Rodef Sholom: A Reform Jewish Congregation in Marin County, California

Sunday, May 15, 4 pm, Rodef Sholom Sanctuary

Please join us on Sunday, May 15, at 4 pm in our sanctuary as we celebrate Israel's 63rd birthday with a wide variety of Israeli music presented by the Red Hot Chachkas--including our own congregant, Michael Arrow, the Chachkas' percussionist.

Our director of education, Irene Resnikoff, will also be teaching about Israel, and Cantor David Margules will make a guest appearance with the band! Come and sing along to some of Israel's most famous melodies, from Yerushalim Shel Zahav to Lu Y'hi, as well as other songs by Naomi Shemer and a host of Israeli composers.

This concert is free and open to the public.  Everyone is welcome.  RSVP to Pete at pete@rodefsholom.org or 479.3441.

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Make a contribution in honor of Rabbi Stacy Friedman (see sponsorship levels at www.rodefsholom.org and the invitation to be sent this month) and be included in the tribute book.  Both words and photos welcome.  The tribute books will be available at the Saturday, May 21 event.

The tribute book message deadline is April 22. To find out more about message sizes and specs, visit www.rodefsholom.org and follow the links to the Chai Celebration on the front page.  If you have any questions, contact Moji at moji@rodefsholom.org or 479.3441.

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Study & Torah

Torah with Soul
Shabbat mornings, 9:15 am*, Inner Conference Room
Rabbi Lezak will be offering soul-lifting Torah in a safe space for learners of all levels and ages, along with a nosh.

*Note: on the 3rd Saturday of the month, April 16, weather permitting, Torah with Soul will become Torah on the Trails, leaving the parking lot promptly at 8:30 am for a good hike and some good learning. If it’s raining, we’ll meet in the ICR at our normal time.

Tot Shabbat
1st and 3rd Saturdays, April 2 and 16, 9:30 – 10:15 am
Jonathan Bayer, the rock star for the pre-school crowd, will be using movement and song to introduce young children to Shabbat morning services. Come with your child or grandchild and learn developmentally appropriate Jewish rituals and prayers that you can take home. Hear an interactive story and experience Shabbat in a new way, whether you are new to Jewish prayer or ready to help Jonathan lead! No RSVP necessary. Everyone welcome!

New! 4th Friday Sweet Oneg
Every 4th Friday of the month, following services, chairs and tables will be available for you to linger and visit with your fellow congregants.

Exploring the World of Judaism
Sundays, April 3 and 24, 9:30 – 11:30 am

•April 3 – Can Your Values Live On?: How to impart your ethics to your children with Ellen Kahn, JD.

•April 24 – To God’s Ears: Reflections and music from the Cantors’ Concert at the Vatican with our own Cantor David Margules

There is no fee for Rodef Sholom congregants and reservations are not necessary; small donation suggested for non-congregants. Refreshments will be served. Meet in the Osher Marin JCC Lounge. Visit www.rodefsholom.org/ewj for schedule updates and to access our online audio archives with recordings of past sessions. If you would like to receive weekly email reminders with descriptions of each talk and brief bios of the speakers, please send your name and email address to sknazan@gmail.com.

New! Lay-led Morning Minyan
Tuesdays at 7 am (ongoing except for April 19 - come to 10:30 am Passover services instead)
Join fellow congregants in trying a new experiment, taking turns leading services on Tuesday mornings.  Open to everyone, we hope to be able to make space for you to come, ask questions, and try out some new things.  Please join us.

The Study of Torah Cantillation with Cantor David Margules
Tuesdays at 11 am (ongoing)
Unlock the mysteries of Torah cantillation by joining Cantor David Margules on Tuesday mornings in our Sanctuary.   Learn to decipher trope symbols and to translate them into the haunting, ancient melodies of our ancestors!  The current session runs through May 10.   Classes are 45 minutes to an hour in length. If you have questions or would like to sign up, contact david@rodefsholom.org.

Social Action

More than Mitzvah Day! What are you doing?
Sign up for a Tzedek Circle:  Remember to sign up for earth-related projects, email earth@rodefsholom.org; food-related projects, email food@rodefsholom.org; shelter-related projects, email shelter@rodefsholom.org; and justice-related projects, email justice@rodefsholom.org.

In the bin for April:  Bring diapers, wipes and baby formula! Thank you to everyone who donated used books in March – we collected over two barrels’ worth.  This month, we are collecting diapers, baby wipes and formula for clients of the Canal Alliance. Please bring some for the bins the next time you visit the synagogue!

We need help in feeding the homeless in our community!
The Family Shelter and the Mill Street Emergency Shelter in San Rafael need our help more than ever, as the number of residents has grown.   Congregation Rodef Sholom provides dinner twice a month to these organizations.   If you can provide a main dish, salad, or dessert--either once a month or even every few months, at a time to suit your schedule—or if you are interested in knowing more, please contact Moji at 479.3441 or moji@rodefsholom.org.

Jewish Family and Children’s Services Food Pantry
Hard as it is to believe, even in Marin County, there are people who can't put food on the table.   The JFCS barrel in the lobby collects food for Jewish Family and Children’s Services food pantry program.  We stock our pantry through the goodness of individuals in the Jewish community.   Every time you go shopping, especially with your children, pick up some non-perishable items such as peanut butter, dried lentils or tuna and drop them off at the lobby.  It is a wonderful opportunity to incorporate a mitzvah into your weekly routine.

A few important reminders:

•Please check expiration dates before donating!
•Only unopened packages, boxes, and jars, please!
•Others items such as books or clothing can be accepted at JFCS, but not in the barrels!
•Lastly, please look carefully when disposing of your garbage in our lobby, and avoid accidentally placing it in the food barrels!

Creating community

The Mitzvah Kitchen
Chef Jeff Kirshbaum bakes challah and cooks “Mitzvah” meals every Thursday for congregants facing times of need or celebrating a simcha. Volunteers are needed to help deliver these challot and meals. If you can deliver a meal, please contact Pete in advance, at 479.3441 or pete@rodefsholom.org; If you can deliver challah before the end of Shabbat, just come by the kitchen on Thursday afternoon after 2 pm or any time on Friday to pick them up.

Mitzvah Kitchen News--Join Rodef Sholom's New Artisan Bread Club!

סְעָד לִבְּךָ פַּת־לֶחֶם/ Satisfy your heart with a loaf of bread - Judges 19:5

Chef Jeff Kirshbaum and his Mitzvah Kitchen team have been churning out 60+ challot and 18 hot meals for our congregants in deepest need weekly for close to five years now. You've tasted his challot. You know the man's got skills. Well we've got good news.  Chef Jeff's got a new convection oven.  And he wants to put it to good use.   Starting in mid-March, you can subscribe to the Mitzvah Kitchen's new Artisan Bread Club.   Sign up, and every Thursday afternoon, a fresh hand-baked loaf of artisan bread will be waiting for you at the temple.   And if you're smart, you'll pick up a challah for your shabbes table at the same time. 

All Mitzvah Kitchen subscription money goes to support youth programming at Rodef Sholom (Subscription rates--$4/challah and $5/artisan loaf per week). Treat your tummy right. Contact Gigi at 479.3441 or gigi@rodefsholom.org to subscribe.

New! – Softball team (co-ed) forming at Rodef Sholom
Get out your mitt, warm up that swing, and step up to the plate! We are looking for softball players, men or women, to join our forming team.  We will play against Kol Shofar and other Jewish teams being formed around Marin.  Our first game is scheduled for April 10, but will be cancelled unless five more people sign up! Players should have their own gear and some basic experience. If you are interested, please contact congregant Matt Elkins at matt_elkins@comcast.net.

Men’s Spiritual Journey Group 2nd Monday of each month (April 11), 7:30 pm, Sanctuary
Come join this group, which has discussed such things in the past as life journeys/bios, religious backgrounds, differing relationships to God, Torah portions, roles as Jewish fathers, husbands or men, tzedakah, and our roles in Jewish or secular organizations. This group meets monthly. For more information, contact Rabbi Michael Lezak at 479.3441 or mlezak@rodefsholom.org.

The Lunch Bunch
Last Tuesday of each month (April 26), 12 noon
Join senior congregants for a wonderful monthly lunch to try a new restaurant, eat some exotic food and make new friends. In the past, the Lunch Bunch has been to restaurants such as Lanna Thai, Four Points Sheraton, La Toscana, San Rafael Joe's, and many others. Members of the group help to choose the restaurant and look for new places to discover.   To join this fun event, call Pete at 479.3441.

Job Connections Network
Our Job Connection Network allows congregants to support each other during these difficult economic times.  If you have an employment opportunity available--even a temporary one--please consider a Rodef Sholom congregant and let us know; If you are looking for employment, also let us know, and we will do our best to help you. Contact Moji at 479.3441 or moji@rodefsholom.org.  If you are looking for other employment services, contact Jewish Vocational Services at 391.3600; and Norma Barnes, Coordinator of Marin Professionals, a program of the Employment Development Department, at 415.507.2114 or norma.barnes@edd.ca.gov.

Lefferts Jewish Community Library
Stop by the Lefferts Jewish Community Library on Sundays from 10 am – 1 pm to borrow books, magazines, and DVDs on Jewish themes. We have a growing collection of new books and classics, as well as a children’s section. For more information, call 444.8159 or email lefferts.library@gmail.com.

