Newsletters

Celebrate the 5759 High Holidays

with

Congregation Kona Beth Shalom

September 1998 Jewish Holidays and Events

(At the Salvation Army Chapel*, unless otherwise indicated)

KBS Annual Meeting Sunday Sep 6 3 pm

At the Kahalu'u Beach Park Small Pavilion. Pot-luck barbecue

Rosh Hashana evening Sunday Sep 20 6:30 pm

Rosh Hashana morning Monday Sep 21 10 am

Tashlich 2 pm

Shabbat Tshuvah evening Friday Sep 25 6 pm

Pot-luck supper follows (vegetarian)

Shabbat Tshuvah morning Saturday Sep 26 10 am

Kol Nidre Tuesday evening Sep 29 5:45 pm

Yom Kippur Wednesday Sep 30 10 am

Yizkor 4 pm

Pot-luck break-the-fast supper follows after sunset (vegetarian)

Admission to all the services is free of charge for all members of Congregation Kona Beth Shalom. Non-members who wish to attend are asked to make a contribution to help defray the costs of bringing Rabbi Kirsch to Kona but no one is turned away for inability to contribute. Your MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION / CONTRIBUTION FORM is included with this notice. Please call Barry Blum at 322-6004 or Michael Zola at 329-1333 for more information.

We deeply appreciate the hospitality extended to us by

Captains Keith and Mona McRevy of the *Salvation Army Chapel

atop the hill behind McDonald's, at 75-223 Kalani Street, in Kailua-Kona

which is where all our High Holiday Services will be conducted.

Rosh Hashana marks the time when we as Jews begin our annual process of renewal. We hear the sound of the shofar announcing the birthday of the world. We can use this special time to revitalize our connections with our families and friends. We use the ten days following Rosh Hashana to ask people we know to forgive us for anything we may have done during the previous year that may have offended them. The concept is that we use our time in the Synagogue to ask God for forgiveness, but to receive forgiveness from others, we have to ask for forgiveness and give forgiveness to those people personally. The greeting at this time is: L'shana tovah tikateivu (May you be written into the Book of Life).

There will be an evening service on September 20 and a morning service on September 21. After the morning service we will observe Tashlich when we walk to the ocean and cast into the water whatever lint and crumbs we find in our pockets to symbolically shed the accumulations of imperfect deeds and wrong acts of the previous year.

Shabbat Tshuvah (between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) is the "Sabbath of the (Re-) Turning." As on all Sabbaths, it is a day of rest, contemplation and rejuvenation. This Shabbat, falling in the middle of the "Days of Awe" can be the awesome time to re-connect to our heritage, to the gifts we were given and have only to claim. Rabbi Kirsch will lead us on both Friday evening and Saturday morning. There will be a vegetarian pot-luck supper on Friday night.

Yom Kippur is the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. We fast on this day to enable ourselves to remain focused, free of distraction. We own up to our behaviors of the past year. We think about commitments we made, not just to others, but to ourselves and to our God. It's perfectly normal to see that we're not perfect -- if we had nothing more to learn we probably wouldn't have to be here. Now, we get to review our behaviors and promises and re-establish our priorities and commitments. We start with chanting of the Kol Nidre, a prayer written in ancient Aramaic containing a formula that asks God's forgiveness for any oaths or vows we have made to God that we have failed to keep. For vows to others that we haven't kept, we must still ask forgiveness from those people.

We reconvene for the Yom Kippur service. There will be a break at around 1 pm and Rabbi Kirsch will remain to be available for discussions during the afternoon. At 4 pm we resume with the Yizkor (Memorial) Service. When you send in your Membership Application / Contribution Form, tell us the names of any family or friends you wish to have remembered so that Rabbi Kirsch can recite their names at this time. Many people like to observe the tradition of donating tzedakah (charity) in the name of their loved ones. Our greeting on Yom Kippur changes to: L'shana tovah tikateivu ve teichateimu, or Gemar chatima tovah (May you be sealed into the Book of Life), because tradition tells us that we have until sundown before the Book of Life is finally sealed for the coming year. After the concluding service when the sun has gone down, we will break the fast together with a vegetarian pot-luck supper.

