Monday, April 29, 2013
A conversation with Beth El's Rabbi Emeritus whose work on understanding death was recognized nationally last week.
The subject is often presented with humor because, some say, laughter releases the stress and fear it evokes: Death. There is the story of the actor near death, asked how he was doing, who said: “Dying is easy; it’s comedy that is difficult.” Henry Thoreau was on his death bed when a friend wanted to know if he could see the next world yet; Thoreau answered, “Oh, one world at a time.” Even Founding Father Benjamin Franklin has commented wryly on realities of civic life and life’s final phase, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Rabbi Earl Grollman, Rabbi Emeritus of Belmont's Beth El Temple Center is a nationally recognized expert in the field of thanatology, the study of death, dying and grief. On…
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Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/understanding-grief-belmont-s-grollman-on-living-with-death
157188
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Friday, April 5, 2013
Holocaust Memorial Day begins Saturday night with a service at Beth El Temple Center.
Along with spring, trees tossing pollen in the air like confetti, and birds, twigs in beaks, building nests, April brings a solemn remembrance for the Jewish people. Holocaust Memorial Day or Yom HaShoah, which begins Saturday night, April 6, at 7:30 p.m., honors six-million Jewish dead in World War II. April was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis. Hitler’s regime had packed ghettos with Jews and used starvation, disease and finally forced transports to liquidate its inhabitants. Ruthless efficiency is such an apt description that it became a cliché. Ghettos across Eastern Europe, more than 400 like the one in Lodz, Poland, were filled, exploited, and emptied. On April 19, 1943 the …
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Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/yom-hashoah-lighting-the-way-of-remembrance
157188
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Monday, March 25, 2013
Here, a list of resources, events and services in honor of Passover.
It’s time to break out the matzo. Passover (Pesach) arrives today, March 25, at sundown and ends at sundown on Tuesday, April 2. Here are some local resources for all your Passover needs: 2 Concord Ave. As the story goes, during their flight from slavery, the Jews did not have enough time for their dough to rise, resulting in a flaky cracker that is eaten instead of bread for a full week during Passover. The diet changes go beyond bread, however, and depend on family tradition. As a general rule, just look for the “Kosher for Passover” label, which thankfully spreads to more products year after year. Prior to the holiday, Jews clean their homes and get rid of chametz—food that is forbidden during Passover. Check to see if any of your local…
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Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/observing-passover-in-belmont-what-you-need-to-know
157188
/locations/9090843
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Events happening this weekend in Belmont.
Belmont Cooperative Nursery School is hosting a fun family concert by Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys on Saturday, March 2 in the social hall of St. Joseph's Parish at 130 Common St. Doors open at 11 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door: $5 per person with a maximum cost of $20 per family. Children under 2 are free. In addition to the concert there will be a silent auction, balloon raffle, and pizza, snacks and baked goods for sale. All proceeds from the event will benefit Belmont Co-op's need-based scholarship fund. Square Dance for Everyone is just that, just plain square dancing: No classes, no costumes, no commitment. Just bring $10 admission at 8 p.m. to Payson Park Church, 365 Belmont St. and get ready to allemande right …
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-71.167228
Payson Park Church
365 Belmont St, Belmont, MA
/articles/this-weekend-in-belmont-purim-carnival-square-dancing-and-kid-s-concert
156997
/locations/8924342
42.390874
-71.157258
Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/this-weekend-in-belmont-purim-carnival-square-dancing-and-kid-s-concert
157188
/locations/8924343
42.39187
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St. Joseph's Parish
130 Common St, Belmont, MA
/articles/this-weekend-in-belmont-purim-carnival-square-dancing-and-kid-s-concert
2023409
/locations/8924344
Friday, January 25, 2013
Belmont's Beth El Temple overwhelmed with friends and family to honor Dan Scharfman with prayers and puns.
Before the heartbroken congregation was a plain, wooden casket – unadorned – a simple monument for a man who touched so many lives across a vast spectrum of the world. On the coldest day of the winter with the brilliant winter light illuminating the stained glass windows surrounding the sanctuary of Belmont's Beth El Temple Center, it was a day of sorrow and tears for the family and a community that knew Dan Scharfman. So many came that the wall between the sanctuary and auditorium was opened, allowing the temple to be overwhelmed with hundreds of family, colleagues, friends and acquaintances to acknowledge Scharfman's special but all too brief life. "Astounding as it may seem, Dan worried about his legacy, about whether he made any …
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Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/saying-goodbye-prayers-puns
157188
/locations/8687624
Monday, December 10, 2012
Bringing the holiday of lights to places far from home.
