Articles in Spanish without translation: (see:
OCTUBRE 2003)
Dear Hevre,
Rabbi Michael Holzman
Thank you for helping me find meaning and spirituality during this year’s Yamim Noraiim, my first as a rabbi. So many people helped put together wonderful services and onegs and I am grateful. I am especially proud of the many youth from the congregation who read Torah and Haftarah throughout the Holidays. I look forward to an equal number of adult Torah readers in years to come.
On erev Rosh Hashanah I spoke about the fire of community that is created when each of us brings the heat and flame of our personal Jewish experience to the heat and flame of the synagogue. I talked about how a single log burning alone cannot sustain a fire, but when two logs come together, we can create a ner tamid, an eternal flame.
This month, B’nei Israel will take the first steps in expanding and revitalizing our synagogue fire. We have already begun services on Shabbat morning. In an effort to allow more people to come to services, we will have two services a month at 6:30 p.m. (the first, third and fifth Fridays of the month) and two at 8:00 p.m. (the second and fourth). We are also adding weekly Beit Midrash (house of study), every Tuesday. This is an opportunity for all members to mix, mingle, and learn together. We will be sending more detailed information about the learning options and schedule for the Beit Midrash after the holidays, so watch your email, your fax, and the Synagogue bulletin boards.
Finally, we will be beginning an important new group at the synagogue, something I will mention during the morning of Yom Kippur. It is called Grupo Tzedek, and it is an opportunity for the community of B’nei Israel to come together and create projects to help those in need in our community. The agenda for Grupo Tzedek is wide open and we are looking for volunteers. So please contact the synagogue if you are interested.
Again, thank you for a wonderful, meaningful, insightful yamim noraiim. Let us go from strength to strength as we enter this new year.
Shanah Tovah,
Speech delivered on Erev Rosh Hashanah – September 26, 2003
Dear friends,
Eduardo Keibel
I want to make public a special thank you to all the people who have organized, collaborated, and worked to make the best of these High Holidays. To Hildita the Chairperson, Jody, Pilar, Rosario, Flor, Gioconda, David Feingold, Roberto, David Sossin, Marvin, Rabbi Holzman, Gordon, Janet, Emily – for lending us her house for Tashlich -, and if I haven’t mentioned somebody I apologize for my bad memory.
Today we are beginning a New Year, and we begin a time of introspection that lasts until Yom Kippur. During this time we analyze what we have done in the past and what we wish to accomplish in the future. It’s a time for meditation and planning our new goals. In this time we wish to analyze the things we have done, good and bad, so that we can continue with the good and try to mend the bad.
I was talking to a friend a few days ago about the technological advances that humanity has accomplished. We mentioned, for example, the use of computers to help us in our daily work; we mentioned the evolution of the telephone from wired to wireless to the cellular. And what about the fax, the copying machine, and e-mail. Definitely, development in communication has made a considerable difference to humanity.
This conversation I held with my friend, made me reflect on how technology has changed our way of life, initially “for the better”, but sometimes its bad application ruins the quality and possibilities of enriching ourselves with an over abundance of information. I am sure you have heard sentences like ”I can’t because I have to drive X to a class,” or ”I couldn’t connect to the Internet, that’s why I couldn’t send you the information,” or maybe ”the telephone was busy and then I didn’t have time,” or ”my car broke down and I couldn’t go,” or ”I am working and I have to check my agenda to be sure I have some time. But I’m really interested!,” – and blah blah blah.
