a progressive Reform Jewish congregation |
2600 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa California 95404(707) 578-5519 fax: (707) 578-3967 email: [email protected] |
Saturday September 4 9:00PM Shomrei Torah Sanctuary
INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE Wednesday September 8 6:00-7:00PM Shomrei Torah Sanctuary
ADULT SERVICE Wednesday September 8 8:00PM Sanctuary at LDS, 1780 Yulupa Ave, Santa Rosa
ADULT SERVICE Thursday September 9 10:30AM Sanctuary at LDS
PRETEEN SERVICE (6 & 7 GRADES) LED BY NORM EISLEY Thursday September 9 10:30AM Sanctuary at LDS
TEEN SERVICE LED BY RICK CONCOFFThursday September 9 10:30AM Christ Church Unit. Methodist 1717 Yulupa
TASHLICH SERVICE Thursday September 9 4:30PM Lake Ralphine at Howarth Park
SERVICE AND POT LUCK Friday September 10 10:30AM Shomrei Torah Sanctuary
SHABBAT SHUVAH Friday September 10 7:30PM Shomrei Torah Sanctuary
SHABBAT SHUVAH Saturday September 11 10:30AM Shomrei Torah Sanctuary
INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE Friday September 17 6:00PM-7:00PM Shomrei Torah Sanctuary
KOL NIDRE ADULT SERVICE Friday September 17 8:00PM Sanctuary at LDS
ADULT SERVICE Saturday September 18 10:30AM Sanctuary at LDS
PRETEEN SERVICE (6 & 7 GRADES) LED BY NORM EISLEY Saturday September 18 10:30AM Sanctuary at LDS
TEEN SERVICE LED BY RICK CONCOFF Saturday September 18 10:30AM Christ Church UM 1717 Yulupa
JEWISH JOURNEYS Saturday September 18 12:45-2:00PM Sanctuary at LDS
MEDITATIVE / REFLECTIVE SERVICE Saturday September 18 2:15-3:00PM Sanctuary at LDS
TORAH READING - JONAH Saturday September 18 3:15-4:15PM Sanctuary at LDS
YIZKOR SERVICE Saturday September 18 4:30PM Sanctuary at LDS
NEILAH SERVICE Saturday September 18 5:30PM Sanctuary at LDS
Before reading the Haftarah on Rosh Hashana
After reading the Haftarah on Rosh Hashanah
Before reading the Haftarah on Yom Kippur
After reading the Haftarah on Yom Kippur
What is the S'lichot Service?
S�lichot Services are part of the traditional monthlong
practice of preparing for the Holy Days. It is
a service designed to open and soften the heart,
enabling each of us to consider the person we are
and how we can be healthier, happier and better in
the New Year. We also take the Torahs out and
dress them in their white, High Holy
Day mantles.
Blessing for wine:
Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheynu Melech Ha-olam boray p�ree hagafen.
Blessed are You, Holy One of Blessing, who makes the fruit of the vine.
What are the �Days of Awe?�
Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holy Days, and begins a ten day
period of soul searching that concludes with Yom Kippur. Tradition tells
us that on Rosh Hashanah the names of the righteous are inscribed in the
Book of Life, guaranteeing another year of life. For those who are not
entirely good, judgment is suspended until Yom Kippur, when our good
works and acts of repentance during those 10 days to turn away (make
teshuvah) from our wicked ways. Synagogue services give us time to reflect
and resolve, but prayer and meditation are not sufficient to wipe the slate
clean. The only way to expunge sins committed against other people is by
sincerely apologizing and asking for forgiveness.
What do the words Rosh Hashanah mean?
Rosh Hashanah is Hebrew for head or beginning of the year. In the Torah,
we read, �In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall
be a sacred assembly, a cessation from work, a day of commemoration
proclaimed by the sound of the Shofar.� Therefore, we celebrate Rosh
Hashanah on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Jewish
calendar. The number assigned to the Jewish year changes on Rosh
Hashanah based on ancient rabbinic reckoning of when the world was
created.
Why is the New Year in the fall? And why do we
start the New Year in the seventh month?
Our ancestors had several dates in the calendar marking the beginning of
important seasons of the year. Originally, the first month of the Hebrew
calendar was Nisan, in the spring. But the first of Tishrei, in the fall, was the
beginning of the economic year, when the old harvest year ended and the
new one began. Around the month of Tishrei, the first rains came in the land
of Israel, and the soil was plowed for the winter grain. Eventually, the first of
Tishri became not only the beginning of the economic year, but the
beginning of the spiritual year as well.
