519 N. Main Street, Butler, PA 16001 724-287-5806

E-Mail: CongBnaiAbraham@zoominternet.net Website: www.CongBnaiAbraham.org

Founded In 1903

Congregation B’nai Abraham A warm, caring, inclusive community

Eric Levin President

Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer Spiritual Leader

January/February/March 2019 Tevet/Shevat/Adar 1/Adar 2 5779

2

From The Cantor’s Desk… Cantor Michal

Dear Friends,There is no choice in the subject for this bulletin’s message; that choice was made by a person full of hate who

walked into the Tree of Life/Or L’Simcha synagogue on October 27 and murdered eleven Jews worshipping at their Shabbat services. As all the world is aware, others were wounded, including worshippers and police officers who were the first responders.

I write to you from a still-wounded place. Having been the student cantor at Tree of Life for two years, I well knew three of those killed. In 2018, as in 2005-2007, they were members of the small core of people who were always there on Saturday morning. Even though we are more than six weeks away from the event, I still tear up every time I hear their names. I suspect that many of you may be experiencing similar moments of grief.

Like other mass murder tragedies, this attack has taught us about both good and evil, love and hate. In Ju-daism, we do not believe that man is born evil. We believe that everyone is born with a yetzer ha-tov – the inclination to do good, and the yetzer ha-ra – the inclination to do evil. Adonai, our God, has given us free will to make our own choices, and a blueprint – our Torah – to show us the ethical way God wants us to act. Judaism teaches that once you start down a particular path, it becomes easier and easier to continue down that path. This is a blessing if the path one chooses is good. Unfortunately, there are those who choose the path of evil and become mired in it.

No one yet knows all the reasons the murderer chose the path that he did, except that he was anti-im-migration and faulted the Jewish community for helping to resettle refugees from other countries. Rather than speculat-ing on other root causes, perhaps we might focus on the good and the many kindnesses shown to our community.

The outpouring of support from the whole world in the past six weeks has been mind-boggling. Numerous memorial services for the victims have been held in churches, synagogues, mosques, and Hindu temples, among other religious venues. The candlelight vigil held at B’nai Abraham drew an estimated 500 people from the community, which is huge for Butler! Concerts have been held all over the United States, either to raise funds for, or to show support for the Jewish community. Tickets for the Concert for Peace and Unity, presented by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and headlined by Itzhak Perlman, were grabbed up within the first hours of release. Millions of dollars have poured in to help with burial costs for the deceased, hospital costs for the wounded, and rebuilding costs for the synagogue. Thou-sands upon thousands of cards have been sent to Tree of Life or dropped off at the impromptu memorial that grew up outside the synagogue. In short, the response of good people has helped to pierce the darkness of our sorrow and de-spair over the tragedy.

Even so, the Jewish experience will never again be the same in Pittsburgh. Tragically, we will forever be linked in the same breath as this senseless murder. Even the smallest synagogue will have to deal with the realities of acquir-ing better security. Guards at our services will become a commonplace practice. We can never go back to a time be-fore the worst crime against American Jews happened in our strong Jewish community of Squirrel Hill.

We all have our work cut out for us. Our grief and our fears will be with us for a long time, and we must allow ourselves to acknowledge these emotions. Perhaps we can take heart from one of the customs of our most recent holi-day, Chanukah. Starting with one light on the first night, we increasingly add more candles until we have a menorah blazing with light on the eighth day. May we allow the light of the good deeds that have come from our wider community to pierce the current darkness of our distress.

3

A Few Words From Our President, Eric Levin...

DearFriends:

Whatanunbelievablethreemonthsithasbeen.Wewentfromthelowestoflowstothehighestofhighs. The tragedywhich struckSquirrelHill inOctober lead to someof themostpowerfulmo-mentsIhaveseeninthelast20years. FromtheAllderdicestudentswholeadtheimpromptuvigilon the corner of Forbes andMurray Avenue on that Saturday night, to the vigil at Soldiers andSailor’sHall a fewnights later, to the InterfaithVigil, aKendedbyat least400hundredpeopleatCongregaNonB’naiAbraham,myfaithcouldnotbestronger.WhatashowofstrengthbyallofthereligionswhichpracNceintheButlerarea.Ithankyouallforyoursupport.

