Tifereth Israel

A thought before Shabbat from Stephanie Hukle:

"In this week’s Parsha, Moses, knowing it was his time to die, asked G-d to appoint a leader for the Israelites. We know that G-d chose Joshua to follow in Moses’ footsteps to become the next leader. This leaves me to ponder what attributes he possessed as a leader to be chosen for this sacred position.

Fast forward a few thousand years to the upcoming election in the United States. In the past few weeks, we have seen an assassination attempt on former President Trump, and we’ve seen President Biden officially drop out of the race for 2024. In the coming months we will cast our votes for the candidate we believe will best run our country. When deciding, I imagine most of us will decide based on what characteristics we feel are most important in our next leader.

Will he/she be courageous, fight for what is right, and put the people first? Just as G-d spoke to Moses and appointed the best next leader for the Israelites, it is our turn to make an impact by figuring out what qualities we want in our next leader and then putting it into action by going to the polls. I know the next six months will be up and down, but we are in this together.

In the meantime, I pray for peace and understanding in the coming months. I pray that we can work together as a people and as a country to do what’s best for our nation.

Shabbat Shalom,
Steph Hukle"

A thought before Shabbat from our Facilities Director, Juan:

"I could say I feel fortunate to be a part of the Tifereth Israel family. However, to me, it is more a blessing than it is good fortune.

Since I first came to Tifereth Israel back in 2016, I have had the opportunity to meet and interact with many people whom I have come to know and are now considered dear friends. As you know, 'friends are a blessing,' whether you are going through a rough patch or you have a reason to celebrate, there is nothing like having good friends alongside to encourage you, give you words of advice, congratulate you, or simply give you a big heartwarming smile.

I would like to extend a word of thanks to my Tifereth Israel family, to those of you who have remembered me in your prayers especially when I have been going through tough times. Thank you to those of you who visited me in the hospital. It truly makes my heart smile to know that I have loving friends and people who care. It makes my heart smile when I realize that, even though I am not Jewish, I am welcome not only in your synagogue but in the community at large.

Thank you, rabbis, for having the patience to answer my questions, thank you for showing up at my bedside and praying with me when I was ill.

You have welcomed me and my family to your synagogue, having opened not only your doors but also your hearts; it goes without saying how much I love this congregation and how grateful I am to be a part of this wonderful organization and a part of this community. It has been a true pleasure to learn about your religion, the rituals, the Hebrew language, the culture, etc.

In my eight plus years as a member of the Tifereth Israel staff, I have seen many people come and go, staff and congregants alike; and the one thing that remains true is that no matter what your position in life is, whether you are big or small, rich or poor young or old; if you have goodness in your heart, and use that as a common denominator, you will break through any kind of barrier, be it religious or ideological. At the end of the day we are all human beings created in the image of the Lord.

How beautiful it is to see someone’s smiling face on Shabbat morning and hear them say: 'Shabbat Shalom.' I will have you know that those words mean a lot to me, and that I do not take them lightly, I think having peace on Shabbat goes beyond the physical work; so next time you see me on Shabbat feel free to say them to me as I will be sure to say to you Shabbat Shalom!!!

Juan J. Pineda"

Earlier this week, 30+ volunteers joined us to pack Blessing Bags for the . 🎗️ These bags will be spread across the community, offered to those who need a helping hand. Thank you for showing up in this way to bring more light into the world. We do this with the plight of the hotages and their loved ones close in mind.

Rabbi Hillel and Paige had a great visit at Camp Livingston yesterday, spending time with campers and staff during Maccabiah (it turns out a visiting rabbi and educator can make you exempt from silent lunch)!! Although a couple of our Tifereth kids were out on a trip, we loved seeing the smiles and seeing the Tifereth Tzedakah box in the main office!!

Columbus, show up for the hostages and their families during this Week of Goodness. Stop by the synagogue TODAY to help us pack blessing bags for the local community.

You don’t need to bring anything but a willingness to put in an hour of your time. We hope to see you soon.

Our Membership Drive is starting now! Do you know someone who is thinking about joining a synagogue? Do you have a neighbor who hasn’t decided what synagogue to join yet and could use a little encouragement? We would LOVE to welcome them to our inclusive, energetic community at Congregation Tifereth Israel.

Members, please check your inboxes to learn more about your referral incentive.

Ready to make your referral now? Send their contact information to Stephanie at [email protected]

Our Membership Drive will end on September 18. Thank you, in advance, for your help in making a success!