Blessing on the occasion of the holiday:
Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha-olam, shehechiyanu
v�keyamanu v�higianu lazman hazeh.
Blessed are You, Holy One of Blessing, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought
us to this moment.
What is done in the home for Rosh Hashanah?
The focus of home celebration is the evening meal served at the start of Rosh
Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah menus vary among Jewish subcultures and from
household to household, but two customs are pervasive: using a round
challah (with or without raisins) as a symbol of the cycle of the year, and
starting Rosh Hashanah with apples dipped in honey as a harbinger of a
sweet year.
Click here to visit The Jew and the Carrot, a Jewish-Foodie blog with lots of great information about cooking for the holidays.
What happens in the synagogue for Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah is primarily a liturgical or synagogue holiday with a few
core elements, the blowing of a shofar (the horn of a ram or other animal)
and distinctive holiday melodies, which are reprised over and over during
Rosh Hashanah, and again on Yom Kippur.
Rosh Hashanah prayers sound the themes of judgment and repentance, and the recurrent image of God as a father-king is given voice in one of the most memorable prayers and melodies of all the Jewish holidays, Avinu Malkeynu, �Our Father, our King.�
During the morning service on Rosh Hashanah, the Torah readings, from Genesis 21 and 22, are always a focal point. Among the most powerful and problematic stories in the Torah, Genesis 21 tells of the birth of Isaac, the casting out of Hagar and Ishmael into the desert, and their subsequent deliverance. Genesis 22, which is the Torah reading for the second day, contains the terrible test of Abraham�s faith, when he is asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac. This story is referred to as �the binding of Isaac,� or the Akedah.
For the round challah:
Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheynu Melech Ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min
ha�aretz.
Blessed are You, Holy One of Blessing, who brings forth bread from the earth.
What is Tashlich?
After synagogue, people generally have lunch with family and friends. Then
it is traditional to go to a lake, river, or harbor for a ceremony called
Tashlich, from the Hebrew for �send off� or �cast away.� An informal and
nonliturgical custom, people symbolically cast off their sins by emptying
crumbs from their pockets into the water.
What does Yom Kippur mean?
Yom Kippur means �Day of Atonement.� Yom Kippur, the most somber
day of the year is called Shabbat Shabbaton, the �Sabbath of Sabbaths� in the
Bible. On this day devoted to reflection and repentance, healthy adults fast
from all food and drink from sunset to sunset.
What happens in the home for Yom Kippur?
Although this is probably the least home-based of all holidays, it begins and
ends with a family meal. The evening meal is cooked with a mind to the
fast ahead, so generally it is neither too heavy nor too spicy. Unlike other
festival dinners, candle lighting takes place afterwards, marking the official
start of Yom Kippur and the fast.
After eating and before lighting the festival candles, it is traditional to light a candle in memory of family members who have died. Special yahrzeit (�year�s-time�) candles are available in Judaica shops and some supermarkets. These candles are lit without formal blessing, though some people say a silent prayer.
After eating, the Yom Kippur candles are lit with the following blessing:
Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha-olam, asher kid�shanu
b�mitzvotav vitzivanu l�hadlik ner shel Yom HaKippurim.
Blessed are You, Holy One of Blessing, who makes us holy with commandments and call us to kindle the lights of Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur ends with a light meal to break the fast. This repast has no formal rituals or ceremony apart from the blessing over bread, Hamotzi.
Blessing for apple sections dipped in honey:
Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheynu Melech Ha-olam, boray p�ree ha�eytz.
Y�hi ratzon she�te�chadesh aleynu shana tova umetukah.
Blessed are You, Holy One of Blessing, who creates the fruit of the tree. May it be Your
will, Adonai, God of our fathers and mothers, to renew us for a good and sweet year.
Food prepared in advance is usually set out, buffet style, while family and friends discuss the relative difficulty of their fasts and the content of their rabbis� sermons. It is a mitzvah to invite to your table anyone who might have nowhere else to break the fast.
Many families contribute both money and canned goods to help feed the hungry. Synagogues often collect food for distribution to local pantries.
How do we atone for our sins?
Yom Kippur atones only for sins between humanity and God, not for sins
against another person. To atone for sins against another person, you must
first apologize, righting the wrongs you committed if possible. This must all
be done before the conclusion of Yom Kippur.
What is the Jewish definition of sin?
In Judaism, the word �sin� has different connotations than it does in our
wider culture. �Sin� in Judaism is generally not something for which a
person will be punished in the afterlife, but is rather an improper act for
which one can ask forgiveness�not just of God, but of other human
beings as well.
What is Kol Nidre?