TherearenotenoughwordstoshowourappreciaNontoCantorMichalforleadingusthroughthistryingNme.ThestrengthandgracesheexhibitedthroughherownclearpaincanandwillneverbeforgoKen.Wealsoaregratefultothoseinourcommunitywhosteppeduptowatchoutforusandprotectus,including,theButlerCityPolice,andthesecurityprovidedbyTimWiles. IalsowanttothanktheButlerEagle,whosereporterstooktheNmetoreachoutandinterviewmembersofourcommunity,forwriNngsuchpowerfulstoriesofsupport. Thosestorieshelpedthehealingprocesstocommence.

WhatdidIlearnfromallofthis? ThatmycommunityandmycongregaNonarestrongandwillnothideinthefaceoftragedyandfear.NorwillI.IamnotsurethatIhaveeverbeenproudertobeaButleriteoraJew.

Mybest

Eric

Our Religious School Director: Roberta Gallagher

4

Can you believe it's 2019?!While 2018 brought us all much sadness in October,  it also brought us an amazing outpouring of love and hope from our greater Butler commu-nity. After taking time off to try to comprehend what happened so close to us,  Religious school  has forged on feeling a little bit more secure each week with a security guard at shul. We will not let fear stop us.Chanukah came early this year and we had a full house at our Chanukah  luncheon! It never ceases to amaze me the talented chefs we have in our small community.  While the latke chefs outdid themselves with the most delicious latkes yet, our buffet was  loaded down with everything from hot dogs to salads to meringue cookies and more! Plus Cantor even had us monotones singing the Dreydl song! The only thing missing for me was the maple syrup for my latkes; it's a Hurwitz tradition!!Our students continue to recite Kaddish for our weekly Yahrzeits and January will be our "Mitzvah Madness Month" as we collect items to fill 10 bags  of necessities for the homeless of Butler. We look forward to more laughter, shared meals and memory making times in the months ahead as we wish all of you a healthy and very hap-py New Year!

Peace from Roberta, the staff and students of our Religious School

5

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR MEMBERS: PHIL TERMAN & CHRIS HOOD

Question: Tell us, Phil, how did you and Chris meet?

Wemetatourfrontdoor.Therewasaninformallocal“salon”thatwasformedinconnecNonwiththeprogressivejournal,TheUtne

Reader.AccordingtothedefiniNon,“A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation.” They were particularly popular in high-toned cafes in cultural cities like Paris. The Utne Reader encouraged its contributors to form “salons” to gather and converse and otherwise enhance the interaction and cul-tural life of its readership. Some ambitious folks in our small pocket of Northwest, Pennsylvania—between Meadville and Slippery Rock—took the hint, and formed “The Central W. PA Utne Readers Salon.”

I learned about the local salon from two colleagues with whom I taught at Clarion University, Oil City Campus. A Jew from Cleveland, I would often travel to Pittsburgh for to feed my cultural appetite, so a salon sounded like a good idea, but for various reasons could not make their first few gatherings. Until, one cold January day, I received a handwritten letter (yes, those were the days…) from a person I had never met, named Chris. It was dated Jan. 7, 1993, an invitation for me to attend the next “Central W. PA Utne Readers Salon”—at her house, on the following Jan. 17.

“There’s no real schedule,” the letter said, “but I may have the Kurasawa video, “Dreams,” if anyone is interested. It’s in short sequences, so people may be interested in seeing parts of it. Also, I’m planning on serving a Middle Eastern style buffet at around 5:30, so let me know if you’re coming and bringing anyone so I can plan quantities.”

The rest of the letter was devoted to detailed directions to her house from where I lived, in Oil City. And—just to be certain I would know how to get there, she included another sheet with two hand-drawn maps one larger-view and one more detailed view, including specific roads and names of nearby towns. The black ink was traced in red where her road, with the odd name of Scrubgrass, led to her home, which was marked “Red Brick Schoolhouse.” Hmmm. And in the corner, her phone number. If I got lost, the map seemed to say, it would be my fault.

