Shalom from TBD Religious School

Shabbat newsletter compiled by
Gal Kessler Rohs, Education Director
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream for his “four little children” to be judged by the content of their character. He had dreams of people being treated and treating each other with love and dignity, in a much like way as is our temple slogan “ Jewishly Warm and Relevant ”. 

This past Sunday our teens, with the leadership of substitute teachers Lindy Bornstein and President Michael Adelman, fulfilled MLK’s dream. It was a morning when figuratively “all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics [were] able to join hands and sing”. But they did more than sing. They made meat and vegan stuffed cabbage. MLK would have been proud to see his dream realized! He would have been proud because there was a more profound meaning to that stuffed cabbage our students were cooking. 

Lindy and Mickey taught our teens about last week’s general Kadish Day, a day of remembrance also for those who perished and experienced Nazi hate in the Holocaust. Lindy’s late grandfather, Eli Gecht , was a medical student in the 1940’s, when the US entered WWII. He joined the army as a medic, and served during the Allied campaign in France. He saw firsthand the great cost of war in treating the wounded and traumatized, some to no avail as we said Kadish for them last week. 

Mickey spoke about remembrance of loved ones, and Kadish Yatom, while Lindy demonstrated her late grandfather’s handwritten recipe. Through perpetuating Eli’s cooking, we honored his sacrificed service during the war. By cooking that same recipe, our teens relived Eli, and ultimately the message he brought to those he treated. It was the message of justice that MLK’s speech reflected: “Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

I have a dream for our school and beyond. I have a dream that intergenerational experiences perpetuate those memories of those who made history. As MLK proclaims in his speech, “we are not makers of history, we are made by history.”

Shabbat Shalom, as we think about dreams of “little black boys and black girls able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.”

-Gal Kessler Rohs , Education Director

(picture depicts our religious school teens from left to right Neomi Goodman, Madison Schoonmaker and Summer Karawan , together w ith President Mickey Adelman and food specialist Lindy Bornstein preparing Lindy's late grandfather's stuffed cabbage recipe. Eli's hand written recipe is below).
Ulpan Shabbat tonight about dreams, clouds and rainbows
We have Ulpan Shabbat tonight, where children will sleep (or pretend to), and wake up with dreams, in honor on MLK's "I have a dream speach". Our plan is to have those dreams presented in the follow up Shabbat service, with  Rabbi Lachtman and Cantor Orly . (Vegetarian) matzah ball soup is always a plus, especially when served as a Shabbat family meal! 
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Ulpan Shabbat is a complementary class designed for families and children in the San Gabriel Valley. The class purpose is to engage our students Jewishly to the feeling of Shabbat, learn conversational Hebrew, build confidence as they present their learning in the sanctuary, create community, and more. 
Eli Bornstein's Stuffed Cabbage recipe as made last Sunday by our teens, hand written by Eli, Lindy's grandfather z"l
Torah (Part 1) The book of Exodus
Last week we ended reading from the book of Genesis, while this week marks the first Torah portion reading from the second book in the Torah- Exodus. As our weekly tradition, we’ll continue to briefly present a Dvar Torah about the weekly portions, but in a nutshell, Exodus recounts how the ancient Israelites leave slavery in Egypt through Gd, who has chosen Israel as His people. 
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More specifically, Gd inflicts horrific harm on the Egyptian captors of Israel, through ten plagues, each becoming more harsh. With Moses as their leader, the Jews then escape slavery. They enter a journey through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where Gd promises them the "Promised Land" in return for their faithfulness. Israel thus enters into a covenant with Gd who gives them their laws and instructions to build the Tabernacle. This will be the means by which He will come from heaven and dwell with them. Gd will lead them in a holy war to possess the Land, and then give them peace.
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With this in mind, Exodus has been claimed to be the most important book in the Bible, as it presents the defining features of Israel's identity: memories of a past marked by hardship and escape, a binding covenant with God who chooses Israel, and the establishment of a life, community and guidelines for sustaining them. 
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We look forward to learning more with you about how Exodus can guide us to our identity as Jews, as we delve into each of the book’s portions, weekly. Stay tuned!
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(pictured is a religious school student's reflection of her self identity in our Haskala teen class focusing on the unit of "Me Myself and I").
Torah (Part 2) Parashat Shemot
Jewish history is rich with suffering. We even see this in this week’s Torah portion Shemot, found in Exodus 1:1–6:1. The portion states, “For more than eight decades we have been suffocating under the yoke of brutal tyranny. Thousands upon thousands of our children have been slaughtered so that Pharaoh can bathe daily in Jewish blood; infants have been robbed from the bosoms of their mothers and cast in the river; we have been beaten, humiliated, tortured, killed. The Egyptians turned our lives into a hellish nightmare and reduced our dignity to sub-humanness.”
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Moses, our leader, asks the question of questions: “My L‑rd! Why have you done evil to this people? Why have you sent me? From the time I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he did evil to this people, but You did not rescue Your people!”
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It may be that we may never know why there is suffering, as this is incomprehensible to human kind. Gd himself does not fully tell us, nor Moses why. In the form of a burning thorny bush, Gd explains to Moses: “I am a mystery, G‑d confesses. I am strange, infinitely strange. My script of history is quite unfathomable to the human mind and heart. Yet you ought to know one thing: I am not a detached G‑d, residing in the heavens and objectively governing the destiny of each human being the way I see fit. I am present with you in your anguish. I am in the groan of a beaten slave, the wail of a bereaved mother, the spilled blood of a murdered child. You are crying? I am weeping with you. You feel crushed? I am crushed with you. No matter how deep your darkness, I am deeper still.” 
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(Image depicts one of our favorite images of our Rabbi  in conversation with baby Romi and her balloons, as an image of hope, love, and optimism  LeDorVaDor .)
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Rabbinic collaborators towards his dream
As we approach this weekend, we think about Martin Luther King Jr. and his March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom’s message of equality. 

