Author: office

May / June / July 2022

In this issue... Rabbi’s Column page 2
President’s Column page 3
Executive Director’s Column page 4
Education Director’s Column page 5
Meet Your Leadership page 6
Youth Program Update page 8
Social Justice Activities page 9
Purim: A Look Back page 10
Summer: A Look Ahead page 11
Volunteer Appreciation pages 12-13
Simchas & Sorrows page 13
Memorial & Tribute Gifts pages 14-17
Services Schedule & Calendars pages 18-19
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Would you like to be on our email list and receive the weekly announcements?
Email
office@bethisraelcenter.org
BETH ISRAEL CENTER
1406 Mound Street
Madison, WI 53711
(608) 256-7763
www.bethisraelcenter.org

Upcoming Programs
Lag B’Omer BBQ
Thursday, May 19, 6:00pm
Come enjoy freshly grilled burgers and hot dogs in the BIC parking lot. All are welcome! Bring friends! Meet new friends and reconnect with the kahal. Enjoy live music by Mideast Salsa! Thanks to the Board of Directors for sponsoring.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot: Rethinking Receiving
Saturday, June 4, 7:30pm
Join in receiving Torah as a community by studying texts and sharing learning late into the night. We are thrilled to return to our pre-pandemic Erev Shavuot Tikkun format featuring teachings, text study, and cheesecake, beginning at 7:30pm and continuing into the wee hours. This year’s theme -- Rethinking Receiving -- will challenge us to question what we could and should be doing differently with Torah, community, and ourselves.
Kabbalat Shabbat Potlucks in Parks
June 24 - Westmorland Park
July 22 - Vilas Park
August 26 - Hoyt Park
Once a month this summer, we will move our Friday evening services to area parks and enjoy a potluck dinner together after services. Wondering what to bring? If you’re cooking at home, use kosher, vegetarian ingredients. Fish and dairy are OK; no meat. Commercially produced items require a hechsher.
Schmooze starting at 5:15. Services at 5:45. Dinner follows.
Pride Shabbat
June 25
From consciousness raising to sharing and learning, our annual Pride Shabbat brings us closer to one another in celebration and solidarity. This year, we’ll focus on current challenges and activism. More information coming soon.
Annual Membership Meeting
Sunday, June 26, 9:30am
Come celebrate each other, elect new Board members, thank those completing their terms, and learn about our new Strategic Plan. More info on page 7.

Beth Israel Center
Betsy Forester
Rabbi
rabbi@bethisraelcenter.org
Elissa Pollack
Executive Director
elissa@bethisraelcenter.org
Beth Copelovitch
Education Director
education@bethisraelcenter.org
Deborah Hoffman
Program & Youth Director
hoffman@bethisraelcenter.org
Katie Hauth
Administrative Assistant
office@bethisraelcenter.org
________
Office Hours
Monday & Wednesday
9am to 3pm
Tuesday & Thursday
12pm to 6pm
Friday
9am to Noon
(608) 256-7763
office@bethisraelcenter.org
________
Next Centerite Deadline:
July 5, 2022
The color printing of this issue of the Centerite is generously underwritten by Madison Top Company.
If you’d like to make a gift toward future editions of this newsletter, please contact Elissa Pollack, elissa@bethisraelcenter.org

Thoughts from the Rabbi…
מחשבות Makh’shavot: Appreciating Beth Copelovitch

Torah sits at the center of what brings us together in times of joy and sadness, social action and communal solidarity, holy days and ordinary ones. In Pirkei Avot, a disciple of Hillel known as Ben Bag-Bag teaches about Torah: “Turn it, and turn it, for everything is in it. Reflect on it and grow old and gray with it. Don’t turn from it, for nothing is better than it”
(Mishnah Avot 5:22).
For the past 16 years, Beth Copelovitch has served masterfully as our Director of Education. She brought Torah to our students with joy and expertise, guiding them from their first steps in our building up to and beyond becoming b’nei mitzvah, guiding her faculty and our children to the riches of Torah through a curriculum she developed around a robust vision for Torah learning.
Focusing on children’s learning above all else is the most important quality of a religious school director. Beth made it her business to know each child and find ways to meet them where they were. She respected our students as individuals and modeled dignified speech and conduct along with a passion for Jewish life.
Beth expertly guided faculty and students toward new discoveries and connections each year. She creatively and insightfully navigated challenging circumstances, created multi-age groupings when appropriate and engaged families in subject-related shared learning experiences over the course of each school year. She also hosted groups from outside BIC, proudly sharing who we are and what makes us unique.
One of Beth’s crowning achievements was leading our school and kahal through a transition from Sunday school to Shabbat morning learning, strengthening our entire kahal’s ability to celebrate Jewish life together and promote our core values.
Beth invested herself in building our kahal in depth and in numbers. She drew young families to BIC by professionalizing Matchilim for our preschoolers on Shabbat and establishing Yom Rishon for them to play and learn together on Sunday mornings. Beth nurtured our families throughout their Talmud Torah experience, maintaining relationships based on her caring and the respect she earned.
She extended herself as a personal and professional support to her collegiate faculty, and enhanced our professional team with her quick thinking, excellent organizational and writing skills, and knowledge. She was a source of support for me in Adult Education planning and helping me to establish N’tivon, our post-b’nei mitzvah educational program.
Beth is one of the reasons I came to BIC. I extend my personal thanks and appreciation to her for her professionalism and for easing my start at BIC. We are exceptionally lucky, and I am deeply grateful for Beth’s outstanding service to our kahal. We will all have a chance to wish Beth well and celebrate her with a special Kiddush on Shabbat morning, August 27. I hope you will be there.
In our comings and goings, may we carry Torah with us, turning it over and over, for its ways are ways of pleasantness and its paths are peace (Proverbs 3:17).
With love,
Rabbi Betsy / Rav Batya
rabbi@bethisraelcenter.org

Come learn with me!
At the onset of the pandemic, I began teaching two weekday afternoon classes on Zoom -- Tea & Torah (at 3:00 on Tuesdays) and Wednesday Wisdom (4:00). How to make and forge online connections seems to be one of the lasting lessons of these times, and these classes continue to provide a treasured connection point for me with those who come to learn. Please join us!

President’s Column

When We’re Ready

During the height of the pandemic, our family watched the TV show “The Good Place,” a half-hour comedy exploring ethical choices and our responsibilities to each other, along with reminding us why we shouldn’t make chili with Peeps candy and how if we have a Molotov cocktail and a problem, throwing the incendiary device takes care of the initial problem by creating a brand new one. It’s worth your time. Lately I’ve had the series finale on my mind as I approach what is my final Centerite column as your President. The episode, entitled “When You’re Ready,” centers on transitions, new starts and good-byes.
Conventional wisdom suggests we try new things or notice opportunities “when we are ready.” Certainly if we are open to newness, we are more likely to explore and grow and improve. Our congregation and congregants have been open to newness in so many ways the last two years and we have explored, learned and re-committed to the success of Beth Israel Center.
In 2010 our Board adopted a Strategic Plan outlining areas of focus where significant change or growth would help sustain BIC as an institution and a community. Nearly 10 years later, we were in a place of organizational stability with a beautiful building, robust ritual, educational, and social programming that fill our real and virtual spaces, and a professional staff who make it all work. From this place of strength and stability our strategic planning committee, chaired by Cynthia Hirsch, realized the best strategy was to focus on identifying our core values and some broad goals which move us closer to living into those values. “Values” can’t be destinations; we are always either moving closer to, or farther away from, our values, from what we have identified is important to us. The values driving our new plan are:
Belonging שייכות (Shayachut) Feeling that this is my Jewish community and it brings me a sense of personal significance.
Joyשמחה (Simchah) Feeling enriched and moved and awake.
Learning לימוד (Limud) Feeling that my Jewish journey is respected and nourished.
Purposeכוונה (Kavannah) A community that is thoughtfully organized, and engenders confidence and pride in the institution. A community that operates consistent with its values.
This means our new five-year Strategic Plan, adopted by the Board of Directors, looks different from the previous plan. The Plan outlines how we wish to exemplify those values. The intent is for every decision or choice we make to align with our values. The Plan delineates specific goals that center people and community, inclusion into BIC life, and connection with the world outside our doors. You can read the details on our website (or contact our office and request a copy). It is thrilling to be ready to think big.
“When You’re Ready” is not an apt title, however, for the commitment to serve as your President. More than a result of preparation, it is a leap of faith -- that learning will occur, mistakes will be forgiven, and the congregation and Board will engage as partners in the sacred decision-making which secures our future stability and vitality. I have been blessed to work day in and day out with Rabbi Betsy and Elissa Pollack and with the ongoing support of our Immediate Past-President Matt Banks. Bennett Berson has graciously taken on greater responsibilities earlier than expected to allow me to recover from a medical situation. The Executive Committee has met at times weekly to help guide our shul through the depths of the pandemic; their dedication to a shared purpose has been invaluable. Our Board of Directors is thoughtful and engaged. Thank you for being my teachers.
I hope to see you all soon, and often, at our BIC home.
L’shalom,
Jennie Edes-Pierotti
president@bethisraelcenter.org