A Japanese film? And—most especially: A Middle Eastern buffet? A Red Brick School house?. I called. When I asked if she was really going to have middle eastern food, Chris replied, “Yes. I’m making the pita bread right now.”

A woman who makes her own pita bread? Yes, I can come. No, I’m not bringing anyone else. Ten days later, on a grey, cold Sunday afternoon, and running late, I drove out of town and into the hinter-

lands, following the map closely, down Old Route 8 until I came to Scrubgrass Road, turned right and, the as the road gradually ascended, snow started to lightly fall over a redbrick schoolhouse. Turning into the driveway, the scene seemed like it was part of some larger storybook. I knocked on the door, and this lovely woman answered the door. “Hi! I said, in a voice a bit too excitingly. “I’m Phil…”.

She cut me off. “Nice to meet you,” she quickly responded, then placed a finger up to her mouth, as if to shush me. “Someone’s playing Bach on the guitar. Come in.”

And, sure enough, as I walked inside the quiet—a buffet of middle eastern food spread out on the table—and I discovered a circle of folks gathered around a blonde-haired musician playing beautiful classical music. I found a spot and joined the salon.

And Chris has been shushing and feeding me ever since.

After we decided to marry, we thought about joining a synagogue. We had heard about B’nai Abraham, and drove down to check it out. After walking around and looking into the windows, a distinguished grey-haired, kippa-ed man approached: Walter Bonninger. He was so welcoming and warm that we decided right there to at-tend a Shabbat service, and, of course, eventually, join. The synagogue became our Jewish “home away from home,”— our important life events as a couple and a family were celebrated, beginning with our marriage, on a hot August Sunday afternoon on August 4, 1996.

It wasn’t long before we wished to realize our dream of parenthood, and we both knew we wanted to adopt a child from China, and so, after a long “gestation” pe-riod—on April 8, 1998, we boarded a plane for the across-the-world thrill of meeting: Miriam (aka Mimi)! Naturally, we celebrated Mimi’s naming ceremony at our beloved B’nai Abraham. And—since, we thought---why not?—Mimi might want a sister!---we completed our family by taking another trip to China for our second adorable child—Bella! And another naming ceremony!

The synagogue has been an integral part of our family’s “growing years,” cele-brating all the important Jewish holidays and life events—most especially, each of our kids’ bat mitzvahs. The synagogue has been so crucial to our family that we were hon-ored to become involved in administrative decisions, serving on the Board, and even as co-Presidents. Clearly, being part of the B’nai Abraham congregation has been and continues to be a major part our lives; we can’t imagine our lives without it. Being part of the congrega-tion and our individual friendships with our co-religionists has inspired the life of our family in countless ways. It has given inspiration for poetry and deepened our life-long commitment to Judaism, continually teaching us that our connection includes not only our family, but the comfort of being part of a larger supportive congregation—in times of mourning and joy, in song and prayer—and for which we will be forever grateful.

6

“…being part of the B’Nai Abraham Congregation has beenand continues to be a major part of our lives; we can’t imagine our lives without it.” Phil Terman

Philip Terman: A Minyan Plus One

was taken from us on the Shabbat,the most joyous of the holidays,the only holy day even God Himself.celebrates, the emulation of Eden,the day of completion. Beforethey could perform the service, before.they could take their seats and beginthe prayers, before the ark openedand the Torah revealed,.before they could rise and swayand chant their portion, the bookopened like wings in their steady hands,.though they know the blessings by heart.I didn’t know them, but I knew themin the way we know those raised,.no matter where we originated,in the same beliefs our ancestorsinherited all the way back into.those mysterious origins,those stories of creation and exile,of miracles and complicated kings,.of commandments and wisdoms—“welcome the stranger”—spread across the millennium..We suffer the same persecutions,celebrate the same triumphs, chant,in the same order, the blessings,.hour after hour, holiday after holiday,generation after generation,Torah portion after Torah portion.

Before that week’s Torah portion,A minyan plus one was taken.When they would have once again.heard the story of when Abraham,our first Patriarch of Chutzpah,approached and argued with the Lord: . “Will you sweep away the righteouswith the wicked?”And He was answered:“For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”.And so, as on other days, on that day—He did. He allowed the wickedTo sweep away the righteous..And when the Lord had finishedspeaking with Abraham, He left. And took a minyan plus one..And Abraham returned home.

