Keruv Korner

Keruv Committee: Focus on HEBREW (reading it)!

It’s happening.
It’s growing slowly.
It’s a rather unique little operation occurring on Shabbat mornings in the Beth El Board Room.

It’s the opportunity, with no strings attached, no questions asked, no cost involved (naturally, it’s Shabbat!), to learn how to read Hebrew. Comfortably, at your own pace, with a mentor whose primary purpose, for approximately thirty minutes, is to make you feel more comfortable attending a Beth El religious service. To help make the Jewish siddur (prayer book) less of a stranger and more of a friend—a centuries-old friend.

Keruv  means to bring close, to draw near. And among the very earliest Keruv Committee questions was: How do we draw closer into our community those Beth El members who do not read Hebrew, this ancient and holy, but also Israeli and modern language, in which a substantial majority of every prayer service is written?

Translations are important; transliterations are a possibility. But, the committee thought, why not GO FOR IT? Why not make learning to read Hebrew, particularly for those who attend services, as easy as pie. Could we find knowledgeable, patient, cheerful mentors? Yes! Were appropriate study materials and synagogue space available? Yes! Would Rabbi Sirner allow congregants to leave during Shabbat morning services to study Hebrew? Allow it? He now regularly announces “It’s Hebrew learning time” from the bimah each week!

Beth El’s mentors use no fewer than three different Hebrew learning texts, including “Hebrew Reading Crash Course,” published by the National Jewish Outreach Program, in use across the United States and in over twenty-five countries worldwide. Here’s a secret: It is probably easier to learn to read Hebrew than English. There are fewer letters and, unlike English, almost all letters have only one sound.

Is this program ONLY for siddur reading? Absolutely not! Hebrew is Hebrew is Hebrew. We hope that what you learn in the Beth El Board Room serves you well on your first (or next) trip to Israel.

Have there been snags getting this Hebrew learning program going? Certainly! We’ve had mornings with mentors and no mentees, mentees and no mentors, materials not where they should be, and, of course, sheer forgetfulness. Will that stop us? NO!

We did take a (not so) brief hiatus through the months of March and April. (Did you miss our shiny blue “READ HEBREW? WANNA LEARN?” buttons?) However, we will be back in full force in May.

Mentor-mentee “gathering time” in the Board Room begins right after the Rabbi’s sermon. Listen for the Rabbi’s announcement each Shabbat. (And should the Rabbi forget to make the announcement, rest assured, your Hebrew mentors will nevertheless be heading to the Board Room following the sermon.) Are mentors available for tutoring outside of Shabbat service time? ABSOLUTELY! Make the mentor connection, exchange phone numbers, and keep moving forward! So, when you feel ready to try something that may have eluded you for years, risk nothing in doing so, make a new mentor-friend, and in the end, we hope, feel a whole lot more comfortable about that prayer book in your hand. Come taste what Beth El’s Limud and Keruv Committees are offering . . . free of charge.
Check Beth El Shabbat announcements for reminders, wait for the Shabbat morning bimah announcement, e-mail Joyce Wechsler at joywechsler@gmail.com for more details. Please, we invite you to…GO FOR IT!

If you are interested in furthering the work of keruv , YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US! E-mail Keruv Committee Co-Chair Elise Richman, egkr59@aol.com or Bob Sussman rbsuss@optonline.net or leave a note for them at the main office of the synagogue.

Nina Luban, Member
Keruv Committee

Wheelchairs Welcomed in the Main Sanctuary!

Beth El has removed four of the permanent seats in the sanctuary to create two dedicated spots of ample size to accommodate wheelchairs, both on the aisle in the last row of permanent seating. (The locations were chosen with safety in mind to assure ease of egress in the event of an emergency.)

These spots are currently available to anyone in need and will be reserved for wheelchairs throughout the year except during the Ten Days of Awe (the “High Holidays”) when the reconfiguring of the sanctuary and safety concerns necessitate a different area be reserved for those in wheelchairs.