This month’s featured articles: Page 2 Celebration of Jewish Life: A Jewish Spring in Poland Page 4 Early Bird Movie and Dinner May 6th Page 5 Brunch and Learn with Andy Hill “Best Ever” by Stan Schroeder Page 7 Geoffrey Chaucer’s Matzoh by Owen Delman Page 8 West Coast Pomegranate Conference by Bonnie Vorspan Page 8 JWW Annual Walk to End Genocide May 20 by Rae Wazana

Shabbat services at Temple Ner Maarav

Saturday, April 7 10:00 am Birthday Shabbat Friday, April 13 8:00 pm Saturday, April 21 10:00 am Saturday, April 28 10:00 am Anniversary Shabbat ------------------------------------------ Around the Rabbi’s Tisch Thursdays, April 19 and 26 at 7:30 pm at the Vorspans’ Our weekly discussions led by Rabbi Vorspan on Jewish wisdom and current events continues with its 5772 season. Call Rabbi at (818) 888-9917 for more information. ------------------------------------------ Celebration of Jewish Life: A Jewish Spring in Poland Sunday, April 15 at 2:00 pm at Temple Aliyah This final event in the Sturman series will present an afternoon of film and music and a conversation about the resurging interest in Jewish life and culture in contemporary Poland. Tickets are $10. Call Gladys Sturman at (818) 222-4694 for more informa-tion. See article on page 2 and flyer.

Shir Notes The Official Newsletter of Congregation Shir Ami Volume 10, Number 4, April 2012

Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

Events of the Month

Visit our website: www.shirami.com

Rabbi’s Column Elie Wiesel had a clever retort to the following question a priest asked him during a radio broadcast: “Why are you Jews so obsessed with the death of 6 million Jews more than 50 years ago?” Wiesel responded: “Why are you Christians so obsessed with the death of one man more han 2,000 years ago?” Mr. Wiesel didn’t claim the question inaccurate, only that it has to be put into perspective. We are all obsessed with death. Some deaths more so than others. During the holiday of Yom Hashoah v’Hagvurah, falling on April 19th this year, we are challenged to put the Holocaust into perspective. Are we spending too many communal dollars on building memorials, at the expense of creating programs to help build an educated Jewish community to assure our future? Do we overreact to anti-Semitic acts, fearful that another Holocaust is brewing? Is it time for us to let go? I suggest no, for at least two reasons: first, because in a few years there will be no eyewitnesses to the Holocaust left to tell their story. I am not concerned that this will buttress the claims of the revisionist historians. Rather, I am concerned that we will, without witnessing the passion and pain visibly expressed on the faces of the survivors as they relate the events of their lives, relegate the Holocaust to the same dust-bin of history wherein resides the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the pogroms. Historical tragedies for which we have only a passing interest. Second, we often forget that this holiday, established by the Knesset of Israel shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel, was not only a day to remember the Holocaust, but to remember the heroic acts of those caught up in the inferno, as well. And this we will do. We will take the time not only the mourn our losses, but to be inspired by the indomitable will and spirit of those who survived. We must do this, not because we are obsessed with death, but because we are obsessed with life, as well. Rabbi David Vorspan

Editor’s Note: For Those Who Can’t Believe Many of us have voiced our problems with believing in the traditional view of God. We have difficulty with the biblical miracles we have read since childhood and/or understanding how our all-powerful and just God gives cancer to children and a Holocaust to six million Jews. In 1994 Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis of Valley Beth Shalom wrote the book For Those Who Can’t Believe - Overcoming the Obstacles to Faith, which answers these and other perplexing questions. I had read the book. Recently, I have been attending Lunch and Learn with Rabbi Ed Feinstein at Valley Beth Shalom, where he has used the book in examining the subject. I heartily recommend it to all who ponder as I do. Stan Schroeder

