Bet Chaverim General Meeting June 27, 2021

In Attendance: Rabbi Mirel, David Kaplan, Melissa Brooks, Carmi Brooks, Olga Carlin, Joseph Wilder, June Kallman, Donna Mullins, Josh Penzell, Brenda LaPoint, Sherwin Alpert, Robyn Alpert, Chris Bogart, Judy Schainen, Judi Sirrine, Nancy Blasé, Michael Banks, Archie Levine, Ken Steinman, Janae Rahiman, Lucas Harrington

The meeting was convened at 11 A.M.  It was determined that a quorum was met with 18 member units in attendance.

Review of the past year:

Judy reported some of the activities that we participated in this past year:

• Jewish Family Services food drive
• Kent Pediatric Interim Care Center
• Jewish Federation Small Agency grant
• FEMA grant – we will learn the outcome in November
• NW Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Rights
• Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration
• Mazon
• Jewish Federation Pride Shabbat
• Sound Alliance collaboration
• Asian Americans ADL
• We will sponsor a Jewish music concert in October 2021

Rabbi Mirel taught several adult education classes.  He honored our former president Lonnie Wall by conducting Lonnie’s military funeral.

Many of our donations received this year were due to Rabbi Mirel – thank you Rabbi.

Thank you to Joe Wilder and Michael Banks for teaching classes.

Thank you to Robyn Alpert and Donna Mullins for becoming our Sisterhood Co-Presidents.

Our total member units remain at 34.  We lost two members and we gained two members.  Janae will soon become a member.

Treasurers Report

Dave presented the Profit & Loss versus Actual for this past fiscal year:

Income

Donations exceeded what was budgeted by $1,200.

Dues came in under budget, but we will be close to breaking even.

High Holidays brought in more donations than last year.

There was no CD or Passover income.

We received program income from our NCEJ grant from last year.

We received the Federation small congregation grant from last year.

We received $210 from the Amazon Smiles and Kroger programs.

We were $3,700 below revenue for the year.

Expenses

Our general expenses were over budget due to credit card processing fees and Zoom.

We spent $100 for our “J license”.

We spent over $400 in Outreach for donations to sponsor various events.

Overall, we have $2,000 net income at the end of this fiscal year.

Proposed Budget for 2021/2022

Income:

Increased budget amount for donations

Due’s rate will remain the same

High Holiday donations increased

Interest lowered

Passover — $2,500

Program Income — $1,300

Special Events — $2,500

Total – $53,400

Expenses:

Cantorial services – slight increase in compensation for Neil

Rent – same

Outreach increased to reflect that we have been sponsoring different events

Passover — $2,100

Program expense — $500

Rabbi – same

Total — $53,324

Archie asked about the URJ mum dues – we are currently paying the full amount which is $150 month

Donna asked which budget do expenses come under for things such as fundraising expenses related to Hanukkah etc.  Dave reported that this comes under “special events”.

Josh asked about what we can learn from the High Holidays and increased donations considering the High Holidays were on Zoom?  The rabbi reported that because we had increased attendance due to Zoom, we will continue to conduct High Holiday services on Zoom even if we don’t meet in person.  Dave reported that on Kol Nidre we had 69 participants – 38 of those were non-members from around the country.  We probably want to continue to offer Zoom even when we return to in person services.

Archie asked how we attracted those extra participants to our services?  Dave responded that a core group follow the rabbi.  We received High Holiday donations from participants on Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Seattle.  We were blessed to have that.

There was a vote and the proposed budget passed.  Dave encouraged us to keep on sending in our dues and donations.

New Business:

Judy reported that we are preparing for the High Holidays.  At our July 14^th board meeting we will be discussing when we will be returning to in person services.

Our goals for this next year are:

• Increase membership to 39 member units
• Continue Jewish education
• Expand our involvement in Social Justice
• Plan for in person services
• Apply for a new grant
• Complete the Jack Kornberg Memorial Tree of Life
• Continue Sisterhood activities

Committee Reports:

Bulletin/Newsletter:  Michael gave a shout out to Lucas for his work on the bulletin.  Bulletin articles should be emailed to Michael by Tuesday evening.

Caring: Judy reported that this committee provides support to members who need it.  

Directory: Brenda will call and email members for updates

Inclusivity: Lucas is the chair.

Membership: Donna reported that the website, Zoom and providing classes have helped with membership.

Philanthropy:  Dave reported that we plan on having two events this year to socialize and raise money.

