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In a matter of weeks, we will gather around the table once again with family and friends, with our community, to retell the dramatic escape from slavery in Egypt, relive the Exodus, re-experience the story of our people...our story.  Passover is more than just another tale of freedom or a liberation adventure.  Each year we re-live our history and are changed by it!  Each taste of matzah transforms us into participants in our people's journey from the degradation of slavery to the exhilaration of redemption.  The story of the seder is not meant to "pass over" us, rather it is supposed to pass through us. The Exodus became for us as a people a moment of profound transformation!   We went from a people of infinitesimal value to one of inestimable value, from worthlessness to worthiness, from lowly to exalted.  As slaves, we could only react.  As free people, we could initiate.  As slaves, we were subject to the whims of capriciousness and had no choice but to obey.  As free people, we were empowered to choose and question.

 The tremendous impact of the Exodus is felt by us Jews even today as it shapes our response to the challenges of our world.  Mitzrayim is real.  We are experiencing today the squeeze of the "narrow places."  Every day we read how our Davis schools are staggering under the crushing weight of budget deficits and financial cutbacks.  Drastic measures are already being considered by the school district to:  close an entire school, Emerson Jr. High, severely reduce the popular GATE program, and endanger the fairly new DaVinci High; radically reduce the teaching staff, forcing many of the most dynamic, caring and talented teachers to look for work elsewhere; eviscerate the arts and music programs that we have come to expect and value as a vital part of our children's education.

Can we stand idly by while the heart of our educational system is bled to death?  Passover reminds us that with our freedom comes tremendous responsibility; the responsibility not to be silent, but to act, to become involved.  We must raise our voices in protest to save our schools.  We must help raise the needed funds to save jobs and programs.  We must raise one another's spirits so as to not lose hope. As we move from Purim to Passover, Esther and Moses serve for us as worthy exemplars for our own human role in bringing about transformation and change in the world.  God, it seems, only works miracles through us!  In both our escapes from Egypt and Haman, it was because of human activity--Moses' constant pressure on Pharaoh and Esther's intervention with the king-- that we managed to be redeemed.  Each of these biblical heroes showed us what we could aspire to become, and through them we understand that we are agents of change and in effect the principal actors in our own redemption. 

As a community and as individuals, I believe we have the potential to speak in powerful ways to help make a difference in this cause.  Please contact me if you would like to help work to unite our voices on behalf of our children and our schools in Davis.  As we taste our freedom this year at Pesach, let it remind us of our responsibilities as well. 

With blessings for a Chag Sameach, 

Rabbi Greg Wolfe

Torah Notes for April Available on CBH Web Site
You can find the notes from this month's upcoming Torah readings online at: http://www.bethaverim.org/rabbi_landing.html#torah.

The event is Sunday, April 13th at the unique Heidrick Ag History Center in Woodland.  However, Friday, April 4th is the day to round up the responses. Please return your RSVP card to the CBH office ASAP. 
No time to write a check?  Contact the office at 530.758.0842 or office@bethaverim.org & charge to your Visa or MasterCard.  Need a new invitation & RSVP card?  Any questions of any kind??!!?  Contact Joy Cohan at 530.383.1814 or joycohan@charter.net for details.  Or, click below to "Kvell" on the web. 

Also, it's NEVER too late to donate a great item, experience or service to the Kvell in the Country auction!  Contact Judy Dresher at 530.756.8239 or judith.dresher@gmail.com to make arrangements.

"Psalm Enchanted Evening" Saturday, April 26th.  Please join us for a joyous celebration of Jewish culture filled with humor, songs, poetry, and stories from the Psalms of King David. This event is part of the Kol HaNefesh Shabbaton and is presented by Rabbi David Zaslow and Magidah Devorah Zaslow on Saturday, April 26, 8:00 p.m., immediately following Havdallah, which begins at 7:30 p.m.  The cost for the evening is $10 per adult and $4 for children 12 and under.  Family rates are available and babysitting is provided free of charge.

ISRAEL @ 60!  May 2 - 4 is a special weekend at CBH - - the highlight of our celebration of the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel as an independent state, along with our annual Yom Ha-atzmaut (Independence Day) ceremony. 

Following is the schedule of the weekend's program to be led by Alexandra Benjamin, our visiting Melitz educator from Israel.  The schedule is subject to minor change, so watch the weekly e-news for announcements.   For further information, contact  Al Sokolow--758-3246, ajsokolow@ucdavis.edu    

Friday, May 2:    after 7:30 p.m. services, Israel as a Jewish Democratic State  

Saturday, May 3:  9:00 -10:00 a.m., Torah Study; 5:30 p.m. - Constructive vs. Destructive: An Instructive Look at Criticizing Israel; 5:30-6:30 p.m., reception and refreshments, informal chats; 6:30 p.m., potluck dinner; 8:00 - 9:30 p.m., Jerusalem through the Eyes and Words of Yehuda Amichai. 

Sunday, May 4:   10:30 - 11:45 a.m., session with 5th-7th graders; noon, Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration; 1:30 -3:00 p.m., Family Circle--A Tale of a Jerusalem Family, a program for teens and their parents (subject to change depending on interest in the program); 3:15 - 5:00 p.m.,   Bridging the Gap: Israel and the Diaspora. 

Other upcoming @60 programs:  Sunday, April 6, 3:00 p.m., Israel Consul-General David Akov (see info above), Sunday, May 11, Jewish Federation's Salute to Israel at the Capitol.

Regional Events
 

Yom HaShoah 2008, hosted by Congregation Bet Haverim, Wednesday,April 30th, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., at Mosiac Law Congregation  CBH congregant Alexander Groth is one of the youngest survivors to be able to give testimony about the Holocaust, and will be the featured speaker at Yom HaShoah 2008.  Groth is now Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of California, Davis.  For his book, Holocaust Voices, published in 2003, he interviewed 250 Holocaust survivors.

Yom HaShoah will begin with a candle-lighting ceremony, in which all Sacramento area survivors, Holocaust-era refugees, children and grandchildren of survivors are invited to participate (to take part, contact Ralph Propper at 916.454.0362.).  All area rabbis and cantors take part, and Ben Glovinsky will be a featured musical performer.  Glovinsky, a member of the music faculty at CSUS, is the principal oboist for the Camellia Symphony.  The combined choirs from Congregations B'nai Israel and Beth Shalom also will sing. 

Mosaic Law Congregation is located at 2300 Sierra Blvd., Sacramento.  The event is free. Refreshments, under Kashrut supervision, will be served following the program.  The commemoration is sponsored by JCRC and the Jewish Federation, with the support of the Sacramento Association of Rabbis.  For more information, contact Muriel Brounstein at 916.351.1736.

"Effective Use of the Census", Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento, Sunday, April 13, 10:00 a.m.  All are welcome to attend this meeting at the Albert Einstein Residence Center, 1935 Wright St., Sacramento.  For more information about this event or the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento, visit www.jgss.org, send e-mail to JGSS at jgs_sacramento@yahoo.com, or leave a message at 916-486-0906, ext. 361.

Care for God's Creation 2008 Conference.  Care for God's Creation is pleased to announce its 4th biennial interfaith environmental spirituality conference, The Breath of Life, Saturday, May 3 at the Newman Catholic Student Center.  CBH's Elaine Fingerett will be a participant.   Registration is $20/general, $10/students.  For more information visit careforgodscreation.net or call 1-866-636-7888.

Norma and Larry Rappaport to receive Hillel honor, Sunday, May 18, 11:30 a.m., ARC Ballroom, UC Davis  Join Larry and Norma as they receive the "Honorable Menschen" award.  Co-sponsored by Jewish Alumni Association Chapter of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association.  Contact Hillel at 756-3708 to make a reservation for the lunch, or to become an event sponsor.