Rabbi Sheldon Kirsch and his wife Joyce return to Kona to lead our High Holiday Services. Rabbi Kirsch was born and raised in Detroit and graduated from Wayne State University and then the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) in New York City. Seminary studies were followed by a two year stint in the US Navy, first at Parris Island Marine Recruit Depot in South Carolina, and then in Danang, South Vietnam. He returned from Vietnam to serve pulpits in Burbank, San Diego, and Costa Mesa, California. In 1977 Rabbi Kirsch moved from the pulpit into the business world, where he now works as a Financial Advisor at the firm of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Not having a fixed pulpit allows him to be active in a number of local Jewish activities; he conducts regular services at a local nursing home, fills in occasionally for vacationing colleagues, and remains a member of the Rabbinical Assembly and the Southern California Board of Rabbis.

Joyce Kirsch was born in New York and moved to Los Angeles with her family at age 11. She received her B.A. from UCLA and her M.A. from the University of Judaism. During her year of study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem she met her husband, Rabbi Sheldon Kirsch. They have been married for 32 years. Joyce has worked professionally as Hebrew School Principal and served as a Hillel Director. She has taught in Public Schools, Jewish Day Schools, and has also taught Hebrew on the college level and Mathematics to prospective elementary school teachers. She is currently a program director for the Center for Mathematics and Science Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

We look forward to 5759 as a good year for all of us. On behalf of all the members of Congregation Kona Beth Shalom, we wish you a

Annual Meeting - Sunday, September 6th at 3 pm

Kona Beth Shalom will conduct our Annual Meeting at the small pavilion of Kahalu'u Beach Park. This is a time when all KBS members and friends are invited to come together to share ideas and plans for the coming year. There will be a pot-luck barbecue (no pork or shellfish, please). Among other topics, we will be discussing ideas for finding a permanent home for KBS. It is also the time when we elect our Board of Directors. At the present time, Barry Blum*, Morty Breier, Ruth Cawn, Joel Gimpel, Lorraine Highkin, Barbara Lewis, Erwin Myhre, Bob Rhée*, Robert Salzberg*, Rebecca Weisser and Michael Zola are on the Board. (* indicates that their term expires). If anyone wishes to join our Board, please notify Barry Blum. The Annual Meeting is followed immediately by the Board of Directors meeting when we will complete planning for the High Holidays and consider the Annual Calendar.

October 1997 was a very busy time for KBS. We celebrated the High Holidays at the Kona Surf Resort. Rabbi Sheldon Kirsch and Joyce visited us for the second year and led a very inspired program. Sharona Lomberg prepared a special treat for us with a Sephardic Rosh Hashana Seder that followed the service.

We celebrated Sukkot at Scott and Sarit Reich's home under a lovely Sukkah. A week later at the Kona Surf Resort we unrolled and rerolled the entire scroll of our Torah during the Simchat Torah service and then danced to the music of Kona's Shaloha Band, with the mellifluous tonality of Barry and Gloria Blum, Joel Gimpel, Tim Hendlin and Terrence Karn.

Lorraine Highkin, assisted by Warren Krangel, represented the Jewish Community in helping the United Way allocate much needed funds for the hungry and homeless here on the Big Island.

In December we celebrated the Sabbath using a new prayer book from the Jewish Renewal Movement called Aleph at our Shabbos at the Surf services. Scott and Sarit Reich hosted the congregation's Chanukah Party at their home. Sharona Lomberg hosted a KeKoBeS Chanukah Party and money was raised there to be sent to Guam for hurricane relief. We lit a giant Menorah in Lanihau Center while Al Beer lit the Menorah at the Waikoloa Hilton.

We started the New Year with a Varieties of Jewish Experience lecture offered by Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun Magazine and author of the book, Jewish Renewal. Thank you Morty Breier for making those arrangements and hosting Rabbi Lerner.

The management at the Kona Surf changed after many years of a very pleasant relationship, and we had to move away. Warren Krangel did a lot of research for the Congregation and made the necessary arrangements for us to move to the Royal Kona Resort where we have been conducting our Shabbat Services since then. We now meet in the Resolution Room on the last Friday evening and Saturday morning of each month and call it a Royal Shabbos.

