Pandemic Religion: A Digital Archive

Beth El Bulletin, May 2020

This is the May 2020 bulletin ("Coronavirus Edition") of Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia. This issue includes messages from congregational leaders; a list of services; information about virtual activities; and information about community resources. "Beth El is still going strong, because Beth El is more than a building: Beth El is people!"

May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Reform

Virginia

Alexandria

Bulletin

The Capital Jewish Museum

English

Please check the online Beth El calendar or email office@bethelhebrew.org before leaving to
attend ANY event. As we go to press, there are NO in-person events in May!

Beth El Bulletin
May 2020
Iyar/Sivan 5780

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Worship Services
Friday, May 1
Erev Shabbat Services,
7:30 pm
Saturday, May 2
Shabbat Morning Services,
10:30 am
Friday, May 8
Erev Shabbat Services,
7:30 pm
Saturday, May 9
Shabbat Morning Services,
10:30 am
Lag B’Omer Tot Shabbat,
11:00 am
Friday, May 15
Family Services, 6:00 pm
Fifth Grade Student-Led Erev
Shabbat Services, 7:30 pm

Coronavirus Issue
Jewish
Resources
Page 20

Community Resources
Page 18
NATIONAL
RESOURCES
Page 19

Saturday, May 16
Shabbat Morning Services,
10:30 am
Friday, May 22
Erev Shabbat Services,
7:30 pm
Saturday, May 23
Shabbat Morning Services,
10:30 am
Shavuot Tot Shabbat, 11:00 am
Friday, May 29
Shavuot Festival Service with
Yizkor, 10:30 am
Confirmation and Erev Shabbat
Services, 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 30
Shabbat Morning Services
10:30 am

LEARN
SOMETHING NEW
PAGE 20

HAVE SOME FUN
AT HOME
PAGE 20

In this Issue
Rabbi’s Remarks .............. 2
Tot Shabbat ..................... 2
Cantor’s Corner ............... 3
President’s Point of
View .............................. 4
Execu ve Director’s
Entry .............................. 4
Religious School Report ... 5
ECLC News ....................... 6
Brotherhood News .......... 7
WRJ News ........................ 7
Member News ................. 9
WRJ Book Club ................. 9
Big Save‐the‐Dates .......... 9

Caring Community
Commi ee ................... 10
ALIVE! ............................. 10
College Communica ons
Commi ee ................... 10
Book Sale........................ 10
Chapel in the Woods ...... 11
Permanent Endowment
Fund............................. 11
Calendar .................... 12‐13
Heller High
Final Reports ............... 14
Dona ons ....................... 17
Community Resources ... 18

Na onal Resources ........ 19
Jewish Resources ........... 20
Learn Something New ... 20
Have Some Fun .............. 20
Naviga ng the Virtual
Beth El ......................... 21
Beth El/Pozez JCC Events22
 
...and lots of tantalizing 
tidbits scattered throughout, so don’t skip a page!

Page 2

Rabbi’s Remarks:

We do not rely on a miracle.

A

CCORDING TO the sages,
while the ancient Temple
still stood in Jerusalem, the
Israelites made their Passover offerings in three shifts to avoid the dangers of overcrowding. As the courtyard filled to capacity, it is said that
“the gates of the courtyard were closed.” Commenting
350 years after the Temple’s destruction, and from Babylon rather than the land of Israel, the great Abaye and
Rava debated a Hebrew ambiguity that we encounter
also in the English translation: Does the correct reading
of “the gates of the courtyard were closed” mean, as
Abaye contended, that the gates would close at precisely
the right moment, as if by a miracle and without human
intervention, ensuring the safety of those gathered within? Or, as Rava taught, does the correct reading of the
verse imply that we have the responsibility to close the
gates ourselves, exercising human agency to guard the
collective welfare? Rava’s opinion was preferred then
and is a crucial reminder now: We do not rely on a miracle.
As I taught on Erev Rosh Hashanah, we are each other’s angels. We are messengers of the Holy One,
Blessed Be. God works through us, and our purpose is to
be there for and with each other in good times and in
bad. To be a Jew is to actively commit to the well-being
of the Jewish people and to Beth El Hebrew Congregation, and we are meant to help and be helped by one another, not to sit back and expect a miracle to save us all.
Although what we are living through is without precedent in our lives, the entirety of the Jewish history stands

as precedent for the fundamental fact that either we
stand together or we fall apart.
Led by our congregational president, Alan Cohn,
and a small group of devoted lay leaders, Beth El Hebrew Congregation recently established an Emergency
Fund that is housed within my Rabbi’s Good Deed
Fund. In conjunction with a similar rabbinical emergency fund established by the Jewish Federation of Greater
Washington and interest-free emergency loans by the
Hebrew Free Loan Association of Greater Washington,
Beth El’s Emergency Fund exists to help Beth El families and individuals experiencing financial hardship during this pandemic. If you are experiencing a financial
emergency, please email me today:
dspinrad@bethelhebrew.org.
The success of our Emergency Fund requires generous donors, like you, who understand that our money
provides opportunities to demonstrate the difference between fundraising and philanthropy. While fundraising
is financial giving, the collection of dollars, philanthropy
points to a higher purpose. The meaning of philanthropy
is “love of humanity,” and if ever there were a moment
to demonstrate chesed, fierce, covenantal love, it is now.
Please visit the website and give to “2020 Covid-19
Emergency Fund” (in the type field). In doing so, you
will join with Alan Cohn and other lay leaders as well
as Cantor Jason Kaufman, Rabbi Bailey Romano,
Rabbi Brett Isserow, and myself in the understanding
that we do not rely on a miracle. We rely on each other.
— Rabbi Spinrad

Tot Shabbat Celebrates
Spring!

W

HAT FUN IT WAS to see so many families online at our
April Tot Seder, services, and events. Now let’s Zoom
back together to celebrate a couple of springtime holidays!
On May 9, Miss Carol will lead a Lag B’Omer Tot Shabbat. Lag
B’Omer is traditionally celebrated with outings, bonfires, and fun
events. Although we’ll be in our own living rooms rather than outside around a campfire, Miss Carol will be sure to add a Lag B’Omer story and song to the usual fun elements of a Tot Shabbat service.
On May 23, Shavuot will be the theme of Tot Shabbat. Miss Carol will include a song about the Ten Commandments and a story
about what happens when there are no rules.
Check your email for links to these fun Zoom services. Let’s stay
connected!

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Good News!

B

ETH EL RECEIVED a Federal Payroll Protection Program grant. We
will be keeping all staff, including
maintenance staff and Religious School teachers, on the payroll through the end of June (at
least).

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 3

Cantor’s Corner
Dear Friends,
We find ourselves in unprecedented times. At this
moment and always, please know that the Beth El community is here for you. Reach out to us and let us know
how you are. If you are in need or you know of any of
our Beth El members in need, please let us know. Even
if you don’t have needs that we can help with, please
reach out to us to say hello. (I love getting Shabbat Shalom emails!) One of the ways that we as Americans and
as Beth El members can survive this time is by doubling
down on our efforts to build and sustain our community.
We at Beth El have always known that community is the
most important aspect of our Jewish tradition. We also
have always known that Beth El is more than a building.
It is us. It is you and it is me. Together, we will be Beth
El whether or not we find ourselves within the walls of
our synagogue.
At this moment, our community has come together in
ways that our ancestors could never have imagined. For
many of us, this moment has forced us, willingly and
sometimes unwillingly, to try new technologies and expand the ways in which we communicate with each other.
In-person services have transformed to online experiences — and while we miss being able to greet each other face-to-face, there is something unique and sacred
about being able to join each other online as well. During this time of social distancing, Shabbat has presented
itself to many of us with new and strengthened importance. Shabbat punctuates our weeks, gives us a goal
to look forward to and provides us with opportunities to
gather (albeit, online). I personally look forward to
Shabbat in a new and renewed way all week. In fact, as
soon as services are over on Friday, I start brainstorming
the music for services the following week and then start

practicing the melodies on guitar.
Judaism is alive and well at Beth El. This is most
evident in our B’nei Mitzvah program that is now entirely on Zoom. When we were first presented with the idea
of doing a Zoom Bar Mitzvah, I truly didn’t know what
to think. I was concerned it wouldn’t feel as sacred as a
service in the sanctuary and that the feeling of community that we create together would be lost in an online format. I’ve been delighted to learn how very wrong I was!
Creating Zoom B’nei Mitzvah together has been an absolute joy. Thanks to Rabbi Spinrad who has safely
delivered Torah scrolls to our families’ houses, each student reads from the Torah as they would if they were in
the sanctuary. There is something so profound about the
Torah being in everyone’s home, as the family cares for
the Torah together in preparation for their service. The
online format allows family members who may not have
been able to attend an in-person ceremony to be able to
join. Zoom services allow us to take advantage of online
possibilities like sharing slide shows of special pictures
of Bar Mitzvah families as well. This moment is difficult
but together, we can make it better.
There is so much in our world right now that is beyond our capability to control. There is still so much,
however, we can control. We can bring kindness into the
world by reaching out to our loved ones and we can
bring sacred moments into our world by being open to
new ways of experiencing Judaism.
Together, let us honor all that we can control, and do
our best to bring more kindness and a sense of the sacred
to all those in our lives.
Until we are with each other again in person, I’ll see
you online!
— Cantor Jason Kaufman

Beth El’s first ever virtual
Shabbat service, March 27

Page 4

President’s Point of View:
Scenes from a Quarantine

W

ELL, THAT WAS an interesting Seder. As I have
heard Rabbi Spinrad say
on just a few of the many Zoom calls
we’ve been participating in, do you remember second
night seder 2017? Or how about first night seder 2015?
Or second night seder 1994? That one I do remember —
when my high school basketball team staged a thrilling
come-from-behind overtime victory to win the all-class
boys high school basketball championship, a story for
another day. But I assure all of you that you will most
definitely remember first night or second night of seder
2020, the seventh night and every night in between of
our eight days of Passover 2020.
At the appointed hour, Harmony and I logged onto
Zoom and there was my Dad, his wife Rikki, my sister
Laina, and her boyfriend Todd gathered around their
Seder table in Ojai, CA. Rikki’s daughter Barbara and
her boyfriend Andrew were connected electronically at
their seder table in downtown DC. We were all together
as a new family, my Dad and Rikki both widowers, marrying late last fall, for our first “family” seder.
You see this night had the potential to be even more
strange than it naturally would have been given our collective sequestrations. Passover was always my late
mother’s favorite holiday. Twenty-five people both
nights. Fully packed. Lots of known faces and always

some newcomers, some non-Jews, and Geoff Newman
whose sole responsibility was to bring the hard-boiled
eggs each night. And this would be the first time that all
of us would be gathered together as both a newly organized family, albeit virtually, since my mom died in November of 2015.
Thanks to Cantor Kaufman we used the Virtual
Haggadah compiled and designed by Ellie Flier and it
was fantastic. Easy to use, easy to share the leading and
the reading, and perfectly well-timed and designed for
our geographically dispersed seder. Additionally, Rabbi
Spinrad spearheaded a new YouTube-based Haggadah,
The Middle Matzah Haggadah: A Digital Telling for a
Time of Brokenness.
My mom would have loved every minute of this Seder. Even though we were all apart and limited by technology I can’t remember a more fun and soulful night.
Although Thomas Paine once said, “…These are the
times that try Men’s souls…” I am certain he didn’t have
this in mind.
In an odd way, whether it’s watching Shabbat Services on Facebook Live or participating via Zoom on
Beth El’s B’nai Mitzvah, our community is finding new
and loving ways to stay in touch.
— Alan Cohn

Executive Director’s Entry

T

HE TEST OF ANY organization
is how it performs under stress.
Organizational stress brings the
fissures to the surface. This public health
crisis has been a test not only for Beth
El, but for all organizations. The decision to close the
synagogue was easy, based on our commitment to protect the safety of our congregants and staff. Shifting operations to an entirely remote, virtual environment was
challenging. What I have learned is that our staff is truly
a team. From our maintenance team to the front office
staff and clergy, we pulled together and continue to
serve our congregation in so many ways.
Our Shabbat services transitioned to live streaming
from the sanctuary and then moved to Facebook Live.
Our Religious School quickly pivoted to delivering lessons to students on Zoom. Instead of face-to-face meetings, our clergy calls congregants or uses videoconferencing to reach out for pastoral care. Our Caring
Community and Board have made outreach calls to Beth
El Members. Torah Study, a number of adult offerings
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

and meetings have also utilized Zoom.
Beth El is strong because we have dedicated volunteers, staff, and clergy. Beth El is strong because we
support each other in times of need. Beth El is strong
because we have committed leadership that is focused
on leading the organization based on Jewish values.
We hope for the quickest possible end to the threat
that Covid-19 presents to our families. Whenever that
time comes, we look forward to seeing each of you — in
person. Whether you are a regular at services, Torah
study, bagel bar, mah jongg, or the Brotherhood forums,
we will see each other soon. Beth El will emerge from
this crisis and be there waiting for each of you.
WE ARE BETH EL!
Adam Wallach
Executive Director

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 5

Religious School Report:
Building a New Yavneh?
Innovating In the Time of Coronavirus

M

AYBE YOU’VE HEARD the story? Rabbi
Yochanan Ben Zakkai is smuggled out of Jerusalem. Late in the siege, he bargains with the
Romans to save the city of Yavneh to enable scholars to
continue to study Torah. This story is lauded by rabbis
and Jewish leaders as a pivotal moment for Jewish innovation. In essence, the Temple is destroyed, Zakkai single-handedly creates rabbinic Judaism.
This of course is a legend. It’s a story. Rabbinic Judaism was flourishing in Israel and in the Diaspora long
before the destruction of the Temple. The same could be
said for technology in the synagogue today. We’ve been
streaming services at Beth El for years. We used Shalom
Learning to teach Religious School in 2012 and our Hebrew tutors regularly meet with students via Facetime
and Skype. But, as we all know, this is a new moment.
We’ve gone from using technology sometimes to all the
time.
When I interviewed at Beth El last May, I said I
wanted to bring our Religious School into the 21st century, but never in a million years would I have imagined
that I would be in charge of moving Beth El’s Religious
School, services, and auxiliary meetings online. But here
I am championing our efforts to use Zoom, Be.Live, Facebook Live and more to connect our community.
One week after services moved to streaming in the
sanctuary, our Religious School classes moved to Zoom.
Our teachers and parents were all in. I cannot begin to
tell you how grateful I was for the eagerness our teachers exhibited in learning to use this new technology. I
was brought to tears by the joy and relief parents expressed as their children finally went to bed happy for
the first time in a week. They were able to see their
friends, their teachers, their madrichim. For two hours a
week, their lives were “normal.”
During our first few weeks, I didn’t care what our
kids learned, as long as they saw their teachers and their
peers, and felt a sense of normalcy. Even if secular
school hadn’t begun, Religious School had.
“Community and Connection over Content” was my
mantra then, and it still is today. Recently, with the help
of our Tech Maven, Janet Hlatky, our Zoom guru,
Bruce Sherman, as well as with the support of our Executive Director, Adam Wallach, our clergy team, and
staff, we have been able to get all of our teachers free
Zoom accounts, and we have created an infrastructure
that will enable our community to continue connecting
with one another throughout the coronavirus crisis and
beyond.