2021-22
Board Of Directors
Jennie Edes-Pierotti
President
Matt Banks
Immediate Past President
Bennett Berson
President-Elect
Michal Engelman
Secretary
Jen Hadley
VP-Education
Marci Katz
VP-Finance
Steve Jellinek
VP-House
Ziva Wear VP-Membership
Mark Copelovitch
VP-Ritual
Livia Asher Investments Committee Chair
Dawn Frank
Budget Committee Chair
Aaron Friedman
Personnel Committee Chair
Joshua Gabai
Sylvia Grunes
Women’s League Representative
Sally Jones Social Justice Committee Co-Chair
Jeff Mandell
Judy Pierotti Social Justice Committee Co-Chair
Aaron Rock-Singer
Adult Ed Committee Chair
Nadav Shelef
Judith Sone
Regina Vidaver
COVID Team Chair

Ways to Give
Kindness Group
In times of simcha and in times of sorrow, a meal from a friend can be a great help. The loving kindness group of Beth Israel Center is made up of people who volunteer to make meals for congregants in times of need.
Email kindness@ bethisraelcenter.org to be put on the list of volunteers or contact the office to find out more about the group.
If you or someone you know could benefit from some home-delivered meals, please do not hesitate to ask. Many people want to help, and needs are typically filled with surprising speed.
AmazonSmile
Beth Israel Center is an AmazonSmile beneficiary. That means, if Amazon is one of the ways you shop, your purchases could be benefitting Beth Israel Center. Rather than going directly to amazon.com the next time you’re shopping online, start at smile.amazon.com, where you can designate Beth Israel Center as the recipient of donations from Amazon equal to 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases. Todah!

From the Executive Director’s Desk

Ways of Welcoming

Our congregation is committed to maintaining a sensible and responsible balance of safety and welcome. Community conversations and ongoing communication make clear that our members hold a wide range of deeply held beliefs about what makes our congregation more (or less) welcoming and more (or less) safe. Some feel protected by armed guards and feel better about attending services or other programs when they see police officers at the door. For others, the sight of holstered guns and bullet-proof vests is deeply unsettling – a reason to leave, not to come in.
Those important conversations, alongside professional assessments and trainings, seminars, workshops, research, and hearing from individual congregants -- all of it informs our safety-and-welcoming protocols, which we are constantly reevaluating.
Among the requests we heard at the gatherings back in February 2020 -- and since -- is for more training and more information about exactly what makes our synagogue safe.
To that end, we offered two trainings in February 2022 geared toward educating our members about our safety and welcoming protocols, which are part of our overall security plan, and also preparing willing volunteers to serve in the specific role of Shabbat greeter.
If you attended one (or both) of our February 2022 trainings and would like to serve as a Shabbat greeter and need help signing up or have any questions about greeter duties or the sign-up process, please contact me. I’ll be happy to help.
We also worked with Temple Beth El and the Milwaukee Jewish Federation to arrange two sessions that will provide further training about how to respond to threats of different types. Temple Beth El hosted one in March, which some of our members attended. The second of these trainings will be at Beth Israel Center on Sunday, September 11. Details will be publicized as we get closer to that date.
In the meantime, I am grateful to everyone who attended our recent trainings and to those who have served as Shabbat greeters. I am especially grateful to Miriam Shelef for her work on developing and leading the presentations in February.
Please contact me or Miriam (or anyone on our Safety and Welcoming Committee: David Balkansky, Michal Engelman, William Needelman) with your comments and questions about what we’re doing to keep our kahal safe.
Elissa Pollack
elissa@bethisraelcenter.org

Welcome Katie!
Please join me in welcoming Katie Hauth to the Beth Israel Center staff.
If you've been to or called the office since March 21, you've probably already met her. Katie has been living in the Madison area for a few months and is enjoying getting to know our community.
She's a fast learner, but it'll take some time for her to recognize all of us, so please be patient and help her get to know our friendly kahal.

From the Education Director’s Desk
Text People, All of Us

I looked back at many of my previous columns trying to decide what I should focus on for this, my last Centerite column. Now, reflecting on 16 years at Beth Israel Center, and 25 years as a professional Jewish educator, I turn, as I often do, to a text. But which one? I considered some of my favorites, many of which I’ve used in the past – Teach a child according to their way (Proverbs 22:6); Who is wise…? (Pirke Avot 4:1); Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17, explicated in the Talmud at Ta’anit 7a). Or, is this the time to introduce a new text to ponder? (If so, I think I’d look at Eruvin 54b with you.) In the end, I’m bringing you a text to which I’ve alluded several times throughout my years here at Beth Israel Center, but never taught outright.
At my interview for this position, in March 2006, I stated that I thought a successful Talmud Torah graduate would be able to question. In my mind, to question effectively one needs knowledge, experiences and the confidence to ask, seek answers and act upon those replies. I stated that the answers were less important to me than the ability to question. I still believe this – our Talmud Torah students past and present know that my favorite questions may be ones with no answer. What helps students gather the knowledge, confidence and experiences that they need to ask the “consequential questions” and “make meaningful moral decisions based on Jewish values and teachings” that our Portrait of Beth Israel Center Talmud Torah Graduates expects? Teachers. Who are our teachers? All of us.
In an article in 1953, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel made what became a legendary (and often mis-quoted) statement in a speech entitled “The Spirit of Jewish Education.” (I have taken the liberty of revising Heschel’s words to reflect our modern understanding that not all teachers are male.) To guide a pupil into the promised land, [the teacher] must have been there oneself. When asking oneself: Do I stand for what I teach? Do I believe what I say? the teacher must be able to answer in the affirmative. What we need more than anything else is not text-books but text-people. It is the personality of the teacher which is the text that the pupils read; the text that they will never forget. The modern teacher… is a link in the chain of a tradition … the intermediary between the past and the present as well. Yet, the teacher is also the creator of the future of our people. A teacher must teach the pupils to evaluate the past in order to clarify their future.
Our neighbor (and educational thought leader) Parker Palmer clarifies this further in his essay “The Heart of a Teacher.” Good teachers join self, subject, and students in the fabric of life because they teach from an integral and undivided self; they manifest in their own lives, and evoke in their students, a “capacity for connectedness.” They are able to weave a complex web of connections between themselves, their subjects, and their students, so that students can learn to weave a world for themselves. The methods used by these weavers vary widely... The connections made by good teachers are held not in their methods but in their hearts meaning heart in its ancient sense, the place where intellect and emotion and spirit and will converge in the human self.
While Judaism, education and the combination of the two – Jewish education – has been the centerpiece of my mission here at Beth Israel Center, our strength is each other. We are all each other’s teachers, through the relationships that we build and have. I hope my work here went beyond teaching and hiring Parker Palmer-like teachers, and moved toward establishing relationships and weaving networks, building Parker Palmer’s capacity for connectedness that I hope will create the text-people of our future.
Beth Copelovitch
education@bethisraelcenter.org

For Our Youngest Members
Enjoy interactive family learning with Beth Copelovitch.
Meet other families with young children.
Matchilim
Our popular Shabbat morning program for young children and their grownups is geared for children ages 0-5 and meets every Shabbat when Shabbat School is in session. The last Matchilim of this school year will be on May 14.
Yom Rishon
Yom Rishon meets on Sunday mornings, 10:00-11:15.
We play, move, eat, sing, and do projects that teach us about Hanukkah and other holidays and Jewish themes.
Please join us for the last Yom Rishon led by Beth Copelovitch on
May 15
Yom Rishon is free for members. Not a member yet? Please pay $10/family to offset the cost of this program.

