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ADULT EDUCATION
Dr. Leonard Baron
The Adult Education Program this
year was more varied and well attended. Many more topics were
included. We worked closely with Rabbi Rosenbaum to bring to the Temple
speakers of high quality both national and international. On
eight Sunday mornings we had programs that were outstanding. A
complimentary breakfast was included. Saturday mornings were Torah Study.
Temple Thursdays once again was well attended. We look forward
to more interesting Adult Education Programs with increased participation
by Temple members.
We
want to thank the Clergy, office staff, Mario and Terry for their able
assistance.
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BAR/BAT MITZVAH
Robyn Kopilow
I took over the job of assigning
Bar/Bat Mitzvah dates in September of last year. I have been working
closely with Mr. Mahfouda and Rabbi Rosenbaum. My goal has been to
make families happy. The Rabbi has been more than accommodating in
this regard. I recently assigned the 2007 Bar/Bat Mitzvah dates.
I was able to get a new family as members of the temple due to the Rabbi's
willingness to accommodate their specific request. There were
two meetings one with parents of 2004 dates and one with 2005 dates.
Parents were informed of what to expect with regard to their forthcoming
Bar/Bat Mitzvah. All and all I think things are going well although
I think there are much less Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s coming up.
BUDGET
William Henry/Michele Perlzweig
The Finance and Budget committee,
consisting of Joel Gerstel, Jerry Gottesman, and Kenny Shapiro, assisted
by Lenore Kubit, has met and concluded a budget for the temple year
2004/2005. The budget presented to the board was approximately
$1,550,000. This represents a projected expense decrease by about
2.5%, which is quite significant in light of increasing costs and the age
of our building. The income generated from space rental has significantly
improved our financial situation, however cash flow remains an issue when
members do not pay their bills in a timely fashion. Please accept
your fiscal responsibilities and do your part to keep our Temple running
smoothly. Our Financial Secretary has retrieved past due billings,
not just limited to dues, but to include pledges, religious school tuition
and other bills. Therefore, we compliment Ken Shapiro for a job well
done.
We hope that our
financial situation has stabilized for now and look forward to a
successful 2004/2005 Temple year.
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BUILDING COMMITTEE
Larry Abrams
The building committee takes great
pride in the restoration and maintenance of Temple Israel. Building
issues and needs are reviewed and prioritized to address the safety,
efficiencies and ascetic components of our beautiful temple. This
year we completed the gym floor, installed parking lot lights, pointed the
building to reduce damage done by external leakage, installed an alarm
system, improved the parking lot drainage, hired a new landscaper, and the
reduced the air conditioning noise present in the sanctuary. This
year several members of our building staff were changed. Our most
significant loss came with the retirement of Mario Stanisic. Mario
has been our building leader for over 20 years and his knowledge and
experience will be missed. Our new team, led by Bill Oettgen is in
place and is ready to go. Special thanks goes to Mr. Terry Bing for
his continued hard work during the year and especially during this
transition period.
The leadership of the Building Committee will also change next year. Simon
Becher will lead the Building Committee. He brings his expertise and
knowledge and all of us can rest easy knowing the temple will be in very
good caring hands. I would like to thank the members of the
Building Committee, Mr. Simon Becher, Mr. Michael Brooks, Mrs. Carol
Rotenberg and Alan Hartstein. Their knowledge and commitment has
been a foundation that has solved many building issues. I would also
like to thank Natalie Schiller, Liz Glazer Rauchwerger and Lenore Kubit.
They are the eyes and ears of the building. Without their help we
would not be able to accomplish all that we did.
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BY-LAWS
Garrett L. Gray
There were no changes to the
by-laws of Temple Israel during 2003/2004. However, we anticipate
changes being made to the by-laws in the fall of 2004, which will lengthen
the term limits of Temple officers. Drafts of such revisions will be
prepared over the summer and will then be submitted to the Board of
Trustees for consideration.
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CATERING
David Land
Catering Committee
is pleased to announce
our new caterer - Morrell Caterers of Lawrence.
