Claire Burson to Perform at Holocaust Commemoration at WRT
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Clare Burson, the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, will be the special guest on Friday, April 29, at 7:45 pm at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) during their annual Service of Responsibility. This special service is a cherished WRT tradition to commemorate the Holocaust and urges the end of genocide in our time. Performer Clare Burson, joined by members of her band, Mark Spencer on guitar (from Son Volt), Tony Leone on drums (from Levon Helm), and Andy Cotton on bass, will join with the WRT community to remember the slain and honor the survivors.
Ms. Burson’s critically acclaimed album, Silver and Ash, imagines her grandmother's life in Germany, from her birth in 1919 to her escape in 1938. For this project, Burson visited her own childhood home in Memphis, where she conducted interviews with her grandmothers, and ventured to the childhood homes of her ancestors in Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Ukraine. The result of Burson’s travel, research, and ancestral archeology is a stunning album of 10 original songs that inhabit and give life to her grandmother’s story as well as Burson’s own struggles with rupture, silence, guilt, empathy, and continuity. The album was produced by Grammy® nominee Tucker Martine (R.E.M., The Decemberists), created with the help of her band, and was featured in The New York Times’ article “Channeling a Family’s Silence Into Songs About the Holocaust,” (September 20, 2010). Ms. Burson will be performing songs from this album during the evening.
This service, free and open to the public, will take place at Westchester Reform Temple, 255 Mamaroneck Road in Scarsdale. For more information, visit www.wrtemple.org , or call (914) 723-7727.
The Grneta Ensemble to Perform at Shaarei Tikvah
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The annual Shaarei Tikvah Concert on Sunday April 3rd at 3:00 pm will feature the Grneta Ensemble, a dynamic group consisting of three exciting virtuosi -- Vasko Dukovski and Ismail Lumanovski, clarinets, and Alexandra Joan, piano, playing a fascinating and entertaining program entitled "Eastern Madness". The Gnreta Ensemble was 1st prize winner of the 2010 Arriaga Chamber Music Competition.
The concert "Eastern Madness" features folk-inspired new and older music, bringing the East to the West and a lot of excitement to the scene. The three performers, all of Eastern European heritage, excel both in classical music and in the very klezmer-like improvisational style of their native region. The program will feature several compositions of Cantor Gerald Cohen of Shaarei Tikvah, a distinguished composer of both concert and liturgical music, and also will include music by Bartok, Mendelssohn, Fairouz, and Grgin, the last a completely wonderful and wilde Macedonian clarinet virtuoso showpiece.
The Ensemble will be playing Cantor Cohen's "Grneta Variations" and "Five Hebrew Songs", both composed especially for the Grneta Ensemble, and Cantor Cohen will also be singing with the Ensemble.
Tickets are $25 in advance ($30 at door); $15 for seniors; $5 students/children.
For information or to get tickets, call 914-472-2013. Shaarei Tikvah, the Scarsdale Conservative Congregation is at 46 Fox Meadow Road, just north of Scarsdale village. It is a warm welcoming community with a dynamic religious school and educational, religious and cultural activities for all age groups. Learn more at www.shaareitikvah.org.
Purim Celebrations
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Three local temples will host Purim celebrations on the weekend of March 19th and the public is invited to attend: Purim Double Header at Shaarei Tikvah: On the weekend of March 19 and 20 Shaarei Tikvah at 46 Fox Meadow Road in Scarsdale will be packed with fun for adults and children.
On Saturday, March 19 the community is invited to the Adult Purim Panoply, a very adult musical adaptation of the Purim story with a live band,original lyrics and a dose of irreverent humor, directed by Bill Magaliff, a member of the community. A sample song can be heard at www.shaareitikvah.org.
Admission is $15 that includes the show, live music, an "after-party"with refreshments. The show begins at about 9:30 pm following the traditional Megillah reading at 8:00.
