Rabbi Hayim Donin’s To Be a Jew, Becomes Adult Education Course at Beth Shalom

Rabbi Hayim Donin’s fundamental work in his classic guide To Be a Jew will become an adult education course at Temple Beth Shalom beginning November 12th. The class will meet regularly on Wednesdays from 1:45 until 2:30 p.m. and will be moderated by Merrill Shapiro, Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom. All are welcome, there is no charge, no advance arrangements need be made. Because of the nature of the course, no meeting is dependent on previous or future meetings. Thus, each session is stand-alone, participants need make no commitment to regular attendance.  


To Be a Jew is Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin's classic guide to Jewish life, philosophy, and law has guided generations of Americans, Europeans, and Israelis to discover the treasures of their own religious traditions. First published in 1972, the book still stands as a reliable, practical and versatile resource for everyone from young girls preparing for bat mitzvah to old men returning to their spiritual roots. The book begins with an overview of Judaism's basic credo (including chapters on Israel's people, land, God, and Torah), moves on to describe the laws governing Jews' daily lives, the Jewish calendar, and "The Special Occasions of Life" from birth to death and mourning. One great strength of To Be a Jew is its blending of folk wisdom and scholarly learning. Rabbi Donin not only describes what right belief and righteous action look like but provides a rationale for these observances that engages and embraces the basic conditions of modern life.  

The initial course calendar and subjects to be discussed include:
 
 
November 12 Israel –The People
 
November 19 Israel –Its Land
 
November 26 Israel-Its God
 
December 3 Israel- Its Torah
 
December 10 Halakha: The Jewish Way
 
December 17 The Reasons for the Commandments
 
January 7th Kindness: A Means to an End
 
January 14 acts of Kindness
 
January 21 Laws of Charity
 
January 28 Laws Relating to Slander, Revenge and Deceit

Hebrew Reading Course Offered at Beth Shalom

Jews with littleor no background in the Hebrew language can learn basic Hebrew reading skills, allowing them to connect with their Jewish heritage, follow along in a prayer book at services, and help their children with Hebrew school homework with enrollment in a course offered at Palm Coast’s Temple Beth Shalom. The class meets Wednesday afternoons from 2:30 until 3:00 p.m. and the initial schedule calls for meetings on November 12th, 19th and 26th, December 3rd, 10th and 17th and January 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. There is a $10 charge for materials, the text “Kriah u’Tefillah L’Matchilim” A Reading and Prayer Primer recently updated by the New York publisher Ktav and author Zvi Scharfstein. Details and further information are available from instructor Merrill Shapiro, Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom.  

The results of the recent National Jewish Population Survey show a decline in the American Jewish population, making clear the need to offer American Jews access to engaging educational programming that will inspire them to integrate Judaism into their lives. Experience has demonstrated that they beginning Hebrew Reading courses are a fantastic way to get people to take their first steps into Jewish life and to generate interest in Jewish traditions and culture.

Beth Shalom and Hadassah Offer Modern Spoken Hebrew Classes

Temple Beth Shalom and Palm Coast Hadassah have partnered to offer classes in modern spoken Hebrew through a course called Ivrit L'Hadassah, Hebrew of Hadassah. The classes meet Wednesday afternoons at Temple Beth Shalom  The beginngers course is offered from 3:00 until 3:45 p.m. while a course for intermediate level students is is offered from 1:00 untill 1:45 p.m.  The courses are open to all and there is no charge. Further details are available from the course instructor Merrill Shapiro, the Rabbi of Temple Beth Shalom who can be reached in the synagogue office at 386-445-3006.

The initial course calendar plans meetings on Wednesdays November 12th, 19th and 26th, December 3rd, 10th and 17th and January 7th, 14th 21st and 28th.   

Learning Hebrew is not as hard as one might think. Anyone can learn to read, speak, and understand the language of the Bible, prayers, and of daily life in Israel. Even for those who can't read a single Hebrew letter, or those who already have a background in the language, Ivrit la Hadassah – Hadassah's National Hebrew Studies program – can provide anyone and everyone with the basic building blocks of Hebrew to help build or increase Hebrew Language proficiency. 

Ivrit la Hadassah offers a four-level program that teaches the Hebrew alphabet in segments, integrates grammar sequentially, and introduces conversational Hebrew. Peer-led classes use an exciting, low-pressure, results-oriented approach that emphasizes basic skills and conversational fluency.Participants have fun learning, and make friends who share a  Jewish consciousness and love of Israel.

The gift of Jewish and Hebrew literacy is now available to Flagler County residents.  

Flagler County Jews to Mark 91st Balfour Day with Picnic at Herschel King Park

Flagler County’s Jews will gather at Palm Coast’s Herschel King, Sr. Park at 12 noon, Sunday, November 2nd to picnic and to celebrate the 91st anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, proclaiming the British Government’s support for the founding of a Jewish State in what was, on November 2, 1917, called Palestine. The event is open to the public and tickets are $12 and include a full picnic lunch, children under age 13 are free. All are welcome. For further information contact Temple Beth Shalom at 386-445-3006.

The picnic is a program of the Palm Coast synagogue’s Men’s Club and Sisterhood and will include a brief program honoring the The Balfour Declaration dated November 2, 1917 a classified formal statement of policy by the British government stating that the British government "view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" with the understanding that "nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

The declaration was made in a letter from Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation, a private Zionist organization. The letter reflected the position of the British Cabinet, as agreed upon in a meeting on October 31, 1917. It further stated that the declaration is a sign of "sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations."

The statement was issued through the efforts of Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow, the principal Zionist leaders based in London but, as they had asked for the reconstitution of Palestine as “the” Jewish national home, the Declaration fell short of Zionist expectations. The "Balfour Declaration" was later incorporated into the Sèvres peace treaty with Turkey and the Mandate for Palestine. The original document is kept at the British Library.

Palm Coast Hadassah to mark Veteran’s Day with UF Dean Emeritus Lowenstein

The little-known but indispensable role of American Jews in the creation of Israel will be described at 1 p.m. Tuesday, November 11, by a University of Florida professor speaking to the Palm Coast Chapter of Hadassah at Temple Beth Shalom in Palm Coast. 
Ralph Lowenstein, dean emeritus of the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida in Gainesville, will speak on the topic “Anonymous Ally: The American Jewish role in Israel’s War of Independence.” The public is welcome to attend. There is no charge and no advance arrangements for the hour-long program are necessary. For directions to the synagogue at 40 Wellington Drive in Palm Coast, call 386-445-3006. Additional information is available through Palm Coast Hadassah at 386-446-9353. 

Veteran’s Day speaker Lowenstein is a native of Danville, Virginia and fought in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence after he volunteered for the Israeli Army at the age of 18, while a summer exchange student in Europe at the end of his freshman year at Columbia University. He lived in a Displaced Persons camp in Marseilles under an assumed name, then saw combat as a half-track driver with the 79th Armored Battalion, 7th Brigade, 10 days after being smuggled into Israel. He later served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Lowenstein holds two degrees from Columbia and the Ph.D. from the University of Missouri where he served as chairman of the News-Editorial Department of the University’s School of Journalism. An award-winning reporter, he was visiting professor and head of journalistic studies at Tel Aviv University from 1967 to 1968. He is author or co-author of five books, including "Bring my Sons from Far," (World, 1966), a novel about Israel's War of Independence
  
In 2005, Professor Lowenstein built the Museum of American and Canadian Volunteers in Israel’s War of Independence in the University of Florida’s new Hillel Jewish Student’s Organization building. Since 1982, he has been collecting extensive archives, including questionnaires, memoirs and photos, for the University of Florida Libraries on the 1,250 American and Canadian men and women who worked on American ships rescuing Holocaust survivors from Europe or who served in the Israeli armed forces during the War of Independence.

County Commissioner Holland to Explain Environmentally Sensitive Lands Issue on November Ballot at Temple Beth Shalom, 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 15th

Flagler County Commissioner Milissa Holland will explain the Issue 10 “Clean Water and Environmentally Sensitive Land Preservation to be found on the county’s November 4th ballot at a public meeting to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 15th in the sanctuary of Temple Beth Shalom, 40 Wellington Drive in Palm Coast. All are welcome to attend, there is no charge, no advance arrangements need be made. For further information and directions contact the Temple Beth Shalom office at 386-445-3006. Milissa Holland was elected to the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners in November, 2006. 

Prior to her election to the county commission, she served the community on a broad range of boards, councils, and committees. She founded the James F. Holland Foundation, named after her father who was one of the first Palm Coast City Council members. The focus of the Holland Foundation is to raise funds and initiate programs which benefit the children and youth of Flagler County through the formation of partnerships with local, state and national agencies and organizations. The Flagler County Sexual Assault Task Force, an inter-disciplinary team that is focused on promoting awareness, education, and prevention of sexual abuse, and the Holland Foundation Working Group for Special Needs Children are both umbrella entities working to accomplish the mission of their parent organization. 

In addition, Ms. Holland originated the ordinance establishing the City of Palm Coast Environmental and Beautification Committee. This group is charged with making recommendations to the Planning and Land Development Regulation Board, evaluating and recommending projects to City officials and helping to formulate environmental policies. This reflects Holland’s lifelong interest in Flagler County’s rich and varied natural resources.

She also played an active role on the Palm Coast Leisure Services Advisory Committee. One of the Committee’s major projects was to help direct the design of Linear Park in Palm Coast, a network of hiking and biking trails beneath old growth canopy.

Commissioner Holland recently received appointment to the prestigious organization 1000 Friends of Florida. This organization promotes healthy urban and natural places by wise management of growth change. It educates, advocates, negotiates and, when necessary, litigates to protect our high quality of life. It has the technical knowledge and access needed to ensure that public and private decisions lead to livable communities.

