Page 152 | Temple Beth Sholom | Conservative Synagogue in Hamden, CT

Steven Grove – Tzadik Binyamin ben Edel Buna

Judaism looks forward to the day when there will be no longer be any sickness or death. We look forward to a time when G-d will destroy the Angel of Death. Until that time, we have to live the best we can.

We have to battle disease; we have to cope with the passing of our loved ones. And the truth is that it’s very hard to live our lives worrying about what’s going to happen next.
Moses, our great leader and lawgiver, lived until he was 120 years old; his eyesight was not dimmed and he was as full of vigor as ever. It is a Jewish tradition to hope that we will all live that long and that well. (more…)

0 Comments

Book of Memories

Francine Ross – Faiga bat Avraham

We’re here today to mourn the passing of Francine Ross, beloved wife, sister, aunt, great-aunt and friend. It is an honor to pay tribute to this fine woman today.
Fran was born in Hoboken and went to high school. Jack and Fran eloped and got married on June 30, 1936 and then got married again in a Jewish ceremony on December 20, 1936. (more…)

0 Comments

Book of Memories

Dorothy Hurwitz

We’re here today to mourn the passing of a wonderful woman, Dorothy Hurwitz, beloved mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. Dorrie was born and raised here in New Haven, graduated Commercial high school, and worked as a bookkeeper at Presidential Management and as a secretary for B’nai Jacob. They got married on October 30, 1937 and were married for 62 years until Al passed away in 1999. In sickness and in health, in very happy times and in the most tragic times, they were always together, always supportive. (more…)

0 Comments

Book of Memories

Dr. Daniel Henry Davis

We’re here today to mourn the passing, but also honor and cherish the life of a good man, a righteous man, Dr. Daniel Henry Davis. I want to begin by talking about the worst part, the end of his life. Dan Davis was the last person that I would have thought would die before his time. (more…)

0 Comments

Book of Memories

Rita Rudnick – September 16, 2007

Rita was born in Sheteen Poland on October 29, 1947. In July, 2007, Rita went back to Sheteen with her husband Marty for a reunion of people who had been kids in the 60s when they had to leave Poland because of government persecution and discrimination. It’s not a coincidence that Rita kept herself together through that trip. She was determined to make a full circle, to go home before she died. No matter how tired and sick she got, she made that trip in July. Imagine that resolve, that strength. (more…)

0 Comments

Rabbi's Corner

You Are Entitled to Your Opinion, but You’re Not Entitled to Your Own Facts

We are in a high school class in U.S. History, somewhere in Connecticut, 2007. A student says, “The slave trade of Africans to America never really happened.” Other students look at him with curiosity. “Yes,” he says, “this whole subject has been grossly exaggerated by American blacks to explain their difficult experience in this country and to win compassion. Africans really wanted to come to America, eagerly and voluntarily got on ships, and came over here, hiring themselves out on plantations for fair wages and good treatment and better lives.”
(more…)

0 Comments

Rabbi's Corner

Why Am I Soft in the Middle (When) the Rest of My Life is So Hard?

So here I am in Israel, at a Karaoke pub inside a hotel, drinking my Pepsi Max, standing outside the window, looking in because I can’t stand all of the cigarette smoke. And these beautiful Israeli kids are having a blast, singing all of the hit songs. I know a lot of prayers in Hebrew and a lot of traditional Hebrew songs but I don’t know any of these Israeli hits. (more…)

0 Comments

Rabbi's Corner

The View From Here Is Different Than the View From There

In many movies, the first scene is also a scene from the end of the film; the entire movie makes a full circle from the end to the beginning to the end again. So today I would like to outline the plot of a screenplay, and I’d like to begin at the end. (more…)

0 Comments

Social Action

What we do…

Temple Beth Sholom's social action programs have focused on the needs of the hungry and of children in our community.We collect food during the year for the Hamden Food Bank.We serve meals at the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen one Sunday a month. We have adopted a social worker at the Department of Children and meet her requests for beds, clothing, household items, school supplies, and holiday gifts.We provide fruit for the women living at New Haven Home Recovery, Inc. We participate in the Walk Against Hunger to raise funds for the Connecticut Food Bank.We also send Hanukkah gifts to Jewish men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. This year we are planning additional projects. We want to help teens at a children's home in Israel celebrate their bar or bat mitzvahs and prepare bag lunches to be distributed to the homeless in New Haven. We'd also like to develop…

0 Comments

President's Message

September 2007: Temple Beth Sholom…

Let me start by thanking Shira Rosenblatt for a lovely introduction, and for volunteering to serve as Installing Officer tonight & organizing the service. While on the subject of Thank You’s, let me also thank each of the outgoing directors and trustees for their years of service to Temple Beth Sholom. (more…)

0 Comments