Date changed for
Sisterhood Summer Social 2012

Join us for an evening of Wine, Music, and fun at:

Haak Vinyards & Winery

6310 Avenue T, Santa Fe

Sunday, August 5^th, 6:00-8:30 p.m.

The original date of the Sisterhood Summer Social was inadvertently scheduled on Tisha B'Av.  We apologize for the confusion. The new date is Sunday, Aug. 5, from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.  For Sunday Concerts Only: You may bring your own wine glass to use. No outside food or drink allowed, but snacks can be purchased at the winery. Bring your lawn chair to ensure you will have a seat. Spouses and children welcome to come!! (children are free). No pets allowed. Be sure to bring mosquito repellant. Cost: $5 per person (21 years and older). Food is available for sale at the Winery. The featured band will be Retroburn Texas. They play a variety of music styles from the 1960's to today. Go to the Haak Winery web site — www.haakwine.com — for more information.

Education Report

From the Education VP It’s summer already, but we are already planning for the next school year at CSH. If you have not already done so, please do register your children for Hebrew & Religious school. While the Early Bird registration period is over, new students can still register without a registration fee. Forms are available at the synagogue. Please remember that you must be in good standing financially in order to register your student. We need you to register well before school begins so we can plan for the coming school year. The first day of school is September 9th. We have some things to kvel about in our congregation family. Mazal tov to our Pre-K/Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Patti Nesrsta, as she was named Deer Park ISD’s Secondary Teacher of the Year! What an accomplishment and we are sure is well-deserved. And also a sincere Mazal Tov to our own Jake Kornblau who was named Valedictorian of Clear Creek High School! Congratulations to the whole family. If you have anything that you think needs “kvelling” about, please send an email, and we’ll try to get it in the next article. We are trying to put together an Education Committee for the coming school year and would like you to seriously consider joining us. Ultimately we would love to have someone from every grade/age group represented. This committee will meet monthly during school hours and would support the school by problem-solving issues that come up, working on the curriculum, and offering assistance with special events. And sometimes we bring refreshments J If you are interested or have questions, please contact us. Lastly, there is a contest going on you should know about. Please share this with your kids: http://jewishstorywriting.com/contests1/my-rabbi-the-super-hero-contest/ This is a creative writing contest asking your child to share a short story explaining what they think makes our rabbi so special. And there is a lot of material in our Rabbi Federow that is so special to write about! The details are on the website. Good luck! Wishing you all an enjoyable summer with your families, B’shalom, Nancy Weiss & Katy Izygon nanweiss@comcast.net

Co-Presidents' Report

Our Synagogue had many exciting activities in the past few months!  Friday night and Saturday morning Shabbat services are very well attended.   We had many congregants and guests attend our Shabbat Alive services held in April and June, our Confirmation class led services in May and our Teacher Appreciation Shabbat also in May.

The next Shabbat Alive Service will be on August 10 at 7pm.  This service will feature Jennifer Rolnick, a cantorial student and our own congregants on instruments and vocals.

The synagogue board has been very busy discussing and implementing new exciting events for all of us.  Please continue to read the blog at http://cshshofar.blogspot.com/   and the weekly Happenings sent via email.

Our Sisterhood and Men's Club are a very important part of our congregation and both groups are very supported of us.  Thank you for all you wonderful ladies and superb gentlemen in both groups.

Our Religious school had another wonderful year.  Katy Izygon as the principal and all of her fantastic teachers make our Religious School one of the best in Houston.

Our Rabbi is another valuable asset to our congregation.  We thank our Rabbi for all his leadership and support to all of us.  

Perhaps, you think that synagogues run themselves. However, that is not the case, and many people volunteer many hours to help see that it runs smoothly. Did you know that there are many studies that show a link between volunteering and increased feelings of self-worth? Some of our committees include fundraising, education, social action, membership, ritual and facilities. Come and join one of these committees or the many other activities at our synagogue and share your expertise with your congregation,.

Our board meetings are held on every third Thursday of the month at 7pm and are open to all members.

We are looking forward to meeting and talking to each one of you in the coming months and are eager to learn your ideas about what our synagogue can do for you and your family.  Feel free to contact us to share your ideas and please tell us which committee of our synagogue you would like to participate.

Sandy Ostrosky  

Debbie Angel

Adult Education Report

Dear Friends,

Rabbi Federow moderated a thought provoking and interesting seminar on May 31, 2012 on the topic Ancient Aliens as the Source of Religion.  Thanks Rabbi for the handouts, thought provoking presentation and lively discussion!  If you were unable to attend, we look forward to seeing you at future events. 

Since I last checked in with everyone, my efforts have been primarily focused on making our 3^rd Annual Crypto-Jewish seminar a success.  Rabbi Peter Tarlow has now confirmed that he is available and will be presenting at our seminar again this year.  His topic will be Columbus and the Crypto-Jewish Experience.  It was kind of him to modify his calendar to accommodate our request to appear at our seminar.

