Temple Beth Tikvah Monthly News

The first weekend in January includes a complete schedule of services and activities, beginning on Friday night with a Kabbalat Shabbat service that will include a ceremony marking Victor Chudowsky's formal conversion to Judaism. Saturday's events include morning Torah study, a Torah service, and an evening Havdallah celebration in honor of Victor. Rabbi Ettman will lead one of his always interesting Adult Ed discussions on Sunday, and there is also an informational presentation about B'nai Brith summer camp scheduled for parents during Sunday School.

January 20th-22nd Artist-In-Residence Weekend with Cantor Margaret Bruner

The music of Debbie Friedman will be the theme when Cantor Bruner joins us for the third weekend in January. Friday night will include two services - an early service geared toward families with young children, a later service for the convenience of other members, and a Shabbat dinner in between. On Saturday, Julie and Jo will play at a Healing service in the morning and there will be a Havdallah service in the evening. Sunday's Adult Ed session will focus on the impact Debbie's music has had on how we pray as Jews.

We hope you'll join us for all of these wonderful events in January!

Greetings From Rabbi Ettman
Rabbi Ettman Photo

Dear Friends,

The secular new year has dawned. As we sweep away the confetti and embrace the joy of making it to another year, it is important to look out at where we want to go - to set goals, to dream dreams and to have hope. This kind of hope, however, this year, cannot just be for our immediate future, rather I encourage each of you to think about the larger goals. Imagine as if you are looking out on the horizon line in hope of getting 'there.' This month, we need to begin to ask ourselves, "how are we going to get there," and "what are we going to do?"

A few weeks ago, our movement, the Union for Reform Judaism, held its national biennial where among other things, we welcomed a new President of our movement, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, who will be a wonderful successor to the great legacy left by his predecessors. During this week of learning and sharing, many ideas were exchanged and positions were challenged; many of which are profoundly relevant to our holy community here in Bend.

Rabbi Jonathan Stein, the senior Rabbi at Shaarey Tefillah in New York City and a friend/colleague of mine, makes this salient statement that I believe we must all begin to heed. He says:

"Kids and adults cannot identify what the value is for them to be or remain Jews. We need to be able to rethink for them so that we can show them the synagogue as a place where you see good friends, learn to give back and stay connected."

How true and profound. We need to think about what makes our community special. We need to ask ourselves what keeps you coming to synagogue. What are you most proud of? What specifically would you like to see in the future?

President Obama said, just this past week, while he was speaking to the URJ Biennial, that, "we are too often concerned with the next election instead of the next generation." There has been a lot of talk of building our future. And there will no doubt be much more talk. But we need to remember that our future will be far beyond any one of us. Building our future is possible when we look at where we want to go and see that this is not some short term race but rather a long distance goal.

We each have the chance to be a part of something greater than any one of us individually can imagine - and that, my friends, is amazing. Let us do it together. As the month of January usually forces us to look out at a new year with wonder, I encourage you do just that and to think, honestly and truthfully, about where you want to go...because working together, dreaming, and partnering is the way that we can get there...and we will.

With Blessings of hope and dreams,

Always,

Rabbi Ettman is available via email. If you want to set up an appointment, please email him at: rabbiettman@bethtikvahbend.org. His office hours are Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

President's Message
From TBT President Lisa Uri

Happy new year! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Chanukah with your families.

As we enter 2012, I am reminded of the comments I made during Rosh Hashanah services this past year. As we entered 5772, I reminded our congregation that how "sweet" your new year may be is a matter of perspective. Our choices and our emotions are often dictated by our perspective. Our happiness or sadness can sometimes be dictated by our perspective as well.

My college roommate reminded me recently that

G-d gave us two eyes, but only one point of view... and we should all try to see another at times. It's the glass half full/half empty trick. How do you choose to look at things? Life can change dramatically if we all choose to see the glass as half full. It may bring a whole new level of happiness to your life.

This year, before you form an opinion about yourself or someone else, offer a suggestion or criticism, or make a statement about yourself or others, consider taking a few steps back to gain a greater view of the situation. See it through someone else's eyes. Take it all in. Change your perspective. It may bring a whole new level of sweetness to your life.

I wish you all a very happy 2012 filled with health, family, success and love.

B'shalom,

Lisa Uri

Taizé Service - January 5th

All members of TBT are invited to participate in an hour of prayerful Taizé music and silence at our monthly ecumenical Evensong Service, 7pm, Thursday, January 5, at St Francis Catholic Center (St. Clare Chapel,) 2450 NE 27thSt., Bend. For more information call 541-383-4179.

And A Child Shall Lead
BEAT Production Explores Holocaust Themes Through Art by Children

Rehearsals will begin in March for "And A Child Shall Lead," a powerful, heartrending -and- heartwarming play by Michael Slade, to be directed by Pat Kmiec, and performed by Central Oregon Jewish Youth.

The play, based on true events, is the story of the brave children (ages 7-17) held by the Nazis in the Czechoslovakian ghetto, Terezin. These children defied their captors by secretly creating art, music and poetry, and developing an underground newspaper that documented life in the ghetto. The young actors lead you through the deep relationships, life-threatening challenges, and simple joys experienced by the inspiring children of Terezin.

Performances will be held at the 2nd Street Theater in mid-May. The play will be produced by Bend Experimental Art Theatre (BEAT) and will hopefully include children from Temple Beth Tikvah and the JCCO. Leading up to the performances, the actors will take part in BEAT's Art of acting Workshops, where, in addition to rehearsing, they will participate in a range of exercises, including discussions and theater games, that focus on many areas such as diction, projection, character development, blocking, etc. This helps to expand the actors' levels of expertise, while working together as a cohesive team.

