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IN THIS ISSUE

  • Great Names: Gene Weingarten
  • #ShowUpForShabbat
  • Explore Your Jewish Self
  • Interfaith Thanksgiving
  • Book Club
  • Jewish Renewal Shabbaton
  • Cuba Reflections
  • Year-End Donations
  • Youth Perspectives
November 2018 Newsletter
Rabbi Elhanan ‘Sunny’ Schnitzer
Chesvan--Kislev 5779
 
CLICK for the Complete BJC November Events Calendar
NOT TO BE MISSED!

Great Names: An Afternoon with Humorist Gene Weingarten
Sunday, November 18, 3 PM

We all know Gene Weingarten for his weekly humor column, "Below the Beltway" featured in The Washington Post Magazine. Did you also know that he is the only person to win the Pulitzer Prize twice for feature writing? Not only is Gene funny, but he has a talent for finding funny: he hired Dave Barry while he served as editor of the Miami Herald Sunday Magazine . Growing up in the SW Bronx and attending NYU, Gene gained early fame with a New York Magazine cover story on gangs. In 2014, he and his illustrator-collaborator Eric Shansby published Me & Dog , a children’s book that gently explores the timeless question: Who’s really in charge?

Please help us ensure a good turnout by submitting an RSVP for this event. Let's fill Covenant Hall as is fitting for a guest of this stature. 
National #ShowUpForShabbat at BJC
Friday, November 2, 8 PM

With our hearts heavy with sorrow, we mourn the victims of the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting. Our Shabbat worship service Friday night, November 2, will memorialize the victims: Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Cecil Rosenthal, 59, and his brother, David Rosenthal, 54; Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan Simon, 66; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 88; and Irving Younger, 69.

We will focus upon remembering them and consider what we can and must do to push back against the scourge of racism and the attacks upon communities of faith that occur with increasing frequency in our nation.

We will be joined by other faith communities, including Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Idara-e-Jaferia, the Islamic Cultural Center of Potomac, The American Muslim Institution, as well as elected officials, religious and civic leaders, and other allies, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to join us.
Kriat HaRav—The Rabbi’s Call
Rabbi Elhanan “Sunny” Schnitzer

The Sky is NOT Falling.

At Yom Kippur , I shared with the congregation my take on the direction where our congregation was trending.

Using the best information available to me at that moment, I spoke of declining membership and that we had lost our sense of direction.

Except, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur , the foundering ship righted itself. Or perhaps it was already on an even keel in the midst of a squall. After a final accounting last month, we found that our membership numbers are the same as last year, sales of High Holy Days tickets to non-members reached their projections, and the seats on Erev Yom Kippur were more or less full.

Reactions to my remarks were mixed. Some responded to my call to action and said they were ready to pitch in. Some said trying to reboot the community had failed before, so why try again. Some said, “But I like things the way they are.” Some said, “OY!”

The responses reminded me of a story.

A man went to the circus. As he was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds, but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go hang onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

As a potential response to the nationwide phenomenon of shrinking synagogue membership, I spoke of a concept called Relational Judaism. This model believes the best way to bring people in, and—more importantly—keep them engaged with the synagogue, is to deepen people’s relationships to each other. People will quit a synagogue. They rarely quit a friend.

The goal of Bethesda Jewish Congregation must be to engage Jews with other Jews, as well as our non-Jewish members and visitors. All of our programs, religious services, and educational opportunities must focus on building relationships.

We’ve already begun. This year our religious school has taken Wednesday classes online into virtual classrooms that eliminate the need for midweek commutes to BJC. There was a concern, however, that fewer hours of interaction face to face would weaken social connections between students and between families. So, in response, on most Saturday mornings our religious school engages in “all school” activities and projects, where children of all ages—and their parents—come together as one. They are having fun and enthusiasm is high.

This sort of radical response to the challenges before us should permeate our thinking.

