Contact Info: PO Box 4868, Biloxi, MS 39531 228.388.5574
Join Congregation Beth Israel as we celebrate the first Shabbat of 2008 together, as a family. After services, we'll raise our glasses and toast the congregation. And we'll lift our forks and dig into some scrumptious desserts. Rabbi Noah will be here. So will the Sabbath Queen.
We hope you'll be there as well.
Friday night services on Jan. 4, 2008, start at 7:30 p.m.
It's one Shabbat you definitely need to attend.
President Brad’s Message
Friends, I hope 2008 brings you good health, prosperity and peace. It promises to be an exciting year for Congregation Beth Israel. The excitement starts the first Friday of 2008. Rabbi Noah will be here, and instead of a dinner we will have an oneg with plenty of spectacular desserts. So, ring in the new year with CBI on Jan. 4, 2008. Services start at 7:30 p.m. Karen Baker is starting up a weekly Torah study program. It will be on Sunday mornings in D’Iberville. It coincides with Sunday school classes. More details will be available at the Jan. 4 Shabbat service. Mazel tov, Karen.
We’re looking for somebody who wants to chair our major spring fundraiser. Through USCJ, we should be able to get a wonderful quartet of cantors to perform during a wine tasting party. If it is done right, it will be a memorable event, showcasing our heritage to south Mississippi. We need somebody with energy, somebody with drive, to head up this ambitious project. If that person is you, call me as soon as you read this. Just before our architect took off for the holidays, he sent the building committee the final plans for our reworked synagogue. This building is 4,182 square feet. It has another 847 square feet of expansion space. On Jan. 8, the building committee will meet at the Goldin office building. And if the plans get adopted, the congregation board will look at them the next night. So, if I understand the time deadlines properly, we should go out for bid in mid-January, and the bid process should be completed in mid-February. At our last board meeting of 2007, the trustees came up with a CBI wish list. Groups like USCJ and UJC have requested a list like this, so organizations know what we need in our recovery and rebuilding efforts. I want you to read the list, and if you see anything you’d like to add to it, simply call any board member.
Here’s our wish list:
- funds for a Passover Seder in 2008
- kitchen equipment,
- four sets of plates, pots, pans,
- comfortable/removable chairs,
tables/chairs for the social hall, - four memorial boards,
- two new Torahs(or volunteers to repair our Torahs),
- an ark/ner talmid,
- concrete,
- drywall,
windows, - stained glass,
- materials for the rabbi’s study,
- office equipment,
classroom equipment, - men’s/ladies room accessories,
- outdoor benches,
outdoor playground, - landscaping/exterior lighting,
- interior lighting,
audio/visual system, - computers,
- conference room equipment,
- new High Holidays machzors,
- Torah study books
- Purim funds.
Make it a point to become a more active member of Congregation Beth Israel in 2008.
Shalom,
Brad
A Message from Rabbi Noah:
This month in New York the wind is whipping around the street corners, snow is falling, blanketing the sidewalks and parks with white powder. Yet, according to Jewish tradition the month of Shevat is also falling upon us. Shevat is the month on the Hebrew calendar that signifies winter’s dÈnouement, not its intensely cold climax. Along those lines, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, called Tu B’Shvat, celebrates sprouting of new shoots and the flowering of the almond tree, whose white and pink petals blanket the sidewalks of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv like snow does in New York.
Tu B’Shvat, for many Jews, is the opportunity to highlight Judaism’s connection to the environment. The rabbis understood our roles in this world as stewards or caretakers, as evidenced in this midrash:
In the hour when the Holy One created the first man,God took him and let him pass before all of the treesof the garden of Eden, And said to him: See Myworks, how fine and excellent they are! Everything Icreated, I created it for you. Think about this and donot corrupt and desolate My world; For if you corrupt it,there will be no one to set it right after you.(Kohelet Rabbah 7.13)
Judaism teaches us that our role in the world as God’s most important creatures is to be the stewards of creation. We are ultimately responsible for the world we live in, “if you corrupt it, there will be no one to set it right after you.”
As Tu B’Shevat approaches it is our task as Jews to think about our relationship to our environment. What impact do I as a Jew have on my local environment? Am I generally wasteful? Can I do better? I think we all can.
Sunday School Student-Led Shabbat Services andDairy Potluck Dinner, Jan. 18
On Sunday, Jan. 20, Congregation Beth Israel’s Sunday School will be celebrating its annual Tu B’Shevat seder. We will be taking time out of our lives to meditate on God’s role as Creator and our roles as Jews living in creation. I look forward to celebrating with the Sunday School on that day.
UJC campaign update:
THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the UJC campaign this year. Each and every one of you DO make a difference. The monies are very much needed and appreciated. This year we had 38 givers over triple from last year and we donated $19,332. You can be very proud of this accomplishment. It was a pleasure for me to serve as your UJC chairperson this year. Thank you again and I hope that we can continue this momentum next year.
Sincerely,
Amy Goldin
Sponsor an oneg
You can help make Shabbat even more joyous in 2008 by sponsoring at least one oneg this year.
It doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't have to be a chore,
it doesn't have to be too much, it just has to be yours.
An oneg Shabbat, generally held following services, is time for congregants and visitors to gather for refreshments, camaraderie and relaxed conversation. To sponsor an oneg, you only need to bring a few refreshments - the camaraderie and conversation will take care of itself. What to bring to an oneg?
Well, only kosher items, of course. This includes, but is not limited to, fruit, cake, cookies, pastry and crackers along with juice, lemonade, fruit punch or soda (which can usually be found in our cabinet).
When should you sponsor an oneg? Most people sponsor the oneg on a day that has some special meaning for them - perhaps an anniversary, a birthday or some other simcha (celebration). Onegs are also sponsored in memory of someone, so you might sponsor an oneg on the yahrzeit of a loved one. And since we need oneg sponsors for just about every Shabbat, an oneg can be sponsored for the simple reason you want to help out your shul.
When do you not need to sponsor an oneg? When Beth Israel has a planned dinner or event, the oneg is usually already sponsored or taken care of. At a dairy dinner, everyone shares in bringing desserts, which are also used during the oneg. Those dates are generally known in advance.
Look at your calendar for 2008 and pick a Shabbat night when you want to sponsor the oneg. Let Liz Kessie, kitchen chairperson, know the date by emailing her at lkessie@comvest.net or by calling 228-388-5574 and leaving a message. As dates are filled with sponsors, that information will be shared.
Please, won't you consider sponsoring an oneg today?