Or L’Dor (BHA Newsletter)
Deadline for submission is the 15th of every month. Please contact Joan Pirie: izakb@optonline.net (831-8689) or Laura Liebeck-Smith: lliebeck@aol.com (831-4255).

Let Us Know
If you know of someone in BHA who is ill, please let someone on the Board know so that we may pass the information on to rest of the Congregation. **If your address, phone number or email address has changed, please leave a message for Ellin Feld at BHA (845) 831-2012..

BHA Gift Shop – Merchandise Requests Sought
Need a gift? You’ll find something special at the BHA Gift Shop. Please contact Sue Bernstein at Smb8smb@aol.com. The gift shop is open by appointment.  If you have special merchandise requests and suggestions, please let Sue know.

The Golden Book: Special Remembrances:
The Golden Book is a great way for members to make donations to the synagogue while expressing sympathies or simchas to family and friends.  In this age of emails, it is especially gratifying to people to receive real mail, especially cards of hope and congratulations. Remember loved ones, friends and special occasions with a Golden Book card to cheer their day while also making a contribution to BHA. Contact Ellen Alperstein at ejalperstein@aol.com <mailto:ealperstein@aol.com>  or at 896-8367. Minimum donation is $5 per card, and more is encouraged.

Onegs
BHA needs Oneg sponsors.  Almost everything is open so make your reservations now to ensure the special date in your life is set aside for your celebration or remembrance! All food must be Kosher; Friday night foods must be Parve while Saturday morning foods can be either Parve or Dairy.  Onegs are for Friday night when the cantor or lay leaders lead services and for BOTH Friday night and Saturday morning when the Rabbi is leading services. Generally, food should be planned for 30 people on a Friday night and for 15 on a typical Saturday morning – including paper supplies, grape juice and challah on Saturday morning.  Special events will alter these numbers and hosts should be aware of the variables when planning their oneg.  Contact Laura Liebeck (831-4255) to reserve your weekend. Donations to the Joseph Bloom Memorial Oneg Fund are always welcomed to keep the shelves stocked.

Excerpts from Or L’Dor – January / February 2010

Message From President Betsy Solomon

     When I ended my teaching career last June and became president of BHA in September, I had no idea that retirement would be so exhausting.  This new role, though, like teaching, yields profound satisfaction.  
     The Kol Levi Quartet benefit concert not only gave us widespread publicity, a mini-education in Jewish music, an uplifting evening of striking harmonies, and an incredible assortment of delectable desserts, but it netted the synagogue $2,000.  Our Hanukkah party was the most successful in memory, with our walls almost bursting with celebrating congregants and area residents who brought children we had never seen.  BHA hosted the Dutchess County Federation community Hanukkah menorah lighting for the first time, helping put us “on the map.”   Our Tot Shabbat attendance continues to grow, in number and enthusiasm, and our monthly School Shabbat services are giving our students a reality-based education.  Rabbi Josh has been leading monthly Lunch and Learn sessions, and our first Shabbat Muzika left singers, instrumentalists, and toe-tappers of all ages thirsting for more.   
     The considerable time and effort spent on completing our list of building safety requirements is about to earn us our official occupancy certification.  In addition, the new window above our new, out-swinging, legal-exit kitchen door has given us natural light, and when our members erect our new storage shed on its foundation in the spring, the building should be clutter-free!    
     January brings us a hamentaschen-baking women’s Rosh Chodesh group, an introduction to a national youth group for our teens and pre-teens, and our community Tu Bishvat Seder.  February will feature our annual Purim Carnival.
     Our congregation is growing, with the addition of members drawn by the warmth and vibrancy of our congregation, teachers, and clergy. Our members not only support each other in illness and in health, but also in financial challenges.  I was truly touched by members who donated “Seats of Elijah” for fellow members to attend our concert, and I am hopeful that we will receive enough designated contributions to our new Scholarship Fund to subsidize those of our religious school students whose families are seriously struggling in this economy.
     It is truly an honor to lead such a wonderful synagogue. I could not succeed as a teacher without support; neither can I as your president.  I am very grateful for our hard-working, dedicated Board and the many veteran and newer members who contribute their time and financial support.  If you join us in giving what you can to BHA, you, too, can expect a satisfying return on your investment.  – Kol Tuv – All the best, Betsy Solomon

Message From Rabbi Josh Wohl

     What constitutes a congregation? The traditional answer is a minyan, a minimum of ten adult Jews.  Some midrashim state that the number ten was derived from the first verse of Psalm 82, which reads: "God resides in the congregation of God."  Other Rabbis claim that the word edah (congregation) is derived from the reports of the ten spies who authored a negative report on the land of Israel during the time of Moses.
     As we know, the winter months are upon us and it is quite tempting to bundle up by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate on a cold Saturday morning. BHA sometimes struggles to gather up a minyan on these cold January and February mornings.  Many ideas have been suggested to fix this problem. Some have said that we should shorten the service and others have suggested assigning each congregant a weekend on which they are assigned to make minyan.  These views have merit but it is my hope that we will come to services of our own free will.  For I know that there are many valid reasons to come join us on Shabbat morning.  Join us because you feel an obligation to offer thanks in your prayers for all the blessings that God has given you.  Join us to study and gain a greater understanding of the weekly torah portion.  Join us because you enjoy schmoozing with your friends after Kiddush.  But most of all join us because you feel an obligation to make minyan and ensure that BHA is recognized as an edah, a congregation.