Here are a few ideas (just spitballing here):

  • A Friday night “pre-neg” where at 5:30 or 6 PM we have finger food and appetizers (not sweets) so folks can nosh on something healthy before a Friday service beginning at 6:30 and ending in time for folks to get to dinner at 7:30 or 8.

  • More communal meals and potlucks before or after events.

  • Bring back wine and beer tastings, short films with discussions, Great Chefs, designing all events with more time built in for schmoozing. Let’s use best practices for breaking the ice.

  • Create effective mentoring of new members by and with existing members. Let us ensure that no visitor walks away feeling unengaged.

After the first of the year, we will invite you to parlor meetings and workshops with the goal of creating small groups within the synagogue to nurture our relationships. These will NOT be Chavurot in the traditional sense. There is no long-term commitment. Some groups will last a lifetime, others for a few weeks or months. People will form small communities of choice—not be assigned. You will find your own place. You may well simply decide to formalize an existing circle of friends with whom you feel an affinity. The synagogue will provide opportunities to bring the groups together for organization-wide conversations and activities. You will provide the central organizing themes of each group. Those themes could be social, but also could focus on films, the aforementioned food, sports, music, Mah Jong, or tsedakah . We will learn together how to build these smaller groups for ourselves and not rely on top down organizing techniques. We will encourage and empower existing groups, such as the choir, book group, or social action, to name a few, to create opportunities to do more than merely meet for their stated purpose. We will create moments of meeting that deepen our relationships and out of this we hope to grow the next generation of leaders for our congregation.

I am happy to report that the sky is not falling.

BUT what I said on Yom Kippur , remains the same. It is time to empower, nurture, and build the next iteration of BJC that we may thrive for another generation.

Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer
From the President—Shoshanah Drake
Find Your Moment
Each month I get the opportunity to share my thoughts with you about things happening at BJC. This month as I write, I’m wondering what you might say if you had the opportunity to write in this space. What part of BJC would you focus on? What was your favorite moment at BJC? What is your favorite thing to do here? 

I want to start a BJC idea bank. We want to do our best to meet the needs of our congregation and that means YOU! Do you have an idea you want to share with us? If so, please click on this link and let me know!

 Here are some special events that could be your next favorite thing at BJC. There’s more information about all of these later on in the newsletter, including links for RSVPs.

  •  November 11 at 10:30 AM – our Interfaith Thanksgiving Service and Brunch. RSVP required only for the brunch.  

  • November 18 at 3:00 – Gene Weingarten is speaking at our Great Names in the Neighborhood speaker series. RSVP preferred. 

  • November 30 is our Jewish Renewal Weekend starting at 8:00 pm with Kabbalat Shabbat with Rabbi David Evan Markus, Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer, and friends

And our regular events may just be your cup of tea.
  • Chant Circle on November 10 at 4:30 PM
  • Book Club on November 28 at 8:00 PM
  • Torah Today every Wednesday at 6:30 PM
  • Shabbat Services every Friday evening at 8:00 PM and Saturday morning at 10:30 AM
  •  Adult Hebrew every Saturday morning at 9:00 AM

Recently, I was speaking with a long-time member who shared with me a beautiful story of a wonderful, life-long friendship that developed because two people decided to try something new at BJC. If they had not attended that first event and started talking, they might have missed out on years of laughter and love. As our winter months and cold weather approach, how can you find warmth within the walls of BJC? If you get a phone call or an email from a member, make sure you pick up the phone or open that email. Make that lasting memory at BJC.  
From the Director of Congressional Education—Mindy Silverstein
Learning About Our Curriculum
According to Webster’s online dictionary, the definition of curriculum is 1. A race course; a place for running and 2. A course; particularly, a specified fixed course of study, as in a university.

With all due respect to Webster, I don’t think his definition goes far enough. While I do agree that curriculum is a fixed course of study, curriculum, in my opinion, also includes everything that occurs in a classroom. If a student calls out constantly without a reminder from the teacher to wait his/her turn, then likely that child will continue to call out. If a child is not given the opportunity to voice his/her opinion, then are we inadvertently telling the student that his/her opinion doesn’t matter? If we don’t encourage the students to go beyond what they think they can do, are we teaching our children never to take a risk? 