Services begin with the haunting melody of Kol Nidre, the opening prayer
and also the name of the evening service. Kol Nidre is an Aramaic
declaration that nullifies all the vows and promises that each person will
make to God and to him/herself in the coming year, an acknowledgment of
the weakness of human resolution.
What happens at Synagogue Yom Kippur day?
Yom Kippur service run throughout most of the day: Shacharit, the morning
service, includes a Torah reading from Leviticus that describes the sacrificial
rites for Yom Kippur in the Temple. Some congregations choose to
substitute another Torah reading, often Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20, which
ends with the lines �I have put before you this day life and death, blessing
and curse. Choose life.� The morning Haftarah reading is Isaiah�s
passionate sermon demanding justice and decrying religious hypocrisy.
Musaf, the �additional� service that follows Shacharit, includes recitation of the martyrology, which begins with a list of the murders of Talmudic sages by the Romans, and describes other persecutions culminating with the Nazi Holocaust.
Download the Lulav & Etrog Order Form
ENJOY THE MITZVAH OF EATING IN THE SUKKAH!
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
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12:00 NOON LUNCH IN THE |
10:30 AM FESTIVAL |
12:00 NOON LUNCH IN THE CST SUKKAH * |
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6:00 PM DINNER IN |
7:30 PM SHABBAT |
6:00 PM DINNER IN |
6:00 PM DINNER IN |
7:00 PM SUKKOT |
6:00 PM DINNER IN |
6:30 PM EREV |
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| * Bring your own lunch or dinner, first come first served, reservations required, call Paul Munson 707-823-6150 |
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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 27TH FROM 7:00 � 8:30 PM
Powerful, touching and amusing, Ushpizin (Guests) is a heartwarming and
soul-stirring film. Big-hearted Moshe Bellanga is down on his luck, so he and
his loving wife Malli pray passionately for a miracle. Their prayers are
answered � in the form of a large sum of money that mysteriously lands on
their doorstep. But the great �gift� leads to the arrival of two uninvited
ushpizin, and Moshe and Malli are left wondering � have they found God�s
favor or is this just a test of their devotion?
Ushpizin marks the first film made by members of the Israeli ultra-Orthodox
community in collaboration with secular filmmakers and provides a touching
and unique look at the daily lives of ultra-Orthodox Jews as they question and
explore their faith. Breaking the barriers between cultures, the film holds a
universal and human appeal that transcends any religion or belief. Writer and
star Shuli Rand (�Moshe�), winner of the Israeli Film Critics Association Award
for Best Actor and the Best Actor Award from the Israeli Film Academy, stars
with his real-life wife, Mechal Bat Sheva Rand (�Malli�), as husband and wife
whose love is tested and faith is challenged when a secret from the past reveals
itself during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
IN HEBREW WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Sukkot
Sukkot commemorates the third and final festival in the Jewish
exodus from Egypt. The people of Israel excaped from Egypt
(Passover), entered into a covenant with God at Mount Sinai
(Shavuot) and wandered about the desert, encamped in temporary
huts awaiting entrance in Canaan. The sukkah, which literally means
covering or shelter, is the focal point of the festival. Sukkot is the
plural form of sukkah.
The first time that we eat in the Sukkah each year and the first time
we shake the lulav and the etrog, we say this blessing:
Baruch ata Adonai Elohainu Melech ha-olam shehechiyanu
v�kiymanu v�higyanu laz-man ha-zeh.
Blessed are You, Holy One of Blessing, who has created us, sustained us, and
allowed us to reach this season
What does the word Sukkot mean?
The word Sukkot means booths or tabernacle, and refers to the
temporary dwelling in which we are commanded to live during this
holiday. The Hebrew pronunciation is sue-coat, the Yiddish
pronunciation sook-us (rhymes with book us). Either pronunciation is
acceptable!
Why do we celebrate Sukkot?
Sukkot is celebrated for seven days as both an agricultural festival
and a historic reminder of the years that the Israelites wandered in
the wilderness of Sinai. The goal is to make the sukkah your home,
to remind us to not become excessively attached to material wealth,
to slow down and reconnect with the natural world.
Why is Sukkot considered an
agricultural/harvest festival?
Autumn was a time when the crops were gathered, so Sukkot became a double celebration. We were grateful that we were no
longer wanderers in the desert, and we offered thanks to God for the
gathering of the crops.
Every time we eat in the Sukkah, we say the following blessing:
Baruch ata Adonai Elohainu Melech ha-olam asher
kid�shanu b�mitzvotav v�tzivanu leysheyv basukkah.
Blessed are You, Holy One of Blessing, who commands us to sit in the
sukkah.
