Temple Family News North Country Reform Temple Ner Tamid - Rabbi Dr. Janet B. Liss
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Temple Family News 1
North Country Reform Temple ~ Ner Tamid
Rabbi Dr. Janet B. Liss
Student Cantor Ella Gladstone Martin
Phone: (516) 671-4760 • Fax: (516) 676-9180 • E-mail: office@ncrt.org • Web: www.ncrt.org
March/April 2021 Adar/Nisan/Iyar 5781
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A Message From Our Rabbi
The Torah teaches us that every generation is obligated to tell the story of the Exodus from
Egyptian bondage into freedom as if we personally experienced it. Passover is the most widely cele-
brated Jewish holiday throughout all streams of Judaism. The holiday also takes on contemporary
meaning reflecting the moral, ethical issues and the realities of the day. This year its message is par-
ticularly poignant.
The Torah commands us to eat Matzah, unleavened bread for 7 days and remove products with
leaven from our homes. This is the perfect year to donate our leaven products to food pantries to
help feed the hungry in our communities. We in normal times, gather with extended family and
friends for the seder, the ritualized order of retelling the story and we eat a festive holiday meal with
foods prepared that are kosher for Passover. We are encouraged to invite guests into our homes.
The seder ritual engages the youngest children and spans the generations. We are encouraged to
ask serious questions and wrestle with the meaning of the Haggadah, the book that we read during
the seder. Children search for the hidden matzah, the afikomen, Greek for dessert after the meal, a
highlight over the ages.
The holiday has taken on layers of meaning over the centuries. Freedom is certainly not a gift that
we can take for granted. Throughout Jewish history, Jews have not been allowed to worship freely in
many areas of the world. We know what it means to be at risk for being perceived as “other”;
a message that resonates throughout our community especially in light of what happened to us
during the Holocaust.
In retelling the story, we recount the ten plagues that occurred as Moses, God’s emissary tried to
convince Pharoah to let the Israelites go. Over time, with the writing of contemporary Haggagot,
many contain alternative plagues that affect and represent the ills of society today. Questions that
maybe asked at the seder this year, is what plagues us today? How has the plague of Covid
changed our lives? What has the plague of isolation meant to us this year? This year I would suggest
that instead of just focusing on the plagues that we consider asking for the 10 blessings that have
come out of this past year.
We cannot be truly be free while others are not. This year we have witnessed an awakening in
America with the Black Lives Matter Movement. Until we see all Americans treated fairly in this
country, we are not all free. Until we see criminal justice reform that treats all Americans the same,
we are not all free. Until we see Americans stand up to bigotry and hatred against all minorities, we
are not all free. Until we root out prejudice and recognize our own biases, we are not all free. Until
we root out systemic racism, we are not all free. Until we stand up to hate crimes and name them,
we are not all free. Until we hold people accountable for spewing hatred in this country, we are not all
free.
Freedom is a gift. It is a gift to be cherished. It, like democracy, is not something we take for
granted. As we retell the story of the Exodus this year, most likely on Zoom for most of us, it is in-
cumbent on all of us to recognize that as a society we have a lot of work to do, in order to restore
freedom without prejudice to all Americans. Join me in doing your part to create an America where
all are safe and free.
Towards the end of the seder, we open our doors and invite Elijah the prophet into our homes.
According to tradition, Elijah will usher in the messianic age. Reform Jews believe that through our
own actions, we will bring about the messianic time when people will all be treated the same, there
will be no war, illness and plagues will all disappear. This year when we open the door, may we r
recognize our potential to help bring about a fairer, more just and safer America for all. There are
many online sites today where you can download contemporary Haggadot to be used for your seder.
Haggadot.com is the most comprehensive providing links to personalize your Haggadah as well.
May this holiday which ushers in spring, bring light and joy into our lives as we begin to see the light
at the end of the tunnel and begin to emerge from our Covid isolation.