Curriculum, to me, should include both academic growth, as well as an emotional growth. We want our students to learn facts and to be able to utilize those facts in a thoughtful manner. However, if we don’t also focus on the emotional growth, then we are not fully doing our jobs.

At the BJC Religious School, we take a holistic approach to our students’ education. Not only do we teach our students the customs and traditions of the Jewish holidays, the ethics and values found within the Torah, the history and culture of our people, but we also encourage students to express their opinions on a variety of topics. We tell them that they don’t have to agree with each other, nor do they have to agree with the teachers’ opinions, but they do have to be respectful of others. The words they use to disagree cannot be insulting. The tone that they use to speak cannot be sarcastic. We try to have each other listen to what the other is saying and realize that everyone has an opinion. 

While I don’t know of any written curriculum that teaches this skill, I do know that Judaism speaks often of decent behavior. One particular value is called derech eretz , literally meaning, “the way of the land.” Unfortunately, this definition doesn’t truly capture the essence of the meaning.  Derech eretz is a code of ethical behavior towards one’s fellow man, the community, the country, the family and self.  Derech eretz works towards establishing a good name for oneself and for promoting the welfare of society. This is accomplished through speech, our actions, and even the way we dress. 

Think about how it feels when someone says thank you, I appreciate you, or may I get you something? Think about how it feels to help someone with their work, to carry a package, or even to help a customer in a store reach for something? These are definitely not earth shattering ideas, but to the person on the receiving end, they could be—for you are not only helping someone with an immediate need, you are also helping make a connection with that person.     

# # #

Interested in the Religious School? Come visit us on a Saturday morning. All we ask is that you contact us no later than the Thursday before you'd like to visit.    
Rabbi's Message
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 HIPAA regulations have made getting information from hospitals extremely difficult. I greatly appreciate your help keeping me informed of the health needs of our congregation. Please call: 301-469-8636 #3.
Opportunities to Explore Your Jewish Self
Celebrate your Bar or Bat Mitzvah Again!

On Friday, November 2, BJC member Bruce Baum will deliver his Haftarah on the 60th anniversary of his becoming Bar Mitzvah. Kol HaKavod , Bruce!

It is a fantastic experience, and it struck me that we should offer it to more of our members. If you remember your Torah or Haftarah portion (so many folks do) and would like to read it again on the anniversary of that Shabbat on a Saturday morning or a Friday night, please give me a call. I’ll be happy to assist you in brushing it up for public reading.

Conversion Class

Recently, I began working with three women who have taken upon themselves the mitzvah of conversion to Judaism. They are a diverse group of students, all with different levels of understanding. Would you be interested in joining them? Perhaps you have long considered formalizing your connection to the Jewish people, but didn’t know where to begin. You can start here and now.
Give me a call if you are interested.

Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer
EVENTS

Click for the complete BJC November Events Calendar
Chant Circle
Saturday, November 10 at 4:30 PM

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. We chant on the second Shabbat of the month. Join us on November 10 and December 8.
Annual Interfaith Service with Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Idara-e-Jaferia, and the Islamic Cultural Center of Potomac Thanksgiving Service, Brunch
Sunday, November 11, 10:30 AM; Brunch & Discussion at 11:30 AM. RSVP REQUIRED FOR THE BRUNCH
Repairing America's Social Fabric: 
Quilting Heart, Mind, and Mouth  

P lease join us for a morning of interfaith inspiration and music with our spiritual siblings. This event is always a highlight of the year.

All are welcome to attend the service without a reservation. However, if you wish to attend the catered brunch that follows the service, there is a suggested free-will donation of $15.00 per adult and $5.00 for children age 12 and younger. All donations are applied towards defraying the costs of hosting the brunch. This event tends to sell out. To comply with Montgomery County Fire Department occupancy regulations, we must require reservations for the brunch. RSVP and make your donation through the BJC website .