I have also been in contact with Gabriela Bohm- the award winning, independent filmmaker that is presenting her film The Longing:  The Forgotten Jews of South America.  It is my understanding that this is a very moving presentation.  The film and workshop will be scheduled for mid-day in the seminar as her presentation (film and workshop) is approximately an hour and forty minutes in length.  The preliminary plan is to serve a catered lunch during this time.

Presently, my efforts are focused on scheduling speakers and preparing marketing materials to forward to our publicity committee as soon as possible.

As always, if anyone has any particular topics that they would like me to seek a speaker to address or if anyone knows of a speaker they would us to invite to speak at future adult education events, please feel free to contact me at any time with the information and I will be glad to follow up on it.  You may email me or contact me on Facebook.

Respectfully submitted,

Lori Elaine Laird

Adult Education Trustee

Email:  lori.lawyer@hotmail.com

Facebook:  Lori.Lawyer2

Sisterhood Summer Social!  Join Us!

Questions?  Contact Sharon Valentine via email at shirahvalentine@gmail.com.

Sisterhood Garage Sale – July 15^th and 22^nd

The Sisterhood’s annual garage sale will be held on Sunday, July 15^th and Sunday, July 22^nd here at CSH.  If you have items you would like to donate to the sale, those may be dropped off at the synagogue during normal office hours Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  

There will also be additional times scheduled in the near future to accommodate those who cannot drop-off items during office hours.

More information will be forthcoming in these announcements and The Shofar Online at http://cshshofar.blogspot.com/.

If you have questions, please contact Lori Pizutti at Lori.L.Pizzuti@gmail.com or Cathy Leonard at celeonard@verizon.net.

The Co-President's Report

We are both very excited to be the co-presidents of Congregation Shaar Hashalom.  We are meeting with the our synagogue committees and our synagogue families to discuss ideas for activities, Shabbat Services and fundraising to name a few.

Perhaps, you think that synagogues run themselves. However, that is not the case, and many people volunteer many hours to help see that it runs smoothly. Did you know that there are many studies that show a link between volunteering and increased feelings of self-worth? Some of our committees include fundraising, education, social action, membership, ritual and facilities. Come and join one of these committees or the many other activities at our synagogue and share your expertise with your congregation,.

Our board meetings are held on every third Thursday of the month at 7pm and are open to all members.

We are looking forward to meeting and talking to each one of you in the coming months and are eager to learn your ideas about what our synagogue can do for you and your family.  Feel free to email or call us to share your ideas and please tell us which committee of our synagogue you would like to participate.  

Sandy Ostrosky  

sandyostrosky@gmail.com

281-794-4172  

Debbie Angel  

debbie.m.angel@sbcglobal.net  

281-996-5971

Membership Report

As many of you have noticed, CSH has many more young families at our services and in our schools.  We are so excited to be a growing congregation once again.  Please make sure you to welcome and visit with these new members when you see them at services.  And, also, we hope that these young families will join us in leadership and volunteer roles at our synagogue.  We need you!!

What a wonderful Musical Shabbat, “Shabbat Alive!” over 100 of us experienced on April  27^th.  Many of our congregation families shared their time and talents in baking for the special Oneg that night.  I want to thank each & everyone who provided the special treats for that night.  All those attending our first Shabbat Alive unanimously voted to continue to  make Shabbat the special  holiday we can enjoy together.  With that in mind, please mark your calendar for Friday, June 8^th, for our next musical Shabbat.  I will ,again, be asking for volunteers to help with the Oneg Shabbat.

Congregation Shaar Hashalom will once again welcome Jennifer Rolnick on June the 8^th, as well as our fellow members who participated in this wonderful Shabbat.  A special ‘Todah Rabah’ to our musicians:  Jennifer Rolnick, Lori Laird, Joe Buchanan and Craig Schweitzer.  Also included in the service were our guest vocalist Jennifer Rolnick, Rabbi Federow, Tammy & Shelby Allison, Carl Schwanke, Rex Hemme and Loren Paeglis.

If you weren’t there, you missed the melodies of the Beatles, Twist & Shout, as well as many other wonderful musical surprises.  Please  try to join us on Friday, June 8^th, at 7:00 P.M.  Any help with the Oneg will be greatly appreciated.

A special welcome to our CSH family to April and Joe Buchanan & their family and to Mike Rosen.  As we have mentioned in the past, you, as our members, are also a welcoming committee for any guests attending our services and programs.  Please introduce yourself and show them how wonderful congregation members we have at CSH.

See you on June 8^th

Risa Stein

Lori Pizzuti

Membership Trustees

Adult Education Report

Ancient Aliens

At 7:00 p.m. on May 31, 2012, we have Rabbi Federow speaking on the topic of "Ancient Aliens as the Source of Religion."  You may ask yourself, “What in the world is that about?”  Well, I will tell you: 

What is the source of religions on Planet Earth? Did space ships land on the earth with vastly superior technology and appear to we lowly human beings as gods? Was the thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai an alien version of Steven Spielberg/Cecil B. Demille special effects? How do we understand such descriptions found in our Bible? 

