You have to see this. . .

Outside my office there is now a wall of prominence. It is our new wall of all of the Golden Kepah recipients since the inception of the program in 1968. It is a wall of excellence; it is a wall of achievement. Many synagogues have Torah reading pro-grams for teenagers and adults. But none in my opinion have been as successful as our Golden Kepah Torah reading program. This program began when Rabbi Raskas and Ritual Director Harry Gottesman wanted to be able to have readers during the week and on open Sabbaths when there was no Bar/Bat Mitzvah. To think that a program that started in 1968 would still continue today and flourish is simply amazing. Gratitude and appreciation must be given to Nancy and Rick Grobovsky for endowing this program to honor their daughters Amy and Betsy. We also extend a special thank you to Ruth & Ron Bear (both of blessed memory) and David & Paula Schraber and sons Adam and Sam for stepping forward and creating such a magnificent permanent tribute to all of the teenagers and adults who have lovingly invested time reading the Torah.

We have 44 teenagers and 9 adults currently in our Golden Kepah Torah reading program. These individuals have taken their time and effort to be able to learn the skills for chanting from the Torah and read on an on-going basis. This is a two-year program, which requires diligence and dedication. I personally salute each and every one in the program and would like to say Mazal Tov.

The following students and adults read for our holiday of Passover: Elliott Stern,
Morgan Werthauser, Andy Bernick, Paulina Marell, Tess Kaufman, Sophie Gotlieb, Lucy Witchell, Isaac Spector, Cheryl Bier, Catherine Wheaton, Robbie Guererro, Deb-orah Bachrach, Madeline Leventhal, Aaron Leventhal, Rachel Lerman, Daniel Nor-gard, and Gilad Segal.

During the holiday, one Haftorah was chanted by Abe Clark and the other by Bill Lerman. Special mention goes to Deborah Bachrach who read all of the Torah section from the first Torah on the 7th day of Passover. The month of July is usually a slow month. If anyone is interested in reading torah during this month, please con-tact Larry Eisenstadt, Ritual Coordinator.

Week after week I tutor dozens of students. Week after week I have final rehearsals with parents and B’nai Mitzvah candidates. It is an exciting and nervous time filled with joy and anticipation. I almost forgot what it feels like for the B’nai Mitzvah of my children Michael and Shelly I found myself going through the same emotions as I see week after week. Their B’nai Mitzvah was a significant milestone in their life and also in the life of my family. Linda and I are overjoyed with the success of our children.

We can’t possibly express our gratitude to the congregation for being part of our special weekend. Special mention needs to be recognized for two individuals who helped us immensely – Michelle Konigsburg and Mary Lerman. Without these two individuals, our program and flower arrangements would have never happened. They worked endlessly to help ensure that this weekend was filled with décor and class. A sincere thank you also goes out to Matthew Witchell who at the last minute dropped everything to insure that pictures would be part of our program and the Aaronion.

I am so blessed in many ways to have the family that I have and also the loving sup-port of many congregants. There were over 40 individuals that helped bake special desserts for our weekend. If you are one of those, Linda and I are forever in your debt. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, when you’re clergy it takes a congregation to pull off an event such as this. This congregation is my family. And as a family goes, I am surrounded by love and support constantly.

We are still emotionally charged from the past weekend and will hold the experience deep in our hearts for years to come. So once again, thank you Temple of Aaron for helping to insure that our special weekend was a true success. Our family could have never done this without all of your help, love, concern, and strength. May all of you have a wonderful summer and we look forward to sharing many happy occasions with each and every one of you. — Hazzan Mitch & Linda Kowitz

It is with great privilege and excitement that I write to you, my congregation, to let you know that the June Aaronion will feature a front page of an invitation of Michael and Shelly Kowitz’s B’nai Mitzvah which is on Friday night, June 6 and continuing on Saturday, June 7. Please know that the entire congregation is our guest to attend the luncheon on Saturday. Linda and I are very excited about our children’s upcoming event and look forward to seeing as many of you that can attend. It will truly be a spectacular weekend.

On March 28th, it was Men’s Club Shabbat. Erev Shabbat Live was the service that was featured. This service was done for the first time out of the sanctuary in the Greenberg Hall, adjacent to the Stein Hall. The chairs were all in a semi-circle so that all could see each other and the musicians and I were in a corner while the Men’s Club helped lead the congregation in Friday night prayer. To say that this event was a success is an understatement. There was a crowd of over 125 people that were singing like I have not heard before in a long time. There was energy, excitement and enthusiasm as new tunes and formats were being explored. This service is very important to me. We have begun the process of updating our music to this service to make it as fresh as the first year that we brought it to you, the congregation.

I would like to sincerely invite each and every one of you to attend our new format to this service and location. I believe, with all my heart, that it will lead you to a path of joy, to a path of light, and just appreciating each and every day of your own life. I say this because the feeling in the room for one hour is one that mere words cannot possibly describe. Give it a chance. I guarantee you that it will be one of the best decisions that you have made in a long time.

Attraction

The other morning as I got my kids off to school, I was watching television about the upcoming presidential election. The main thrust of this program was young adult involvement. It stated that in 1998, 3% percent of an age group between 18-27 was involved. In 2002, 27% was involved. And finally now, in 2008, a whopping 74% is involved in either caucusing or actively campaigning for their candidate. This show also stated a comparison between the charisma of our past president John F. Kennedy to our democratic presidential candidate Obama.

I know what you are going to say, "What does any of this have to do with Judaism or the Temple of Aaron?" And that is a good question. It seems that charisma in candidates or in our leaders is something that we all yearn for.

This got me to thinking about our cantors and rabbis of the conservative movement. There have been some outstanding charismatic men and women on both sides that have had the ability to draw people in for their particular message and programming. Which leads me to more questions... What do we have to do to have more charismatic leadership? Is this important? How can we, at the Temple of Aaron, get our message out there to the Twin Cities and beyond? And, what is our message? What is it that makes us truly unique at the Temple of Aaron?

One thing comes to mind for me - we have an extremely creative synagogue. The past year of Jubilee is a testimony to that creativity. We have our musical Erev Shabbat Live Service, and we have a history of a second day creative Musaf Service for Rosh Hashanah. Recently, Rabbi Konigsburg arranged to have a Storahtelling group that gave an outstanding portrayal of the Torah for that particular weekend. It was bringing the Torah out of the book and into life. If you missed this, it was truly something special. People for decades have commented to me that Temple of Aaron is a hamish synagogue. I know what the word means. But what does this mean to you? And especially, what does this mean to our young adults? How can we, at Temple of Aaron, attract those same young adults who are actively participating in our democratic process to give us a chance at Temple of Aaron? These are the questions that are being asked now and will be actively pursuing in the near future.

I believe the Temple of Aaron is a one of a kind synagogue with a rich history of creativity and a bright future for leading the way into the 21st Century. We have the right leadership and dedicated individuals to do so. I welcome your feedback and ideas as we both look toward the future and plan for our children's children.

--- Hazzan Mitchell Kowitz

The other day I was with a student pre-paring for the English reading part for Friday night service for their Bat Mitzvah. Usually, many students choose a reading in the back of the prayer book. But sometimes they go out on their own and choose something that moves them. This is the case in this particular reading. After reading through her choice, many things passed through my mind. One is that the power of this particular reading is so strong that I want my daughter to take a look at it. I also felt that all of my girl students should have a copy of this too. I say these statements because of the many readings that I have read during my 23 years of being a Cantor. This is the most powerful for confidence, self-esteem and individuality for a young woman. When our society seems out of control with its message to young women on how to act, dress and be successful, this reading seems to put all of this in
perspective.

The adolescent years of peer pressure and trying to grow up too fast has taken a tremendous toll on our youth, in my opinion. So it is with great joy that I share with you today a reading that I wish to encourage your daughters, granddaughters and all young women to read. I think after reading this, you will all agree with me that this is something very special.

“Nothing Girl”

Maybe I wear baggies and white socks with flip-flops.
Maybe I don‘t like listening to rave
and I‘m not on the social mountain-tops.
Maybe I don‘t care about the things that make your world twirl.
Maybe you look at me and think: Gee, what a nothing girl.

Maybe I like giving smiles, which seemed to be okay today.
And maybe I allow my imagination to sometimes run away.
Maybe you don‘t understand this and that‘s why you cannot see.
If this makes me a nothing girl, that is fine by me.

The world makes you believe your personality mustn‘t be detected,
Your face must be picture perfect and wear cloths just the best to be accepted.
Maybe I look at you and feel sorry that you‘re blind.
Because robots you have become, yourself you‘ll never find.

God made you, as well as me.
This means I am something, the world is a liar
And if I must be nothing for you to see it, then so be it.

The other morning as I got my kids off to school, I was watching the television about the upcoming presidential election. The main thrust of this program was young adult involvement. It stated that in 1998, 3% percent of an age group between 18-27 was involved. In 2002, 27% was involved. And finally now, in 2008, a whopping 74% is involved in either caucusing or actively campaigning for their candidate. This show also stated a comparison between the charisma of our past president John F. Kennedy to our democratic presidential candidate Obama.

I know what you are going to say, ―What does any of this have to do with Judaism or the Temple of Aaron? And that is a good question. It seems that charisma in candidates or in our leaders is something that we all yearn for.

This got me to thinking about our cantors and rabbis of the conservative movement. There have been some outstanding charismatic men and women on both sides that have had the ability to draw people in for their particular message and programming. Which leads me to more questions… What do we have to do to have more charismatic leadership? Is this important? How can we, at the Temple of Aaron, get our message out there to the Twin Cities and beyond? And, what is our message? What is it that makes us truly unique at the Temple of Aaron?

One thing comes to mind for me – we have an extremely creative synagogue. The past year of Jubilee is a testimony to that creativity. We have our musical Erev Shabbat Live Service, and we have a history of a second day creative Musaf Service for Rosh Hashanah. Recently, Rabbi Konigsburg arranged to have a Storahtelling group that gave an outstanding portrayal of the Torah for that particular weekend. It was bringing the Torah out of the book and into life. If you missed this, it was truly some-thing special. People for decades have commented to me that Temple of Aaron is a hamish synagogue. I know what the word means. But what does this mean to you? And especially, what does this mean to our young adults? How can we, at Temple of Aaron, attract those same young adults who are actively participating in our democratic process to give us a chance at Temple of Aaron? These are the questions that are being asked now and will be actively pursuing in the near future.

I believe the Temple of Aaron is a one of a kind synagogue with a rich history of creativity and a bright future for leading the way into the 21st Century. We have the right leadership and dedicated individuals to do so. I welcome your feedback and ideas as we both look toward the future and plan for our children’s children.

The other day I was driving to the hospital and I was listening to the radio about an interesting discussion. The decision had to deal with people’s names – the meaning and origins. I got to thinking… We are all given our English and Hebrew names from birth and most of us have no idea what the meaning or the origin of our Hebrew names are. This brought me to do a little investigation into my own name, which is ―Moshe Dovid. I called my parents on the phone in Florida and spoke to my mother. I asked my mother if she had used the European tradition of naming me after a de-ceased relative. She informed me that she had, from my father’s side and her side. I know that many people today do not necessarily stick with that custom. Often times, people converted to Judaism will do some research and choose a name for themselves, which they feel best fits their personalities and characteristics.

There is a book entitled The Complete Dictionary of English and Hebrew First Names. The author is Alfred Kolatsh and is published by Jonathan David Publishers. I thought it would be interesting to list a number of masculine and feminine names, as well as the Hebrew meaning of what these names mean.

Below are masculine names and meanings:
Avraham – Father of a mighty nation
Binyamin – Son of my right hand
David – Beloved
Dov – Bear
Efrayim – Fruitful
Ezra – Help
Asaac – He will laugh
Jacob – Held by the heal or protected
Joshua – The Lord is my salvation
Menachem – Comforter
Mordechai – Warrior or war like

Below are feminine names and meanings:
Chana – Grace or gracious
Devorah – To speak kind words or swarm of bees
Esther – Star
Hadassah – Myrtle tree, the symbol of victory
Leah – To be weary, also the Assyrian meaning is mistress, ruler
Miryam – Sea of bitterness or mistress of the sea
Naomi – Beautiful, pleasant
Rebecca – To tie or bind
Sarah – Noble or princess
Tziporah – Bird
Yehudit – Praise

I was fascinated to find the meanings to all of these different names, and I am sure that you will too. We are given our names for many reasons. Some of us feel that it doesn’t matter. Some of us feel that we should live up to the quality that those names have. I feel, on a personal note, that through my twenties and thirties that I have been more like David or Dovid. In my forties, and now finally at fifty, I feel myself being drawn to Moshe. These names are powerful biblical names that my parents gave me. I hope to be able, in my own lifetime, to live up to the true meaning of these names. What do you think?

Erev Shabbat Live (ESL) adds music and informality to the Friday night service to build participation and the spirit of community. Clergy does not use the bimah so they are closer to the members in attendance. There is more music to sing which makes many people more comfortable. We use violins, guitars, drums and keyboard to enhance the feelings in the sanctuary. We have retained the basic prayers to make the service a perfect balance of progressive and traditional.

It is my great pleasure to remind our congregation that we are in our 8th year of doing our Erev Shabbat Live Services. We also, 4 years ago, started to teach the Hebrew School many of our prayers that we sing during our Erev Shabbat Live Services. There is nothing like watching the different grades stand on the steps of our bimah and sing with great joy all of the prayers from this innovative and creative service. We were one of the first in the Twin Cities to start with this format and we are the only one on a consistent basis that continues to bring this service to our congregation twice a month. We should all celebrate that we are truly leaders of the Jewish community and are on the cutting edge for a new generation and old to worship God with passion, energy and creativeness.

We have been so pleased that the Mollie B. Tankenoff ESL Fund was created by her sons and their families: Gary & Marsha and Jim & Paula. Mollie loved playing the piano, singing and dancing. The addition of the ESL Service to our monthly schedule has provided the warmth and energy that beautifully honors the memory of Mollie.