Rabbi Norman Roman
Temple Kol Ami
Most of us are familiar with the classic interpretation of the Birkat Cohanim (Priestly Benediction) that teaches:
May God bless you and guard you - May you be blessed with affluence, and may you be guarded from that wealth corrupting your life.
May God cause light to shine upon you and be gracious unto you - May you appreciate the light of Torah, be constantly enlightened by it and not forget it, and as a result, you will find grace in the eyes of all who share life with you.
May God lift up the Divine Presence upon you, and grant you peace - may the goal of your life in Torah be Shalom, not only peace for your community, but peace within yourself, i.e. contentment and wholeness.
But a wise and discerning student of mine (now a Doctor!!!) many years ago, discovered the following Midrash about this blessing while she was preparing her D'var Torah in anticipation of becoming a Bat Mitzvah: How do we know that the Children of Israel have the z'chut (the merit) of being blessed with these words? The answer, our Rabbis taught, is in the phrase from the Torah portion, "Co t'varachu . . . Thus shall you bless" (Num. 6:23). We are privileged to be blessed this way, because of z'chut avot, the merit of our fathers. For the simple term "Co" (thus) was used with or by each of our Patriarchs.
One Rabbi commented that God said to Abraham: "Thus shall it be for your descendants" (Gen. 15:5). The merit of Abraham was that he promised to raise his children to follow in his faithful path. Furthermore, Isaac joined in the merit of blessing by displaying trust in his father and sanctifying God's name in the face of personal danger: "The lad and I will proceed to there ('Co')" (Gen. 22:5). And finally, we receive the Priestly blessing because of the merit of Jacob: "Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob" (Ex. 19:3). Jacob, though knowing that they would be living in Egypt, still taught his sons the faith and values of the Israelite people.
My student shared the lesson that if we inspire each other to follow in the faithful path of Abraham, if we emulate the sincerity and preparation for sacrifice of Isaac, and if we strengthen our children's understanding of and commitment to 'Am Yisrael, then we will truly merit the blessing of Shalom. May we all have that confidence!
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May Their Memories Be For a Blessing
May Yahrtzeits
5/17/2013 (8 Sivan)
Daniel Graub
5/20/2013 (11 Sivan)
Arnold Manko
George Weiss
5/21/2013 (12 Sivan)
Henry Fridenberg
Annette Sirlin
5/23/2013 (14 Sivan)
Irene Belsky
5/25/2013 (16 Sivan)
Harriet(Sivia) Band
5/26/2013 (17 Sivan)
Elka Reiter
5/28/2013 (19 Sivan)
Sidney Silverman
Ethel Toby
5/29/2013 (20 Sivan)
Alex Harris
To make a donation to commemorate a yahrtzeit, please click here. If you are a member of the synagogue and a yahrtzeit for your loved one is not on the list, please contact the synagogue office so we can update our records.
Please click here if you wish to permanently memorialize a loved one by purchasing a yahrtzeit plaque.
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Learning Opportunities
Siddur Appreciation/Learning
with Dr. Mitch Parker
This class is held on Shabbat mornings in the lower level, Room 9. May 25th, 11 a.m.
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Caring Community Information
Refuah Sh'leimah/Wishing a Speedy Recovery
Please email Michael Golob or call the synagogue: 248-432-2729 if you wish to add a name to our communal list. Our caring community reaches out to one another in a variety of ways. We welcome our new members warmly with a special visit and gift. We provide shiva minyan leaders. We call/visit/provide meals for members who are ill or home-bound, bring a home-cooked shiva meal to mourners in our community, and help to drive members who need a ride to synagogue services and events. If you would like to help in any way, please call or
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Attention BI Families with high school seniors
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SHABBAT SHALOM
Shabbat Services: Naso
Friday, May 17th
6 p.m. Services, Chapel
Saturday, May 18th
Volunteer Appreciation Shabbat
9 a.m. Services,Sanctuary
Kiddush Lunch is sponsored by the Kiddush Lunch Fund in honor and appreciation of all of our volunteers. Kiddush Lunch is also sponsored by Louise and David Lazarus in honor of Louise's birthday.
Correction to last week's Kiddush Lunch sponsorship, should have read: sponsored by: Jeffrey Eisman and Nancy Benchell-Eisman, Hilda Hanburger, Ilene Miles, Gail Kay, Bonnie Sorkin, Carole Wiseman, Marlene Margolis, Joe Rose and Rita Goldstone.
Kiddush Lunch is available through the generosity of weekly sponsors. Please e-mail or call the synagogue office if you would like to sponsor a kiddush lunch. You may also make a donation to the synagogue specifically for the Kiddush Lunch Fund by clicking here.
Condolences
To Mel Toby on the death last week of his brother, Bernie Toby.

SAVE THE DATE:
Youth Shabbat, Saturday June 8th.
The Youth of our congregation will participate in and lead services. We will honor our graduating high school seniors.
Fridays at 6 p.m.,
Bloomer Park, West Bloomfield
June 7th, July 5th, August 2nd
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Upcoming Youth and Family Activities
Supervised Youth Activities, Room 3, lower level
May 4, 11, 18, 25 supervised youth activities, lower level.
To stay current on all youth and family activities, contact Ilana Glazier to join the B'nai Israel Families Facebook Group.

IMPORTANT MEETING
REGARDING USY
(MCUSY-Motor City USY in the Detroit area,
UNITED SYNAGOGUE YOUTH, 9TH-12TH GRADERS)
Sunday, June 2, 10-11:30 a.m.
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
This meeting is for parents from all Detroit-area conservative synagogues. Please plan to attend if you have a high school age child. Please e-mail Susan Knoppow with questions.
Youth Shabbat: Saturday, June 8th.
Children of all ages will be participating in the service. If your child would like to participate and has not yet been assigned a part, please contact Karen Rosenberg.
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Mazel Tov
May Birthdays
16 Trudy Jacobson
18 Gloria Ruskin
19 Elizabeth Lovinger
20 Linda Foster
21 Louise Lazarus
21 Megan Victor
22 David Feber
22 Karen Lovinger
26 Robin Rosen
27 Jay Kozlowski
28 Susan Birnholtz
28 Hilda Hamburger
30 Jordan Rosen
31 Irvin Kappy
May Anniversaries
If your birthday or anniversary information is not listed, please email the synagogue so we can update our records.
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Upcoming Community Events
and TKA/BI Joint Opportunities
Save the Date:
Road Rally with TKA and BI
Sunday, July 29th, 5:30 p.m.
KNITTING
All stitchers are welcome. Bring your
needlepoint, crochet hook or cross stitch and join the group. There is no charge to attend.
7 PM at the TKA/BI building.
FUTURE DATES: 5/21, 6/10
Just drop-in! No registration required. For more information, e-mail Gail Raben
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Join us at this year's Detroit Free Press Marathon as part of our team, Sunday, October 20, 2013!
Several spots on our two teams are still available. Once the spots fill up, they are gone. The marathon length of 26.2 miles is divided into five legs. The length of each relay leg is as follows: 6.2 miles, 6.0 miles, 6.7 miles, 2.9 miles, and 4.4 miles. Full details are available at: http://www.freepmarathon.com/events/relay
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 Quick Links
B'nai Israel Synagogue is affiliated with USCJ,
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
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