Notes from the

Neshamah:

A Poetry Moment with Phil

Author’s note: This poem is dedicated to the eleven victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh, PA on October 27, 2018. A minyan is a quorum of ten adults over the age of 13 required for traditional Jewish public worship. The poem is called “A Minyan plus One” because there were 11 victims. The poem was translated into Hebrew by Hagit Grossman.Copyright 2018 Philip Terman

7

Thank You For Your Contributions!

Cantor’s Discretionary Fund Bill and Patty Weisberger

in appreciation of Kabbala Class

Jamie C. Markowitz In appreciation for her religious

upbringing in Butler at B’nai Abraham

Cemetery Fund

Allen and Linda Ruben In Memory of

Fern Ruben

Diane, Loni, Bob Schure Adam & Anat Schure

Peter King In memory of

Lawrence King

General Fund Jack & Kristin Steiner

In memory of

Kay Steiner

Sheldon & Linda Ziman In appreciation of

The Bulletin

Yahrzeit Fund

Gary and Elise Grabner In memory of

Ben Itkin

Diane, Loni, Bob Schure, Adam & Anat Schure

Peter King In Memory of

Lawrence King

Torah Restoration/Maintenance Fund

Religious School David & Karen Bergman

In honor Of Roberta Gallagher

and in appreciation of

the bulletin.

8

Todah Rabah To The Following Congregants & Friends!

Thank You to the following volunteers who assisted with dedication and energy to make the following events successful: Lori, Tom, Zach and Jonah Doerr, Ben Vincent, Chris Hood for setting up 230 chairs for the Interfaith Vigil. Shirley Grossman, Ben Vincent and Eric Levin for house and security arrangements. Larry Berg for taking care of our sound system and keeping it in working order. David Hoffman for all of this beautiful photography at Simchat Torah and the Inter-faith Vigil…You are true artist! Cantor MIchal for creating the beautiful program used for the Interfaith Vigil, and Kim Csonka for helping to print them out. Shirley Grossman for bringing back and setting up for our Onegs on Friday Nights Michelle Levin for helping to set up for our Hanukkah Party and making sure every-thing was reddy and well organized. Denny Offstein for providing cheesecakes for our onegs and special gatherings. Roberta Gallagher for sponsoring the break the fast oneg. Dale and Margaret Zellefrow for sponsoring an Oneg.

9

A Very Special Todah Rabah For the Following individuals who helped organize, participated and donated to The Butler Interfaith Gathering and Vigil…your contributions, hard work and Kindness will not be forgotten.

The Officiants: Pastor Leigh Benish, Hill United Presbyterian Church; Pastor Joel Benson, Trinity Lutheran Church; Pastor Verna Call, Retired; Pastor Kimberly van Driel, First English Lutheran Church; Pastor B.T. Gilligan, Nixon United Methodist Church; Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer, Congrega-tion B’nai Abraham; Pastor David Janz, First United Methodist Church; Rev Dr. Mary Kitchen, North Butler and East Butler Presbyterian Churches; Pastor Tara Lynn, Grace at Calvary Lutheran Church; Pastor Merry Meloy, St. Andrew’s United Presbyterian Church;Deacon Mitch Natali and Rev Kevin Fazio, St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church; Pastor John Silbert, Covenant Presbyterian Church; The Reverend Al Towberman, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.