Michael reported that the Saltwater church gave approval to mount a tree on the wall near the ark.  The cost will be approximately $900 to build and mount the Jack Kornberg Memorial Tree of Life.  We will make donations in exchange for a bronze leaf to commemorate births, deaths and life cycle events.  Michael is waiting to hear back from the woodworker – he is hoping that the tree will be completed by the High Holidays.

Michael also wants to craft a charitable trust program.

Sisterhood:  Robyn reported that the Sisterhood programs have been stymied by the pandemic.  The purpose of Sisterhood is to support members and the synagogue.  Sisterhood has a book club.  The next meeting will be in person at Robyn’s house and the books being discussed is The Lost Girls of Paris.  There is a Pacific NW Regional Sisterhood event on July 24-25.  The Zoom link will be sent in the bulletin.

Hospitality: Chris will be contacting people to sign up for Onegs.

Technology: Carmi has been in contact with the Saltwater Church Audio Visual person, Robert.  The church will also be using a hybrid model for services.  Carmi also maintains our website and Facebook page.

Security and Safety: Ken will be the new chairperson.  A FEMA grant was submitted – we will hear the result of that in November.  The committee has also been working on emergency planning for natural disasters. Sherwin is resigning from the committee.

Social Justice: Archie reported that we participated in the Jewish Family Service food drive.  We also supported the following organizations: Bauman transitional housing, NW Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Rights, Federal Way Day Shelter.  We sponsored the climate change talk which was given by Heather Price.  The committee is looking into starting a tutoring project for students in need.  Melissa reported that we have collaborated with the Salt Water Church and Sound Alliance.  As part of Sound Alliance the church and synagogue held listening sessions.  The questions posed at the listening sessions were what social justice issues are of interest to you and your organizations and what issues are you willing to take action on.  The top two issues identified were housing and mental health.

Yahrzeit:  Maya had chaired this committee for many years and she asked to be replaced.  Nancy, June and Donna took over.  Nancy maintains the data base; June and Donna send out the yahrzeit envelopes

Religious: Joe reported that the committee members are: Rabbi Mirel, Judy, Robyn, Sherwin, Joe, Melissa, Peggy and Nancy.  Josh Penzell will be our newest member.  This past year we have held Shabbat services every Friday and a Havdalah service at 7 P.M. on Saturdays – Joe encouraged people to participate in these services.  We have held two Purim, Pesach and Sukkot services by Zoom.  The rabbi has conducted classes on Mishnah, Talmud, Meditation and Pirkei Avot.  Joe has taught Hebrew classes.  Michael has taught cooking classes.  We hope to have a Jews in Broadway class taught by Josh Penzell.  Joe plans on continuing to teach the Biblical Hebrew classes and Michael will be teaching a Jewish Literacy class.  Joe would like input on topics for future classes.

Board Election

We have three member at large positions open.  Judy asked for the approval of the nominations of Mark Senk, Brian Sandler, Eytan Olivier, and Donna Mullins to fill these positions.  There was a vote and the slate was approved.

Our current board consists of:

Judy Schainen/President – 1 year

Joseph Wilder/Vice President – 1 year

Melissa Brooks/Recording Secretary – 1 year

Judy Schainen/Corresponding Secretary – 1 year

David Kaplan/Treasurer – 1 year

Michael Banks/Past President – 1 year

Chris Bogart/Member At Large – 1 year

June Kallman/Member At Large – 1 year

Mark Senk/Member At Large – 2 years

Eytan Olivier/Member At Large – 2 years

Brian Sandler/Member At Large – 2 years

Judy thanked Sherwin, Robyn and Ted for the years of service on the board.

Judy thanked everybody who attended the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:20 P.M.

Respectfully submitted by: Melissa Brooks/Recording Secretary

Bet Chaverim Adult Education — 2021

Next Class:

Pirkei Avot:             This class will meet on Saturdays from 4 – 5:15 pm

Class dates:             April 10, 17, 24
May 1, 8, 15

Class Materials:        Sefaria – Pikei Avot – text is online, we will cover a chapter per week.

Class registration/questions: please email: melissabrooks25@gmail.com

In 2020, Hanukkah begins at sundown on Thursday, Dec. 10 and lasts until sundown on Friday, Dec. 18

What is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah, which is Hebrew for “dedication,” is the Festival of Lights.

It commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greek army, and the subsequent miracle of rededicating the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and restoring its menorah, or lamp.

