Many thanks to the many members (and friends and family) who have added their voices to the growing chorus who have pledged their generous support to the Many Voices-One Community fundraising campaign. At this point, with just a tick over 10% pledged in Matching support, we are on our way to reaching our goal of $100,000 in Matching Funds that will enable us to secure the full $100,000 that was pledged by our Challenge donors. Our goal is to raise $100,000 in matching dollars by June 30, 2010!

Click on the attachment below to access the March Rainbow Reporter.  Now, everyone with access to the internet can read the insightful columns posted by our Rabbis and co-Presidents, our tributes and member mentionings,  and get a flavor of the events sponsored by our congregation, on a monthly basis.  The previous issues are posted on the Members-Only section of the site.

The Celebration will be held at the landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Enjoy a concert of World Jewish music which spans cultures and continents with Avram Pengas.

The night will honor leaders of our congregations, the Reconstructionist movement, and the global community with the Moreh Derech Award for "The Ones Who Show Us the Path." Those honored include BK's own Ellen Kolba and Linda C Jum. Linda will be honored with the Yehudit Award for Creativity and Service.

For details or to make your reservation, call 212.870.2483 or email events@jrf.org

 

Nicholas Wade, the science editor of the New York Times from 1990-96, and a science reporter for the Times since 1997,  will be visiting to discuss, among other things, his most recent book, The Faith Instinct (Penguin Press, 2009), which traces the evolution and cultural development of religion.   

Mr. Wade was born in 1942 in Aylesbury, England and educated at Eton and at King’s College, Cambridge. He received a B.A. degree in Natural Sciences in 1964.

Reszo Kasztner saved 1700 Hungarian Jews from the death camps
by arranging for a train to transport them to Switzerland.  He did this by negotiating with the Nazis including face to face meetings with Adolph Eichmann.

In the 1950’s he fought a vicious libel battle in a trial in which he was portrayed as a Nazi collaborator and found guilty. After the trial he was assassinated.

Over time it was acknowledged that the Jewish Agency worked with Kasztner and he was exonerated by Israel’s Supreme Court.

His granddaughter made this film to shed a contemporary light on the subject that has condemned the family for generations.

In 1982, a handful of dedicated men and women met in Barbara Ribakove Gordon’s New York apartment to organize the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACOEJ). Today, under her leadership, NACOEJ has some 50,000 supporters and a record of having rescued thousands of Ethiopian Jews from famine, civil war and persecution.

Farbrengen literally means “get together”. We at BK will borrow the word from the Hasidim and have a Farbrengen BK style. So, what do we want from you? Funny you should ask… We’re looking for singers, for players, for musicians for story tellers for cooks for anybody that just wants to shmooz and hang out in a heimishe atmosphere – maybe have a little schnapps and enjoy each other’s company. So, what does it cost? It costs nothing! Just come and contribute a little Yiddishkeit, maybe something to eat, something to drink… If you’re interested and have something you’d like to offer, maybe play a little tune, sing a little song, dance a little dance, then let us know.

In eleventh-century North Africa, Jews and Muslims enjoyed a period of remarkable harmony. In Egypt, the vizier to the Caliph was a Jew; while in the Kingdom of Grenada, the vizier was a rabbi! Across North Africa, Jews traded, studied, and lived in a “Golden Age.” Rabbi Burt Visotzky will tell the story of those halcyon days, known primarily through the discovery a century ago of the Cairo Genizah—a cache of books, letters, and documents describing the lives and loves of the common Jews in vivid detail. His most recent book A Delightful Compendium of Consolation, is a historical novel depicting this era in the Medieval Mediterranean.

TORAH READERS -  If you know how to read and enjoy doing so, and we have not already reached out to you, please contact us immediately: Roberta Elliott and Nathan Goldwasser. We're very interested in widening the circle of readers to help make our synagogue more inclusive. To that end, we will be making assignments well in advance, so you have time to prepare, and even read directly from the Torah, if you choose, though reading from the Humash is more than acceptable! If you need a review class, please see below.

Volunteering to sponsor a Kiddush has never been so easy, musical (really) and fun. Check out the new website, www.bkkp.info. It has everything you  need to make a successful Kiddush, including:
"BK KIDDUSH FOR SHMENDRICKS";  a calendar which shows the available dates; and an easy to complete online request form.

Don't forget to click on the Blog, which has a delightful posting entitled, "What's a Kiddush Have to do With It?"