In February, Rabbi Nathan Segal visited Kona and led special Friday evening Services at the Kona Outdoor Circle, followed by a concert there the next night. "This exquisite cantor and unique rabbi has been my rebbe ever since we met in California over 25 years ago." [Barry Blum]

In March we celebrated Purim at the Crosson Pavilion (Palisades Recreation Center). Sharona Lomberg, Naomi Cohen, Ruth Ader and Ruth Glatt helped to make those arrangements and The Shaloha Band was there to entertain as the Purim Costume Contest unfolded. Then at the end of March our Shabbat Services were led by the WaKoBeS, including Gloria Blum, Rutika Gaber, Rebecca Weisser, Pam Krangel, Helen Myhre, Karen Breier and Miriam Bloomberg.

In April, thanks to Rebecca Weisser and Warren Krangel's arrangements with the Keauhou Beach Hotel, we conducted our Community Seder there. Many years ago, the hotel's Makai Bar was the site of Kona Beth Shalom's Sabbath and High Holiday Services and we all agreed that it may have been the nicest venue for any of our Community Seders. The matzoh balls were perfect, thanks to Rebecca's education of the chef.

At the end of April, Tosho Hendlin became Bar-Mitzvah. Tim Hendlin's family came over from the mainland for the spectacular event which was led by Rabbi Nathan Segal.

Then in May we celebrated Lag B'Omer, thanks to arrangements made by Helen Myhre at the Kona Vistas Recreation Center. Shabbat Services at the end of May coincided with Shavuot, and we thank Pam Krangel and Ruth Cawn for enlightening us about that holiday.

On Memorial Day, Barbara Lewis again represented the Jewish Community at the Central Kona Union Church Cemetery in Kealakekua during the service honoring American veterans who gave their lives in defense of our nation.

All year long we have been blessed by having men and women who could read the portions from our beautiful Torah. To Al Beer, Barbara Lewis, Sharona Lomberg and Rutika Gaber, we truly appreciate your talent and skills and willingness to do these mitzvahs. You bring life to our ancient scroll.

Saul Binder passed away on July 12, 1998. This came as a shock to all of us. Saul was a very vigorous man, who approached life with gusto. He and Joan would show up at Services or Board meetings whenever they were in Kona, and he always added something beneficial to the gathering, whether encouragement or advice or just another opinion.

A graduate of the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in theoretical mathematics, Saul was president and CEO of Success National Bank. Colleagues described him as having "sort of spiritual fire...You couldn't be in a room without feeling his presence. He was always right on point and wanted to keep on moving." That was certainly our experience of him, except that here, his intensity was mellowed by the comfort and relaxation he and Joan so much appreciated in Kona.

In Chicago Saul was a member of the advisory board of the Community Foundation of Jewish Education, a trustee of the Foundation for the Special Education District of Lake County, chairman of the banking division of the Israel Bond Committee and a member of the Chicago Executive Board of the Anti-Defamation League. Be he was particularly proud of the fact that despite all that generous work the only synagogue to which he belonged was Congregation Kona Beth Shalom.

Rabbi Sheldon Kirsch wrote to us in July that he presented Saul Binder with the Star of David Award at the annual dinner of the Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School. Saul was just about to open some banks here in Hawaii and this note in the Newsletter was supposed to be a "Mazel Tov" to him. We will miss Saul very greatly. Our hearts go out to Joan and their two daughters, Alisa Binder-Carter and Janice Binder-Kringlen and to the rest of his family. We hope that we will continue to see Joan here in her second home.

Mazel Tov to Joel and Jan Gimpel, Jan is now a "Sadie, Married Lady." We also congratulate Joel for his very significant contributions to the musical life of Kona and the rest of Hawaii. Joel plays with the Kona Community Orchestra and Chorus, the Maui Symphony Orchestra, with a number of different chamber groups in Kona and, of course, with The Shaloha Band. He also serves on the Board of Directors of KBS, Aloha Performing Arts Center and Performing Arts Center Education Studios.