What is a Sukkah?
The Sukkah is a temporary structure erected for use during the
festival of Sukkot. It is a temporary dwelling large enough for a
family to eat and live in. In Leviticus 23:42-43 we are taught, �You
shall live in booths seven days in order that future generations may
know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought
them out of the land of Egypt.� The sukkah symbolizes the booths
or tents in which the Jewish people lived during their forty years of
wandering. It has three �walls� and a top. The walls can be made of
wood, bamboo, cotton bedspreads, or canvas and the whole
structure is covered by s�kach, a covering that must be made of
material that grows in the ground and has been detached from it.
Usually separate twigs, palm fronds, bamboo sticks, or the like are
used to provide shade while allowing the stars to shine through at
night. The Sukkah is decorated with apples, pomegranates, clusters
of grapes, Indian corn, gourds, flowers, decorations made by
children about nature and harvesting, etc�
When does Sukkot fall?
Sukkot begins on the eve of the 15th day of Tishri, five days after
Yom Kippur, and lasts for seven days. This year, Sukkot begins on
October 17, 2005 with a festive meal inside a Sukkah if possible.
Where do you build a Sukkah and what do you do in a Sukkah?
It is customary to begin building the sukkah on the day following
Yom Kippur. The sukkah, said to symbolize the �fragility of life
itself,� can be built anywhere � in backyards, on terraces, on
rooftops. You eat and sleep in the sukkah. You play games, watch
TV, and do homework. There is also a custom called ushpizin, the
welcoming of ancestral guests into the sukkah (Abraham, Sarah,
Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Moses). Each meal is an
opportunity to invite guests into the sukkah.
When we shake the lulav and etrog, we say:
Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam asher
kid�shanu b�mitzvotav v�tzivanu al netilat lulav.
Blessed are You the Eternal One who commands us to wave the lulav.
What are the etrog and lulav?
The lulav and etrog comprise the �four species� which are part of
the ancient and mysterious ritual that involves waving them at the
four compass parts, then up and down. This gesture indicates that
God is everywhere.
Are there traditional foods?
Harvest foods are featured. New apples, pumpkins, winter squash
are served in many forms. Cookies in the shape of the horn of
plenty and cakes made of apples and pumpkin sweeten the end of
the meal.
October 29, 2010
Dance with the Torah at this special (6:30 pm - 8:00 pm) service.
What is Simchat Torah?
Simchat Torah is the last of the fall holidays arriving at the end of
Sukkot. The name of this holiday means �Joy of the Torah,� and it
marks the completion of the year long cycle of reading the Torah.
Since we must never finish the Torah reading, the first portion of
Genesis is immediately read, starting the Torah reading for the
coming year.
Before each Torah is opened, the congregation rises and recites:
Chah-zahk, cha-zahk, v�ni�cha-zahk.
Be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen each other.
How is it celebrated?
Simchat Torah is celebrated with singing, dancing, good food and
drink at the synagogue. There is no home observance. At an evening
service, all the Torah scrolls are removed from the ark and paraded
around the sanctuary in seven circles or hakafot. Many congregations
liven up the celebration with music and dancing as they circle with
the Torahs. Children participate by carrying flags and miniature
Torahs. Carrying the Torah during the procession is an honor often
shared by all who are present. Some temples unroll the entire scroll
in a huge circle, with people carefully holding the parchment.
Is there a traditional worship service?
Yes, in addition to the procession there is a service with a Torah
reading which takes place under a wedding canopy or huppah. The
reader of the last portion of Deuteronomy which finishes the scroll
and the reader of the first chapters of Genesis are called the bride
(kallah) and groom (hatan) of the Torah.
What is consecration?
In some temples, children entering religious school are consecrated
or welcomed into the community with a simple ceremony and the
gift of a small tallit or prayer shawl, or a small Torah scroll. The rabbi
may call the children up to the ark for a special blessing.
Simchat Torah ends the more than three weeks of the fall holiday
season with a joy that feeds our souls with Jewish energy. That will
be sustained each week by Shabbat ceremonies.
December 1, 2010
The
congregational candlelighting
is Friday December
3, at 6:00 PM, when all are invited to bring
their hanukkiot to the sanctuary to recite the
blessings and light the Hanukkah candles
together. The Religious School will be
studying the Hanukkah story and celebrating
the holiday with a party.
The eight-day Festival of Lights commemorates Hanukkah Begins December 1 the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. For those planning to participate in the customary decorating of the home and the exchange of gifts during the holiday, the Shomrei Shop is an excellent source of Hanukkah-themed decoration and gift items. In addition to the special holiday offerings of the Shomrei Shop, there are opportunities throughout the month of November to purchase original arts and crafts made by Shomrei Torah member artists and crafts people, as well as other gifts and decorations at the Hanukkah Bazaars.