The Megillah (Scroll of Esther) reading celebrates the Jewish redemption from the death sentence given by the evil Haman in ancient Persia and it is tradition to shout and use a gragger (noisemaker) to drown out the name of Haman every time it is read in the text.Revelers dress in costumes if they wish, and celebrate with food and drink.
On Sunday, March 20, at 9:45 am there will be a Family Megillah especially reaching out to children, a reading which includes a costume parade and the synagogue's long-standing and hilarious Silly Symphony, a participatory instrumental ensemble. Young children are invited to a Tikvah Tots craft and story time starting at 10:15. Everyone will join together at 11:00 for a festive brunch and professional clown show. All events on Sunday are free and open to the community.
"Having Purim on a weekend affords us the opportunity to provide an array of programming for all ages," said Rabbi Dan Schweber. "Whether young or not-so-young, we hope everyone finds something that speaks to them so they can join in the mitzvah or obligation of celebrating Purim."
For information or to reserve your place (not required, but appreciated), call 914-472-2013 or visit http://www.shaareitikvah.org .
Shaaarei Tikvah at 46 Fox Meadow Road, is located just north of Scarsdale village. It offers the intimacy of a small synagogue, with a dynamic religious school and religious, educational and cultural activities for all ages. Affiliated with the Conservative movement Shaarei Tikvah actively welcomes Jews from all backgrounds, ages and levels of observance, including those with non-Jewish partners.
Purim Synaplex at Congregation Kol Ami:
Congregation Kol Ami invites you to celebrate the fantastic evening of Purim on Saturday night March 19th at 5 pm. Come hear the Megillah read and brought to life by Kol Ami’s Adult Drama Club of an inspired musical spiel entitled “Grease – The Megillah”.
Schedule:
5:00 – 6:30 pm Oz, “The Mentalist”
5:00 – 6:30 pm Carnival: Games, face painting, crafts, and activities for all
Live band
Purim BBQ: Hot Dogs, Hamburgers/Veggie Burgers, Coleslaw, Macaroni Salad, Potato Salad and beverages
6:30ish Purim Service and Megillah Reading and Adult Drama Club Spiel of “Megillah -Grease”
8:00 pm Israeli Dancing with Shmulik
Hamantashen and Oz Continues…
Purim BBQ – Adults $15, Children 12 and under - $10
Synaplex™ events are open to both temple members and non-members. Reservations are necessary for dinner. For more information or to make a dinner reservation, please call Ilene Miller at 949-4717 ext. 111 at Congregation Kol Ami, Soundview Avenue, White Plains, (914) 949-4717
Purim with a Purpose at Westchester Reform Temple
Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) welcomes the community to join in its “Purim with a Purpose” festival on Sunday, March 20th. The celebration begins at 9:45 AM with a family-friendly service and shpiel in the Sanctuary and will be followed by the annual Purim carnival.
Carnival games and lunch will take place until 1:30 PM. Tickets for children ages 3 and over are $15 at the door. Parents and children under 3 are free. Pizza and drinks, donated by Amore Pizza of Scarsdale, will be available for purchase as will bake items. All proceeds from the event will support several charities including the Lone Soldier program in Israel, the Food Bank of Westchester, the Boys and Girls Club of Mount Vernon and My Sister’s Place in White Plains.
Community members attending the service are encouraged to bring boxes of pasta to use as groggers. Following the service, the pasta will be collected and donated to local food banks.
“Purim with a Purpose” is for everyone and accessible to all. If you have any questions, please contact WRTInclusion@gmail.com. Westchester Reform Temple is located at 255 Mamaroneck Road in Scarsdale, N.Y. For directions or information, call 914-723-7727, email to office@wrtemple.org, or visit the web at www.wrtemple.org
Rabbi Jacobs Tapped to Lead the Union for Reform Judaism
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The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) announced today the nomination of Rabbi Richard Jacobs for President of the organization, replacing Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, who will retire in 2012. Rabbi Jacobs, Rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) for almost 20 years, and a resident of the Scarsdale community, will be only the fourth president of the URJ in the last 68 years.
“What an exceptional honor and enormous responsibility that has been bestowed upon me,” said Rabbi Jacobs. “Taking on this demanding new position means leaving a place I love and the remarkable sacred community we are still creating. But I became a rabbi almost thirty years ago to serve God and the Jewish people wherever I could do the most good. At this dramatic moment in the life of Reform Judaism, I feel deeply that I have a responsibility to serve our wider Jewish community.”
“With this profound honor, of course, comes a degree of sadness for our community,” said Lisa Messinger, WRT President. “For more than 19 years, Rabbi Jacobs has led our congregation. Together, we have celebrated holidays and life cycle events, taken action for justice, joined together to address human needs around the globe, and, of course, prayed, studied, celebrated and mourned. We are proud that his leadership will be the guiding vision for the Reform Movement in the 21st century.”
WRT Executive Director, Yoel Magid, stated simply, “Rabbi Jacobs always challenges himself as a man and as a rabbi, and inspires others through his example. Now 900 congregations will be inspired, as well as the world.”
The Union for Reform Judaism was founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise (as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations). It has grown from an initial membership of 34 congregations in 28 cities to more than 900 congregations in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It is the largest Jewish movement in North America and represents an estimated 1.5 million Jews.
Rabbi Richard Jacobs has been Rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York, since 1991. From the moment he arrived, he played a visionary role in guiding the educational mission of the community, creating meaningful ways to worship and heal, and most recently leading the lay and administrative team in building a new “green” sanctuary, as well as transforming the original sanctuary into new classrooms for the Religious School and adult learners.
Rabbi Jacobs was ordained in 1982 by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York, and he served as the Rabbi of the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue from 1982 until 1991. In the early 1990s, Rabbi Jacobs was part of the founding group of Synagogue 2000, an organization committed to revitalizing synagogues throughout North America. Working with rabbis across the country, he continues to address synagogue transformation as a board member and program fellow of Synagogue 3000.
Believing that change cannot stop at the local or national level, Rabbi Jacobs sits on the Board of American Jewish World Service, an organization providing nonsectarian humanitarian aid and emergency relief to underprivileged people worldwide. Since a 2005 trip to Chad, he has worked tirelessly to bring an end to genocide in Darfur. Rabbi Jacobs was a member of the international board of the New Israel Fund from 1992 to 2001, and now serves as the Chair of the Pluralism Grants Committee. For more than fifteen years, Rabbi Jacobs has studied at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and in 2007 became a senior rabbinic fellow. Rabbi Jacobs served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, as well as boards of the Union for Reform Judaism, New York’s UJA-Federation, and ARZA/ World Union. Formerly a dancer and choreographer with the Avodah Dance Ensemble, Rabbi Jacobs has led workshops on movement and prayer at HUC-JIR, Union Theological Seminary and in many synagogues and educational settings. Rabbi Jacobs lives in Scarsdale with his wife, Susan K. Freedman, and their three children.
The Little White Lie...A Gray Area?
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Dear Ms. E:Post: I was in a sticky situation recently and found myself telling a white lie in order to avoid an unwelcome experience. I grapple with the fact that it is wrong to lie but tell myself that it is not hurting anyone and in fact lying may spare someone’s feelings.
My sticky situation went something like this: A couple who are acquaintances asked us to have dinner. My wife and I met them through our child at the elementary school. Just like on a recent episode of the TV show ‘Modern Family’, the acquaintance wife is a loud mouth and the acquaintance husband is boring. We do not wish to spend more time with them than we already do through school events.
Is telling a little white lie acceptable to gracefully excuse ourselves from this dinner invitation? I know that some consider lying to be immoral, regardless of the circumstance. In other words, some do not view white lies on any spectrum of relevance to a situation but instead view the white lie phenomenon as a black or white issue – truth or lie, no in between.
I would be interested to know what your readers think.
