Memorial Day

***************Tulips in Regent's Park, London '05, photo by Arlene Rosenthal
To honor those who have fallen, and bring all our young men and women safely home . . .

My kind of shul - a mother's day reprise

This extended replay of "My kind of shul" is made in honor of the person who made the following posting -

"My kind of Shul is a place where children playing make great Jewish harmonies"

- and to all the mothers of the new West Ashley Minyan.




My kind of SHUL . . .

. . . is just around the corner . . .

. . is where to get back in.

At my kind of shul, they don’t kvetch if you’re late . . . they’re just happy to see you.

At my kind of shul, all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average . . .

At my kind of shul, all the whiskey is strong, the food is good-looking, and the singing is above average . . .

At my kind of shul, the Rabbi is always happy to see everyones’ smiling faces . . .

Thursday, March 23, 2006 7:31:59 PM, Anonymous said...
My kind of Shul is a place where everybody knows your name.

Sunday, March 26, 2006 8:13:22 PM, Anonymous said...
My kind of Shul is a place where children playing make great Jewish harmonies.

Sunday, April 02, 2006 1:48:44 PM, Editor - Etz Chayim Forum said...
My kind of Shul could be called the "Aleph" minyan - because "I love it when a plan comes together..."

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 9:26:47 PM, Editor - Etz Chayim Forum said...
At my kind of shul, people have a sense of humor. Charles Steinert said he had been somewhat confused by services on Friday being at the Kirshteins, and on Saturday at the Cohens. He said he thought we should be under ONE roof!

Sunday, May 14, 2006 7:48:39 AM, Peter R said...
At my kind of shul, Shabbat services close with a rousing rendition of the "Spiro" Adon Olam...

don't forget! - mothers' day!!!!!

for your edification -

a Mother's Dictionary

and Happy Mothers' Day . . . Y'all . . .

...and to the many shades of blue....

Yom Ha'Atzmaut 2006

3 months .... and COUNTING...

3 months it is ..... and counting.....

Says it all, really....

But who’s counting?

Not only that, but who COUNTS?

OK. It’s 3 months since the BSBI vote - we’ll come back to that count in a moment.....

It’s been 3 months we have been holding services in the AHA / JCC area..... and that includes week-day services over Pesah that were as warm and well-attended as our Shabbat services. For BSBI, that is an anomaly - weekday festivals downtown (last Purim excepted) are depressing. Except if there is a Yizkor service, attendance at services for a week-day festival is minimal.

So, to the next question - who counts? In a congregation, the membership counts. In fact, those who really count are the active members, the committed members, the ones whose regular presence gives life to the activities of the congregation. Do I hear someone saying, "We need more programming?" We have 52 days of scheduled programming every year - Shabbat services. If you attend Shabbat services at any of our 3 current locations, you are supporting, you are benefitting from, you are contributing to, the atmosphere and success of our programming. In my book, this counts.

Now, back to the BSBI vote. (Sorry if I am jumping around - maybe I am "hopping mad"). Let’s have a re-count. Not a re-vote, a re-count. At the January 06 meeting, the first vote regarding BSBI’s optimal location was as follows:

Rutledge 91 - JCC 85 - South Windemere 36 - not sure 5.

Let’s phrase it in terms of "Is Rutledge the optimal location?"

Yes = 91

No = 85 + 36 = 121

The count shows a majority of BSBI membership recognize that staying downtown is "not optimal". This counts, and everyone knows it.....

What we are involved with here is a contest in the market-place of ideas. And we live in a country where the essential belief is that "right" should prevail. That is usually meant in regard to justice, but it also is true in regard to ideas. In America, we not only believe one should do the "right" thing, but democracy and the market-place are about things that are "right" succeeding. If you have a product, and you take it to market, and it succeeds, that is usually an endorsement of the product. BSBI has a product. We are testing it in the market in very real, tangible and positive ways, and it is succeeding.