If you would like to help with shopping, setting up, decorating, or one of the other tasks necessary to make the brunch a success, please contact the BJC Office.
Thanksgiving Food Drive
Join in our interfaith effort to collect Thanksgiving meals for 50 families in our area! Bring the following list with you on your next trip to the grocery store and include some or all of the items listed below to help a family, in coordination with National Center for Children & Families and A Wider Circle, enjoy a Thanksgiving meal over the holidays.

A monetary donation enables us to include grocery store gift cards for each family to purchase a turkey or other perishable items for their meal. Please note: Gift cards have already been purchased; this donation will offset the cost . Please make checks to Bethesda Jewish Congregation with “Thanksgiving Drive” as the memo. Questions? Contact eddirect@bethesdajewish.org  

Click here for the Shopping List, or shop for the following NON-PERISHABLE food items: Please, no “Costco” sized items. Family size is most appreciated.

Canned yams or sweet potatoes •Canned corn •Canned green beans •Other canned vegetables •Canned fruit •Jarred applesauce •Canned cranberry sauce •Gravy (can, jar, or packet) •New reusable shopping bag •Box or bag of stuffing mix •Box of cornbread mix •Box of cake, Jello, or pudding mix •Box or bag of pasta •Rice or rice mix •Can of soup or ramen noodles •Small bag of candy

Please deliver to the stage in Memorial Hall by Sunday, November 4 .
Book Club
Wednesday, November 28, 8 PM

The BJC Open Book Club meets in the Lounge at 8 PM usually on the 4th Wednesday of every month. Anyone is welcome to join or just drop in for a particular book discussion. For more information, please contact Evelyn Ganzglass eganzglass@gmail.com .

This month: A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul, is a novel set in an unnamed African country after independence. The book is narrated by Salim, an ethnically Indian Muslim and a shopkeeper in a small but growing city in the country's remote interior. Salim observes the rapid changes in Africa with an outsider's distance. Note: this is a change from the notice in last month’s newsletter that said that we’d be reading House for Mr. Biswas by the same author.

The following are upcoming selections for the next 2 months:

December 19- -(3rd Wednesday) E ducated , a memoir, by Tara Westover. This memoir is an account of her struggle for self-invention after being raised in rural Idaho by her religiously fanatic father and her mother, who wasn’t diligent on the homeschooling front. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes from severing one’s closest ties.
January 23 -- T he Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is both a kinetic adventure tale of one woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
Shabbaton

BJC, in partnership with the Jewish Studio and Minyan Oneg Shabbat Present Rabbis Andrew Hahn and David Evan Markus Return for a Jewish Renewal Shabbaton Weekend

  • Friday, November 30, 6:30 PM Service followed by dinner at Women's Club of Bethesda
  • Saturday, December 1, Service at 10:30 AM at Bethesda Jewish Congregation 
  • Saturday, December 1, Concert with Rabbi Andrew Hahn and friends at 7:30 PM

REGISTRATION INFORMATION BELOW

Join BJC, The Jewish Studio, and Minyan Oneg Shabbat for a Shabbat weekend like no other as we sing, pray, and learn with two of the Jewish Renewal movement’s most innovative leaders. 

Rabbi David Evan Markus is a public officer, rabbi, and spiritual director. He currently serves as Deputy Chief Counsel in the New York State Judiciary, Judicial Referee in New York Supreme Court. He is also the immediate past co-chair of ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, and rabbi of Temple Beth-El of City Island (New York City, New York). He serves as syndicated blogger for My Jewish Learning, The Wisdom Daily, and The Jewish Studio.
Rabbi Andrew Hahn (Reb Drew) combines a variety of tools to introduce Jewish wisdom to an increasingly global, religious village. He holds a Ph.D. in Jewish Thought from the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) and received rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Reform). He has also studied at the feet of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement. Dubbed “a Shlomo Carlebach for the twenty-first century,” he weaves traditional Jewish liturgy and musical modes into the increasingly popular call-and-response chant style known as Kirtan, a musical form characterized by great energy, passion, and melodic flow.