Pastor Merry Meloy & Pastor Tara Lynn for providing the candles Allen Kitchen for leading the congregation in song and beautiful piano accompaniment. Tom Harrison for helping the Cantor lead the prayer for healing. Thank you, dear friend. Ginny Lane for playing the cello. Susan Moon, for sounding the bell at the reading of the names. Tom Breth for the heartwarming banner that everyone could sign. Our Butler Township Commissioners, Dave Zarnick and Sam Zurzolo for all of their kind support. Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer and Ben Vincent for blowing the shofar. To the anonymous person’s who placed flowers at our doorstep the day following the shooting your gift showed us that small acts of kindness can heal the world. The Butler YMCA for the gift of flowers C.W. Howard Insurance also for the gift of flowers. Jeff and Jane Double,The Staff of All About the Reclaimed, for the gift of the Beautiful Potted Peace Lily. Butler County Clerk of Courts, Lisa Lotz for the box of delicious cookies. Evelyn Weiland and Family For the gift of a beautiful potted Peace Lily. Jeff Ross, Armstrong Cable, Cheryl Hughes, LSI and Pastor Dan at West Minister Church for allowing us to use their parking lots. Tom Graham, owner of Frames and Pixels in Butler for video-taping the vigil. Nick Bojalad at Sharp Shopper, Butler for the $25 gift card. Myfunctionfirst Alternative Health Solutions, LLC $100 donation IMO the Victims at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Kathleen L. Bell, $50 IMO of the Victims at The Tree of Life Synagogue. Irene M. Jones, $50 donation IMO of A.J. Garcia and the Victims of the The Tree Life Synagogue. The Greater Butler Community for the strong show of love and support that you have given to the Jewish community here in Butler as well as in Pittsburgh. You make us proud to be apart of a community that will always stand up to hate! The Butler City Police and Mr. Tim Wiles who provided security for all who gathered to remember.

10

Simchat Torah

11

Chanukah Party

Interfaith Vigil for The Tree Of LifeNovember 1, 2018

12

13

Interfaith Vigil for The Tree Of LifeNovember 1, 2018

YahrzeitThe Yahrzeits of the following beloved relatives will be observed in the weeks to come. Their names will be read at Friday evening or Saturday morning services the week of the date listed. Attendance at synagogue services and the recitation of Kaddish is al-ways a most appropriate way to remember a loved one.

The following names will be read at services on Friday, January 4. Tevet Jan. Ruth Siev 28 5 Ilene Mattock Grossman 28 5 Lena Berger 28 5 Libby Rosenberg 29 6 Shevat Jan. Jacob Miller 1 7 Reva Maglin Abes 3 9 Hazel Klinger 4 10 David L. Simon 4 10 Harry Spero 4 10 Lenore Abes Mendicino 4 10 Esther Jane Rosenthal Rubin 4 10 Arthur Seder 4 10

The following names will be read at services on Friday, January 11. Shevat Jan. Miriam Schreiber 5 11 Aaron Blistein 5 11 M. Princeton Nadler 5 11 Harry Berger 5 11 Isabelle Venesky 5 11 Arthur Jaffe 5 11 Anna Kart 6 12 Bernard Bernstein 7 13 Elsie Gordon Elias 7 13 Zella Miller 7 13 Joseph Levin 8 14 Samuel Markel 8 14 Bessie Hurwitz 8 14 Ralph Marcus 8 14 Ruth Bernstein 8 14 Miriam Arnovitz 9 15 Samuel Stein 10 16 Gertie Port 10 16 Sidney Freedman 11 17

The following names will be read at services on Friday, January 18. Shevat Jan. Jacob Daly 12 18 Sam Robins 12 18 Elizabeth Wolf 12 18 David Kart 13 19 Jack Schor 14 20 David Mintz 15 21 William Mark 16 22 Miriam Miller 16 22 Jean Feldblum 16 22 Joseph Moskowitz 17 23 Morris Markel 17 23

The following names will be read at services on Friday, January 25 Shevat Jan. David Miller 19 25 David Rosenblum 19 25 Nathan Boozell 20 26 Sarah Ziman 20 26 Dena Esther Epstein 20 26 Ben Parish 21 27 Eli Schrieberg 21 27 Dorothy Adelson 22 28

Shevat Jan. Manny Abes 23 29 Ida Kopelman 23 29 Jacob Secher 23 29 Paul Perrin 23 29 Bella Teaman 23 29 Sylvia Marcus Karp 25 31 Rhea Abramowitz 25 31 Arthur Baron 25 31 Rhoda Rosenfeld 25 31 Rhea Schwartz 25 31