One year ago, as I stood in this same place, I said that we were beginning a new stage for B’nei Israel, thinking that having a full time Rabbi would improve the congregation automatically. I thought that it would be like a technological advance, and that we had chosen the best option. I said to myself more than once, throughout several months, that he was not going to be the “messiah”, but almost. I thought that this man – young, intelligent, well prepared – was what our community needed, to calm the distressed, to dive into the ocean of our religion, to share, to be our friend. I thought that the possible automatization existing in our Congregation would disappear with the appearance of our Rabbi. But I was wrong, not about the quality of our Rabbi, but in imagining that we would have a different answer on the part of our congregants. I realized that technology has reached the highest levels in Judaism. For example: I met a pre-birth Jew, who said he was born a Jew so that’s why he’s Jewish. I met the hepatic Jew, who is against everything that’s being done and embitters himself. I met the cardiac Jew, who says he keeps religion in his heart. Or who hasn’t met the at the wrong moment Jew, who is always late because he thinks that coming for a little while is enough to say “I complied with my duty”. Or better still, the invisible Jew: he never appears. Or does anyone know the one who always says “I don’t have,” “I can’t,” “I don’t have enough,” “no, no, no.”
Because we are beginning this time of reflection and introspection and of making new goals for the future, I would like to tell you that all of us, who in one way or another are directing and working for this community, have tried to provide the necessary tools so that we can all develop a complete Jewish life in Costa Rica. But it seems we aren’t reaching our members. We have had services with barely a minyan, we have spoken with different members for different events and we haven’t had enough feedback. Now I ask you, why do you think it is necessary to have a community? Why do you think it is necessary to have a school, a place for meeting, study and reflection, or a cemetery? Do you think that this community is here to serve us only when we need it, just by pushing a button and everyone will be there for mourning, or a bat or bar mitzvah, for shivah or any other activity in Jewish life? Do you think there is anyone incapable of paying at least $10 per month to this community, the equivalent of 4 Coca Colas, or six bottles of water? I ask you to include these questionings in your thoughts during this period of introspection. And please know that anyone interested in participating in any of the new projects that the Rabbi has detailed on the cards which you have been given, please feel free to do so. You will be welcomed. We don’t have any cliques in our synagogue, but rather an open space for the participation of all of our members.
The needs are many, and although the Rabbi asked me not to talk about money today, nevertheless, I told him I hoped this would be the last time I had to do so on such an occasion as Rosh Hashanah. We need to collect $100,000.oo in order to cover our expenses for the year 2004, 5764: we have to complete the Rabbi’s Fund, we need to make important repairs in the cemetery, we need to acquire equipment for the proper functioning of our synagogue and school, we need to promote and organize more cultural and educational activities for adults and teenagers. The needs are many, and the donations are few. And the situation gets even more serious, as not everyone has even paid his or her monthly dues. It is the Board of Directors’ responsibility to watch over the expenses and spending, as well as to communicate our needs to the community. It is the responsibility of each one of you to make your best effort in determining the future you want for this community.
At the same time, not everything is bad. There are those who always participate, who are always willing to support and lend a hand. And they are the ones that most benefit from what happens here, the ones who find joy and spiritual fulfillment. Be part of this group, don’t miss it. Very soon we will have many new activities – weddings, bnei mitzvah, adult and teens studies, Leatid seminars, UJCL, a special aliyah program to Israel, rikkudim classes, etc. Don’t miss out by not participating.
As Rabbi Holzman has said, there are many ways in which you can participate. You have a card where you can annotate just how you want to participate. We must all work together to create and maintain a space for non Orthodox Judaism in Costa Rica. Let’s enrich ourselves with the heterogeneity of our community as we focus on the long term. Like Oscar Wilde said, “Progress is the realization of the utopias.”
On behalf of my family and myself,
Shanah Tovah Umetukah,
(Translated by Flor Keibel)
Shanah Tovah! Gmar Chatimah Tovah
Rabbi Harry A. and Lillian Roth
To all our friends and the wonderful families of B’nei Israel in San Jose, C.R.
We wish all of you the best and may this year bring health, happiness, much joy to all your lives but also the financial assurance that B’nei Israel will be able to provide for the needs of the Jewish community.
May all of you together see continued growth in the years ahead.
May the New Year bring Health and Happiness to every home and PEACE to the Household of Israel.
All our love,
Dear Friends,
Moshe Katsav
On the eve of the New Year, as is customary, we will recite the blessing: "May it be Thou will to renew unto us a good and sweet year," for the people of Israel and all human beings.