President’s Report Shalom, As we prepare to celebrate Pesach, I would like to wish you all tables full of family and loved ones. May your Matzah be tasty and may all your Kneydlech be light and fluffy.And if your Maror must be bitter, may it, at least, clear out your sinuses! When we gather together to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt we must also be mindful of another “Exodus.” By now, all our members should have received a letter providing them with some information as to Shir Ami’s plans for the future. This is part of the Board’s ongoing efforts to keep our membership informed. We are looking forward to being together as a congregation for as long as we can, providing our full range of services, religious support, social functions and, of course, Around the Rabbi’s Tisch (and on the Rebbitzen’s chairs!). Until we actually move on to another site, we will continue to do just what we are doing now, reinforcing our reputation as the “Little Congregation that Can.” We will also continue to keep you informed so that when the time comes, this time we will all have time to allow the dough to rise! As always, if you have any questions or want to provide your input, please feel free to email me at JDPistol@aol.com. Thank you, Jordan Pistol, President

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Herman and Gladys Sturman Celebration of Jewish Life: A Jewish Spring in Poland Congregation Shir Ami and Temple Aliyah, in association with the Herman and Gladys Sturman Celebration of Jewish Life, present an afternoon of film and music and a conversation about the resurging interest in Jewish life and culture in contemporary Poland. The program, examining Eastern European interest in Jewish culture, takes place at Temple Aliyah Sunday, April 15, at 2 pm. Central to the program will be a conversation about Jewish cultural tourism in Poland, especially the annual Jewish Culture Festival in Cracow, the largest of its kind in Europe. The speakers will be Prof. Michael Berenbaum (Sigi Ziering Institute), Prof. Holli Levitsky (Loyola Marymount University) and Rabbi Edward Feinstein (Valley Beth Shalom). The Consul General of the Republic of Poland, Ms. Joanna Kosinska-Frybes will make welcoming remarks. A partial screening of the acclaimed film 100 Voices: A Journey Home will open the program, with comments by the film’s motivator, Cantor Nathan Lam of Stephen S. Wise Temple. The event will con- clude with a group of Yiddish songs, performed by the Bloomington, Indiana-based singer Maria Krupoves. Krupoves, a native of Lithuania, tours Europe and Israel as a performer and lecturer. She will be accompanied by pianist Neal Brostoff. The April 15 program marks the sixth and final annual event of Celebration of Jewish Life. Admission is $10. For further program and ticket information, call Clara Rosenbluth at (818) 348-1498 or Gladys Sturman at (818) 222-4694 or see the flyer with this Shir Notes.

Congregational News Get well wishes rafuah schleimah to: Phyllis Robinson Myrna Gold Norman Bressick May they be blessed with a complete recovery in body and spirit.

Our Condolences We regret to inform the congre- gational family of the passing of Jacob Meyer Paparo, brother of longtime member Esther Perez, and Mort Daniels, former member and husband of Russ Daniels. May God comfort Esther and Russ and their families during this time of their bereavement.

Mailbox Dear Congregation Shir Ami, I am so fortunate to belong to this congregation. The amazing outpouring of cards, calls, and visits in memory of my brother, Jacob Meyer Paparo, was helpful, indeed. I thank you all for your caring at this difficult time. Our congrega-tional family is the greatest. Esther Perez .

Donation Seymour Gordon Ben Bloom Phyllis and Stan Schroeder

Yahrzeits Ellen Fremed for Shirley Barsky and Sheila Frankel Esther Perez for Bertha Perez Audrey and Ed Halem for Harvey Balles Fay and Ed Schneier Rose Chaplan for Ronye Chaplan Jack Kutcher for Louis Kutcher Laurie and Ed Orens for Julius Orens Shirley Esko for Harvey Balles Fiona Taylor for Grace Konrad Carol and Irwin Koransky for Blanch Koransky Shirley Shapiro Phyllis and Stan Schroeder for Sally Schroeder Gale and Jay Cohen for Pearl Cohen Ann and Seymour Potell for Joseph Potell Alan Siebler for Herman Siebler Clara and Stan Rosenbluth for Helen Wolf Carol and Art Altshiller Betty and Harvey Cohen for Bertha Gottersman Fran and Sam Kobulnick for Rose Suckman and Reva Suckman Elaine Selznick Nancy and Lonny Scharf for Gabriel Scharf Birthdays Seymour Potell

Anniversaries Fran and Sam Kobulnick

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DONATIONS Congregation Shir Ami wishes to acknowledge the following donations:

Birthdays & Anniversaries Birthdays Joan Easley..................................... Sylvia Hockmeyer............................ Ken Bereny.................... ................. Roberta Teichman........................... Lee Dollins....................................... Carol Altshiller.................................. Marian Perlmutter............................ Jerry Zatz........................................ Pat Michaelson................................. Ed Orens......................................... Marcie Spetner................................ Betty Cohen..................................... Ellie Zatz........................................ Anniversaries None

4/5 4/5 4/10 4/15 4/16 4/17 4/17 4/20 4/22 4/23 4/25 4/28 4/28

$

Correction to Shir Ami Roster Norman Bressick 963 White Pine Ct. Oak Park, CA 91377 (818) 991-8159

There are several members in our congregation who are also fighting a battle with cancer, so we hope you will be supportive in our effort to raise money for research for these charities. See the flyer in this newsletter, fill it out, and send it with your donation so that we can have a large turnout. We will have a speaker from the Ataxia Foundation who will be happy to answer your questions. Tables will be set up for Project MOT and Operation Gratitude. The Social Action Committee is also collecting $10 Target gift cards for the women and children in the domestic violence shelters we help sponsor. We would like to give the gift cards for Mother’s Day, so if you are able to help, either send them to me or give them to me at Shabbat or temple events. We are also collecting new and gently used children’s clothes, new and gently used children’s books and games. I would personally like to thank everyone who participated in our community mitzvah projects over the years. There aren’t enough words to tell you how the many less-fortunate people have truly appreciated all you have done to help make their life more bearable. Happy Pesach from the Social Action Committee and their families to you and yours! Fran Kobulnick, Social Action Vice President

page 4 April 2012 Social Action Committee First and foremost, I want to thank those who donated to SOVA for our Passover matzo and food drive. Many donated the 5-lb packages of Israeli matzos for the 1000 Jewish needy families of SOVA! Our goal was to donate 180 5-lb packages of Israeli matzo to SOVA before March 26 when the packages will be assembled for the Jewish families. Since I wrote this column before the deadline, I am not yet sure if we have met our goal. I also want to personally thank Rabbi and Bonnie Vorspan for always leading our congregation in our mitzvah projects and being so supportive as well! Special thanks to Sima Schuster for using her SUV as the “matzo-mobile.” Sima filled up her car many times with all our donations and took them directly to SOVA for us. Special thanks also to Fiona Taylor for all her matzo shopping, Jordon Pistol for all his matzo and gefilite fish shopping, and to my husband Sam who always schleps everything back and forth for all our mitzvah projects. He also helped shop for the matzo for those who could not do it themselves! I know many of you felt overwhelmed by our Passover food and matzo drive, and I am sorry - but thankfully we are on the giving end to SOVA and not the families who have to stand in the lines to receive their Passover food. May you all enjoy a very happy and healthy Passover with your family and friends, and create beautiful memories for the generations to come! We will be visiting the residents at the West Valley Healthcare Center on Friday, May 11 at 1:00 pm to bring in the Shabbat together and to celebrate Mother’s and Father’s Day. We will light Shabbat candles and say the blessings over the challah and the wine. Then we will distribute beautiful plants to each resident during our one-on-one visits with them. Please join the Social Action Committee for this special mitzvah. The residents are very appreciative of our visits, and we feel special when we visit there. The excitement is building for congregation Shir Ami’s annual Walk Around Lake Balboa. This year our walk will be held Sunday, June 3 and we will be walking to raise money for the City of Hope and the Ataxia Foundation in honor of long-time member Howard Levine.

Early Bird Movie and Dinner May 6th Congregation Shir Ami presents our fourth annual Early Bird Movie and Dinner Sunday, May 6th at 3:00 pm at the Northridge Mobile Home Park rec room. This year we have chosen the 2006 comedy hit Keeping Up with the Steins directed by Scott Marshall, and starring Daryl Sabara as Benjamin Fiedler, the bar mitzvah boy. It is also a commentary on how too many Jewish families see a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah not as a coming of age for their son or daughter, but rather as an excuse to throw outrageously lavish parties. We have changed the menu to pizza (let’s have a party) and reduced the price to $10 per person. This promises to be an enjoyable afternoon and opportunity to schmooze with your old and new Shir Ami friends. See the flyer with this Shir Notes for more information.

Audrey Halem: Andy was fabulous. He was the best speaker I can remember. Phyllis Schroeder: Andy Hill was a remarkable speaker. I found him to be very inspirational. Roz and Joe Witt (my friends): Andy Hill is a wonderful speaker, and I am very impressed that he agreed to speak - for no fee - to our small group. I found the pyramid to be a practical, meaningful set of principles, and Andy Hill's presentation and his enthusiasm for them and Coach Wooden were the perfect combination. Rabbi David Vorspan: “Judaism” is a repository of wisdom. I have taught wisdom courses over the past several years, both as part of our “Around the Rabbi’s Tisch” and at my high school. There was much to Andy’s presentation and I took copious notes. But the most important wisdom John Wooden transmitted, through Andy Hill, was that wisdoms must be repeated over and over to make a lasting impression. To do this, one must reduce the wisdoms to several of the most important deemed worthy of repetition. Now I am faced with the task of doing just that. Judy Eisikowitz: What was so engaging about Andy Hill’s talk was its personal nature—he spoke of his own experience and his experiences with Coach Wooden and others who put the Success Principles into action in their daily lives. It was inspiring to hear about real-life challenges people face and how they can improve their behavior over time. I was also struck by the similarity to learning weekly lessons based on the Torah portion and applying them to our everyday lives. Esther Perez: Andy’s speech was outstanding and interesting. It was delightful to hear how proud he is to have even a humble association with such a distinguished man. Due to his relationship with Coach Wooden, he was able to create a life in business from the lessons he learned from Coach. Loyality and friendship for this man were very obvious in his presentation.

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Brunch and Learn with Andy Hill “Best Ever” by Stan Schroeder Our Brunch and Learn with Andy Hill, motivational speaker and ex-UCLA basketball player for Coach John Wooden, at the Northridge Mobile Home Park Sunday, March 4, was acclaimed as the “very best talk they ever heard” by those in attendance. Andy spoke from personal experience with Coach Wooden in the last 12 years of his life. He reflected on how “The Greatest Coach of All Time” as named by The Sporting News in 2009, lived a humble life guided by the principles in his Pyramid of Success. Wooden defined success as “peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” Andy described how he went from someone who didn’t talk to Coach Wooden for 25 years following his gradu-ation (because of his disappointment at sitting on the bench for most of his three-year varsity career) to being one of his closest friends and helpers in Wooden’s last years. Andy accompanied Coach Wooden to the White House July 23, 2003 when Wooden received the Presidental Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. To illustrate how those who attended viewed the talk I am including some of their comments: Helga Unkeless and her friend, Carol Shelton: We both thought that his presentation was wonderful, inspiring, and down-to-earth. We so appreciated that he took the time to spend with us and enthuse us to become more thoughtful human beings. Bob Fox (my friend): I very much enjoyed the brunch and, especially, Andy's talk. It was very interesting, well presented, and touched my heart on more than one occasion. Owen Delman: I was introduced to Coach Wooden's philosophy a number of years ago when he spoke at an IBM conference. In addition to building a foundation for success, it is the basis of an ethical and productive guide for both personal and interpersonal relations. Ethel Granik: Andy kept us interested and involved the whole time.

Stan, Andy Hill, and Rabbi Vorspan

Biography of the Month: Marc Chagall by Stan Schroeder Marc Chagall was born in Vitebsk, Russia (now Belarus) July 7, 1887 to a poor Hassidic family. His father worked curing herring and his mother ran a small shop to make ends meet. The eldest of nine children, he studied first in a heder before moving to a secular Russian school, where he began to display his artistic talent. With his mother's support, and despite his father's disapproval, Chagall pursued his interest in art, going to St. Petersburg in 1907 to study art with Leon Bakst. Influenced by contemporary Russian painting, Chagall's distinctive, child-like style, often centering on images from his childhood, began to emerge. From 1910 to 1914, Chagall lived in Paris, and there absorbed the works of the leading cubist, surrealist, and fauvist painters. It was during this period that Chagall painted some of his most famous paintings of the Jewish shtetl or village, and developed the features that became recognizable trademarks of his art. Strong and often bright colors portray the world with a dreamlike, non-realistic simplicity, and the fusion of fantasy, religion, and nostalgia infuses his work with a joyous quality. Animals, workmen, lovers, and musicians populate his figures; the “fiddler on the roof” recurs frequently, often hovering within another scene. Chagall's work of this period displays the influence of contemporary French painting, but his style remains independent of any one school of art. He exhibited regularly in the Salon des Independants. In 1914, before the outbreak of World War I, Chagall held a one-man show in Berlin, exhibiting work dominated by Jewish images and personages. During the war, he resided in Russia, and in 1917, endorsing the revolution, he was appointed Commissar for Fine Arts in Vitebsk and then director of the newly established Free Academy of Art. He moved to Moscow in 1920 to become art director of the Moscow Jewish State Theater until 1922. The Bolshevik authorities, however, frowned upon Chagall's style of art as too modern, and in 1922, Chagall left Russia, settling in France one year later. By 1930 he had worldwide recognition.

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He lived in France permanently except for the years 1941 to 1948 when, fleeing France during World War II, he resided in the United States. Chagall's horror over the Nazi rise to power is expressed in works depicting Jewish martyrs and Jewish refugees. In addition to images of the Hassidic world, Chagall's paintings are inspired by themes from the Bible. His fascination with the Bible culminated in a series of over 100 etchings illustrating the Bible, many of which incorporate elements from Jewish folklore and from religious life in Vitebsk. Chagall painted with a variety of media such as oils, water colors, and gouaches. His work also expanded to other forms of art, including ceramics, mosaics, and stained glass. Among his most famous building decorations are the ceiling of the Opera House in Paris (1964), murals at the New York Metropolitan Opera (1966), a glass window at the United Nations (1964), decorations at the Vatican, and wall decorations at the Knesset (1969). He was one of very few artists to exhibit work at the Louvre in their own lifetime. Chagall first visited Israel in 1931 for the opening of the Tel Aviv Art Museum; his last visit was at the age of 90 in 1977. Chagall was commissioned to create 12 windows for the Hadassah Hospital Chapel of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem in 1962. The scenes represent the 12 biblical tribes of Israel. Chagall said of this major masterpiece, “I felt my father and my mother were looking over my shoulder, and behind them were Jews, millions of other vanished Jews of yesterday and a thousand years ago.” To fully understand the significance of the Windows they must be viewed against Chagall's deep sense of identification with the whole of the Jewish history, its tragedies and victories. Chagall received many prizes and much recognition for his work. He assimilated modern developments of art into his own personal style, as his own voice stayed true to colorful dreams and fantasies from growing up in Vitebsk to his life and loves in the US and France. He was certainly one of the 20th century’s most important artists. Chagall died in 1985 and was buried near his home in Saint-Paul, France. He left a legacy of inspirational art that was like none other.

Buy Israeli Goods Mark F. Samuels, Regional Israel Chair for Pacific Southwest Region, United Synagogue sent us a link to the website www.buyisraelgoods.org so that we can patronize local merchants and online vendors who sell products made in Israel. The website displays for each area, and categorizes by type of product such as Flowers, Food, Gifts, Jewelry, Apparel, etc.

There is a greater emphasis on discussing, encouraging and celebrating human actions that improve our lives and those of others rather than simply celebrating the passive deliverance of the Hebrews by the hand of God. (My children really got into the rather noisy spirit of this approach during their teenage years.) The continuing history of the Jewish people is celebrated beyond the scope of the haggadah’s story with personalized family haggadot containing source material ranging from Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to individual family members’ thoughts on contemporary parallels to the traditional Passover story. Attend a seder at a new friend’s house, or a young family just getting established and you may find many innovations and changes from the expected: Miriam’s cup in addition to Elijah’s; an orange on the table (ask the rabbi why); a pomegranate celebrating diversity.; and much more. The holiday has become an opportunity to be more than the traditional family celebration, or hopefully, our contemporary definition of family now includes the larger human family. Just as the coming of spring signifies a rebirth of the land, the spirit and the world as a whole, springtime Passover demonstrates a faith in the essential strength of the Jewish people and their belief in all mankind. This is the bread of affliction, the simple bread which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat with us. Let all who are enslaved become free. Let all who are oppressed become liberated. I believe this to mean all types of oppression, whether by chains of metal, or tradition. So, if Mr. Chaucer would like to break matzoh at our table this Passover, he is perfectly welcome. Just tell him to let my wife know he’s coming.

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Geoffrey Chaucer’s Matzoh by Owen Delman When April and its sweet showers Have ended the drought of March And the warm days move from few to lotsa Then people long to eat their matzoh. (Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales) So Chaucer knew of the link between Spring and Passover. And the link is still very evident today. (Warning -- the above quotation is probably a mistranslation since there were not too many Jews in England during Chaucer’s time and he would have some trouble getting his hands on matzoh!) However, it is true that the roots of our modern Passover rituals and symbols are in the springtime farming and shepherd experiences of our ancestors. The sacrifice of a lamb and the eating of an ancient form of unleavened bread (matzoh) were ancient spring rituals followed in the hope that the rebirth of the land after the winter season would result in plentiful crops, growing flocks, and the ensured survival of the people. Today’s seder plate literally brings together these old agricultural symbols with the now traditional historical tales we read in the haggadah. The roasted lamb bone (z’roa) commemorates the lamb sacrifices which used to be made at the Temple as a reference to spring’s most iconic babies. The green vegetable (karpas) is a symbol of the first sprouts which emerge early in the season. The roasted egg (beitzah) refers both to the Temple sacrifices and, obviously, the fertility of the season (rebirth of the land) and rebirth of the spirit. Okay, so none of this is probably new to you and, certainly, not revolutionary. It shouldn’t be, for it is not revolutionary -- it is evolutionary. Considering all the cultural changes the Jewish people have experienced, either voluntary or involuntary, over our long history, it certainly is to be expected and I think it is good. The holiday is not just a static tradition. Passover is a living and meaningful experience. Just within the last 150 years, Passover celebrations and traditions themselves have changed for many reasons. Biblical historians and archeologists now realize the Exodus was much more complex and significantly different than the Biblical version.

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West Coast Regional Pomegranate Conference by Bonnie Vorspan The Pomegranate Guild is a guild that promotes Judaic Needlework. Our San Fernando Valley Chapter is sponsoring a West Coast Regional Conference, June 5, 6, and 7, at the Brandeis Bardin Campus,of the American Jewish University in Simi Valley. We are offering four sets of classes, one set Tuesday afternoon, two sets on Wednesday—one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and one final set Thursday morning. We have wonderful guest speakers including: Judith Spector—“The Pomegranate” From Antiquity to Today—Its History and Use in Art, Religion, Medicine and Manufacture Manya Schaff—“Family Tree—L’Dor V’Dor” Peachy Levy—“A Unique Banner of Women in the Sukkah” Vendors for our conference include our very own Davida Tydings. We also have a docent tour of archived Judaic textiles at the Skirball Cultural Center on Thursday afternoon. For all registration information, pictures of all the stitching projects, and bios of the instructors, please visit our website WestCoastPomegranate.com or call Charlene Kazel at (818) 701-7679 or Bonnie Vorspan at (818) 888-9817. We’d love to have you join us for a little stitching!

JWW Annual Walk to End Genocide May 20 by Rae Wazana The annual Walk to End Genocide sponsored by Jewish World Watch will take place at Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles on Sunday, May 20th. It is a 3-mile Walk and Action Fair which starts at 9:00 am. Our Congregation Shir Ami will have a Walk Team for the third consecutive year. Individuals can register at walktoendgenocide.org either to participate in the Walk or to sponsor our Synagogue team. Please consider joining our Walk Team or sponsoring us. As we approach the Passover holiday we must also remember the meaning of Passover- to celebrate and remember our liberation from bondage and slavery. However, along with our liberation comes the responsibility to "not stand idly by" when fellow human beings in such places as the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are suffering from genocides and atrocities in their own countries. JWW is a hands-on leader against such atrocities. JWW activates and inspires the community to take local actions in support of policies that can help end the crises in Sudan and Congo. At the same time, JWW raises critical funds for tangible, high-impact projects that help improve the lives of survivors in these countries. Such projects include the Rape and Crisis Center in Chambucha, Congo; the Safe Mother-hood Project; the Bukavu Burn Center; Solar Cooker Project serving four refugee camps for Sudanese refugees; Sister Schools, Darfuri Refugee Children in Israel, and many others. Please help our Shir Ami Team to help support Jewish World Watch this year by your participation and/or donations for the Walk on May 20th. Call me for more information me at (818) 881-5549.

Congregation Shir Ami Tribute Cards Thanks to Phyllis Schroeder for sending your cards celebrating simchas and conveying your get- well and condolence messages. She is creative with indivualized, artistic cards that include a message and color graphics. Call her at (818) 718-7466. Minimum donation of $5 per card is appreciated.

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TREE OF LIFE

This beautiful Tree of Life, with leaves priced at $100 and rocks at $250 (one remaining), makes a perfect way to celebrate family occasions and support Congregation Shir Ami. The Tree is on a rosewood background and consists of gold-colored leaves and rocks. It is displayed at all Congregation Shir Ami services and events. For more information or to place an order, call Sherry Dollins at (818) 886-7590.

Congregation Shir Ami Memorial Board

If you would like to honor the memory of your loved ones by dedicating plaques on our new Memorial Board, please call Clara Rosenbluth at (818) 348-1498 so she may mail you an order form. The cost of each plaque is $36. Each plaque may contain up to three lines of engraving: English name, Hebrew name, and the years of birth and death. Both of our Memorial Boards are displayed at all our services.

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Shop at Ralphs - Earn Money for Shir Ami by Maralyn Soifer Here is an easy way to earn money for our Temple. We are now officially a Ralphs’ community agency. All you have to do is follow these simple instructions to help earn money for Congregation Shir Ami. 1. If you don’t have a Ralph’s rewards card already,

go to the store and fill out the application. You can get it from the customer service station or any checker.

2. Once you have your card, go to the website: www.ralphs.com

3. Go to the top where the red bar is located and click on services.

4. On the left, click on Community Contributions. 5. In the upper left hand corner click on Create an

Account if you haven’t already registered a card with a community organization.

6. If you already have a Ralph’s reward card and have registered it, go to sign in. You can change to our Temple by going to your profile page and clicking on Community Rewards. Then click on Edit Community Rewards. You can do a search for Congregation Shir Ami by putting in the number 92785. Our congregation will pop up and click on the button next to the name. Click on the button that saves the changes.

7. You can also check the bottom of your receipt when you shop. It should say “Thank you for supporting Congregation Shir Ami”.

8. If all else fails, call me in the evening at (818) 704-0306. I’ll be happy to walk you through it.

9. Start Shopping! Make sure that the clerk swipes your card each time you shop. Verify that your receipt shows a contribution to Congregation Shir Ami at the bottom.

Important note: A new term for the Ralphs Community Contribution Program started September 1, 2011. All participants are required to re-register on or after that date. Please visit Ralphs.com and do so!

Congregation Shir Ami P.O. Box 6353 Woodland Hills, CA 91365

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage PAID

Permit No. 93 Canoga Park, CA

SOVA COMMUNITY FOOD & RESOURCE PROGRAM

SOVA Community Food & Resource Program, 16439 Vanowen Street, Van Nuys, CA 91406 Visit our website at www.jfsla.org/sova

For more information, call Maxine at 818-988-7682,x116

Help SOVA clients celebrate Passover and

“eat and be satisfied” all year long.

At this time of year as we are cleaning out our chumetz and purchasing Passover

foods, think of SOVA and bring food

donations to your Temple/Synagogue.

Donate your chumetz and Passover food

between March 1 and April 2.

We accept any unopened canned or packaged

foods as well as personal hygiene items

and gently used children’s books.

Passover/Chumetz Food Drive

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tear-off

NAME_______________________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________________________ PHONE # _________________________ E-MAIL_________________________________________ #_______ATTENDING @$10.00 Please make check payable to Congregation Shir Ami (CSA), P.O. Box 6353, Woodland Hills, CA 91365

Let’s go for a walk around Lake Balboa!

Join Congregation Shir Ami’s Social Action Committee on Sunday, June 3rd at 9:00 am.

Proceeds go to National Ataxia Foundation (in honor of Howard Levine) and City of Hope - We will have a guest speaker!

For more information, or to sign up, call Ellie Zatz at (818) 883-9924 or Paullette Pistol at (818) 389-1892.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sign up by returning this tear-off with your

check for $10 (or more) per person to Congregation Shir Ami, P.O. Box 6353, Woodland Hills, CA 91365 as soon as possible. Number of participants: ____

Walker Names: Brunch (y/n) 1. ______________________ 2. ______________________ 3. ______________________ 4. ______________________

I will bring: Salad [ ] Dessert [ ] Side dish [ ] Fruit Platter [ ]

Minimum donation: $10 per person, NO MAXIMUM! Following the walk, a pizza brunch will be provided by our Social Action Committee near the lake. Please bring salad, side dish, fruit platter, or dessert to share, and remember to wear your Mitzvah Patrol shirt. Pets are welcome. And please ask your family and friends to join us for this annual Mitzvah.

Also please bring non-perishable and non-breakable food for SOVA.

Note: Sit-down activities available for those who don’t walk.

Congregation Shir Ami Early Bird Movie and Dinner Sunday May 6th 3:00 pm at

Northridge Mobile Home Park Recreation Room 19120 Nordhoff St., Northridge

Turn left at entrance to park, walk to rec room by pool.

Movie starts at 3:30 followed by pizza dinner... and still drive home before dark!

Our film will be Keeping Up with the Steins, a 2006 comedy film directed by Scott Marshall, and starring Daryl Sabara as Benjamin Fiedler, the bar mitzvah boy. It is also a commentary on how too many Jewish families see a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah not as a coming of age for their son or daughter, but rather as an excuse to throw outrageously lavish parties.

After attending the elaborate bar mitzvah party for the son of Arnie Stein - which was done on a cruise ship, with a Titanic theme - Benjamin's parents decide to go all out for his bar mitzvah. The plan is to rent Dodger Stadium for the bar mitzvah party, complete with movie stars and everything.

You won’t want to miss the hilarious preparation and unexpected outcome.

$10 per person For more information call Helga at (818) 340-5751

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Clip this form and send with payment by May 1st. (Early Bird Movie) Your name:_________________________ Phone No.:_______________

# of people attending:____ Total enclosed: $______

Mail this form and payment to: Congregation Shir Ami P.O. Box 6353 Woodland Hills, CA 91365

Congregation Shir Ami Contract for the Sale of Hametz

Know ye that I, the undersigned, fully empower and permit Rabbi David Vorspan to act in my place and stead, and in my behalf to sell all Hametz possessed by me (knowingly or unknowingly) as defined by The Torah and Rabbinic Law (e.g. Hametz, doubt of Hametz, and all kinds of Hametz mixtures). Also Hametz that tends to harden and to adhere to a surface of inside of pans, pots or cooking and usable utensils, and all kinds of animals that have been eating Hametz or mixtures thereof. And to lease all places wherein the Hametz owned by me may be found. Rabbi David Vorspan has the full right to sell and to lease by transactions, as he deems fit and proper and for such time which he believes necessary in accordance with all detailed terms and detailed forms, as explained in the general authorization contract which have been given this year to Rabbi David Vorspan to sell the Hametz. This general authorization is made a part of this agreement. Also do I hereby give the said Rabbi David Vorspan full power and authority to appoint a substitute in his stead with full power to sell and to lease as provided herein. The above given power is in conformity with all Torah, Rabbinical regulations and laws, and also in accordance with the laws of the State of California and of the United States. And to this I hereby affix my signature on this _______ day of __________, 2012.

Signature _____________________________

Address ____________________________________ City ___________________ Please note additional locations (summer home, cottage, work place) where Hametz might be located: You may deliver in person or mail to: Congregation Shir Ami P O Box 6353 Woodland Hills, CA 91365