The Gift Shop
Come browse our wide selection of Judaica and enrich your Jewish home. The Gift Shop is located in the lobby of the Osher Marin JCC, next door to Mangia Nosh café.

New regular Gift Shop hours:

• Monday and Tuesday:  10:00 am - 3:00 pm • Wednesday: 10:00 am - 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm
• Thursday: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
• Friday: 11:00 am - 1:30 pm
• Most Sundays: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

The gift shop is operated by the Women of Rodef Sholom and a large percentage of the profit from the store supports Rodef Sholom camperships--please shop here! For more information, please call 444.8098.

Candelabra Rental
Create a sensation with WRS candelabras at your next simcha. Call the CRS office and reserve your candelabra.  Special candles are available for purchase at the WRS Gift Shop at the JCC.   Candelabras rent for $18.

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On December 17, 2010, the “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010” was signed into law. The 2010 Tax Act raised to $5 million the exemption from the estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax.

In addition to raising the exemption to $5 million, the 2010 Tax Act extended through 2011 the provision in prior law that facilitated making charitable gifts directly from IRAs. Thus, an IRA distribution made before 2012 is excluded from gross income if the distribution is made from the IRA to a qualified public charity. There is a deduction limit of $100,000 per taxpayer.

This is an important provision in the law for someone whose IRA constitutes a significant portion of his or her estate and who wants to make lifetime charitable gifts to a charity.

IRAs are also an ideal vehicle to use to make gifts to charity at death. Because the assets in an IRA have not yet been subjected to income taxes, when the owner dies (or, if a spouse is the designated beneficiary, on the spouse’s later death) the IRA will be subject to a combined income and estate tax rate of about 50% before it passes to children (assuming the combined estates exceed $10 million).

One appealing way to completely avoid estate and income taxes on the IRA is to name a charity such as Rodef Sholom as beneficiary once the IRA owner and the spouse are gone. The effect of this is that the government contributes 50% of every dollar that passes to Rodef Sholom, and the husband and wife together contribute 5

Another effective IRA strategy is to convert the IRA to a Roth IRA. By doing so, one recognizes the deferred income in the year of conversion (or, if preferable, in the two years after conversion). But all income after the year of conversion accumulates tax-free. This is not for everyone. It typically makes more sense to make the conversion in a year of lower income or in a year when one has tax losses to offset the income resulting from the conversion. Also, a conversion makes more sense for people who have enough wealth to pay the income taxes from assets outside the IRA. This strategy also is more advantageous for people who don’t need the IRA money for retirement.

As with traditional IRAs, charities can benefit from a Roth IRA conversion. One strategy is to create a charitable lead trust where the charity receives the income from the trust and the donor receives a charitable contributions deduction to offset the income resulting from the Roth IRA conversion. After a period of time, the assets in the trust pass to family members. 

One attractive feature of the Roth IRA conversion is that one can look back, and if the assets have gone down in value since the conversion, the conversion can be undone. The IRA owner has until October 15 of the year after the conversion to re-characterize the Roth IRA as a traditional IRA.

Finally, prior to 2010, one could not convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA if one had adjusted gross income of $100,000 or more. That income limitation has been lifted for conversions occurring after 2009 so that anyone, regardless of income, can convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

These are a couple of strategies involving IRAs that could benefit Rodef Sholom and give you significant tax savingThere are other strategies as well.

To learn more about planned giving, join us for the 2nd annual Estate and Legacy Planning event, Guidance for Giving: How Jewish Tradition Leads the Way, with a special presentation on Ethical Wills (Sacred Living, Sacred Dying) led by Rabbi Michael Lezak on Sunday, March 6, 9:30 am-11:15 am in the sanctuary. A light breakfast will be available in the social hall at 9:00 am. Please RSVP to Jane at jane@rodefsholom.org or 479.3441. Thank you.

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Tuesday, February 8 - Sunday, February 13, Connections 2011: Building our Jewish Future World Union for Progressive Judaism's 35th International Biennial Conference in SF

Join with Reform Jews from around the world to celebrate together and build on over 80 years of Reform and Progressive Judaism worldwide. Learn, explore, question, build bridges, and help to shape our collective future. Attend Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat services only, choose from daily sessions, or better yet, enjoy the entire weeklong program featuring a range of topics and keynote speakers. San Francisco will be host to the conference this year, which will take place at the Market Street Hotel. For more information and to register, go to www.wupjconnections.org. 

In tandem with this conference, we will be welcoming a guest who will speak on the WUPJ during 6;15 pm Shabbat Services on Friday, February 11.  Please join us then to learn about how the WUPJ is helping to build our Jewish future. 

We are also looking for a family to host five conference delegates for Shabbat dinner after services. If you are interested in doing so, please contact Moji at moji@rodefsholom.org or 479.3441.

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