We pray that the year 5764 will herald blessings for the People of Israel that we live in security in our country - our homeland and that world Jewry and all of humanity will be granted a tranquil and secure life.
We pray that the much yearned for peace between us and our neighbours will be attained and that 5764 will see the disappearance of anti-Semitism in the world and a strengthening of the bond between the Jewish people in Israel and those in the Diaspora.
The free world strongly desires to live in peace and freedom. Humanity has the basic right to live without fear of terror. Israel has been suffering from terrorist activities since the beginning of Zionism and we believe that only a determined fight and international cooperation in the political, military, economic and judicial fields can annihilate terrorism.
I thank the Jewish communities for their expressions of solidarity with the State of Israel during this difficult period for the People of Israel. These increase our unity and lifts our spirit. We are proud that, despite all the difficulties, Aliyah is continuing. An extensive Aliyah can change Zionist and Jewish history and change the state of Israel.
I wish you and your families a good and blessed New Year, a year of success and the fulfillment of all our national and sovereign desires.
Sincerely,
Dear Friends,
Ariel Sharon
As we prepare to greet the New Year, I take great pleasure in extending my best personal wishes for a sweet 5764 to Israel´s sister Jewish communities the world over.
This part of the calendar is generally reserved for introspection. The past few years have been immensely challenging for the State of Israel, both politically and economically. And yet, one constant bright spot for the Jewish state has been our ability to rely on the passionate support of our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, giving us the strength and encouragement to persevere in the face of adversity.
Israel continues to struggle against terror, but our spirit remains unbroken. With resolve and determination, we will not cease in our efforts to realize the Zionist dream - building our homeland and bringing peace, security and prosperity to our people.
But the future of our nation rests on our combined shoulders. The task of preserving a secure Israel as the guarantor of Jewish life around the world must be our shared endeavor, and I am confident that our common purpose and destiny will lead us onto success in this mission.
From Jerusalem, the eternal and undivided capital of the Jewish people, I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.
Sincerely,
Dear Friends:
Martha E. Lichtenstein
As the eerie sounds of the shofar are getting closer, I wish you a 5764 overflowing with hope and materialized dreams, in which you receive the blessings of peace, and find new meaning in your practice of Judaism.
In particular, I would like you to consider our common vision for the UJCL in this month of introspection and spiritual search.
Our yearly Encounters, although very enriching and stimulating, are not enough to accomplish our goals. We must strive every moment to consolidate the unique position that the UJC L occupies among the small Jewish communities scattered in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This organization belongs to us, and for us to be able to be proud of it also in the future, we must be an active part of it. It is necessary that we contribute today our effort and our ideas. Each idea is a seed that will grow with our effort.
To all the young people who belong to the UJCL, and are our best guarantee of continuity, I extend my best wishes for the upcoming year. Let us commit ourselves in 5764 to direct our efforts to develop a Youth Department that will voice the concerns and longings of our children.
We have accomplished much up to this moment, let us make the future even brighter. It is within us the power to keep the flame alive. Let 5764 be the year in which it illuminates our way with renewed vigour, the year in which we raise our voices in unison to say "Hineini" when faced with the multiple challenges that confront us. May we all create a fulfilling Jewish life framework in our communities, already linked by strong ties of friendship and shared Jewish identity.
Leshanah tovah tikkatevu vetichatemu.
UJCL President
To Our Friends And Supporters Around The World,
Rabbi Marvin Hier
These are crucial times for Jews and friends of democracy everywhere. There is an upsurge of anti-Semitism in Europe and the Middle East and the United Nations has reverted back to its knee-jerk criticism of Israel. As the civilized world struggles to combat terrorism, the United Nations General Assembly, by a vote of 133-4, admonished the Jewish State not to expel Yassir Arafat - the man solely responsible for the collapse of Abu Mazen's government and who diverted nearly $1 billion dollars earmarked for humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. Is there a greater obstacle to peace than the man who refuses to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism? This Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, who minutes after Israel failed to eliminate the head of Hamas, was on the phone congratulating Sheik Yassin. Where was the outrage of the 133 member states of the United Nations then?