Rabbi Dr. Janet B. LIss
3 Student Cantor Ella Gladstone Martin Shalom! Passover has always been one of my favorite holidays and this pandemic has brought me new understanding of its themes. In the Passover story the Israelites painted their doors red with sheep’s blood to avoid the tenth plague: death of the first born. Pharoah and his people had murdered so many of their first-born sons to risk experiencing such loss again. This year, as COVID-19 took countless lives, so many of us prayed that the angel of death would pass over our homes. When the Jewish people escaped the land of Egypt through the parted shored of the Red Sea, they sang Mi Chamochah (Who is Like You?) in praise of God’s unparalleled benevolence. This past year, so many of us have found renewed gratitude for the small things in life we once took for granted. In the book of Exodus Moses risked his life to save the ancient Israelites. Throughout the pandemic, so many front-line workers risked their lives to help their communities survive. In the Passover seder we sing several cumulative songs, each verse building upon the preceding one to tell a story. In Echad Mi Yodeah? (Who Knows One?) we count from one to thirteen, each number representing a different element of the Jewish faith. In Dayenu (It Would Have Been Enough) we list all of G-d’s miracles, exclaiming that each would have been enough, and yet G-d’s wonders continued to increase. In contrast, Chad Gadya (One Kid) follows the purchase of a goat only for it to be eaten by a cat, which is in turn is bitten by a dog, and so on and so forth until nothing and no one is left unscathed. Just like our ancient counterparts, we are currently living through history. As hate crimes mount against Asian Americans, we are reminded of the message behind Chad Gadya – that violence begets violence. But as the vaccine is rolled out, we also have one more thing to be thankful for when we belt out “dayenu”. Chag Sameach, Student Cantor Ella Gladstone Martin
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Passover
Saturday Evening, March 27th through
Saturday at Sundown , April 3rd
And this day shall become a memorial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the Eternal,
for your generations, as an eternal decree shall you observe it. For seven days you shall eat unleav-
ened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes ... you shall guard the
unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe
this day for your generations as an eternal decree. - Exodus 12:14-17
Of all the Jewish holidays, Pesach is the one most commonly observed, even by otherwise non-observant Jews.
According to the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), more than 80% of Jews have attended a Pesach
Seder.
The name "Pesach" comes from the Hebrew root Peh-Samech-Chet , meaning to pass through, to passover,
to exempt or to spare. It refers to the fact that God "passed over" the houses of the Jews when he was slaying the
firstborn of Egypt. In English, the holiday is known as Passover. "Pesach" is also the name of the sacrificial
offering (a lamb) that was made in the Temple on this holiday. The holiday is also referred to as Chag he-
Aviv , (the Spring Festival), Chag ha-Matzoth , (the Festival of Matzahs), and Z'man
Cherutenu , , (theTime of Our Freedom).
Pesach Laws and Customs
Probably the most significant observance related to Pesach involves the removal of chametz from our homes. This
commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is
also a symbolic way of removing the "puffiness" (arrogance, pride) from our souls.
We may not eat chametz during Pesach. Chametz includes anything made from the five major grains
(wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after coming into
contact with water. Many Ashkenazi Jews also avoid rice, corn, peanuts, and legumes (beans) as if they were chametz.
All of these items are commonly used to make bread, thus use of them was prohibited to avoid any confusion.
Such additional items are referred to as "kitniyot." Many Reform and Conservative Jews no longer observe the
prohibition against kitniyot. Sephardic Jews have never observed this prohibition.
The grain product we eat during Pesach is called matzah. Matzah is unleavened bread, made simply from flour and
water and cooked very quickly. This is the bread that the Jews made for their flight from Egypt. We have come up with
many inventive ways to use matzah; it is available in a variety of textures for cooking: matzah flour (finely ground for
cakes and cookies), matzah meal (coarsely ground, used as a bread crumb substitute), matzah farfel (little chunks, a
noodle or bread cube substitute), and full-sized matzahs (about 10 inches square, a bread substitute). On the first two
nights of Pesach, we have a special family meal filled with ritual to remind us of the significance of the holiday.
This meal is called a Seder , from a Hebrew root word meaning "order,"
because there is a specific set of information that must be discussed in a specific
order. It is the same root from which we derive the word "siddur" , (prayer
book).