  • The weekend kicks off with an early musical Kabbalat Shabbat beginning at 6:30 PM at the Women’s Club of Bethesda, 5500 Sonoma Rd, Bethesda MD 20817. Dinner follows the service. Reservations are required for dinner, Make your reservation here.

  • Saturday morning services will be at BJC, led by Rabbi David and Rabbi Sunny beginning at 10:30 AM - No Reservations are necessary

  • The Saturday night concert begins at 7:30 PM, doors open at 7 PM. Tickets in advance are only $20 online at here. Tickets purchased at the door are $25.
Update: Coming of Age in Cuba

By Ruth Magin

BJC congregants recently returned from an inspirational and enriching week in Cuba on mission to support the country’s Jewish communities. The group visited synagogues and Jewish community centers in Havana, Sancti Spiritus, Cienfuegos, and Santa Clara. Among clothing and other items, we brought with us pharmaceuticals for the pharmacy at the Jewish Community Center of Cuba (Patronato), which distributes medical supplies to both Jews and non-Jews in Havana.

Friday evening, we davened with the Jewish community of Sancti Spiritus, who hosted us for lovely Shabbat dinner in honor of Daniela Delgado Horrutiner’s Bat Mitzvah. On Shabbat morning in Santa Clara, we bore witness to Daniela as she became a Bat Mitzvah and shared a wonderful Shabbat lunch with the three Jewish communities we visited outside of Havana, who gathered together to celebrate Daniela’s Bat Mitzvah.

As one trip participant, for whom this is her 5th visit to Cuba with BJC, shared, The Rabbi has grown this group of disorganized Jewish Cubans into a real Jewish community and helped provide each of them with educational, spiritual, monetary, and every other kind of resource. His commitment is beyond deep and his enthusiasm and caring is contagious for the Cubans and for many of us who are involved with the Cuba America Jewish Mission, which continues to attempt to provide relationships, fellowship, affection, emotional support and every kind of monetary support we can muster.  What a gift to have had this opportunity to grow and support the Jews of Cuba.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Choral Shabbat

The BJC choir was proud and honored to lead Shabbat services on October 19. In the hour-long musical service and spiritual event, there were many special moments, such as when congregation president Shoshana Drake sang the Rabbi’s original composition of Ahavat Olam , as well as Andrea Hancock ’s beautiful interpretation of Shalom Alechem . Another prayer featured a wonderful duet with Shoshana and Joan Wolf . The choir was adeptly accompanied by Karen Levy on piano.

Keep your eyes open for this next special worship experience with the magnificent choir throughout the year.
Great Names--Rob Richie
Great Names Speaker Rob Richie Highlights Electoral Process: Issues and Solutions

By Helen Dalton

A small, but keenly interested, BJC audience soaked up the knowledge and experience of America’s voting and electoral process offered by Rob Richie, Founder and CEO of Fair/Vote, a nonpartisan organization devoted to giving voters a stronger voice in our elections. Richie appeared at the October 14 event, the third in the roster of excellent 2018 Great Names in the Neighborhood speakers brought to our community by BJC’s dedicated Speakers Group.

Attendees heard Richie attest to the critical importance of ensuring fair representational voting in light of today’s well-documented knowledge of interference in our 2016 elections and the upcoming 2018 mid-term elections. He stated that many issues we face today, such as gerrymandering, rubber-stamp elections, the nature of the Electoral College, and rising tensions about the current system, are all issues we can impact and change. We can institute structural changes; indeed, some desirable ones are already taking place in states and localities which have, contrary to public perceptions, full authority to install their own electoral processes.

For example, proposed and promoted by Fair/Vote, Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of choice, insuring that your vote still can impact the election even if your first choice doesn’t win. It discourages negative campaigning, eliminates vote-splitting, and can save money by eliminating run-offs. It’s now gone mainstream in multiple cities and states. Fair Representational Voting is currently being proposed in Maryland and would reduce our state’s eight individual congressional districts to two multi-winner districts with three to five elected members each. Ranked choice voting would elect candidates proportionately.

