From The President

Happy New Year,

I hope many of you had the opportunity to see the article in Saturday's newspaper about our very successful First Responder Christmas dinner this past week. We prepared, delivered and served more than 200 meals to emergency responders and home-bound seniors. I would like to thank all the volunteers who cooked, delivered and served the meals. It was a very nice experience to get together for this great mitzvah. I would like to thank all of you who made generous donations of both money and time to this event and I encourage all of you to visit those merchants who were so kind in making donations to our cause (Uno Chicago Grill, Chefs of New York, Raleys, Walmart and Word of Mouth). We hope to do this again next year so put it on your calendar now.

We must also thank Joel Youngheim and his committee for another wonderful Latkas and Vodkas. If you did not attend, you missed great music, great food and a great atmosphere of fun. The money raised by this event goes directly to our youth, providing opportunities for them to attend Jewish summer programs. Many of you have heard the propaganda I spout that a Jewish summer camp experience is one of the best influences on our children to continue being Jewish--and statistics have proved this. When I first moved to Modesto in 1997, CBS sent maybe one or two children per year to summer camp. Last year alone 5 of our students attended Jewish summer camps, thanks to the money raised by Latkas and Vodkas. We hope to send more and more children each year and hope you will continue to support this endeavor by either attending L&V or by making donations to the L&V fund. It is our responsibility to ensure that our children's children and their children are Jewish.

Rabbi Larry has now been with us for 6 months. Have you had an opportunity to meet him yet? If you would like to meet with or get a visit from Rabbi--or know of someone who does--contact Sandy in the office and she can arrange an appointment for you. Rabbi has also started Hebrew and Jewish History classes. Please check the Bulletin for dates and times for these classes.

As we enter 2010, and I enter my last 6 months as the President of CBS, I would love to hear from you with suggestions on how we can make CBS the place you call your second home. When I became President, the board's goal was to make CBS a thriving Jewish Community Center in Stanislaus County. While we have been very busy the past few months with many activities, it seems like the same 10 people are the ones do the work and attend the events.

My question to you is what can we (the Board) do to entice you to becoming more involved in any one of the many aspects of Congregation Beth Shalom? If you have suggestions for events, classes, or any other ideas that will make CBS a more rounded facility, please let me know.

Religious School News

Teach the Children Well

As we celebrate our "Gregorian Calendar New Year" I wanted to share with you two powerful experiences that reminded me why we send our kids to religious school. I know that these experiences will guide me in the coming year. I hope they do the same for you. Happy New Year!

Last month I was fortunate to experience the life celebrations of two wonderful people. Both were citizens of Modesto who had an impact on our city and community. Their contributions to our society were so profound that I can only pray the rest of us "step up" to fill the voids they have left behind.

The first celebration of life that I attended was the service for a member of our own family, Ed Blankenship, a warm and kind man that I had known through our many moments together at CBS. Though I never spent personal time with Ed outside of CBS, I walked away from the service held upon his passing feeling as if I had befriended a man of profound moral and ethical principal.

I learned that Ed was a man who shared his bounty with many people in an anonymous fashion. He gave what he was able to give to strangers and friends alike. I remember his first Shabbat service after his conversion and the stories he told of his humble roots and what it meant to him to be a Jew. Based upon the stories of Ed's life of performing Tzadakah, he was a holy man long before his conversion. He did not want to take credit for his contributions and his humility only made him that much more holy. I feel fortunate to have known him. And, I've shared what little I know of his stories with my children as an example of how to truly be a spiritual human while we are on this earth.

The second celebration of life was at the service honoring Bette Belle Smith. Her service was a celebration of the music she loved, the friends and family who shared experiences with her and the community to which she gave of herself, over and over again.

Just like Ed, I did not spend a lot of time with Bette Belle, yet I walked away from the celebration of her life knowing her in a profound way. She volunteered and volunteered and then volunteered some more.

The best description of her acts of kindness came from Major Carpenter of the Salvation Army. To paraphrase him, "the first meeting I had with Bette Belle I was overjoyed that she was willing to give 100% of her energy to our cause. Then I had the chance to sit with her on a few other charitable organization committees and learned that she gave 100% of her time to each of them, too! I was overwhelmed at how much she had to give" (my apologies for anything out of context in that interpretation). Like Ed Blankenship, Bette Belle Smith understood more about what Tzadakah means than I could find in fifty books, bibles or tractates. She will live on as an example to us all.

Both Bette Bell Smith and Ed Blankenship will be sorely missed by those who knew and loved them. They will also be missed by those who were touched by them yet never met them. Please share with your children the stories of their lives dedicated to helping others without taking credit. It was what they did and they enjoyed it as their reward. Perhaps together we can create enough little Ed's and little Bette Belle's to fill the void of "giving" that they have both left behind.

-- Todd Aaronson, Religious School Director

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