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The Blessing of Partners:  Cantor Brian Comes to CBH
 

God saw that Adam was all by himself in the Garden of Eden and decided:  Lo tov hey’ote ha’adam l’vado [It is not good for a person to be alone] (Genesis 2:18),  and created for Adam the very first partner, an ezer k’negdo, a power to match his own.

In the earliest chapters of the Torah, we are given this insight into what it means to be a human being.  We see that we are not meant to live our lives in isolation, independent operators.  We are to form connections, relationships and partnerships that will sustain us and give our lives meaning.  Whether we are choosing life partners or creating career opportunities, having someone to collaborate with is key to sustaining our success and overall well-being in life. A partnership creates sparks of possibility, a synergy of ideas so that new opportunities can emerge.  This is the very essence of our human nature. 

I have been so fortunate to have experienced an abundance of blessings when it comes to partners at Bet Haverim!  So many in the congregation have stepped forward to make our congregational dreams come true.  Whether it was the quest for a new Torah, a new and inspiring home for our congregation, establishing a Jewish preschool, or developing an incredible variety of programs, I have been overwhelmed by the dedication, creativity and passion of each you who have given so generously of yourselves. 

What began as a dream of mine almost three years ago has now become a reality.  In order to support, guide, and sustain the tremendous programs that we have developed and the people that lead them, I realized that we needed additional professional leadership.  I approached the Board and have been so grateful for their continued support and confidence in this project.  With a trained cantor, we will also have the expertise to continue to deepen the music and prayer life of our synagogue, in collaboration with the other talented music people in the congregation.  We hope to engage you in becoming partners with us as we build towards the future.  A very special thanks to the search committee, under the leadership of Candace Naliboff, who did an outstanding job overseeing this process.

Another significant piece of my dream for this project has been the opportunity that it will afford me to create a more balanced life for myself and my family.  Cantor Brian, who will begin in July, and I will both be working about 2/3 time during the year.  [Brian will generally work Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I will work Wednesdays and Thursdays.  I will work the first two Friday/Saturdays of the month and he will work the second and third.  We will split the Fridays and Saturdays of the 4th and 5th Shabbats.  I will be participating in all of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations during the first year, even if I am not scheduled for that Shabbat.]  This new framework will allow me to pursue spiritual goals that have been lying dormant and will allow me to spend more, extremely precious, time with my family (who have been exceedingly patient with my schedule and endless nighttime meetings over the years).  All of which will infuse me, as a rabbi, with new energy and ideas to share with you, my partners.

This new step is a major transition for all of us and will require all of us partners to work closely together.   Please know that I am more committed than ever to working with all of you to create a loving Jewish community here that nurtures our souls and inspires our hearts and challenges our minds in fresh and engaging ways.  I hope that you are as excited as I am about these new possibilities.  I am confident that everyone will reach out to Cantor Brian to help him quickly integrate into our hamish community and feel at home here.  It is not good for any of us to feel alone and I look forward to working with all of you. 

Share Shabbat this Summer!
Starting Friday June 13th
Join us every Friday evening for a "Bring your own vegetarian/dairy" picnic dinner in the Redwood Grove from 5-7
We will share in celebrating Shabbat at 6pm as a community
We look forward to seeing you there

Questions: Contact  Stephanie Moss at sgmoss@gmail.com
                                 Orit Kalman at  oritkalman@sbcglobal.net  

Celebrate with the Adult B’nai Mitzvah Group on Saturday, June 14!

Come join in the celebration as Linda Sternberg, Eileen Spoth, Hannah Hunter,and Alan Titche are called to the Torah on Saturday, June 14. You’re invited to be a part of the joyous culmination of nearly two years of study, growth, and fellowship for the latest group of Rabbi Wolfe’s Adult B’nei Mitzvah students. The service begins at 10 a.m., and all are invited as the festivities continue with an Oneg Shabbat (light luncheon) immediately following the service. If you've ever wondered about becoming a Bat/Bar Mitzvah as an adult, this is a service you won't want to miss.

"In Stitches" will be having meetings the first and third Thursday's in June, which are June 5th and June 19th, from 12 to 2pm, in the library at CBH. We will also be helping to sponsor the oneg after the adult B'nai Mitzvah (including our own Linda Sternberg) on June 14th, please contact Judy Dresher if you want to help with the oneg, judith.dresher@gmail.com or 530.756.8239.