CARING COMMITTEE
Larry Abrams
As government budget shortfalls
are met by program reductions to seniors and those who need help, Temple
Israel and the Caring Committee, have been there to help. Our
program lead by Ms. Bea Franklin has been ready to step in. The
Caring Committee’s role is to serve as a facilitator to match temple
members with those who need assistance with those temple members who can
provide it. If our members need help to go food shopping, the bank,
or to temple, for example, our committee’s role is to find a temple member
who can assist them. While our program has limited exposure, we
believe these services are vital to close loops that have been exposed due
to budgetary shortfalls, untimely illnesses and unavoidable accidents.
If this program interests you either in a service role or a support role,
please let our office know. We will be glad to make arrangements for
either. Serving each other is not only a mitzvah but it is another way to
make our temple better. With the help of our congregants, the Caring
Committee can make Temple Israel a better place while improving the lives
of those who need our help.
The cemetery committee had a very
good year. Early this year Jay Glatzer, Joel Gerstel, Richard Berman
and Larry Abrams met and reviewed all aspects of the Temple’s cemetery
program. New policies and procedures were written alleviating the
temple of perpetual care responsibilities.
We re-negotiated a new annual
maintenance care contract with Beth Moses Cemetery Corporation saving
about $6800.00 dollars. Finally we examined our previous sales and
planned for future sales.
When we reviewed all available
plots, we determined that we had approximately 3000 plots for sale.
Our price of $400.00 per plot was below the market price according to
current cemetery prices. In an effort to generate sales we offered
our graves to temple members, for a limited time for $400.00. We
also notified other temples and Jewish Organization making them aware that
we have plots available for sale. In both cases the price for a plot
would eventually go up to $1150.00 for members and $1250.00 for
non-members, still below market price.
The outcome was tremendous.
We had a great year and made a real impact on the temple. We sold
over 200 graves and still have plenty of sites available for others. As
the request for plots came in, the greatest sales team our temple has ever
had, received them. Natalie Schiller, Liz Glazer Rauchwerger and
Lenore Kubit handled all aspects of the sales process and the results were
wonderful. As the availability of Jewish graves on Long Island
diminish, our remaining graves will be there for our members who need
burial sites and will also increase in value.
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COLLEGE COMMITTEE
Geri
Krim/Andrea Kaufman
Our committee's goal is to try to make a connection with college students
so they will return to the Temple and become long-term members. This
year, we mailed out holiday greetings cards and packages to twenty-one of
our college kids throughout the year and would like to see the program
expanded. To be more successful, we need all parents to be involved
in notifying us of the mailing addresses of their college age children.
This way, when the holidays fall, we can forward as many mailings and
packages as are appropriate to as many college students as possible.
We are also interested in exploring ways that the Hebrew High School
program could be coordinated with the college committee so that students
finishing one program can be moved seamlessly to another. Many
thanks go to Joan Brickman for delivering some of the holiday packages in
our area.
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FUND RAISING
William Henry/Michele Perlzweig
Fund raising this year included
the annual Kol Nidre Appeal, the Journal Dinner Dance and sponsorship of
our new Megillah. There are also a number of other ways to support
the Temple such as donations to the Prayer Book Fund, Yahrzeit donations,
shopping in our beautiful Gift Shop or sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat.
Sponsoring an Oneg Shabbat is a
wonderful way to celebrate an occasion such as a birthday, anniversary,
childbirth or engagement. One simple phone call to the Temple office
is all it takes and the entire congregation can share in your simcha.
Please keep it in mind all year long.
The members of the Committee,
including the dinner dance committee are as follows: Bea Franklin,
Joel Gerstel, Betsy Kass, Nancy & Dr. Arnold Koopersmith, Maryanne & Wayne
Price, Karen & Ken Shapiro, and William Henry.
Please remember
that giving is a Mitzvah and the Temple needs your generosity. The
committee knows that our times today are more financially difficult than
they have ever been, but in the end we always want to know that Temple
Israel will be here to serve all of us. The Temple can only survive
through our individual generosity.