But what does this mean for the future of our Religious School and the future of worship? Well, we have
an opportunity for our community to innovate and create. We are existing in a moment that will shape how we
educate our children, how we connect with each other,
and even shape the way we pray.
I long to be back in our building, rushing down the
hallways prepping for a busy Sunday morning. I long to
high five our kids, and welcome our parents whose biggest challenge in that moment is whether or not their
child will eat a donut or a bagel for breakfast. I want to
be telling stories on our bimah surrounded by children
excited for Shabbat. I want all of these things. And, I
know that we’ll want to bring some of the technology
we’re learning how to use back into our building, back
into our classrooms, and into our services. The question
is simply what form that will take.
As daunting as it has been to create a Religious
School online learning model and to get Beth El up and
running on Facebook Live and other platforms, I know
that this moment will shape us and enable us to connect
beyond quarantine in new and engaging ways. I look
forward to creating this new moment, this new
“Yavneh” with each and every one of you. Let’s look to
the future of Beth El together. Let’s create it together.
Rabbi Bailey Romano
bromano@bethelhebrew.org

Page 6

ECLC News

A

S OF THIS WRITING, we are finishing four
weeks of online learning in the ECLC. We are
living in a world that none of us could have ever
even imagined, let alone executed. And yet… we are
doing it. With no warning or training, we were all of a
sudden launched into a world of virtual everything.
Most important was, of course, to stay connected. We
missed our kids and our kids missed us and our classrooms and their friends and their routines. Everyone was
thrown into a new world — with a million questions and
very few answers initially. I am so grateful and proud of
our educators. Driven by their love for their children,
every single educator stepped up, continuing to post to
our ECLC app, posting activities on our closed ECLC
Facebook page and visiting with their classes via Zoom.
As a school we have continued to celebrate Shabbat on
Fridays and havdalah on Mondays. Morah Ali has added
great song sessions on Wednesday mornings.

After a few weeks, we found our “sea
legs” and began to face the reality that
this will last longer than we initially
planned. Teachers are now better versed
in virtual teaching, classes are meeting
regularly, we have moved our classroom
explorations to our Zoom classrooms, and our learning
continues.
While no one really knows (at this point) how long
until we return to seeing each other in person, we know
that we will. WHEN we do, it will be a new normal for
sure. And, thankfully we have learned that we, as a community, working together, can do anything we set our
minds and spirits to. AGAIN, our Judaism moves successfully to survival mode. Imagine the story we will
have to tell when it is all over.
Till we can see each other in person…
Dina Backer
dina.backer@theJ.org

ECLC virtual havdalah
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 7

Brotherhood News

O

N BEHALF OF the entire Brotherhood Board, I
hope this Bulletin finds you in good health and
high morale. The essence of Brotherhood is to
offer opportunities for friendship, camaraderie, social
interaction, educational experiences, and volunteer opportunities for giving back to Beth El and the wider
community. Like everyone else, we are feeling quite
constrained by these challenging times. Quite frankly,
social distancing is anathema to the Brotherhood norm
of fostering social connectedness.
Even before various government guidelines were issued, the Brotherhood Board ruefully accepted the reality that we would be unable to host our traditional Mothers Day brunch. I recently learned that the church softball season in which Brotherhood participates, not surprisingly has been cancelled. It also seems unlikely that
the region will be open in time for our annual end-ofyear Religious School picnic. Brotherhood’s normal
June annual meeting and Brotherhood Shabbat, where
we also honor our Man of the Year recipient are likely to
be rescheduled. These are all disappointing decisions,

but necessary ones. Health and safety are paramount.
Although I hear a lot of such talk, I personally reject
the concept of a new normal. The old normal will return,
and when it does your Beth El Brotherhood will be
there, renewing the activities that give us so much joy
and meaning. Our catering volunteers are anxious to be
back in the kitchen and our public policy forums will
restart anew. Brotherhood will build sukkahs and sponsor social events. We will host interfaith gatherings and
provide support for Beth El youth and Religious School
activities. Together, Brotherhood will once again do
what we can do to provide the social fabric that makes
Beth El a family and simply a wonderful place to belong.
Be safe and keep connected.
John Jankowski
Brotherhood President
brotherhood@bethelhebrew.org

WRJ News
WRJ Shabbat and Spring Events:
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend our
plans, WRJ is trying to adapt. Our WRJ Shabbat and
Spring Raffle, scheduled for May 8, have been postponed indefinitely as a result of the Covid-19 social distancing requirements. Our Woman of the Year, Jeanette
Astrow, will be honored when it is possible. Meanwhile,
continue to congratulate her as she is a stellar Woman of
the Year.
The WRJ Board will have board training via Zoom
with WRJ National Representative fredi Bleeker Franks
on Thursday, May 7 at 7 pm. Her schedule permitting,
fredi will visit us in person when travel is possible, to
participate in our Woman of the Year celebration and
Shabbat educational events.
WRJ Study Buddy Initiative:
WRJ hopes to launch a Study Buddy project to help
congregants with school-age kids who need a study buddy, to take some of the pressure off parents who are
working from home and/or otherwise could use the help
of another adult in this time of unremitting 24/7 childcare. WRJ has put together a survey to identify prospective volunteers and determine whether there are enough
to make this project feasible. The survey was announced
in the April 19 Beth El weekly email, and can be accessed at https://forms.gle/M7nd3iCFCsHNSGrw5. If
there are enough volunteers, we will send a second survey to find out who would like to request Study Buddy

support. We also hope to get some volunteers who
would like to do art, music or movement, or story hours,
which could perhaps even be done with groups of kids,
and include preschoolers with parental participation.
WRJ Facebook Page:
For those looking for ways to help families affected
by the Covid-19 health crisis, we have been posting suggestions on the Beth El WRJ Facebook page, and will
continue to do so as we receive further suggestions. We
also will continue to post inspirations and other pandemic survival tips there. If you have a suggestion for mitzvah opportunities, pandemic survival tips, or inspirational messages you would like us to share, please email us
at BEHC.WRJ.President@gmail.com.
The link to the WRJ Facebook page is https://
www.facebook.com/BethElWRJ. You don’t need a Facebook account to view the WRJ Facebook page.
Carpenter’s Shelter:
Our regular stalwart volunteers for Carpenter’s Shelter continue to support this mitzvah. Our regularly
scheduled dinner is on May 25. This will be prepared by
individual members at their homes using disposable
serving pieces.
Continued on next page

Page 8

WRJ News
(Continued from page 7)
However, Carpenter’s Shelter still needs food donations.
The staff at Carpenter’s Shelter serves the food, so Jamila
Smith requests the following:
The Winter Carpenter’s Shelter and David’s Place
closed on April 13. In order to continue to serve their
residents, Covid-19 Safety Shelter for those most
vulnerable opened at the Charles Houston Rec Center, 901 Wythe Street, on Monday, April 13.
Covid-19 Safety Shelter needs help with meals for
its clients at the rec center to help with this transition.
If you can support the Safety Shelter by delivering a
meal, utilizing the same process that is currently in
place at the residential shelter, it would be greatly
appreciated.
Two additional daily volunteer opportunities have
been added on the scheduling system: Safety Shelter
Meal Delivery Lunch and Safety Shelter Meal Delivery Dinner. Both are currently listed daily, and there
are openings every day, twice daily, from now
through May 15. If you can assist, please email Jamila at jamilasmith@carpentersshelter.org, and let
her know the date, and which lunch or dinner, you
would like to cover. You can also self-schedule.
They are currently scheduling one month out.
The meal delivery process, which applies both to
the residential shelter (in the former Macy’s location
at Landmark Mall, 5701-D Duke Street) and the
Covid-19 Safety Shelter, is as follows:
 If you can volunteer to provide a meal, please be
sure to utilize the recommended robust hygiene
guidelines:
 Frequently wash your hands with soap and water
for a minimum of 20 seconds;
 If available, use gloves when prepping food;
 Disinfect your workspace prior to prepping food;
 And most importantly, opt out if you are sick.
Meal Providers:
The Meal Provider process has been adjusted to a
Meal Delivery process where groups provide the
food for staff to serve. With this in mind, the food
provided should require minimal preparation.
*** Please opt out if you are feeling sick or ill, out
of concern for your safety and that of the safety of
the Shelter residents. ***
Please provide enough food to feed between 3540 adults.
 Food delivery can be scheduled by contacting
Jamila, and should be scheduled at least an hour
in advance of the service time. Food delivered for
lunch should arrive by 11 am for a noon service
and food for dinner should arrive by 5:30 pm for a
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

6:30 pm service.
 Meal providers must not fully enter the shelter. A table will be placed in the front vestibule in advance of the food delivery. The
food items will be left on the table. Please
notify the front desk that the delivery has taken place. If no one is at the front desk, please
call (703) 548-7500 and notify staff. Staff
will then retrieve the items from the table.
 Please use disposable containers when possible, as staff cannot guarantee the return of the
items the food is brought in.
Mah Jongg
Thankfully, Dina Katz and Susan Whitman located a site to play mah jongg online at
https://realmahjongg.com/. This site allows a two-week
free membership with minimal cost per month. We
have enjoyed staying in touch with our mah jongg buddies and have all opted to identify ourselves by using
WRJ as a prefix to our names. This has allowed us to
remain in contact with one another and continue our
camaraderie. This has also allowed us to familiarize
ourselves with the new card so we’ll be up to speed
when we can play again in person.
Pat Collins and Linda Shapiro
WRJ Co-Presidents
BEHC.WRJ.President@gmail.com

W

Torah Study

E HAVE BEEN meeting via Zoom and now
require a password. Anyone interested in
joining us should email Lisa Sheldone
(lisa.sheldone@verizon.net) for the password and to be
added to our email list.
Every week, Lisa sends a message to the list about
the portion of the week with chapter and verse citations
and links to various on-line commentators. Anyone
interested will need a copy of the Torah at home.
We welcome anyone who is trying Torah study out
for the first time — Hebrew is
not required, no one gets called
on who hasn’t volunteered, and
questions are encouraged
(although there may not be an
answer). Please join us!
— Gilah Goldsmith

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Member News
Welcome New Members:
Susan and Richard Warshaw
Mazel Tov to:
Larry and Esther Browning, Howard Cohen and Lucy
Civitello, Cecil Key and Amy Zucker, and Bruce and
Susan Wartel who are having special anniversaries in
May
Carol Schrier-Polak, Dorian Schramm, Diane DeMaio,
Jerome Liess, Lisa Miller, Myra Wendel Roney, and
Betty Goldman who are having special birthdays in May
Condolences to:
Children Aaron (Elise) and Leah (Rob) and grandchildren Elana, Jonah, and Gabriel Margosis on the death of
beloved father, grandfather, and Beth El member Michel
Margosis
Marvin Cetron, children Adam and Kimberley and Edward and Kathy, and grandchildren Gabriel and Justin on
the death of beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, and
Beth El member Gloria Cetron
Mark and Sheila Thalhimer, and EllenThalhimer, and
Jacob and Melanie Thalhimer, on the death of beloved
father and grandfather, and Beth El member Jack
Thalhimer

Page 9

WRJ Book Club
Spring 2020 Schedule
June 9*: Spies of No Country by Matti Friedman
The WRJ Book Club has been in existence for more
than 20 years and is, I believe, a cultural benefit to the
congregation. We try to choose and read the best in Jewish-themed literature!
— Rita DiTrani
* If current Virginia stay-athome order end-date of June
10 changes to be sooner.

SAVE THE DATE!
MAJYK IS COMING!
Dec. 18-20
Beth El is proud to announce that we will be hosting the
NFTY MAR MAJYK event for
sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.
Mark your calendars now! We will need everyone’s
help to house and host these teens!
Watch for details!

I

Save the Date: Musician In Residence Weekend

’M VERY EXCITED to announce that next year we will be inviting singer-songwriter Elana
Arian to join us as a musical scholar in residence from Jan. 29 through Jan. 31, 2021. Elana
is a long time friend and colleague and is one of the most prominent Jewish musicians of our
time. We are delighted she will join us for an entire weekend of music. Please mark your calendars for the following dates. More information to follow.


Friday Jan. 29, 2021, 7:30 pm
Soul Shabbat Services with Elana Arian, Cantor Kaufman and the Soul Shabbat Band



Saturday Jan. 30, 2021, 7 pm
Cantor’s Concert, with Cantor Jason Kaufman, Elana Arian, and Eric Schobrick — tickets go
on sale later this year



Sunday Jan. 31, 2021, 11 am
Religious School concert for students and their families led by Elana Arian

— Cantor Kaufman

Page 10

Caring Community
Committee

T

HE CARING COMMUNITY Committee is very
concerned about Beth El congregants at this difficult time. Although we are not in a position to
offer meals or rides, we can lend you a friendly ear and
offer you some information on where to find various
kinds of help. We are particularly interested in hearing
from congregants who are ill or having a difficult time
coping with this crisis and would like someone to talk
with. If you know of a member who might like our services or if you have ideas how we might help, please call
Ruth Perlstein at 703-978-9341.
Meanwhile, Caring Community members distributed
30 Purim holiday bags to members who are homebound.
Since we were unable to deliver Passover bags during
the COVID-19 crisis, we sent cards and committee
members made calls.
Julie Mueller and Ruth Perlstein offer an on-line
live support session to members who have experienced a
loss. If you would like to be included in such a meeting,
please contact Ruth.

We are looking forward to our
19th Annual Book Sale in January
2021
Now is a great time to go through your book
shelves and put aside the books you no longer
want for this very popular fund raiser.
Once Beth El is open and functioning on a
normal schedule, bring your books to the
building. If you need help, just let us know
and we will pick them up. In the fall we will
be asking for volunteers to help with this gigantic fund raiser.
Questions or need help? Contact
Rhoda Goldman at lennieg@cox.net
or 703-992-9370

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

F

OR MANY, mid-March was the beginning of dramatic changes in how we work and live. At that
time, the City of Alexandria contacted ALIVE! to
see what we (we, because Beth El is a member congregation — this is our work) could do to help feed Alexandria’s school children who wouldn’t be receiving breakfast and lunch five days a week. ALIVE! went into action, and food for students and families was distributed
throughout the city.
Two weeks later, ALIVE! had to revamp its last Saturday food distribution. Rather than being a monthly
event, it became a weekly truck-to-trunk distribution of a
week’s worth of food. At the site in Arlandria, ALIVE!
usually serves 120 families. On March 28, it served close
to 500 families.
At Beth El, we could not have our annual Tzedakah
Tzunday — the day when ALIVE! was to receive the
tzedakah brought in by Religious School students and
congregants. ALIVE! needs our tzedakah now more than
ever. Please consider going to www.alive-inc.org to
make an online donation to support the important work
ALIVE! does.
For more information about ALIVE! go to
www.alive-inc.org or contact Deborah Schaffer at
schaffer4@gail.com.

College Communications
Committee Update

D

UE TO THE return home of our college students, the College Committee did not send its
final 2019-2020 school year Passover package.
The Committee looks forward to a resumption of normal
life this fall, beginning with sending Rosh Hashanah
packages to our college students. As a reminder, the
Beth El College Committee keeps in touch with our congregation’s college students by mailing them small care
packages and notes during the school year. We will have
reminders over the summer to send student names and
addresses to the Committee chair for the Committee
mailing list.
Sue Meisner
Chair, College Committee

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 11

Chapel in the Woods
While You Were Away...

B

Y APRIL 11, the following
native trees and perennials had
bloomed in the Chapel in the
Woods, among others. If you would
like to join the congregants working
to preserve Beth El’s two-acre forest,
please write Stuart and Nancy Davis,
nmdaviswriter@aol.com. They will
assign time slots so you can garden
while preserving social distance.

Green and gold,
Chrysogonum
virginianum

Eastern Redbud,
Cercis canadensis

Celandine poppy,
Stylophorumdiphyllum

Golden ragwort,
Packera aurea

Virginia bluebells,
Mertensia
Virginica

Carolina jessamine,
Gelsemium sempervirens

Jacob’s ladder,
Polemonium
caeruleum

Foamflower,
Tiarella cordifolia

Come join us for the Annual Meeting of the
Beth El Permanent Endowment Fund

T

Sunday, June 14, 2020, 10 am to noon
Seminar Room
HE TRUSTEES OF the Permanent Endowment Fund — Dana Arnold (Chair), Jeremy Flachs (Secretary),
Ernie Levy, Janet Garber, Dorrit Lowsen, Michael Bluestein (Treasurer), and Daniel Rothschild — welcome
you to the annual meeting.

Trustee terms are ending for Daniel Rothschild and Michael Bluestein, who have been nominated for additional 3-year
terms.
Any voting member may petition for an alternate slate of nominees directly to the secretary, Jeremy Flachs,
jeremy.flachs@flachslaw.com, 20 days prior to the meeting, and notice of the alternative nominees will be provided to
the membership by the secretary at least 10 days prior to the meeting.
The Trustees look forward to meeting with you to discuss the Endowment Fund’s progress and to elect the new trustees.
We have a lot of exciting things to discuss with you.

Page 12

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 13

Page 14

Heller High Final Report

H

ELLO BETH EL! I’m Kate Schneider of the
Heller High Five. I’ve been home for a little
while now, unfortunately, and so I’ve really had
time to think about the last few weeks at Heller High.
A few days after we went to Masada and the Dead
Sea, which were both really cool, we went on a tiyul
(field trip) that ended up being one of my favorites,
purely because of the fact that my class had really interesting discussions: the Christianity tiyul. We went to this
Christian touristy town right below us where John the
Baptist was supposedly baptized. It was an absolutely
beautiful day to sit outside in the garden and just learn
and ask questions. The next Sunday, we went a little
further north to learn about the Bar Kochva revolt and to
climb through some caves that the Jewish people hid in
for years to hide from the Romans. At times like these,
when we went into caves, my Jewish history teacher,
Talia, made us turn off all of our flashlights for a minute
and we would sing a song in the total darkness of the
cave. And the next day, the families started arriving for
the parents’ trip.
A couple of days after they arrived, we left early in
the morning to drive a few hours north to learn about
oral law. We visited the burial caves of a couple of famous rabbis and saw the beautiful red flowers that grow
all over Israel during the spring. Then at lunchtime, we
drove to this gorgeous hot spring where they had pizza
ovens set up for us to make our lunch and we got to go
swimming. After that we went to a synagogue with a
beautiful mosaic floor from hundreds of years ago, and
at the end of that we all got in a circle, students and parents, and had a short service. It was really nice to just
stop for a few moments and sing together as a group.
One of the things I loved most about my time at Heller High was the people. Most of the people there were
amazing, and even if I didn’t get along with everyone
individually, I loved the unity of the group when we all
came together. I made some of my best friends there and
it is an experience I will never forget.

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

H

ELLO BETH EL! My name is Samara Tanner,
and I’m the last of the Heller High Five to write to
you all about our semester in Israel. As you probably have heard, we have unfortunately returned home due
to the impending threat of the coronavirus and its effect
worldwide. It’s so hard to write and express what I and my
friends from Israel are feeling as our departure was so sudden. In early to mid-February, before the rest of the world
truly understood how serious the virus was, everything for
us was normal. We had tiyulim (field trips) approximately
three times a week, and had typical in-person classes, services, and meals, as usual. Although the virus was slowly
spreading to other countries, it seemed as if we were going
to be okay.
Our principal, Rabbi Loren Sykes, would talk to us almost daily during Zman Kvutza, our evening program,
about how we needed to practice personal hygiene, wash
our hands, etc. We took it as seriously as we could, but our
daily “Corona Updates” were never too serious, and we
would end up laughing as usual by the end of our program.
It wasn’t until the end of February when the Heller High
administration brought us all together to tell us that our trip
to Poland had been cancelled that things started to get serious. When they broke the news, it was received with a multitude of reactions, ranging from tears to disappointment,
distress, and anxiety. At that moment, I think some of us
understood the very real possibility of us needing to go
home. Of course, people asked questions about the possibility of us having to leave, but there were really no answers at that point. It seemed to me (and many of the parents who had emailed Rabbi Loren and the rest of the staff)
that we were safer on Kibbutz Tzuba than we would be if
we would have to travel back to the US on a plane, especially since the virus was picking up speed in the States.
The following days are kind of fuzzy. As the virus
spread and answers became less clear, it’s hard to remember the exact timeline of events. I remember that the next

(continued on next page)

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 15

Heller High Final Report
(continued)
week was the Parent Pilgrimage, and even though my family was not able to come, one of my best friends, Ilana, and
I were graciously “adopted” by our close friend, Hannah,
and her family. We had a few nights out where we got to
explore Jerusalem and the German Quarter — we had a
lovely dinner there, followed by dessert at the Waffle Cafe.
Hannah’s family also came with us to Ben Yehuda Street
the following evening, which is a popular street for tourists
and locals alike to eat and shop; we had another wonderful
dinner there. A few days after the parents left, Israel closed
its borders to foreigners and any Israeli who came back to
the country was required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The parents were very lucky to leave when they did, because things became very hectic in both the US and Israel
as soon as they left us.
That weekend, Ilana invited me to spend the weekend
with her grandmother, who lives 30 minutes away from
Tzuba, so we left on a Thursday night and stayed with
Granny Rose through Shabbat on Saturday evening. That
whole weekend was an adventure, as Ilana’s grandmother
is Orthodox and shomer shabbat (meaning she keeps Shabbat — i.e., no driving, using a hot plate to heat things up,
no cooking, etc.). Neither of us had any idea what to expect
and ended up going to three different Orthodox synagogues. (I could write a whole other essay on that experience, so feel free to ask me questions about that!) It was a
very unusual weekend and Ilana and I were so happy to be
back at Tzuba on Saturday evening.
I had a lot of homework that I needed to do for class the
next day but I needed to get out and spend a fun evening
with my friends so I skipped my homework and went for
an evening out to Ben Yehuda Street with a group of students. It was much needed but I ended up not sleeping that
night as I wanted to watch my home high school’s girls
basketball state semifinals game. My dad and sister were
there in person, so I Facetimed them at three in the morning on Sunday and sat on our porch to watch so I wouldn’t
wake up my roommates. I’m super happy I did that, because little did I know that the time for experiences like
that was running out.
That week, we had a tiyul to Tzfat to learn about Jewish
mysticism. I really wanted to enjoy that tiyul (looking back,
especially since it was our last one, although I didn’t know
it at the time), because my dad had told me that it was one
of his favorite places that he visited when he studied
abroad in Israel in high school. Although it was fun to learn
and be off Tzuba, it started raining really hard right when
we got to Tzfat, so we had to make a last minute adjustment and have Jewish history in cave classrooms that could
be rented out. It was really cool, albeit tight, but I didn’t
have the eye-opening experience that I wanted to have
while in Tzfat.
Later that week, the Israeli government declared that no
more than 100 people could be gathered in a space for any
reason. Though for the time being our program was ok, this
definitely changed the experience on the kibbutz. Instead of
having meals with all of the kibbutz members in the chadar
ochel (dining hall), we now had divided lunch times. The

staff in the chadar took out chairs so that there were fewer
than 100 available to be used as seats and we had to sit far
apart from each other. It was unusual, but from what my
parents and friends back home were telling me, it was nowhere near as bad as things were in the US, especially
since Israel had a very low number of cases of corona and
its borders had already been closed for quite some time.
Our field trip on Sunday to the Israel Museum was cancelled. It was disappointing but we had already been there
once for another tiyul, so I was willing to sacrifice it. We
had two or three meals while the 100-person minimum was
in place, but then everything changed. Heller High students
who had friends on other semester abroad programs in Israel were being sent home. Alexander Muss High School in
Israel, a similarly-styled program to ours, chartered a flight
so their students could be sent home the next day. Rabbi
Loren had a meeting with us and explained that for the time
being we were okay, as HSI’s situation varied greatly from
ours; they were in Tel Aviv, a big city, whereas we were in
the suburbs of Jerusalem. They were also on an open campus with Israelis and other programs, whereas we were on a
kibbutz with just us and the kibbutz members. It seemed
like we might have been able to carry on, especially considering how bad things were getting in the States and the
risks that would need to be taken in order to send us home.
I remember when everything started to collapse. On
Saturday, March 14, there were 11 girls in the back of one
of our rooms, all gathered around a computer, entranced,
while watching Little Women. I had never seen it before,
and I was especially engrossed. No Heller High students
were on their phones, until, at one point, everyone’s phone
started buzzing. Our group chat with all of the students on
our semester was blowing up. Israel had just released a new
regulation declaring that no more than 10 people could be
in a group or room together — the minimum required to
create a minyan. All of a sudden, we literally started
screaming. The 11 of us were jumping up and down, on our
phones, reading the news, and calling our families, seeing
if there was any new information released. At one point,
someone called our madricha, Barr, who picked up and
told us the staff were in a meeting. Then instant chaos ensued. Nothing was official yet, but we all pretty much
knew that we would have to go home. We ran outside and
all of the students were running around, screaming, crying,
and hugging each other. Eventually, after an hour of
screaming and panic among the students, DSol (David Solomon, our Director of Academics), ran out and scolded us
for being so loud at 10 pm and then proceeded to tell us as
much as he knew. I don’t remember exactly what he said as
all I could feel was numbness, but I remember holding onto
two people’s hands and wanting to cry. He told us that he
wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but the likelihood is
that we were going to have to leave, although they were
going to spend the whole night figuring it out. It felt like a
blow to everything I’ve been working towards for the past

(continued on next page)

Page 16

Heller High Final Report
(continued)
two years. Our madrichim made us have early rooms that
night, so we were all sent to our rooms for the remainder of
the evening and left to sit in our feelings amongst our
roommates. It was awful. My roommates sat on my bed
and we spent the whole night talking, spilling tea, and crying and consoling each other. I told them about how I was
feeling and my experience thus far, and they told me theirs.
It was the nicest way to bond, albeit among the worst of
circumstances. Later that night, I remembered that my
NFTY region was having a Zoom havdalah service and
decided to join on my computer. The havdalah service was
the first way I really connected to Judaism and to NFTY
and Israel as whole, so to sit on my bed with my roommates and sing and listen and cry together was such a
blessing in disguise. Our madricha, Barr, was an advisor
for my region, so when she came in for lights out, she actually ended up staying and watching and talking everything
out with us until one in the morning, which made me feel a
little bit better, even though it was hard to smile.
On Sunday, they told us that our classes were cancelled
for the day. It felt like everything was coming to an end,
though we had no confirmation of it yet. We spent the
morning watching the boys play a five vs. five basketball
game that they had been planning since the beginning of
the semester. I kept score and was so happy the entire time;
I loved watching my friends make fools out of themselves
(none of them could play basketball!) and felt so in my
element — basketball back home was one of the things I
missed the most. It felt like a normal weekend at Tzuba,
which seemed impossible given the circumstances. We had
lunch in time slots by groups of 10, because we couldn’t all
be in the chadar at once. While that was happening, we got
a message in our group chat: we would be having a meeting with the staff at 2:15 that afternoon. We all knew that
they were going to tell us that we were leaving and it was
heartbreaking. What was even worse is that it was confirmed before they even told us. One of my closest friends
on the trip, Guy, spoke Hebrew, and overheard a conversation between the kibbutz staff about how we were leaving.
They told him that we were leaving Monday night and I
felt helpless. When Rabbi Loren told us outside the zula at
2:15, we all expected it, but it didn’t hurt any less. We all
started crying and hugging. It was the saddest thing I’ve
ever experienced. We had to pack up our things that afternoon. I didn’t want to move; all I wanted to do was cry, but
I couldn’t make any tears come. The madrichim worked
really hard to make that last night special for us. We had
our last Zman Kvutza with our bus group which was really
emotional. I walked into the zula and heard the soft Israeli
music playing and immediately started bawling. Finally.
There were chairs set up in a circle and posters around the
room with heart-wrenching questions to answer: “What did
you never get to experience? What is one thing you wish
you had said to someone, but didn’t?” I could not stop sobbing. I was so sad, yet so fulfilled at the same time. Everyone knew how much I needed to cry, and to finally do so
with everyone around me was freeing. I was surrounded by
the people on my bus, the 49 people who made up one-half
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

of my family, and in that moment I was sad, but I was also
so grateful. We ended that night with a hastily thrown together banquet/dance party where we all dressed up in
whatever nice clothes weren’t packed and danced everything out. Everyone was so emotional but somehow we
made it a night full of good memories. After our dance party, we had 30 minutes to change into comfy clothes and our
madrichim led us to somewhere on the kibbutz we had never been before. Past the entrance to Tzuba, past the amusement park and the chocolate factory, there was a little path
right by where I would run after class most days. Our
madrichim had lined it with candles, leading to a fire pit.
We sat around and sang with a guitar until close to two in
the morning.
I went to bed that night at four in the morning and woke
up around five to go watch the sunrise atop Tel Tzuba, an
ancient Crusader fortress about a 15 minute walk along a
path from Tzuba. I woke up a few of my friends and we
climbed early in the morning to the top. Though my friends
were fearful, I was full of adrenaline, yet calm and peaceful. The day prior, when everything happened, two of our
madrichim took us to Tel Tzuba as a makeshift yam l’yam they told us that although we never got to do our sea-to-sea
hike, we could still hike across Tzuba. They took us to Tel
Tzuba and we meditated on the ancient grounds, looking
out across the land of Israel. Although both times I went, I
wasn’t really supposed to be there (technically, climbing all
the way up Tel Tzuba is not allowed), it was a little
memory that I made in Israel that I treasure dearly.
We spent our last day with services, a Bat Mitzvah, saying goodbye to our Jewish history teachers, packing, and
crying. I felt numb leaving Tzuba, my home for the past
one and half months, and even emptier as we made our
way to the airport and left the Land of Israel. After waiting
through the longest line to drop off our baggage (it was a
line of only Jewish American teenagers returning from yeshiva, seminary, or programs similar to ours - they had
chartered a flight for us), we gathered in a group for the last
time and sang Hatikvah, a tradition at Heller High banquets, although this time, we did it in the middle of Ben
Gurion Airport. We said goodbye to the staff and our beloved madrichim who were the most incredible people, and
made our way to the terminal.
Being home feels surreal. The first few days felt impossible. I didn’t want to do anything, and definitely did not
want to talk to my friends from home. The only people I
wanted to be with were my friends from Israel. The hardest
part of being home is not being able to visit them. If we
were to have stayed the full semester, I would’ve come
home, and then immediately taken a train up to New Jersey
where a large number of my Heller High friends live. Quarantine simply does not allow that to happen and I don’t
know when, or even if, I will see my best friends again.
Thankfully, we have started Zoom classes which gives

(continued on next page)

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 17

Heller High Final Report
(continued)
a little structure to my day. I have all my general studies
classes on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday,
and then Jewish history Thursday and Friday. Because our
general studies classes must be completed for next year, we
don’t get half as much Jewish history as we would have
back in Israel. For me, that’s one of the hardest parts. I was
the resident Jewish history nerd on our program; it was my
favorite class, and I had the greatest teacher in the world.
That class provided me with the most interesting outlook
on life, and it’s so hard that I can’t experience that again.
It’s definitely hit me that I am home again. As of writing this, it’s been around three and a half weeks since we
left Israel. Zoom classes keep me busy, and I feel as if I’m
still learning which is a good thing. Our wonderful
madrichim planned a calendar with daily activities for us
all to do together; we have virtual Zman Kvutza twice a
week, plus Zumba on Zoom, cooking, games, and a whole
host of other Zoom activities planned through May. All 92
of us are still together, even though we are not in person.
Though our semester got cut short, I am so grateful for the

experiences I had, and continue to have, even though some
of them may be virtual. There are no words to describe
how much I miss my friends, but thanks to technology, we
are all in this together. I have their backs and I know they
have mine.
As for going back, it’s a possibility. At this point, nobody knows if there will be a fall 2020 semester, or even a
spring 2021 semester. I am 100 percent interested in going
back — so are a majority of our semester’s participants; the
question is when — and at this point, we don’t know. Personally, I connected to Judaism and Israel in a way that I’d
never have imagined, but a part of it feels incomplete. Going back to the Heller High program would allow me to fill
that gap and meet even more incredible people who would
change my life. Regardless of whether or not I decide to
return to the Heller High program, I know for a fact that I’ll
be back in Israel someday, be it on Birthright, a gap year,
March of the Living, or if I even decide to live there or join
the army, Israel will always be there to welcome me home.

The Congregation Gratefully Acknowledges the Following Donations
ARNOLD G. FINK LEARNING CENTER
Donor
In Celebration of
Arlene & Jack Rephan and Family ................................ Marvin Burstein’s 95th Birthday
Donor
In Memory of
Arlene, Jack, Amy, & Clark Rephan ............................................................. Lois Gordon
Janice & Steven Schlesinger................................................................... Robet Walitsky
BETH EL GENERAL FUND
Donor
In Honor of
Sara & Seymour Sohmer...........................................................................Rabbi Spinrad
Donor
In Memory of
Judy Stark .................................................................................................. Hannah Stark
Carolyn Miller & Henry Brooks .................................................................... Eunice Miller
William Kramer ...................................................................................... Shirley Fishbach
CANTOR’S DISCRETIONARY FUND
Donor
Adam Berger & Stephen Frank
Donor
In Honor of
Tovah Ravitz-Meehan & Michael Meehan ............................................ Cantor Kaufman
CHAPEL IN THE WOODS
Donor
In Celebration of
Annette Kilian....................................................The marriage of Cantor Jason Kaufman
and Kirk McPike
MARC ROSS SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Donor
In Celebration of
Lynne & Allan Somoroff ..................................................................... The Bar Mitzvah of
Karen Abramson’s grandson

PERMANENT ENDOWMENT FUND
Donor
For the Recovery of
Barbara Mintz ............................................................................................... Harold Mintz
Donor
In Memory of
Annette Kilian ............................................ Joseph & Rebecca Love, Lillian Lindenberg,
And Reva Rack
Ken Berger ............................................................................................. Lynn Gessaman
Lucy Civitello & Howard Cohen ............................................................ Theresa Civitello
Dawn Marie’s Visage LLC ............................................................................Lois Gordon
RABBI’S GOOD DEED FUND
Donor
In Appreciation of
Caring Community Committee .................................. Caring Community On-Call Group
Donor
In Celebration of
Brian Goldstein ........................................................ Rabbi Bailey Romano’s installation
Donor
In Memory of
Rosalie & Monroe Lesser ..................................................... Jack Lesser, Rachel Fried,
Israel Fried, and Asher Fried
Leona & Doug Johnson .................................................................................Joseph Keil
Candace Goldblatt ............................................................................. Seymour Goldblatt
Myra Wendel Roney .....................................................................................Lois Gordon
Barbara Mintz ................................................................................................Martin Mintz
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL FUND
Donor
In Memory of
Stacy, Mark, Samantha and Alexa Weiner ..................................... Charlotte Goldsmith
SOCIAL ACTION FUND
Donor
In Appreciation of
Religious School Tzedakah ...................................................................................... ORT

RABBI ISSEROW PLAYGROUND FUND
Donor
In Memory of
Charlotte Strauss ......................................................................... Reva & Arthur Strauss

Thank you for your generous donations. No donation is too small. All donations are acknowledged in The Bulletin two months following their receipt. Acknowledgements are mailed with a minimum of $18 per person per
acknowledgement.

Page 18

Community Resources
Organiza on Name 
  
NOVA Resources 

Resource(s) 

How to Access 

INOVA, including
INOVA Cares Clinics

Latest COVID‐19 informa on. The INOVA Cares
Clinics provide care for the uninsured, underin‐
sured, and Medicaid pa ents, including assis‐
tance with applying for Medicaid and charity
care. The INOVA Cares clinics also schedule
h ps://www.inova.org/pa ent‐and‐visitor‐informa on/covid‐19‐advisory
pa ents, regardless of ability to pay, for a tele‐
phonic COVID‐19 screening with a healthcare
provider where clinically
appropriate.

INOVA Urgent Care Loca ons

Respiratory Illness Clinics and COVID‐19 tes ng h ps://www.inova.org/loca ons/inova‐urgent‐care/respiratory‐clinics

Fairfax County Schools

Food pick up for families in need

h ps://www.fcps.edu/news/coronavirus‐update‐food‐resources

Fairfax County Health Dept.

Fairfax County Health Dept. coronavirus page

h ps://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/novel‐coronavirus

Fairfax County

Health care op ons for the uninsured

h ps:// nyurl.com/tper2tw

Financial Empowerment
Center at South County
(Fairfax County)

Financial counseling

h ps://soco.financialempowermentcenters.org/
Call 703‐704‐6101 or email info@fecsoco.org

Alexandria Dept. of Health

Resources for the uninsured: iden fies which
providers are accep ng new pa ents, provide
COVID‐19 screening, or provide COVID‐19
tes ng.

h ps:// nyurl.com/s52ou9s

Senior Services of
Alexandria

Senior Services' programs con nuing during the
COVID‐19 outbreak, including Meals on Wheels,
h ps:// nyurl.com/st93wg9
Groceries to Go, and DOT Paratransit. Includes
phone numbers for each program.

DMV Resources  

Jewish Social Services Agency

Provides professional non‐sectarian mental
health, home health and social services, includ‐
ing individual and family therapy for children,
adolescents, adults and elders; ADHD clinic for
adults and children; voca onal services; educa‐
h ps:// nyurl.com/s52ou9s
onal and psychological tes ng; services for
individuals with disabili es and their families; in
‐home support services for frail elders; hospice
care for adults and children; adop on services.
Web page has COVID‐19‐specific resources.

United Way of the Na onal
Capitol Area

United Way is leading the Coronavirus Re‐
sponse Hotline (757‐858‐7777) to provide non‐
medical assistance; connec ng clients to availa‐
ble resources using the Unite Us care coordina‐ h ps://unitedwaynca.org
on pla orm; administering the Coronavirus
Recovery Fund to raise funds to support recov‐
ery efforts.

D. C. Safe

24/7 crisis interven on for domes c abuse;
includes a shelter

h ps://dcsafe.org

D. C. Central Kitchen

Takeaway meals, especially for students

h ps://dccentralkitchen.org

Martha’s Table

Delivers digital educa onal content to families,
along with access to diapers, formula, wipes,
and grocery gi cards. Partnering with local
h ps://marthastable.org
schools and the Capital Area Food Bank to pro‐
vide students groceries

Community resources continued on next page
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 19

Community Resources
Organiza on Name 

Resource(s) 

How to Access 

Virginia Dept. of Health

Most recent COVID‐19 informa on from
the Virginia Dept. of Health

h p://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/

Virginia Dept. of Social Services

Virginia DSS benefits page

h ps://www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/

Virginia Dept. of Social Services

Medical assistance programs, including
Medicaid and Medicare

h ps://www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/medical_assistance/

Virginia Employment Commission

Informa on and filing for unemployment
insurance benefits

h p://www.vec.virginia.gov/

Virginia Resources 

National Resources
  
Organiza on Name 
Na onal Resources 
Centers for Disease Control and
Preven on (CDC)

Resource(s) 

How to Access 

Comprehensive medical informa on and
resources

h ps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019‐ncov/index.html

CDC

Info on keeping kids safe while at home
from school

h ps:// nyurl.com/r48vh7x

CDC

Managing stress and coping

h ps:// nyurl.com/tcjcvj4

Behavioral health resources, including a
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
treatment locator, and the Disaster Dis‐
Services Administra on
tress Helpline, 1‐800‐985‐5990

h ps://www.samhsa.gov/disaster‐preparedness

1‐800‐799‐7233
Na onal Domes c Violence Hotline Informa on on staying safe from domes c h ps://www.thehotline.org/
abuse during the COVID‐19 outbreak
Federal Employee Educa on and
Assistance Fund (FEEA)

Coronavirus Resources for Feds
(federal employees)

U.S. Small Business Administra on

Virginia businesses and nonprofits impact‐
ed by COVID‐19 are now eligible to make
h ps://disasterloan.sba.gov
online applica ons to the SBA for the Eco‐
nomic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL)

h ps://feea.org/coronavirus/

Other Resources 
Psychology Tools Limited

Living with worry and anxiety amidst global
h ps:// nyurl.com/t3jx7y3
uncertainty

Consumer Reports

Coronavirus Resource Hub

h ps:// nyurl.com/sq228za

Left: Rabbi Spinrad picks up the Torah from one
week’s B’nai Mitzvah to get it ready for the next
week’s family. Above: Quinn Coughlin, Beth El’s
first online Bar Mitzvah

Mia Escandarini receives the Torah
for her Bat Mitzvah

Beth El is still going strong, because Beth El is more than a building: Beth El is people!

Page 20

Jewish Resources
Organiza on Name 

Resource(s) 

How to Access 

Union for Reform Judaism

Virtual Gatherings and Programs

h ps://reformjudaism.org/virtual‐seders‐gatherings‐and‐programs

Union for Reform Judaism

25 Jewish Things to Do Under Quaran ne

h ps:// nyurl.com/t822l9n

Union for Reform Judaism

COVID‐19: Judaism Under Quaran ne

h ps://reformjudaism.org/jewish‐life/covid‐19‐judaism‐under‐quaran ne

Union for Reform Judaism 

Learn Something New
TED Talks on many different topics; highlight: What if a single human right could
change the world?

Have Some Fun
Yome has hundreds of free yoga videos for
people who already know the basic poses;
highlight: Gentle Yoga for Hips and Back

ted.com

yogameditationhome.com

TED Educational Videos for all ages; highlight: The Art Forger Who Tricked the Nazis

Tour Space Center Houston; highlight: astronaut selfie filters
spacecenter.org/app/

ed.ted.com
Free Management Library to upgrade your
business skills; highlight:
Volunteer Management

Watch Broadway performances with a free
trial; highlight: Sir Patrick Stewart in Macbeth

managementhelp.org

broadwayhd.com

Live up to your potential and live life to the
fullest with these life tips; highlight: 8 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship That Will
Lead to Success

Every Sunday beginning at 11 a.m., Rockefeller Center offers live performances on its
social media channels, and lots of other classes and events too.

lifehack.org

https://www.rockefellercenter.com/whatshappening/upcoming/

Access 2500+ Online Courses from 140 Top
Institutions; highlight: Introduction to Animal Ethics

Learn magic tricks, apparently including
levitation!

edx.org

goodtricks.net

Learn a language for free; highlight: 834,000
people are studying Hebrew

Spend hours ranking the things that you love;
highlight: The Funniest People of All Time

duolingo.com

Ranker.com

Find what fascinates you at SkillShare; highlight: Learn PhotoShop
skillshare.com
Learn to play the guitar at Justin Guitar;
highlight:1,000 free lessons
justinguitar.com
Learn about investing with
Investopedia; highlight: Compete risk-free
with $100,000 in virtual cash
investopedia.com
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Read funny Amazon product reviews.
Google “funny Amazon product reviews.”
Google.com
Use free service Family search to learn about
your genealogy.
familysearch.org/en/
Play some new games. Highlight: challenge
the Bulletin editor to Words with Friends!
pogo.com
king.com

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 21

Navigating the Virtual Beth El
Facebook Live

Zoom

You do NOT need a Facebook account to attend these
sessions. If you get to a screen where Facebook insists
you log in or create an account, you went awry somewhere. Only the host needs an account.

You do NOT need a Zoom account to attend these sessions. If you get to a screen where Zoom insists you log
in or create an account, you went awry somewhere. Only
the host needs an account.

You get to Beth El Facebook Live events by going to the
Beth El Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/BethElHebrew/

You get to Zoom events by a link Beth El must provide
you. Every Zoom event has a unique link. Some Zoom
events have a password. The host must provide the password to you for each session, either by embedding it in
the link, as with the Wednesday Beth El noon chat sessions, or by providing it on request, as with Torah Study.

and clicking on

to the left of the page.

You cannot dial in on a telephone. You must listen to
the meeting on your device. Make sure the sound on
your device is on, and that it’s loud enough. If you see a
symbol like this
, it means the sound is turned off in
the software/Facebook. Click the symbol to turn it on.
Nobody can see you. It doesn’t matter if you have a
camera or not. Facebook pushes the stream out to you, it
does not pull anything from your computer. Your personal data is not at risk.
Sometimes, such as during Shabbat services, you can see
who else has joined in and communicate with them
through a chat window. How this works varies depending on your computer set-up, but on mine it only works
if I go into full screen mode by clicking on
at the
bottom right of the video window. If the chat symbol is
blocked like this
, I cannot see who is on with me
and I cannot post messages. If the chat symbol is open
like this
, I can click on it and type in short messages that any host or participant can see.
Because so many people are using Facebook Live these
days, and because services often have multiple hosts and
lots of viewers, sometimes Facebook will get hung up/
stuck. Just close either Facebook or your browser and
come back in to rejoin the session.
These are sessions where only the host(s) may speak and
be heard. They are not open, participative fora. Therefore, there is no risk of external disruption by people
shouting or showing inappropriate images.

Some events allow telephone dial-in as an option rather
than computer sound. This was true, for example, for the
Adult Ed offering Israel’s Milestones and Meanings.
The host has to provide you with the dial-in information;
it will change from meeting to meeting just like the link
will. For most events, however, you must listen to the
meeting on your device. Make sure the sound on your
device is on, and that it’s loud enough. If you see a symbol like this
, it means the sound is turned off in the
software. Click the symbol to turn it on.
Unless the host changes this, most Zoom meetings show
all the participants (who have cameras) on the screen for
everybody to see. Usually the person talking is centerscreen and large and everybody else is teeny and around
the edges. The host can mute everybody, however, and
then the host stays center-screen. You can still join any
Zoom session without a camera and people will not see
you. (The Bulletin editor often unplugs her camera,
which is not built in to her PC, if she is not ready for
public consumption.) Even though your image is going
out to the Zoom event, your personal data is not at risk.
Because so many people are using Zoom these days, and
because services often have multiple hosts and lots of
viewers, sometimes Zoom will get hung up/stuck. Just
close either Zoom or your browser and come back in to
rejoin the session.
When the host sets up the session to be an open, participative forum, there is risk of external disruption by people shouting or saying inappropriate/offensive things or
replacing the image from their camera with inappropriate images. This is now known as zoom-bombing. Zoom
is working on tools to help us prevent this.

Really bored? Love word games? The Bulletin editor will play Words with Friends, Ruzzle, Scrabble, or Scrabble Go
with anyone who challenges her! She cannot challenge anyone to Words with Friends, however, as it keeps telling her
she has too many games going already! If you have other word games online that you like, challenge her! Maybe our
new normal (hopefully soon) will include playing Scrabble IRL!

Page 22

Beth El/Pozez JCC

L
to:

IKE SO MANY other organizations,
Pozez JCC has moved all events to the
virtual world. Find these events by going

www.theJ.org
and clicking Virtual J in the top menu bar. Then
click the + next to Adults in the middle of the
page.

Stay safe, stay healthy, call or email
the office or lay leaders if Beth El can
assist you in any way.
We are all Beth El!

POZEZ JCC-BETH EL ECLC Registration is open
for the 2020-2021 School Year
Our Early Childhood Learning Center offers a 12-month program with part-time
and full-time options for children who will be two, three, or four years old by September 30. Our full-time toddler program accepts students from 16 to 23 months
old.
The 2020-2021 school year starts in August 2020.
The ECLC, offering a Reggio Emilia-inspired educational philosophy, is licensed
by the State of Virginia and is open to all members of the
community.
For more information or to set up a tour, please contact Director Dina Backer at 703-537-3084 or
dina.backer@theJ.org.

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 23

Page 24

Hold the Date
Pozez JCC: ECLC Annual Exhibition,
May 18 – June 12
Pozez JCC: AARP Smart Driver Course, June 2 and 3
Ross Scholarship Award, June 5
Edlavitch JCC: Compulsion or the House Behind,
June 5-28
Last Day of Religious School, June 7

Erev Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 12

Pozez JCC: Israel Fest @ the J, June 7

Pozez JCC: Simcha Showcase, Sept. 13

Permanent Endowment Fund Annual Meeting, June 14

Federation Main Event, Postponed to Oct. 27

Edlavitch JCC: Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy,
June 11

NFTY MAR MAJYK at Beth El, Dec. 18 – 20

First Day of Religious School, Aug 30

URJ Biennial in DC, Dec. 8 – 11, 2021

Cantor’s Concert, Jan. 30, 2021

Please check the online Beth El calendar or email office@bethelhebrew.org before leaving to
attend ANY event. As we go to press, there are NO in-person events in May!

Please check the online Beth El calendar or email office@bethelhebrew.org before leaving to
attend ANY event. As we go to press, there are NO in-person events in May!

Beth El Bulletin
May 2020
Iyar/Sivan 5780

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Worship Services
Friday, May 1
Erev Shabbat Services,
7:30 pm
Saturday, May 2
Shabbat Morning Services,
10:30 am
Friday, May 8
Erev Shabbat Services,
7:30 pm
Saturday, May 9
Shabbat Morning Services,
10:30 am
Lag B’Omer Tot Shabbat,
11:00 am
Friday, May 15
Family Services, 6:00 pm
Fifth Grade Student-Led Erev
Shabbat Services, 7:30 pm

Coronavirus Issue
Jewish
Resources
Page 20

Community Resources
Page 18
NATIONAL
RESOURCES
Page 19

Saturday, May 16
Shabbat Morning Services,
10:30 am
Friday, May 22
Erev Shabbat Services,
7:30 pm
Saturday, May 23
Shabbat Morning Services,
10:30 am
Shavuot Tot Shabbat, 11:00 am
Friday, May 29
Shavuot Festival Service with
Yizkor, 10:30 am
Confirmation and Erev Shabbat
Services, 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 30
Shabbat Morning Services
10:30 am

LEARN
SOMETHING NEW
PAGE 20

HAVE SOME FUN
AT HOME
PAGE 20

In this Issue
Rabbi’s Remarks .............. 2
Tot Shabbat ..................... 2
Cantor’s Corner ............... 3
President’s Point of
View .............................. 4
Execu ve Director’s
Entry .............................. 4
Religious School Report ... 5
ECLC News ....................... 6
Brotherhood News .......... 7
WRJ News ........................ 7
Member News ................. 9
WRJ Book Club ................. 9
Big Save‐the‐Dates .......... 9

Caring Community
Commi ee ................... 10
ALIVE! ............................. 10
College Communica ons
Commi ee ................... 10
Book Sale........................ 10
Chapel in the Woods ...... 11
Permanent Endowment
Fund............................. 11
Calendar .................... 12‐13
Heller High
Final Reports ............... 14
Dona ons ....................... 17
Community Resources ... 18

Na onal Resources ........ 19
Jewish Resources ........... 20
Learn Something New ... 20
Have Some Fun .............. 20
Naviga ng the Virtual
Beth El ......................... 21
Beth El/Pozez JCC Events22
 
...and lots of tantalizing 
tidbits scattered throughout, so don’t skip a page!

Page 2

Rabbi’s Remarks:

We do not rely on a miracle.

A

CCORDING TO the sages,
while the ancient Temple
still stood in Jerusalem, the
Israelites made their Passover offerings in three shifts to avoid the dangers of overcrowding. As the courtyard filled to capacity, it is said that
“the gates of the courtyard were closed.” Commenting
350 years after the Temple’s destruction, and from Babylon rather than the land of Israel, the great Abaye and
Rava debated a Hebrew ambiguity that we encounter
also in the English translation: Does the correct reading
of “the gates of the courtyard were closed” mean, as
Abaye contended, that the gates would close at precisely
the right moment, as if by a miracle and without human
intervention, ensuring the safety of those gathered within? Or, as Rava taught, does the correct reading of the
verse imply that we have the responsibility to close the
gates ourselves, exercising human agency to guard the
collective welfare? Rava’s opinion was preferred then
and is a crucial reminder now: We do not rely on a miracle.
As I taught on Erev Rosh Hashanah, we are each other’s angels. We are messengers of the Holy One,
Blessed Be. God works through us, and our purpose is to
be there for and with each other in good times and in
bad. To be a Jew is to actively commit to the well-being
of the Jewish people and to Beth El Hebrew Congregation, and we are meant to help and be helped by one another, not to sit back and expect a miracle to save us all.
Although what we are living through is without precedent in our lives, the entirety of the Jewish history stands

as precedent for the fundamental fact that either we
stand together or we fall apart.
Led by our congregational president, Alan Cohn,
and a small group of devoted lay leaders, Beth El Hebrew Congregation recently established an Emergency
Fund that is housed within my Rabbi’s Good Deed
Fund. In conjunction with a similar rabbinical emergency fund established by the Jewish Federation of Greater
Washington and interest-free emergency loans by the
Hebrew Free Loan Association of Greater Washington,
Beth El’s Emergency Fund exists to help Beth El families and individuals experiencing financial hardship during this pandemic. If you are experiencing a financial
emergency, please email me today:
dspinrad@bethelhebrew.org.
The success of our Emergency Fund requires generous donors, like you, who understand that our money
provides opportunities to demonstrate the difference between fundraising and philanthropy. While fundraising
is financial giving, the collection of dollars, philanthropy
points to a higher purpose. The meaning of philanthropy
is “love of humanity,” and if ever there were a moment
to demonstrate chesed, fierce, covenantal love, it is now.
Please visit the website and give to “2020 Covid-19
Emergency Fund” (in the type field). In doing so, you
will join with Alan Cohn and other lay leaders as well
as Cantor Jason Kaufman, Rabbi Bailey Romano,
Rabbi Brett Isserow, and myself in the understanding
that we do not rely on a miracle. We rely on each other.
— Rabbi Spinrad

Tot Shabbat Celebrates
Spring!

W

HAT FUN IT WAS to see so many families online at our
April Tot Seder, services, and events. Now let’s Zoom
back together to celebrate a couple of springtime holidays!
On May 9, Miss Carol will lead a Lag B’Omer Tot Shabbat. Lag
B’Omer is traditionally celebrated with outings, bonfires, and fun
events. Although we’ll be in our own living rooms rather than outside around a campfire, Miss Carol will be sure to add a Lag B’Omer story and song to the usual fun elements of a Tot Shabbat service.
On May 23, Shavuot will be the theme of Tot Shabbat. Miss Carol will include a song about the Ten Commandments and a story
about what happens when there are no rules.
Check your email for links to these fun Zoom services. Let’s stay
connected!

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Good News!

B

ETH EL RECEIVED a Federal Payroll Protection Program grant. We
will be keeping all staff, including
maintenance staff and Religious School teachers, on the payroll through the end of June (at
least).

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 3

Cantor’s Corner
Dear Friends,
We find ourselves in unprecedented times. At this
moment and always, please know that the Beth El community is here for you. Reach out to us and let us know
how you are. If you are in need or you know of any of
our Beth El members in need, please let us know. Even
if you don’t have needs that we can help with, please
reach out to us to say hello. (I love getting Shabbat Shalom emails!) One of the ways that we as Americans and
as Beth El members can survive this time is by doubling
down on our efforts to build and sustain our community.
We at Beth El have always known that community is the
most important aspect of our Jewish tradition. We also
have always known that Beth El is more than a building.
It is us. It is you and it is me. Together, we will be Beth
El whether or not we find ourselves within the walls of
our synagogue.
At this moment, our community has come together in
ways that our ancestors could never have imagined. For
many of us, this moment has forced us, willingly and
sometimes unwillingly, to try new technologies and expand the ways in which we communicate with each other.
In-person services have transformed to online experiences — and while we miss being able to greet each other face-to-face, there is something unique and sacred
about being able to join each other online as well. During this time of social distancing, Shabbat has presented
itself to many of us with new and strengthened importance. Shabbat punctuates our weeks, gives us a goal
to look forward to and provides us with opportunities to
gather (albeit, online). I personally look forward to
Shabbat in a new and renewed way all week. In fact, as
soon as services are over on Friday, I start brainstorming
the music for services the following week and then start

practicing the melodies on guitar.
Judaism is alive and well at Beth El. This is most
evident in our B’nei Mitzvah program that is now entirely on Zoom. When we were first presented with the idea
of doing a Zoom Bar Mitzvah, I truly didn’t know what
to think. I was concerned it wouldn’t feel as sacred as a
service in the sanctuary and that the feeling of community that we create together would be lost in an online format. I’ve been delighted to learn how very wrong I was!
Creating Zoom B’nei Mitzvah together has been an absolute joy. Thanks to Rabbi Spinrad who has safely
delivered Torah scrolls to our families’ houses, each student reads from the Torah as they would if they were in
the sanctuary. There is something so profound about the
Torah being in everyone’s home, as the family cares for
the Torah together in preparation for their service. The
online format allows family members who may not have
been able to attend an in-person ceremony to be able to
join. Zoom services allow us to take advantage of online
possibilities like sharing slide shows of special pictures
of Bar Mitzvah families as well. This moment is difficult
but together, we can make it better.
There is so much in our world right now that is beyond our capability to control. There is still so much,
however, we can control. We can bring kindness into the
world by reaching out to our loved ones and we can
bring sacred moments into our world by being open to
new ways of experiencing Judaism.
Together, let us honor all that we can control, and do
our best to bring more kindness and a sense of the sacred
to all those in our lives.
Until we are with each other again in person, I’ll see
you online!
— Cantor Jason Kaufman

Beth El’s first ever virtual
Shabbat service, March 27

Page 4

President’s Point of View:
Scenes from a Quarantine

W

ELL, THAT WAS an interesting Seder. As I have
heard Rabbi Spinrad say
on just a few of the many Zoom calls
we’ve been participating in, do you remember second
night seder 2017? Or how about first night seder 2015?
Or second night seder 1994? That one I do remember —
when my high school basketball team staged a thrilling
come-from-behind overtime victory to win the all-class
boys high school basketball championship, a story for
another day. But I assure all of you that you will most
definitely remember first night or second night of seder
2020, the seventh night and every night in between of
our eight days of Passover 2020.
At the appointed hour, Harmony and I logged onto
Zoom and there was my Dad, his wife Rikki, my sister
Laina, and her boyfriend Todd gathered around their
Seder table in Ojai, CA. Rikki’s daughter Barbara and
her boyfriend Andrew were connected electronically at
their seder table in downtown DC. We were all together
as a new family, my Dad and Rikki both widowers, marrying late last fall, for our first “family” seder.
You see this night had the potential to be even more
strange than it naturally would have been given our collective sequestrations. Passover was always my late
mother’s favorite holiday. Twenty-five people both
nights. Fully packed. Lots of known faces and always

some newcomers, some non-Jews, and Geoff Newman
whose sole responsibility was to bring the hard-boiled
eggs each night. And this would be the first time that all
of us would be gathered together as both a newly organized family, albeit virtually, since my mom died in November of 2015.
Thanks to Cantor Kaufman we used the Virtual
Haggadah compiled and designed by Ellie Flier and it
was fantastic. Easy to use, easy to share the leading and
the reading, and perfectly well-timed and designed for
our geographically dispersed seder. Additionally, Rabbi
Spinrad spearheaded a new YouTube-based Haggadah,
The Middle Matzah Haggadah: A Digital Telling for a
Time of Brokenness.
My mom would have loved every minute of this Seder. Even though we were all apart and limited by technology I can’t remember a more fun and soulful night.
Although Thomas Paine once said, “…These are the
times that try Men’s souls…” I am certain he didn’t have
this in mind.
In an odd way, whether it’s watching Shabbat Services on Facebook Live or participating via Zoom on
Beth El’s B’nai Mitzvah, our community is finding new
and loving ways to stay in touch.
— Alan Cohn

Executive Director’s Entry

T

HE TEST OF ANY organization
is how it performs under stress.
Organizational stress brings the
fissures to the surface. This public health
crisis has been a test not only for Beth
El, but for all organizations. The decision to close the
synagogue was easy, based on our commitment to protect the safety of our congregants and staff. Shifting operations to an entirely remote, virtual environment was
challenging. What I have learned is that our staff is truly
a team. From our maintenance team to the front office
staff and clergy, we pulled together and continue to
serve our congregation in so many ways.
Our Shabbat services transitioned to live streaming
from the sanctuary and then moved to Facebook Live.
Our Religious School quickly pivoted to delivering lessons to students on Zoom. Instead of face-to-face meetings, our clergy calls congregants or uses videoconferencing to reach out for pastoral care. Our Caring
Community and Board have made outreach calls to Beth
El Members. Torah Study, a number of adult offerings
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

and meetings have also utilized Zoom.
Beth El is strong because we have dedicated volunteers, staff, and clergy. Beth El is strong because we
support each other in times of need. Beth El is strong
because we have committed leadership that is focused
on leading the organization based on Jewish values.
We hope for the quickest possible end to the threat
that Covid-19 presents to our families. Whenever that
time comes, we look forward to seeing each of you — in
person. Whether you are a regular at services, Torah
study, bagel bar, mah jongg, or the Brotherhood forums,
we will see each other soon. Beth El will emerge from
this crisis and be there waiting for each of you.
WE ARE BETH EL!
Adam Wallach
Executive Director

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 5

Religious School Report:
Building a New Yavneh?
Innovating In the Time of Coronavirus

M

AYBE YOU’VE HEARD the story? Rabbi
Yochanan Ben Zakkai is smuggled out of Jerusalem. Late in the siege, he bargains with the
Romans to save the city of Yavneh to enable scholars to
continue to study Torah. This story is lauded by rabbis
and Jewish leaders as a pivotal moment for Jewish innovation. In essence, the Temple is destroyed, Zakkai single-handedly creates rabbinic Judaism.
This of course is a legend. It’s a story. Rabbinic Judaism was flourishing in Israel and in the Diaspora long
before the destruction of the Temple. The same could be
said for technology in the synagogue today. We’ve been
streaming services at Beth El for years. We used Shalom
Learning to teach Religious School in 2012 and our Hebrew tutors regularly meet with students via Facetime
and Skype. But, as we all know, this is a new moment.
We’ve gone from using technology sometimes to all the
time.
When I interviewed at Beth El last May, I said I
wanted to bring our Religious School into the 21st century, but never in a million years would I have imagined
that I would be in charge of moving Beth El’s Religious
School, services, and auxiliary meetings online. But here
I am championing our efforts to use Zoom, Be.Live, Facebook Live and more to connect our community.
One week after services moved to streaming in the
sanctuary, our Religious School classes moved to Zoom.
Our teachers and parents were all in. I cannot begin to
tell you how grateful I was for the eagerness our teachers exhibited in learning to use this new technology. I
was brought to tears by the joy and relief parents expressed as their children finally went to bed happy for
the first time in a week. They were able to see their
friends, their teachers, their madrichim. For two hours a
week, their lives were “normal.”
During our first few weeks, I didn’t care what our
kids learned, as long as they saw their teachers and their
peers, and felt a sense of normalcy. Even if secular
school hadn’t begun, Religious School had.
“Community and Connection over Content” was my
mantra then, and it still is today. Recently, with the help
of our Tech Maven, Janet Hlatky, our Zoom guru,
Bruce Sherman, as well as with the support of our Executive Director, Adam Wallach, our clergy team, and
staff, we have been able to get all of our teachers free
Zoom accounts, and we have created an infrastructure
that will enable our community to continue connecting
with one another throughout the coronavirus crisis and
beyond.

But what does this mean for the future of our Religious School and the future of worship? Well, we have
an opportunity for our community to innovate and create. We are existing in a moment that will shape how we
educate our children, how we connect with each other,
and even shape the way we pray.
I long to be back in our building, rushing down the
hallways prepping for a busy Sunday morning. I long to
high five our kids, and welcome our parents whose biggest challenge in that moment is whether or not their
child will eat a donut or a bagel for breakfast. I want to
be telling stories on our bimah surrounded by children
excited for Shabbat. I want all of these things. And, I
know that we’ll want to bring some of the technology
we’re learning how to use back into our building, back
into our classrooms, and into our services. The question
is simply what form that will take.
As daunting as it has been to create a Religious
School online learning model and to get Beth El up and
running on Facebook Live and other platforms, I know
that this moment will shape us and enable us to connect
beyond quarantine in new and engaging ways. I look
forward to creating this new moment, this new
“Yavneh” with each and every one of you. Let’s look to
the future of Beth El together. Let’s create it together.
Rabbi Bailey Romano
bromano@bethelhebrew.org

Page 6

ECLC News

A

S OF THIS WRITING, we are finishing four
weeks of online learning in the ECLC. We are
living in a world that none of us could have ever
even imagined, let alone executed. And yet… we are
doing it. With no warning or training, we were all of a
sudden launched into a world of virtual everything.
Most important was, of course, to stay connected. We
missed our kids and our kids missed us and our classrooms and their friends and their routines. Everyone was
thrown into a new world — with a million questions and
very few answers initially. I am so grateful and proud of
our educators. Driven by their love for their children,
every single educator stepped up, continuing to post to
our ECLC app, posting activities on our closed ECLC
Facebook page and visiting with their classes via Zoom.
As a school we have continued to celebrate Shabbat on
Fridays and havdalah on Mondays. Morah Ali has added
great song sessions on Wednesday mornings.

After a few weeks, we found our “sea
legs” and began to face the reality that
this will last longer than we initially
planned. Teachers are now better versed
in virtual teaching, classes are meeting
regularly, we have moved our classroom
explorations to our Zoom classrooms, and our learning
continues.
While no one really knows (at this point) how long
until we return to seeing each other in person, we know
that we will. WHEN we do, it will be a new normal for
sure. And, thankfully we have learned that we, as a community, working together, can do anything we set our
minds and spirits to. AGAIN, our Judaism moves successfully to survival mode. Imagine the story we will
have to tell when it is all over.
Till we can see each other in person…
Dina Backer
dina.backer@theJ.org

ECLC virtual havdalah
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 7

Brotherhood News

O

N BEHALF OF the entire Brotherhood Board, I
hope this Bulletin finds you in good health and
high morale. The essence of Brotherhood is to
offer opportunities for friendship, camaraderie, social
interaction, educational experiences, and volunteer opportunities for giving back to Beth El and the wider
community. Like everyone else, we are feeling quite
constrained by these challenging times. Quite frankly,
social distancing is anathema to the Brotherhood norm
of fostering social connectedness.
Even before various government guidelines were issued, the Brotherhood Board ruefully accepted the reality that we would be unable to host our traditional Mothers Day brunch. I recently learned that the church softball season in which Brotherhood participates, not surprisingly has been cancelled. It also seems unlikely that
the region will be open in time for our annual end-ofyear Religious School picnic. Brotherhood’s normal
June annual meeting and Brotherhood Shabbat, where
we also honor our Man of the Year recipient are likely to
be rescheduled. These are all disappointing decisions,

but necessary ones. Health and safety are paramount.
Although I hear a lot of such talk, I personally reject
the concept of a new normal. The old normal will return,
and when it does your Beth El Brotherhood will be
there, renewing the activities that give us so much joy
and meaning. Our catering volunteers are anxious to be
back in the kitchen and our public policy forums will
restart anew. Brotherhood will build sukkahs and sponsor social events. We will host interfaith gatherings and
provide support for Beth El youth and Religious School
activities. Together, Brotherhood will once again do
what we can do to provide the social fabric that makes
Beth El a family and simply a wonderful place to belong.
Be safe and keep connected.
John Jankowski
Brotherhood President
brotherhood@bethelhebrew.org

WRJ News
WRJ Shabbat and Spring Events:
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to upend our
plans, WRJ is trying to adapt. Our WRJ Shabbat and
Spring Raffle, scheduled for May 8, have been postponed indefinitely as a result of the Covid-19 social distancing requirements. Our Woman of the Year, Jeanette
Astrow, will be honored when it is possible. Meanwhile,
continue to congratulate her as she is a stellar Woman of
the Year.
The WRJ Board will have board training via Zoom
with WRJ National Representative fredi Bleeker Franks
on Thursday, May 7 at 7 pm. Her schedule permitting,
fredi will visit us in person when travel is possible, to
participate in our Woman of the Year celebration and
Shabbat educational events.
WRJ Study Buddy Initiative:
WRJ hopes to launch a Study Buddy project to help
congregants with school-age kids who need a study buddy, to take some of the pressure off parents who are
working from home and/or otherwise could use the help
of another adult in this time of unremitting 24/7 childcare. WRJ has put together a survey to identify prospective volunteers and determine whether there are enough
to make this project feasible. The survey was announced
in the April 19 Beth El weekly email, and can be accessed at https://forms.gle/M7nd3iCFCsHNSGrw5. If
there are enough volunteers, we will send a second survey to find out who would like to request Study Buddy

support. We also hope to get some volunteers who
would like to do art, music or movement, or story hours,
which could perhaps even be done with groups of kids,
and include preschoolers with parental participation.
WRJ Facebook Page:
For those looking for ways to help families affected
by the Covid-19 health crisis, we have been posting suggestions on the Beth El WRJ Facebook page, and will
continue to do so as we receive further suggestions. We
also will continue to post inspirations and other pandemic survival tips there. If you have a suggestion for mitzvah opportunities, pandemic survival tips, or inspirational messages you would like us to share, please email us
at BEHC.WRJ.President@gmail.com.
The link to the WRJ Facebook page is https://
www.facebook.com/BethElWRJ. You don’t need a Facebook account to view the WRJ Facebook page.
Carpenter’s Shelter:
Our regular stalwart volunteers for Carpenter’s Shelter continue to support this mitzvah. Our regularly
scheduled dinner is on May 25. This will be prepared by
individual members at their homes using disposable
serving pieces.
Continued on next page

Page 8

WRJ News
(Continued from page 7)
However, Carpenter’s Shelter still needs food donations.
The staff at Carpenter’s Shelter serves the food, so Jamila
Smith requests the following:
The Winter Carpenter’s Shelter and David’s Place
closed on April 13. In order to continue to serve their
residents, Covid-19 Safety Shelter for those most
vulnerable opened at the Charles Houston Rec Center, 901 Wythe Street, on Monday, April 13.
Covid-19 Safety Shelter needs help with meals for
its clients at the rec center to help with this transition.
If you can support the Safety Shelter by delivering a
meal, utilizing the same process that is currently in
place at the residential shelter, it would be greatly
appreciated.
Two additional daily volunteer opportunities have
been added on the scheduling system: Safety Shelter
Meal Delivery Lunch and Safety Shelter Meal Delivery Dinner. Both are currently listed daily, and there
are openings every day, twice daily, from now
through May 15. If you can assist, please email Jamila at jamilasmith@carpentersshelter.org, and let
her know the date, and which lunch or dinner, you
would like to cover. You can also self-schedule.
They are currently scheduling one month out.
The meal delivery process, which applies both to
the residential shelter (in the former Macy’s location
at Landmark Mall, 5701-D Duke Street) and the
Covid-19 Safety Shelter, is as follows:
 If you can volunteer to provide a meal, please be
sure to utilize the recommended robust hygiene
guidelines:
 Frequently wash your hands with soap and water
for a minimum of 20 seconds;
 If available, use gloves when prepping food;
 Disinfect your workspace prior to prepping food;
 And most importantly, opt out if you are sick.
Meal Providers:
The Meal Provider process has been adjusted to a
Meal Delivery process where groups provide the
food for staff to serve. With this in mind, the food
provided should require minimal preparation.
*** Please opt out if you are feeling sick or ill, out
of concern for your safety and that of the safety of
the Shelter residents. ***
Please provide enough food to feed between 3540 adults.
 Food delivery can be scheduled by contacting
Jamila, and should be scheduled at least an hour
in advance of the service time. Food delivered for
lunch should arrive by 11 am for a noon service
and food for dinner should arrive by 5:30 pm for a
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

6:30 pm service.
 Meal providers must not fully enter the shelter. A table will be placed in the front vestibule in advance of the food delivery. The
food items will be left on the table. Please
notify the front desk that the delivery has taken place. If no one is at the front desk, please
call (703) 548-7500 and notify staff. Staff
will then retrieve the items from the table.
 Please use disposable containers when possible, as staff cannot guarantee the return of the
items the food is brought in.
Mah Jongg
Thankfully, Dina Katz and Susan Whitman located a site to play mah jongg online at
https://realmahjongg.com/. This site allows a two-week
free membership with minimal cost per month. We
have enjoyed staying in touch with our mah jongg buddies and have all opted to identify ourselves by using
WRJ as a prefix to our names. This has allowed us to
remain in contact with one another and continue our
camaraderie. This has also allowed us to familiarize
ourselves with the new card so we’ll be up to speed
when we can play again in person.
Pat Collins and Linda Shapiro
WRJ Co-Presidents
BEHC.WRJ.President@gmail.com

W

Torah Study

E HAVE BEEN meeting via Zoom and now
require a password. Anyone interested in
joining us should email Lisa Sheldone
(lisa.sheldone@verizon.net) for the password and to be
added to our email list.
Every week, Lisa sends a message to the list about
the portion of the week with chapter and verse citations
and links to various on-line commentators. Anyone
interested will need a copy of the Torah at home.
We welcome anyone who is trying Torah study out
for the first time — Hebrew is
not required, no one gets called
on who hasn’t volunteered, and
questions are encouraged
(although there may not be an
answer). Please join us!
— Gilah Goldsmith

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Member News
Welcome New Members:
Susan and Richard Warshaw
Mazel Tov to:
Larry and Esther Browning, Howard Cohen and Lucy
Civitello, Cecil Key and Amy Zucker, and Bruce and
Susan Wartel who are having special anniversaries in
May
Carol Schrier-Polak, Dorian Schramm, Diane DeMaio,
Jerome Liess, Lisa Miller, Myra Wendel Roney, and
Betty Goldman who are having special birthdays in May
Condolences to:
Children Aaron (Elise) and Leah (Rob) and grandchildren Elana, Jonah, and Gabriel Margosis on the death of
beloved father, grandfather, and Beth El member Michel
Margosis
Marvin Cetron, children Adam and Kimberley and Edward and Kathy, and grandchildren Gabriel and Justin on
the death of beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, and
Beth El member Gloria Cetron
Mark and Sheila Thalhimer, and EllenThalhimer, and
Jacob and Melanie Thalhimer, on the death of beloved
father and grandfather, and Beth El member Jack
Thalhimer

Page 9

WRJ Book Club
Spring 2020 Schedule
June 9*: Spies of No Country by Matti Friedman
The WRJ Book Club has been in existence for more
than 20 years and is, I believe, a cultural benefit to the
congregation. We try to choose and read the best in Jewish-themed literature!
— Rita DiTrani
* If current Virginia stay-athome order end-date of June
10 changes to be sooner.

SAVE THE DATE!
MAJYK IS COMING!
Dec. 18-20
Beth El is proud to announce that we will be hosting the
NFTY MAR MAJYK event for
sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.
Mark your calendars now! We will need everyone’s
help to house and host these teens!
Watch for details!

I

Save the Date: Musician In Residence Weekend

’M VERY EXCITED to announce that next year we will be inviting singer-songwriter Elana
Arian to join us as a musical scholar in residence from Jan. 29 through Jan. 31, 2021. Elana
is a long time friend and colleague and is one of the most prominent Jewish musicians of our
time. We are delighted she will join us for an entire weekend of music. Please mark your calendars for the following dates. More information to follow.


Friday Jan. 29, 2021, 7:30 pm
Soul Shabbat Services with Elana Arian, Cantor Kaufman and the Soul Shabbat Band



Saturday Jan. 30, 2021, 7 pm
Cantor’s Concert, with Cantor Jason Kaufman, Elana Arian, and Eric Schobrick — tickets go
on sale later this year



Sunday Jan. 31, 2021, 11 am
Religious School concert for students and their families led by Elana Arian

— Cantor Kaufman

Page 10

Caring Community
Committee

T

HE CARING COMMUNITY Committee is very
concerned about Beth El congregants at this difficult time. Although we are not in a position to
offer meals or rides, we can lend you a friendly ear and
offer you some information on where to find various
kinds of help. We are particularly interested in hearing
from congregants who are ill or having a difficult time
coping with this crisis and would like someone to talk
with. If you know of a member who might like our services or if you have ideas how we might help, please call
Ruth Perlstein at 703-978-9341.
Meanwhile, Caring Community members distributed
30 Purim holiday bags to members who are homebound.
Since we were unable to deliver Passover bags during
the COVID-19 crisis, we sent cards and committee
members made calls.
Julie Mueller and Ruth Perlstein offer an on-line
live support session to members who have experienced a
loss. If you would like to be included in such a meeting,
please contact Ruth.

We are looking forward to our
19th Annual Book Sale in January
2021
Now is a great time to go through your book
shelves and put aside the books you no longer
want for this very popular fund raiser.
Once Beth El is open and functioning on a
normal schedule, bring your books to the
building. If you need help, just let us know
and we will pick them up. In the fall we will
be asking for volunteers to help with this gigantic fund raiser.
Questions or need help? Contact
Rhoda Goldman at lennieg@cox.net
or 703-992-9370

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

F

OR MANY, mid-March was the beginning of dramatic changes in how we work and live. At that
time, the City of Alexandria contacted ALIVE! to
see what we (we, because Beth El is a member congregation — this is our work) could do to help feed Alexandria’s school children who wouldn’t be receiving breakfast and lunch five days a week. ALIVE! went into action, and food for students and families was distributed
throughout the city.
Two weeks later, ALIVE! had to revamp its last Saturday food distribution. Rather than being a monthly
event, it became a weekly truck-to-trunk distribution of a
week’s worth of food. At the site in Arlandria, ALIVE!
usually serves 120 families. On March 28, it served close
to 500 families.
At Beth El, we could not have our annual Tzedakah
Tzunday — the day when ALIVE! was to receive the
tzedakah brought in by Religious School students and
congregants. ALIVE! needs our tzedakah now more than
ever. Please consider going to www.alive-inc.org to
make an online donation to support the important work
ALIVE! does.
For more information about ALIVE! go to
www.alive-inc.org or contact Deborah Schaffer at
schaffer4@gail.com.

College Communications
Committee Update

D

UE TO THE return home of our college students, the College Committee did not send its
final 2019-2020 school year Passover package.
The Committee looks forward to a resumption of normal
life this fall, beginning with sending Rosh Hashanah
packages to our college students. As a reminder, the
Beth El College Committee keeps in touch with our congregation’s college students by mailing them small care
packages and notes during the school year. We will have
reminders over the summer to send student names and
addresses to the Committee chair for the Committee
mailing list.
Sue Meisner
Chair, College Committee

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 11

Chapel in the Woods
While You Were Away...

B

Y APRIL 11, the following
native trees and perennials had
bloomed in the Chapel in the
Woods, among others. If you would
like to join the congregants working
to preserve Beth El’s two-acre forest,
please write Stuart and Nancy Davis,
nmdaviswriter@aol.com. They will
assign time slots so you can garden
while preserving social distance.

Green and gold,
Chrysogonum
virginianum

Eastern Redbud,
Cercis canadensis

Celandine poppy,
Stylophorumdiphyllum

Golden ragwort,
Packera aurea

Virginia bluebells,
Mertensia
Virginica

Carolina jessamine,
Gelsemium sempervirens

Jacob’s ladder,
Polemonium
caeruleum

Foamflower,
Tiarella cordifolia

Come join us for the Annual Meeting of the
Beth El Permanent Endowment Fund

T

Sunday, June 14, 2020, 10 am to noon
Seminar Room
HE TRUSTEES OF the Permanent Endowment Fund — Dana Arnold (Chair), Jeremy Flachs (Secretary),
Ernie Levy, Janet Garber, Dorrit Lowsen, Michael Bluestein (Treasurer), and Daniel Rothschild — welcome
you to the annual meeting.

Trustee terms are ending for Daniel Rothschild and Michael Bluestein, who have been nominated for additional 3-year
terms.
Any voting member may petition for an alternate slate of nominees directly to the secretary, Jeremy Flachs,
jeremy.flachs@flachslaw.com, 20 days prior to the meeting, and notice of the alternative nominees will be provided to
the membership by the secretary at least 10 days prior to the meeting.
The Trustees look forward to meeting with you to discuss the Endowment Fund’s progress and to elect the new trustees.
We have a lot of exciting things to discuss with you.

Page 12

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 13

Page 14

Heller High Final Report

H

ELLO BETH EL! I’m Kate Schneider of the
Heller High Five. I’ve been home for a little
while now, unfortunately, and so I’ve really had
time to think about the last few weeks at Heller High.
A few days after we went to Masada and the Dead
Sea, which were both really cool, we went on a tiyul
(field trip) that ended up being one of my favorites,
purely because of the fact that my class had really interesting discussions: the Christianity tiyul. We went to this
Christian touristy town right below us where John the
Baptist was supposedly baptized. It was an absolutely
beautiful day to sit outside in the garden and just learn
and ask questions. The next Sunday, we went a little
further north to learn about the Bar Kochva revolt and to
climb through some caves that the Jewish people hid in
for years to hide from the Romans. At times like these,
when we went into caves, my Jewish history teacher,
Talia, made us turn off all of our flashlights for a minute
and we would sing a song in the total darkness of the
cave. And the next day, the families started arriving for
the parents’ trip.
A couple of days after they arrived, we left early in
the morning to drive a few hours north to learn about
oral law. We visited the burial caves of a couple of famous rabbis and saw the beautiful red flowers that grow
all over Israel during the spring. Then at lunchtime, we
drove to this gorgeous hot spring where they had pizza
ovens set up for us to make our lunch and we got to go
swimming. After that we went to a synagogue with a
beautiful mosaic floor from hundreds of years ago, and
at the end of that we all got in a circle, students and parents, and had a short service. It was really nice to just
stop for a few moments and sing together as a group.
One of the things I loved most about my time at Heller High was the people. Most of the people there were
amazing, and even if I didn’t get along with everyone
individually, I loved the unity of the group when we all
came together. I made some of my best friends there and
it is an experience I will never forget.

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

H

ELLO BETH EL! My name is Samara Tanner,
and I’m the last of the Heller High Five to write to
you all about our semester in Israel. As you probably have heard, we have unfortunately returned home due
to the impending threat of the coronavirus and its effect
worldwide. It’s so hard to write and express what I and my
friends from Israel are feeling as our departure was so sudden. In early to mid-February, before the rest of the world
truly understood how serious the virus was, everything for
us was normal. We had tiyulim (field trips) approximately
three times a week, and had typical in-person classes, services, and meals, as usual. Although the virus was slowly
spreading to other countries, it seemed as if we were going
to be okay.
Our principal, Rabbi Loren Sykes, would talk to us almost daily during Zman Kvutza, our evening program,
about how we needed to practice personal hygiene, wash
our hands, etc. We took it as seriously as we could, but our
daily “Corona Updates” were never too serious, and we
would end up laughing as usual by the end of our program.
It wasn’t until the end of February when the Heller High
administration brought us all together to tell us that our trip
to Poland had been cancelled that things started to get serious. When they broke the news, it was received with a multitude of reactions, ranging from tears to disappointment,
distress, and anxiety. At that moment, I think some of us
understood the very real possibility of us needing to go
home. Of course, people asked questions about the possibility of us having to leave, but there were really no answers at that point. It seemed to me (and many of the parents who had emailed Rabbi Loren and the rest of the staff)
that we were safer on Kibbutz Tzuba than we would be if
we would have to travel back to the US on a plane, especially since the virus was picking up speed in the States.
The following days are kind of fuzzy. As the virus
spread and answers became less clear, it’s hard to remember the exact timeline of events. I remember that the next

(continued on next page)

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 15

Heller High Final Report
(continued)
week was the Parent Pilgrimage, and even though my family was not able to come, one of my best friends, Ilana, and
I were graciously “adopted” by our close friend, Hannah,
and her family. We had a few nights out where we got to
explore Jerusalem and the German Quarter — we had a
lovely dinner there, followed by dessert at the Waffle Cafe.
Hannah’s family also came with us to Ben Yehuda Street
the following evening, which is a popular street for tourists
and locals alike to eat and shop; we had another wonderful
dinner there. A few days after the parents left, Israel closed
its borders to foreigners and any Israeli who came back to
the country was required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The parents were very lucky to leave when they did, because things became very hectic in both the US and Israel
as soon as they left us.
That weekend, Ilana invited me to spend the weekend
with her grandmother, who lives 30 minutes away from
Tzuba, so we left on a Thursday night and stayed with
Granny Rose through Shabbat on Saturday evening. That
whole weekend was an adventure, as Ilana’s grandmother
is Orthodox and shomer shabbat (meaning she keeps Shabbat — i.e., no driving, using a hot plate to heat things up,
no cooking, etc.). Neither of us had any idea what to expect
and ended up going to three different Orthodox synagogues. (I could write a whole other essay on that experience, so feel free to ask me questions about that!) It was a
very unusual weekend and Ilana and I were so happy to be
back at Tzuba on Saturday evening.
I had a lot of homework that I needed to do for class the
next day but I needed to get out and spend a fun evening
with my friends so I skipped my homework and went for
an evening out to Ben Yehuda Street with a group of students. It was much needed but I ended up not sleeping that
night as I wanted to watch my home high school’s girls
basketball state semifinals game. My dad and sister were
there in person, so I Facetimed them at three in the morning on Sunday and sat on our porch to watch so I wouldn’t
wake up my roommates. I’m super happy I did that, because little did I know that the time for experiences like
that was running out.
That week, we had a tiyul to Tzfat to learn about Jewish
mysticism. I really wanted to enjoy that tiyul (looking back,
especially since it was our last one, although I didn’t know
it at the time), because my dad had told me that it was one
of his favorite places that he visited when he studied
abroad in Israel in high school. Although it was fun to learn
and be off Tzuba, it started raining really hard right when
we got to Tzfat, so we had to make a last minute adjustment and have Jewish history in cave classrooms that could
be rented out. It was really cool, albeit tight, but I didn’t
have the eye-opening experience that I wanted to have
while in Tzfat.
Later that week, the Israeli government declared that no
more than 100 people could be gathered in a space for any
reason. Though for the time being our program was ok, this
definitely changed the experience on the kibbutz. Instead of
having meals with all of the kibbutz members in the chadar
ochel (dining hall), we now had divided lunch times. The

staff in the chadar took out chairs so that there were fewer
than 100 available to be used as seats and we had to sit far
apart from each other. It was unusual, but from what my
parents and friends back home were telling me, it was nowhere near as bad as things were in the US, especially
since Israel had a very low number of cases of corona and
its borders had already been closed for quite some time.
Our field trip on Sunday to the Israel Museum was cancelled. It was disappointing but we had already been there
once for another tiyul, so I was willing to sacrifice it. We
had two or three meals while the 100-person minimum was
in place, but then everything changed. Heller High students
who had friends on other semester abroad programs in Israel were being sent home. Alexander Muss High School in
Israel, a similarly-styled program to ours, chartered a flight
so their students could be sent home the next day. Rabbi
Loren had a meeting with us and explained that for the time
being we were okay, as HSI’s situation varied greatly from
ours; they were in Tel Aviv, a big city, whereas we were in
the suburbs of Jerusalem. They were also on an open campus with Israelis and other programs, whereas we were on a
kibbutz with just us and the kibbutz members. It seemed
like we might have been able to carry on, especially considering how bad things were getting in the States and the
risks that would need to be taken in order to send us home.
I remember when everything started to collapse. On
Saturday, March 14, there were 11 girls in the back of one
of our rooms, all gathered around a computer, entranced,
while watching Little Women. I had never seen it before,
and I was especially engrossed. No Heller High students
were on their phones, until, at one point, everyone’s phone
started buzzing. Our group chat with all of the students on
our semester was blowing up. Israel had just released a new
regulation declaring that no more than 10 people could be
in a group or room together — the minimum required to
create a minyan. All of a sudden, we literally started
screaming. The 11 of us were jumping up and down, on our
phones, reading the news, and calling our families, seeing
if there was any new information released. At one point,
someone called our madricha, Barr, who picked up and
told us the staff were in a meeting. Then instant chaos ensued. Nothing was official yet, but we all pretty much
knew that we would have to go home. We ran outside and
all of the students were running around, screaming, crying,
and hugging each other. Eventually, after an hour of
screaming and panic among the students, DSol (David Solomon, our Director of Academics), ran out and scolded us
for being so loud at 10 pm and then proceeded to tell us as
much as he knew. I don’t remember exactly what he said as
all I could feel was numbness, but I remember holding onto
two people’s hands and wanting to cry. He told us that he
wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but the likelihood is
that we were going to have to leave, although they were
going to spend the whole night figuring it out. It felt like a
blow to everything I’ve been working towards for the past

(continued on next page)

Page 16

Heller High Final Report
(continued)
two years. Our madrichim made us have early rooms that
night, so we were all sent to our rooms for the remainder of
the evening and left to sit in our feelings amongst our
roommates. It was awful. My roommates sat on my bed
and we spent the whole night talking, spilling tea, and crying and consoling each other. I told them about how I was
feeling and my experience thus far, and they told me theirs.
It was the nicest way to bond, albeit among the worst of
circumstances. Later that night, I remembered that my
NFTY region was having a Zoom havdalah service and
decided to join on my computer. The havdalah service was
the first way I really connected to Judaism and to NFTY
and Israel as whole, so to sit on my bed with my roommates and sing and listen and cry together was such a
blessing in disguise. Our madricha, Barr, was an advisor
for my region, so when she came in for lights out, she actually ended up staying and watching and talking everything
out with us until one in the morning, which made me feel a
little bit better, even though it was hard to smile.
On Sunday, they told us that our classes were cancelled
for the day. It felt like everything was coming to an end,
though we had no confirmation of it yet. We spent the
morning watching the boys play a five vs. five basketball
game that they had been planning since the beginning of
the semester. I kept score and was so happy the entire time;
I loved watching my friends make fools out of themselves
(none of them could play basketball!) and felt so in my
element — basketball back home was one of the things I
missed the most. It felt like a normal weekend at Tzuba,
which seemed impossible given the circumstances. We had
lunch in time slots by groups of 10, because we couldn’t all
be in the chadar at once. While that was happening, we got
a message in our group chat: we would be having a meeting with the staff at 2:15 that afternoon. We all knew that
they were going to tell us that we were leaving and it was
heartbreaking. What was even worse is that it was confirmed before they even told us. One of my closest friends
on the trip, Guy, spoke Hebrew, and overheard a conversation between the kibbutz staff about how we were leaving.
They told him that we were leaving Monday night and I
felt helpless. When Rabbi Loren told us outside the zula at
2:15, we all expected it, but it didn’t hurt any less. We all
started crying and hugging. It was the saddest thing I’ve
ever experienced. We had to pack up our things that afternoon. I didn’t want to move; all I wanted to do was cry, but
I couldn’t make any tears come. The madrichim worked
really hard to make that last night special for us. We had
our last Zman Kvutza with our bus group which was really
emotional. I walked into the zula and heard the soft Israeli
music playing and immediately started bawling. Finally.
There were chairs set up in a circle and posters around the
room with heart-wrenching questions to answer: “What did
you never get to experience? What is one thing you wish
you had said to someone, but didn’t?” I could not stop sobbing. I was so sad, yet so fulfilled at the same time. Everyone knew how much I needed to cry, and to finally do so
with everyone around me was freeing. I was surrounded by
the people on my bus, the 49 people who made up one-half
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

of my family, and in that moment I was sad, but I was also
so grateful. We ended that night with a hastily thrown together banquet/dance party where we all dressed up in
whatever nice clothes weren’t packed and danced everything out. Everyone was so emotional but somehow we
made it a night full of good memories. After our dance party, we had 30 minutes to change into comfy clothes and our
madrichim led us to somewhere on the kibbutz we had never been before. Past the entrance to Tzuba, past the amusement park and the chocolate factory, there was a little path
right by where I would run after class most days. Our
madrichim had lined it with candles, leading to a fire pit.
We sat around and sang with a guitar until close to two in
the morning.
I went to bed that night at four in the morning and woke
up around five to go watch the sunrise atop Tel Tzuba, an
ancient Crusader fortress about a 15 minute walk along a
path from Tzuba. I woke up a few of my friends and we
climbed early in the morning to the top. Though my friends
were fearful, I was full of adrenaline, yet calm and peaceful. The day prior, when everything happened, two of our
madrichim took us to Tel Tzuba as a makeshift yam l’yam they told us that although we never got to do our sea-to-sea
hike, we could still hike across Tzuba. They took us to Tel
Tzuba and we meditated on the ancient grounds, looking
out across the land of Israel. Although both times I went, I
wasn’t really supposed to be there (technically, climbing all
the way up Tel Tzuba is not allowed), it was a little
memory that I made in Israel that I treasure dearly.
We spent our last day with services, a Bat Mitzvah, saying goodbye to our Jewish history teachers, packing, and
crying. I felt numb leaving Tzuba, my home for the past
one and half months, and even emptier as we made our
way to the airport and left the Land of Israel. After waiting
through the longest line to drop off our baggage (it was a
line of only Jewish American teenagers returning from yeshiva, seminary, or programs similar to ours - they had
chartered a flight for us), we gathered in a group for the last
time and sang Hatikvah, a tradition at Heller High banquets, although this time, we did it in the middle of Ben
Gurion Airport. We said goodbye to the staff and our beloved madrichim who were the most incredible people, and
made our way to the terminal.
Being home feels surreal. The first few days felt impossible. I didn’t want to do anything, and definitely did not
want to talk to my friends from home. The only people I
wanted to be with were my friends from Israel. The hardest
part of being home is not being able to visit them. If we
were to have stayed the full semester, I would’ve come
home, and then immediately taken a train up to New Jersey
where a large number of my Heller High friends live. Quarantine simply does not allow that to happen and I don’t
know when, or even if, I will see my best friends again.
Thankfully, we have started Zoom classes which gives

(continued on next page)

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 17

Heller High Final Report
(continued)
a little structure to my day. I have all my general studies
classes on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday,
and then Jewish history Thursday and Friday. Because our
general studies classes must be completed for next year, we
don’t get half as much Jewish history as we would have
back in Israel. For me, that’s one of the hardest parts. I was
the resident Jewish history nerd on our program; it was my
favorite class, and I had the greatest teacher in the world.
That class provided me with the most interesting outlook
on life, and it’s so hard that I can’t experience that again.
It’s definitely hit me that I am home again. As of writing this, it’s been around three and a half weeks since we
left Israel. Zoom classes keep me busy, and I feel as if I’m
still learning which is a good thing. Our wonderful
madrichim planned a calendar with daily activities for us
all to do together; we have virtual Zman Kvutza twice a
week, plus Zumba on Zoom, cooking, games, and a whole
host of other Zoom activities planned through May. All 92
of us are still together, even though we are not in person.
Though our semester got cut short, I am so grateful for the

experiences I had, and continue to have, even though some
of them may be virtual. There are no words to describe
how much I miss my friends, but thanks to technology, we
are all in this together. I have their backs and I know they
have mine.
As for going back, it’s a possibility. At this point, nobody knows if there will be a fall 2020 semester, or even a
spring 2021 semester. I am 100 percent interested in going
back — so are a majority of our semester’s participants; the
question is when — and at this point, we don’t know. Personally, I connected to Judaism and Israel in a way that I’d
never have imagined, but a part of it feels incomplete. Going back to the Heller High program would allow me to fill
that gap and meet even more incredible people who would
change my life. Regardless of whether or not I decide to
return to the Heller High program, I know for a fact that I’ll
be back in Israel someday, be it on Birthright, a gap year,
March of the Living, or if I even decide to live there or join
the army, Israel will always be there to welcome me home.