Many thanks to the Progressive Dinner 2008 hosts and volunteers. The organizers of the Progressive Dinner, one of Bet Haverim’s most popular events, have many people to thank for its continued success.  Thank you, first, to all those who attended!  We had 96 people participate in the progressive dinner.  Special thank-yous go to the hosts, without whom this event would not be possible:  For hosting appetizers - Jerry Adler and Marjory Tolbert, Helen and Jerome Suran, and Sylvia, Bernard and Judy Dresher and Ben Orlove; For hosting dinner-Linda and Stuart Bresnick, Karen and Eric Crane, Lyra Halprin and Alan Jackson (for hosting at the last minute), Jon and Dea Diamant (and she made a dessert, too!), Peggy and Manny Epstein, Dahlia, Dan and Malca Haberman, Cheri and Ron Herman, David Siegel and Nancy Lazarus, Larry and Norma Rappaport, and Fern Tablin and Arnie Wolf. In addition, we would like to thank those who helped behind-the-scenes, imparting their knowledge from years past:  Barbara Fox Juchau, Nancy Lazarus, and Norma Rappaport. We would like to thank Janice Purnell for advice on decorating the social hall on a shoe-string budget and Dave Block for choosing wines (within budget) for the appetizer houses and helping to deliver dinners all over Davis. 

We would also like to thank the Rabbi for leading a warm and inviting havdalah service after dessert.  A big thank you also goes to the youth helpers who all did a wonderful job:  Ella Haberman, Hannah Jolkovsky, Rachel Berliner and friend, David Conard, and Michael, Katelin, Samantha, Courtney, Richard, and Amanda (Jessica’s friends).  Please let us know if we’ve forgotten anyone! We owe a major thank you to Jessica Greenstreet (without her quick phone action, there would not have been any youth helpers).  And, of course, thank you to Marti and MK for their help with inquiries, checks, labels, etc. 
This event would not be the success that it is without all of you.  Thanks again to everyone!
Karen Block and Linda Steele

Help needed! Please consider the CBH Gift Shop when you think of volunteering.  One 2-3 hour shift per month gives you the wonderful opportunity to receive a 10% discount in the Gift Shop!  The Gift Shop helps raise money for items the synagogue needs.  For more information call Ann @ 530.758.0718 or Audrey @ 530.757.7388.

Men’s Sacred Circle Forming at Bet Haverim

We all know of the deep longing and hunger that men share for more meaningful ways to talk with one other.  To this end, building on our Jewish tribal ancestors, a new project will convene at Congregation Bet Haverim, to create a sacred community circle, to listen, to welcome our younger men with their fresh perspective, to listen and support men in transition (leaving for college, retirement, endings, etc.), and witness and honor our elders. To build community! The opportunity to sit with older and younger men, to hear their musings of their lives’ journey, can offer an inter-generational perspective, and hopefully a way to feel less alone, which many men carry in such stoic ways. Men are invited to gather, and build this sacred community circle, as we extend ourselves, in broadening, exploring and deepening our sense of what we want from our personal community. Many men have not considered options or choices in what community can offer. So this experience will likely be new to many. This will not be a men’s group, as one might envision. Instead, the large community circle will seek to have each month, at least 35 men; the more the better. This design, affords men the ability to drop-in, from one month to the next, to bring a friend, and there is no commitment to be a regular. Men will discover, from being with one another,that the circle is a rich resource, a space to ponder deeply the unique qualities we share, as the circle invites the soul, the shadow, the healings and the connections to resonate. This new monthly experience of sitting in a community circle, with other good men, yields wisdom, as it invites the heart to speak and to be heard. Our hope is to build a forum for reflection! When a man speaks his truth, there is both safety and power in being witnessed. The circle will serve as a container, inviting meaningfulness, statements of honesty, and declarations of intent in a sacred space. Being together, men become important, as each man discovers his unique voice, his own vision, on his own journey. We will be posting additional information for this Community Circle Project, later this summer. Open to all men of CBH and their friends, (younger men need be at least 18 years or older).  Mark your calendar: Start date: Thursday, September 18th 2008.  Planning Committee: Rabbi Wolfe, Gregory Guss, Ken Firestein