Gloria Blum, whose original play, Abraham's Tent; the Trial of Sarah, was presented as a staged reading by 7 actors at the opening event for the L'Chaim! 98 Festival on Maui sponsored by JEAC (Jewish Arts and Education Council of Maui). It was received with great success. The WaKoBeS have also done readings of the play here. The play is still a work in progress.

Morty Breier on receiving a rave review in TIKKUN Magazine for his recent book, Masks, Mandalas & Meditations, and for rave reviews of his first ever theatrical performance as Cohen in Jules Feiffer's comedy, Knock, Knock, produced last year at the Aloha Theatre.

Morty & Karen Breier who celebrated 4 years of The Cutting Edge Symposium discussion society in June.

Jerry and Judy Rothstein on the birth of their grandchildren, twins, no less (and we hear more twins are coming soon, b'ezrat HaShem)!

Lorraine Highkin, winner of the Kona Outdoor Circle Best Residential Garden Award.

Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky for coming to Kona to offer lectures on Jewish Mysticism this past December, January and February.

Karen Breier for producing, directing and promoting the Shaloha Cookbook, Food for the Soul. All the proceeds from sales go to our Building Fund. Thank you, Karen, also for faithfully bringing the beautiful flowers to all our services.

Morty & Karen Breier, Joel Gimpel, and Warren Krangel for shlepping paper products and books back and forth to our Services. Morty, thanks for producing the display ads every week that we see in West Hawaii Today.

Fern Kane for the framed embroidery of the Priestly Blessing; it is exquisite.

Erwin Myhre for taking care of our precious Torah scroll and bringing it back and forth to our Services; and for handling all our big mailings so expertly.

Warren Krangel for his invaluable research regarding insurance issues for our Congregation, for enabling us to use the Royal Kona Resort for our Sabbath Services, for helping us look at our organizational needs more clearly, and for proof-reading this Newsletter with such expertise.

Captains Keith and Mona McRevy of the Salvation Army for your gracious hospitality. Your beautiful Chapel was Kona Beth Shalom's home for many years.

Rabbi Bernie King for providing some much needed wisdom and clarity to us during a time of stress and concern.

Michael Zola for his wisdom and counsel and expertise in handling the very delicate negotiations we are engaged in now, having to do with the trust fund left for the use of the Jewish community in Kona, as well as his invaluable work as Kona Beth Shalom's Treasurer.

Barbara Lewis for her meticulous work each month as Kona Beth Shalom's Scribe (Secretary), a task she shares with Joel Gimpel.

Everyone has had a birthday this past year. For some, these were big time benchmarks:

Rutika Gaber and Rose White joined the 60's club. Saul Lelah joined the 70's club. And Harry Highkin, John Marean, Roz Silver Marean and Rebecca Weisser became octogenarians. Mazel Tov to all of you!

Every individual in this unique Congregation of ours makes a special contribution to this community. We would not be who we are today if it were not for each and every person who is now, and who has ever been, part of this community. The special qualities that each person has brought all the way out here to Hawaii from the "old country" is the essence of the treasure that we have created together. And let there be no question about it; even with (and especially with) all our different opinions, we are a family. Our destiny is indelibly linked together, one with another with another. I thank you all for these bountiful gifts of yourselves.

At the same time, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that during this past year there have been some very difficult times for all of us. Morty discusses this with wisdom and delicacy in his Vice President's Message. We have seen that religion and God are not the same thing, even the religion of Judaism. It has been my vision that there needs to be a Jewish Congregation in Kona to be available to every Jew. The Congregation can provide a semi-formal structure for the observance of life-cycle events in a manner that is respectful of the needs of each individual. If we must come together because of a funeral, and if the requirements of the mourners are for a ritual that is traditional, let us be able to offer that. If there is to be a simcha, let us celebrate the event in a way that provides meaning as well as joy for the family involved.

When there is a Jewish holiday, the observance of that event together is the vehicle that enables us to come closer to our God. There are so many things we can learn about these special times. The more we are able to delve into the meanings of each holiday, the richer we become. My goal was to help to show all of us, myself included, these many ways that are Jewish. And in particular, I have sought to uncover the joyousness in that exploration.