Tuition for the workshop is $375, with a $40 discount for early payment. If multiple siblings would like to participate, a $50 discount is offered for each additional child ($325/actor.) To enroll, please contact BEAT at 541-419-5558 or Howard Schor at ed@beatonline.org.

TBT Board Notes
Next Board Meeting: January 10th, 7:00 p.m.

Your TBT Board meets monthly and everyone is invited to attend. Dates and times of Board meetings are on the TBT calendar at http://bethtikvahbend.org/calendar.

If you would like to read the minutes of previous board meetings, you can request a copy from Board Secretary Kathy Schindel: schindelke@aol.com.

Committee News

Wonderful Celebrations at TBT in January

Lauren Olander Star of David b/w

Chair, Religious Committee

As we are getting settled into the Winter months here in Bend, and the days seem to end too quickly, we have some wonderful celebrations in January that will be sure to brighten up the month of January.

During our first Rabbi weekend of 2012, we will be experiencing a first here at Temple Beth Tikvah. On January 6, 2012, make sure you join us at our Friday night Shabbat service to celebrate the momentous time in the life of one of our congregational families as Victor Chudowsky will formally complete his conversion to Judaism. This moment is not just momentous for Victor and his wife Naomi and daughter Sophie, but for us as a community as well. For the past year, Vic has been meeting with Rabbi Ettman individually and learning about Judaism and living Judaism. On Friday night, he will be called up to the Bimah and in front of the open ark, be passed the Torah scroll (symbolically uniting him with the past) and then blessed by the Rabbi - officially welcoming him into the tradition of Judaism. As Rabbi Ettman explains, there are only two ways of becoming Jewish - being a Jew by chance (those who are born Jewish) or a Jew by choice (those who take on Judaism sometime in their life.) This is truly an incredible moment for our community. There will then be a celebration in honor of Vic on Saturday evening with food, music, wine, havdallah and other goodies.

A few weeks later we will have another wonderful celebration the weekend of January 20-21, 2012 with our very first Artist in Residence Program. Cantor Margaret Bruner, who shared her beautiful voice and gentle soul with us during our High Holiday season this past fall, will return for a weekend to celebrate and honor the music and voice of Debbie Friedman. As you may recall, Debbie passed away last year on January 19, 2012 and the entire Jewish Community lost a truly beautiful and talented woman. Cantor Bruner will help us celebrate her music, teach us about how she made a significant impact in our prayer and services, as well as teach us more about how music reaches our soul.

We will start our Friday night with two services, an early service geared towards families and a later service for those who prefer to celebrate shabbat a little later in the evening. We will be hosting a shabbat dinner between the two services. The Saturday morning service will be a Healing Service with the beautiful music of Julie and Jo, on harp and violin. Saturday afternoon we will be outside in the snow having some fun and celebrating Havdallah with the Cantor. Lastly, on Sunday morning the Cantor will be teaching us about the influence of Debbie's music on how we pray as Jews. Further details to come... and we look forward to a month filled with celebration and song!

Education News

David Uri

Chair, Education

We had a very successful and well attended community Hanukkah party with the JCCO. Over 60 people were present. We hope to have a similar event for Purim.

David Zimmerman will be at Sunday School on January 8 to discuss the Bnai Brith Camp held on the Oregon coast. All parents are welcome to attend the presentation at 4 pm.

Calling all performers. BEAT, the Central Oregon kids performing arts group, is seeking all kids to participate in the upcoming performance of "And a Child Shall Lead". This is an age appropriate play about children in the Terezin concentration camp and their fight for suvival. One of the casts will hopefully be comprised of Jewish kids in Central Oregon. Practice begins in February with performances in May. All interested should contact David Uri for info.

February Newsletter Deadline: January 20th

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 leslie.conley@bendbroadband.com by the 20th of each month. As always, you will continue to recieve "e-minders" before important events take place.

Shalom,

Leslie Conley and Sara Charney Cohen

TBT Men's Night - January 17th

The TBT monthly Men's Night is generally held on the third Tuesday of each month. The next TBT Mens Night Happy Hour will be on Tuesday, January 17th, from 5:30p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It will be held at Scanlon's Restaurant at the Athletic Club of Bend, located at 61615 Athletic Club Drive (541-385-3062.) All men of TBT are welcome. Please contact Lawrence at susarch@bendbroadband.com or at 541-408-3638 with questions.

TBT Tributes

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 are made to the Temple's general purpose fund unless otherwise specified.

Temple Beth Tikvah gratefully acknowledges the following contributions:

From Leslie Conley and Joe Jezukewicz in honor of Jason Conley's marriage to Rainy Reaman.
From Ralph and Marcia Uri, to the Beth Tikvah Music Fund, in honor of Ruth Baser's Birthday.
From Ralph and Marcia Uri, to the Beth Tikvah Music Fund, in memory of Jeff Olander's father.
From Leslie Conley and Joe Jezukewicz in memory of Jeff Olander's father.
From Terry and Gary Reynolds, sending heartfelt condolences to Jeff Olander & family on the passing of his dad, Ted Olander.
From the Schlackman Family, to the Beth Tikvah Education fund, wishing a speedy recovery to Paul Byrne.
From the Schlackman Family, to the Beth Tikvah Education Fund, wishing a speedy recovery to Hy Kahn.
From the Schlackman Family, to the Beth Tikvah Education Fund, wishing a speedy recovery to Addy Graham.

About Temple Beth Tikvah

Temple Beth Tikvah is a growing Jewish congregation based in Bend, Oregon. We are affilliated with the Union for Reform Judaism and are excited to become 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.

Please contact us at 541-388-8826 or info@bethtikvahbend.org for more information.