THANK YOU Kiddush Sponsors!
April 2 - Rahm & Mary Simani celebrating Rahm’s birthday
April 9 - Rabbis Renee Bauer & Laurie Zimmerman celebrating Eliana becoming a Bat Mitzvah
May 7 – Shira & Danny Goldman celebrating Zev becoming a Bar Mitzvah
May 14 – Harlan & Francine Balkansky celebrating David’s 85th birthday
May 21 – Ellen & Ben Weismer celebrating Nevaeh becoming a Bat Mitzvah
May 28 – Emily & Ankur Desai celebrating Sarita becoming a Bat Mitzvah
June 4 – BIC honoring our High School Graduates
June 11 – Bobbie & Steve Jellinek celebrating Bobbie’s 80th birthday
June 18 – Erica & Burke Richmond celebrating Zachary becoming a Bar Mitzvah
June 25 – Marsha Cohen & Mike Pressman celebrating the naming of their new granddaughter
July 9 – Lisa & Perry Hoffman celebrating the renewal of their wedding vows
July 16 – Eric Tobin celebrating the 2021 weddings of his children
July 23 – friends bidding a fond farewell to Karen Shevet Dinah

Meet Your Leadership

The Beth Israel Center Board of Directors ensures the financial health and future of our shul, and sets policies that honor our mission and vision. You should know whose hands your synagogue is in, so we are telling some of our Board members’ stories on these pages. Most of our current Board have had their stories published in earlier issues. See the list on the facing page if you’d like to get to know more Board members. Enjoy!
Jen Hadley
VP-Education
When did you join the congregation? In 2009, we moved from Madison’s far east side to near the zoo, making it easy to access Talmud Torah for our kindergarten-age daughter, Sophie.
Tell us a little about yourself. We live at Arboretum Cohousing, which is an intentional community we helped to create. We are about 40 households organized around the principles of consensus-based decision making, environmental sustainability, and supporting our neighbors. It’s the kind of place where you can always find someone to let your dog out if you’re working late, borrow a car or a cup of sugar, or get into an argument about process and bylaws.
What has prepared you for service on the BIC Board? Building and living in this intentional community has given me a pretty deep education in navigating group dynamics. It makes me practice patience, forgiveness, self-reflection.
Tell us about your involvement at BIC. The place I felt most comfortable at BIC for many years was in the kitchen. While I was still working up to being comfortable in the sanctuary, the BIC kitchen allowed me a safe place to feel like part of the community and get to know people. I also served on the Talmud Torah committee for several years.
What is your favorite thing to do at BIC? I love the Friday evening gatherings with their beautiful singing, heartfelt celebration of the coming Sabbath, and the warmth of the social schmooze. It always feels like a laying down of burdens.
Tell us a story that exemplifies BIC for you. I was terribly nervous about joining BIC. I knew I wanted my daughter to have a Jewish education, but I didn’t know how to support her in this journey, having been raised in a mixed-faith household with no religious education. Beth Copelovitch was so patient and supportive, and stood by my side as a friend and mentor who made it possible for us to become part of the community.
What went through your mind when you were asked to join the Board? I’m pretty self-conscious about not having had a Jewish education growing up, and I work hard to keep up with all our wonderful scholarly Jews. So I wasn’t sure what they wanted me to contribute, but I think about my experience of how difficult it was for me to get to a place of comfort in our kahal. I hope to be able to recognize opportunities for us to make our community more accessible and welcoming to Jews from all backgrounds. Also, I serve on the Board as a way to thank the community for everything they have given my family.
What may surprise people about you? I have an art degree and a job? Seriously, though, I have worked for PBS Wisconsin since 1999. I do production design, and you’ve seen my work if you watch “Around the Farm Table,” “Here & Now,” “Sewing with Nancy,” or any of the pledge drives. I am proud that I have managed to make graphics for more than 20 years without accidentally leaving the “L” out of Public.
Judith Sone
At-large Board Member
When did you join the congregation? We moved to Madison in the summer of 2014 and joined the shul later that year. We came for the chaggim and met other young families. We loved Matchilim and realized that we needed a shul and a community. We were pretty new to the whole concept of joining a shul, but we dove in.
Tell us a little about yourself. I grew up in Toronto and spent two years on a kibbutz as a kid, and many years in Jerusalem as an adult, both studying and working. After getting married, Luke and I moved to Stevens Point for his position at UW-Stevens Point. We lived there for three years before coming to Madison. I’ve been a Hebrew lecturer at UW-Madison for four years. Before that, I was the associate director for the Mosse-Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, and I’ve taught Hebrew and Tanach at a few Jewish day schools, worked as an administrator and teacher for the Ramah Jerusalem High School, studied at the Pardes Institute, and got my MA in Jewish Education from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. When I’m not teaching, I love spending time outdoors with my family -- walking around the neighborhood, biking, hiking, and swimming.
What has prepared you for service on the BIC Board? I have been on the Talmud Torah committee and also served on various committees at the Center for Jewish Studies. I think my background as a Jewish educator is also helpful.
What is your favorite thing to do at BIC? Coming on Shabbat morning with my daughter and seeing all the wonderful things going on -- Talmud Torah students learning, playing, and davening; older kids helping out and leading; toddlers and babies singing with Beth in Matchilim, and then joining the davening upstairs.
Tell us a story that exemplifies BIC for you. When my daughter broke her leg in 2020 and we were a bit overwhelmed, friends from BIC reached out, visited, checked up on us, and continued to check in on how she was doing for a long time. People really care and look out for each other.
What went through your mind when you were asked to join the Board? I trusted that if Jennie had asked me, that meant there was a need, and if she thought I could be helpful, then I wanted to live up to that. I hope to bring a unique perspective as someone newer to the shul, who has a background in Jewish education, who embraces pluralism, and can represent some of the young families.
What may surprise people about you? I played hockey in high school.

Annual Membership Meeting: June 26

On Sunday morning, June 26, we will gather in person at Beth Israel Center for an interactive Annual Membership Meeting, 9:30-11am. A Zoom option may be available for those unable to attend in person.
Come enjoy brunch and conversations with your elected leadership and committee chairs about our newly adopted Strategic Plan and how it is guiding us.
Look for our Annual Report in the weeks leading up to the meeting, peruse it, and bring your questions to the meeting.
RSVP if you can to bic@bethisraelcenter.org by Sunday, June 19. Walk-ins welcome.

Previously
Published
Profiles
if you’d like to read more profiles of current board members and you don’t’ have past issues of the Centerite handy, you can find them in our online archive. Look on our website, under About Us.
Here’s a guide to which Board members were profiled when:
Livia Asher
August 2015
Matt Banks
August 2015
Mark Copelovitch
February 2017
Jennie Edes-Pierotti
November 2014
Michal Engelman August 2020
Sylvia Grunes
February 2015
Steve Jellinek
August 2020
Sally Jones
May 2017
Marci Katz
February 2019
Jeff Mandell
February 2019
Judy Pierotti
May 2015
Nadav Shelef
February 2016
Regina Vidaver
February 2017
Ziva Wear
May 2018

Previously
Published
Profiles
If you’d like to read more profiles of current board members and you don’t’ have past issues of the Centerite handy, you can find them in our online archive. Look on our website, under Who We Are.
Here’s a guide to which Board members were profiled when:
Livia Asher
August 2015
Matt Banks
August 2015
Mark Copelovitch
February 2017
Jennie Edes-Pierotti
November 2014
Michal Engelman August 2020
Sylvia Grunes
February 2015
Steve Jellinek
August 2020
Sally Jones
May 2017
Marci Katz
February 2019
Jeff Mandell
February 2019
Judy Pierotti
May 2015
Nadav Shelef
February 2016
Regina Vidaver
February 2017
Ziva Wear
May 2018

Mazal Tov to Graduating Seniors
Heartfelt farewells to the high school class of 2022:
Micah Copelovitch Talia Dolin Jonathan Greenspan Benno Loeb Lilly Mager Lily Matthews-Needelman Eliza Mednick Amira Pierotti Nathaniel Richmond
Chazak v’Ematz
Be Strong and of Good Courage in your future endeavors.
YYYYYYY
2021-22 MOUSY Board Officers:
Co-presidents:
Rotem Arad
Baila Becker
Executive VP:
Jane Lowy
Social Action/Tikun Olam VPs:
Ari Blehert
Caleb Ellenberg
Communications VP:
Lily Matthews-Needelman
9th Grade Rep:
Aharon Shelef
YYYYYYY
MOUSY Elections
Sunday, May 22