6 Seder Plate The six traditional items on the Seder Plate are: Maror and Chazeret — Bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Egypt. Horseradish may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder. Charoset — A sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt. In Ashkenazi homes, charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine. Sephardic recipes call for dates and honey in addition to chopped nuts, cinnamon, and wine. Karpas — A vegetable other than bitter herbs, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. Parsley or celery is usually used. The dipping of a simple vegetable into salt water (which represents tears) mirrors the pain felt by the Jewish slaves in Egypt. Usually in a Shab- bat or holiday meal, the first thing to be eaten after the Kiddush over wine is bread. At the Seder table, however, the first thing to be eaten after the Kiddush is a vegetable. This leads immediately to the recital of the famous question, Ma Nishtana — "Why is this night different from all other nights?" Z'roa — A roasted lamb or goat shank bone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusa- lem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Since the destruction of the Temple, the z'roa serves as a visual reminder of the Pesach sacrifice; it is not eaten or handled during the Seder. Beitzah — A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and the chagigah were meat offerings, the chagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning (as eggs are the first thing served to mourners after a funeral), evoking the idea of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and our inability to offer any kind of sacrifices in honor of the Pesach holiday. Since the destruction of the Temple, the beitzah serves as a visual reminder of the chagigah; it is not used during the formal part of the Seder, but some people eat it with saltwater as the first course of the meal.
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Yom Huledet
Sameach to our
birthday celebrants!
March April
4 Alissa Woska
6 Mitchell Jacobson 5 Felicia Pomerantz
8 Lawrence Fish 6 Herman Berliner
9 Amorita Snow 8 Elle Woska
10 Dean Mayreis 10 Michael Israel
12 Victoria Topol 10 David Levine
13 Jay Goldstein 10 Sam Rosencrans
13 Samuel Rotberg 10 Sophie Rosencrans
15 Roberta Fox 12 Vicki Bialer
19 Marisa Macnow 17 Robin Appel
21 Ruth Stearn 17 Ruth Friedman
24 Nili Biondi 21 James Markay
24 Cheryl Grossman 21 Hiram Rothkrug
25 Nancy Cohen 24 Carol Friedenberg
28 Joe Rotberg
30 Beth LeBlang
30 Jack Rosencrans
March
Yom N’suim
17
27
Amy & Phillip Bettan
Felicia &Sandy
Sameach to those
Pomerantz
celebrating
anniversaries!
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March/April Yahrzeits 2021: 5781
March 5 March 26 April 23
Rebecca Abelson Marion Floresta Morris Abramowitz
Luba Blank Sean LaFlash Sam Ackerman
Joseph Dauman Dana Ivy Wigutoff Ruth Brown
Bernard Derringer Howard Coron
David Karin April 2 Albert Davidson
Murray Kipnis Esther Borish Isabella Arcos Finer
Nathan Stearn Nina Dubin Irving Gerberg
Jay Zaremba Ray Glassberg Hilda Glassman
Joseph Goldblatt Mimi Goldstein
March 12 Grace Goldstein Paul John Juettner
Frederick Belasco Rosalie Ross Florence Safian
Jeffrey Cappel Shirley Witkin Joseph Selig Safian
Nathan Fingeroff Goldie Saslaw
Joan Friedman April 9 Louis Tankel
Jameson R. Goldstein Jay P. Abelson Muriel Weinstein
Susan Gross Fanny Aschenbrand
Miriam Issaharoff Carolyn Cohen
Alan Kovacs Marvin Derringer
Kay Lavine Arthur Finer
Saul Lipman Hyman Katz
Irving H. Schwartz Benjamin Pustilnick
Hyman Sunshine Mike Russo
Louise Werzbicke
April 16
March 19 William Ackman
Ernest Briefel Sidney Bender
Morris Dicker Sylvia Biondi
Jean Fierstein Suselotte Cort
Edward Fox Arthur Friedman
Elias Goldring
Nathan Wilpon
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NCRT sends condolences to:
Felicia Pomerantz on the loss of her aunt,
Marion Book , who died December 17, 2020.
The Morton family on the loss of Lois Morton ,
who died December 17, 2020.
Jeanine Briefel on the loss of her brother,
Paul Bryan , who died December 26, 2020.
Cynthia Rosen on the loss of her cousin ,
Nancy Suchman , who died in December.
Marcia Kotkin on the loss of her cousin ,
Eleanor Spiegel , who died in December.