Meanwhile, the European Union, the flagship for Europe's future, has poured billions of Euros into the Palestinian Authority but has failed to insure that the funds would not be diverted to promote the PA's anti-Semitic culture of death. And it refused, until the latest spate of suicide bombings, to label all of Hamas a terrorist entity, further emboldening the most extremist forces to continue their attacks against Jews.
But it is not only Israel. The United States and Great Britain continue to be assailed by much of Europe for toppling the bloody regime of Saddam Hussein. Such criticism echoes the bitter condemnation 22 years ago when Europe assailed Menachem Begin for saving the Middle East from a potential nuclear holocaust by bombing Iraq's nuclear reactor.
But too many leaders in Europe refuse to confront the harsh truth that if we don't confront terrorism and the regimes that support and coddle them we will all pay a grim price tomorrow.
There is no better proof of this than last week's disclosure that a group of German neo-Nazis were arrested just as they were planning an attack at the cornerstone ceremonies for the new Jewish center in Munich. These very ceremonies are scheduled to be attended by the German President and Jewish leaders on November 9th in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the infamous Kristallnacht - where thousands of Jewish synagogues and businesses were destroyed in Germany and Austria, and which signaled the beginning of the end of European Jewry. Other targets included the headquarters of the Jewish community in Berlin. This new breed of old haters apparently are trying to take a page out of the bloody handbook of Middle East terrorists. This is a clear message to Europe - if they ignore Islamic terrorism, they will do so at their own peril.
Everyday my friends, the Wiesenthal Center is on the front lines - at the UN, at White House briefings with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, with Vice President Dick Cheney, at the Elysee Palace with French President Jacques Chirac, in Buenos Aires with Argentina's bold new, pro-democracy President Néstor Kirchner, with Canada's Foreign Minister Bill Graham, or our upcoming meeting with European Union High Representative Javier Solana.
The Center has also been on the frontlines in confronting Mel Gibson's film The Passion, which largely blames the Jews for the death of Jesus and is likely to fan the flames of antisemitism in Europe, the Middle East, and even in the United States as evidenced by the spate of hate mail the Center has received.
The Wiesenthal Center, in these difficult times, continues to reach out and teach millions of people the world over, through our renowned interactive studies on digital hate, our new documentary, Unlikely Heroes, and the historic opening of our Holocaust exhibition, The Courage to Remember at the Gandhi Memorial in India this November.
We undertake these difficult, diverse, and effective initiatives despite the fact that this has been a very difficult year for all charities especially so for an organization like ours committed to combating the global upsurge of anti-Semitism and bigotry. We need your support more than ever. Please be generous so that we can continue our important work on your behalf.
Wishing you and your loved ones a year of good health, happiness, and merited accomplishments.
Shanah tovah
Dean and Founder
During the High Holidays we have had the pleasure of receiving special donations, for all our different Funds. It is really wonderful to see that in times such as these – when we have to support a Rabbi, who is giving us so much; transform the Cemetery into the beautiful garden it should be; establish a Library that will fulfill us intellectually; offer religious services that everybody can hear, thanks to the excellent sound equipment; and get involved in various projects with our children, teens, and adults – members and friends of the Congregation are contributing as much as they can. I am sure we can make all our dreams come true!
To all these thoughtful people, thank you very much for your help. May this help become a source of spiritual pleasure for you.
Hilda ten Brink
As of Sunday, September 28 we had received the following donations:
Years ago, my father, Philip Steiger, gave me a book that he wanted to donate to the library in our congregation: The Jew in American Sports. He inscribed the book in English and in Hebrew, and signed it. It wasn’t a new book; rather an old one that he had owned for quite a while. He thought the young people in the congregation would be interested in reading it, and our sports buffs, like David Kaufman. I told him our library was in a state of disarray at the moment as we had just moved into the new building. I promised that once our library was in good condition, I would bring the book there.