The Congregation Gratefully Acknowledges the Following Donations
ARNOLD G. FINK LEARNING CENTER
Donor
In Celebration of
Arlene & Jack Rephan and Family ................................ Marvin Burstein’s 95th Birthday
Donor
In Memory of
Arlene, Jack, Amy, & Clark Rephan ............................................................. Lois Gordon
Janice & Steven Schlesinger................................................................... Robet Walitsky
BETH EL GENERAL FUND
Donor
In Honor of
Sara & Seymour Sohmer...........................................................................Rabbi Spinrad
Donor
In Memory of
Judy Stark .................................................................................................. Hannah Stark
Carolyn Miller & Henry Brooks .................................................................... Eunice Miller
William Kramer ...................................................................................... Shirley Fishbach
CANTOR’S DISCRETIONARY FUND
Donor
Adam Berger & Stephen Frank
Donor
In Honor of
Tovah Ravitz-Meehan & Michael Meehan ............................................ Cantor Kaufman
CHAPEL IN THE WOODS
Donor
In Celebration of
Annette Kilian....................................................The marriage of Cantor Jason Kaufman
and Kirk McPike
MARC ROSS SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Donor
In Celebration of
Lynne & Allan Somoroff ..................................................................... The Bar Mitzvah of
Karen Abramson’s grandson

PERMANENT ENDOWMENT FUND
Donor
For the Recovery of
Barbara Mintz ............................................................................................... Harold Mintz
Donor
In Memory of
Annette Kilian ............................................ Joseph & Rebecca Love, Lillian Lindenberg,
And Reva Rack
Ken Berger ............................................................................................. Lynn Gessaman
Lucy Civitello & Howard Cohen ............................................................ Theresa Civitello
Dawn Marie’s Visage LLC ............................................................................Lois Gordon
RABBI’S GOOD DEED FUND
Donor
In Appreciation of
Caring Community Committee .................................. Caring Community On-Call Group
Donor
In Celebration of
Brian Goldstein ........................................................ Rabbi Bailey Romano’s installation
Donor
In Memory of
Rosalie & Monroe Lesser ..................................................... Jack Lesser, Rachel Fried,
Israel Fried, and Asher Fried
Leona & Doug Johnson .................................................................................Joseph Keil
Candace Goldblatt ............................................................................. Seymour Goldblatt
Myra Wendel Roney .....................................................................................Lois Gordon
Barbara Mintz ................................................................................................Martin Mintz
RELIGIOUS SCHOOL FUND
Donor
In Memory of
Stacy, Mark, Samantha and Alexa Weiner ..................................... Charlotte Goldsmith
SOCIAL ACTION FUND
Donor
In Appreciation of
Religious School Tzedakah ...................................................................................... ORT

RABBI ISSEROW PLAYGROUND FUND
Donor
In Memory of
Charlotte Strauss ......................................................................... Reva & Arthur Strauss

Thank you for your generous donations. No donation is too small. All donations are acknowledged in The Bulletin two months following their receipt. Acknowledgements are mailed with a minimum of $18 per person per
acknowledgement.

Page 18

Community Resources
Organiza on Name 
  
NOVA Resources 

Resource(s) 

How to Access 

INOVA, including
INOVA Cares Clinics

Latest COVID‐19 informa on. The INOVA Cares
Clinics provide care for the uninsured, underin‐
sured, and Medicaid pa ents, including assis‐
tance with applying for Medicaid and charity
care. The INOVA Cares clinics also schedule
h ps://www.inova.org/pa ent‐and‐visitor‐informa on/covid‐19‐advisory
pa ents, regardless of ability to pay, for a tele‐
phonic COVID‐19 screening with a healthcare
provider where clinically
appropriate.

INOVA Urgent Care Loca ons

Respiratory Illness Clinics and COVID‐19 tes ng h ps://www.inova.org/loca ons/inova‐urgent‐care/respiratory‐clinics

Fairfax County Schools

Food pick up for families in need

h ps://www.fcps.edu/news/coronavirus‐update‐food‐resources

Fairfax County Health Dept.

Fairfax County Health Dept. coronavirus page

h ps://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/health/novel‐coronavirus

Fairfax County

Health care op ons for the uninsured

h ps:// nyurl.com/tper2tw

Financial Empowerment
Center at South County
(Fairfax County)

Financial counseling

h ps://soco.financialempowermentcenters.org/
Call 703‐704‐6101 or email info@fecsoco.org

Alexandria Dept. of Health

Resources for the uninsured: iden fies which
providers are accep ng new pa ents, provide
COVID‐19 screening, or provide COVID‐19
tes ng.

h ps:// nyurl.com/s52ou9s

Senior Services of
Alexandria

Senior Services' programs con nuing during the
COVID‐19 outbreak, including Meals on Wheels,
h ps:// nyurl.com/st93wg9
Groceries to Go, and DOT Paratransit. Includes
phone numbers for each program.

DMV Resources  

Jewish Social Services Agency

Provides professional non‐sectarian mental
health, home health and social services, includ‐
ing individual and family therapy for children,
adolescents, adults and elders; ADHD clinic for
adults and children; voca onal services; educa‐
h ps:// nyurl.com/s52ou9s
onal and psychological tes ng; services for
individuals with disabili es and their families; in
‐home support services for frail elders; hospice
care for adults and children; adop on services.
Web page has COVID‐19‐specific resources.

United Way of the Na onal
Capitol Area

United Way is leading the Coronavirus Re‐
sponse Hotline (757‐858‐7777) to provide non‐
medical assistance; connec ng clients to availa‐
ble resources using the Unite Us care coordina‐ h ps://unitedwaynca.org
on pla orm; administering the Coronavirus
Recovery Fund to raise funds to support recov‐
ery efforts.

D. C. Safe

24/7 crisis interven on for domes c abuse;
includes a shelter

h ps://dcsafe.org

D. C. Central Kitchen

Takeaway meals, especially for students

h ps://dccentralkitchen.org

Martha’s Table

Delivers digital educa onal content to families,
along with access to diapers, formula, wipes,
and grocery gi cards. Partnering with local
h ps://marthastable.org
schools and the Capital Area Food Bank to pro‐
vide students groceries

Community resources continued on next page
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 19

Community Resources
Organiza on Name 

Resource(s) 

How to Access 

Virginia Dept. of Health

Most recent COVID‐19 informa on from
the Virginia Dept. of Health

h p://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/

Virginia Dept. of Social Services

Virginia DSS benefits page

h ps://www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/

Virginia Dept. of Social Services

Medical assistance programs, including
Medicaid and Medicare

h ps://www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/medical_assistance/

Virginia Employment Commission

Informa on and filing for unemployment
insurance benefits

h p://www.vec.virginia.gov/

Virginia Resources 

National Resources
  
Organiza on Name 
Na onal Resources 
Centers for Disease Control and
Preven on (CDC)

Resource(s) 

How to Access 

Comprehensive medical informa on and
resources

h ps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019‐ncov/index.html

CDC

Info on keeping kids safe while at home
from school

h ps:// nyurl.com/r48vh7x

CDC

Managing stress and coping

h ps:// nyurl.com/tcjcvj4

Behavioral health resources, including a
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
treatment locator, and the Disaster Dis‐
Services Administra on
tress Helpline, 1‐800‐985‐5990

h ps://www.samhsa.gov/disaster‐preparedness

1‐800‐799‐7233
Na onal Domes c Violence Hotline Informa on on staying safe from domes c h ps://www.thehotline.org/
abuse during the COVID‐19 outbreak
Federal Employee Educa on and
Assistance Fund (FEEA)

Coronavirus Resources for Feds
(federal employees)

U.S. Small Business Administra on

Virginia businesses and nonprofits impact‐
ed by COVID‐19 are now eligible to make
h ps://disasterloan.sba.gov
online applica ons to the SBA for the Eco‐
nomic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL)

h ps://feea.org/coronavirus/

Other Resources 
Psychology Tools Limited

Living with worry and anxiety amidst global
h ps:// nyurl.com/t3jx7y3
uncertainty

Consumer Reports

Coronavirus Resource Hub

h ps:// nyurl.com/sq228za

Left: Rabbi Spinrad picks up the Torah from one
week’s B’nai Mitzvah to get it ready for the next
week’s family. Above: Quinn Coughlin, Beth El’s
first online Bar Mitzvah

Mia Escandarini receives the Torah
for her Bat Mitzvah

Beth El is still going strong, because Beth El is more than a building: Beth El is people!

Page 20

Jewish Resources
Organiza on Name 

Resource(s) 

How to Access 

Union for Reform Judaism

Virtual Gatherings and Programs

h ps://reformjudaism.org/virtual‐seders‐gatherings‐and‐programs

Union for Reform Judaism

25 Jewish Things to Do Under Quaran ne

h ps:// nyurl.com/t822l9n

Union for Reform Judaism

COVID‐19: Judaism Under Quaran ne

h ps://reformjudaism.org/jewish‐life/covid‐19‐judaism‐under‐quaran ne

Union for Reform Judaism 

Learn Something New
TED Talks on many different topics; highlight: What if a single human right could
change the world?

Have Some Fun
Yome has hundreds of free yoga videos for
people who already know the basic poses;
highlight: Gentle Yoga for Hips and Back

ted.com

yogameditationhome.com

TED Educational Videos for all ages; highlight: The Art Forger Who Tricked the Nazis

Tour Space Center Houston; highlight: astronaut selfie filters
spacecenter.org/app/

ed.ted.com
Free Management Library to upgrade your
business skills; highlight:
Volunteer Management

Watch Broadway performances with a free
trial; highlight: Sir Patrick Stewart in Macbeth

managementhelp.org

broadwayhd.com

Live up to your potential and live life to the
fullest with these life tips; highlight: 8 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship That Will
Lead to Success

Every Sunday beginning at 11 a.m., Rockefeller Center offers live performances on its
social media channels, and lots of other classes and events too.

lifehack.org

https://www.rockefellercenter.com/whatshappening/upcoming/

Access 2500+ Online Courses from 140 Top
Institutions; highlight: Introduction to Animal Ethics

Learn magic tricks, apparently including
levitation!

edx.org

goodtricks.net

Learn a language for free; highlight: 834,000
people are studying Hebrew

Spend hours ranking the things that you love;
highlight: The Funniest People of All Time

duolingo.com

Ranker.com

Find what fascinates you at SkillShare; highlight: Learn PhotoShop
skillshare.com
Learn to play the guitar at Justin Guitar;
highlight:1,000 free lessons
justinguitar.com
Learn about investing with
Investopedia; highlight: Compete risk-free
with $100,000 in virtual cash
investopedia.com
Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Read funny Amazon product reviews.
Google “funny Amazon product reviews.”
Google.com
Use free service Family search to learn about
your genealogy.
familysearch.org/en/
Play some new games. Highlight: challenge
the Bulletin editor to Words with Friends!
pogo.com
king.com

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 21

Navigating the Virtual Beth El
Facebook Live

Zoom

You do NOT need a Facebook account to attend these
sessions. If you get to a screen where Facebook insists
you log in or create an account, you went awry somewhere. Only the host needs an account.

You do NOT need a Zoom account to attend these sessions. If you get to a screen where Zoom insists you log
in or create an account, you went awry somewhere. Only
the host needs an account.

You get to Beth El Facebook Live events by going to the
Beth El Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/BethElHebrew/

You get to Zoom events by a link Beth El must provide
you. Every Zoom event has a unique link. Some Zoom
events have a password. The host must provide the password to you for each session, either by embedding it in
the link, as with the Wednesday Beth El noon chat sessions, or by providing it on request, as with Torah Study.

and clicking on

to the left of the page.

You cannot dial in on a telephone. You must listen to
the meeting on your device. Make sure the sound on
your device is on, and that it’s loud enough. If you see a
symbol like this
, it means the sound is turned off in
the software/Facebook. Click the symbol to turn it on.
Nobody can see you. It doesn’t matter if you have a
camera or not. Facebook pushes the stream out to you, it
does not pull anything from your computer. Your personal data is not at risk.
Sometimes, such as during Shabbat services, you can see
who else has joined in and communicate with them
through a chat window. How this works varies depending on your computer set-up, but on mine it only works
if I go into full screen mode by clicking on
at the
bottom right of the video window. If the chat symbol is
blocked like this
, I cannot see who is on with me
and I cannot post messages. If the chat symbol is open
like this
, I can click on it and type in short messages that any host or participant can see.
Because so many people are using Facebook Live these
days, and because services often have multiple hosts and
lots of viewers, sometimes Facebook will get hung up/
stuck. Just close either Facebook or your browser and
come back in to rejoin the session.
These are sessions where only the host(s) may speak and
be heard. They are not open, participative fora. Therefore, there is no risk of external disruption by people
shouting or showing inappropriate images.

Some events allow telephone dial-in as an option rather
than computer sound. This was true, for example, for the
Adult Ed offering Israel’s Milestones and Meanings.
The host has to provide you with the dial-in information;
it will change from meeting to meeting just like the link
will. For most events, however, you must listen to the
meeting on your device. Make sure the sound on your
device is on, and that it’s loud enough. If you see a symbol like this
, it means the sound is turned off in the
software. Click the symbol to turn it on.
Unless the host changes this, most Zoom meetings show
all the participants (who have cameras) on the screen for
everybody to see. Usually the person talking is centerscreen and large and everybody else is teeny and around
the edges. The host can mute everybody, however, and
then the host stays center-screen. You can still join any
Zoom session without a camera and people will not see
you. (The Bulletin editor often unplugs her camera,
which is not built in to her PC, if she is not ready for
public consumption.) Even though your image is going
out to the Zoom event, your personal data is not at risk.
Because so many people are using Zoom these days, and
because services often have multiple hosts and lots of
viewers, sometimes Zoom will get hung up/stuck. Just
close either Zoom or your browser and come back in to
rejoin the session.
When the host sets up the session to be an open, participative forum, there is risk of external disruption by people shouting or saying inappropriate/offensive things or
replacing the image from their camera with inappropriate images. This is now known as zoom-bombing. Zoom
is working on tools to help us prevent this.

Really bored? Love word games? The Bulletin editor will play Words with Friends, Ruzzle, Scrabble, or Scrabble Go
with anyone who challenges her! She cannot challenge anyone to Words with Friends, however, as it keeps telling her
she has too many games going already! If you have other word games online that you like, challenge her! Maybe our
new normal (hopefully soon) will include playing Scrabble IRL!

Page 22

Beth El/Pozez JCC

L
to:

IKE SO MANY other organizations,
Pozez JCC has moved all events to the
virtual world. Find these events by going

www.theJ.org
and clicking Virtual J in the top menu bar. Then
click the + next to Adults in the middle of the
page.

Stay safe, stay healthy, call or email
the office or lay leaders if Beth El can
assist you in any way.
We are all Beth El!

POZEZ JCC-BETH EL ECLC Registration is open
for the 2020-2021 School Year
Our Early Childhood Learning Center offers a 12-month program with part-time
and full-time options for children who will be two, three, or four years old by September 30. Our full-time toddler program accepts students from 16 to 23 months
old.
The 2020-2021 school year starts in August 2020.
The ECLC, offering a Reggio Emilia-inspired educational philosophy, is licensed
by the State of Virginia and is open to all members of the
community.
For more information or to set up a tour, please contact Director Dina Backer at 703-537-3084 or
dina.backer@theJ.org.

Beth El Bulletin May 2020

Beth El Hebrew Congregation

Page 23

Page 24

Hold the Date
Pozez JCC: ECLC Annual Exhibition,
May 18 – June 12
Pozez JCC: AARP Smart Driver Course, June 2 and 3
Ross Scholarship Award, June 5
Edlavitch JCC: Compulsion or the House Behind,
June 5-28
Last Day of Religious School, June 7

Erev Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 12

Pozez JCC: Israel Fest @ the J, June 7

Pozez JCC: Simcha Showcase, Sept. 13

Permanent Endowment Fund Annual Meeting, June 14

Federation Main Event, Postponed to Oct. 27

Edlavitch JCC: Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy,
June 11

NFTY MAR MAJYK at Beth El, Dec. 18 – 20

First Day of Religious School, Aug 30

URJ Biennial in DC, Dec. 8 – 11, 2021

Cantor’s Concert, Jan. 30, 2021

Please check the online Beth El calendar or email office@bethelhebrew.org before leaving to
attend ANY event. As we go to press, there are NO in-person events in May!

Beth El Bulletin, May 2020