From The President

A Ziessen Pesach to you and your families,

In the early 1970's, I took a job at Camp Arazim--I wanted to be a janitor but the Administrator, Sheldon Mitchell, had other ideas and I became the assistant cook. We cooked 3 meals a day, 7 days a week for 7 weeks, for approximately 300 campers and staff. And by the way, the food was all kosher. Outside of helping with meals at home, I had never cooked for this many people, let alone kosher food. When camp was over, Sheldon decided that our synagogue, Mosaic Law (Sacramento) could benefit from once a month "Shabbat Family Dinners" to bring some tradition back into the lives of our members. Having just returned from camp and a crash course in kosher cooking, you guessed it--I was recruited to be the "head cook." And from there, Joyce's Kosher Catering was born.

After several years of catering weddings, B'nei Mitzvah, Bri't Mila and other life cycle events, I moved to Los Angeles, got a part time job as a cook at the Milky Way, a kosher dairy restaurant owned by Leah Adler (Steven Spielberg's mother), and worked part-time at Chabad's residential drug treatment facility. Both establishments observed the highest levels of Kashrut, to the point of using only Chalav Yisroel dairy products, which requires supervision of the milking process by a Jew. In any event, I got quite an education in kosher cooking.

Yet during all these years of kosher cooking, I never kept kosher--not in my home, not in restaurants, never. I saw no logical reason to keep kosher. I rationalized that the laws of kashrut were based on ancient laws that might have made sense a few thousand years ago, but were no longer necessary in the age of refrigeration and the FDA.

In about 2005 a very close Jewish friend and I were having a heated debate about Judaism and my friend said he didn't think I had a relationship with G-d outside of going to services on Friday nights (I rarely went on Shabbat morning) and the High Holidays. I adamantly disagreed, but the thought haunted me.

Not long after that, I happened to be reading the preface of a Kosher cook book (WHO reads the preface of a cook book?). The author mentioned how she had recently decided to keep kosher because she wanted a closer relationship with G-d. She said that by observing kashrut, whenever she eats anything--be it a taste, a nosh, or a meal--keeping kosher required her to think every time she ate. But more importantly, it brought G-d into her daily life as she was now conscious of keeping a commandment that had no other reason for its observance except that it was commanded of us.

Somehow, her words and feelings struck a chord with me and I realized I didn't need a scientific, nutritional or logical reason for becoming kosher. It was an emotional feeling I felt in my heart, and not long after that, I began keeping kosher in my home. I began to feel the presence of G-d in my daily life, in my home, every time I sat down to a meal, or had a snack with a friend. Keeping kosher finally made sense to me and it changed my life.

Our ritual committee, with the help of Rabbi Larry, is in the process of deciding what level of kashrut is appropriate for our CBS family. I have heard rumblings and complaints from members who don't want to list ingredients on the food they bring from home or think that they have to keep kosher in order to bring food to the synagogue.

First, almost every conservative synagogue across the nation has the same struggle we do and they have worked out solutions and compromises for food brought from home. But food labeling is not only about kashrut anymore. We ALL know people with food allergies and know children who eat without knowing what they're eating. Labeling the ingredients in our food with "Dairy", "Pareve" or "contains nuts" can be a life-saving act for people with food allergies and is a responsible thing to do not only at the synagogue but to any place where you are asked to bring food.

No one is judging you and no one is asking you to keep kosher in your home. What you eat outside the synagogue is your own business, but for the 2 or 3 hours per week that you MAY spend at the synagogue, we ask that you observe the rules of kashrut that we will decide on together. If you are the oneg host and are not comfortable baking something, you can call Rabbi Larry and he will advise you as to what is or is not kosher, or you can give Laura a check and kosher products will be purchased for you, or you can bring fruit.

The Board's goal is to make CBS a warm, welcoming community and home for any Jew who enters our gates. By keeping our kitchen kosher we can feel comfortable inviting all our guests to eat with us and not exclude anyone because they observe kashrut. I hope you agree.

In the months to come, Rabbi Larry will be providing additional material intended to educate and enlighten us about the laws of kashrut. And in the end, perhaps you will also feel a closer connection with G-d like I do.

Until next month....

Religious School News

CBS RELIGIOUS SCHOOL MENU

So much for long notes and messages; this month we want to serve you news and information about upcoming events, projects and programs. Join us as often as you can!

- Kulanu -

Kulanu -- a Hebrew word that translates to "all of us" and has been introduced into our school curriculum (made possible by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Sacramento).

Rachel Roseman -- the designer of Kulanu for CBS Religious School and a member. Rachel is a Jewish educator with 15+ years of experience in Jewish classrooms, camps and programs.

Kulanu for CBS 2010 -- is designed to help families honor Shabbat in the home. How can one little day add meaning to your life? Check our calendar for dates and times.

- News from CBS School -

Have you heard? Nir has been teaching his class the Ashrei, and if you have not attended services and heard them recite the Ashrei you're missing out! Congrats to all students!

Did you know? That our Aleph class students have learned over seven prayers this year...come by on Sundays to hear and see them as they move along on their Jewish journey!

Were you there? When our confirmation class, Kadima and USY youth performed a Purim Shpeil and rocked the house...don't miss these kids when they perform!

Did you taste? The hamantashen the Aleph class made for Purim...from chocolate chip cookie dough stuffed cookies to M&Ms or just the old classics, we made them all!

- Coming Up -

Kulanu Classes -- in April, May and June. Family class on April 18 for all K-7 students/families. April 25 Family class for confirmation. May 8 Havdalah service geared to confirmation and open to all. June 4 for Family Shabbat and ShaBBQ.

Classes to be extended -- We plan on keeping the Religious School going through May 23rd with a final day event for all students on that day! Please mark your calendars!

Thank you for supporting the CBS Religious School.

Rated ***** in 2010!

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