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Dear members, friends and supporters,
What a celebration! What a congregation! Our congregation hosted over 150 members, friends and guests on Saturday, February 17th, Shabbat Shekalim, as we celebrated our tenth anniversary. Congregation president Rachel Dohme greeted a full sanctuary, which came together to celebrate the fruits of ten years of hard work. Many members, friends and honored guests shared this special day with us. We were especially pleased that the Hamelin Mayor, Mrs. Susanne Lippmann, extended the city’s congratulations and gratitude that we have re-established Jewish life in our city. Political representatives of all parties joined with us, many of them Synagogue Foundation members. For the SPD, Christa Bruns; the CDU, Mr. Griese; the FDP, Mr. Güsgen; and for the Greens, Mrs. Wehrmann. County and State legislators Mr. Thul and Mr. Brockmann were also present. Hamelin city hall representative Mr. Kahle rounded out the civic group.
It gratifies us to see how highly regarded our community is among the leaders of our city. Mrs. Ingrid Wettberg read a greeting from Dr. Jan Mühlstein, chairman of our national organization of Reform synagogues, the Union of Progressive Jews of Germany, who acknowledged the many years of hard work and positive results. Pastor Martin Hoffman represented the Hamelin Association of Churches, and of course, the local architect of the synagogue project, Mr. Frank Taylor, was also present. In short, our congregation was showered with praise by local civic, political and religious leaders.
The Mayor noted in her speech the solidarity the city government feels with the first post-war Jewish Community. Mrs. Katarina Seidler, chairwoman of the State Board of Liberal Jewish Congregations and member of the Board of Directors of the Central Council of Jews of Germany, stressed two main points in her speech. She recognized and praised the congregation for carrying on the liberal religious tradition so prevalent in pre-war Germany, and she challenged the city government to take strong and active roles in supporting the efforts of the congregation to see the synagogue project reach fruition.
The special atmosphere of the festivities was due to the fact that people from every walk of life joined together to show their admiration and support of the Jewish Congregation of Hamelin. The Society of Christians and Jews’ chairwoman, Mrs. Christa Bruns, underscored the congregation’s positive contribution to inter-religious dialogue. Mr. Spangenberger, Deacon of the Catholic Church, reminisced about the early days of the community, when his church offered the young Jewish community it’s first home.
Vice president Polina Pelts offered members and guests a heart-touching slide show, showcasing tens years of community development. The congregation's choir "Shalom" added just the right musical accent and had everyone singing along. As Rachel Dohme said in her opening remarks, "At our onset, we were a collection of people from different backgrounds and cultures, drawn together by our religion. The spiritual development of our congregation has matured with the passing years."
Abraham Geiger rabbinical student Gábor Lengyel’s sermon and Havdalah ceremony gave a dignified conclusion to the festivities. The glow of the Havdalah candle was reflected in the faces of young and old alike. The motto of the celebration, “Remembrance–Progressive–Constant,” was echoed in the convincing feeling of those in attendance.
Ulrike Dangendorf played a myriad of Jewish melodies on her accordion as members and guests enjoyed Kiddush delicacies and conversation. Laughter and ”hämischkeit” filled the room and left everyone satisfied on this very special Shabbat day. Certainly the celebration will act as a source of pride and strength as the community looks and works toward the future. “Blessed are You, O God, who rules the universe. You have made us a community.”
Holidays in March
  Our congregation will celebrate Purim on Monday, March 5th. We’ll dress up, make lots of noise with our graggers, enjoy delicious homemade Hamentaschen (thanks to Polina’s women’s group) and read Megillat Esther. Thanks to our Rabbi Irit Shillor, we will read the Book of Esther from a text in Hebrew, German and Russian, enabling everyone to understand the story. Although Purim is a festive day for our children, it has a serious message. We remember the courage of Esther as she saved our people from annihilation at the
hands of the evil Haman in Persia on the 14th of Adar, 450 B.C.E. It is an old and beautiful custom to give Shlachmones, gifts of food to the sick and elderly. Our youth group “Young and Jewish Hamelin, Jr.” has set out a special Tzedaka box to collect money, which they will use to buy products for the baskets they will make for the sick and elderly in the community. Please support our youth in this project. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Purim party. Bring a friend!
Annual Membership Meeting
Our annual membership meeting took place on Sunday, February 25, 2007. We will report on the meeting in our April newsletter because it took place after this month’s editorial deadline. Thank you for your understanding.
Dues
We respectfully remind all our members to pay their annual membership dues. The many activities our community offers depend on the financial support of our members.
Tu B’Shevat Collection for Kehilla Yozma in Modi’in, Israel
At this year's Tu Bi'Shevat celebrations, we collected money for the “Children’s Holocaust Forest,” a project of the Reform congregation Yozma in Modi'in, Israel. The new field of trees is to commemorate the 1.5 million children who were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. On Erev Tu Bi’Shevat and Tu B’Shevat we collected 148 Euros. Rachel will deliver the money to our friends in Modi’in in March when she attends the WUPJ conference. We thank everyone who contributed.
Rachel and Elke in Jerusalem
Our member Elke Wendt will take part in this year’s Beutel Leadership Seminar in Jerusalem March 5th–15th. Our president, Rachel Dohme, will attend the international conference of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) in Jerusalem March 15th–20th. We look forward to their reports in April.