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JEWISH COMMUNITY
CENTER
Penny Schuster
Temple Israel has just completed the first year of a multi year
relationship with the Jewish Community Center. The JCC runs and
operates the nursery school at Temple Israel and it has been a resounding
success. Under the direction of Melissa Winneker the nursery school and
camp have run at capacity this year and the children have thrived in a
program rich in Jewish culture and early childhood education. We
predict a similar situation next year.
In
addition, the Temple and JCC had a joint program this year on "How to buy
and sell on Ebay." We hope to expand joint programming in the
future. Many thanks to Carol Harrison, Michael Kerr and Rina Shkolnick.
It has been a pleasure working with them and we are looking forward to
continued success.
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LEGAL
COMMITTEE
Garrett Gray, Esq.
The Legal Committee of Temple
Israel, chaired by Garrett L. Gray, Esq., serves as the Temple's vigorous
and vigilant watchdog for any and all legal matters that may arise.
Some of the issues handled by the Legal Committee during the past year
include the negotiation and drafting of lease agreements for unused space
at the Temple, securing appropriate permits for the Religious School,
negotiating and drafting a new employment contract with Rabbi Rosenbaum;
coordinating and monitoring the legal defense of any and all lawsuits
brought against Temple Israel handled by outside counsel assigned by our
insurance carrier; resolving any and all issues dealing with our building,
questions of zoning, and the like, with the Village of Lawrence;
confronting and disposing of potential liability issues arising in
connection with various aspects of the Temple and Religious School
functioning; handling and disposing of any and all legal issues arising in
connection with property rights to cemetery plots; dealing with any and
all contractual disputes involving Temple Israel, including matters
involving our caterer, and, in general, making certain that Temple Israel
functions each and every day free of legal worries and liabilities.
Also, for the first time, the Legal Committee has taken action to compel
payment from congregation members who are seriously in arrears, are able
to pay, and have continuously defaulted on their obligations and
agreements. The Temple Israel Legal Committee is tantamount to
having "in-house counsel" on 24-hour call.
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Even with the changing climate of
the neighborhood, Temple Israel did pick up over 14 new families this past
year. A new member reception was held on September 3, 2003. We
started out the evening with two strikes against us: the weather was
terrible and it was the first night back to school for the children of our
neighborhood; yet we still had a good turnout of both prospective members
and present trustees. The practice of giving out High Holy Day
prayer books to the first ten new members was well received. Once
again, all new members were invited to the Simchat Torah Dinner as guests
of the Temple. All who attended had a wonderful evening.
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This past year was exceptionally
good in generating favorable publicity for the Temple. Our commemoration
for Martin Luther King Day generated widespread newspaper coverage as well
as news clips on Channel 12. The many exciting events at Temple Israel
this past year from Hillary Clinton’s address, the Rabbi's Vatican trip to
our scheduled Sunday morning speakers were well publicized and covered by
the press. We look forward to build on this favorable image of Temple
Israel.
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PULPIT
Dr. Arnold Koopersmith
The Pulpit Committee in past years
has acted as a liaison between the congregation and the clergy. It
was busy during the years of ever changing clergy to help familiarize them
with the needs, customs, likes and dislikes of our particular
congregation. Thankfully today the committee and clergy are
functioning as a team. The services, sermons, special events and
speakers are forthcoming with clockwise efficiency. Rabbi Rosenbaum
and Cantor Paliy are so much a part of our rejuvenated Temple that they
themselves can feel the pulse and breath of their appreciative
congregants.
Together we have had outstanding
services for the High Holidays. Second day Rosh Hashanah family
service was improved more meaningful and more accepting to the community
as well as the congregation. Each holiday has been like a special
event. Thanks to our Rabbis involvement in National and
International committee affairs he has procured well renowned personages
to appear on our Bimah (such as Hillary Clinton, Bishop Murphy, 5
Cardinals, German & French Ambassadors etc.)
Cantor Paliy orchestrated our
children’s choir for our combined Thanksgiving service with the First
Presbyterian Church. In addition she has presented three magnificent
choral events for our Music Festivals.
The committee has been critiquing
the new proposed CCAR siddur this year; the Rabbi conducting a mock
service using the siddur together with music and verse played by Cantor
Paliy.