By Word of Mouse
Deborah Hoffman, Program & Youth Director, hoffman@bethisraelcenter.org

MOUSY and Kadima got busy over the winter months!
MOUSY board members welcomed the 8th graders into our high school youth group on Sunday, Jan. 30, by asking getting-to-know-you questions, decorating fruit pizza cookies, and playing fun games.
BELOW: After our ice skating event melted away on a 50-degree mid-February day, our wandering Jewish teens strolled through the zoo, walked back to BIC for sweet snacks and hot drinks, and then challenged each other in a fierce game of Apples to Apples--Jewish Edition, of course.
On Sunday, March 20, MOUSY figured out most of the puzzles, solved lotsa clues, and unraveled some of the logic (or illogic?) of two clever escape games. We did not quite successfully make it out of either one, but we all had fun trying!
MOUSY teens got together with our BIC kahal on Friday, April 8 for Kabbalat Shabbat services, then shared in a potluck Shabbat dinner and schmoozing with shlichim Hanna and Oz, and finally learned about the chametz brouhaha going on in public places of Israel, like hospitals and military bases.
RIGHT: Kadima kids spent Sunday afternoon, March 6 tie-dyeing their own T-shirts with the rest of our BIC members, then played games and hung out in the youth lounge.

Social Justice Activities
Sally Jones, Social Justice Committee Co-chair, socialjustice@bethisraelcenter.org.

Cooking for COVID
About four times each year, for one week at a time, we deliver dinners to Healing House, where families experiencing homelessness stay following hospitalization for childbirth or a medical procedure. An 8-bed residential recuperative facility, Healing House offers comfortable and safe quarters, plus three meals every day and childcare assistance. During a stay of up to 28 days, families work with The Road Home case managers to seek housing and jobs.
Each BIC volunteer prepares and delivers (with no contact, during COVID-19) dinner, or part of dinner, usually serving four to eight people. Volunteers can work singly, or as a family, or they can partner with other volunteers to cook and deliver one evening’s meal. Healing House staff do the serving and cleaning up.
Our next week is May 15-21. For more information, email socialjustice@ bethisraelcenter.org or contact Sally Jones at 608-335-5303.
Little John's Kitchen
In the words of founder Chef Dave Heide, Little John’s aims to transform food excess into food access. Recognizing that 40% of the food produced in America gets discarded before reaching potential consumers, LJK partners with local grocery stores, taking in their abundance of still-good unsold ingredients and, in a large commercial kitchen, converting them into healthy, chef-quality, nutritious meals which feed children and families around our area. Little John’s Kitchen is determined to end food insecurity in and around Madison.
BIC members have been helping every Monday afternoon. The volunteer opportunities vary from week to week. Often we prepare REAP bags filled with vegetables, which are then distributed to schools. We chop vegetables and assemble meals for Meals on Wheels, for the homeless living in local hotels and motels, for The Beacon and for Porchlight. The energy and joy at Little John’s is contagious. Please think about joining us for this exciting volunteer opportunity. For more information or to volunteer to be part of the BIC crew on an upcoming Monday afternoon, please write to socialjustice@bethisraelcenter.org. More info about Little John's is online here: https://www.littlejohnskitchens.org
Meals on Wheels
For many years, Beth Israel Center volunteers have driven local routes to deliver Meals On Wheels (now a program of SSM Health at Home) to senior or disabled recipients. New volunteers are needed to join in this adaptable—and vital—weekday task.
A single route will likely begin no earlier than 10:45 or 11:00 on a weekday morning. It will start with pickup of about 10-15 meals at either Oakwood Village or the Family Services office on Olin Avenue, will take approximately 90 minutes to complete, and will likely see you home no later than 1:00. As a volunteer, you can choose how often to drive—weekly, every other week, monthly. If you’d like to check out the process before signing on, you can ride along with a current volunteer. Make it an occasion and pair up with a friend!
As of March, volunteers continue wearing masks provided by SSM; use hand sanitizer, also provided, before and after each delivery; and step back from the door while waiting for the recipient.
Larry Bensky, a long-time MOW driver, manages Beth Israel Center’s participation in Meals On Wheels. Every 6 months he gathers availability information from our volunteers, makes up a calendar and coordinates with Meals on Wheels. Larry will answer questions if you have them, arrange a ride-along if you’d like, or happily sign you up as a volunteer. You can contact him through socialjustice@bethisraelcenter.org or directly at jlbensky@gmail.com.

We’re Getting Greener!
We are almost there!
After years of discussion and much preparation, we’re getting close to enjoying Shabbat Kiddush lunch without adding to the landfill.
New dishes and glassware are purchased, washed, and stored. New kitchen logistics are almost in place. Stay tuned for an announcement of the first BIC green kiddush!
We will need a rotation of new volunteers each week to make this work, so please contact Cynthia Hirsch or Leslie Fields if you can help out. Email cynthiaraehirsch@ gmail.com or lindfield1144@gmail.com or call Cynthia (608-698-1544).
Also brand new: Our contract with a green landscaper begins this spring. Lawn areas will be managed without pesticides, and future improvements include perennial beds to create a colorful and welcoming front entryway.