A thought before Shabbat from Rabbi Hillel Skolnik:

"Although it harkens back to a holiday we already celebrated, these past few days I have found myself constantly returning to the words of 'Echad Mi Yodea - Who Knows One,' which we sing at the end of the Passover seder. In particular, I keep mumbling the phrase 'tish’a yarchei leida' or what we sing in our English version 'nine are the months that a baby grows.' Although this is not the only line of the song that considers the passage of time, it is by far the longest time period in the lyrics we sing. Those nine months are ones filled with a combination of excitement and trepidation. They can feel interminable - particularly for the person carrying the child - and come with constant hope and intense prayer that the roller coaster journey will lead to the birth of a healthy baby.

It has been a full nine months since October 7, a full nine months since Hamas savagely attacked and invaded Israel, murdering more than 1,200 people. It has been a full nine months of war in Gaza filled with destruction and immense loss of life, coupled with an ever growing conflict with Hezbollah in the north. It has been a full nine months since the hostages were kidnapped. And for those who remain in captivity, it has been a full nine months since their families have been able to see them, hug them, embrace them, or in some cases have been waiting to bury them. Tish’a yarchei chatifa - nine are now the months of captivity.

Throughout these past nine months, Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, the parents of Hersh, who was taken captive by Hamas on October 7, have been incredible voices of advocacy for all the hostages. They have spoken publicly, sharing messages on social media, even meeting with the Pope several months ago to call for the release of all the hostages, including their son who holds dual citizenship with Israel and the United States.

At their initiative, this coming week (July 14 - 21) is being called 'Week of Goodness' described in their own words as follows:

'The families of all the hostages have been running to the ends of the earth to do everything possible to help save our loved ones. But we have yet to see the result we want. We have decided to dedicate one week - from July 14th to July 21st - to surge goodness into the world...volunteering, studying, giving charity, praying, singing, and more. Join us, or commit to your own benevolent actions. We are living in a fractured period, and our beloved hostages are in unimaginable darkness. Help us to repair and bring more light into the world.'

In partnership with the rest of the Jewish community of Columbus, we are taking this call to heart and will be actively participating in the Week of Goodness. In addition to a complete communal list of activities which will be published by JewishColumbus before Shabbat, I invite you to join us particularly at two events:

• Sunday evening, July 14, at 7:30 pm - Sunday’s theme is 'Our Voices Will Carry Them Home' - Join us as we partner with Agudas Achim for an evening of Shira B’tzibbur/communal singing. We will meet at the home of Adina Allen and Rabbi Josh Warshawsky to gather, sing, raise our voices, and hold each other, over nine months after October 7th. Consult the member directory or email us to request the address.
• Tuesday afternoon, July 16 at 4:30 - The theme of Tuesday and Wednesday is 'Good Deeds in the Merit of the Hostages' and I invite you to join us at Tifereth on Tuesday afternoon as we make blessing bags for those in need within our own community of Central Ohio. Tifereth will provide all the supplies though if you would like to assist us in purchasing them, you are most welcome.

Whether it is through these activities or any of the other 'Week of Goodness' programs happening here and around the world, I invite you take part in this inspiring initiative. Our world is desperately in need of enormous amounts of goodness. It is our obligation to do our part to help in any way we can for the hostages and for all those in the world who yearn for better times. May these efforts bring the hostages home to their families and bring peace to our world.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hillel Skolnik"

Sign your happy campers up for Machaneh Tifereth! Rising Kindergarteners through 5th graders are invited to spend three days of fun with Paige Richards and Navah Moore in a camp-style environment, where we will craft, play, and go on a field trip.

The total cost of three days of camp is $150 per child. This includes transportation and ticket to the Columbus Zoo, lunch on Monday and Tuesday, supplies, movie snack, and any other items used during the week.

🦒 Learn more and register at bit.ly/2024MTI 🦒

Our telephones are currently down. Please reach us via email as needed using the directory in the comments. Thank you!

A thought before Shabbat from Rabbi Harold Berman:

"Last week a group of us gathered to share thoughts and texts that were part of America's and Israel's Declarations of Independence. While both declarations express immediate concerns of a looming crisis, making an effort to appeal to the good will of those who were not immediately involved, both also involve visions of a new future that the people of each nation would craft for themselves.

For Americans it was a unique experiment in self-government. Historians note that those who watched from across the sea were astonished that this country planned to rule itself without the supervision of the British king, or indeed, without any king at all. And in the years that followed observers were amazed when the military leader who led the nation to independence then resigned his commission and returned to private life. They were astonished again when that same leader, having been chosen as president, served for eight years and then retired again, declaring it was time for another to take his place.

Israel was a unique experiment of a different kind, but no less endangered from the start and no less surprising to the world for its success.

