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Dear members, friends and supporters,
The past month of December began and ended on a religious note. The month began on December 5th with the second visit of our rabbinical student Yan Tsipris. Our synagogue was filled as we joined together for Friday night services, welcoming the Pelts and Golberg family back after the week of Shiva.(week of mourning) Yan selected soft Shabbat melodies, sensitive to the feelings of many of the congregants. At the Kiddush table, congregants spontaneously spoke, remembering Josif Pelts, of blessed memory. The very emotional evening was appreciated by the family.
The month came to a close with our congregational Hanukka party. The sanctuary was filled once again with members and guests. The celebration on December 21st had a family atmosphere. The l first candle of our eight-day holiday was lit to the delight of young and old.. A short Hanukka service was held in Hebrew, German and Russian, followed by a program from our religious school children.
The children presented a play and many congregants joined in as they sang, “Maoz Tzur” (“Rock of Ages”). Thanks go to teachers Faina and Peter and naturally to the children, Joshua, Ron, Patrizia, Miriam, Sören, Gabriel, Haakon und Sascha. Kol haKavod! Well done!
Our choir, “Shalom” prepared a Hanukka concert. Every foot was tapping or hands clapping along with their happy selections. Boisterous applause brought them out for an encore. Thanks to all the members of “Shalom” for all the hours of hard work which go into preparing a concert.
Thanks to the generous gifts from the October visit of Temple Sinai in Denver, Colorado, we enjoyed a Hanukka Raffle. The gifts were wrapped in Hanukka paper and ribbons, tempting everyone whose number was drawn. It was fun seeing what was inside and the happy faces of those who took home their Hanukka treasures of Hanukka menorahs, boxes of Hannuka candles, Mezuzas, Kiddush cups, Shabbat candles. No one went home empty-handed, thanks to the big bag of colorful Dreidels!
 Please note! Our office will not be staffed until January 9th.
Jewish January
In January we will observe Holocaust Remembrance Day. On January 27, 1945, the Red Army liberated the concentration camp Auschwitz. We will observe this day with a short memorial service at 4:00 p.m.
Press Work
Once again, we thank our local press for the interesting article about Hanukka. Thanks also to the Brückner family for giving the interview. We are pleased that there is public interest in Reform Judaism and our congregational life. We are happy to nurture this positive interest through newspaper articles and synagogue tours, requested and attended by local schools, churches and clubs. This public relations work shows the importance of our community as an integrated element of our town.
 Rachel and Rebekka in Rochester
Our congregation was honored with an invitation to visit Temple Brith Kodesh in Rochester, New York. Our president has maintained a friendly and supportive relationship with members of this American Reform congregation for years. Temple Brith Kodesh’s Committee for Israel and World Jewry has supplied their congregants with information about our congregation over the last months. Mrs. Gertrude Lind organized a bulletin board with newsletter and newspaper articles, which added to their community’s better understanding of our struggles and successes.
Rachel and Rebekka Dohme were thrilled to travel to Rochester and join this wonderful congregation for Friday night services. Rebekka assisted Temple Brith Kodesh’s Cantor Keri Berger musically during the service and Rachel spoke to the more than 200 congregants who filled the chapel, introduced by Rabbi Larry Kotok.
A delicious catered Shabbat dinner followed services. Rebekka and Rachel fielded many questions from members after the meal. There were more questions than time allowed and afternoon meeting was held the next day in the home of Art and Hildegard Herz. Again members were given the opportunity to meet and inquire about developments in Jewish Germany.
Many new ideas were discussed for a continued cooperation of our two congregations. How fortunate we are to have such good friends. We appreciate all the support.
Foundation for a Synagogue in Hamelin
We wish to thank our city and county leaders for approving our proposal, requesting 1/3 of the building costs of our new synagogue. We also wish to thank the state government for their intention to provide the second third of funds needed. We will continue to work diligently to secure material and financial support for our third. We are deeply grateful for every contribution.
It really seems that we are well on our way to building the first newly constructed Reform synagogue in post-war Germany hopefully beginning in 2009.
Netzer Day
Greta Golbereg and Shlicha Sivan Gaides prepared a “Netzer Day” in our community on December 7th, from 12:00 AM to 3:00 PM. This youth get-together was a first. We thank Greta and Sivan for all their hard work. The day was a great success and the children enjoyed themselves and are looking forward to the next “Netzer Day.” The following is a report from Miriam Brückner, one of the young participants:
Torah Study
For over three years, we have been meeting almost every Saturday morning for a short Saturday morning service. Together we’ve familiarized ourselves with the morning service liturgy. Afterwards, we enjoy Kiddush with wine, juice and home-made Challa before commencing with Torah study. Our lively discussions about the weekly portion are held in German and Russian. Happily, we’re always a Minyan (10 people) but we are always looking for more interested participants. Everyone is welcome, with nothing to bring but a curious mind. So don’t be shy-come and join the learning!
