Dear TBS Religious School Families,

We have been using the regular Mishkan T’fillah prayer books for our religious school services this year, to familiarize students with the siddur (prayerbook), and help them to understand the order and parts of the service and how they fit together, as opposed to thinking of individual prayers in isolation. However, these books have a few drawbacks: the English readings are frequently too difficult for students, the books themselves are bulky and hard for small hands to manage, and all of the Hebrew prayers are accompanied by transliteration (on which we do not want students becoming dependent).

This fall, the Reform movement released a new prayer book for students and families. “Mishkan T’fillah For Youth” contains a family Shabbat evening and morning service (with transliteration), as well as a weekday evening and morning “school” service (without transliteration), and supplemental songs and prayers, all accompanied by beautiful fullcolor artwork. Rabbi Jim and I have previewed this book, and feel it would be a strong addition to our program. We are planning to order these new prayer books for use in our school services and classrooms.

In celebration of this wonderful new resource, we would like to give all of our families the opportunity to participate. For each (fully tax-deductible) donation of $36 to our religious school book fund, we will place a book plate in one of the new siddurim to honor your family (or the person(s) or occasion of your choice).

Please click here to download the form to accompany your donation, so that we can be sure to honor you as you wish. We will be ordering the books over spring break so that we can start using them immediately after Pesach, so please submit your donation no later than Friday, March 20, 2015. Our goal is to raise enough to purchase 50 books. Any funds raised in excess of that amount will be held in the religious school fund for future prayer book orders.

For more information about the book, please visit https://www.ccarpress.org/shopping_product_detail.asp?pid=50144 If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Todah Rabah! Thank you very much!

Stefani Carlson
Education Director

March is bringing more than just Purim this year. On the 17th of the month it will be... (if you said St. Patrick’s day, well you are partially right) Israel will hold elections for the Knesset. If you think our elections can be a mess (hanging chads and the like) you have not really experienced true democratic chaos until you try and understand the Israeli electoral system and how a government is formed.

Israel is a parliamentary democracy which means that the ‘government’ has to have a ‘simple majority’ to pass laws. Now I used the term ‘simple majority’ but this is Israel... and very little is ‘simple.’ First the ‘winning’ party will most likely be the party that gets a little over 20% of the vote. The Knesset has 120 seats, yet the winning party will have only about 25 seats. So the winning party will need at least 35+ seats to form a government. Here is where Israeli politicians have to make a ... coalition.

Once elections determine which part has the largest number of seats, the president (Reuven Rivlin) will usually invite the leader of that party to form a coalition. The coalition agreement needs to be strong enough to keep the various parties in the coalition for the longest time. That is the hope. In actuality slights, petty arguments, and even some real policy decisions often end a government through a no-confidence vote. Then Israelis have to return back to the polls for another election.

While you may hear about the Israeli elections, remember the elections are only the first step in the process. It usually takes a few weeks after the elections for the parties to agree to the new arrangements of a coalition. So remember that when the rest of our community is looking to shamrocks, Israelis will be going to the ballot box to pick who will rule over the State of Israel.

L’Shalom,
Rabbi Jim

Be happy! It’s almost Purim! Our lively little temple will be celebrating Purim on Friday, March 6, at 7 PM, and although we know that children enjoy using the groggers to drown out a certain name; adults, too, can enjoy the high spirits of reliving the story of Esther and Mordachai! I encourage you to come and enjoy Steve Greenman’s Klezmer music that will complement the Purim events. If you don’t don a full costume, feel free to wear a quirky hat! If you don’t have a Purim item to wear, there will be some fun items to borrow at temple. And if that isn’t enough to get you to come to celebrate Purim; how about this...Jody Fettman is in charge of the oneg that night! Be happy!

I am pleased to be a part of TBS and our small but dedicated group. I am grateful and amazed at the energy! A shout out to our board, who will be participating in an URJ leadership training event on March 1st! I would like to recognize Jonathan Selinger, who maintains our website and our e-Megillah. Recently we received a huge compliment from someone regarding our website; and I quote, “Also your website was a wonderful resource in providing the history of the congregation. You have to be very proud of your website and the commitment to keep it current. Congregations 3 & 4 times your size do not have a website as excellent as yours.”

I hope to see many of you in the coming weeks at services and events! Scroll through this e-Megillah to see the fun services and events planned at temple and offsite by our staff, Sisterhood and Brotherhood.

Kim Strausser

It’s a New Purim Celebration at TBS...welcome adult congregants and guests as well as young families

Friday, March 6, at 7:00 pm

• Shabbat/Purim Service begins at 7:00 pm in the sanctuary
• Rabbi Egolf plays “Name that Tune” singing songs selected on the spot by congregants
• Singer Steve Greenman and his Klezmer Band Trio will entertain with Yiddish favorites during and after services
• “Esther’s Secret Mission”, a short Purim Spiel, will be performed by volunteer congregants pulled from the audience
• Don’t miss the “Over the Top” Purim-themed Oneg created and provided by Jodi Fettman, caterer extraordinaire
• Costumes encouraged for adults & children

Laurie Frankino
Ritual Chair

Please RSVP to Art by March 1st @ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 234-380-1245.

Click here for additional information about wine purchasing.

For Just One Incredible Night, Become a “Florida Snowbird”

You may need to glue golf spikes to the bottom of your flip-flops, but that shouldn’t stop you from attending the foodie event of the year... Sista and Guest Night... on Saturday, February 28th, at 6:00 p.m.

Lisa and Rick Singer will again serve as hosts for this fun and lively evening of eating, drinking, schmoozing and story-telling.

This year’s theme is Florida Road Trip: From the Buckeye State to the Sunshine State.

Now’s the time to dig into your “other seasonal” closet and pick out your favorite warm weather outfit to wear.

Bring an appetizer, entrée, side dish or dessert to share. Contact Lisa at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register your yummy!

Medina will become Miami. We guarantee it!

Lilith Salon

Thursday, March 12th, at 6:30 p.m. is on the calendar for Sisterhood’s next Lilith Salon gathering. The discussion will focus on articles featured in the 2014-2015 Winter issue.

A location has yet to be determined.

Sisterhood Dinner Out

The Office Bistro restaurant on Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls will be the destination for our next Sisterhood Dinner Out.

Please join us at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19th.

Frieda Miller-Brown is accepting reservations. You can contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Yours in Sisterhood,
Emily Audra Fleisher