 Pesach begins April 2nd
We will be celebrating Pesach together with Rabbi Irit Shillor on Monday, April 2nd. Please sign up by Wednesday, March 28th. We have ordered kosher Israeli wine and matzah, which will be available for sale in the office. Buy early while the supply lasts.
Contributions
We wish to thank all the members and friends who, through their contributions, help support our congregational life and our building project.
We thank our members Dr. and Mrs. Oleg Rubanov for their most generous contribution in honor of our tenth anniversary. We also wish to thank Uwe Wolandowitsch, the Liberal Congregation of Hanover, the Liberal Congregation of Bad Pyrmont, the Hamelin Catholic Churches and the Christ Lutheran Church. We also wish to express our gratitude toward our “Friends” Mrs. Renate and Monika Cramer, Mrs. M. Heckmann, Mrs. U. Gibas, Mrs. U. Niedert, Mrs. C. von Twistern, Mr. and Mrs. A. Späth, Mr. G. Nerger, Mrs. Anne Armbrecht and Mrs. Sabine Demuth.
Contributions were thankfully received from Christine Whitelaw and her student organization “Network Bunde,” who had held a benefit concert for our synagogue project. In addition, two 11th grade classes who had visited our congregation each made contributions. What amazing young people! May they all be blessed for their generosity.
Tree of Life
New leaves continue to grow, even in the winter. Recent additions include:
“Liberal Jewish Congregation of Hanover”
“Mazel Tov on your Tenth anniversary!”
Leaves are available for a minimum of “Triple Chai” ($54) and can be purchased online. Every leaf helps to bring our dream of our own synagogue a little closer. May you be blessed for your generosity.
Todah Rabah
We thank all the helping hands who made our tenth anniversary celebration such a resounding success. Almost every member helped in one way or another. We especially wish to thank the guest speakers, and Faina Pelts for spontaneously translating; Polina Pelts, Arkadij Drejzer and Dieter Vogelhuber for the excellent slide show that highlighted our first decade; our congregational choir “Shalom” for their musical selections; Rabbinical student Gábor Lengyel for his sermon and leading the Havdalah ceremony; Josef Pelts for the moving poem he wrote for our special day; Peter Wendt for the new curtains; Andrev Kolneseva for painting the hallway in the cellar; Elena Gorbacheva and Liubov Pesina for decorating the room and organizing the festive Kiddush table; and everyone who brought something to share. In short—thank you all for a wonderful community celebration!
 Mazel Tov
We extend our congratulation to Dieter Vogelhuber on the marriage of his son. Mazel Tov, Dieter!
Birthdays in March
Happy birthday to all who have a March birthday. Join us on Friday, March 30th, for a special birthday Kiddush after services.
Refuah Schlamah — Get well wishes
We wish all who are ill a speedy and complete recovery. Anyone wishing a home visit should call Mrs Berta Friedmann.
 Yahrzeit — We remember:
Riva Slavinska — March 18, 2005 / 18 Adar II 5765
Please join the congregation and family to say Kaddish at services for her.
Shalom,
—Your synagogue board
Program for March 2007 • Adar–Nissan 5767
Thursday, March 1 3:30 p.m. “Young and Jewish Hamelin Jr.”
with Michal Tal
4:30 p.m. B’nei Mitzvah class
5:30 p.m. Hebrew class or adults
Saturday, March 3 1:30–2:30 p.m. Hebrew class for adults
3:00 p.m. Seminar: Sabbath morning service
with I. Baum 
Monday, March 5 10:00 a.m. Hamentaschen Bake-off
4:00 p.m. PURIM Celebration with R. Dohme
and V. Pesok
Thursday, March 8 5:00 p.m. International Women’s Day Concert
Saturday, March 10 10:00 a.m. Shabbat morning services/Torah study
with Rachel Dohme
Wednesday, March 14 11:00 a.m. New rules for national public health
with F. Pelts
Friday, March 16 5:00 p.m. Friday night services with D.Vogelhuber
and V. Pesok
Saturday, March 17 10:00 a.m. Shabbat morning services/Torah study
with D. Vogelhuber
Tuesday, March 20 4:00 p.m. Video Afternoon: “Phantom of the Opera”
with V. Friedmann
Thursday, March 22 3:30 p.m. “Young and Jewish Hamelin Jr.”
with Michal Tal
4:30 p.m. B’nei Mitzvah class
5:30 p.m. Hebrew class for adults
Saturday, March 24 10:00 a.m. Shabbat morning services/Torah study
with Rachel Dohme
Tuesday, March 27 4:00 p.m. “Russian Afternoon” with Maya Olvovska
Friday, March 30 5:00 p.m. Friday night services with Rachel Dohme
Saturday, March 31 10:00 a.m. Shabbat morning services/Torah study
with D. Vogelhuber
Activities Outside our Congregation
Sunday, March 11 5:00 p.m. Podium discussion: “Do we all believe
in the same God?” with R. Dohme,
St. Bonifatus Church
Tuesday March 13 4:00 p.m. Society for Christians and Jews:
open discussion, St. Augustinus Church
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