BETH ISRAEL CONGREGATION NEWSLETTER
March/April 2026
Adar / Nisan / Iyyar 5786
Rabbi’s Message
Dear Beth Israel Members and Friends,
We live in a time of extreme polarization and division. We are told that we must choose who we stand with, and who we stand against, and that there exists an us vs. them. While grounding ourselves in our values and knowing who our allies are is important, polarization, like we are experiencing today, dangerously dehumanizes the other. A strictly binary approach to the world is a kind of enslavement to ideas that lessen our humanity and weaken the fabric of our community.
We are just a few short weeks from Passover where at our seder table we’ll tell the story of our ancestor’s journey from slavery to freedom. But it’s not enough to partake in this ancient rite alone, let’s harness this ritual opportunity to move our hearts and minds from enslavement to the belief that we are right, to the freedom of seeing the vulnerability, humanity and beauty of ourselves and of others, so that we can heal our community and move towards freedom.
Israeli poet, Yehuda Amichai captures this sentiment in his poem, From the Place Where We are Right. I’ve shared this poem with you before at Rosh Hashanah a few years ago, but it’s just as relevant today, in 2026 at the turning of spring.
From the place where we are right
Flowers will never grow
In the spring.
The place where we are right
Is hard and trampled
Like a yard.
But doubts and loves
Dig up the world
Like a mole, a plow.
And a whisper will be heard in the place
Where the ruined
House once stood.
May this Passover holiday soften our hearts, bring us together with healing and hope and strengthen us to work together for a better future for all of us.
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REMEMBRANCES FOR MONTH–MONTH YEAR
May their memories be for a blessing.
| We Remember | Hebrew Date | Calendar Date (2026) |
| Solomon Wernick | 13 Tevet | January 2 |
| Carol Jablow | 12 Adar II | March 1 |
| Edward L. Selig | 12 Adar II | March 1 |
| Carmen Ortega | 14 Adar II | March 3 |
| Dora Borenstein | 15 Adar I | March 4 |
| John Ramsey | 15 Adar I | March 4 |
| Electra Vise | 18 Adar I | March 7 |
| Judy Gelles | 18 Adar I | March 7 |
| Helen Freedman Cohen | 20 Adar I | March 9 |
| Sarah Goldman | 20 Adar I | March 9 |
| Edward Haller | 20 Adar II | March 9 |
| Louis Gurman | 21 Adar I | March 10 |
| Mishael Selig | 21 Adar I | March 10 |
| Susan Linet | 21 Adar I | March 10 |
| Linda S Beaumont | 23 Adar II | March 12 |
| Harry Shartar | 24 Adar II | March 13 |
| Joseph Silberstein | 24 Adar II | March 13 |
| Josef & Marie Haller | 26 Adar I | March 15 |
| Esther Lerner | 26 Adar I | March 15 |
| Norman Jablow | 27 Adar I | March 16 |
| Shirley M Caplan | 27 Adar I | March 16 |
| Moshe Ben Gedalyah | 27 Adar I | March 16 |
| Herbert Schneiderman | 27 Adar I | March 16 |
| Robert Goldstein | 28 Adar I | March 17 |
| Jennie Ensel | 4 Nisan | March 22 |
| Gerald Feldman | 6 Nisan | March 24 |
| Susan Starobin | 8 Nisan | March 26 |
| Elaine Friedberg Giulianti | 9 Nisan | March 27 |
| Leo Borenstein | 9 Nisan | March 27 |
| Sandor Polster | 10 Nisan | March 28 |
| Fred Gersh | 13 Nisan | March 31 |
| Virginia King | 13 Nisan | March 31 |
| Jesse Lane | 20 Nisan | April 7 |
| Louis Sarazan | 23 Nisan | April 10 |
| Morris Filler | 26 Nisan | April 13 |
| Gladys Filler | 26 Nisan | April 13 |
| Harold Hershenhart | 27 Nisan | April 14 |
| Miriam Weiner | 27 Nisan | April 14 |
| Alvin Ludwig | 28 Nisan | April 15 |
| Harold Gilman | 28 Nisan | April 15 |
| Peter Rubin | 28 Nisan | April 15 |
| Cheryl Milkes Moore | 29 Nisan | April 16 |
| Jeffrey Robert Cherner | 30 Nisan | April 17 |
| Elayne Schoenberg | 3 Iyyar | April 20 |
| Janice Povich | 7 Iyyar | April 24 |
| Thomas Jacobs | 8 Iyyar | April 25 |
| Mildred Lenox | 8 Iyyar | April 25 |
| Benjamin Lerner | 10 Iyyar | April 27 |
| Alfred Loeb | 10 Iyyar | April 27 |
| Jerry Goldsmith | 11 Iyyar | April 28 |
| Feige Tepler | 13 Iyyar | April 13 |
BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES
Listing the birthdays and anniversaries of those in our immediate family creates a wonderful opportunity for our community/shul family to have an excuse to celebrate with each other.
