January, 2021 Tevet/Shevat 5781 Volume 78, Issue 5

Shofar

Temple Beth El

“Where Judaism Lives”

Temple Beth El is affiliated with:

Thursdays @ 6:30 PM

Rabbi’s Introduction to Judaism Class

Fridays @ 6:00 PM

Shabbat ShaZoom Fridays @ 6:30 PM

“Shabbat Shmooze”: Pre-Service Zoom Social Half-Hour

Fridays @ 7:00 PM

Shabbat Service

Saturdays @ 4:30 PM

Jewish Text Study Saturdays @ 5:30 PM

Havdalah

Services in our Zoom Room, 661 322 7607 and by livestream on Facebook

www.TempleBethElBakersfield.org

Thursday, January 10, 24 & 31

Religious School

Tuesday, January 5 @ 6:00 PM

Religious Practices Meeting

Tuesday, January 12 @ 7:00 PM

Board Meeting

Sunday, January 24 @ 3:00 PM

Sisterhood Meeting

Sunday, January 31 @ 1:00 PM

Sisterhood Legacy Writing

Thursday, January 28th

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Rabbi Jonathan Klein

Rounding the Corner into 2021: Pandemic-Free Living?

Finally, the new year brings glimmers of hope through vaccine efforts that this

complicated, difficult epoch living through a Pandemic—never again, please!—will

conclude and we might be able once again to gather communally at our synagogue

on Loma Linda. Won’t that be a blessing? One day at a time: January and February

are anticipated to be particularly brutal times for COVID patients, with ICU bed

shortages and the ongoing financial anguish that has hurt so many people and

decimated entire industries. Not an easy season…but still, we seem to be

approaching the dawn of a new era. We hold our friends, families, neighbors, and

selves in prayer for health and wellbeing.

Soon, we will find ourselves asking questions about this past year. We will reflect on

the impacts this year has had on us and upon our loved ones. Our American tradition

of “New Year Resolutions” might feel more than ever like our Selichot tradition of

writing letters to ourselves asking, “Who am I? Who do I want to be?” More than ever, we may ask ourselves

very specific 2020 questions:

· How did this pandemic shape who I have become? How am I different today than I was before

COVID-19? What are the lessons I learned about myself and others?

· What are the pluses that may have emerged from this pandemic?

· How has the pandemic interfered with my life trajectory? How can I reclaim that

trajectory? Is the trajectory I imagine today the same as the one I imagined a year ago?

· What will I be happy to cast out once we can resume our in-person activities? What will

endure?

· Who entered my life in 2020? Who exited? Which 2020 relationships might I hold onto post-

COVID? Which might need to phase out for me to be a healthy person?

· How has an international health crisis affected my sense of my own health?

Most of us it seems are saying “Good Riddance” to 2020; I for one cannot say that it was entirely a bust…If it

weren’t for the unfolding of events of this year, I might not have had the good fortune of becoming your rabbi

for 2020-2021, the blessing of meeting so many of you over the past few months. I am extremely grateful that

Temple Beth El has welcomed my ideas, explored new innovative worship and learning directions with me,

and blessed Tera and me with new friendships that I know go well beyond the professional role in which you

have welcomed me. Rather than a burden, Temple Beth El has been a Mechayeh, a source of extreme joy in

my life, and I cannot thank you enough.

So as we close out 2020 and enter 2021, now is the time to ask ourselves, as we do during the Yamim

Nora’im, the Days of Awe, “Ayeka!” Where are you? How has your life progressed, how has your ambition or

vision of self been truncated, and how will 2021 be the fulfillment of your dreams for yourself, for your

community, and for the world?

May all of us go ,מחיל אל חילFrom Strength to Strength,

Rabbi Klein

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Dear Chevrei,

Chanukah has been a wonderful experience this year. We got some

educational Chanukah how-to's from the Rabbi that was well attended. The

children experienced a memorable Chanukah service. We got to light our

candles in our Zoom rooms as a community. We also got to see the lighting of

the Menorah outside the Brust Family home. Times are different and so are our

experiences but we are all here to experience them together!

