Torah Fund - August 2017

The Torah Fund Campaign was first launched in 1942 as a scholarship for JTS students in New York.    Since then, Torah Fund has been a vital source of support for JTS, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, Schechter Institute and the Seminario Rabbinico in South America.

At the Ziegler School, Rabbis Bradley Artson and Cheryl Peretz are leading the way in establishing the Zacharias Frankel College, a new rabbinical school in Potsdam, Germany.   What an amazing achievement, a progressive rabbinical seminary springing up in a suburb of Berlin, just 70 years after the liberation of Auschwitz!    And the German government pays the bills, as part of the European system of state-funded religion.

You will be receiving letters for the 2017-2018 Torah Fund campaign ithis month.   Please return the pledge card and contributions as soon as you can to eliminate second letters. We need your support more than ever in our Torah Fund campaign. 

Again, thank you for your continued support of Torah Fund.  

Bobbie Cohen 764-7952

Torah Fund V. P.

President's Message - August 2017

Shalom everyone,

Happy August. The year continues to speed by and I know that because the High Holidays are only a month and a half away. The holiday period begins with a service called Selichot and it is held on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. This year it will be on September 16^th. The service is not long and the choir will be singing. So come and join us as we usher in the new year. Prior to the service (which will be at 7:30 pm) we are having a dairy dinner that will start at 6:15 pm. You know that the dinner will be good with plenty of food so even though I haven’t had an opportunity to create a flyer the cost will be similar to that for other dairy dinners. We will take your reservations at any time. Please don’t wait until the last minute.

I want to thank all of you who have sent in your dues/fees for the 2017-18 fiscal year. As I mentioned last month we would appreciate receiving a check from you as soon as possible. Apparently the bills were prepared correctly because we had very few call about overbilling.  If you ever have extra money that is burning a hole in your pocket please consider Valley Beth Israel as a place to make a donation.

As a result of the comments I made in the last newsletter about jobs that we have in the synagogue (strictly volunteer of course) I did get two responses and I am elated that these individuals have agreed to help.  One is already working diligently to make heads or tails out of our financial accounting system.  This will ensure that checks can be disbursed properly and the bookkeeping can reflect accurately our financial status.  It’s tough to turn around what I have done but it is improving.  A second person called me yesterday and I will be finding an important place for him on one of our committees.  Valley Beth Israel needs you too, so please get involved.

Please respond to the letters from the ritual committee in regard to the Yizkor book for the holidays and also any request for aliyahs or pesichas. If you don’t know what these things are please call the office because there is a deadline.

I hope to see you at the synagogue soon. Please be careful in the heat and drink plenty of water.

One last note: our grandkids (Jordan and Myron) just arrived unaccompanied from Texas and are spending ten days with us before going back to school.  They have grown so much since we last saw them.   Come to services the first Friday in August and you can meet them. We’re so excited to have them with us.

Ron

Ron Trachtenberg,   VBI Temple President

News of Our Congregants - August 2017

Get well soon!

Get well to Ron Trachtenberg who has been recovering from a recent illness.

Get well to Allen Greeinstein.

 

A speedy recovery to Jill Glass who recently underwent surgery. 

 

We are thinking of you both and wish you well.

 All Congregants -
 

If you know of a congregant who is in need of our prayers due to a health issue or the loss of a loved one, please let us know.

Birthdays, Anniversaries, Celebrations - August 2017

 

Birthdays and Anniversaries!!

 Happy Birthday to Mel Sheftel upon the celebration of his 90th Birthday!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Love to Honor Birthdays and Anniversaries!!

To honor birthdays and other celebrations, please join our congregation in our monthly Choral Shabbat.  

 

Our next program will be this Friday, August 4th, 2017.

Services begin at 7:30pm

Please let Judy Knigin know if you will be celebrating a birthday or anniversary in the coming month.  Likewise, we invite you to sponsor an Oneg Shabbat or Kiddush Luncheon. Judy can be reached in the Temple office at (818) 782-2281. 

BEHIND THE HEADLINES - August 2017

A special message from Selma Alpert:

For over 25 years I have written this column for VBI.  

 

One reader told me, "I don't agree with everything you write, but I always read your column."  Another recently told me, "I have kept every copy of your articles."  

Imagine that!  

 

Now I am recovering from major surgery.  I've decided that my column and I will retire.

 

I wish all my readers a Happy and Healthy New Year!

                                                                                Selma Alpert

Following is the final edition of BEHIND THE HEADLINES by Selma Alpert from August 2017

UN  HEROINE.  Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the UN, told the bare truth to 2,000 attendees at the Ambassadors Against BDS summit, held at the UN:

“The effort to delegitimize Israel being waged on college campuses and the anti-Israel obsession at the UN are one and the same. They both seek to deny Israel’s right to exist. It makes no sense to condemn Israel for human rights violations and excuse barbaric countries like Iran, Syria, and North Korea.”

Nikki Haley is a bold champion of Israel and the U.S.  A great choice.

 

FAKE  LEADER?  Linda Sarsour, Muslim darling of progressives and feminists, is condemned as a fraud and an anti-Semitic terrorist by Courtney Love.  It’s reported Sarsour has cousins who are Hamas members, jailed in Israel.  In a speech to a mostly Muslim high school, she proposed a jihad against President Trump.  Sarsour helped collect money to rebuild a damaged Jewish cemetery in Colorado and amassed $200,000 for the cause.  Months later, she hasn’t given the Jewish cemetery one penny.  She helped organize and lead the Women’s March, but Sarsour endorses sharia law which approves of wife-beating, honor killings, one-sentence divorce, men having countless “temporary” wives and 4 legal wives.  Is this feminism?

 

HATE  MEDIA.  World Jewish Congress has revealed new disturbing facts.

In 2016, 29 million people were exposed to anti-Semitism on social media and the U.S. had the most anti-Semitism (68%) on social media.  Jews must unite to demand removal of videos on social media that incite violent acts.

 

TEMPLE  MOUNT.  Imans are stirring up a 4^th intifada by spreading rumors that Israel wants to destroy the Temple Mount.  A Palestinian who believed that false rumor killed two Druze policemen, guarding Muslims at prayer.

Abbas rewards families of slain terrorists with monthly payments, using money we give him and the PA.  Should Congress cut off these funds?

 The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect the views of VBI.