The following names will be read at services on Friday, February 1. Shevat Feb. Helen Gendler 26 1 Dorothy Israel 27 2 Harry Novick 27 2 Elsie Abes 27 2 Milton X. Friedman 28 3 Charles A. Horewitz 28 3 Saul Langsner 28 3 Max Nast 29 4 Gertrude Grossman 29 4 Adrienne Gould 29 4 Herman Markel 29 4 Roseline Rae Kodish 30 5 Arthur Arnovitz 30 5 Al Kaplan 30 5 Adar Feb. Bernard Abes 1 6 Evelyn Zamoski Holtzman 2 7 Joseph Horewitz 2 7 Ruth Katz-Rothel 2 7

The following names will be read at services on Friday, February 8. Adar Feb. Harry Abes 4 9 Gizella Cohen 4 9 Ida Bigg Cahen 4 9 Sadie Niemark Adleson 4 9 David Pollock 4 9 Presley Arnovitz 4 9 Leona Rossen 5 10 Leonard Feldstein 6 11 Leon Solitrin 6 11 Lena K. Kuhr 7 12 Abe Bloomberg 7 12 Alexis Rae Hewko 7 12 Anna Alter 8 13 Jennie Rapoport 9 14 Reuben Caplan 9 14 Paul “Pinny” Arnovitz 9 14 Mina Tompkins 9 14

The following names will be read at services on Friday, February 15. Adar Feb. Hyman Cahen 10 15 Josephine Zinman 10 15 Renee Scoratow 10 15 Barbara Selman 10 15 Sam Zamoski 11 16 Marc Selman 11 16 Louis Wishnev 11 16 Rebecca Schwartz 12 17 Harry Daley 12 17 Ray Rosenblum 12 17

Adar Feb. Aaron Grushkin 13 18 Chasa Horowitz 14 19 Rebecca Mintz 14 19 Jayne Friedman 15 20 Rose Lennett 16 21 Esther Wishnev 16 21

The following names will be read at services on Friday, February 22. Adar Feb. Samuel Baron 17 22 Leonard Selman 18 23 Rita Cohen 18 23 Charlotte Levy 18 23 Moishe Greenberg 19 24 Marion Garber 19 24 Robert (Bob) Baron 19 24 Shirley King 20 25 Essie Schwartz 20 25 Anna Abes 22 27 Beatrice Bliss 22 27 Dorothy Green Goodman 22 27 Israel Michael Jacob Klinger 23 28 Michael Gary Abes 23 28 Eileen Barry 23 28

The following names will be read at services on Friday, March 1. Adar Mar. William Norman Brent 25 2 Anne Silverman Barnett 25 2 Hortense Israel 25 2 Abraham Mo Blatman 25 2 Bernice Abes 25 2 Ira Sadowsky 25 2 Sylvia Ogan 26 3 Carole Aron 26 3 Anna Green 27 4 Rowena Marion Rosenthal 27 4 Julius Lipsky 28 5 Anne Mark 28 5 Dorothy Love 28 5 Helen Friedman 29 6

The following names will be read at services on Friday, March 8. Adar II Mar. Clara Haalman 1 8 Milton Abes 1 8 Ruth Hilsenrath Nadler 1 8 Stella Aaron 2 9 Joseph Warner 5 12 Robert Greenberger 7 14 The following names will be read at services on Friday, March 15 Adar II Mar. Gitty Stein 9 16 Bernie Friedlander 9 16 Carl Lockshin 10 17 Sheldon “Sammy” Silverman 10 17 Isadore Adelson 10 17 Esther Zeisel 11 18 Mollye Farber 11 18 Jack Kruh 11 18 Nathan Siev 13 20

14

15

Birthdays Anniversaries

Sam Campbell Jan 3Jo Rosenblum Jan 5Lori Gallagher Jan 11Elissa Abramowitz Jan 14Judy Berg Jan 17Jessica Campbell Jan 26Ruth Ralston Feb 10Helene Goldstein Feb 11Sandi Hewko Feb 12Rick Bitter Feb 13Lori Doerr Feb 14Jim Csonka Feb 19Arlene Barron Feb 19Yisraela Cohen-Klinger Feb 27Helene Abramowitz Mar 3Janice Dunmire Mar 7Howard Muranko Mar 8David Perelman Mar 11Tim Campbell Mar 12Katie Campbell Mar 16Steve Gendler Mar 22

Bill & Sandi Hewko Mar 31

On Life!

The following names will be read at services on Friday, March 22 Adar II Mar. Jean Brown 15 22 Isador Mintz 16 23 Julius Lipsitz 16 23 Maurice Horwitz 16 23 Sylvia Felder 17 24 Rose Baron 18 25 Mort Frishman 18 25 Julian Goldsmith 21 28 Julius Rudoff 21 28

The following names will be read at services on Friday, March 29 Adar II Mar. Sam Miller 23 30 Lois Jaffe 23 30 Ann Shapiro Bennett 24 31 David Kazew 24 31

Adar II Apr. William Horwitz 25 1 Murray Fibus 25 1 Martin Cohn 25 1 Sid Meislik 25 1 Dorothy Fleischman Cohen 25 1 Jacob Lehnerd 26 2 Helen Cohen 27 3

Yahrzeit: ContinuedThe Yahrzeits of the following beloved relatives will be observed in the weeks to come. Their names will be read at Friday evening or Saturday morning services the week of the date listed. Attendance at synagogue services and the recitation of Kaddish is al-ways a most appropriate way to remember a loved one.

YAHRZEIT MEMORIAL PLAQUES

Yahrzeit plaques for the Memorial Tablets can be purchased to honor our loved ones who have passed away. The cost is $150.00 and can be purchased by contacting Shirley Grossman at (724) 287-1544. Checks for all of the above are to be made out to B’NAI ABRAHAM MEMORIAL FUND and sent to Shirley Grossman, 203 Beech Road,

Butler, PA 16001.

Refuah Sh’leima

This list is updated for each bulletin to include only those people whom we know are still in need of healing.

Please call the synagogue with the names of those whom you would like added to this list.

Eric Levin The Cronin Family Herb Wolfson Diane Hildebrand Marty Speer Joanne Ufner Bud Weir Sue Yaras Tom Rivoli Henry Anna Angelique Faith ConradKim Csonka Herb Klinger Rachel Miller Kass-Gergi/Miller Families

Jennifer Kirsop Judy Secka Julie Rick Gloria Armstrong Emmy McQuaid Harriette Leff

“Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people Saith your G*d. For the Lord hath comforted his people; He hath redeemed Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 40:1

Please Note: At the cemetery entrance there are now pots of white stones to mark the Headstone(s) of the grave(s) you visit.

TREE OF LIFE LEAVES

16

Mi-she-bei-rach a-vo-tei nuM’kor ha-bra-cha l’i-mo-tei-nu

May the source of strengthWho blessing the ones before us

Help us find the courageTo make our lives a blessing

And let us say, Amen

Mi-she-bei-rach i-mo-tei-nuM’kor ha-bra-cha l’a-vo-tei-nuBless those in need of healing

With r’fu-a sh’lei-maThe renewal of bodyThe renewal of spirit

And let us say, Amen.

Mark Your Calendars!

Calendar Template © calendarlabs.com

February 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Notes: Shabbat Services: 7 p.m. 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/22

1 shab

2

Kabbalah Class: 2 p.m. 2/7, 2/14, 2/21, 2/28

Sh’ma Now 7 p.m. 2/13 3 RS

4 5 6 7 KB

8 shab

9

Religious School: 10 a.m.-12:30 2/3, 2/10, 2/17, 2/24

10 RS

11 12 13 S’N

14 KB

15 shab

16 17

RS 18 19 20 21

KB 22

shab 23

24

RS 25 26 27 28

KB

March 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Notes: Shabbat Services: 7 p.m. 3/1, 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 3/29

1 SAA

2

Shabbat Across America: 6 p.m. Dinner

Kabbalah Class: 2 p.m. 3/7, 3/14, 3/21, 3/28 3 RS

4 5 6 7 KB

8 shab

9 Butler Purim Service and Purimschpiel: 7 p.m. 3/22 3rd Annual Purim Bake Off to Follow 10

RS 11 12 13

S’N 14 KB

15 shab

16 Sh’ma Now 7 p.m. 3/13 Religious School 10 a.m.-12:30 3/3, 3/10, 3/17 17

RS 18 19 20 21

KB 22

BP 23

3/24 J-Serve: April 7, 2019 24

RS 25 26 27 28

KB 29

shab 30

January 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Notes: Shabbat Services: 7 p.m. 01/4, 01/11, 01/18,

1 2 3 KB

kb

4 shab

.