The Abelson family on the loss of Charlotte Abelson ,
who died January 6, 2021.
David Woska on the loss of his aunt, Jeanne Woska ,
who died January 24, 2021.
The Blau family on the loss of Rick Blau,
who died January 26, 2021.
Mitch Chester on the loss of his cousin ,
Ira Allman , who died January 28, 2021.
Tobi Kupferman on the loss of her father,
Donald Abramson , who died January 30, 2021.
Sylvia Fishel on the loss of her companion ,
Harold Lazarus, who died February 19, 2021.
May their memory be an abiding blessing.
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With appreciation for your donations to
your Temple’s Funds
Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund
Irene & Marty Fogel in memory of Lena & Hyman Sunshine.
General Fund
Cindi & Steve Klein in memory of Helen Book; Felicia & Sandy Pomerantz in memory of Peggy Scherr,
in memory of Ethel Gorening, in memory of Lois Morton and in memory of Charlotte Abelson;
Pamela Berkowitz in memory of Jean Dankman; Risa Kantor in memory of Jean Dankman;
Jadwiga & Donald Brown in memory of Peggy Scherr, Paul Bryan and Charlotte Abelson; Jay Goldstein in
memory of Carrie Goldstein; Ruth Zipkin in memory of Charlotte Abelson, in memory of Trudy Herzog,
in memory of Ethel Gorening, in memory of Ronald FitzGerald, in memory of Norton Fletcher, in
memory of Paul Bryan and in memory of Jean Dankman; Rhoda Finer in memory of Charlotte Abelson;
Myra Zaremba in memory of Lenny Zaremba; Elaine & Jeremy Weinstein in memory of Joyce Schlosberg,;
Carol Friedenberg in memory of Estelle Goldblatt; Marcia Kotkin in memory of Edith Gorening and in
memory of Paul Bryan; Lynn Fox in memory of Max Obel; Carla Powers in memory of George Powers;
Eva & Jim Jones in memory of Gloria Cappel; Maxine & Dean Mayreis in memory of Gloria Cappel;
Cindi & Steve Klein in memory of Milton Klein; The Rubin family in memory of Rick Blau;
Jadwiga & Donald Brown in appreciation of Rabbi Liss; Robert Klausner in memory of Rick Blau;
Barbara & Ron Hoyt in memory of Charlotte Abelson; Barbara Marder in memory of Ruth Kantrowitz.
In honor of Amorita Snow: Vicki & Bob Bialer, Nili & Richard Biondi, Jeanine Briefel,
Jadwiga & Donald Brown, Jenny deBeer Charno, Nancy & Mitch Cohen, Sherri & Louis Federico,
Rhoda Finer, Irene & Marty Fogel, Lynn Fox, Carol Friedenberg, Paula & Steve Frome,
Judy & David Herzog, Barbara & Ron Hoyt, Larry Jacobs, Cindi & Steve Klein, Lori Kotkin,
Marcia Kotkin, Rhonda Kovacs, Ronnie & Chuck Lavine, Rabbi Liss & Grace Blank,
Maxine & Dean Mayreis, Felicia & Sandy Pomerantz, Barbara & Hiram Rothkrug, Ruth Stearn,
Elaine & Marty Weinstein, Myra Zaremba, Ruth Zipkin.
Tech Fund
NCRT Sisterhood
Yahrzeit Fund
Candyce & Stephan Felder in memory of Miki & Bernard Press; Elaine & Jeremy Weinstein in memory of
Norma & Morris Dicker; Cindi & Steve Klein in memory of Shirley Blackman; Susan & Allen Bauman in
memory of Miriam Bauman; Nada Tannen in memory of Barry Bloom; Florence Flaton in memory of
Bernie Flaton; Myra Zaremba in memory of Jay Zaremba; Lynn Fox in memory of Murray Kipnis;
Mary George & Ralph Epstein in memory of Sarah Epstein;
Jay Goldstein in memory of Jameson Goldstein.11
12 BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU ACCREDITED
13 NORTH COUNTRY REFORM TEMPLE 86 Crescent Beach Road Glen Cove, NY 11542 Phone: 516.671.4760 Fax: 516.676.9180 E-mail: office@ncrt.org Visit our website at www.ncrt.org
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