Our New Board Members

Please welcome our three newest Board Trustees:

Allyson Cole Strauss, Danielle Flaumenhaft and Dr. Marc Silverstein

My Story by Diane Rayor

I come from a blend of Jewish traditions. My mother grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in Denver where they walked to their Orthodox shul. Then she raised our family kosher Reform. My confirmation teacher at Temple Micah instigated my love of ancient history and language by teaching Torah as a history of ideas. (I just retired from the Classics department at GVSU in my 30th year.) As a young adult, I rarely attended any synagogue. However, I kept the holidays and became a pescatarian in college as a way of maintaining kashrut. 

Moving to such a Christian region as Grand Rapids in 1991, and having a child, crystalized a strong need to belong to a Jewish community. Initially, I joined Temple and--for one year--even taught Sunday School there (high schoolers are much tougher to teach than college students!). Today, I’m Secretary of the Board of Trustees and Membership Chair for the second round since I found my community here at Ahavas Israel in 2004. 

My personal journey to this point helps me consider with excitement the possibility of Ahavas, Temple Emanuel, and the Jewish Federation in one building. Ahavas, as others have said before in their pieces for the Voice, is now at a crossroads. Will we cling to this building or isolation in a smaller building--and diminish? Or can we embrace this opportunity to collaborate with Temple and Federation, drawing strength from what we can do together? 

We will continue to practice our own religious traditions wherever we are located. Hopefully, we can discover ways to enrich our social and religious practices to help us now and for the future. During this pandemic, we all long for contact, fellowship, connection. Community and tikkun olam are values central to Judaism. My hope is that joining together in a larger community will lead to new ways to center social justice and environmental justice within our traditional practice.

Now is an opportune moment to move forward in this collaboration. The word “synagogue” means “bringing/leading/gathering together” in Greek. What can we do together to help our Jewish community and the broader communities we live in?

Thank you, Diane Rayor

Caring for Our Democracy by Lanny Thodey

Boy!  What a year 2020 has been so far … so much happening in our world – from Bush Fires in Australia (yes, I even was surrounded by one while I was there … very scary!) to the arrival of the CoVid19 Virus all over the planet … From Forest Fires on our West Coast to Hurricanes in the East … and Strange Windstorms in the middle of our country! … From an incredible Rate of Unemployment to a Recession atmosphere … from Political Divisiveness to Protests in our streets … We will all remember 2020!

Why am I writing about this?   Easy … there is something we ALL can and should do … and our Jewish morays and traditions point the way for us.  We all have an obligation to “make things better”. 

1. Community – we ALL have an obligation to contribute to the welfare of our community; locally, nationally, and globally.  What can we do?

• Reach out to our neighbors, friends and relatives … some may be hungry, some may need help finding a job, some may need special help or care in their home, some may just need someone to  “talk to” … make yourself and your resources available to them!
• Reach out to Organizations that are filling some of these needs as well … donate to a food bank, to a service organization, volunteer at a non-profit … offer to make phone calls, drive those who need transportation, and more.
• Take advantage of our precious Democracy … Write letters, make phone calls, sign petitions to ensure that our government leaders act responsibly in the face of all this.

1. Organize – If you see a need out there that is not being addressed, do what you can to organize others to help provide a service that is needed.  Become that resource.

1. Remember your Civic Duty … this is an important election year … and this message reaches you just days before our Nation officially casts its votes for our next leaders and policies.   

MAKE SURE YOU CAST YOUR VOTE!!

Yes, EVERY VOTE counts! … make sure yours is there … no matter what side of the fence you are on, please make sure your voice is heard … and, if you are ON the fence, be pro-active! … Get informed so you can responsibly make a decision!

Wishing Good Health, Peace, Safety and Happiness to you all … 

Lanny Thodey, Board Trustee, Congregation Ahavas Israel

From The President

I would like to thank the many people who have wished me well in my second journey as President of Ahavas Israel. The world is quite a different place since my first term in 2002.

Security was not an urgent matter then. However in 2020 it is a very pressing one. We have done many things to protect our building and attendees, we have an active security committee, good relations with Grand Rapids Police and, thanks to Ken Strauss and Doug deLange, a grant was awarded to Congregation Ahavas Israel that will allow us to further harden our building and create a safer environment.

In 2002, a few people were thinking about how the Grand Rapids Jewish community can be better served by considering how collaboration between Ahavas Israel and Temple Emanuel might work. In 2020, there is a sizable committee of community members who are actively working to define what collaboration between Temple, Ahavas, Jewish Federation, United Jewish School and Jewish Theater might mean. You will be hearing more about this in the months ahead. If you have any questions now, you can contact me, Barbara Wepman, Lanny Thodey, Shoshana Jackson, JudyJoseph, Diane Rayor or Rabbi Krishef.

The coronavirus has created many challenges. After a short reopening of our Shabbat services, they have been paused for the time being. Weekday minyans are held online on Zoom at 8:00 a.m. and last 30-35 minutes. We have a consistent group that meets Monday-Friday. There is room for more so join in. Please consider starting your day in a prayerful way. The Zoom settings are published weekly in the eVoice or you can contact Rabbi Krishef or Deb. 

Our office is open with limited hours during the week. If you want to talk with Deb or Rabbi, please call or email to make an appointment. Once you arrive, you will need to wear a mask and keep a six-foot distance from others in the building.

As High Holidays approach, different variations on possible in-person or home-based streaming models are being considered.  It is too soon to say (it is early August as I write this) what Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will look like. We have purchased a professional quality camera and set up streaming technology in our building. In addition to streaming, Rabbi is also considering other ways to make the Holidays meaningful to you. You will be hearing more as we get closer to September 20.

Have a safe New Year.

Sanford Freed

President