Jody Bonilla
When I returned from Miami last week, I remembered that book. I took it down from the shelf and caressed it, holding it close to me as if it were recently touched by Dad. And I realized that the best I could do to honor his memory here in Costa Rica would be to make a pledge to renew our library, bring it back to life, and help to make it a resource for education, investigation and most importantly, enjoyment. My father loved books. He loved to read. I can see him bent over La Nación, struggling with the Spanish as he totally enjoyed piecing together the news of the day; or reading Lauran’s thesis with her last May, as she proudly presented him with a copy. A great deal of the luggage that accompanied Dad and Mom on their visits to Costa Rica were the many books they would read and then donate to the cachivache sales. He and I mutually kept a collection of books, first editions, of just a few authors who were important to us, Upton Sinclair and Sholom Asch being two of our favorites. The afternoon he passed away, he and Mom had just returned from their weekly trip to the library.
When Rabbi Roth told me he was making a donation to the congregation in Dad’s memory, I knew then that it had to go to the library. Family members have asked the same, and will be making similar donations. I have asked Amos Bien, our librarian, permission to work with him in cleaning, organizing, and making the books more accessible to our members, and Lauran has expressed her desire to do the same. This is our way to know that the joy he always found in books will be shared by our members today, and in future generations.
I would like to thank all of our members who have visited, called, written. Your words were a balm for all of the Bonillas and Steigers and Goulds. At the same time I thank you for allowing our Rabbi, Michael Holzman, to stay the additional weekend in Miami, where his counsel, guidance, and loving care helped us through such a difficult time.
By Ann Antkiw, taken from The Tico Times - September 5, 2003
This year, Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year – will also mark an auspicious and significant occasion for Costa Rica’s B’nei Israel Congregation, as it celebrates the High Holidays with its first permanent Rabbi, Michael Holzman.
A liberal synagogue, the congregation is affiliated with the World Union for Progressive Judaism and the Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean.
For more than 17 years, non-Orthodox Jewish families in Costa Rica have been meeting to share their experiences, dreams for the future and the Jewish way of life. Founding members of the community held services in their homes and garages. Ten years ago they rented a dilapidated building on the old road to Escazú, west of San José’s Sabana Park.
The present-day synagogue, an impressive modern building standing on this site, opened its doors in February 2001.
“I’m here today thanks to the eight founding families and dedicated members of the community whose zeal, donations and aspirations eventuated in building the synagogue and school,” said Rabbi Holzman with a smile. “I was extremely impressed by members of the congregation I met at a conference in the U.S. When they invited me to become the B’nei Israel Congregation’s first permanent Rabbi, I accepted their offer with great pleasure and pride.”
This is the exuberant young Rabbi’s first congregation. He arrived in Costa Rica two months ago with his wife and year-old son, and his work officially commenced at the synagogue August 1. The congregation at B’nei Israel comprises about one-third Costa Ricans, another third from other Latin American countries, and the remainder from North America and other parts of the world.
“We are a global community, and one of the main principals among liberal Jews is to welcome strangers and flexibility with language,” said Rabbi Holzman. “Our services are conducted in Hebrew, Spanish, and English.”
Learning Spanish was a top priority, and David Kaufman, a dedicated member of the congregation and owner of San José’s well-known language school Centro Lingüístico Conversa, immersed him in an intensive five-week Spanish course.
“I’ve been extremely busy! Now I’m trying to get my study organized,” said Rabbi Holzman, enthusiastically, as he eyed boxes of books waiting to be unpacked.
Born in New York and raised in Miami, Holzman graduated from Washington University, St. Louis with a degree in Environmental Science and worked at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. as an assistant prosecutor of environmental crimes.
“While living there, I was a member of a fantastic congregation and began to understand the power of the community. In Israel, the message of Zionism and the discovery of Jewish history and ancient texts had an enormous influence on me and helped me make my final commitment,” said the youthful Rabbi.
