Added August 2022
Chanukat HaBayit for Deb Scheib and Sue Anderson
June 29
Picnic & Pray in the Park
July 01
Published January 2022
Sixth Night of Chanukah and New Member Shabbat
On the Sixth Night of Chanukah, Temple David members gathered prior to the Erev Shabbat service to light our own chanukkiyot.
Some members shared a special memory about their chanukkiyah that was followed by a special service led by Rabbi Symons that welcomed our newest Temple David families.
First Annual Chanukah Games
The First Annual Chanukah Games was a success. Seventeen families participated, and people of all ages joined together to form four teams: the Menorah Mensches, Maccabees, Sizzling Potato Latkes, and Jelly Doughnuts.
Teams competed in online challenges each day during the eight nights of Chanukah. Be sure to check the Temple David Facebook page to see the great submissions for the challenges. Families also got points for attending nightly online Chanukah candle lightings and Temple Shabbat Services. All families participated in a Tzedakah Challenge to donate socks to Operation Safety Net. We collected 600 pairs of socks to keep some toes toasty this winter.
After the week of challenges, teams assembled at Temple to compete in a few more challenges and then the winning team was announced. The Jelly Doughnuts won, and carried the torch to light the Grand Chanukkiyah built by Randy Boswell!
Thanks to all who participated, planned, set-up, cleaned up, transported items, and to Randy for building it. It was a great first event and we are already looking forward to the Second Annual Chanukah Games!
Published August 2021
Temple Tailgate 2021
Photos: Linda Jones
Published May 2021
Havdalah and Tot Shabbat/PJ Library®
with Grades Pre-K through 2
Saturday, March 20
Photos: Elisa Beth Haransky Beck
Published April 2021
Purim 2021
Purim Song Videos
Published January 2021
November 21 – Monroeville Interfaith Ministerium
Thanksgiving Gathering
November/December 2020 Chanukah Give-Away
Published December 2020
November 14 Tot Shabbat and PJ Library ®
Published November 2020
Simchat Torah Superlatives
On Erev Simchat Torah, we had the privilege of meeting some of our biblical personalities. Here are their much-deserved awards:
Best Costumes, Props and Background:
Adam & Eve (David & Jan Zimmer)
Yes, they did wear clothes! Their skin-tone outfits covered in leaves, having figs as props and the garden background invited us right into the Garden of Eden.
Best Choreography:
Mr. & Mrs. Noah (Randy & Marsha Boswell)
Surrounded by animals, the waters were rocking them even during the interview. Did they have Dramamine back then or only the moonshine they gave to the animals?
Most Jewishly Literate:
Sarah (Barbara Fisher)
In answering how she felt about leaving with Abraham when God called, she said “Wherever he goes, I will go” and mentioning that though someone in the future may try to take credit for it (Ruth), she originated the phrase.
Funniest:
Miriam (Reena Goldberg)
When asked if she ever thought of changing her name because it means “Bitter Waters,” she held up a bottle of beer and energetically said “No!” and then took a swig.
Best Answer:
A Nameless Israelite (Melissa Cooper)
Question: Sometimes you stop in the wilderness for one night, sometimes for up to a year but you never know in advance. It is all about when God’s signal of the pillar of fire or pillar of cloud stops. Every time you stop, you build a sukkah. If you could look into the future and go to a store like Lowe’s or Home Depot, what single item would you buy in order to make sukkah-building easier?
Answer: Duct Tape
Eternally Best Commercial:
Moses (Fred Bortz)
For plugging the Torah and Talmud.
Thank you for bringing simcha to Simchat Torah!
Published November 2020
Rosh HaShanah 5781
Tashlich at Valley Park (Beck)
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Tashlich at Valley Park (Beck)
Published October 2020
Shabbat in the Park
August 28, 2020
Published June 2020
Temple David Continues to Zoom Along
Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day)
Activities
Published May 2020
Temple David Events on Zoom
Published April 2020
Purim Thanks!
This year’s Purim Celebration was an outstanding example of the remarkable volunteer spirit of Temple David. With Rabbi Symons on her well-deserved three-month sabbatical, we managed to deliver a Purim celebration that will probably be remembered for years.
Many of you have thanked me for writing, directing, and playing talk show host “Eubie the Eunuch” in our original Purim Shpiel called “Shushan Confidential.” Your thanks are appreciated, but I want to spread the love.
Thanks to Stan Beck for pushing me to write some song parodies and build a Shpiel around them. Stan also organized the salad, pasta, and pizza meal that started the evening with help from Laura Beck, Caroline Fellinger, Sue Gerber, Alaina and Reena Goldberg, and Robin and Sammy Sloan.
Thanks also to the Sisterhood Hamantaschen Team: Mary Bendorf, Wendy Bright, Melissa Cooper, Debra Gerse, Arin Keough, Robin Sloan, and Elaine Wolfe.
Thanks to my wife, Susan, for making the main event, the M’gillah Reading, a joyful and entertaining centerpiece of the evening. She appeared as “Gittel the Good Witch from Nahshu,” and had us all cheering for Mordechai, clapping for Esther, and drowning out the name of Haman with boos and gragers.
The Shpiel was the evening’s sweet dessert. Susan’s introduction set the tone with a bit of mishegas, and Norm Chapman, a.k.a. “Mr. Persian-ality,” deserves special thanks for his excellent keyboard work. Besides myself, the cast included Randy Boswell as Elvis impersonator and Vashti’s divorce lawyer, Albert “Al” E. Mony; Sheila Cartiff as Shoshana Steinsaltz, owner of the Shushan Shoeshine Stand and Scepter Shop; Marsha Boswell, Anya Bakaturski, and Olivia Bakaturski as Jasmine and the Jingle Belles who sang the commercial jingles; Heather Benes as Hamana, Haman’s twin sister and last runner-up in the Shushan beauty contest; Melissa Cooper as Harriet Hochhouser, head honcho of Harriet’s Homemade Hamantaschen; and Richard Myerowitz as Casper “Cass” Stratti, best friend of eunuchs Bigthan and Teresh. Randy also created a great set, and Melissa helped with costuming and provided great directing advice.
Our costumed chorus was Isabel Bakaturski (Esther), Ilene Levin (Vashti), Matt Levin (Ahasuerus), Jay Goodman (Haman), Carol Congedo (Bigthan), Kay Liss (Teresh), Stan Beck (Mordechai), and Jim Jones (Gorilla).
If you missed the Shpiel, don’t despair. We will soon have a video available, thanks to Heather’s brother and videographer Mitch Harris. Be sure to set aside about twenty minutes, and prepare to laugh!
Fred Bortz