But things get in the way. If I have offended anyone in the way I help to conduct services or conduct meetings, then I ask for your forgiveness. If I have been successful, then I ask that you share your appreciation with all of us by continuing to be a part of Kona Beth Shalom. Our programs and activities continue only by virtue of the voluntary efforts of our membership.

Rabbi Bernie King gave some very good advice when he suggested that this may be the time for us to create a convocation when we as a community can define or redefine the mission statement of Congregation Kona Beth Shalom. I have resisted this in the past because I felt that to define would be to limit. But I can see now that this is a necessary step if we are to be able to grow into a more mature and responsible community - especially as we consider purchasing or building our own structure to use as a synagogue. Who, how and where we should have this meeting or meetings has yet to be determined. Perhaps we can make plans for this convocation at our Annual Meeting.

I want to thank each and every person who comes to our Services and to our Board of Directors meetings. We get together not just to pray or talk, but to inspire one another. Our accomplishments have been the result of truly unselfish giving on the part of every one of us. If there is one person to whom I am most indebted, not only for assistance, but for inspiration and encouragement, it is my beautiful wife, Gloria Blum. I thank you, Gloria, for enabling me so richly.

Wow... another year has gone by. Barry has, as usual, joyfully reviewed it in the first part of this Newsletter. There was much positive spirit and some difficulty. I’d like to address some of these difficult matters because I believe we learn from difficulty. Why else would HaShem provide them?

In my view KBS can be a wonderful modern community of enlightened Jews. We have an active board of Directors, elected by the 45 family members, trading opinions, negotiating over expenditures, with meetings open to anyone who is interested. Our services, lectures, teachings and gatherings have ranged across the entire spectrum of Jewish worship, celebration, wit and wisdom. We ourselves have been, and can continue to be as diverse a laughing community of independently minded Jews and their mates as one could find anywhere. We aim at honoring this inclusive democratic arrangement as a moral and ethical imperative. Our aim, though far from perfect, improves, we hope, with time.

There is always a tension between modernity and tradition. It is argued, after all, that HaShem’s laws are not open to a vote. We gather in the name of religion. Religion often relies on a theocratic arrangement. These have the most knowledgeable believer as their teacher and rule-giver, and aim toward having everyone act in conformance to a set of “God-given” instructions as that leader interprets them. Democratic arrangements, on the other hand, are ruled by a voting constituency, and prosper by way of the diversity of this constituency and their vigorously argued points of view. As a board member, I have always favored modernity, in this regard, and have urged all within earshot toward this inclusiveness. I am still learning how to walk my talk.

A recent affair split the board deeply and resulted in the resignation of 5 board members, after it was thought by some that democratic principles had been sidestepped and that loving inclusiveness was lacking. It seemed to me, the affair had, both in its ideological underpinnings and the mechanics of its unfolding, the dichotomy of modernity verses tradition, of democratic verses theocratic values, of community verses piety. The ingredients of this confrontation were long in the making and came to a head, so it seemed, on those two Sundays in January, and the fall-out therefrom.

It is only within the past few months that HaShem’s deeper lessons regarding this affair may have been opened to many of us, and its meaning is still being worked out. I want us to talk about it, to debate it, to wrestle with it and ultimately to learn from it. I want it to heal wounds between us, to re-establish our trust and faith in each other and in our joyous doings as a community and a board, without reducing us to a disfunctional family that either brooks no contention or finds no consensus.

Here’s my take on this lesson. Believing that one has only to answer to a higher authority, one has only to do what one believes to be “God’s” work; allowed high order deception, unilateral secrecy and manipulative agendas to become the order of the day. Doing it for “righteousness” allowed the doing to be much less than righteous. Theocratic reasoning, in my point of view, is often tribal reasoning. “My tribe knows the answers and does it right, your tribe doesn’t.” “Members of my tribe are menschen, yours are something less, something that can be dealt with in a less honorable way.” We hurt when these tribal judgements are used by one faction of the Jewish community against another. There is much hurt when Jews use them on non-Jews, or non-Jews use them on Jews.