Yahrzeits
30 Nisan / May 1
Alice Field
Gertrude Kastrul Melrood
Rebecca Nathenson
1 Iyyar / May 2
Benjamin Fields
Joe Wagman
Isadore Libanoff
Cecile Rogut
Charles Karp
Dobe Melnik Widrevitz
2 Iyyar / May 3
Libby Mead
Rose Frank
3 Iyyar / May 4
Louis Sweet
Helen Sweet
Morris Sweet
Dora Weinberg
Rose Melnik
4 Iyyar / May 5
Ruth Weiner
Harry Dachman
Abraham Sinagub
Mona Schwab
Beatrice Nathenson Kosowsky
5 Iyyar / May 6
Doris Mae Campbell
Morris Mead
Bill Karpe
Harry Paley
6 Iyyar / May 7
David Fine
Bernie Mazursky
Norman Balkansky
Moses Sweet
Pauline Sweet
7 Iyyar / May 8
Samuel Rosenfeld
Harry Moss
Harry Sweet
Diane Rosemary Schwam
Robert Schwartz
8 Iyyar / May 9
Maarten Scheepens
Harry Rubnitz
Yahrzeits
9 Iyyar / May 10
Cantor Louis Malamud
Max Schorr
Naomi Esther Morrison
Estelle Wolman
10 Iyyar / May 11
Joseph Amdur Fine
Millicent Rose
Leo Fettman
Elizabeth Anderson
Ida Schmidman
Anna Sklar
11 Iyyar / May 12
Ethel Jermyn
Rose Frank
12 Iyyar / May 13
Leonard Bessman
Ernst Landau
Samuel Black
13 Iyyar / May 14
Helen Liner Richey
14 Iyyar / May 15
Elmer M. Borsuk
Ben Setlick
Shalom Sweet
Anna Black
15 Iyyar / May 16
Ruth Bass
Rabbi Philip Silverstein
Yisrael Meir ben Gedaliah
Fanny Libanoff
Feige Esther Fettman
Jakab Fettman
Frank Anderson
Elliot Iver
16 Iyyar / May 17
Allen Zemmol
17 Iyyar / May 18
Miriam “Mickey” Pressman
Harry Zakhem
Moshe Stein
Harry Zakhem
Rhea Katz
18 Iyyar / May 19
Ben-Tzion Karsh
Hiram Mendow
Silvan Sam Schweber
Levi DeLevie
Yahrzeits
19 Iyyar / May 20
Ida Sweet
Oscar Rapkin
Aaron Schuster
Harry Shapiro
20 Iyyar / May 21
Rose Dachman
Betty Orman-Joseph
Milton Prosansky
Lori Rabb
21 Iyyar / May 22
Nancy Rieger
William Shovers
Rose Paley
Mary Richman
22 Iyyar / May 23
Art Dodd
Sam Sinykin
Charles Lipstein
Sam Paley
Joy Kurzer
Evelyn Sweet
23 Iyyar / May 24
Harry Gerson
Fruma Mintz
Dave A. Sweet
Sheldon Bernstein
25 Iyyar / May 26
Larry Deitch
Roslyn Hoffert
Joseph Schwartz
Jacob Schmidman
Rachel Schwartz
Herman Sweet
26 Iyyar / May 27
Michael Lewis
Fannie Borsuk
Nellie Miller
Rose Schwartz
Gordon Sweet
Anna Sarah Katz
27 Iyyar / May 28
Mae Azen
Robert Donals
Yahrzeits
28 Iyyar / May 29
Alfred Regenstein
Paul Fram
Shirley Kniaz-Banberger
Robert Thomadsen
Tena Wasserstrom
Isidor Frankel
29 Iyyar / May 30
Frieda Blachman
Rose Druch
Frieda Weinstein
1 Sivan / May 31
Sophie Figler
William Schuckit
Emanuel Simon
Solomon Swack
2 Sivan / June 1
Abraham Peturs
Meyer Sweet
Ralph M. Weisbard
Hilda Pover
3 Sivan / June 2
Meril Stein
Laura L. Gladstein
Hyman Mullin
Sol Jacobson
Samuel Moskowsky
Henry Yaskal
Rosa Sweet
Kurt F. Y. Jasen
Anne Rachel Sweet
4 Sivan / June 3
W. Feldman
Honey Korshak
Sarah Kress
5 Sivan / June 4
Susan Freund
Alex Seltzer
Baileh Paley
6 Sivan / June 5
Jeannette Switzky
Shirley Magness
Etta Lakritz
Linda Cohn
Israel Sede Barkin
Jennie Sinaiko
7 Sivan / June 6
Evelyn Jellinek
Yahrzeits
8 Sivan / June 7
Abraham Nosofsky
Bess P. Stein
Ronald Rosen
George Deutsch
Shirley Blank
Lloyd Frank
9 Sivan / June 8
Samson Mandelbaum
Asher Lazimy
Harry Altshuler
Robert Vannette
Mae Borisy
10 Sivan / June 9
Samuel D. Wander
Sam Chudacoff
Max Goldstein
David Weinstein
Frances Rossman
11 Sivan / June 10
Morris Cohen
Claire Navin
Abraham Barash
Sarah Littky
12 Sivan / June 11
Emil Barth
Nathan Frank
Zena Burstyn
Sonia Rita Post Rosenthal
Nancy R. Gelman
Sylvia Kadushin
Paula Gash
13 Sivan / June 12
Helen Kivolowitz
Nessie Goldberg
14 Sivan / June 13
Harry Kay
Arthur Vannette
Mary Galanter
Eli Mullin
15 Sivan / June 14
Herman Black
Julius Miller
Fannie Mack
Herman Temkin
Claire F. Swartz
Ellen Weiss Zitkin
Hiam Orman
Steve Rader
William Rosenblum
Yahrzeits
16 Sivan / June 15
Sophie Cohen
Julius Ruskin
Rudolph Rich
Harry Cramer
17 Sivan / June 16
Jacob Mintz
Ben Blachman
Arthur Yaskal
David Remis
18 Sivan / June 17
Herbert Miller
David Ottenstein
Haskell Friedman
19 Sivan / June 18
Israel D. Segal
20 Sivan / June 19
Helen Machlis
William B. Sweet
Gail Busha
Janice Greenberg
Florence S. Alexander
Harriet “Honey” Rutchick
Frank Marion
21 Sivan / June 20
Gerald Kurzer
Pesach Bebczuk
Sam Lakritz
Hyman Lerner
Herb Kliebard
22 Sivan / June 21
Yehuda Temkin
Rose Picus
Hyman Pinsky
Sarah Scher
23 Sivan / June 22
Harry Gevirman
Anna Schwam
24 Sivan / June 23
Susan Louis
Howard Eisenberg
25 Sivan / June 24
Alex Cohen
Pearl Rutel
Louis Schwartz
Lubey Mintz
Harry Figler
Ida Schuckit
Yahrzeits
26 Sivan / June 25
Eva S. Lassen
27 Sivan / June 26
Esther Bloomfield
Yetta Sinagub
Frieda Stein
28 Sivan / June 27
Julius Burstyn
John E. Wear
Eric Baum
Bessie Perlman
Riva Polyakova
Monroe Segal
29 Sivan / June 28
Sol Lieberman
Eugene Greenberg
Dorothy Smith
Binyamin Fine
Betty Silverman
Dorothy Schwartz
Harry Friedman
30 Sivan / June 29
Dientia DeLevie
Barbara Bernstein
Fannie Perlman
Sol Sweet
1 Tammuz / June 30
Rabbi Paul Drazen
Richard D. Brauer
Belle Novick
Paul Rock
Frances Silver
3 Tammuz / July 2
Belle Epstein
Selig Iwanter
4 Tammuz / July 3
Meyer James Pover
Helen Rittenhouse
Bernard Schwab
Robert L. Smith
Neil Grossman
Harry Halloway
5 Tammuz / July 4
Sonyamae Alpert
Dora Tomarkin
Beatrice Littman
6 Tammuz / July 5
Martha Barth
Mrs. Ben Rubin
Yahrzeits
7 Tammuz / July 6
Ruth Spar
Clara Sweet
Louis Fine
Isidore Andrusier
Sidney Menchel
Anne Onikul
Julia Haber Lakritz
8 Tammuz / July 7
Lil Gerson
9 Tammuz / July 8
Susan Tobin
Al Mocny
Joel Epstein
Ben Jacobs
Melba Katz
Frances Rackoff Myers
Maurice Pekarsky
Susan Sinaiko
10 Tammuz / July 9
Louis Barkin
Ida Wyman
Louis Setlick
Dvorah Rabinowitz
11 Tammuz / July 10
Sophie Schuster
12 Tammuz / July 11
Sam Cohn
Sedelle Lottie Diamond
Morris Kniaz
Alma Sweet
Bessie Yaskal
Arlyne Eisenberg
13 Tammuz / July 12
Arthur England
Esther Kaplan
14 Tammuz / July 13
Yetta Temkin
Nathan Goldstone
Annette Tenzer
15 Tammuz / July 14
Bruce Kay
Susan Weiner
Betty Wren
Max Gold
Henry Levine
Yahrzeits
16 Tammuz / July 15
Gary Sweet
Roslyn Fein Savlov
Elliot Mager
Genevieve Ruben
Helen Haber
Daniel Mack
Phillip Mann
Alex Paskin
17 Tammuz / July 16
Benny Joss
Helen Adler
Cecile Ehrman
Fay Maydeck
18 Tammuz / July 17
Mary Hart
Mary Grossman
Harry Seeman
Sarah Zaichick
19 Tammuz / July 18
Rosa Kammer
Lawrence Borenstein
Samuel Tomarkin
Amy Azen
20 Tammuz / July 19
Ilse Karger Brauer
William Emil Deutsch
Molly Paster
Sam Rosenthal
Freda Jacobson
21 Tammuz / July 20
Vera Terry
Max Ruskin
22 Tammuz / July 21
Alex Kaplan
Millie Kaplan
Norman Parisek
Eva Perlman
Isaac Perlman
Estelle Sheiffer
M. Jack Epstein
Seymour Kaye
Dinah Silverman
23 Tammuz / July 22
Norton Gahr
Ruth Schwartz
Rae Rapkin
Yahrzeits
24 Tammuz / July 23
Joshua Hollander
Isadore Victor
Israel Victor
Hyman Harry Minkoff
25 Tammuz / July 24
Ida Bradkofsky
Samuel Springberg
26 Tammuz / July 25
Grace Rasmussen
Dora Moser
T. Ted Aron
Sam Pollack
Frieda Pinsky
Hyman Schuster
Linda Tetzlaff
27 Tammuz / July 26
Warren Randy
Frumeh Frank
Fannie Stein
28 Tammuz / July 27
John H. Alpert
Rachel Mullin
Louise Wear
Bud Sweet
29 Tammuz / July 28
Elizabeth Berg
Sidney Bernstein
Sophie Levine
Celia Labow Holman
1 Av / July 29
Donald Garelick
Sara Roth Schottenstein
Lisa Sklarin
Molly Tomash
2 Av / July 30
Tsivia Morgensteren
Tomi Deutsch
3 Av / July 31
Anna Nathenson
Bernice Loewenstein

The names on these pages are the yahrzeits being observed in this three-month timeframe, according to our records.
If you have a question, correction, or addition, please contact the office.
זכרונם לברכה

A Look Back on Purim at BIC
Deborah Hoffman, Program Director, hoffman@bethisraelcenter.org

We made dozens of hamantaschen and tie-dyed T-shirts….