Annual Membership Meeting
Our annual membership meeting will take place on Sunday, February 22, 2009. Members will find an invitation with this newsletter. Elections for board members will be held. Please consider if you’d like to run for office. Please submit your name and any other questions or proposals by February 13th. You may contact the office or any board member. We respectfully remind all members to submit their annual dues for 2009.
 New Members
We are truly honored to announce that Eva and Harold Brown have applied for membership to our congregation. Eva Brown is the granddaughter of Dr. Siegmund Kratzenstein. Dr. Kratzenstein was the last president of the pre-war Jewish Congregation of Hamelin. Having this family join us in membership is a meaningful and moving gesture, connecting our congregation today with the congregation who came before us in a very real way.
We also welcome Ms. Alla Lybych back to our congregation.
Friends of Jewish Congregation of Hamelin
We welcome Ms. Lydmyla Todryna to our Friends of Jewish Congregation of Hamelin group. We look forward to Ms. Todyrna’s active participation. She arranged a concert with students from the Lubov Conservatorium. The young people added to Herr Dvortsis’ monthly meeting, “Senior’s Café” in December. Mr. Dvortsis had planned a program about the Ukraine and the singers fit in well. Thank you!
Donations — Tzedaka
- We are grateful to the many people who continually support our work and our plans to build a new synagogue. We are deeply grateful for very generous contributions from Temple Brith Kodesh, Rochester, New York and Temple Sinai, Atlanta, Georgia. These contributions bring us closer to our dream of our own synagogue. We thank all those individuals, who gave so generously.
- We thank Ruth Torode and Frank Jones for their contribution. Ms. Torode and Mr. Jones are family members of former citizens of Hamelin’s pre-war Jewish congregation, the Jonas family. They made their contribution in honor of their children.
- We appreciate the contributions made by the following people: Polina Pelts, Faina Pelts, the Golbereg family, Rabbi Jo David and Sofer Neil Yerman, USA, Arkadij Zyranov, Peter Blasé, M, and F. Duee, E. Dittrich, R. Wuttke, U. Ryf, Rabbi Gábor und Anikó Lengyel, I Niemann, I. Fischer, M.Hanser, J.Göttling, G. Koehrs. Von Klencke family, Bökenkamp family, K. Martens, Reformed Lutheran Church of Hamelin, J. Wolf, USA and G. Lind, USA.
May all donors be blessed for their generosity.
Tree of Life — Etz Chayim
Who will contribute the next leaf? Each leaf not only adorns our sanctuary but also helps us raise funds for our synagogue. Leaves can be ordered through our office or by contacting Rachel Dohme or on this Web site: Tree of Life. Each leaf costs a minimum of $54 (triple chai). Please contribute a leaf and help us to build our synagogue! Seven new leaves grace our Tree of Life which now has 215 leaves. We thank and acknowledge the following people:
- Polina Pelts: “In loving memory of my husband Josif”
- Pelts and Golbereg families: “In loving memory of our dear father, grandfather and great-grandfather Josif”
- Faina Pelts: “In honor of my parent’s golden wedding anniversary”
- Rabbi Jo David and Sofer Neil Yerman: “In memory of Josif Pelts”
- Dohme family: “In honor of the life of Josif Pelts”
“In honor of the birth of Marie Mohaupt”
- Morgan and Ana Kroneberg: “Morgan and Ana Kroneberg”
Mazel Tov — Congratulations
 We congratulate our newest members who will be welcomed with an Acceptance Ceremony on January 30th.
Mazel Tov to Dr. Oleg and Anna Rubanov and Grandmother Rimma Rubanov on their daughter and granddaughter, Marie Rubanov’s naming ceremony, to be held on January 31st after Havdallah services.
Congratulations to the Jewish community of Hannover, “Etz Chaim” on the dedication of their new community center and synagogue. The dedication ceremony will be held on January 25th. We also congratulate our former rabbinical student, Rabbi Gábor Lengyel on being named as their congregational rabbi.
Thank you —Toda Raba
- We are grateful to each and every person and every organization, in Germany and America, for their support of our community.
- We thank Hartmut Bomhoff for contributing books to our synagogue library, made in honor of Josif Pelts, of blessed memory.
- We appreciate and thank all community members who helped in making the holidays special.
- We thank Julian Dohme who helped with the layout of this newsletter.
January Birthdays
We wish all those celebrating a January birthday, the very best of health and happiness. We have a small gift for all our January Birthdays after services on January 30th. Join us for coffee and cake after services!
Refuah Schlama — Get Well Wishes
We wish all who are confined to their homes or in the hospital a complete recovery. If you would like a home visit please contact the synagogue office.
December Yahrzeit — We remember:
Chaja-Rahel Kruchkovitch — January 29, 2003/ 26. Schwat 5763
May her memory be for a blessing. Please join family members during Sabbath services as we recite Kaddish. Yahrzeit candles are available in the office.
Shalom,
—Your Synagogue Board
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