There's no better gift for the upcoming holidays than a copy of Oy To Joy: Recipes
From Our Wine Country Kitchens. Purchase four copies of the cookbook at regular
price of $24.95 (plus tax) during the month of November, and receive a fifth
copy absolutely free. Sale price applies to online and in-person purchases at these events:
� Saturday, November 13 Hanukkah Bazaar after Religious School
� Sunday, November 14 Women to Women Arts and Crafts Show
� Monday, November 15 Friendship Circle Holiday Boutique
� Sunday, November 20 Hanukkah Bazaar during Religious School.
Jewish Earth Day!
A New Year for Trees!
A Jewish Arbor Day!
A great excuse for a party that anticipates
springtime.
Shvat is the name of a late winter month in the Jewish lunar calendar.
Tu is 15. Every letter in the Hebrew alphabet is also a number. T (tet) = 9 and U (vov) =6. The �B� means �of� or �with�. Now you know how to decode the name. Tu B�shvat is a celebration that takes place on the 15th of Shvat.
Originally a time for farmers to record the age of their trees because they were required to pay a tree tax, it has become a time to connect Jewish values with contemporary concerns about pollution, climate change and the preservation of our national forests.
For those in California, it comes in the middle of our rainy season as it does in Israel. For those in colder regions, it is in the middle of the snow season. Just when you are bored with the grayness of winter and wondering if you will ever be truly warm again, Judaism provides you with a reminder that spring and the sun will come again bringing new fruits and flowers.
Judaism has always seen trees as sacred. The Torah itself is called a tree of life. The importance of maintaining an orchard is exemplified by Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, a sage of the first century who is recorded as saying �If you have a seedling in your hand, and someone says to you, �Look, here comes the Messiah!� go and plant the seedling first, and then come out to meet the Messiah.� The Torah forbids the cutting down of an enemy�s fruit trees even in a time of war when the wood might be needed to attack a city. These Jewish values are connected on Tu B�shvat to ecological activism. In the book of Genesis, humankind is instructed to be shomrei adamah, caretakers of the earth and all of God�s creation. Families can begin weighing their garbage to measure the increase in their recycling, volunteer to pick up trash on a roadway or park or work on maintaining trails in a nature preserve. In this way, Judaism becomes part of daily life.
Purim is a Jewish Halloween, a Jewish Mardis Gras, and a secular New Year�s Eve rolled into one. People � both children and adults � dress in costume and eat sweet foods, and are encouraged to shout and make noise in the sanctuary. Purim which falls near the spring equinox, and celebrates the coming spring with laughter and fun reminds us that it is a mitzvah sometimes to be silly. Based on the biblical book of Esther, Purim tells the story of the prosperous Jews of ancient Persia and of one Jew, Mordechai, who was a member of the court of the king, Ahashuerus (a-ha-shoo- WER-us). One day, the king banished Vashti, his queen for refusing to appear naked before his guests as he had commanded herj. To replace her, he held a beauty contest which was won by a young Jewish woman named Esther, the niece of Mordechai. She becomes queen, but does not tell anyone that she is Jewish. In the meantime, a powerful advisor of the king named Haman (Haymin) demands that all of the people in the kingdom bow down to him whenever they see him. When Mordechai, refuses to do this, (Jews are only allowed to bow to God) revengeful Haman plans to kill all the Jews in Persia.
Esther spoils Haman�s plot by revealing her Jewishness and the king orders him to be hanged on the same gallows that Haman was planning to use for hanging the Jews.
The Purim has its roots in a Persian legend that gives us material for a bawdy holiday comedy. The violent ending of the story is usually deemphasized for children leaving children with giddy sense of triumph over danger.
Jews are commanded to hear a public reading of the Megillat Esther, the scroll of Esther which will be unlike other biblical reading. It may be acted out by costumed players using funny voices, and listeners are encouraged to drown out the name of the Haman by using graggers, special Purim noisemakers or any other noisemaker. Rabbis deliver silly sermons; temple bulletins publish advertisements for kosher ham, announcements of $500,000,000 dinners, and jokes of all kinds.
Traditional Purim foods are sweet. Ashkenazic Jews make a three cornered pastry called hamentaschen (�Hamen�s pockets�), a filled pastry that has been part of Purim since the 12th century. Originally filled with poppy seeds, modern children enjoy them filled with jam and even chocolate. Sepahardic cooks make orjas de Aman (�Haman�s ears�). These are deep fried and served with syrup. It is traditional to share these sweets with neighbors and friends. The Yiddish term for this custom is shalach manes, means sending portions, a kind of reverse trick or treat where families fill plates or bags with goodies to give away.