...heard the Megillah...

...and sang along with
Micah
at our
Purim Seudah.

Summer Fun in the Sun!
Deborah Hoffman, Program Director, hoffman@bethisraelcenter.org

Seeking a bit of local adventure and connection with BIC friends? Join our nature lovers and wandering Jews as we get outdoors for some summertime delights! If it floats your boat, come paddle on Lake Wingra, hike through a woodland in the UW Arboretum, walk the Howard Temin Path of the Lakeshore Nature Reserve, enjoy a Mallards baseball game, or soak up the lakeside evening ambience at the Union Terrace. Some dates have been set -- see the calendars on pages 18-19. Watch your email for more information!
Meanwhile, here’s a look back at summer 2021...

Support Shabbat Kiddush!
The Beth Israel Center Shabbat kiddush serves an important purpose in the life of our community. It is a special time and place to come together to celebrate Shabbat with our kehilla (sacred community) and to actively embody the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests). We serve lunch every week after Shabbat morning services.
You can contribute in one (or more!) of these three ways:
Sponsor: Select a date and treat the congregation with your generosity. Honor a special occasion or special people. Help plan the menu, or leave it to us. We offer three sponsorship levels, featuring expanded menu options aligned with minimum donations of $360, $500, or $720.
Donate: Want to show your support less publicly? Donate any amount to the Martin and Serene Mazor Kiddush Fund or the Alfred A. and Lois Frank Congregational Life Fund. To donate, use our online donation form, send a check with a note, or contact the office with the amount of your donation.
Volunteer: If you would like to join the kiddush crew and be part of this vital – and fun! – Beth Israel Center tradition, email Deborah Hoffman (hoffman@bethisraelcenter.org) or call (608) 256-7763 for information. Help prepare foods or set up during the week, or be part of the crew on a Shabbat morning. There are lots of jobs to do. We’ll help find the one that’s best for you!
We also welcome sponsorship and need volunteers for Yom Tov kiddushim -- after services on Shavuot, Sukkot, and Pesach.
Many thanks to these recent and upcoming Kiddush sponsors:

Volunteer Appreciation
Deborah Hoffman, Program Director, hoffman@bethisraelcenter.org

Rav todot (many thanks) to our recent…
Service leaders, sharers of divrei Torah, and chanters of Torah, Haftarot, and Megillat Esther: Matt Banks, Harvey Barash, Brandon Bloch, Marsha Cohen, Meredie Cohen, Mark Copelovitch, Esther Criscuola de Laix, Gila Drazen, Susie Drazen, Yonah Drazen, Rick Ezell, Bob Factor, Rabbi Betsy Forester, Josh Garoon, Ben Gellman, Jaime Goldberg, Daniel Goldman, Rabbi Judy Greenberg, Leslie Greenspan, Anna Heifetz, Si and Lisa Hellerstein and Jonathan Singer, Deborah Hoffman, Bill Karasov, Sara Karon, Daniel Levitin, Ruth Litovsky, Jonah Loeb, Sherwood Malamud, Elana Matthews, Noah Metz, Donald Miner, Marina Orio, Jon Pollack, Michael Rock, Aaron Rock-Singer, Fran Schrag, Bill Schwab, Sion Shabtaie, Bob Skloot, Judith Sone, Dan Stolz, Jeanne Swack, Rayla Temin, and Jim Wear
Shabbat Kiddush Crew: Donna Anderson, David Balkansky, David Baum, Meredie Cohen, Josh Garoon, Jaime Goldberg, Elise Hohol, Corliss & Bill Karasov, Judy Knupp, Daniel Levitin, Jonah Loeb, Jeff & Sara Mandell, Laurel Mark, Janis Noonan, Tziporah Quick, Aaron Rock-Singer, Marti Tenzer, Regina Vidaver, Paula Volpiansky
Purim Posses: Anne Altshuler, Donna Anderson, Rotem Arad, Mimi Aron, Livia Asher, Baila Becker, Hannah Bernard-Donals, Bennett Berson, Isaac, Sabra, & Saul Brodkey, Marsha Cohen, Melanie Cohen & Joel, Nathan, & Hannah Ehrlich, Meredie Cohen, Micah Copelovitch, Esther Criscuola de Laix, Susie Drazen, Doris & Sonia Dubielzig, Beth Fisher, Aaron & Dawn Frank, Jaime Goldberg, Steve Goldstein, Gerry Greenfield, Fran Greenman & Peter Schmitz, Bailey Griffin, Roz Gusinow, Jen Hadley, Helen Hanau, Steve & Bobbie Jellinek, Barry & Lorrie Klemons, Judy Knupp, Nancy Leff & KC Lerner, Renee Lauber, Daniel Levitin, Laurel Mark, Don & Kathy Miner, Laurie Nagus & Paul Wilson, Ari Pollack, Mike & Barb Pratzel, Tziporah Quick, Susan Raines, Bill Schwab, Russ & Sue Shafer-Landau, Karen Shevet Dinah, Cara Silverman, Marti Tenzer, Maddie Tyner, Paula Volpiansky, Jim & Ziva Wear
Young Adult Mixology (see photo) Planners: Donna Anderson, Melanie Cohen & Hannah Ehrlich, Beth Fisher, Josh Garoon, Nancy Leff & KC Lerner, Ziva & Jim Wear
Lasagna Cooking and Delivery Crews: Stacy Anderson, Mimi Aron, David Baum & Ruth Litovsky, Larry & Janice Bensky, Hannah Bernard Donals, Bennett Berson, Marsha Cohen, Cher Diamond, Susie Drazen, Janet Frenz, Joshua Gabai, Louise Goldstein, Billie Hellerstein, Cynthia Hirsch, Linda Kailin, Bettine Lipman, Laurie Nagus, Judy Pierotti, Erica Richmond, Ilona Rodan, Bob & JoAnn Skloot, Paula Volpiansky, Beth Weber
Kolot Kehilla Presenter and Menu Masters: Marina Orio, Adrienne Borisy-Gross, Barry Rich
Healing House Dinner Chefs: Donna Anderson, Hannah Bernard-Donals, Leslie Grant, Lorna Kniaz, Leora Saposnik, Merle Sternberg, Ellen Weismer & family
Laundry Angels: Leslie Fields, Tziporah Quick, Karen Shevet Dinah
YYYYYYY
If you have time or talent to offer to Beth Israel Center, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Deborah Hoffman. We need the volunteer support of our kind and generous congregants to make all of our programs and projects happen. There are many kinds of things that need doing -- some ongoing, others occasional. Some from home, some in groups. Tell Deborah what you’re interested in so she can try to match your interests with BIC’s current needs. Call (608) 256-7763 or email hoffman@bethisraelcenter.org for more information. Todah Rabbah!

Volunteer Spotlight: Beth Fisher
Deborah Hoffman, Program Director, hoffman@bethisraelcenter.org

Beth Fisher has been talking about how great a Beth Israel Center Mishloach Manot project could be for many years, so when the plans got underway for our first congregation-wide Mishloach Manot fundraiser in 2020, she jumped in with both feet.
A member of the BIC Membership Committee, Beth has spearheaded the gift assembly aspect of our Mishloach Manot fundraiser, which just concluded its second successful year.
As the creative and organized thinker behind planning and assembling the gift bags from start to finish, Beth loves that “it’s a community-wide, all-inclusive project where everybody gets something for Purim. Plus it’s fun to get hamantaschen at your door!”
Full of enthusiasm, Beth already has ideas for the next three years of Purim gift bags!

Mazal Tov to...
...

Caren Minkoff and Ari Lampear on the birth of Lavey Benjamin Lampear, and to grandparents Joel and Debbie Minkoff, and Lavey’s siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Jess Banks, daughter of Matt Banks, on her engagement to Molly Stuart.
Natan and Jessica Mandel on the birth of Simone Rose Mandel, and to grandparents Cher Mandel Diamond and Ron Diamond.
Hilda Fine on the birth of her great-grandson, Louis Bar-Hai, and to great-aunt and great-uncle Eve Fine and Ken Schneck.
Bruce Thomadsen and Louise Goldstein on the marriage of Louise’s daughter Liz Maier to Jason Hirshon.

