.
In addition to a new cloud-based library site, we will now have computerized checkout at Evie Lerner's home.
Go to the aforementioned website, and type in your search terms (in the Search box) at the top of the screen. You may type in keywords or a search for a specific title.
You can now see a picture of most items, a description for each, and see if it is available or not. Note the Call Number for ease of locating the item(s) at Evie's. Please call her to arrange a time for you to select & checkout your items.
All current TBT members are automatic members of our library and have a personally assigned barcode number in a notebook by the computer kiosk.
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Divrei Tikvah 
From Rabbi Johanna Hershenson
During the month of February we will observe Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for trees. According to the Talmud there are four Jewish new years. One for trees, one for counting months, one for counting years, and one for tithing. How can we not love being Jewish? Four new years!
If nothing else, I think having four new years teaches us that new starts are arbitrary and in fact we can create a new start any time we are willing and courageous enough to make the effort. Why stop at four new years?
Every day is a new start. In the evening we recite the prayer Hashkivenu - May we lay down in peace and wake up with our soul returned to us. In the morning we say the prayer Elohai N'shama, thank you God for restoring my soul to me, clean and pure.
What about the number of times we can shift gears during the course of a day? A moment can make a bad day turn great and vice versa.
The truth of the matter is that our minds are strong and how we approach a moment, a new day, or a new year is at least partly a matter of choice. We have tendencies, innate reflexes. But we can also train our mind to develop new habits and new associations between stimuli and our reactions.
How do we take over our own minds? Through practice. We identify behaviors we want to develop, we create reward systems for reinforcement, and over time we recognize new patterns in our thoughts and reactions.
Several years ago I decided I wanted to practice loving my neighbor. I remember sitting on the city bus in Wellington, NZ, looking at the other passengers and professing my love for them in my head. I did this for three weeks. At the end of the experiment I did find myself beginning interactions from a place of greater love. I noticed myself privately laughing at incompetencies and mistakes that once really annoyed me. And others noticed I smiled more often.
Our practices can be as formal as refraining from work on the Sabbath and adhering to dietary guidelines. Or it can be as free form as a mind exercise like loving our neighbor or cultivating generosity or gratitude. The commonality to all practices is that they are consistent and disciplined.
Consider the Hebrew word MITZVAH. It literally translates as a commandment. We liberal Jews do not observe the commandments in a traditional manner and over time we've taken to referring to a mitzvah as a good deed. A mitzvah is a good deed in the sense that it is an act in which the actor does not expect payback.
What if we expanded our usage of the idea of a MITZVAH even further? What if we saw mitzvot as opportunities to discipline our actions, to mold our conduct into how we imagine our most noble selves behaving? What if we developed a mitzvah state of mind, an open eye toward opportunities to share some love, relieve some pain, increase healthy eating and living, rest, and nurture regeneration of the earth's resources we so enjoy?
A MITZVAH STATE OF MIND has a disciplined quality to it. We'd have to commit ourselves to specific practices over a period of time. We'd have to check in with ourselves to see if the effort works and refine our methods over time.
I think a community of people engaged in disciplined practices, conscientiously developing themselves and their relationships would inevitably be a vibrant and nurturing environment. Temple Beth Tikvah could choose to move in this direction. We could transcend our offering of services and programs and continue growing ourselves into a caring collective of individuals practicing and manifesting the values we hold dear.
Ken y'hi ratzon - May it be our will.
~~ Rabbi Hershenson's office hours are by appointment. If you would like to set up an appointment, please contact her by email at:
johannahershenson@gmail.com
, or by phone at 541-213-9880.
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 President's Message
From TBT President Jeanne Freeman
Community is a place to feel connected, to be embraced, to care and be cared for.
Working at both the Family Kitchen dinners and the Back Door Café breakfasts I am in awe of the people who we serve to, and those that we serve with.
This has been an unusually cold and snowy winter. The number of people that we serve in the kitchens is surprisingly down. It is harder for folks to leave their tents and blankets, to walk the icy or slushy streets, to make their way in to eat. Those who do are often soaked from the slog through the streets.
I was talking with one of the breakfast regulars and asked if he had a place to sleep indoors. Yes, finally, he had an apartment. He said that he'd been homeless for six years, and that he was surprised that he was so good at it. Maybe if he hadn't been so good at it, God would've noticed and he'd have gotten a place sooner! And he laughed at himself.
Watching the interactions, the friendships, the hugs they give each other - they are a community. If a face is missing in the crowd, someone can generally account for that person's whereabouts. They may look ragtag from the outside, but from within they are connected to each other.
I see a mirror of their community in those of us who serve them. More than 40 people in the TBT community - both our members and friends - volunteer on a regular basis to cook and serve and clean for those who are not as fortunate as we are. We always greet each other with hugs. If someone is absent, then someone else can account for him or her.
The most obvious trait that we all share is that each of us takes joy in our task. It is written in our smiles and our laughter. Nobody whines about their job. Nobody ever says no to anything that is asked. We joke about needing an MD, PhD or MBA to do the dishes. We claim we are earning our God-points. But we do it because it makes us feel so good.
And now we have seen the real fruits of our kitchen labors - our community's children are modeling their behavior on ours. Before we had a BBYO, we were always able to bring our kids together by asking them to cook and serve at Bethlehem Inn. Now, our newly chartered Shalom Teva BBYO group was recognized at the Northwest convention for their project to clothe the homeless. And the only help they got from us was in the form of used clothing donations. They collected and sorted and gave to those they saw in need.
In March, both the BBYO and COJY (6th - 8th graders) are coming to Family Kitchen to cook, serve, and clean for dinner alongside the adults.
If the success of a synagogue can be measured by the Jewish values of its youth, then we are a huge success.
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Meet your URJ: Audacious Hospitality
Jewish diversity, in all its hues, is no longer a wave - it is the ocean of Jewish life.
As part of the URJ's 2020 vision, Audacious Hospitality is the focused effort to embrace our diversity and reach out to those currently not engaged in Jewish life. The URJ believes that everyone can feel at home in Jewish community - and that Judaism must meet people where they are today to thrive tomorrow.
As a movement, we stand for a Judaism that is inclusive and open - we believe that there is more than one authentic way to be Jewish. Audacious Hospitality is a transformative spiritual practice rooted in the belief that we will be a stronger, more vibrant Jewish community when we fully welcome and incorporate the diversity that is the reality of modern Jewish life.
How is Audacious Hospitality Different from Previous URJ Initiatives?
When Rabbi Alexander Schindler created Reform Jewish Outreach in the 1970s, the then Union of American Hebrew Congregations heeded his call and began to listen to the needs of those in our communities who were not being heard - individuals who were considering becoming Jewish, and couples who were in love and did not see conversion as an option, but who were considering raising Jewish families.
We asked them to tell us about the barriers they experienced, to tell us what made them feel welcome and what made them feel distant, and what we could do to bring them close. Through this collaborative process we learned a great deal, much of which provides the foundation for the work of Audacious Hospitality today.
Currently, we see the need to widen the circle and engage more groups of people who are often unrecognized and underserved in Jewish communal and institutional spaces. Jewish populations such as Jews by choice and those exploring Judaism, Jews of color, Jews who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer, Jews who live with physical, mental, or intellectual disabilities, multiracial families, millennials, the aging Jewish population, Jews who are unaffiliated and uninspired by Jewish communal offerings, and of course, the evolving needs of interfaith and intermarried couples and families, requires our focused attention.
With this history and our current Audacious Hospitality practices, we now have a fuller understanding to meet the needs of those in the margins of our Jewish community. It is our goal through Audacious Hospitality to build on our historical success and continue to strengthen the Reform movement and North American Jewry.
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TBT Board Notes
Next Board Meeting: Tue. Feb. 7th, 3:30 p.m.
Location: Stonebriar Apartments Clubhouse
Your TBT Board meets on the first Tuesday of each month and everyone is invited to attend. Dates and times of Board meetings are on the TBT calendar at:
bethtikvahbend.org/calendar.
If you would like to read minutes of previous board meetings, you can request a copy from Board Secretary Marijane Krohn:
mak11@pitt.edu.
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Ritual Committee News
Ralph Uri, Committee Chair 
2016 ended with a very successful Chanukah celebration at the Environmental Center. More than 80 took part and enjoyed an evening of Chanukiah lighting, songs, latkes and games galore. I want to thank Tully Ellsberg as well as Linda and George Brant for making the evening so enjoyable.
The month of January had many surprises for our community including massive snowfalls, ice dams and challenging driving conditions. Nevertheless, we held our Erev Shabbat service on January 13th attended by 20 or so hardy souls. The monthly Torah service was held on January 21st. Our last ritual event of the month took place at the Environmental Center on the 27th where we celebrated a family Shabbat service.
Next month is truly noteworthy. We will celebrate our Erev Shabbat service at FPC on
Friday, February 10th
. This will be dedicated to an evening of prayer and song, and will showcase our wonderful musicians and cantorial soloist. The event is Shabbat Shira, or Sabbath of Song, and is sure to have a large attendance as was the case last year. This Sabbath service is not to be missed.
On
Saturday, February 18th,
we will have our monthly Torah service at FPC. The final ritual event of the month is our second Shabbat@Home on Friday, February 24th. We have a number of gracious hosts lined up who will open up their homes to our members for a Shabbat meal as well as our Rabbi inspired activities. The first Shabbat@Home last November was well attended and enjoyed by all. Please mark your calendar and respond to the invitation email which will soon be forthcoming.
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Social Action Update 
Burt Litman, Social Action Chair
This month, TBT member volunteers provided dinner at Family Kitchen for approximately 100 people. Participating in preparation and serving were Ann and Michael Rosenfield, Jeff Adler, Burt Litman, Marilyn and Chuck Shattuck, Jeanne Freeman, Joe Jezukewicz, Kathy and Mark Schindel, Linda and George Brant, Lynne and Ed Connelley, Jill and Kim Muinch, Leslie Conley, Jana
Zvibleman
, and Susan Richman.
TBT member volunteers also provided a nutritious breakfast for over 100 people in January at Back Door Cafe. We thank Marilyn and Chuck Shattuck, Jeanne Freeman, Kathy and Mark Schindel, Jeff Adler, Joe Jezukewicz, and Burt Litman for preparing and serving at Back Door Cafe
If you have an interest in participating in Social Action activities, please contact Burt Litman at bjlitman@gmail.com.
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TBT Library Missing Titles 
A number of items are missing from the TBT Library. If you have any of the following items, please let Beverly know at fiberartist@bendcable.com
- Tadrikh le-Shabat: A Shabbat manual
- The Jerusalem Bible
- Tanakh JPS Hebrew-English
- Listen to her: Women of the Hebrew Bible
- Dead Sea Scrolls: a Very Short Introduction
- Behind Enemy Lines: the true story of a French Jewish Spy
- Safekeeping: Some True Stories From a Life
- Israel Pocket library
- Eight nights of Hanukkah
- Legend of Freedom Hill
- Beautiful Yetta: the Yiddish Chicken
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Fundraising: Now 3 Ways to be a Year-Round Shopping Hero!
 You can help Temple Beth Tikvah earn donations just by shopping. With the addition of the Amazon Smiles program, we now have three easy ways to help earn funds for TBT:
choose Temple
Beth Tikvah as your favorite non-profit, and when you shop, TBT gets a donations from Freddie's
2.Sign up for the
eScrip Online Mall,
 choose TBT as your favorite non-profit, and TBT gets up to 16% back from your purchases.
3. Sign up for the
Amazon Smiles
 program, choose Temple Beth Tikvah in Bend, OR as your designated non-profit. Then, when you shop through the Smiles.amazon.com website, TBT will receive a donation from the AmazonSmiles Foundation.
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MARCH Newsletter Deadline: February 23rd*
*Because February is a short month, please note earlier deadline.
This newsletter is emailed to both members and non-members each month. If you have something you want to include in the newsletter, please e-mail it to Sara:
sarrava@gmail.com by the 24th of each month for the following month's publication. As always, you will continue to receive "e-minders" before important events take place.
Shalom,
Sara Charney Cohen
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The Dilemma: Modern Conundrums. Talmudic Debates. Your Solutions.
A 6 Week Course with Rabbi Feldman
The impossible happens, and YOU need to solve it.
Apply mind-bending, brain-twisting, hair-splitting Talmudic reasoning to solve real-life modern dilemmas-situations that actually happened yet seem impossible to solve. What do you do when your gut tells you one thing, and your brain tells you another? Prepare for a mental expedition to mind-wrestle with situations that force us to choose between two reasonable truths.
The Dilemma: Modern Conundrums. Talmudic Debates. Your Solutions.
A new six-week course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute.
Join us for Six Tuesdays starting January 31, 2017
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: COCC Barber Library
NW College Way
Bend, OR 97701
Fee: $79 (textbook included)
$5 Couples discount!
Join the first class free (with no obligation to continue)
Scholarships available for COCC and OSU students.
Register at: http://www.myjli.com/index.html?task=location&lid=12098
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You may honor the lives and achievements of friends and relatives via a tribute with a donation to TBT. You can do this online, or by sending a check and the name and address of the person being honored to TBT at P.O. Box 7472, Bend, OR, 97708.
Donations may be designated to a specific fund, including:
- the Youth Education Fund,
- the Music Fund - including Adopt-a-Musician,
- the Library Fund,
- the Rabbi Fund,
- the Rabbi's Caring Fund,
- the Social Action Fund,
- the Corrie Grudin Memorial Fund,
- the Youth Group Fund,
- or to the General Fund.
Donations listed below were made to the Temple's general purpose fund unless otherwise specified.
Temple Beth Tikvah gratefully acknowledges the following contributions:
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About Temple Beth Tikvah
Temple Beth Tikvah is a growing Jewish congregation based in Bend, Oregon. We are affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and are excited to be the first Reform synagogue in Central Oregon.
Our members come from a range of Jewish backgrounds including Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Renewal. Temple Beth Tikvah welcomes interfaith families and Jews by choice. We are committed to providing a Jewish education for our children as well as stimulating educational activities for adults. We value social action and strive to provide a Jewish cultural, social, and religious experience in Central Oregon.
Temple Beth Tikvah is a warm and enthusiastic community that includes families, singles, and "empty nesters." We are a mix of long-time Bend residents and newcomers from around the country who moved here to enjoy Central Oregon's beauty, active lifestyle, and quality of life.
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