Purim is a holiday that speaks to the child in all of us. Carnivals, costume contests, parades, puppet shows and plays are all part of Purim. Unlike Halloween where costumes are scary, Purim costumes are fun and instead of trick or treat demands for candy, sweets are given awayThere is a serious lesson to be learned from this story too: the world can be a dangerous place for Jews and in order to survive, Jews must stick together. The heroine of the story is not simply a beauty queen but a brave woman who takes great risks to save her community.
March 28 Passover Dessert Bake Sale at Shomrei Torah
A NIGHT OF QUESTIONS
TUESDAY MARCH 30, 2010 AT 6:00 PM
download the reservation form
Led by Rabbi George and
Leira, the participatory seder is open to all member families and includes a full
Passover dinner of roasted chicken (plus a vegetarian alternative) and all the elements of a
traditional seder. Participants will be asked to bring wine, horseradish or matzah to share.
The price is $18 per adult, $5 per child 11 and under. Return the form appearing in this
month�s Voice, or visit www.shomreitorah.org to reserve online. Deadline to reserve your
place at the seder table is March 22. For more information, call Denise at 578-5519.
This rare Jewish holiday (once every 28 years) is when the sun is said to be aligned with its original
position at the time of Creation.
We gathered on the patio for a
short morning service led by Judith Goleman. At 7:02 am as the sun
rose over the horizon at Shomrei Torah, we said the special blessing and had our last breakfast with chumutz for eight days.
Saturday April 10, 2010 8PM
Concert Introduction by Rabbi George Gittleman
Santa Rosa Symphony Chamber Players
Jubilee Klezmer Ensemble
santarosasymphony.com
I would like to thank Congregation Shomrei Torah�s Yom Hashoah committee for giving me the honor of recounting my father�s story here on this special commemorative day. I would like to acknowledge my father and my mother who are here with us today from Los Angeles. I tell the story of my family on behalf of all survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides. All survivor stories are stories of miracles, and all survivors have endured atrocities and suffering beyond what any of the rest of us can even imagine.
My father�s family were immigrants from Poland living in Cologne Germany. Just as immigrants to the U.S. do today, they went to Germany in search of a better life. My father, the 4th of five children, was only six years old at the time of Kristallnacht in Nov. of 1938. About two weeks prior to Kristallnacht, the Nazis issued an official decree that all non-German-born Jewish males would be deported back to their home countries. My grandfather was given 24 hours to report to the police station, where he would be sent back to his native Poland along with 16,000 other Polish nationals. This is the last time my father would see his father again.
Kristallnacht, the night believed to mark the beginning of the Holocaust, was when Jewish synagogues and stores throughout Germany were smashed and burned, and thousands of Jews were abducted from their residences and sent to concentration camps. My grandparents and their five children lived on the 3rd floor in a very small apartment. They were very poor, as my grandfather was a laborer and it was very difficult for Jews to obtain jobs.
The Nazis seemed to know precisely where Jewish families lived. The First of many Miracles occurred for my father and his siblings during Kristallnacht. They were actually saved by my grandfather. How is this possible, you may ask? Prior to his deportation, my grandfather used his carpentry skills to construct a lock, a barricade of sorts, that would then prevent the Nazis from breaking down the door. So on that terrifying night when my family could hear the screams of their Jewish neighbors being hauled away, the Nazis tried their hardest to break down their door, but the barricade was successful. My father�s oldest sibling, his 10-year old brother Joseph, almost suffocated the youngest sibling, his baby sister, in trying to keep her from crying while the Nazis pounded on their door. After several minutes of trying to break in, the Nazis gave up, left with the impression that the apartment was boarded up and abandoned.
My grandmother and her five children were now essentially in hiding in their own apartment, with no income, no money, and almost no food. With the help of some non-Jewish neighbors in the building, some food was smuggled in, and some furniture was sold, enough at first for four train tickets. In the middle of the night, my grandmother put my father, his two older brothers and sister on a train bound for Brussels, Belgium, where they had distant cousins. It was the oldest brother, my uncle Joe�s idea to travel on Christmas, as the Germans would surely all be drunk and thus, more lax about border control. My grandmother bought them a round trip ticket, and convinced the intoxicated authorities that the children were just visiting relatives for Christmas, and would be returning the next day. My uncle�s plan worked - Miracle Number Two - and my uncle Joe recalls how he had to order his younger brothers and sister to stop crying on the train ride so as not to draw attention.
After spending a couple weeks with these distant cousins, and my grandmother still not arriving to claim them, my father and his brothers were sent to a boy�s orphanage for Jewish refugee children in Brussels, and their sister, Fanny, was put in a foster home. I have brought photos here of the children at the orphanage, where the Findling brothers would spend the next year and a half of their lives. Some of the photos I have brought today are now in museums in Paris, Brussels, and the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC.
Let�s go back for a moment to my grandmother in hiding with her 18-month-old baby daughter in Cologne. It took her a few more weeks to sell more furniture, and with the assistance of her cousin in Brussels, they paid a German smuggler to get them across the border, which the Belgian government had by now closed to stop the inundation of refugees. When she arrived, she found herself a job as a live-in housemaid. Here her two daughters were able to stay with her for a period of time. My uncle recalls that their mother did visit them every Sunday in the orphanage, but she could not afford to support them or take them in where she was staying.
In May of 1940, the Nazis invaded Belgium and took over the capital Brussels. The leaders of the orphanage decided they needed to escape and get the children out. On that chaotic day with sirens sounding and bombs falling, hundreds of Jews and others trying to flee were mobbing the train station in Brussels. On one particular train headed for France, there were boxcars jammed with Belgians trying to get out. On shear instinct, one of the leaders of the orphanage took out of his pocket an envelope that looked official. He pretended to be an authority, and waving the envelope in the air, ordered all the Belgians out of the boxcars, and commanded all the orphaned children to take their place. The boys� orphanage was joined with a girls� orphanage, and approximately 100 Jewish refugee children crammed into the boxcars for a five day journey to southern France. As the train left Brussels, their boxcar was being strafed by bullets, and the train in front of them was hit by a bomb. This harrowing escape was now the Third Miracle for the Findling brothers.
Having no food or water, the train chugged along towards the French border, and eventually the sounds of sirens, bullets, and bombs dissipated. Near the border, the train was stopped by British soldiers, who generously gave the children cheese to fill their empty stomachs.
The train journey ended near Toulouse. The owner of a large empty storage barn in the small nearby village of Seyre, of which I have a photo here, allowed the 100 children a place of refuge. Although there was no running water or heat, they stayed in this rat-infested barn for nearly one year, sleeping on straw on the floor through a freezing winter. The Swiss Red Cross donated one blanket per child. They had very little food, often surviving on a bowl of watered down corn meal. Local farmers tried to provide bits of vegetables and fruits at times, but it was never enough. Lice infestations were common, adding to the already insufferable conditions.
In approximately March of 1941, the Swiss Red Cross found and appropriated an abandoned castle about 30 kilometers away at the base of the Pyrenees Mountains. The older children dug wells and latrines, thin mattresses were made, and the children moved to Chateau La Hille. I have photos here of the Chateau, which still stands today and has been made into a Bed and Breakfast. In spite of its remoteness, there was always the fear of the Nazis, who had by now taken over half of France. The fear was such that the children were even forbidden from speaking their native German, as it was considered too dangerous. My uncle Fred, who was 8 or 9 at the time, recalls being given only bread and water for over a week as punishment for accidentally speaking German.
This Chateau was one of several places in southern France where Jewish refugee children were housed. Spearheaded by women from a New York Jewish Committee, significant efforts were made to bring some of these children to the U.S. At a time when the U.S. State Department was not easily granting visas, permission was finally obtained for about 100 Jewish children to come. A certain number were selected from each refugee location in southern France. 17 from Chateau La Hille would be chosen with the help of the Quakers who opened offices in France. The desire was to pick children with no unusual health problems, and to keep siblings together. The not-so-small caveat was that they had to obtain written permission from their parents, and it had to be officially notorized . My uncle Joe wrote to his mother in Belgium and his father in Frystak, Poland. Their father�s letter arrived on June 20th, and two days later, their mother�s, notorized with a Nazi stamp. It is unclear how my grandmother was able to get the letter officially notorized by a Nazi, but we will just call it Miracle Number Four.
The selection of the children now came down to more or less a lottery pick, and Miracle Number Five was blessed upon my father and his brothers. They were transported through Spain, and sailed on extremely rough waters for 15 days from a port in Lisbon, Portugal to Ellis Island in New York. The children were then disseminated to foster homes throughout the country, and my father and his brothers were placed in a home in Detroit. It was now September 1941, my father was now nine years old, thin from malnutrion, unable to speak English, but about to start a new life in the U.S. And with his brothers, orphaned refugees, emotionally traumatized, they were relatively safe in the U.S. My father recounts that after the bombing of Pearl Harbor two and a half months later, however, the fear of the Nazis continued to haunt him until the war was over.