Richie also engaged in a spirited dialogue with attendees about other Fair/Vote priorities, including a National Popular Vote initiative, a lower voting age, and instant runoff voting. This couldn’t have been a better time to have such a dialogue.
Consider BJC Among Your Year-End Charitable Donations
By Sandra Walter

The richness of BJC’s spiritual, community, educational, and musical programs makes us all proud of our shul—and inspires each of us in our lives. However, our treasury to invest in synagogue operations and programs depends on more than dues—it depends on the generosity of our members and friends to give charitably beyond annual synagogue support. These donations ensure we are able to welcome all in the human experience of faith, be a haven for the melodies and harmonies that lift us up, have a band of educators who excite a new generation, and be that place for sharing simchas and comforting sorrows.

Please consider a donation before calendar year 2018 ends that reflects your commitment to tzedakah, tikkun olam, and mitzvot.

Consider a gift of stock or from your IRA. Want to make a larger pledge? You can make a gift commitment today and then fulfill your pledge over the next few months. To talk more about your gift, connect with Board VP Sandra Walter at 202-550-7692 or email her at sendit2sandra@gmail.com . 

Remember to consult your financial or tax advisor about the best ways to give under the new tax laws and your personal financial goals.  
Youth Perspectives
Lessons From A Southern Preacher
By Sammy Peterson

This past month, Reverend William J. Barber II won a “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation. It awarded the honor based on Barber’s activism—primarily in relaunching a “Poor People’s Campaign” in the spirit of Martin Luther King. 

In August, I was fortunate enough to hear Barber speak in person. I attended a “teach-in” at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in DC in response to the White Nationalist rally scheduled for later that same week. I came to this event looking for a new perspective; I’ve discussed the shocking events of Charlottesville before, here at BJC, and I wanted to hear what others had to say.

There were speakers at this forum from all walks of life. They ranged from Congressmen to activists and academics. There was even a reformed Klansman. But Reverend Barber stole the show.

He was a massive man with an even larger voice. He quieted the crowd of nearly a thousand, thundering one minute, whispering the next. He spoke about political ideas, history, sociology, and God. No matter your religion, his speech resonated. That’s because of his message.

If you are looking to fight racism and hate, he said, you cannot wait until the next rally or march. If you are looking to fight oppression, you must always be striving to improve society. He said our current problems are “not so much about left versus right, but right versus wrong.” This line stuck with me due to its simple truth. 

If, as a nation, we want to be unified, we cannot fracture ourselves on basic principles. Because I’m still a kid I may have a different perspective on some of the problems facing our country. I won’t go into those issues specifically, but for me, Barber’s ideas hold true for everyone.

As a nation we cannot afford to be split on morals. I urge every person reading my words to consider: what’s more important, your party or your principles?
Nachas Notes
Editor’s Note: Here’s a spot to kvell with your BJC community. Let us know what you’re celebrating. An engagement? A new baby? Grandbaby? Got into that great college? A new job? Send your good news to: hjk.obx@verizon.net

  • Mazel Tov to Shoshana & Brian Drake on their 20th anniversary on October 18.

  • Mazel Tov to Bruce Baum on the 60th anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah.

  • Mazel Tov to Leah Chiaverini on becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Meet a Member: Joan Wolf
In her own words
I’ve been a BJC member since 1998. Living a few blocks from BJC made it a compelling prospect, and we joined when we heard that they were going to build their own sacred space (now Covenant Hall). 

I hail from Chicago, have been in real estate sales for nearly 40 years (residential and commercial brokerage), as well as serving as a former managing broker overseeing a real estate agency in D.C. My husband, Steven Chiaverini (from Philadelphia), died unexpectedly in 2010, and we have two children. Leah has her master’s in social work and Harrison is in his second year at UMBC’s School of Engineering. 