The Latke Brunch was a great success! Thank you to our Latke Brunch

Committee with all their many hours of organizing, preparing the food, cooking and then serving. We

served 127 meals!

The 8 Krazy Kilometers/2K Latke Loop was a wonderful success this year. Virtually from anyway in

the world many participants have enjoyed this event! I know I loved walking at the Preserve this

year. I believe there was 180 participants as I wrote this letter.

Yasher Koach to both of these Committees for the exceptional job of making this year a success!

Both of these committees have worked tirelessly for many hours and the advertising on TV

Channels 17 and 23 reached out to the community at large!

Our Judaica Gift Shop has been open on several Sundays these past months. Gail and Steve

Magnus have many beautiful items to purchase. Please take out the time to visit and purchase your

Judaica supplies and gifts. Many memories will be made to give or receive those beautiful items.

Yasher Koach Gail and Steve for dedicating your time in the shop.

With all these wonderful events there was also sadness among our Congregation. We lost our dear

members Susan Cohn, Beverly Weisman and Ann Peterson-Saslaw. May their lives be a blessed

memory.

Please take the time to keep in touch with your dear loved ones. In these very trying times

communication is important. So reach out to those that in your life that you hold dearly.

Yasher Koach to all the Congregants of Temple Beth El for all you do to keep Us thriving!

"More than the Jewish people have kept Shabbat,

Shabbat has kept the Jewish people!”

Temple Beth El where Judaism lives!

Shalom,

Ilene Schechter

President Schechter’s Perspectives

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Returning Soon

Mondays

11:30 A.M.

For Info Contact:

Ilene Schechter @ (661) 332-1212

17 Greg & Rose Broida 39th

23 Ahron & Linda Hakimi 23rd

2 Lawrence Zanoff

5 Miriam Stull 8 Jenny Seibert

11 Pamela Elisheva 11 Zachary Escobedo 12 Gretchen Bloch

13 Kathleen Arnold-Chambers 14 Beth Freedman 14 Kenneth Hugo

17 Adison Gartenlaub 20 Emma Goss

21 Shulamit Shroder 26 Laura Wolfe 27 Douglas White

28 Mark Hugo 29 Jay Greenstein

30 Leah Bank

WOTBE Book Club is currently reading Miriam’s Kitchen: A Memoir by Elizabeth Ehrlich. Our next Book Club meeting to discuss this book will be Sunday, January 10th at 1:00 p.m. via Zoom. If you have not already ordered your copy of the book,

please do so at one of the following retailers: Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Thrift Books , Ebay. Further information to come via WOTBE email and TBE facebook Mishpacha and Young Jew-ish Families. Contact Amanda Garza with any questions via email at amanda.g.33@hotmail.com or home phone (661) 873-7938 or cell phone (661) 637-9508. We look forward to your participation. -- Amanda Garza

Support Temple Beth El

Help us sustain our robust vision for Jewish

life by contributing to any of the following

funds:

General Contributions:

Tree of Life

Prayer Book Plates

Memorials

Memorial Book

Kol Nidre

High Holy Day Seats

Caring Committee

Specific Funds:

Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund

Camperships

https://templebethelbakersfield.org/donation/

provides these options for your contribution.

Thank you!

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Rabbi Klein is offering an Introduction to Judaism class via Zoom, geared toward beginners and intermediate learners: 18 sessions (see below for schedule), 2 hours per session 6:30-8:30pm, starting January 7

th and concluding May 13

th:

Registration is live at www.tinyurl.com/TBEIntroToJudaism If we resume in-person gatherings, the class will decide by majority vote whether to hold

sessions online or in person. $0 (members/Associate Members); $54 (non-members interested in membership);

or $108 (everyone else) First half hour will be Q&A on ANY JEWISH TOPIC; the remaining 1.5 hours will focus on

the topics below. Students must purchase their own books; a limited number of copies are also available for

sale through Rabbi Klein.

Financial hardship grants available for those unable to afford enrollment and/or book expenses.

