Rabbi Cohon invited everyone to share what they were thankful for. A few children raised their hands saying they were thankful for their mom and dad, and their pets. Handmaker resident, Elaine McLain, said she was thankful to be living at Handmaker. Another resident, Gertrude Shankman, said she was thankful to be 102 years old. Rabbi Cohon ended with saying that we can all be thankful for our health. Amen.

-Handmaker Tucson

It is time to update and renovate our main playground.  The current climber has been apart of our school for 16 years and is ready to retire.  Our New playground will be moving with the times and have an open feel with room to run and lots of balancing and climbing choices.

We are fortunate to have the support of the WRJ (Women of Reform Judaism) at Temple Emaunu-el underwrite half of the new playground for us.  We could not be more thankful for the support of the wonderful addition to our school! 

Here is a sneak peek of what is coming.

A Haiku for Jews:

On Passover we

opened the door for Elijah.

Now our cat is gone.

One of the most beautiful and poignant moments at every Passover Seder is the section in which we welcome Elijah the Prophet, Eliyahu haNavi, to our homes.  Although he made a belated entry into the Haggadah in the Middle Ages, his ritual has now become a favorite part for children and adults.  The beautiful cup that sits waiting throughout the Seder for his delayed arrival is a promise-in-anticipation, a clue that something more is coming after the meal, and thereafter, too.  And Elijah’s full Kiddush Cup must be the only Jewish food or drink item in all of our history that is guaranteed to remain un-ingested... 

Elijah symbolizes hope, the promise of a Messianic future of peace, tranquility, and blessing.  And what could be a better message at a festival of freedom like the Pesach Seder?

For the youngest children, the magic of opening the door, turning down the lights, and watching the wine in Elijah’s Cup lower just a bit (“He has to visit so many Seders!  How could he drink a full cup at each?”) is a lovely and lively tradition.  For the rest of us, too mature to be swept away by such a ritual, this beautiful custom reminds us of the mystical element in Judaism, and encourages in us the belief that things can indeed get better and there is always hope for the future.

Following a tradition that my father, Rabbi Baruch J. Cohon developed, during the Elijah observance at our Temple seder we remember the Jewish rebels of the Warsaw ghetto “who fought the heroes’ fight and died the heroes’ death,” and whose revolt began on Seder night 1943.  His poem invites the martyrs to come in and join in the Pesach observance, and concludes, “Elijah, celebrate a seder for us both.”

Others have taken a more lighthearted approach to the Elijah section.  One of my favorite stories about Passover comes from Sandy Hackett, writing about his father, comedian Buddy Hackett (“the guy with the marbles in his mouth”):

“Ever since I was a little kid I remember Dad having an open house for Passover.  Actors, fellow comics, singers, they were all there for the Seders.  One thing vividly stands out in my mind.  I went to open the door to let Elijah the Prophet in—and standing there was Gregory Peck.  He asked me if it was too late for the service, and I said ‘No, go right in; Dad’s expecting you.’”

Hey, if Charlton Heston can play Moses and Mel Gibson(!) can direct Jesus, why not Gregory Peck as Elijah?

The truth is that the entire experience of the Passover Seder is designed to teach us how to enjoy and appreciate freedom, to learn to see that the future can be brighter than the present.  This promise is at the heart of our religion, and the center of our identity as a people.

However you choose to celebrate Eliyahu HaNavi, may he help you and your family to a joyous, beautiful, and meaningful Pesach of hope.

Chag Samei’ach v’Kasher, a ziessen Pesach, and a happy holiday of Passover,

Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon

Twelve years ago, on the occasion of my fifth Anniversary celebration here at Temple Emanu-El, I received one of the greatest compliments a rabbi can hear. A congregant told me, “Rabbi, you introduced me to the joy of Judaism!”

We often focus on the ethical and historical importance of our wonderful religion, the responsibility it cultivates in us to try to improve our world through righteous action.  That reflects our understanding of the principle of ol haTorah, literally the “yoke of Torah,” the weighty responsibility inherent in our status as covenantal partners with God in this world.  It is at the heart of our Jewish mandate to seek, always, to repair the world.  But restricting our religion to that alone leaves out a central part of Jewish experience.

Judaism is supposed to be fun!   Allied to the concept of human responsibility is the much merrier idea of simcha shel mitzah, the joy of commandment.  The mitzvot are designed to add joy and goodness to our lives, and we have the privilege and possibility of celebrating them in the ways we fulfill them.

Never is that more true than in the wonderful, silly holiday of Purim coming up this month.  Purim celebrates our redemption from likely destruction long ago in Persia.  It is often connected to Hanukkah, not least for the way both festivals resonate with the very Jewish slogan, “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!”  But there are differences between the holidays, too.  While Hanukkah commemorates our salvation from spiritual destruction, and is certainly based on historical events, Purim remembers our rescue from physical destruction at the hands of an evil plotter, and it is likely somewhat apocryphal: we don’t know if Mordechai and Esther really existed, or if there truly was a wicked plot to kill all the Jews and steal their property 2400 years ago.  

Nor does it matter.  Purim, like later festivals such as Mardi Gras or Carnival, teaches us that religion has to embody the happiest parts of our personalities as well, and joy is an essential ingredient in the human relationship to God and to the world.  We are literally commanded to celebrate, and to do so in ways that might not be appropriate at other times. 

Satire, parody, broad humor, and all sorts of ridiculous costumes, jokes, and activities are actually required on Purim by Jewish law.  On other days we are commanded to show respect for our incredible traditions.  On Purim, we are literally commanded to make fun of ourselves and our own foibles and customs.