The world doesn’t work that way. Within every grouping there is a spectrum of good-hearted and mean-spirited, of righteous and mistaken, of sharing and selfish people. Belonging to any tribe or community, or any belief system, Jews included, does not automatically bestow righteousness. Righteousness has to be earned, earned by the open free-willed interaction between people, and can be earned, or not, by anyone. That’s why democratic principles have triumphed over theocratic ones. HaShem works the issue out in real time. It’s another step towards realizing that we are responsible for our universe, we are each a spark of the divine..

So it’s up to each of us to become righteous, through our loving feelings toward each other, our using kind and thoughtful words and our helpful actions. These are the true mitzvahs. We all know that. And if we adhere to these principles we are doing HaShem’s work and our congregation will be rewarded with HaShem’s blessings. We, the Congregation, the Jewish community, are a work in progress and we enter into the New Year ready to change and grow, with an adventurous spirit, much hope, and great possibilities. Yasher Koach and Baruch HaShem.

In January 1998, Sharona Lomberg established KAHEA, a non-profit organization. The letters stand for Kona Association for Hebrew Education and the Arts. In Hawaiian, kahea means "the calling," or "an outreach." One of the goals of the organization is to be an outreach for this community (Jewish and all) and serve it by applying Jewish values and ethics. Sharona reports: "Yes, we have completed another year in our Jewish education program. The year was full of activities rich with the joy of learning, and the excitement of exploration which covered various aspects of Jewish traditions, customs and religion."

Besides exploring and learning about the celebration of the Sabbath throughout the year, there were special events for the major holidays including Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Succoth, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Tu B'Shvat, Purim, Passover and Shavuot.

There were tzedakah (charity) projects (Red Cross Relief for the hurricane damage in Guam, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, koa tree planting, Make-A-Difference Day, the Butterfly Project - Maryland, the Episcopal Church in Ka'u that suffered great damage), workshops, seders, classes, nature walks, marshmallow roasts, songs and stories utilized to teach the children. What a rich program!

Sharona extends special appreciation to Whendi Grad & Garnet Puett, Ruth Glatt, Jeannie & Miles Mulcahy, and to the Moms of all the children.

This past year the WAKOBES (WAhines of KOna BEth Shalom) defined a Mission Statement that we felt represented us. It reads:

Our mission is to help develop the personal, intellectual and spiritual growth of the

We had monthly meetings, led Shabbat services, attended a talk by Dr. Stella Resnick, discussed starting a book club, considered different fund raisers and celebrated a few birthdays. It has been a great year.

This year we decided to have our meetings bi-monthly unless we have a need to have them more frequently. Our next meeting will be held on September 9th at the Breier's at 1:30 p.m.. Our focus will be on the coming High Holidays, the book club and other exciting prospects. This is not a potluck. I will serve a yummy dessert and beverages. Please plan to attend and help attain the goals of our mission statement over this coming year.

Ever since Roz Silver Marean conducted the first Jewish community observance on the Big Island in 1976 we have been wandering Jews. Over the years, along with running Sabbath and High Holiday Services, bringing rabbis here, conducting Seders, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, funerals and brisses, Kona Beth Shalom has managed to accrue a respectable Building Fund. About two years ago we started to take the idea of having a permanent home for ourselves more seriously, partly due to the encouragement of Erwin Myhre. When Karen Breier prepared the Shaloha Cookbook our Building Fund grew significantly. Then in May, Morty Breier prepared a draft of a plan that we considered for sharing a building with the New Thought Church.

Several years ago, as a result of the efforts of Scott Reich, a considerable sum of money was left to Chabad for use in Kona, including building and/or maintaining a structure to be used jointly by Chabad and Congregation Kona Beth Shalom. We are presently exploring this opportunity, but the outcome of the matter is not yet clear at this time. .

We are seeing that when we put our collective mind and intention to getting something to happen (like a building) things do happen. We are committed to going forward with the intention to have a real home for Kona Beth Shalom. To do this we will need to raise and/or attract additional funds.

We want to hear from you about potential locations in Kona where our synagogue might be positioned, presumably on one to two acres of land. We are open to generosity, to receiving donations, large and small, to our Building Fund. Since we are a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation there can be tax advantages for donors to Kona Beth Shalom. We are very excited about these different opportunities and we will discuss all this at our Annual Meeting. We welcome everyone's contributions (verbal as well as financial).