And as current events remind us, all over the world, and throughout the history of the past two and a half centuries, survival of democracies cannot be taken for granted. Internal challenges and external threats are real, and both America and Israel have faced them, and continue to face them. Those who care about the future of any democratic nation must always remain vigilant.

That is why we celebrate days of independence, not merely because some people had a vision at the time of a nation's founding, but because people in every generation offered leadership and made great sacrifices in order to keep the vision alive.

And we look to the future with the hope and the prayer that visions which brought two nations we love into being will continue to inspire and will enable the dreams of the past to strengthen our resolve and our commitment as we face the challenges of our time and of the difficult times that lie ahead.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Harold Berman"

Summer is in full swing, and we have a lot of fun coming up! Read all about it, and find important member announcements, in this edition of our newsletter, The Forum: https://midd.me/al8X

Have you heard this good news? Kindergarten is FREE at Tifereth Israel RS thanks to a generous endowment from the Tifereth Israel Foundation.

Endowment at Tifereth Israel provides free Sunday kindergarten The Samuel M. Melton Religious School at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Columbus will offer free enrollment for its kindergarten for the 2024-25 school year.

A thought before Shabbat (including lots of exciting news for our Religious School students + parents!) from Paige Richards:

"And just like that, Religious School enrollment opens July 1.

As we prepare for the coming year, I’m excited to announce that we are able to offer free tuition for all incoming Kindergarten students!

This was made possible thanks to the Tifereth Israel Foundation, supporters of the Educational Endowment Fund, and Foundation Chairman Dr. Arnold Good. We believe that this significant opportunity for our young families will build upon their lifelong Jewish journey.

This year, we are also pleased to announce that we have planned a camp at Tifereth Israel, called Machaneh Tifereth. It will take place August 12 - 14, and spaces are limited, but registration will open on July 1. Check the upcoming Staying Connected emails for more information.

I know our school year just ended, but I have so many exciting things planned for the 5785 (2024-2025) school year. We’ll start Religious School on September 15 with Honey Fest. This celebration is also open to families of school aged kids who are interested in joining Religious School.

Honey Fest will include a special presentation with beekeeper Luke Howard, and his observation hive. We’ll make festive food, decorate honey dishes to take home, and have brunch together.

We also have exciting programs for Sukkot, Chanukah, Passover, and more… I can’t wait to see all the students back so we can enjoy the year together! Remember, registration opens on July 1, and early birds who register before August 12 will enjoy a 5% discount. Students in Grades 3 - 6 who study Hebrew and Tefillah one-on-one during the week will receive their assigned time slots by the end of August.

I am counting down the days until the building is buzzing with students again! See you all in 79 days!

Shabbat Shalom,
Paige Richards"

Great day for a ball game! ⚾️ Thanks to everyone who came out for our Chazak outing to the today.

A thought before Shabbat from Rabbi Hillel Skolnik:

"With things a bit quieter here at the synagogue during the summer months, we take the opportunity to go through a couple of the many closets and storage areas at Congregation Tifereth Israel. This week, Morah Paige and Navah gleefully cleared out the supply closet in the hallway of our synagogue offices. In addition to some Chanukah gelt that really should have been thrown away some time ago, they found a turning drum for a raffle, stationery and envelopes from long ago, autographed copies of Israeli artist, Achinoah Nini’s album with the Israeli philharmonic and a blueprint of a pre-atrium Tifereth Israel renovation.

Morah Paige and Navah also discovered a pile of copies of the 'Tifereth Israel Forum' from the mid-late 1980s. These historical gems are a precious eye into our synagogue’s cherished history and a reminder that in so many ways our lives are now different, and in so many ways they are very much the same.

My eye was immediately drawn to the earliest date I could find, May 20, 1983. What first drew my attention was the fact that at the publication of this particular Forum I was not yet three months old. But once my eye moved down just one line of text, I came upon the headline 'Paul Rehmar Elected As President' which introduced an article detailing the new Board of Trustees which had been recently installed at the synagogue’s annual meeting. Reading through the list of board members, I could not help be struck by so many people whom I have had the chance to know and work with, people about whom I have heard stories of their dedication of leadership, and people who I had the chance to meet but we have said goodbye to over the past few years.

By absolute chance, the next Forum in the pile was from February 3, 1989 with a cover article written by Rabbi Berman which begins by thanking the congregation for welcoming their family back after time spent in Israel on Sabbatical. In an extra moment of things staying the same, I read the sentence 'Unfortunately, postal systems being as they are, and with some confusion on our return, not every card, note or letter was received, either here or there.' As a parent waiting each day to hear from my three kids at Jewish summer camp, I can identify. Further down in his article, he reminds the congregation that while our daily minyan is strong, people are always encouraged to attend 'at 7:30 every weekday morning and at 5:30 every afternoon.' How perfect.