The US military is famous for shipping to service men and women overseas what they require: complete trauma units delivered by cargo plane, dried beef Stroganoff dinners in packets, and kits for cleaning a rifle or a cannon. But the Pentagon doesn’t offer a Hanukkah celebration kit, stacked in warehouses, waiting for shipment. So it is up to civilians, among them the Brotherhood at Beth El Temple Center, go take on this project. The Jewish Chaplaincy in New York, which sends chaplains and supplies to the US military, provides names and addresses for the packages. First and foremost, each kit contains candles and a menorah. Lighting candles commemorates twin miracles of faith and freedom. For the past eight years, the Brotherhood has led…
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Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/hanukkah-from-belmont-to-the-congo
157188
/locations/8349185
Friday, December 7, 2012
Celebrate the Festival of Lights in the Town of Homes.
This year, Hanukkah begins at sunset on Saturday, Dec. 8, and ends a week later on Sunday, Dec. 16. Temples in and around Belmont are holding services and special Hanukkah events, including: Beth El Temple Center, Belmont Temple Isaiah, Lexington Temple Emunah, Lexington Temple Shir Tikvah, Winchester Temple Beth Shalom of Cambridge Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, commemorates the story of the Maccabean Revolt against Syrian rulers in present day Israel 2,300 years ago. The Maccabees wanted to rededicate Jerusalem's main temple but had only enough oil to kindle the Eternal Light for one day. The oil lasted for eight days, according to the story, and the holiday of Hanukkah was born. TELL US: If you observe Hanukkah, what …
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Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/hanukkah-2012-in-belmont
157188
/locations/8327212
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Learn about – and try – massage, yoga, holistic practices and healthy cooking between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Get a massage, try a little yoga and other holistic practices or just come watch some healthy cooking demonstrations as Beth El Temple Center is holding a Health and Wellness Fair for the greater Belmont community on Sunday, Nov. 18 between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Co-sponsored by Center's WRJ/Sisterhood and the BETC Brotherhood, the event will take place in the Zonis Auditorium at Beth El Temple Center at 2 Concord Ave. The event will provide relevant information, raise awareness and address health and wellness issues. There will be demonstrations, speakers, experts, and information to provide resources, knowledge, and access to improved health and wellness for you and your family. Suggested donation: $10 per person. A portion of the …
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Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/health-and-wellness-fair-at-beth-el-center-sunday
157188
/locations/8158419
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Call to make your appointment beginning on Oct. 9; $10 fee for shot.
The 2012-2013 Influenza Vaccine is now available in a variety of locations, such as pharmacies, private physicians’ offices and walk-in clinics. There are more locations than ever before to receive your annual flu vaccine. In Belmont, Both of the CVS Pharmacies and the Osco Pharmacy located in Shaws, offer flu vaccine daily. The Belmont Health Department recommends that you receive a flu vaccine at the earliest opportunity. Belmont has received an allotment of adult flu vaccine doses only sufficient to hold one flu clinic this year. This clinic will be open to adults 18 and older will take place at the Beth El Temple at 2 Concord Ave. from 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, October 23. The town will not be vaccinating children or those under the …
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Like teak, victims of 9/11 will live on, hard to blunt their memories.
Teak weathers well. Baked and watered in Asian tropical forests, more than 100 feet high, the hardwood can repel droves of burrowing insects. Cutting or shaping the wood can blunt metal tools. Teak has been popular for the decks of ships, where it resists sea and salt. Park benches are also a good use for the resilient wood. In northern climates like New England, the wood can withstand temperatures in wide arcs between heat and cold, pelting snow and rain, and the assaults of ice and wind. Some teak benches have been around for a century. The bench in the Beth El Temple Center playground on Concord Avenue is made of teak. It usually spends winters under snow and ice piled onto it by plows clearing the parking lot and walkways. By spring, …
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Beth El Temple Center
2 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/remembering-our-friend-paul-on-september-11
157188
/locations/7764060
Bruce Wadd
8:37 pm on Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Just loved the thoughts expressed here. Thank you Rabbi! more ›