The miracle of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found with just enough oil to illuminate the Temple lamp for one day, and yet it lasted for eight full days.

As part of the ancient world conquered by Alexander the Great of Greece (332 BCE), 

the Land remained a Jewish theocracy under Syrian-based Seleucid rulers.

 When the Jews were prohibited from practicing Judaism and their Temple was desecrated

 as part of an effort to impose Greek-oriented culture and customs on the entire population, 

the Jews rose in revolt (166 BCE). First led by Mattathias of the priestly Hasmonean family and then by his son Judah the Maccabee,

 the Jews subsequently entered Jerusalem and purified the Temple (164 BCE), events commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah.

Following further Hasmonean victories (147 BCE), the Seleucids restored autonomy to Judea,

 as the Land of Israel was now called, and, with the collapse of the Seleucid kingdom (129 BCE),

 Jewish independence was again achieved. Under the Hasmonean dynasty, which lasted about 80 years,

 the kingdom regained boundaries not far short of Solomon’s realm, political consolidation under Jewish rule was attained and Jewish life flourished.

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Go to www.fredmeyer.com/communityrewards.

Click on “link your Rewards Card”.

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Choose “Community Synagogue of South King County”.

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For the holidays, you are all invited to my place – 43 years ago and 3000 miles away in Cranford, New Jersey – to try two amazing desserts made with honey. The first is, of course, my Mom’s teiglach. The second is an absolute knock-your-socks-off dish that can be made a couple of days ahead and kept in the refrigerator – Honey-Ginger Zabayon. That first burst of honey, ginger and raisins on your taste buds is sure to carry you back to Yamim Nora’ims of yore!

Honey is generally believed to have made its first appearance in the human story in Egypt around 4000 BC. Used as a sweetening agent, it was highly valued, and was used to feed sacred animals as well as tribute or payment. By the 21 st century BC, it had been mentioned in the Sumerian and Babylonian cuneiform writings, the Hittite Code, and the Vedas (the sacred writings of India). In Sumeria, Assyria, and Babylonia, it was poured over thresholds and stones bearing commemorative offerings, and bolts used in sacred buildings were dipped in it.

The ancient Greeks believed Mead, an alcoholic beverage made from honey, to be the food of the Gods. When the Spaniards came to the New World, they found that the natives of 16th Century Mexico and Central America had already developed beekeeping, with a distinct family of honeybees native to North America. European settlers introduced European honey bees to New England in 1638. They used honey to prepare food and beverages, to make cement, to preserve fruit and other foods, to make furniture paste-polish and varnish, and for medicinal purposes.

Baking Tips

Honey has an incredibly high fructose content. This means that you can use less honey than the amount of sugar called for in a recipe. Start by substituting half the sugar called for. That is, if the recipe says use a cup of sugar, then use a ½ cup of honey.
 Reduce any liquid in the recipe by a ¼ cup for each cup of honey used
 Add ½ Tsp baking soda for each cup of honey
 Reduce oven temperature by 25 to prevent over-browning
 When measuring honey, a 12oz jar equals one cup
 Spray the utensil you will measure the honey in with pan spray – the honey will slide
right out

Teiglach

Teiglach are Balkan in origin, particularly Lithuania. The word “teiglach” (or tayglach) means
“little doughies.” Among Lithuanian Jews, there are infinite variations on the theme, with the
addition of dried fruits, nuts, rolling in sugar or cinnamon (or a combination), baking and boiling,
baking before boiling, baking after boiling, etc., etc., etc. All require sweet dough and a lot of
honey. Beyond that, you can add whatever you like to the basic recipe.

A WORD OF CAUTION!

Boiling/simmering honey is extremely hot. It is hotter than boiling water. Because of the high
sugar content, the temperature of the liquid can reach almost 300 degrees! Use a big enough
pot so the honey mixture doesn’t boil over, and always use extreme caution when adding or
removing the teiglach from the pot.

O.K. Having given the warning, I must say that my mom has been making teiglach since I was
little, and she has never burned herself or anyone else. She once added too much ginger, but
that’s another story.

This recipe came from my mom and it is the best teiglach in the entire world. The first bite after
dinner on Erev Rosh Hashanah transports me across time and space to the love and warmth of
my family.

Teiglach

3 Eggs

2 Tsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Oil

1 Tsp Baking Powder

2 Cups A.P. Flour

Raisins or other dried fruit

1 Cup Honey

1 Cup Sugar – for a more intense flavor use brown sugar or go half and half brown and white

2-3 Tbsp Ground Ginger

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

½ Cup Boiling Water

2 more Tsp Ground Ginger

Beat the eggs and the sugar together and add the oil, beating well to mix.  Mix the baking powder with the flower and add 1½ cups of the mixture to the egg/sugar/oil and incorporate to form a dough.  If it is too sticky, add a little more flour and continue working it. When the dough is tacky but not sticky, turn out on a floured surface and knead briefly until smooth.  Cover with film and allow to rest for 15 minutes or so.

Cut the dough in half and roll each piece out 1/8” thick and about 4” wide.  You will have a skinny rectangle about 24” long. Sprinkle the dough with raisins (and nuts, if you want) and press them into the dough with a rolling pin.  Roll up the dough along the long edge and pinch the ends closed. Cut the log into small pieces (they will expand when simmered in the honey) and pinch the ends of each closed so the raisins and nuts are contained inside  

Bring the honey, sugar, ginger and lemon juice to a boil in a heavy pot.  Drop the nuggets a couple at a time into the liquid. When they are all in the pot, stir to coat all of them, return to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  After a half hour, stir the pot so that all the teiglach on the bottom of the pot are brought to the top, and the ones on top are now on the bottom. Continue simmering for another 15 – 30 minutes, until the teiglach are a rich golden mahogany color and the dough is completely cooked.  When they are done, stir in the boiling water and the remaining ginger and mix thoroughly to loosen the honey. Remove the teiglach with a slotted spoon to a sheet of parchment sprayed lightly with pan spray, making sure they don’t touch. When they are cool, store in containers with the syrup poured over them.  They will last almost forever.

Gluten Free Teiglach

High quality gluten-free flour is all the rage now so there is no excuse not to enjoy this wonderful holiday treat.  Since there is no gluten, you must pay attention to a few details in the process.

First – start out by adding 1 cup of flour and then slowly adding more as you mix the dough.  Your gluten-free dough will need to be a little softer than a regular dough since there is no gluten to bind and stretch.  

Second – the psyllium husk powder is important, as it adds hydrating capacity to the flour and will help with rolling out the dough.  

Third – don’t overwork the dough when you roll it out – without gluten to provide the stretchy elastic resilience, over-rolling will compress and harden the dough and make the teiglach hard and crunchy.  

Fourth – do a taste test after the first 30 minutes of cooking.  Gluten-free teiglach tend to cook faster and reach the ready point much more rapidly than regular teiglach.

3 Eggs

2 Tsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Oil

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tbsp Psyllium Husk Powder

2 Cups Krusteaz or other premium gluten-free flour

Raisins or other dried fruit

1 Cup Honey

1 Cup Sugar

2-3 Tbsp Ground Ginger

½ Cup Boiling Water

2 more Tsp Ground Ginger

Proceed as for regular teiglach, making sure to mix the psyllium husk powder and baking powder into the flour before adding it to the liquids.  Remember to do a taste test at the 30 minute mark.

Honey – Ginger Zabayon

Of all the fun things to do with honey, this is possibly the most fun of all.  This light whipped cream-like topping is heavenly on ice cream, sorbet, cakes of all kinds, or just eaten out of a glass with some fresh fruit.  It is especially yummy if you choose an interesting honey like lavender or wildflower.

A zabayon (or sabayon) is basically eggs and sugar whipped together over simmering water until the eggs cook but do not harden.  Flavors and liqueurs are added, and then the entire thing is either eaten as is or lightened with whipped cream to make a fluffy mousse-like substance.

Zabayon is easy once you know how, and is sure to knock the socks off anyone you invite to dinner.

8 Egg Yolks

6 oz Baker’s Sugar (take regular sugar and grind it in the food processor to pulverize the granules)

3 oz Honey

½ Cup Champagne

½ Tsp Peeled and Minced Ginger Root

2 Cups Whipped Cream, whipped to firm (not stiff) peaks

Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl set over simmering water and whisk until pale and thick (this may take a while – when the surface bubbles go away and the surface of the liquid looks glossy, you are getting close).  The longer you stir and thicken, the firmer the cooled mixture will be. Immediately transfer to a bowl set over ice and whisk until cool. Fold in the whipped cream and ginger.

Serve over fresh fruit, by itself with a drizzle of  Sabra liqueur, or cover and keep in the fridge for a couple of days before eating.