Undoubtedly we will find more gems as our summer cleaning continues, and perhaps you will find things in your homes. If you do, I hope you will share these memories with us as well.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hillel Skolnik"

This evening we presented a new banner calling for the immediate, safe release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, to replace our original banner which was burned down in an act of arson. Thank you to all who joined us in prayer for this important moment of solidarity.

As Rabbi Hillel Skolnik stated, we hope we can soon remove the banner as a celebration of the hostages’ safe return to their families. In the meantime, we think of them each day, and our new banner will continue to remind others of them as well.

Heads up: Shavuot begins tonight and ends Thursday night. Due to this, our weekly "Staying Connected" email will be shared on Friday morning this week.

Chag Shavuot Sameach!

A thought before PRIDE Shabbat from Brandon Hensley:

"Parsha Bemidbar is an excellent exercise in learning Hebrew numbers and directions, as each camp is described as a certain number of people in a particular relative direction to each other. Without taking any formal Hebrew classes (though I hear a Hebrew Crash Course is starting up!) I now have the word for “thousand” permanently emblazoned in my brain. It’s אֶלֶף. Another important number for me is “five,” but not because of Parsha Bemidbar. This Sunday my husband Jake and I will be married for five years, and it is not without some personal excitement that this milestone anniversary happens to also fall on the weekend of PRIDE Shabbat! Yay!

Personally, I have a complicated relationship with the institutions of LGBT Pride, but even in disagreement, I have immense love and admiration for the work that these institutions have done, are doing, and will continue to do. When Jake and I met in 2013, the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell vs Hodges had not yet been decided. That case had not even been taken up by the SCOTUS. Marriage equality still felt like a distant dream and very few gay men and le****ns I knew had any inkling that it would be realized even in our lifetimes, let alone within just a couple years. When Obergefell was decided, centuries of established custom and law were obliterated. And while so, so many have spent the last nine years content to celebrate marriage equality as the pinnacle of achievement for bi- and homosexual individuals, there is still so much work that needs to be done.

With trans healthcare unfortunately being forced into the spotlight, it can be easy to forget that outside Columbus and a select few other locales, discrimination based on sexual orientation is still largely legal in the state of Ohio. Despite Federal rulings on the matter, the Ohio Revised Code still lags behind with the most recent bill that would cover statewide employment, housing, and medical protections having stalled in 2020. Baruch Hashem those in power do not more often abuse this reality; however, it remains our reality.

When the Israelites are taking census after census after census, and Sefer Bemidbar can start to feel like an exercise in repetition saved only by periodic interjections of their doings here and there in wandering the Wilderness and then taking possession of Eretz Yisrael, we can very easily forget why these censuses are so important. The Israelites are taking account, each according to their standard and banner, of who is part of the big tent and in the fight together.

While the proliferation of various neon pride flags is disorienting to the point of bewilderment, there is a power to behold in this wild technicolor census of sexuality and gender identities. Each tribe stands on their own even as we all stand together, recognizing that even with different standards and banners, identities and opinions, we are one diverse community.

Similarly, we as Jews hold to various levels of observance, comfort in ritual, a diversity of liturgies, and a diversity of opinions and positions on current events both domestic and abroad, and whether the internet was a mistake. As a gay Jew, my Pride has many colors, and not all of them are shared by everyone in either tent. However, the census taking of Bemidbar reminds us that the redemption of the Israelites is a process, the ruling of Obergefell did not happen overnight, and the long journey still ahead for all of us, regardless of the flag flying above our respective camps, will only be completed so long as we can still respectfully disagree and continue forward as a community.

Shabbat shalom to Tifereth Israel, and Happy Anniversary, Jake!"

Tifereth Israel honors longtime member with service award Longtime Worthington resident and Congregation Tifereth Israel member Mike Price was honored by the Columbus temple at its May 23 annual meeting with the Heinz Hoffman Service Award.

As we shared with our members last week when the incident occurred, the banner that hung outside of our synagogue for more than 6 months was burned down in what we believe was an act of antisemitism.

We share this story to advocate for the safe release of the remaining Israeli hostages, and to speak up against the growing incidence of antisemitic crimes in our home state, as well as across the globe.

Stay tuned if you’d like to learn how to participate in the presentation of a new banner, advocating again to BRING THEM HOME NOW, in the coming weeks.

Number of antisemitic incidents rose sharply in Ohio, group says The number of antisemitic incidents in Ohio nearly quadrupled from 2022 to 2023, according to the ADL.