| March Birthdays | March Anniversaries |
| 2 | Ethan Stern-Hayes | 15 | Jennie & Campbell Clegg |
| 2 | Noah Stern-Hayes | 19 | Glen & Beth Eisman |
| 3 | Donny Giulianti | 19 | Rachel & Eric Jordan |
| 4 | Robert Lenox | ||
| 5 | Gary Torow | ||
| 10 | Monica Blatt | ||
| 11 | Annie Valliere | ||
| 13 | Jennie Clegg | ||
| 13 | Meredith Vilarello | ||
| 14 | Bart D'Alauro | ||
| 15 | Michelle Lisi-D'Alauro | ||
| 15 | Debby Finn | ||
| 16 | Peter Felsenthal | ||
| 17 | David Sickle | ||
| 21 | Zachary Stern-Hayes | ||
| 24 | Alec Brodsky | ||
| 28 | Campbell Clegg | ||
| 30 | Merna Guttentag |
| April Birthdays | April Anniversaries |
| 2 | Lisa Tessler | 5 | Daniel Stone & Laura McCandlish |
| 8 | Mort Panish | ||
| 9 | Susan Horowitz | ||
| 9 | Andrew Helman | ||
| 10 | Max Reinhold | ||
| 12 | Greg Friedel | ||
| 13 | Sheila Cohen | ||
| 13 | Elinor Rosenberg | ||
| 15 | Andy Litt | ||
| 15 | Larry Hobel | ||
| 17 | Peggy Brown | ||
| 18 | Barbara Baseman | ||
| 19 | Sara Helman | ||
| 19 | Eric Jordan | ||
| 24 | Jennifer Kanwit | ||
| 24 | Reese Friedel | ||
| 28 | Solomon Sinclair | ||
| 28 | Leopold Sinclair |
DONATIONS
Memorial Gifts
Karen and Matthew Filler in loving memory of her grandmother, Sarah Lang and their niece, Gillian Higman
Marilyn and John Darack in loving memory of her parents, Sterling and Ruth Shapiro
Barbara Basemen in loving memory of her husband, Stephen Baseman
Barbara and Barrett Silver in loving memory of her father, Samuel Becker
Diane Gilman in loving memory of her grandfather, Benjamin Kaplan
Phyllis and Joe Lisi in loving memory of her father, Milton Millstein
Shelia Cohen in loving memory of her sister, Deborah Cohen
Jenna Golub and Stephen Sinclair Jr in loving memory of Maureen Openheim-Golub
Karen and Matthew Filler in loving memory of her mother, Frances Feldman
Howard and Lisa Waxman in loving memory of his mother, Goldie Waxman
Norma Dreyfus and Stan Lane in loving memory of her brother, Nathaniel Goldberg
Betty Welt in memory if her husband, Martin Welt and her in-laws, Frank and Shirley Welt
Jon and Lorna Lichter in loving memory of his father, David H Lichter
Marina and Stephen Singer in loving memory of her sister, Anne Alvare
Robert and Barbara Lenox in loving memory of his father, Fred Lenox and her mother, Freda Selig
Stan Lane and Norma Dreyfus in loving memory of his mother, Janet Lane and his brother, Michael Lane
Merna and Joe Guttentag in loving memory of her brother, Ted Cohn
Ellen Hagler in loving memory of her husband, Michael Hagler
Barrett and Barbara Silver in loving memory of his mother, Rose Hurwitz Silver
Marilyn and Fred Weinberg in loving memory of her mother, Ann Isacoff
Fred and Marilyn Weinberg in loving memory of his parents, Frances and Marvin
For the Benefit of the Synagogue
The Dunham Family
Elliot Rosen in honor of the birthday of Joe Guttentag
Marge Curley
Margaret McGaughey
Sharon Cohen and Elliot Rosen
Nils and Karen Tcheyan for the wonderful work of the Synagogue
Lawrence Hobel and Diane Staring
Tom and Heather Carr
Elliot Rosen in honor of Marilyn Weinberg
Jon and Lorna Lichter
Jeffrey Cohen and Nancy Heiser for the purchase of a guitar for the Synagogue
Building Fund
Jon and Lorna Lichter
Fred and Marilyn Weinberg
Reg Hannaford Education Fund
Sarah and Henry Laurence