Please come to the class and join in the discussion! 

Crypto-Jewish Seminar:  August 19, 2012

Mari & David Barkhausen, Rabbi Federow and I are hard at work organizing Congregation Shaar Hashalom’s 3^rd Annual Crypto- Jewish seminar.  Thus far we have confirmed the following speakers/presenters:

• Marie-Theresa Hernández:  Associate Professor of World Cultures and Literatures Department of Modern and Classical Languages at the University of Houston.  She is also the Jewish Studies Initiative Committee chair.  For more information on Dr.  Hernández: check out the following links:  http://www.class.uh.edu/mcl/wcl/hernandez.html    Additionally, an article in the Jewish Herald-Voice:  http://jhvonline.com/jewish-studies-program-set-to-begin-at-uh-p12039-96.htm

• Mr. Bennett Greenspan:  President and CEO of Family Tree DNA   An entrepreneur and life-long genealogy enthusiast, Mr. Greenspan founded Family Tree DNA in 1999, turning - dare we say - a hobby into a full-time vocation. Together with Max Blankfeld, they founded in 1997 GoCollege.com a website for college-bound students which survived the .COM implosion.

• Gabriela Bohm:  Independent filmmaker/founder of Bohm Productions, whose productions explore cultural identity through inspirational stories from the present and past.  She will be presenting a workshop on her movie- The Longing:  The Forgotten Jews of South America.  Gabriela is an award-winning documentary film director and offers workshops on identity and empathy based on her documentary.  The Longing:  The Forgotten Jews of South America, set in Ecuador, chronicles the story of five people attempting to regain their Jewish heritage against the local Jewish community’s fierce opposition.  The Longing to Belong workshop focuses on marginalized crypto Jews and existing Jewish communities who reject them.  Participants will explore the complexities of Jewish identity in today’s world through a screening of the film, discussion and experiential exercises.  Bohm creates a nurturing, intellectual environment in which attendees can explore their personal, political and spiritual perspectives.  Together, they will reach new perspectives and compassion.  You can visit Ms. Bohm’s website for more information on the film and workshop:  http://www.bohmproductions.com/

• Dr. Ofelia Averack:  Will be sharing her own personal story about her return to Judaism with participants.  Dr. Averack graduated Valedictorian of her Medical School with an M.D. License in Mexico.  She served as an instructor of Microbiology and Human Physiology Department at her University.  Life Member and Founder of Hadassah she served at her local Hadassah Chapter at all capacities and positions.  She received the Hadassah National Leadership Award and was part of the Young Women Young Leaders in the Mission to Israel in 2001. 

• Rabbi Peter Tarlow:  Rabbi Tarlow is trying to change his schedule to make himself available for the seminar.  Peter Tarlow has been the rabbi at Texas A&M Hillel since 1983.  In that capacity he has worked with Jewish students and faculty, taught courses on Jewish ethics and has served as a chaplain for College Station PD.  He holds degrees in history, in Spanish and Hebrew literatures and in psychotherapy.  This will be Rabbi Tarlow’s third year with our seminar.  And, just a “shout out” to Rabbi Tarlow, last year we had a speaker cancel last minute and he was amazing enough to be able to fill their spot and speak for the entire time period.  We certainly appreciate all of his efforts!

Our next steps are to work on scheduling, travel, hotel arrangements, publicity and catering (box lunches, most likely) for the event.  If anyone has suggestions for arranging discounted travel and/or hotel accommodations we would appreciate the suggestions.  Just email or send me a Facebook message.  We hope to see you all at the seminar!

Respectfully submitted,

Lori Elaine Laird

Adult Education Trustee

Email:  Lori.lawyer@hotmail.com

Facebook:  Lori.Lawyer2

Sisterhood Schmooze

As our Sisterhood year winds down, we will be holding elections on the evening of Thursday, May 17^th, along with a banana split social.  Installation to follow next month.

We do have a couple of things happening in what is traditionally our “off time” this summer.  We will soon begin work on our summer garage sale, which at this point will be held in August.  In light of last year’s success, we will again hold it on two consecutive Sundays.  And we are planning to have a summer social again this year (which we managed to miss last year). More on these two items as they develop.    

Sheilla Goldberg and I just returned from Women’s League for Conservative Judaism Intra-Continental Region Conference in San Antonio earlier this month.  It’s always great meeting with other women from the region to exchange ideas (and commiserate on successes and failures).  This year, in addition to eight states, there were also delegates in attendance from our neighbors to the north and south, Canada and Mexico. It’s always a special treat to meet the ladies from above and below the USA.

We were privy to many sessions about such topics as developing programs, bolstering attendance and managing the many aspects of a successful Sisterhood, with a little fun thrown in too.

I hope you have a wonderful summer and keep in touch, as we have some great things happening in Sisterhood!

As always, big hugs,
Cathy Leonard

Sisterhood President
celeonard@verizon.net