La PauLa | genuine import branded

INSIDE:

•

FACES IN OUR

COMMUNITY:

Asher Suloway

-

Baker, page 8

•

NFTY:

Bellingham

group has new

name, page 6

•

THE YENTA

SPEAKS:

page 4

FROM THE RABBI

Todah

rabbah!

What a year it has already

been for our Beth Israel family.

As I continue to review the High

Holy Days in my mind and with

our leadership, I want to take this

opportunity to

acknowledge all

those who

helped ensure

that we would

be able to gath-

er together to

pray, study and

celebrate. It

certainly takes

a village, and I

am full of gratitude for all of you.

This year

'

s High Holy Days

were especially meaningful for

me, and I hope you feel the

same. The following is certainly

not a complete list, so if I have

mistakenly omitted anyone, I

apologize.

First, I am most grateful to our

Cantorial Soloist, Andrea

Shupack,

for blessing us with

her leadership and beautiful

voice. It was a joy to plan all the

services with Andrea and even

more of a joy to share the bima

and be led by her passion and

love for High Holy Day liturgy. I

was moved by the vocal ensem-

bles she put together and thank

each of our High Holy Day choir

members for taking us higher.

Shlomis (Sage) Waters, Su-

san Blum, Warren Palken, and

THE SHUL SHOFAR

VOL. 22, NO. 2

* Congregation Beth Israel * Bellingham, WA 98225 * www.bethisraelbellingham.org * (360) 733

-

8890

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 HESHVAN/KISLEV/TEVET 5778

Continued on Page 11

BY RABBI JOSHUA SAMU

ELS

Judaism and Hebrew have multi-

ple ways of saying goodbye. Of

course we all know

"

shalom

"

and

"

l

'

hitraot

."

Not surprisingly, for a

tradition that engages in text study

and has a deep respect for books,

Judaism also has a way to say

goodbye to sacred texts. A profes-

sor in rabbinical school taught my

first

-

year class the

hadran alakh

blessing one traditionally recites

after studying a whole tractate of

Talmud or any pedagogic piece of

rabbinic literature. The blessing,

meaning

"

I will return to you

"

in Ara-

maic goes something like this:

We will return to you

(fill in the

text),

and you will return to us; our

mind is on you

(text),

and your mind

is on us; we will not forget you

(text),

and you will not forget us

—

not in this world and not in the next

world.

What a lovely way to mark the

completion of studying a Jewish

text. We acknowledge its spiritual

and intellectual influence on us and

we pledge to re

-

visit it again in our

lifetime. It

'

s not so much a

"

goodbye

"

as it is a

"

l

'

hitraot

."

It also

treats our sacred texts as living.

The pages of the Mishnah or Tal-

mud will remember us as well.

Oddly enough, Judaism does not

have a

hadran alakh

equivalent for

when we leave a synagogue build

-

ing. We simply remove the

mez-

zuzot

(as we did on Oct. 14) and

Mezzuzot come down from 2200 Broadway

Continued on Page 7

Congregants had a chance to

spend a last moment in front of

the ark after the Simchat Torah ser-

vice. More photos on Page 9

Page

2

The Shul Shofar

November/December 2017

Sisterhood book

group meetings

Sisterhood book group meets at

2 p.m. on Sundays. There will not be

a meeting In November.

Dec. 3:

We will be discussing THE

INVISIBLE WALL by Harry Bern-

stein, at the home of Marta Brand.

Jan. 21

:We will discuss THE LET-

TERS OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN

by Leonard Bernstein, at the home

of Esther Faber.

Feb. 18:

We will discuss THE

LOVING KINDNESS by Ann Roiphe,

at the home of Joan Wayne.

Information: Contact Joan at (360)

676

-

8939.

Dear Fellow Congregants,

We

'

re on the move!

This is a time for both excitement

and nostalgia. In October we had

our last joyous services at 2200

Broadway, and we

observed Simchat

Torah in the shul that

has been our home

since 1925. We all

have memories of

the momentous

events celebrated

within its walls.

The future on San Juan Boulevard

is bright. We are close to achieving

occupancy and the culmination of so

much work and hope over the last

20 years. We do not have a precise

date yet, but we are closing in on

one. I recognize, as does the entire

board, that this transition between

our old home and our new one has

required a lot of flexibility on the part

of our congregation. The fact that so

many of you have embraced these

difficult circumstances is a measure

of the strength and vitality of our

community.

Let me take a moment to cele-

brate what we have built. We have a

new synagogue and campus to

serve generations to come, with a

sanctuary and social hall that can

seat 625 people. We have the larg-

est entertaining space in the area,

and we will have parking to match it.

We have a 10

-

classroom school for

Kesher. We have outdoor space,

including a large playfield that can

host a camp and other activities. In

achieving this, we have increased

the assets of the community more

than 16

-

fold without incurring debt.

Thank you! You made this possi-

ble through your generosity, hard

work and patience. Since planning

began in the late 1990s, more than

300 donors have combined to con-

tribute more than $7 million! This

includes 169 current members, 58

former members, and 74 non

-

member friends. The median dona-

tion is more than $5,000. With about

250 member families right now, the

campaign has raised more than

$28,000 per member unit.

The board and our congregational

committees are at work on a new

strategic plan under the leadership

of Katie Edelestein. The plan will

position us to take advantage of our

new synagogue, and of the many

strengths of our community. Ulti-

mately, CBI is much more than a

building, but now we can dream

even bigger in our new home.

With all of our continued help, the

New Synagogue Task Force and

the Capital Campaign Committee

will soon complete their work. Both

groups still need our support! Again,

please contact me

(steven.garfinkle@gmail.com) with

any questions, concerns, or offers of

help.

—

STEVEN GARFINKLE,

PRESIDENT

Volume 22, Number 2

November/December 2017

Heshvan/Kislev/Tevet 5778

Call the office for

more information.

Rabbi:

Kesher Director:

Cantorial Soloist:

Admin. Assistant:

President:

Vice Pres:

Vice Pres:

Secretary:

Treasurer:

Past president:

Youth Rep.:

Brotherhood:

Sisterhood:

Editor:

phone: (360) 733

-

8890

office@bethisraelbellingham.org

Visit our website at

Beth Israel is a member of:

From the President ...

Revised

1

1

.

1

3

.18

EVENT DESTINATION

SPRING GREEN, WI

The River Room

"

Deep Breath, You're in Good Hands!"

Thank you for considering Wisconsin Riverside

Resort, located on the

beautiful

banks of the

Wisconsin River, for your upcoming special

occasion. Wisconsin Riverside Resort will take

pride en

suring you have a memorable experience

and we are here to assist you in any way

possible.

The River Room seats up to 400 guests with a

stage

,

roomy dance floor, private bar and in

-

house catering.

Planning your wedding at WRR couldn't be easier!

The big day is here! Fall

in love all over again!

Make memories and enjoy

the moment. Let us

make that happen!

The planning

process is fun. Let

our professionals

help with the

details.

"The perfect venue for you!"

The clock is ticking! Dates

book fast. Call us today

to

schedule a tour of the

River Room.

We look forward to assisting you with your

special occasion

.

Let's make your special day AMAZING!

Photography Credit

-

Copper Antler Photography

& S.

Cole Photography

W

eddings

s

Cheri Luther

Event Coordinator

608

-

588

-

2826

events@wiriverside.com

If you want something that is not listed, feel free to call us and we'll be happy to work with you.

Prices

are subject to change. Prices

do not include 18% service charge and 5.5% state sales tax.

Wisconsin Riverside Resor

t, S13220 Shifflet Rd, Spring Green WI 53588

608

-

588

-

2826 or events@wiriverside.com

Photography

C

redit

-

Copper Antler

Photography & S. Cole Photography

Revised

1

1

.

1

3

.18

ATTENDANCE, BILLING AND GUARANTEES

A signed contract and deposit is required to confirm your event with Wisconsin Riverside Resort. Wisconsin

Riverside Resort will not hold

any dates without deposit. All details and menus must be confirmed no later

than 21 days prior to your event. Guaranteed number of guests is required 7 days prior to the event. The

number of guests may not be decreased after this point.

DEPOSITS AND

PAY

MENTS

Deposit is due to confirm event.

Full payment is due twenty

-

four (24) hours prior to your event by

cash or

check

. An 18% Service Charge and 5.5% Sales Tax will be added to all totals. If desire to pay final bill with

credit card a 2% fee will be a

dded. Deposit will be applied to final bill. Any other charges incurred during

the event must be paid at the end of your event before departure and can be paid by credit card or

check. If your company is tax exempt, please provide a copy of your

tax

-

exe

mpt

certificate prior to your

event. Full payment for food is still required if your event is cancelled within 7 days prior to event.

ROOM

RENTAL RATES

Room rates include setting up and breaking down for your event,

round and rectangle tables, ivory

table

linens, video projector

,

microphone

and PA System

. Additional charge of $250 for events that fall on a

holiday. Minimum of 150 guests or $2,500 food unless within 2 months. Please inquire to see if there are

openings as smaller groups and

reduced fees will be considered.

Sun

-

Thurs

Fri & Sat

April 1

–

October 31

$350

$1,500

(one half due at time of reservation

)

November 1

–

March 31

$

2

50

$75

0

(one half due at time of reservation)

BEVERAGE SERVICE AND POLICIES

Wisconsin Riverside Resort

r

eserves the right to determine the

number

of bartenders necessary to serve an

event. Wisconsin Riverside Resort also reserves the right to refuse alcohol service to anyone under the age

of 21 years or

anyone who appears to be very intoxicated.

All alcoho

l served will be dispensed by

Wisconsin Riverside Resort Staff only.

Special wines, champagnes, liquors and half barrels of beer will be

available upon request at least 14 days in advance of event.

Cash bar prices include sales tax. Sales tax

and serv

ice

charge will be added to pre

-

ordered bar items. You must pay for barrels of beer that you

order. No refunds for unused barrels.

DINING

Wisconsin Riverside Resort would request that all parties be seated and dining

no later than

6:30pm. Music

must be finished by 12:30am as the banquet hall will close at 1am.

CAKES, FOOD AND BEVERAGE

All cakes need to be from a licensed baker.

Please le

t us know in advance who will be providing the

cake and time of delivery.

Client

is responsible for bringing their own

cake

plates, napkins and/or forks. All

other food and beverage served or consumed on the premise must be purchased, served and prepared

by Wisconsin Riverside Resort.

Wisconsin Riverside Resort offers a variety of menu items, however, if you

would like to custom design a menu for your group, please let us know.

No leftover food or beverage

s

may be taken from the premises.

Please inquir

e about late night food service.

Menu price list is subject

to

change at any time.

Information, Policies and Fees