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Book of Memories

Edward Litto – Yehudah Lippa ben Yakov Nachum – January 11, 2015

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to cherish and honor the life of Edward Litto, beloved husband, father, brother, and dear friend. As everyone knows, these last two years since his stroke have been extremely difficult and a combination of medical factors took their toll on his body, and even with the best of care, it was all too much, and it was time for him to go. We are at peace with that aspect of things. (more…)

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Book of Memories

Jeff Litto – ben Yehudah Lippa – 1988

I feel like we’ve been hit by an atomic bomb.

I feel like we are precious glass in a box marked “Fragile – Don’t Breakn and somebody dropped us.

And now we are shattered glass,

and we have to pick up our shattered dreams.

Because, you see,

Jeff Litto was every parent’s dream,

and what happened to him is every parent’s nightmare (more…)

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Israel Matters!

IM Issue 150 – January 2021 – End of an Era

Editorial – Closing the door . . .

With this, the 150th edition of Israel Matters!, your editor has decided that now is the appropriate time to suspend publication. It has not been an easy decision to make. At an average of 11 issues per year (July/August is a single edition of the Bulletin), not including special and website only editions, simple arithmetic means I have been the primary editor of the publication for more than 13 years. To put that number into perspective, a child born when I started would likely be having her/his Bat/Bar Mitzvah this year. (more…)

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Odds & Ends

Wherefore the Hanukkah scroll

Most Jews know only the legend about the miracle of the cruse of oil and very little about the actual military victories of the Maccabees.

TOMB OF the Maccabees near present-day Mevo Modi’im. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

TOMB OF the Maccabees near present-day Mevo Modi’im. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The festival of Hanukkah has many beautiful customs such as the dreidel, latkes and sufganiyot, but there is one custom we would expect to find on Hanukkah that seems to be missing – the reading of a scroll in public. After all, on Purim we read the Scroll of Esther every year in order to publicize the miracle. Why don’t we read a scroll on Hanukkah in order to publicize the miracles that God wrought for our ancestors in the days of Mattathias and his sons? The result is that most Jews know only the legend about the miracle of the cruse of oil (Shabbat 21b) and very little about the actual military victories of the Maccabees. (more…)

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Odds & Ends

500 drunken elephants: The untold Hanukkah story with no Maccabees

A different kind of redemption from Greek tyranny

By ZACK ROTHBART  – DECEMBER 10, 2020

 

Ptolemy IV Philopator's drunken elephants turn on their masters, by Jan Luyken, 1700. (photo credit: COURTESY THE RIJKSMUSEUM/NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL)

Ptolemy IV Philopator’s drunken elephants turn on their masters, by Jan Luyken, 1700.
(photo credit: COURTESY THE RIJKSMUSEUM/NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL)

Antiochus and his elephants left  Gaza in defeat.

One of the largest battles of the ancient world was over – apparently the first time Asian and African elephants had faced off against one another – though the victor’s herd had been of little help, famously fleeing the war zone in a crazed frenzy. (more…)

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Board of Directors Resolutions

2020 BoD Resolutions

2020-Oct-20 George Alexander would like to make a motion to allow the new website to offer the TBS PayPal account as an additional choice of payment for purchases. For example, currently we allow Cash, Checks, and Credit Cards. Discussion was held that this needs to be discussed with the committee first. A suggestion was made that the transaction fee be put back on the purchaser. Paypal is cheaper than MC or Visa at only 2.2%. Ed Berns seconded the motion. Clarification that grocery gift cards be excluded as profit would be diminished. Ira stated that the motion must be announced in advance of the meeting with a brief written summary of the proposal presented to Board members so they have time to review prior to meeting. Steve Raucher made a motion to table the motion at this time. George withdrew the motion. Ed Berns seconded the motion to table this…

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Board of Directors Resolutions

2019 BoD Resolutions

2019-Nov-19 Tanya made a motion to accept Fred Bobroff for a family membership and Karen Biller as an individual membership. Steve Sosensky seconded the motion. Motion passes unanimously. 2019-Nov-19 Jeff made a motion to get up to $3500 from the building fund to fund the emergency exit door in the library. Marty Bernstein seconded the motion. Motion passes unanimously. 2019-Sep-20 The Rabbi proposed a TBS grocery type bag as a giveaway for grocery cards purchases. 2019-Aug-20 Toby Gillman made a motion to approve new members: Cherni Gillman and Cathy & Michael Burwick. Marla Beck seconded the motion. Motion passes unanimously. 2019-Jun-18 A discussion was held regarding length of terms of officers and the mechanisms which are in place if someone is not appropriately carrying out his/her position. These are both listed in the By Laws. The Rabbi suggested that the full slate of officers be listed to be sent out to the…

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Board of Directors Resolutions

2018 BoD Resolutions

2018-Dec-18 Tanya Goldstein made a motion to accept new member Ron Hillman. Motion was seconded by Brian Lakin and passed unanimously. 2018-Dec-18 Ed Berns made a motion that prior to any offer of employment a criminal background check must be conducted through a professional agency and if there is a criminal conviction there should be no offer of employment tendered to that individual. Discussion ensued regarding the level of the offense and what sort of obligation we have since TBS has a school in the building. Josh to put together a committee to discuss further. Marty Bernstein made a motion to table the motion. Marla Beck seconded the motion and it has been tabled until next month. 2018-Dec-18 Marty Bernstein made a motion to amend the guiding principles of the Public Affairs Committee as follows: 1c. The Committee will seek consensus whenever possible. Its recommendations will be made to the…

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