Condolences to the families of...

Nate Levinthal, husband of Paula, father of Oren (Merav) and Asaf (Or), and step-brother of Barry (Irene) and Les (Denise) Mirkin.
Bernard “Bernie” Goldstein, husband of Lenora Goldstein, father of Steven (Kent Newmark), Ronna, and Stewart (Maria) Goldstein, and grandchildren Jack, Samuel, Zachary, Sari, Joshua, Catherine, and Bridget.
Roslyn “Roz” Slovic, sister of David (Nancy) Resnick.
Rebecca “Riffy” Goz, sister of Rayla Temin.
Shirley “Stacey” Langerman, mother of Nancy (David) Resnick.

Memorial & Tribute Gifts

Memorial & Tribute Gifts (Con’t.)

The following pages contain a record of the memorial and tribute gifts made
to Beth Israel Center from January through early April. We are so grateful to
each donor. Every gift makes it possible for us to create a community that is
alive with celebration, learning, prayer and tikkun olam. Todah Rabbah!
Abe Barash Fund
in memory of
Roberta Jacoby from Gerald & Merle Sternberg
David Schwab from Laeh Grant
Kyle Jasen from Herbert Lewis & Francie Saposnik
Art Fund
in memory of
Ghita Bessman from Ruthanne Bessman
Harvey L. Johnson from Michael Rock & Kathi Johnson Rock
Building Capital Fund
in honor of
the birth of Lavey Benjamin Lampear from Harvey Temkin & Barbara Myers Temkin
in memory of
Ann Slavney from Phillip R. Slavney
Building Maintenance Fund
in memory of
Nate Levinthal from Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
Shirley Epstein Fund
in memory of
Ella Hirschfeld from Sherry Hirschfeld
Iver & Molly Karp from Norma Klagos
Walter Novick from Ruth Anne Schemeister
Alfred A. & Lois Frank Congregational Life Fund
in honor of
the newly formed Membership Engagement Committee, the engagement of Micah Baum & Aviva Match, the engagement of Megan Frank & Dawson Keller, Hannah Lindholm Bray and Ben Bray on the birth of their daughter Natalie, Megan & Isaac Brodkey on the birth of their son Simon Milton Brodkey, and Nina & Ben Siebert on the birth of their daughter Mara Jean Siebert from Ziva & James Wear
in memory of
Betty Shovers, Kyle Jasen, Steve Kessler, and Sandie Ottenstein from Ziva & James Wear
General Fund
in honor of
the birth of Simone Rose Mandel from Steve & Bobbie Jellinek, Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
the marriage of Liz Maier to Jason Hirshon from Steve & Bobbie Jellinek and Judith Blank
the engagement of Jess Banks & Molly Stuart from Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
Elissa Pollack, Deborah Hoffman, and Sarah Masa-Myers from Herbert Lewis & Francie Saposnik
Mishloach Manot volunteers from Steven Morrison & Goldie Kadushin
General Fund (cont.)
in memory of
Alexander Swartz from Joel Marcus & Judith Swartz Marcus
Ann Slavney, Mollie Becker, Sandy Ottenstein, and Harold Borenstein from Phyllis T. Eisenberg
Bernard Goldstein from Daryl & Ron Bailey, Si & Billie Hellerstein, Bruce Thomadsen & Louise Goldstein, and Lora & Stuart Berkowitz
Elliot Mager from Daniel & Amy Mager
Hazel Herman from Neil Herman
Karen Barth from Steve & Bobbie Jellinek
Mollie Challov Goldstein from Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
Parents and relatives from Boris Vykhodets
Pearl Springberg from Peter Springberg
Philip & Anita Kapell from Cheryl Lerner
Rabbi Edward Diamond from Eve Siegel
Roslyn Slovic from Si & Billie Hellerstein, Eve Siegel, Judith Blank, and Joel & Debbie Minkoff
Rebecca “Riffy” Goz from Si & Billie Hellerstein, Michael & Patrice Onheiber, Eve Siegel, Joel & Debbie Minkoff, Russ & Susan Shafer-Landau, Jaime Goldberg, and Steve & Bobbie Jellinek
Sam Cohn, Clara Cohn, Chaim Dubrovitz, and Herbert, Rose, Barnet and Mary Nathenson from Linda Cohn Freeman
Sarah Gevermin from Edwin Azen
Saul Tobin from Eric Tobin
Shirley Langerman from Si & Billie Hellerstein, Kim Anderson & Marcia Sokol-Anderson, Eve Siegel, Judith Blank, and Robert Factor
Shulamit Elkayam from Allen & Sandra Levin and Pam & Howard Erlanger
Herman Goldstein Fund
in memory of
Shulamit Elkayam from Rabbi Chuck & Krayna Feinberg
Harry Bleiweiss from Diane Kliebard
Jake Heifetz Fund
in memory of
Ben Heifetz from Herbert Lewis & Francie Saposnik
Fania Heifetz from Pauline Heifetz, Lisa Robertson, & Lawrence Heifetz
Patricia Mary Johnson from Michael Rock & Kathi Johnson Rock
Rose and Morris Heifetz Welfare Fund
in memory of
Esther Frank from Leslie Rukin
Irma Heifetz from Laurie Heifetz
Holman/Weisbard Fund for Adult Jewish Learning
in memory of
Joseph Holman and Rabbi Edward Diamond from Phyllis Holman Weisbard
Julius Mintz Fund
in memory of
Hyman & Lena Daniels from Barbara Beyer
Martin & Serene Mazor Kiddush Fund
in honor of
Bobbie Jellinek’s birthday from Karen Shevet Dinah
in memory of
Betty Shovers from Herbert Lewis & Francie Saposnik
Rebecca “Riffy” Goz & Roslyn Slovic from Lorna Mazor Kniaz
Pauline Quick, Frank Quick, & Richard Quick from Tziporah Quick
Daniel & Judith Pierotti Social Justice Fund
in honor of
Sarah Masa-Myers from Kazu Kitano
the birth of Lavey Benjamin Minkoff from Livia Asher
in memory of
Albert Schain from William & Barbara Spitz
Judy Smith from Herbert Lewis & Francie Saposnik
Louise Rosenblum and Shulamit Elkayam from Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
Steve Kessler from Kazu Kitano, Judith Sone & Luke Whitmore, Esther Brauer, Herbert Lewis & Francie Saposnik, Karen Shevet Dinah, Gerald & Merle Sternberg, and Estelle Lilienthal
refuah shlema to
Jennie Edes-Pierotti from Livia Asher
Prayerbook and Ritual Objects Fund
in memory of
Bernice Kliebard from Diane Kliebard
Frank Melnik from Sol & Corlie Blumenfeld
Melanie Temin from Si & Billie Hellerstein
Rebecca “Riffy” Goz from Kazu Kitano, Marilyn & Stuart Goldberg, Matthew & Jennie Edes-Pierotti, and Livia Asher
Roslyn Slovic from Livia Asher
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
in honor of
Rabbi Betsy Forester, the birth of Mara Gene Siebert, and the engagement of Micah Baum & Aviva Match from Herbert Lewis & Francie Saposnik
the birth of Lavey Benjamin Lampear from Ted & Irene Knupp
in memory of
Albert J. Eisenberg from Leslie Eisenberg
Bess Gellman Smith from Cher & Ronald Diamond
Elliott Karasov from Bill & Corliss Karasov
Estelle Bernstein from Bradley Bernstein
Howard Yaskal from Maureen Yaskal
Jerome Onheiber from Michael & Patrice Onheiber
Jerry Kaplan & Philip Rosenshield from Leonard & Martha Kaplan
Judy Smith Leland from David Baum & Ruth Litovsky
Louis Roth from Karen & Harry Roth
Nate Levinthal from Ted & Irene Knupp
Quintana Burattini from Marina Orio
Rabbi Edward Diamond from Bill & Jill Boissonault
Rebecca “Riffy” Goz from Barbara & Frank Tuerkheimer, Barry & Irene Mirkin,
Roslyn Slovic from Cher & Ronald Diamond, Barry & Irene Mirkin
Ruth Zitowsky from Robert Zitowsky
Shirley Langerman from Ted & Irene Knupp, Bill & Jill Boissonault, and Livia Asher
Shulamit Elkayam from Harry & Karen Roth
Sol Levin from Daniel & Kathy Levin
AJ & Celia Rosenberg Library Fund
in honor of
the birth of Lavey Lampear from Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
Talmud Torah Fund
in honor of
the birth of Louis Bar-Hai from Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
David Temkin Camp Ramah Fund
in honor of
Benjy Forester’s birthday from Rabbi Betsy & Scott Forester
Bonnie Kammer’s 90th birthday from Si & Billie Hellerstein
in memory of
David Rosenthal & Menuchah Zinberg from Si & Billie Hellerstein
Roslyn Slovic from Harvey Temkin & Barbara Myers Temkin and Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
Shirley Langerman from Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen and Harvey Temkin & Barbara Myers Temkin
Joe Temkin Fund
in memory of
Rebecca “Riffy” Goz from Harvey Temkin & Barbara Myers Temkin
Weinshel Torah Maintenance and Repair Fund
in memory of
Rabbi Edward Diamond from Si & Billie Hellerstein and David & Nancy Resnick
Rebecca “Riffy” Goz from Robert Factor, Louise Goldstein & Bruce Thomadsen
Youth Fund
in memory of
Fania Heifetz from Steve Heifetz
Memorial and Tribute gifts to Beth Israel Center’s General Fund or any of the funds listed on the preceding pages are a wonderful way to celebrate a special person, event, or accomplishment; to express gratitude; or to honor the memories of those who have died. Undesignated donations of up to $1,000 go into our General Fund, where they support our programming. Undesignated donations of $1,000 or more go into our Fund for the Future. To donate, send us a check (1406 Mound Street, Madison, WI 53711), call the office (608-256-7763) with a credit card number, or visit our website and click DONATE to make a secure online donation

75th Anniversary Torah Campaign - Coming Soon!
Plans are underway for Beth Israel Center to do three significant things all at the same time: Write a new Torah for our congregation, celebrate our 75th Anniversary (officially in 2024), and continue our success and growth for future generations by increasing our endowment.
We have identified a Torah scroll provider and secured a few lead gifts that will get this effort underway. If you’d like to be in on the early stages of this endeavor, please contact Executive Director Elissa Pollack or President Jennie Edes-Pierotti (until June 26) or Bennett Berson (president@bethisraelcenter.org)
Why do we need a new Torah? Our new scroll will be easier for less experienced readers to read, because it will be scribed in a beautiful hand, according to newer conventions so that columns match our practice materials. Additionally, it will be much easier for people to lift and carry, at 14 pounds, compared to our other scrolls, which are about twice as heavy. The new scroll will be scribed on top quality parchment that will wear well and hold ink better than our current parchments, which are so old that letters flake off when we read from them, even with a light touch of the yad.
Participating in “writing” a new Torah scroll is so important that our sages root the mitzvah in Deuteronomy: “And now, write down this song for yourselves” (31:19). We have a rare and necessary opportunity to do this mitzvah together, supported by community educational events with Rabbi Yochanan Nathan, the scribe who is managing our project. Stay tuned for more information!

Memorial & Tribute Gifts (Con’t.)

Memorial & Tribute Gifts (Con’t.)

Memorial & Tribute Gifts (Con’t.)

Regular Service Schedule

Kabbalat Shabbat
Every Friday, come schmooze starting at 5:00. Services start at 5:45. For those unable to attend, services are broadcast online.
NOTE: On three Fridays this summer, we will move our Kabbalat Shabbat gathering to a nearby park. On these three dates, we’ll begin the schmooze a little later (at 5:15) and enjoy a vegetarian (fish OK) potluck dinner after services. These gatherings will be in-person only.
June 24 in Westmorland Park
July 22 in Vilas Park
August 26 in Hoyt Park
Shabbat Mornings
Services start at 9:15am. For those unable to attend, services are broadcast online. Kiddush lunch follows.
Ha-video-dallah
….is on hiatus for the late spring and summer. Stay tuned!
Daily Connection Minyanim
Mornings:
Sunday 8:15, hybrid -- come in person or join us on Zoom.
Monday and Thursday 7:15, hybrid
Tuesday and Wednesday 8:00, Zoom only
Friday, 7:15 Zoom only
Evenings: Monday through Thursday at 5:30 on Zoom.

Calendars

May 2022

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1 / Rosh Chodesh Iyyar / MOUSY Prairie Seeding Project	2 / Rosh Chodesh Iyyar	3 / Tea & Torah / TT	4 / Yom HaZikaron / Wed. Wisdom / Mussar Class	5 / Yom HaAtzma’ut / TT	6 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	7 / Zev Goldman / Bar Mitzvah / Shabbat School / Matchilim
8	9	10 / Tea & Torah / TT / Board of Directors	11 / Olbrich Gardens / Wed. Wisdom / Confronting Racism	12 / TT	13 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	14 / Kibbud Limudim / Shabbat School / Matchilim / Sponsored Kiddush
15 / Pesach Sheni / Yom Rishon	16	17 / Tea & Torah	18 / Wed. Wisdom	19 / Lag BaOmer / Lag BaOmer BBQ	20 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	21 / Nevaeh Weismer Bat Mitzvah / Samantha Daniels -Kolin and Alex Averbuch Aufruf
22 / MOUSY Elections / Community / Yom Ha’Atzmaut Celebration	23	24 / Tea & Torah	25 / Wed. Wisdom / Mussar Class	26 / Wingra Boating	27 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	28 / Sarita Desai / Bat Mitzvah
29 / Yom Yerushalayim	30	31 / Rosh Chodesh Sivan / Tea & Torah

Calendars

June 2022

Sun / Talmud Torah / Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
			1 / Wed. Wisdom / Mussar Class	2	3 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	4 / H.S. Grads Shabbat / Guest Speaker / Tikkun Leil / Shavuot
5 / Shavuot	6 / Office closed / Shavuot	7 / Tea & Torah	8 / Wed. Wisdom / Confronting Racism	9	10 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	11 / Shabbat Services Guest Speaker / Sponsored Kiddush
12 / Tentative: / Strawberry Picking	13	14 / Tea & Torah / Board of Directors	15 / Wed. Wisdom / Mussar Class	16	17 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	18 / Zachary Richmond Bar Mitzvah
19 / Tentative: / Strawberry Picking	20	21 / Tea & Torah	22 / Wed. Wisdom	23	24 / Friday Night in Westmorland Park / 5:15 schmooze / 5:45 services / Potluck dinner	25 / Pride Shabbat / Baby Naming / Sponsored / Kiddush / N’tivon
26 / Annual Meeting / Arboretum / Woodland Walk	27	28	29 / Rosh Chodesh Tammuz	30 / Rosh Chodesh Tammuz

July 2022

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
					1 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	2
3	4 / Office Closed	5	6	7	8 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	9 / Sponsored / Kiddush
10	11	12 / Tea & Torah	13 / Wed. Wisdom / Confronting Racism	14	15 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	16 / Sponsored / Kiddush
17 / Tzom Tammuz	18	19 / Tea & Torah	20 / Wed. Wisdom	21	22 / Friday Night in Vilas Park / 5:15 schmooze / 5:45 services / Potluck dinner	23 / Sponsored / Kiddush
24	25	26 / Tea & Torah	27 / Wed. Wisdom	28	29 / 5:00 schmooze / 5:45 services	30

Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage PAID
Madison, WI
Permit No. 395

1406 Mound St.
Madison, Wisconsin 53711

Address Service Requested

May/June/July Candle Lighting Times

Shabbat Parasha Candle Lighting Shabbat Ends
May 6/7 Kedoshim 7:47pm 8:48pm
May 13/14 Emor 7:54pm 8:55pm
May 20/21 Behar 8:01pm 9:02pm
May 27/28 Bechukotai 8:08pm 9:09pm
June 3/4 Bamidbar 8:14pm 9:14pm
June 10/11 Nasso 8:18pm 9:19pm
June 17/18 Beha’alotcha 8:21pm 9:21pm
June 24/25 Sh’lach 8:23pm 9:23pm
July 1/2 Korach 8:22pm 9:22pm
July 8/9 Chukat 8:20pm 9:20pm
July 15/16 Balak 8:16pm 9:15pm
July 22/23 Pinchas 8:10pm 9:09pm
July 29/30 Matot-Masei 8:03pm 9:02pm
Holidays Candle Lighting Chag Ends
June 4/5 Shavuot I 9:14pm
June 5/6 Shavuot II 9:15pm 9:16pm

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