NEWS & EVENTS Celebrate Simchas with Tree of Life Plaques Permanently commemorate happy occasions, like family birthdays and anniversaries, bar/bat mitzvahs, and graduations, with a leaf on BHA’s Tree of Life.  Leaves cost just $72 and will be placed on the tree, located in the multi-purpose room for all to see.  Contact Glenn Haight for more information at 845-249-0285, at GlennPortman@gmail.com or by connecting with him at Friday night services. Donate Your Leftover Paper Party Goods Got a bunch of mismatched paper party leftovers?  Please donate them to BHA for Onegs and for Religious School snacktime. The shul is in constant need of paper goods, including hot and cold cups, and if the stuff is clogging up your cupboards, we’d gladly use them.  Please place all donations on the long shelf in the multi-purpose room and our Oneg/Kitchen elves will put them to good use. Bikkur Cholim Committee Forming to Serve the Sick and Needy BHA has formed a Bikkur Cholim committee to visit/help members of our community who are ill. Committee members may be asked to visit someone at home or in the hospital, do a little grocery shopping, or perform some other simple but meaningful task for a recovering congregant.  Please volunteer your time by contacting Laurel at laurelb@optonline.net. Also, please let Laurel know if someone in the shul is ill and in need of support. BHA Religious School Scholarship Program BHA has established a Scholarship Fund for students in our religious school whose families are having serious financial difficulties.  We are a community; please consider contributing, possibly in someone’s honor.  Please send donations, marked “Scholarship Fund”, to the synagogue at P.O. Box 7, Beacon, NY 12508.      Stay Tuned for Weather Cancellations Now that winter is upon us, the weather may force us to cancel or postpone services or events, and we want you to have the most up-to-date information available.  Our regular phone chains and emails will be activated to notify you of schedule changes but we’re also continuing our use of storm center reports that air on local radio stations.  When in doubt, please listen to WBNR and/or WHUD for reports on area closings and delays. Save Your BHA Photos Rachel Zollner, BHA’s Second Vice President, has assumed responsibility of synagogue historian.  As an ongoing project, Rachel will create photo albums for BHA to chronicle the life and times of the shul.  If anyone takes photos at any BHA event, please select the five best shots and email them to Rachel at: bhavicepresident2@gmail.com SAVE THE DATE: Shabbat Across America Celebration is Friday, March 5 BHA will again host a Shabbat Across America dinner and service.  More information on the menu (dairy, probably pasta dishes with salad and dessert) and price will be available soon.  Contact Laura Liebeck for more information and reservations at lliebeck@aol.com. What’s Your Email address? We don’t want to leave anyone out of the loop. Please send Ellin Feld or Laura Liebeck your most up-to-date email address.

UPCOMING SERVICES Friday, January 1 @ 7:30 pm (led by Cantor Ellen) Friday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, Jan. 9 @ 9:30 am (led by Rabbi Josh) -Tot Shabbat starts at 6:30 pm on Jan. 8, led by Cantor Ellen Friday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, Jan. 16 @ 9:30 am (led by Rabbi Josh) Friday, Jan. 22 @ 7:30 pm (led by Cantor Ellen) Sat., Jan. 23 @ 10 am Kids Service/Class (led by Cantor Ellen) Friday, Jan. 29 @ 7:30 pm and Saturday, Jan. 30 @ 9:30 am (led by Rabbi Josh) Friday, Feb. 5 @ 7:30 pm and Saturday, Feb. 6 @ 9:30 am (led by Rabbi Josh) Friday, Feb. 12 @ 7:30 pm (led by Cantor Ellen) -Tot Shabbat starts at 6:30 pm, led by Cantor Ellen- Friday, Feb. 19 @ 7:30 pm (led by Cantor Ellen) Sat., Feb. 20 @ 10:00 am Kids Service/Class led by Cantor Ellen Friday, Feb. 26 @ 7:30 pm and Saturday, Feb. 27 @ 9:30 am (led by Rabbi Josh) Sat. 7 pm, Megillah Reading (led by Rabbi Josh) NEWS & EVENTS BHA Book Club to Meet Sunday, Jan. 10 at 9:30 am at ZuZu’s The book club will meet on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 9:30 am at ZuZu’s on Main Street in Beacon.  The group will be reading The Boy Who Loved Ann Frank by Ellen Feldman. A special note: the author will be speaking at the Howland Center this spring. BHA Youth Group Forming; Meeting Scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 10 BHA is forming a youth group, and kids in grades 6-12 are invited to join.  The first meeting is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 10 at 12:30 pm at the synagogue. A light lunch will be served and RSVPs are needed by Jan. 4. Rosh Chodesh Women’s Group to Meet Sunday, Jan. 10 at 12:30 pm The Rosh Chodesh group will meet on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 12:30 pm for lunch and fun.  All participants are asked to bring dairy or pareve food to share with others. The ladies will be making hamentaschen for Purim. Please RSVP by leaving a message on the synagogue phone at 831.2012. Lunch & Learn Set for Saturday, Jan. 9 and Feb. 6. Following morning Shabbat services on Saturday, Jan. 9, Rabbi Josh will lead a discussion on Kaddish. Attendees will examine the history of Kaddish, its place in rabbinic literature and its power. The discussion will look at some problems in practice associated with the Kaddish.  On February 6, the topic will be The Amidah: content and choreography.  Please phone BHA if you will be attending.  We have sponsors for a light lunch at both these sessions, but we will need volunteers thereafter.   Tu B’Shvat Seder Set for Sunday, Jan. 31 at 11 am The synagogue’s annual Tu B’Shvat Seder will be held at 11 am on Sunday, Jan. 31 and will be led by Rabbi Josh.  Volunteers are needed.  Please contact Laura Liebeck at lliebeck@aol.com . Purim Carnival Set for Sunday, Feb. 28 from 11 am to 1 pm BHA’s annual Purim Carnival is set for Sunday, Feb. 28 beginning at 11 am. Volunteers are needed to organize and run the carnival this year.  Please leave a message on the synagogue phone/answering machine at 831-2012.

Remember: Volunteer, BHA Needs You!

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