From The President

Greetings to the CBS family,

Every morning when I leave for work I notice more buds on my little lilac bushes in front of my house and get excited, not only for my favorite flower but also because lilacs mean Spring is right around the corner. Along with spring comes Purim and Passover, my favorite holiday.

It's not too early to start thinking about Passover. We have been reading in the Torah the past few weeks about Moses and the Israelites receiving the commandments on Mount Sinai and about the wanderings of our forefathers in the desert on their journey to the promised land.

It's not too early to start thinking about your seder this year. With so many things going on in the world, Passover gives us a wonderful opportunity to use our own history of slavery and redemption to learn about other peoples who today face the same ordeals that we did in the land of Egypt. I hope you will take the opportunity to use your seder as a time to retell our story as we are commanded to do in the torah, from generation to generation, dor v dor, but also to inform your family and friends of other people in the world who still suffer today, and what we can do as Jews to help end their suffering.

We have another busy month at CBS: March 2 brings Gary Kenzer of Honestreporting.com to our congregation for a presentation on how Israel is portrayed in the world media and how we can read and respond to the media in an honest way. Purim is upon us and a carnival and Megillah reading will happen on Monday, March 9.

On March 15th Rabbi Alper turned comedian will present a lively program to our congregation, and on March 22 Andy Statman will appear at Sunday Afternoons at CBS. Andy is a wonderful mandolin player and musician. One of my favorite CDs is "Songs of our Fathers," where he collaborated with Dave Grisman for a very beautiful program of Jewish music.

The rabbi search committee has been working hard to find a candidate that we believe will be a good match for our community. During the week of February 16, Rabbi Larry Moldo was flown out from Buffalo, New York, for a mid-week interview with the search committee, Board of Directors, Ritual and Membership committees. The response was very favorable and the search committee recommended to the board that Rabbi and his wife be brought back for a second interview and to meet the entire congregation. That interview will take place the weekend of March 20-22. Information about Rabbi Moldo may be found elsewhere in the Bulletin.

Tentative plans, besides leading Shabbat services, will likely be an educational event followed by socializing on Saturday evening, meeting and observing the religious school students on Sunday and a final meeting with the search committee. I hope you will be able to attend one of the events during the weekend to meet Rabbi Moldo and his wife.

I would like to take this time to remind all of you that if you have any questions or concerns about anything at CBS, that you my "door" is always open for you, and I encourage you to call me if you have any suggestions, comments or just want to say hi! My phone number is (209) 613-9889 and I can be reached until 11:00 p.m. every day.

I wish you all a very happy Purim and look forward to seeing you at the synagogue in the coming days.

Notes from the Religious School

Many of us remember Hebrew School when we were kids. Two days a week, three or four during B'nai Mitzvah training, Friday nights, Saturday mornings, etc. I too remember those days, but I also remember Purim Carnivals, celebration in the Sukkah and model Seder before Passover. Here at CBS we've even added one more great memory...Tu B’Shvat! And, if you missed it this month, you may want to mark your calendar for the last weekend in January 2010!

We had more than 30 students, kids, adults and friends earlier this month for the annual Tu B'Shvat Planting in the Park. Thank you everyone who attended and a kind thanks to those who had winning bids on the orchids we auctioned off to raise money for 2010. And special thanks to Kerry Elms with the Tree Foundation for pictures (view elsewhere on the CBS website).

So, what's next?

• Family Services and the Bar Mitzvah of David Herrera the weekend of March 6th.
• Purim Carnival on Monday night, March 9th, from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
• Dinner will be served while the Magillah is being read.
• Come in Costume and win a prize...every costume is a winner!
• Special Prizes for Adults (over 18) with Costumes.
• The loudest "boo" for Haman will also be a winner.
• Dance Classes resume this week for students, in preparation for Cafe Shalom.
• Wait 'til you see our students recreate scenes from Fiddler on the Roof.
• We are planning a field trip to see a youth dance troop sometime in March.
• Movies at Sunday School (contact me for a schedule).
• Starting with the Chelm Players Puppet Troop Video.
• Yom Hashoa videos.
• Scenes from Fiddler on the Roof.
• Jewish Heroes in History.
• Family Movie Night.
• A FUNdraiser for our Religious School.
• Scheduled for a Sunday in April.
• Send me an email with requests!

With your help and participation, we look forward to continuing a tradition of memories for our students and parents! See you soon....

Mazel Tov!

To Morgan Filgas, who is a member of the Modesto Broncos Pee Wee squad. The team competed in the 1AA dance pom small squad division against nine other squads at the JAMZ Las Vegas Nationals and won.

She received a jacket and a medal. They are going to be honored courtside at an up-coming Sacramento Kings game.

Plus, her mom is psyched!

Remember, half of every subscription to J- will go to Congregation Beth Shalom.  See your Bulletin for details.