- Announcements

In this week’s Torah portion, Sh’lach, Caleb and Joshua, two of the scouts sent to explore the Promised Land, return to the Israelites bearing a cluster of grapes so large it had to be carried by the two men suspended on a large pole, and tell of a land flowing with milk and honey.

Join us! -  at our Friday evening Shabbat service, June 17, at 8:00 PM, at the Synagogue: 1881 NE 26th St., Suite 100, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 (954 564-9232).  Rabbi Noah Kitty will lead the service and present the derasha, with Jerry Berkowitz as our hazzan.

June is Pride Month! Celebrations all over the country include this proclamation from President Obama:

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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

The story of America’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community is the story of our fathers and sons, our mothers and daughters, and our friends and neighbors who continue the task of making our country a more perfect Union. It is a story about the struggle to realize the great American promise that all people can live with dignity and fairness under the law. Each June, we commemorate the courageous individuals who have fought to achieve this promise for LGBT Americans, and we rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Since taking office, my Administration has made significant progress towards achieving equality for LGBT Americans. Last December, I was proud to sign the repeal of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. With this repeal, gay and lesbian Americans will be able to serve openly in our Armed Forces for the first time in our Nation’s history. Our national security will be strengthened and the heroic contributions these Americans make to our military, and have made throughout our history, will be fully recognized.

My Administration has also taken steps to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans in Federal housing programs and to give LGBT Americans the right to visit their loved ones in the hospital. We have made clear through executive branch nondiscrimination policies that discrimination on the basis of gender identity in the Federal workplace will not be tolerated. I have continued to nominate and appoint highly qualified, openly LGBT individuals to executive branch and judicial positions. Because we recognize that LGBT rights are human rights, my Administration stands with advocates of equality around the world in leading the fight against pernicious laws targeting LGBT persons and malicious attempts to exclude LGBT organizations from full participation in the international system. We led a global campaign to ensure “sexual orientation” was included in the United Nations resolution on extrajudicial execution — the only United Nations resolution that specifically mentions LGBT people — to send the unequivocal message that no matter where it occurs, state-sanctioned killing of gays and lesbians is indefensible. No one should be harmed because of who they are or who they love, and my Administration has mobilized unprecedented public commitments from countries around the world to join in the fight against hate and homophobia.

At home, we are working to address and eliminate violence against LGBT individuals through our enforcement and implementation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. We are also working to reduce the threat of bullying against young people, including LGBT youth. My Administration is actively engaged with educators and community leaders across America to reduce violence and discrimination in schools. To help dispel the myth that bullying is a harmless or inevitable part of growing up, the First Lady and I hosted the first White House Conference on Bullying Prevention in March. Many senior Administration officials have also joined me in reaching out to LGBT youth who have been bullied by recording “It Gets Better” video messages to assure them they are not alone.

This month also marks the 30th anniversary of the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has had a profound impact on the LGBT community. Though we have made strides in combating this devastating disease, more work remains to be done, and I am committed to expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Last year, I announced the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States. This strategy focuses on combinations of evidence-based approaches to decrease new HIV infections in high risk communities, improve care for people living with HIV/AIDS, and reduce health disparities. My Administration also increased domestic HIV/AIDS funding to support the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and HIV prevention, and to invest in HIV/AIDS-related research. However, government cannot take on this disease alone. This landmark anniversary is an opportunity for the LGBT community and allies to recommit to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and continuing the fight against this deadly pandemic.

Every generation of Americans has brought our Nation closer to fulfilling its promise of equality. While progress has taken time, our achievements in advancing the rights of LGBT Americans remind us that history is on our side, and that the American people will never stop striving toward liberty and justice for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2011 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

BARACK OBAMA

From the late 1970s to a few years ago, CEC was a proud and active member of the national Reform Jewish movement. We were one of the first Gay and Lesbian synagogues officially recognized and invited to be members of the Reform movement ( now known as the URJ).

At the time we first joined the Union, membership to any other branch of Judaism was closed to us because of our LGBT status. It was a different time and a different place. We are honored to have been trailblazers in the movement and we are appreciative that the leadership of the Reform movement let us join. I am sure some of their members at the time were not happy with openly gay and lesbian Jews being part of their movement.

But at CEC, many members were not really connected to Reform Judaism. Many grew up in Conservative or even Orthodox
households and went to a very traditional type of Hebrew and religious schools. For them joining a Reform synagogue was foreign and not their first choice. But because CEC was (and is) primarily an LGBT “family” it felt right for them regardless of which denomination the synagogue as a whole belonged.

Over the years CEC outgrew the attachment and need to belong to any one national Jewish movement. Also the annual cost of dues to the Union were quite high, about $10,000 per year. As our finances dipped over the last 3 to 4 years it became clear that
regardless of our past  history with the Union, we could not afford to continue. Additionally many people on our Board of
Directors felt that we were short changing ourselves by belonging to any one movement, as the Jewish LGBTQ members came from so many “stripes” of the Jewish rainbow. In 2007, your elected Board told the URJ that we could not pay our bills anymore and they could take us off their list of members if they wanted. They kept us on their membership list, and they continued to charge us the membership fee; as of today they claim we owe them over $33,000.

As our restructuring phase at CEC continues, your Board will continue to discuss this issue
internally, and bring up for a vote with our entire membership what the final outcome should be going forward. Of course the outcome involves a
financial as well as a spiritual discussion. As a congregation, we are an amalgam of religious
backgrounds and as such we need to welcome everyone into our tent, not just those whoidentify as members of one denomination over another.
In closing, we are proud of our long relationship with Reform
Judaism, and our past affiliation with the BART Shabbat program (Broward Area Reform Temples). While in the past several of our members attended this special service, we always held our own regular Shabbat service on that night for those who did not care to attend BART. As a sign of our members’ interest, less than a handful of us attended the BART service this past year. I invite feedback on this issue. Please email your thoughts to: congregation@etz-chaim.com and use the subject line: Reform Judaism.  Thank you!
- David Yalen, President of Congregation Etz Chaim

Welcome to Jerry Berkowitz

Congratulations to our new Hazzan, Jerry Berkowitz.  In the same spirit of support and appreciation that was always shown to his able predecessor, Michael Greenspan, let us welcome Jerry to our Congregation.

Remember Sally Field’s 1985 Oscar acceptance speech for her role in Norma Rae? – “…I feel it, and I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!”  Well, we hope you visit this site frequently, but did you know that we also have a Facebook presence?  It’s a great resource for staying in touch with events and people in our community.  If you haven’t become a fan of Congregation Etz Chaim, please do so! – and encourage your friends to do the same.  The more people who become our Facebook fans (by clicking “Like” on our page), the higher our ranking in internet searches.  So make sure to visit us on Facebook: Congregation Etz Chaim Facebook page

After being together for 37 years, Murray Lichtenstein and Paul Guzzardo thought it was time to get married.  The ceremony was performed in the Town Hall of Salisbury, CT, on Monday, May 16, at 3:00 PM, in front of a small group of family and friends.