In March 2001, the Temple Board
adopted a resolution that all holiday services be observed on the day of
the actual holiday. In accordance with that resolution, the Rabbi
and committee, wants to remind the congregation, that despite a wonderful
meaningful service the evening of the holiday, that he and the temple will
be open at 8:00AM the next day for a minion and yizkor service.
The committee looks forward to
another year of continued service to the congregation.
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The 2003/2004-year of Temple Israel's
Religious School has come to a successful conclusion. We had a
terrific year filled with exciting changes and new programs. About
142 students were enrolled in classes from Pre-K through 12th grade.
We were very pleased to confirm 1 and graduate 5 exceptional students.
We are grateful to Mordhai Mahfouda and his outstanding faculty for all
their hard work in making this year a success. Sophie Rothfield is
indispensable as our religious school secretary. We also had
wonderful support from our clergy, Rabbi Rosenbaum and Cantor Paliy.
Our religious school program is defined by
a clear mission and a curriculum, which is based on knowledge of Hebrew,
Bible, ethics, liturgy, history and holidays. Our caring teachers
have enthusiastically presented lessons to our children. Specialists
in Hebrew, art, music, Holocaust studies, Israel, computers and holidays
have provided wonderful learning experiences that go beyond the classroom
environment.
Once again, our programs and special events
have been unparalleled successes by combining our children's love of
Judaism with their love of fun. Our Book Fair, Chanukah Boutique,
Latke Bake, Purim Carnival, Sh'lach Manot baskets, Model Seders, Yom
HaAtzmaut celebration and end-of-year barbecue and field day enlarged
Jewish learning and experience while creating a sense of real community
for our students and their families. All of these events would have
been impossible without the commitment of a dedicated Religious School
committee and more parents than can be mentioned at this time.
The Sherri W. Philipson Computer Center was
well utilized in our school. Using computers, our students
enthusiastically researched Jewish history, current events, Jewish
personalities, etc. Our computer center combines the lessons of our
traditions with all the learning opportunities of the 21st century.
We depend on Mario Stanisic, Terry Bing and
Juan Hernandez to make our facility as wonderful as it is and we thank
them for all their efforts. We will certainly miss Mario and Juan
and wish them well on their retirements. Thank you as well to Liz
Rauchwerger, Natalie Schiller, and Lenore Kubit for their help and
support. We would like to thank the Temple president, Joel Gerstel,
and our Board of Trustees for their unwavering support and commitment to
our religious education program. Penny Schuster was, as always,
untiring in her role as Officer-in-Charge of the Religious School.
Finally, it is truly a blessing that there
are too many parent volunteers to name individually for all their help,
caring and support throughout the year. Know that we thank you from
the bottom of our hearts. This has been a wonderful year and we look
forward to continuing to bring Reform Judaism into the lives of our
children and their families for many years to come. Have a joyous
summer.
On
the first Friday of every month we had our Family Shabbat Dinners.
They began in November and the last one was in June. They were catered by
Woodro’s. We thank them for being very accommodating and for the delicious
food. Michele Perlzweig purchased the desserts and we thank her for always
selecting the best sweets. We also want to thank the kitchen and
custodial staff for setting up, serving and cleaning up. They were a
big help. In addition, we would like to thank Natalie, Liz and Jill for
all their hard work on behalf of the dinners. We appreciate all the extras
that they do for us. Thank you to Mr. Mahfouda, the Rabbi and Cantor
for all the contributions they made to the dinner. Finally, we would like
to thank all the families that came to the dinners throughout the year.
You have all helped to make them a success once again.
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TIBS (Temple Israel
Brotherhood Sisterhood)
Unfortunately this has been inactive for the last year. The funds have
been parked in a C.D.
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WEBSITE
Donna Galinsky
The website committee is
responsible for keeping the Temple's Internet presence current and
updated. After events photos are often uploaded providing us with an
online photo gallery. Bulletins and calendars are also added to the site
each month so members can stay current on upcoming events as well as have
a place to go back and see what has happened.
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