MLK’s allies included leaders from all walks of life, sending a message that equality is an effort endorsed by an interracial assembly. 
 
Those of the Jewish world for example, included Arnie Aronson who was a crucial organizer in the march; Rabbi Uri Miller who recited the opening prayer, and Rabbi Joachim Prinz who delivered a stirring speech just before King’s historic words.

Jewish leadership in MKL’s mission were not limited to their participation only in the March on Washington. This image, for example is from a demonstration at the Arlington National Cemetery. From left to right, it shows Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath and Rabbi Everett Genler. 

The pool of interracial support, and a multitude of involvement from all walks of life, brought results. MKL’s demonstrations influenced national opinion and brought about the passage of the  Civil Rights Act  of 1964. Following that was the guaranteeing of equal voting rights, outlawing discrimination in restaurants, theatres, and other public accommodations and more. 
Jewish Federation Shabbaton is a weekend away at Camp Mountain Chai for 3-9th graders
Aaren Heller, Shabbaton director will be joining our school to be explaining more on Jan 26th. at 9.30am.

Please let Aaren know if you have a 7-9th grader who is interested in joining the teen planning meeting, or wish to ask anything else about Shabbaton.
Coming up at Temple Beth David featured school related dates to note:
Friday, Jan 17th at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including family dinner (topic: dreams in honor of MLK)
Sunday, Jan 19th: No Religious School, MLK weekend, TBD at Union Station (contact Jason Young to volunteer) 
Friday, Jan 24th at 7.30pm: Service with Rabbi Lachtman and Cantor Schwartz, followed by Israeli dancing with Ellen Novoseller
Saturday, Jan 25th at 7pm: Every Person Has A Name
Sunday, Jan 26th: Haskala at Every Person Has A Name, 9.30am Federation Shabbaton presentation withAaren Heller, 12.30pm Security and Planning meeting, followed by fundraising committee meeting, both with Gavin Wasserman
Tuesday, Jan 28th at 7.30pm: Adult Seminar with Rabbi Lachtman on Jewish Life Cycles
Friday, Jan 31st at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner
Sunday, Feb 2nd at 9.30am: Adult Bagel Breakfast with Cantor Orly
Friday, Feb 7th at 7.30pm: Shabbat services with Hannah Stein, oneg Shabbat in honor of Hanna andAlan Stein, sponsored by the Stein family 
Saturday, Feb 8th at 4.15pm: Hannah Stein Bat Mitzvah
Sunday, Feb 9th, at 9.30am: Jeff Brody presentation of Camp Mountain Chai at Religious School
Friday, Feb 14th at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner (topic: Tu BiShvat)
Sunday, Feb 16th, No Religious School, President's Day, TBD at Union Station 
Sunday, Feb 23 at 9.30am, Adult Bagel Breakfast, 9.30am, Debby Singer presenting PJ Library
Friday, Feb 28th at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner
Sunday, March 1 Religious School
Thursday, March 5th, at 10am: National Webinar on education and thriving (Contact Gal for more info)
Thurday, March 6-8th, Shabbaton (For 3-9th graders)
Sunday, March 8th: Purim at TBD, Lindy Bornstein making food enrichment
Friday, March 13th at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat with Cindy Pailey including dinner (topic: Purim)
Sunday, March 15th Religious School, TBD at Union Station
Sunday, March 22nd Religious School
Friday, March 27th at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner (topic: Passover)
Sunday, March 29th at 9.30am, Adult Bagel Breakfast
Friday, April 3rd at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner (topic: Passover)
Sunday, April 5th Religious School (topic: Passover, Model Seder)
Sunday, April 12th, No School, Passover Break
Friday, April 17th at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner (topic: Israel)
Sunday, April 19th Religious School (topic: Holocaust for Upper Grades), TBD at Union Station 
Sunday, April 26th Religious School (topic: Israel Day)
Friday, May 1st at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner
Sunday, May 3rd Religious School
Sunday, May 10th, No School, Mothers' Day
Friday, May 15th at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner (topic: Shavuot)
Sunday, May 17th: Last Day of Religious School, family lunch, TBD at Union Station 
Friday, June 5th at 6pm: Ulpan Shabbat including dinner
Sunday, June 21st: TBD at Union Station
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