Here at Temple Emanu-El we have long worked nearly as hard to celebrate Purim fully and richly as we work to observe the many more serious festivals of the year.  That’s not just because kids love Purim.  Adults need Purim even more.  In fact, all of our Purim Extravaganza shows are designed to appeal both to children of all ages and adults, to capture the humor and present it so that kids get the jokes on one level while adults understand the satire in a wholly different, more sophisticated way.

This year, we will be presenting the Book of Esther in all of its wild, complex, anarchic literal glory.  Mind you, the original story is much like any popular Netflix or Amazon Prime series—House of Cards or Game of Thrones both come to mind, as does the new Star Wars movie.  When you read Esther in the Bible you will discover a tale of palace intrigue, drunken revelry, egotism, sexism, manipulation, corruption, class violence, capital punishment, thwarted sexual assault, hanging, and a wide variety of other devilry.  Of course, you will also read about human heroism and Jewish redemption from destruction.  To hear the real thing presented aloud, in both Hebrew and English, attend the Traditional Megillah reading on Wednesday, March 23rd at 6:30 PM.  You can boo Haman and cheer Mordechai and Esther, dress up in costume, eat Hamantashen, and enjoy a regular Purim.

But as is our 17-year old Temple Emanu-El tradition, we will also parody a contemporary musical in ways that parallel and create comedy that can be understood at multiple levels.  Everyone is invited to celebrate with us as we present our theatrical Purim parody, The Book of Esther--a fantastic parody of The Book of Mormon, much cleaner than the original play, --on Sunday, March 20th at 10 AM.  This is a full satirical parody musical, with costumes, sets, singing, dancing and the most unusual and entertaining beauty contest ever seen.  Please don’t take this to be a serious effort to educate or transform the world: it is meant to be fun and silly, and we will work hard to make sure that it is.  

Because on Purim even God is commanded to laugh.  And we certainly are.

Chag Purim Samei’ach, may you enjoy a truly happy holiday of Purim,

Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon

Wonderful news! We are currently on the active waitlist for Quality First selection for this fiscal year (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016). Establishing environments and experiences for young children that support development is a central feature of this quality improvement program. Children need to have sufficient time to deeply engage with learning materials and other self-selected learning experiences. Research has demonstrated that having enough time and space to engage with the materials is important to optimizing children’s development. We will be furthering our knowledge of Child Health and Development, Early Learning, Strengthening Families, Early Childhood Systems Building, Early Literacy and Community Awareness by participating in Quality First. 

Date:  Friday, May 15th
Time: 11:00am

Click on the link below to watch a live stream of the Pre-Kindergarten Siyyum on Temple Emanu-El's website at the date and time listed above:

http://www.templeemanueltucson.org/media-galleries/video-player

Batman?  Check.

Princess Elsa?  Check.

Firefighter?  Check.

A SCARECROW???  CHECK!!!

To say that our turnout at this year's Strauss ECE and Kindergarten Purim Parade was good, would be an understatement!  We have never had so many children (and parents) dressed up in such an array of creative costumes to celebrate the holiday of Purim.  As we marched together throughout the halls of our school and the rest of Temple Emanu-El, we clapped our hands and sang some of our favorite Purim songs to the delight of everyone around.  Thank you to our clergy, parents, and teachers who helped create such an incredible atmosphere for one of our favorite holidays!

Several of the moments were captured on video and highlighted below:

At the Strauss ECE and Kindergarten, we love books!

Reading aloud is recognized as an important activity leading to language development.  As such, we have set the groundwork for a web-series called the Strauss Storytellers.  Every Friday, the children in our 2, 3, and Pre-K classrooms will join together in the Katz Family Library and Youth Center to hear one or two books read aloud.  You will be invited to choose one of your child’s favorite books that can be read by you, a grandparent, aunt, uncle or even an older sibling.  

Another exciting aspect of this new enrichment activity is that each book read will be filmed and uploaded to our website (www.straussece.com) for you and your child to share together. 

More specific details will follow, but for now, we hope you are as excited as we are for the Strauss Storytellers!!!

BEGINNING FRIDAY, MARCH 13

TOTAL BOOKS SOLD:  630

GROSS SALES:  $3,403.61

We also gained over 170 books for our classrooms and we will be able to purchase other supplies and some furniture!

Many thanks to all who volunteered and bought books!  Also, a special thank you to Liz Firmage for her tireless effort in making this fundraiser the most successful we have ever had!

Raffle Winners:
-Traci Smith
-Sara White
 

Our ECE children and their parents had the pleasure of tasting a wide variety of foods and juices that aren't typically consumed on a daily basis.  Oranges, olives, figs, and carob chips were several of the food items on the plate, while 4 different types of juice (from lightest to darkest) were consumed.  It was an incredible seder full of blessings, songs, and of course - - the conga line!

 

For those of you who do not know influential Olga and Bob Strauss have been to our preschool, let us take you back to 1966 when they first became members of Temple Emanu-El. As years went by, they became involved in and supported many areas of Temple life.  Bob served on the Temple Board of Directors for 8 years and they both continuously voiced their main interest in creating the best possible community to provide Jewish education for children of generations to come.

In their commitment to Jewish education, Olga and Bob became actively involved in many aspects of the development and growth of our preschool from the time it was constructed. Over the years, they have dedicated classrooms and playgrounds, established the Robert Strauss Preschool Education Fund to help provide the materials necessary for our enrichment programs, and helped bring a much-needed water source to the older classrooms on the west side of our building.

Of course, the above mentioned is only a small sample size of everything Olga and Bob have provided for our preschool.  The magnitude for which their time and generosity has continued to improve our program is immeasurable and we will forever be indebted to their graciousness.