5 01/25 Kabbalah Class: 2p.m. 01/3, 01/10, 01/17, 01/24

6 RS

7 8 9 S’N

10 KB

11 shab

12

01/31

Sh’ma Now: 7 p.m. 01/9 13 RS

14 15 16 17 KB

18 shab

19

Tu’B’Shevat Seder: 11 a.m.

Religious School: 10 a.m.-12:30 01/6, 01/13 20 tbss

21 22 23 24 KB

25 shab

26

01/20(10 a.m -11 a.m), 01/27 27

RS 28 29 30 31

KB

18

JEWISH SCHOLARSHIP SERVICE OF GREATER PITTSBURGHFORMERLY CENTRAL SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN REFERRAL SERVICE

of the Jewish Federation of Greater PittsburghAdministered by:

Jewish Family and Community Services5743 Bartlett Street · Pittsburgh, PA 15217· (412)422-5627 · Fax (412)428-8200

Applications for need-based college scholarships for the 2019-2020 school year are available from the Jewish Scholar-ship Service (JSS) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. This program is administered by Jewish Family and Community Services. The funds are made available through the generosity of families who have established endow-ments through the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Jewish Community Center, National Council of Jewish Women, Jewish Women International of Pittsburgh (formerly B'nai B'rith Women), The Pittsburgh Foundation, and Rodef Shalom Congregation.

All scholarships are distributed on the basis of demonstrated financial need. Depending on the scholarship fund, other factors such as academic achievement, field of study, school attending, and Jewish and general community in-volvement will also be considered. In addition, the applicant must be Jewish, reside in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Beaver, Butler or Washington County for at least two years, and need financial assistance to attend an accredited insti-tution of higher education as either an undergraduate or graduate student.

The 2019-2020 JSS online application is available at jfcspgh.org/scholarships.

All applications are due February 12, 2019.

First-time applicants must be interviewed. All applications should be submitted as early as possible to ensure process-ing.

CLASSES AT B’NAI

New Class Forming: A History of the Jewish People 101 Interest Has been expressed about this subject to Cantor Michal. Please contact her at congbnaiabraham@zoominternet.net with your interest and available times. Tues.-Thurs. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

ADULT EDUCATION CLASS: We are exploring the SH’MA NA monthly journal as a jumping-off place for our discussions. Classes are held the second Wednesday night of each month from 7-8 p.m., and are free! you can investigate the curriculum at https://forward.com/shma-now/. Contact Cantor Michal at the above e-mail to indicate your interest

Kabbalah - What is it, besides the type of Judaism that Madonna and other celebs follow? Our new KABBALAH CLASS is exploring this practice of Jewish mysticism. Cantor Michal is by no means an expert, so we are exploring it together. The text we are using is Kabbalah For Dummies by Arthur Kurzweil. This class meets most Thursdays at 2 p.m. in the library. Contact the synagogue, congbnaiabraham@zoominternet.net , with your interest.

PLEASE USE THIS FORM TO MAIL IN YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS

Date ____________

Torah Restoration/Maintenance Fund

Yahrzeit Fund

Cantor’s Discretionary Fund Library

Arnovitz Handicap Access Fund

B’nai Abraham Cemetery Fund General Fund

Congregation B’nai Abraham519 N. Main StreetButler, PA 16001(724) 287-5806CongBnaiAbraham@zoominternet.net Eric Levin, Presidentwww.CongBnaiAbraham.org Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer, Spiritual Leader

____ In Memory Of ____ For Recovery Of ____ Other____ In Honor Of ____ In Appreciation Of

I am enclosing $ _________Donation for: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Your Name: ____________________________________________________________________Your Address: __________________________________________________________________City, State, Zip: ___________________________________________________Phone No. ______________________E-Mail Address: _________________________________________________________________

Religious School

19