Temple

Thursday April 10, 2025
Issue #710

Letter from Rabbi Ross

Dear TBS Friends and Family,

We had an amazing Family Seder for our Religious School families last Sunday. A huge thank you to Deb Rogers, Laurie Frankino and Deb Cummings for all of your assistance. This Saturday night is Passover. Our Community Seder is Sunday evening.

Below is my weekend column about Passover.

Passover Questions: Journeying From Brokenness to Hope

As we sit down at our Passover Seder table this year, we re-enact this powerful story of liberation and freedom found initially in the Book of Exodus. The Talmudic rabbis expanded the story in the Haggadah, and taught that every person at Seder should see themselves as if they were leaving Egypt right now. So we begin with this powerful idea of reinhabiting the myth: we are all Moses and Miriam, we are all Israelite slaves, we are all Pharaoh with a hardened heart.
In the Hallel song section of the Seder, we find the verse, from Psalm 118, “From the Narrow Place, we called out to God. God heard me with an Expanded Place.” We begin our Seder in this narrow, constricted place. We notice the fears and anxieties in our lives, the places of oppression and constriction.

     Where are we facing narrowness this year?
Early on in the Seder at Yachatz, we break the middle matzah into two sections. This primary symbol of the Seder is being expanded into two different symbols: the poor person’s bread is the bread we eat at the start of the Seder meal. We conclude our meal by eating the bread of freedom, the quick bread that can be baked in a hurry. But I want to focus on the ritual act of breaking the matzah. We are surrounded with profound brokenness. The shatterings seem to be ongoing.

     How does naming our brokenness help our journey?
We then recite the Four Questions, which begins with the phrase, “How is this night different from all other nights?” Two years ago, Israeli peace activist and writer David Grossman wrote in his Freedom Haggadah that what was different for him was the profound sense “that we are different now.” Coming together to protest the government’s attempt to overhaul the justice system galvanized him and his extended protest community. He felt a deep sense of connection and holiness as he celebrated the rising of their voices for the sake of democracy. For many of us, after the Gaza War began, we have also felt this expanded sense of Jewish peoplehood. We have been bearing witness to the traumas of our Israeli friends and family, as well as the trauma of the killing of innocent Palestinian civilians. (Earlier this week, on Monday, we marked 18 months of war and 18 months of captivity for the remaining 59 hostages.)

     How are we different this year, what has changed inside us?
Our songs in the Seder bring us together. They fill us with memories of past Seders, and they provide an experience of togetherness as we face life today. The retelling of this ancient story is also the retelling of origin of Jewish peoplehood. The Israelite slaves are liberated at the Sea of Reeds, and they pass through the birth canal and birth waters to become a people.

May we feel embraced by our families and our communities as we embrace the wondrous spirit of this holiday season. May that sense of joy and liberation inspire us to face our own lives today with clarity, vision and hope.

Religious School News
Our Religious school is on Passover Break. Our first day back is Thursday, 4/24
With the recent departure of our education director, Jean Beasley and I have resumed our former interim roles running the religious school. Jean runs the Thursday Hebrew program as our Assistant Director. I will become the interim education director for this semester. We will begin the job search for a new education director shortly. Please let us know if you know someone who can run our sweet, little school.

One  Surgery Down, One to Go!
On Tuesday, April 15, I will have my batteries replaced in my chest stimulators to treat my Dystonia. I will need a few days off to recover.
Your thoughts and prayers for a quick, speedy recovery are requested.

CLASSES:
– Making Prayer Real – the art of prayer (Saturdays before Torah Study,
from 9:00 – 9:45 am)
– Basic Hebrew (Tuesdays at 7:00pm)
– Torah Reading & Chanting (Fall ’25)
– Spiritual Autobiography writing (Fall ’25 or Spring ’26)

Temple Beth Shalom
Community Passover Seder

Thanks to a huge response to our Community Seder. Reservations are now closed. We have sold out again this year!
Thanks to everyone who chose to support this event. We look forward to being together for our Seder on April 13.

TBS Legacy Fund Update

Participation increasing!

I want to thank everyone who are answering the call to join us in owning and preserving our building and the Jewish presence it represents. As of this date, participation increased from 48% to 52%, great progress but still looking to get that up to 80, 90, 100%.

Again, no contribution is too small, and our match is still happening so whatever you give will be doubled. Our total is up to 80% so let’s keep this going.

Contributions can be made by check, stock or right on our website. If you use Zeffy to process your credit card, you can choose the amount you want for fees all the way down to 0%. Let’s do this!

Thank you and blessings to all,
Larry

TBSBrotherhood                                            meetings/events

• Brotherhood Membership
The Brotherhood performs much needed projects for TBS. Even if you cannot participate in Brotherhood, PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION. This will help to complete the many TBS projects planned for 2024 – 2025. Please contact treasurer Art Busch, ascyb34@yahoo.com with any questions.
* Please Do Not pay along with your Temple dues. 

• We meet throughout the year in the spirit of friendship and good humor. We sponsor social events, fundraisers and building beautification projects to support and enhance the TBS community. Announcements will be posted as soon as they are available!
Contact: Mike Miller at: mikemillercsi@roadrunner.com
Thank you for your support!
TBSSisterhood                                               
meetings/events

April Dinner Night Out
Tuesday, April 22 at 7:00pm. Come and share a meal and connect with each other! The Tuesday Specials are house-made-pasta dishes.
Nineteen 10 Restaurant, 215 S. Depeyster St., Kent, OH.

Please RSVP to jeanrhodes16th@gmail.com by Sunday, April 20.
See you there!

• Join the Sisterhood and support us with a dues donation. Please email Robin Rosen-Sharp (rrsdvm2@gmail.com) if you need a membership form and would like to mail your payment.
* Please Do Not pay along with your Temple dues.  

• Upcoming meetings and events are currently being planned and scheduled by the Sisterhood. Announcements will be posted as soon as they are available!
Thank you for your support!

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Temple Beth Shalom

Website Notes and Links

*Receive our weekly e-newsletters!
Please email your First Name, Last Name, and Email Address  
to: hberman44236@yahoo.com

   PAST NEWSLETTERS     PW: TBSHudson  
Past e-Megillahs can be found on Media > e-Megillah Newsletters page

   CALENDAR PAGE     View upcoming services and events

   SHABBAT SERVICE     ID: 861 4959 4595, PW: shabbat 
Available when noted on the Upcoming Events schedule

   TORAH STUDY     ID: 844 3145 6155, PW: tbstorah
Saturday Prayer Essentials and Torah Study

  MAKING PRAYER REAL    The book for Saturday classes can be ordered here

   KENT HILLEL SHABBAT     Candle-lighting, Service/Community Discussion, FREE Dinner (*Registration is REQUIRED and will close each week on Thursday at 2:00pm)

   KENT HILLEL     Providing a comfortable atmosphere for socializing, studying, or connecting spiritually for students
    
Zeffy      We can now use Zeffy for Dues, Fees, and Donations.
Temple Beth Shalom does not pay a fee

  ISRAEL DONATIONS    Donations to support Israel can be made at
Cleveland Federation

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Temple Beth Shalom
Mailing Address Announcement
We will be discontinuing the Temple Beth Shalom P.O. Box 2230 by the end of this year. Please send all payments and correspondence to: Temple Beth Shalom, 50 Division Street, Hudson Ohio 44236. We have a secure locking mail box at 50 Division Street and no longer need to maintain two mailing addresses. We will not discontinue the PO Box until everyone has had a chance to make the change.

Any questions, please contact James Field at accounting@tbshudson.org.

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 News & Special Announcements!                      

We love to share News & Announcements at TBS

We are looking for Volunteers

• Help our Temple
• Assist with events and gatherings

• Match activities to your interests & abilities
• Participate in Brotherhood & Sisterhood
• Support & Enhance the TBS community

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   D E A T H S  I N  T H E   L A S T  Y E A R   

Jane Litt  •  Jack Scanlon

A monthly yahrzeit list of TBS family loved ones will now be published in the e-megillah
as well as read during Shabbat services.

   A P R I L   Y A H R Z E I T S   

Eleanor May Beck  •  Rosette Borstein  •  Stanley  Caplin
Minna Dubner  •  Irene Ezring  •  George Joseph Frankino
Gussie Miller Gardner  •  Sanford Goeble  •  Shirley Goldberg
A Jeanne Goldman  •  Sanford Goldman  •  Robert Greenberg
Hedva Hess  •  Gregory Krizman  •  Anna Krutowsky  •  Miriam Litt
Jacob T Marks  •  Julius Miller  •  Mary Miller  •  Richard Minor
Michael Rose  •  Irving Rosen  •  Stanley Shapiro  •  Max Wachtell

If you have names to add, please send them with their yahrzeit date to:
Laurie Frankino, Ritual Chair, at lfrankino@gmail.com. 

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      T B S

• Sat. 4/12, 6:00pm: First Night Passover Seder – @ Hillel- RSVP required  https://www.kenthillel.org/passover
• Sun. 4/13, 6:00pm: Second Night Community Seder @ TBS – RSVP required
• Sat. 4/19, 9:00 – 9:40 am: Prayer Essentials – zoom & in-person
• Sat. 4/19, 9:45 – 11:00 am: Torah Study – zoom & in-person
• Fri. 4/25, 7:30 pm: Choir Shabbat – in-person only
• Sat. 5/3, 9:00 – 9:40 am: Prayer Essentials – zoom & in-person
• Sat. 5/3, 9:45 – 11:00 am: Torah Study – zoom & in-person

For more information on temple services and other activities, please refer to the temple website:

   CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE