FROM THE RABBI’S STUDYTen-Year Review

It has now been ten years since my family arrived in Westport in July of 2008. Meital was entering the

junior. Avi was in the “3’s” class of our TCS Preschool; this past May, he became a Bar Mitzvah. Fortunately, Riki and I haven’t aged at all!

-ries, moments, and accomplishments that come to mind. I’d like to share

There have been magical Shabbat services in which the community has truly come together. Whether it was a tribute to the Beatles, Uruguayan Shabbat, or our annual Lessler award/USY Shabbat, I cherish those

Our Religious School has become a true “Kehillah,” a community of learn-ers under the leadership of Danny Kochavi. With smaller class sizes,

-

Kehillah has evolved into a program of which we can all be proud. We -

ship of Seth Golob. The TCS Preschool, which was struggling ten years ago, has in many ways become our “crown jewel,” growing in numbers, quality, and repu-tation every year. Jamie Klein-Zoref and her team have built an amazing

environment with a curriculum soaked in Jewish tradition, holidays, and values.

Continued on page 3

July – August 201818 Tammuz 5778 – 20 Elul 5778

FT

ItW

NOTES FROM OUR CANTOR When you go out on your way.

Summer.

This is the time of the year when we enjoy more time outdoors and most likely, we go on vacation trips. In our tradition, there is a blessing for almost everything. I would like to present you with this particular blessing that is recited when we are about to undertake a trip.

May it be your will Adonai our God and the God of our ancestors, that you walk with us to peace, and lead us to peace, and guide us to peace, and that we reach the place we want to in life in happiness and in peace. And save us from the paws of enemies and those waiting to ambush and from thieves, and bad animals on the way, and from all kinds of sudden trouble that comes to the world. And send blessing to all the deeds of our hands, and give pardon, kindness and mercy, in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us and hear the voice of our pleas. Because you are God who hears prayer and pleas. Blessed are You Adonai who hears prayer.

This prayer is a simple request to God in which we ask for God to let us get to our destination in peace and return us home in peace as we begin to travel. We ask God to lead us, to accompany us, to allow us to reach our destination, to save us from our enemies, and from thieves, and animals, and anything else that can go wrong. The repetition of the word Shalom works like a litany that helps us achieve the right state of mind. The origin of this prayer can be found in the Talmud where

with the mandatory recitation of the prayers (the three daily services, Maariv, Shacharit and Mincha) in case of

-

protection. According to Rambam (the medieval scholar) this prayer is not necessary because we pray for similar things in our daily prayers, but the power of the need for prayer and strongly rooted tradition has become stronger. We now have different versions of this blessing which can accompany us (in some cases) in small, pocket-sized cards that we take almost like an amulet for protection during our journeys. In fact, that would be a contradiction, because what we pray at the end of the blessing is for God to hear our prayer. With the acknowledgment of the perils, comes the need for prayer. May we all be protect-ed in our journeys, may our pleas be heard. May we all enjoy safe travels during this summer.

B’vracha, CANTOR LUIS U. CATTANcantorc@tcs-westport.org

NCCCW

Summer

FROM THE RABBI’SSTUDY (Continued)

This past decade at TCS has seen cholent cook-offs and challah baking, we have put

Abraham and David on “trial” as part of our Adult Education program, and welcomed charismatic speakers such as Brad

Sherre Zwelling, Gary Shteyngart, and Nathan Englander to our bimah. We’ve hosted numerous community programs

commemorations. TCS has also become a place for musical celebrations and concerts. Often partnering with the TCS Chorale, we have sung and danced with Neshama Carlebach,

-ble, among others.

At thirty plus years old, TCS has continued our “old-time” traditions of Shabbat at the Beach, Mitzvah Day, and Share the Pie, while adding many new traditions this past decade such as Full Court for Kindness (USY), Blessing of the Animals, and Kavanah.

When thinking about the highlights of these past ten years, I cannot forget about our three family trips to Israel along with several smaller emergency missions and Masorti trips. Sharing my love for Eretz Yisrael while bonding with members of our

of my career. I know that Cantor Cattan felt the same way during the recent TCS journey to Argentina and Uruguay.

What a decade it has been—and where has the time gone?

grow from strength to strength.

B’shalom rav,

rabbi@tcs-westport.org

LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT

At our Annual Meeting last month, I was

about I spoke about strength and balance – two concepts that continue to inform what we do here at TCS between the holidays. Our strength is evident every day in our thriving Pre-school –Jamie Klein-Zoref and her amazing group of teachers

and their families. Our Kehillah remains a cornerstone of our congregation and we recently said L’hitraot to Danny Kocha-

passion for Jewish education was always evident.

I am thrilled to announce that we have hired Seth Golob to be -

ment. We are thrilled that Seth will be joining us, and there will be many opportunities to meet him over the summer and

matures and becomes more demographically diverse, our Kehillah has gotten smaller. This presents an opportunity for the Education Director to have time to work with our entire community. I look forward to sharing more about this in the coming months and to having Seth’s enthusiasm and passion working to help our entire congregation. I would like to thank Susan Arrow and the entire Search Committee for their hard

lead our Kehillah forward.

I can’t talk about strength without mentioning our Youth Pro-gram. Under the direction of Annie Glasser, we are thriving. From Midnight Run to serving at the Gillespie Center, from social events to leading Shabbat services throughout the year, our teens are active and engaged. For the second year in a row, we received the USY Chapter of the Year award for our

- including for the second year in a row, the regional president, are from TCS.

Continued on page 6

FSSSSS

hioo

Abraham and David on

TTco

LPPPPPPPPPP

At AA

PRESCHOOL NEWSWhat a wonderful year we had! We

school-wide picnic and Fours Moving On Ceremony and the installation of our beautiful new edible garden.

Many thanks to Cara Leichter for spearheading our new garden and seeing it to fruition. We are so grateful for this amazing addition to our school! Thank you also to those who helped plant and transport, especially Barbi Jurman’s in-laws who were visiting from Germany! If you haven’t seen the gar-den please come and check it out. There is a sign-up genius going around for those families who would like to participate during the summer months in caring for and “eating the fruits of your labor!” There is no better way to get children to try new fruits and vegetables than picking them right from the garden. Everything planted in the garden is edible!

the Preschool Committee for the past 2 years. As I mentioned during the Moving On ceremony this year, “Ilyssa’s warmth and love for her children and all things TCS radiates in every-thing she does. Ilyssa is the essence of what community is all about. We are so appreciative of her commitment and involve-ment at TCS.” Thankfully this is not goodbye because we still have Sam coming up the ranks!

Thanks also to Liz Leary for chairing the Preschool Committee along with Ilyssa and to the following Preschool Committee

school is great because of the partnership we have with all of you, in addition to our fabulous staff!

Preschool Plus was a blast this year! Thank you to the amazing teachers and counselors who brought so much spirit and energy that we didn’t want camp to end!

JAMIE KLEIN-ZOREFDirector Early Childhood Educationjamiek@tcs-westport.org

PW

scOb

Thank You to our Preschool Committee & Room Parents

2017-18 Preschool Committee: Ilyssa Axel & Liz Leary (co-chairs), Linda Gordon (synagogue liaison), Lauren Cramer & Kate Fierman (fund-

raising), Carly Ritter & Barbi Jurman-Mossburger (social events), Allison Amron & Robin Spo-lansky (holidays), Lisa Eisen & Lauren Rand

(mitzvah), Allison Amron (bagel Mondays), Cara Leichter & Rachel Meisel (garden), Carrie Blas-

berg & Miriam Young (Shalom Baby).

Room Parents: Jenny Brogadir, Alison Fagen, Saryn Koche, Danielle Barker, Michelle Fried-

man, Maya Konig, Jamie Bernard, Hilary Gerber, Wendi Lask, Jennifer Tepper

Congratulations to the Class of 2018

Brody Bernard, Parker Deckelbaum, Lola Fagen, Rebecca Flanagan, Samantha Flanders, Asher

Gurevich, Gavin Kizner, Zoe Lask, Joey Leary, Skylar Manela, Evan Perkel, Mackenzie Tepper,

Shane Warshaw, Alden Young

IMPORTANT PRESCHOOL DATES

8/29 BACKYARD PARTY 2S, 3 TO 4PM BACKYARD PARTY 3S, 4 TO 5PM8/30 BACKYARD PARTY 4S, 4 TO 5PM9/5 VISITING DAY, ALL CLASSES9/6 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, 3S AND 4S NOON DISMISSAL9/7 NOON DISMISSAL9/12 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, 2S

SPECIAL EVENTSTHURSDAY, 7/5 at 7:30 pm “Jews and Crime” with Binghamton Professor Jonathan KarpWILL BE RESCHEDULED

FRIDAY, 7/6 at 6:15 pmCupcakes at Kiddush

SATURDAY, 7/21 at 9:30 pmTisha B’Av Service at Beth El, Norwalk

WEDNESDAY, 8/1 at 12:00 pmMembership Luncheon

WEDNESDAY, 8/1 at 7:00 pmCPR & AED Training with Tamid

THURSDAY, 8/2Tikkun Olam with TCS: Dinner for Gillespie

SUNDAY, 8/5 at 8:00 amTCS Bike Ride

FRIDAY, 8/17 at 6:15 pmCupcakes at Kiddush

FRIDAY, 8/31 at 5:15 pmBack to School, Back to Shul BBQ

SUMMER IS HERE!JOIN US FOR SHABBAT AT

THE BEACHSAVE THE DATES:

7/20, 8/3 AND 8/17

KEHILLAH NEWSShalom TCS!

new Director of Education and Congregational Engagement. I can’t

wait to be a part of this community that has already started to warmly welcome me.

the regional and international levels; running events, creating curriculum, and forging relationships. Before that, I graduat-ed from Ithaca College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Media. I’m a product of the Conservative movement. I was a camper and counselor at Camp Ramah New England, taught religious school in Baltimore, Ithaca and Boston, and led youth programming starting when I was a teen in my hometown of Baltimore, MD.

-tion that Danny has laid, and make Kehillah a vibrant, contem-porary learning community. My philosophy as an educator is to

of traditional classroom learning and informal learning outside of the walls of the classroom. I’m looking forward to meeting all of the Kehillah students, TCS Teens and community in the coming weeks! My door is always open, so stop by when you’re at TCS.

See you soon!

Director of Educationsethg@tcs-westport.org

LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT (Cont.)

Balancing the youth-centered program-ming with continuing engagement across generations continues to be a

focus. Our annual fundraiser Thriving @ Thirty was a rousing success – we raised funds for our operating budget as we celebrated 3 plus decades of TCS. For me, having the families who have belonged to TCS for over thirty years recognized and standing together was a powerful visual symbol of our strength.

Our Adult Ed programming continues to inspire us – author Nathan Englander was an engaging and dynamic speaker and we have several more programs planned for the summer. None of what I have just mentioned would be possible without

and the Full Board are both comprised of members whose dedication to this community inspires me every day. At our annual meeting, the terms of three of our trustees came to

dedication to our community will continue – and I am grateful to have had them serving on the Board with me. I am thrilled to welcome our new trustees to the Board: Karen Lessler, Lori Popkin and Scott Wofsy. I am looking forward to having their voices at our table!

When speaking about the strength of our community, it is evident every day here in the building. I am endlessly grateful for our wonderful clergy, professional staff, administrative staff and building staff – each of whom works tirelessly to ensure

I am also thrilled to announce that at the Annual Meeting, the

Wiederhorn. I am thrilled to say that Rabbi Wiederhorn will be with us through June of 2023. I look forward to having his dedi-

I hope to see everyone at Shabbat at the Beach this summer!

Presidentnsc5@optonline.net

Bm

For sponsoring Kiddush lunch:• The Phillips family in honor of the aufruf of Dara Phillips

and Jared Itkowitz• The Miller/Feldman family in honor of Marissa’s bat

mitzvah• The Weisman family in honor of Sasha’s bat mitzvah• • The Cherry family in honor of Sam’s bar mitzvah• The Levy family in honor of Charlotte’s baby naming• The Birns family in honor of Karenna’s bat mitzvah• The Wiederhorn family in honor of Avi’s bar mitzvah

For sponsoring Kiddush:•

bat mitzvah

For helping with our Annual Meeting mailing:• Debbie Smolka

For the Simha wall engraving:• A to A Studio Solutions and the Wahler family

• Kira Teagan Brogadir, daughter of Nathaniel and Jennifer

MILESTONES

Weddings- Mazal Tov to:• Alan and Barbara Phillips on the marriage of their

daughter, Dara Phillips to Jared Itkowitz• Peter Goldman and LaurieAnn Scher on the marriage of

their son, Zak Goldmanscher to Talia Plotkin• Steven and Karen Cohen on the marriage of their

daughter, Alyssa Cohen to Daniel Lavy

Engagements- Mazal Tov to:• Geoffrey and Orna Stern on the engagement of their

daughter, Abigail Stern to Tanner Tananbaum

Our Condolences• Carole Rosenberg z”l, mother of Nadine (Paul) Tanen• Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven (Sharon) Navarro• Donald Chusid z”l, father of Adam (Monica) Chusid• Michele Rand z”l, mother of Jordan (Lauren) Rand

Stew Levine, Shari Levy, David Miller, Jeff Miller, Russ Miller, Scott Miller, Jay Rand, Martin Rosenfeld, Abraham Serfaty, Sol Slotnik, Carly Steckel, Mark Steckel, Geoffrey Stern, Carol Wahler, Ayelet Wiederhorn, Meital Wiederhorn and Rabbi Jere-my Wiederhorn

Alan Clement, Matt Landau, Alan Radin, Jay Rand and Larry Schloss

To our recent Book of Ruth readers:Cantor Luis Cattan, Alan Clement & Debbie Smolka

Peter R. Lessler Memorial Community Service Award Recipient:Uri Cattan

Mazal Tov to nominees: Steven Frost, Abigail Genser, Anna Greenspan, Andrew Saun-ders, Meital Wiederhorn, Jacob Wolfe and Rachel Wolfe

A special thank you to the members of the Education Director Search Committee:

-coln, Eric Marshall, Lisa Rozen, Renee Serfaty, Emily Sigalow, and Nicole Wilson-Spiro. Your hard work and dedication are greatly appreciated!

ADULT EDUCATION FUNDRick Bitsky & Jason Bitsky in memory of Golda Bitsky z”l, mother of Rick Bitsky & Jason Bitsky

Carol & Jeff Kaplan and family in memory of Albert Kaplan z”l, father of Jeff Kaplan

Shabtai Rueven z”l, father of Mony Rueven

CANTOR’S DISCRETIONARY FUNDMark Kornbluth & Betty Landau in appreciation for your help in preparing Jenna for her bat mitzvah

Scott Miller & Karen Feldman in appreci-ation for all your help with Marissa’s bat mitzvah

Steven & Sharon Navarro

GENERAL FUND Judy Berman in memory of Jack Kahan z”l, father of Judy Berman

Gloria Carvajal

Michael and Lauri FriedlandNeil & Stephanie Gordon in memory of Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven Navarro

GENERAL FUND (CONT.)Michael & Cynthia Lieberbaum in memory of:• Lillian Lieberbaum z”l, mother of

Michael Lieberbaum• Donald Chusid z”l, father of Adam

Chusid

Richard & Marji Kaplowitz in memory of Bruce Keller z”l, friend of Richard & Marji Kaplowitz

Scott Miller & Karen Feldman in honor of Deb Smolka for tutoring Marissa for her bat mitzvah

Sandy & Mark Rappaport in memory of Donald Feldman z”l, brother of Sandy Rappaport

Milton Silverman

Shellie, Greg, Brian & Jessica Tapfar in memory of Bernice Gorelick z”l, mother and grandmother

Lynda Tucker in memory of Elaine Schwartz z”l, mother of Lynda Tucker

The Waller family in memory of Sandra Waller z”l, mother of Scott Waller

HOSPITALITY FUND Sally Nacht in memory of Leonard Nacht z”l, husband of Sally Nacht

JEWISH CULTURAL ARTS FUNDSara, Phil, Emma & Ava Glick in honor of the baby naming of Charlotte Frances Levy

PETER R. LESSLER SCHOLARSHIP FUNDSusie Blumenfeld in honor of Sam Cherry becoming a bar mitzvah

Susie & Todd Blumenfeld in memory of Marilyn Mestel z”l, mother of Laura Rubin

PRAYER BOOK & CHUMASH FUNDBenjamin & Ivy Gosseen in memory of Irwin Kramer z”l, father of Ivy Gosseen

RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND Rick Bitsky & Joni Usdan in memory of:• Donald Chusid z”l, father of Adam

Chusid• Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven

Navarro

Kenneth & Phyllis Bravo in memory of James Bravo z”l, father of Kenneth Bravo

Eric & Gail Cohen in memory of Mark Cohen z”l, brother of Eric Cohen

Steven & Karen Cohen in honor of their daughter Alyssa’s marriage to Daniel Lavy

Matthew & Melissa Dombrow in memory of Martin Lakoff z”l, father of Melissa Dombrow

FUNDS & CONTRIBUTIONS April 3, 2018 – May 31, 2018

RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND (Cont.)Samuel & Amy Gettler in honor of Avi Wiederhorn becoming a bar mitzvah

Nancy Gold in memory of Morton Ilberman z”l, father of Nancy Gold

Jordan & Jennifer Kanfer in honor of:• Karenna Birns becoming a bat

mitzvah• Sam Cherry becoming a bar mitzvah

Jordan & Jennifer Kanfer in memory of:• Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven

Navarro• Michele Rand z”l, mother of Jordan

Rand• Carole Rosenberg z”l, mother of

Nadine Tanen

Ann & Ed Katz in memory of:• Inez Schliff z”l, beloved mother of

Ann Katz• Donald Chusid z”l, father of Adam

Chusid

Ann & Ed Katz in honor of the wedding of Dara Phillips and Jared Itkowitz

Mark Kornbluth & Betty Landau in appreciation for your help in preparing Jenna for her bat mitzvah

RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND (Cont.)The Levi-Berliner family in memory of

Levi Berliner

Joseph & Fern Mayer in memory of Sam Mayer z”l, father of Joseph Mayer

Scott Miller & Karen Feldman in appreci-ation for all your help with Marissa’s bat mitzvah

Susan & Murray Morrison in memory of:• Mildred Morrison z”l, mother of Mur-

ray Morrison• Carole Rosenberg z”l, mother of

Nadine Tanen and grandmother of Noah & Ben

Isabel Moskowitz in memory of Aron Price z”l, father of Isabel Moskowitz

Steven & Sharon Navarro

David & Lori Popkin in honor of the wedding of Zak Goldmanscher & Talia Plotkin

Lee & Eva Rawiszer in honor of Avi Wiederhorn becoming a bar mitzvah

Alan Rosenberg and Nadine Tanen in memory of Carole Rosenberg z”l, wife of Alan Rosenberg and mother of Nadine Tanen

RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND (Cont.)Martin & Martha Rosenfeld in memory of Bernard Elowsky z”l, father of Martha Rosenfeld

Paul & Anita Sarno in memory of Peter Sarno z”l, son of Paul & Anita Sarno

Philip & Wendy Schaefer in honor of Avi Wiederhorn becoming a bar mitzvah

Barney Spivack & Robin Oshman in honor of Avi Wiederhorn becoming a bar mitzvah

Stephen Steinbrecher in memory of Robert Steinbrecher z”l, brother of Stephen Steinbrecher

The Udell family in memory of Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven Navarro

James Weisz & Robyn Levy in honor of Avi Wiederhorn becoming a bar mitzvah

Amy & Carl Wistreich in honor of Avi Wiederhorn becoming a bar mitzvah

Please note, contributions received after May 31, 2018 will appear in the September/Octo-

ber 2018 bulletin.

Acknowledgement letters will be sent on a timely basis.

FUNDS & CONTRIBUTIONS (Cont.) SISTERHOOD – COLLEGE CONNECTIONGregory & Amanda Parker in memory of Carole Rosenberg z”l, mother of Nadine Tanen

SISTERHOOD - MITZVAH FUNDJoan & Alan Berlin in memory of Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven Navarro

Steven & Karen Cohen in memory of Zeena Cohen z”l, mother of Steven Cohen

Machlis

David & Lori Popkin in memory of:• Donald Chusid z”l, father of Adam

Chusid• Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven

Navarro

Lee & Eva Rawiszer in memory ofDonald Chusid z”l, father of Adam Chusid

Philip & Wendy Schaefer in memory of:• Donald Chusid z”l, father of Adam

Chusid• Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven

Navarro

TIKKUN OLAM FUNDSara, Phil, Emma & Ava Glick in memory of Ethel Elson z”l, beloved mother and grandmother

Joseph & Fern Mayer in memory of Ebolya Mayer z”l, mother of Joseph Mayer

Steven & Sharon Navarro in memory of Donald Chusid z”l, father of Adam Chusid

Meredith Poster in memory of:• Donald Chusid z”l, father of Adam

Chusid• Carole Rosenberg z”l, mother of

Nadine Tanen

USY/KADIMA/MACHAR FUNDJon Fraade & Rita Appel

Brian & Jennifer Frank in memory of Murray Navarro z”l, father of Steven Navarro

The Popkin family in memory of Gerry Popkin z”l, father of David Popkin

HIGH HOLY DAYS 5779

SELICHOT SATURDAY, 9/1 @ 9:00PM

ROSH HASHANAHSUNDAY, 9/9

MONDAY, 9/10

TUESDAY, 9/11

YOM KIPPURTUESDAY, 9/18

WEDNESDAY, 9/19

SUKKOT

TUESDAY, 9/25

SH’MINI ATZERET MONDAY, 10/1

SIMCHAT TORAHMONDAY, 10/1

TUESDAY, 10/2

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