I believe in “walking the walk” when it comes to community involvement. In addition to sitting on other boards, I have served in a variety of roles at BJC: President from 2013-2015, 16-time Director of the world-famous Purim Spiel, proud choir member (along with my daughter), originator of the Great Names Speaker and Great Chef Series, and current Membership Chair—know anyone who is interested in becoming a member??? 

When asked WHY I’m involved, I answered, “What if no one stepped up to the plate? We rely on each other embrace leadership roles and create a phenomenal community!”
Yahrzeits
November 2018

Esther Blumberg, grandmother of Linda Blumberg
Sonya Schwartz Choper, sister of Linda Baum
Martin Cohen, father of Donna Goldberg
Renee Cooper, mother of David Cooper
Bernard Morris Dubin, father of Alan Dubin
Libby Dubin, sister of Alan Dubin
David Friedman, father of Hannah Friedman Elson
Miriam Gleberman, mother of Ellen Gleberman
Esther Glogower, grandmother of Diana Abadi
Ethel Gluckstein, wife of Fritz Gluckstein
Harry David Haber, father of Miles Haber
Ralph Kaufman, father of Emily Kaufman Van Agtmael
Clara Landaw, grandmother of Lance Pelter
Rosalie Lichter, mother of Alan Lichter
Eric Neisser, father of Michelle Neisser
Morris Poogach, father of Robert Poogach
Jack Scott, father of David Scott
Philip Shtasel, father of Sana Shtasel
Sidney Tahler, grandfather of Rori Kochman
Alan Turow, father of Stephen Turow
Naomi Walders, mother of Larry Walders
Abe Walter, father of Sandra Walter
Harry Winslow, father of Craig Winslow
Mildred Jean Zisman, sister of Al Folsom
Thank You

The following list recognizes those donations made through October 18, 2018.

To the General Fund

Wynne Busman, for the support received during her mother’s illness
Jeremy Mendelson, in honor of his birthday
Susan Leibenhaut & Joe Gootenberg, in honor of Rabbi Schnitzer High Holy Days
Mark Novak, in honor of Rabbi Schnitzer
Avraham Kimchi, in honor of Robin and Jim Dorshow
Barbara Sweet, in memory of Jill Camp
Esther Balsamo, in memory of Jill Camp
Karen Jerome, in memory of Jill Camp
Mitch Kraus, in memory of Jill Camp
Ruth Salinger, in memory of Jill Camp
Kelley Shanahan & Ward Bobitz, in memory of Jill Camp
Davi Walders, in memory of Jill Camp & for assistance at Rosh Hashana  

To the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund

Diane & Dennis Horn     
Lorrie van Akkeren         
Ralph Kahn        
Charlotte Bardack, in appreciation for the Chesed Committee helping with the shiva for Mindy Silverstein’s father
Amy Scott & David Cooper, in honor of their daughter's wedding
Harri Kramer & Russ Hogya, in memory of Jill Camp
Susan Levin, in memory of Jill Camp
A Special Thank You
All who “rounded up” their Synagogue Support payments
All who continuously donate their time to volunteer at BJC .
Board of Trustees

President Shoshanah Drake
Vice-President Sandra Walter
Treasurer Lance Pelter
Secretary Lorrie Van Akkeren

Trustees
Howard Berkof 
Helen Dalton
Jason Engel
Alan Grunes
Ted Posner
David Slacter
Committee Chairs
Communication Helen Dalton
Financial Advisor [An Opportunity!]
High Holy Days Jim Korelitz
Student Representative Sammy Peterson Intercongregational Partnership Liaison
Marty Ganzglass
Membership Joan Wolf
Past President Rachel Mosher-Williams
Programs Ruth Magin
Social Action Harri j. Kramer

BJC Administration
Spiritual Leader Rabbi Sunny Schnitzer
Director of Education Mindy Silverstein
Synagogue Administrator Diana Abadi

BJC News
Interim Newsletter Editor Harri j. Kramer hjk.obx@verizon.net

Bethesda Jewish Congregation
6601 Bradley Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20817-3042
Tel: 301-469-8636

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