As County Commissioner, her current committee and board appointments include:
Cornerstone Regional Development Partnership
Enterprise Flagler Executive Board of Directors
Scenic A1A PRIDE Committee Liaison
University of Florida Partnership for Water, Agriculture, and Community Sustainability at Hastings Advisory Committee
Flagler County Future Committee
St. Johns River to Sea Loop
Management Advisory Group for the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR)

Milissa Holland was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1971 and moved with her family to Flagler County in 1987. She is the mother of three children and is proud to be the first woman elected County Commissioner in Flagler County.

In 1988, Flagler County initiated an Environmentally Sensitive Lands (ESL) program to use funding from voter approved ad valorem taxes to acquire environmentally sensitive lands, recreation areas and water recharge areas. 

The Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee was formed in 1989 to help the county implement the program. Since that time, the committee has determined potential land acquisitions based on their natural and cultural significance. In 2002, Flagler County voters reaffirmed the issuance of Environmentally Sensitive Lands bonds. Over 3,400 acres have been preserved as Environmentally Sensitive Lands. The Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee is continually researching potential purchases.

The Daytona News Journal, in its September 28th editorial said:

The size of Flagler County will stay the same in the next 10 to 20 years. The size of its green spaces and the water available for consumption won't. The county's population is verging on 100,000. Palm Coast alone, once its original boundaries are built out, will have 250,000 inhabitants. That doesn't include Palm Coast's growth northwest of the city and across U.S. Route 1. A county of 300,000 is in most Flagler County residents' not-so distant future.

Development is inevitable, preserving sensitive land and water isn't without an act of will by voters. Flagler in 1988 and 2002, voters approved and renewed, by wide margins, a small-property tax to raise money for land and clean water preservation. The two levies raised a combined $14.5 million. The money raised by the tax bought bonds that enable the county to borrow money immediately and make large land acquisitions.

As the money is repaid, however, the property tax falls, reducing the amount of money the county takes in every year. The 2002 levy, for example -- 33 cents per $1,000 of assessed value -- is almost half that amount now. On Nov. 4, voters will be asked to approve a new levy of 25 cents per $1,000 in assessed value to continue the land-preservation program. For a house valued at $175,000, with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the land-preservation bill in the first year would be $31. The new money would allow the county to raise up to issue bonds for up to $40 million over the next 20 years. Voters should approve the levy, on the ballot as County Referendum No. 10.

This time, the amount of money raised by the tax won't diminish, as with the 1988 and 2002 levies. The county is structuring this levy the way Volusia County set up its voter-approved ECHO and Forever funds, which are designed to protect the environment and promote culture. Those two funds established a set levy of 20 cents per $1,000 of assessed value regardless, ensuring that, as Volusia County grows, so do its environmental protection and cultural funds.

Real estate's price collapse offers an added advantage for land-preservation possibly over the next few years: The county will be in a stronger position to buy land at lower prices before the next boom (should one materialize). "Vision" is often an empty word thrown about by politicians who don't have one. In this case, the land-preservation referendum enables voters to enact their own vision for Flagler's future. It'll be a built-up one. The question is whether voters will also want it to be one balanced with green spaces and protected watersheds.

Flagler League of Women Voters Candidate Forum, October 6th at Temple Beth Shalom

The Flagler Chapter of the League of Women Voters, in its continuing efforts to create an informed and educated electorate, invites all of the county’s voters to a Candidate Forum on Monday evening, October 6th from 6:30 until 8:00 p.m. at Temple Beth Shalom, 40 Wellington Drive, one-fourth mile north of Pine Lakes Parkway in Palm Coast. All are welcome, there is no charge and no advance reservations are necessary. A variety of local and regional candidates for office, whose names will appear on the Flagler County’s November 4th ballots, have agreed to appear.  

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, has fought since 1920 to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy. The League’s enduring vitality and resonance comes from its unique decentralized structure. The League is a grassroots organization, working at the national, state and local levels.
 
There are Leagues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong, in addition to the hundreds of local Leagues nationwide. The League of Women Voters of the United States and the League of Women Voters Education Fund operate at the national level with grassroots support from state and local Leagues.
 
The League of Women Voters is strictly nonpartisan; it neither supports nor opposes candidates for office at any level of government. At the same time, the League is wholeheartedly political and works to influence policy through advocacy. It is the original grassroots citizen network, directed by the consensus of its members nationwide. 

Weary of negative, partisan politics that widen gaps between Americans, rather than bridge them, the League notes that people are looking to engage in conversations that foster consensus and unity. With a respected and trusted reputation for being unbiased and nonpartisan, the League is uniquely able to address specific community concerns and bridge political and ideological divides to find common ground. In doing so, the League of Women Voters is giving citizens a stronger voice on the most important issues of the day. 

Common wisdom says that candidate forums are a great way for constituents to hear how candidates running for a particular office feel about issues they, the constituents, care about. For the candidate, they are an opportunity to address the concerns of a particular interest group in a fair and open setting.  

Many people do not vote because they don’t feel connected to the candidates or issues at stake in an election. The planned October 6th forums will help open up the communication between candidates and their constituents and get people interested in the November 4th election. This forum hopes to improve and redirect the public and the political dialogue that has become increasingly shallow and mean-spirited. The citizens of Flagler County are all invited to help set the tone of the debate and demand a higher standard of discourse.