It took two years of preparation for the entrance exam to the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem, where he studied at the rabbinical school for a year, and then a further four years in New York.
Liberal Judaism outside the U.S. suffers from a shortage of Rabbis, and the B’nei Israel Congregation is extremely lucky to have found one with a profound vision. Rabbi Holzman’s plans for the future include the revitalization of Jewish life in Costa Rica, giving members and the wider community a sense of what it means to be a Jew, and welcoming many faces, new and old, to participation in worship.
“Having a permanent Rabbi provides opportunities for diverse activities, such as study of Judaism, theater, travel, and even cooking classes to enrich the lives of the Jewish community,” he said.
Services are Fridays, 8 p.m. On the first Friday of the month, a service oriented towards families with children is held at 6:30 p.m. For further information, call 231-5243, e-mail: congbnei@racsa.co.cr or see www.bnei-israel.org
The synagogue is 800 meters west of Pops in the Sabana, on the old road to Escazú.
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Dear friends:
Gabriel Hercman - ghercman@entelnet.bo
It is almost a fact that the Embassy of Israel in Bolivia will close its doors next December. As you can imagine, this action conveys great difficulty and great sorrow to the community as a whole.
The situation is serious. Not only will another Israeli embassy in Latin America close its doors but also, with the reappearance and formation of neo-Nazi groups, plus the latent possibility of terrorist cells in the continent, we will be – as Jews – still more defenseless before the governments of the region.
We are asking you to help us in a very simple way, just by sending the following letter to the e-mail addresses listed below, which belong to high officials of the government of Israel, such as Ariel Sharon, Netaniahu, etc.
Please send this e-mail to your contact lists.
Thank you.
Comunidad Judía de Bolivia.
To the authorities of Medinat Israel:
Through this email I would like to advocate before you, in favor of the brethren of the Jewish community of Bolivia, to reconsider the closing of the Israeli Embassy in that country.
We understand that the closing of the Embassy in Bolivia, leaves the community without political support towards the authorities, and we fall in the risk of permitting another channel of attack against our people.
It is important to state, that this measure that sums to the closing of other embassies and consulates in Latin America, interferes in the relations with the governments, who feel upset about their relations towards the communities.
There is also something to remember: by the Bolivian territory there is an annual passage of about 15000 Israeli tourists, who have always been assisted by the Embassy when they lost their properties or their passports, or when they were robbed, and also in case of death, which were not few in the last years.
I hope you can understand the situation and that it will be resolved favorably.
Sincerely and a cordial Shalom
Imagine a 4 year old boy. His household – and his world, for that matter – consists of father, mother, a brother, and two older sisters, Elena and Cristina, currently studying abroad. And Sandra, the maid.
(Real life story – Contributed by Inés Baum)
- Mummy, have you heard God’s voice?
- Yes, sure.
- How does it sound?
- Each person hears it in a different way. We hear it in our minds and in our hearts. When you’ve been mad with your brother, and you want to hit him hard, haven’t you heard a voice coming from somewhere that says (voice from beyond) “doon’t do it….”?
- Yes! And does God speak with everybody?
- Of course. Ask your daddy, your brother, Sandra, ask Cristina and Elena…
- (In awe) Really! God also speaks by MSN?!!!
Contributed by Gabriel Hercman - In honor of Hilda ten Brink
During last year High Holidays, many people felt uncomfortable because of the seat distribution at the Synagogue. In order to situate you in the place you prefer, please fill out the following form and return it to our Secretary as soon as possible.
B’nei Israel Congregation wishes to express condolences PHILIP STEIGERSeptember 2003 |
We are very pleased to announce that, as of Monday, September 22, we have a new Secretary in the Synagogue. Her name is MAYRA SEQUEIRA. So, if you are interested in paying your dues, making an appointment with the Rabbi, or anything else, please call Mayra, who can help you, both in Spanish and in English.
Her office hours are:
