From The President

Shalom Chaverim,

This past weekend we had an opportunity to meet Rabbi Larry Moldo from Buffalo New York who is quite interested in becoming our next Rabbi. The Rabbi search committee spent many hours setting up this "meet and greet" weekend after an earlier meeting with the Rabbi in February where a more in-depth interview process took place. The search committee, along with the Board of directors and other committee members, thought he had many of the qualities we were looking for at CBS and thought a 2nd interview was important for our CBS family to meet and observe Rabbi Moldo and his wife Andrea.

We have called a Special Congregational Meeting for 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 5, to hear the recommendations from the Search Committee regarding Rabbi Moldo and also to take care of some long needed by-law changes. I hope to see many of you at this meeting, but if you are unable to attend because of illness or travel out of town, please contact Laura Biewer by April 1 for an absentee ballot.

As I sat on the Bima Friday night enjoying the services being led by Rabbi Moldo, I was taken back to my youth as I heard him sing melodies I had not heard since I was in Hebrew School at Mosaic Law Congregation in Sacramento. My older sister Evi and I both started Hebrew School at the same time, she a year late, me a year early because we lived quite a distance from the synagogue. At that time, Hebrew school classes ran 4 afternoons per week in addition to classes on Shabbat morning, followed by Junior Congregation. In order to only have to make the schlep into town twice a week, we started together.

Our Hebrew school teachers for the most part were Israelis who came to the US on work visas. Not only did they teach Hebrew school but they also were involved in youth programs. At that time, girls celebrated their Bat Mitzvah on Friday night, leading services and chanting Haftorah--we were not allowed to read from the Torah. Boys had their Bar Mitzvah on Saturday only, but usually were invited up to the bima to chant the Kiddush on the Friday night before their big day.

My parents were not very observant and we lived so far away from the congregation, I often wonder what motivated them, as well as my friends' parents, to make religious school such a priority? Both my sister and I studied ballet from a very young age but when we entered Hebrew school, we stopped attending because Hebrew school was more important. I wonder why this has changed?

My friends and siblings still complain about how much we hated Hebrew school, having to learn to read, write, conjugate verbs, prepare for our B'nei Mitzvah. Back then, we didn't have a choice whether or not we had a B'nei Mitzvah--it was a given. Our only choice was what melody we were going to sing for Adon Olam!

Congregation Beth Shalom has many dedicated teachers who are here every week to teach their knowledge to your children. They are here whether one child or 10 show up for their class. Our children learn only 2 hours a week to prepare for their B'nei Mitzvah yet many don't make it to class for that small window of opportunity that they have to learn Hebrew and have those same memories I have 40 years later.

I challenge all of you to make attendance at religious school the number one priority in your children's lives. For one day a week, they can miss out on an activity they can do the other 6 days of the week. Show your children how important a religious education is for them by telling them how important it is to you. They may whine and complain now, but they will thank you for this "gift" when they have families of their own.

Wishing you all a very Happy Passover.

Notes from the Religious School

-- Mark Van Doren

This month, I would like to say "Thank You" to our team of teachers. They have diligently worked with the children in the religious school regardless of what roadblocks life throws in front of them. These men and women have dedicated a part of their lives to educating the youth of our synagogue without asking for anything in return. They show up week-in and week-out, cover for each other (and me!) when needed, have a day job or go to school themselves.

They end up helping our kids learn a whole lot of "stuff." Just ask any of the kids what they learned this year about: Holidays, Hebrew, Prayer, Parts of the Service, The Torah, G-d, The Holocaust, Baking Hamantashen, Counting in Hebrew, Israel, Jewish Folk Dance, Jewish Songs, Jewish Games, and working together as a Jewish "family." I'm sure you will get an answer that will please you.

So, without further ado, allow me to thank each one of our wonderful teachers:

I can't say enough wonderful things about each one of them who commit many hours each week to not just their class time, but also to preparing for classes before their students show up. When you see them, please let them know that what they do really matters.

"Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere."

--Chinese Proverb

Mazel Tov!

To Martha Loeffler, whose popular book, Boats in the Night (Lur Publications, 2000) is now in its 3rd printing. The book tells the story of Knud Dyby's underground work in Denmark during the Holocaust. He has been named a Righteous Gentile by Israel for his role as a leader in preventing the round up of almost the entire Jewish population of his native country. Boats in the Night is a resource used in many U.S. schools in the study of the Holocaust.

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