Require reading includes sections of Telushkin’s Jewish Literacy and more (see below) Potential Jews by Choice and Adult B’nai Mitzvah will meet simultaneously with

individuated guidance and assignments. The following books will be utilized. Blue bold are required texts, others highly

recommended: Telushkin, Joseph. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the

Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. William Morrow, 1991, 2001, or 2008. (I created a chart with all three versions' assigned readings). If you cannot find a new copy or prefer to save some money, I have 1991 editions for $10 each.

JPS Hebrew-English TANAKH. Jewish Publication Society, 1988. Get a bilingual one. Everyone should have a Jewish Hebrew Bible!

Sonsino, Rifat and Daniel Syme. Finding God: Selected Responses, Revised edition. Behrman House, 2002. Essays on significant Jewish thinkers’ responses to the questions: Is there more than one way to perceive of God? How can we know God? What does God “want” from us? Please check that you are purchasing the latest edition. If you can only find the older version, Finding God: Ten Jewish Responses, we can accommodate by payment of an additional printing fee of $18.

Heschel, Abraham Joshua. The Sabbath. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1951. A classic work; republished many times (optional for students on a budget).

Knobel, Peter, ed. Mishkan Moeid: A Guide to the Jewish Seasons, New York: CCAR Press, 2013. or Gates of the Seasons (CCAR Press, out of print). Also available in a PDF electronic version. A survey of the sacred days of the Jewish yearly cycle.

Knobel, Peter, ed. Navigating the Journey: The Essential Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle, New York: CCAR Press, 2018 or Gates of Mitzvah (CCAR Press, Out of Print)

And here are the sessions on the following page:

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Intro to Judaism Calendar

5781/2021

1/07 Tanakh Part I: Torah 3/18 God/G-d/Gd: Theology and Middot/Ethics

1/14 Tanakh Part II: Prophets, Writings 3/25 Mitzvot, Kashrut & Jewish Law

1/21 Jewish History: Post-Biblical to Modern 4/01 Lifecycle Part I: The Three B’s of

Judaism

1/28 Denominations and Sub-communities 4/08 Lifecycle Part II: Weddings, Marriage,

Divorce

2/4 Holidays Part I: Shabbat, Holy Time 4/15 Lifecycle Part III: Death and Dying

2/11 Holidays Part II: Passover, Season of our

Freedom

4/22 Lifecycle Part IV: Becoming a Jew

2/18 Holidays Part III: Yamim Noraim and Sukkot,

All the Days of Awe

4/29 Anti-Semitism: The Shoah, Pogroms and

Blood Libel

2/25 Purim (no class 5/06 Israel: Jewish Nationhood

3/04 Holidays Part IV: Purim, Shavuot, Tu

BiShvat...Other Holidays

5/13 It’s a Wrap! Clean-up and Siyyum,

Ideally in person

3/11 Prayer and the Prayer Book

Contributions (11/18-12/29)

Memorials/Yahrzeit

Andy & Ella Abrams In memory of Ann Peterson-Saslaw, Susan Cohn & Beverly Weisman Greg & Rose Broida In memory of William Solomon & Alfonso Gonzales Brent Eastep In memory of Hy Davis Joe Fram & Bonnie Birch In memory of Ann Peterson-Saslaw Timothy Fromm In memory of Rita Fromm Ronald & Laura Lauria In memory of Morris Gintzler and Milton Gintzler Etta Robin In memory of Michelle Kleiman

Ilene Schechter In memory of Seymour Schechter Robert & Marcy Smith In memory of Marylin Smith & Faith Parris Lawrence & Karen Zanoff In memory of Raymond Zanoff

Caring Committee

Ann Diamond In memory of Abraham Kessler & Eva Kessler Timothy Fromm Ronald & Laura Lauria Building Fund

Irvin Pike & Pamela Elisheva Fencing

Rabbi Discretionary Fund

Andy & Ella Abrams Leonard & Carla Epstein In memory of Burton Epstein

Alan Freisleben Amy & John Knight

In memory of Edward Schwartz, Katherine Knight, Marjorie Joan Atencio, Shulamit Shroder & Joshua Canepa

Speedy recovery of Sherman Davis

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January 2021 Yahrzeits

01/01 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits

Frieda “Fritzi” Greenberg, aunt of Sylvia Neal z”l 01/01-Tevet 17

Thomas Lauria, father of Ronald Lauria; grandfather of Amanda Garza 01/01

Gerald Lewis, husband of Etel Lewis 01/01

Bernice Black, mother of Diane Andrews 01/02

David Davis, remembered by the congregation 01/03

Celia Fingeroff Aronson, grandmother of Kathleen Arnold-Chambers 01/03-Tevet 19

Danny Benjamin Lipco, brother of Sharon Lipco z”l & Lisa Levine Lipco 01/03-Tevet 19

Ruth Morales, mother of Linda Morales 01/05

Esther Siegel, grandmother of Sharon Rhodes 01/05

Morris Gintzler, great-uncle of Laura Lauria; great-great-uncle of Amanda Garza 01/07

01/08 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits

William Adler, uncle of Heidi Allison 01/08-Tevet 24

Nathan J. Goldman, uncle of Marsha Parr 01/09

Bernard Levy, brother-in-law of William Wolfe 01/11

Allen Harris, brother-in-law of Arline Pike z”l; uncle of Irvin Pike 01/12

Claude Denis Neuman, step-brother of Heidi Allison 01/12

Richard Ribner, cousin of Sylvia Neal z”l 01/12

Nathan Strauss, grandfather of Judy Strauss 01/12-Tevet 28

Fishel Leht, father of Etel Lewis 01/13

Louis M. Lewis, father of Beverly Weisman z”l 01/13

Arthur Rich, brother-in-law of Charlotte Abrams; uncle of Andy Abrams 01/13

Carol Rosenbaum, mother of Joy Spicer; grandmother of Tiffany Mayer 01/13

Ilene Levy, sister of William Wolfe 01/14

01/15 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits

Richard Schulman, father of Marc Schulman 01/15

Mildred Solomon, aunt of Jackie Rudnick z”l 01/15

Louis Grosher, uncle of Sonia Simrin z”l 01/16

Harriett Wolfe, mother of William Wolfe 01/16

Raymond Zanoff, father of Larry Zanoff 01/16

George Carl Shattenburg, uncle of Pamela Elisheva 01/17

Margaret Anne Christenson, mother-in-law of Irene Christenson 01/18

Craig Rich, nephew of Al z”l & Charlotte Abrams; cousin of Andy Abrams 01/19

Lois Schulman, mother of Marc Schulman 01/19-Shevat 6

Mary Jewel Yates, mother of Alpha Anders 01/19

Michelle Kleiman, sister of Etta Robin 01/20

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01/15 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits (cont’d)

John Gruber, husband of Drina Fried 01/21

Louis Schwalbendorf, grandfather of Larry Fish 01/21

01/22 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits

Jay J. Arnold, father of Kathleen Arnold-Chambers 01/22

Henry Black, uncle of Diane Andrews 01/22

Bonnie K. Johnson, sister of Marsha Parr 01/23

Hulda Magnus, mother of Steven Magnus; grandmother of Elliott Magnus 01/23

Bernice Katzell, mother of Ellyn Widelock; grandmother of Jenna Odlin 01/24

Saul David Larks, father of Anita Singer 01/24

Leonard Mansky, brother-in-law of Pearl Davis 01/25

Patricia Thorley, sister of Ann Peterson-Saslaw z”l 01/25

Irving Steelman, uncle of Terry Skinner 01/26

Stanley Witer, step-father of Elaine White 01-27

01/29 Shabbat Service Yahrzeits

Carol Lander, mother of Tera Klein 01/31

Harvey Abarbanell, father of Ross Abarbanell 02/01

Lillian Bridges, aunt of Karen Briefer 02/01

Barnett Larks, uncle of Anita Singer 02/02

Francisco Reyes, father of Ricardo Reyes 02/02

Ira Schenkman, father of Richard Schenkman 02/02

Bessie Jenkins, grandmother of Terry Skinner 02/03

Frances Bregman, step-mother of Irene Christenson 02/04

Rosa Maria Cohen Arazi, sister of Ana Genel z”l; aunt of Janet Blumberg 02/04

Milton Rudnick, husband of Diane Rudnick, brother of Marcus z”l & Phil Rudnick & Miriam Stull, uncle of Joshua & Daniel Rudnick & Libbie Mahan; brother-in-law of Marcia Rudnick

02/04

Sylvia Rudnick, sister of Marcus z”l, Milton z”l & Phil Rudnick & Miriam Still; aunt of Joshua & Daniel Rudnick & Libbie Mahan

02/04

Prayer Book Bookplates In Honor or In Memory of...

Bookplates are available for only $18 each. To

order, make check payable to Temple Beth El,

“attention: Bookplates”.

Please include any special wording and the manner

in which you want your name to appear.

Questions? Call Lorrie at the office:

(661) 322-7607

We offer our deepest condolences

to the families of

Ann Peterson-Sawlaw

&

Beverly Weisman.

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December, 2020 Kislev/Tevet 5781

1 6:00 PM Shabbat

ShaZoom

6:30 PM Schmooze

7:00 PM Shabbat

2 4:30 PM Jewish

Learning

5:30 PM Havdalah

All worship via Zoom and Facebook Live

3

4

5 6:00 PM Religious Practices Meeting

6

Hebrew School

7 8 6:00 PM Shabbat

ShaZoom

6:30 PM Schmooze

7:00 PM Shabbat

9 4:30 PM Jewish

Learning

5:30 PM Havdalah

10 Religious School

1:00 PM

Book Club

11

12 7:00 PM Board

Meeting

13 Hebrew School

14 15 6:00 PM Shabbat

ShaZoom

6:30 PM Schmooze

7:00 PM Shabbat

16 4:30 PM Jewish

Learning

5:30 PM Havdalah

17

18

19 20 Hebrew School

21 22 6:00 PM Shabbat

ShaZoom

6:30 PM Schmooze

7:00 PM Shabbat

23 4:30 PM Jewish

Learning

5:30 PM Havdalah

24 Religious School

3:00 PM

Sisterhood Meeting

25 26 27 Hebrew School

28 29 6:00 PM Shabbat

ShaZoom

6:30 PM Schmooze

7:00 PM Shabbat

30 4:30 PM Jewish

Learning

5:30 PM Havdalah

31 Religious School

1:00 PM

Sisterhood-Legacy Writing

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Own Your Piece of Real Estate

for Eternity Temple Beth El maintains its own dedicated

section at Greenlawn Memorial Park on River

Blvd. New plot price is $2,875. Plan ahead and

buy yours today. Contact Barry Goldner for

details and purchasing at (661) 301-9000.

Memorial Plaques

Temple Beth El provides a sanctuary for your

sacred prayers, a social hall for special celebrations,

a library to study our heritage, a school to teach our

eternal values and ways to remember ones who are

no longer with us. One way we honor those who

helped shape our lives is by adding a made-to-order

bronze Memorial Plaque to the walls of the Temple

foyer.

Contact Andy Abrams:

(661) 589-3778 or aabrams@bak.rr.com

Judaism requires those comforting

mourners to provide meals following

their loved one’s funeral. Temple Beth

El’s Caring Committee provides these

Meals of Condolence, Se’udot

Havra’ah. Please donate,

https://templebethelbakersfield.org/don

ation/, to the Caring Committee so that

we may continue to support our

mourners in their time of need.

Thank you,

The Temple Beth El

Caring Committee

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E-mail Shofar submissions to tbebakersfield@gmail.com Deadline for the February Shofar is January 15, 2021

Our monthly Shofar is published by:

TEMPLE BETH EL 2906 Loma Linda Drive Bakersfield, CA 93305 (661) 322-7607 Office (661) 322-7807 Fax

www.templebethelbakersfield.org

Staff

Rabbi Jonathan Klein Administrator Lorrie Larribas

Board Officers President Ilene Schechter Vice President Joshua Rudnick Parliamentarian Elliott Magnus Corresponding Secretary Tim Fromm Recording Secretary Esther Brandon Financial Secretary Irvin Pike Treasurer Andy Abrams

Board Trustees

Kathleen Arnold-Chambers Héber Cruz Berber Leonard Epstein

Christopher Jacobson Laura Lauria

Elliott Magnus Steven Magnus Marc Schulman

Find us on the web at www.templebethelbakersfield.org