You might wonder what happened to my grandmother and my two aunts in Brussels. In 1943 when the Nazis starting rounding up Jews in Belgium to send to extermination camps, my grandmother and her two daughters hid in the attic of a friendly Belgian. Finally, my grandmother was compelled to hide her two daughters in separate convents, where they would spend the next several years concealed as Christian children. My grandmother was eventually captured, transported to Auschwitz and exterminated in the gas chambers the day she arrived on August 2, 1943.
In 1948, after the war, the Red Cross helped the Findling brothers locate their sisters in the convents in Brussels, where they were being raised Catholic. The older sister Fanny was about to become a nun, and the brothers were able to petition for their sisters to come to the U.S. Here is a photo shortly after they were re-united. I guess we can call this reunification Miracle Number Six. All of the Findling five are still alive today, however, there has been one tragedy of sorts. The youngest sibling whom I adored as a child, my Aunt Regina, damaged beyond repair, left the family 30 years ago to try and forget her painful past. No-one has seen her since, although we have learned she has a P.O. Box in Grants Pass, Oregon. She had previously attempted suicide a couple of times, including one near miss in 1961 where she was in a coma in the hospital for three days after ingesting two different bottles of pills.
I also want to mention that a book published in 2004 called Inge: A Girl�s Journey Through Nazi Europe, parallels much of what the Findling brothers endured, as Inge was also one of the 100 refugee children at the Chateau. Another book written in German called Die Kinder Von Schloss La Hille, (The Children of Chateau La Hille) was also written about what happened to these children.
As an aside, we never knew of my grandfather�s whereabouts until 1992, when my cousin, Debbie Findling, ventured to his hometown of Frystak Poland, and learned that the Jews of this village, like many other towns, were subject to a Nazi Aktion � meaning the Jews were rounded up, marched into the countryside, forced to dig mass graves, and then shot. My grandfather, his parents, his five brothers and sisters and their children, and extended Findling family were all murdered in this horribly cruel way by the Nazis.
In addition, only one person from my grandparent�s generation survived. My grandmother had a brother who was able to escape to England. We also have a cousin in Belgium, my grandmother�s sister�s son, who survived the internment camps and is still alive today.
In doing the research for this story, I would like to thank many family members including my uncles, my aunt, my cousins, and my parents. This inquiry over the past two months has had our family from Detroit to California, London, and Brussels exchanging documents and stories via e-mail that they seem to have not shared before. In these two months, I�ve acquired many photos and documents, including a copy of a letter my grandmother wrote from Belgium to her sons in France. It�s difficult to convey the amazing feelings of joy and sadness in reading her words and hearing my grandmother�s voice for the first time. I�ve also learned some horrific details, like the story of my cousin�s wife in Brussels being in line to be gassed on three separate occasions. Each time, because the Nazi�s found her attractive, she was pulled out of line, raped by the Nazi guards and used as a sex slave. This is how she survived Auschwitz.
It is worth noting that very few poor Jews survived the holocaust, and less than 7% of Jewish children survived, making the odds of surviving for my father and his four siblings extremely unlikely. Thanks to much luck, many brave and determined mentschen, and a few miracles, we are here today to share this story. Thank you for listening.
Wednesday, April 29
celebration at the Friedman
Center, with dinner,
entertainment, crafts, and
Israeli dancing.
Why is the festival of Shavuot called �the time of the giving of our Torah� and not the time of the receiving of our Torah? Because the giving of the Torah happened at one specified time, but the receiving of the Torah happens at every time and in every generation. � Rabbi Meir Alter of Ger Each generation must make its own way back to Sinai, must stand under the mountain and re-appropriate and reinterpret the Revelation, in terms that are both classical and new. � Rabbi Gerson Cohen Please join us for a special Torah Study to celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai! We will begin at 7:30 PM with a potluck DAIRY dessert nosh (no meat please). Please bring your favorite dairy dessert to share. At 7:45 PM we will begin our study. We will be led by Rabbi George Gittleman and a number of our own local lay Torah scholars. As the evening moves towards 10:00 PM we will shift into meditation for the last hour. All levels are welcome to join in the whole event or for any part of it. Please RSVP to the office by Friday, May 14.
Congregation Shomrei Torah, Sonoma County's progressive Reform Jewish community, welcomes congregants from Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Rohnert Park, Windsor,Petaluma, Healdsburg, Kenwood, Graton, Glen Ellen, Guerneville, Cotati, Geyserville and the North Bay region.