Mendocino E-Megillah Mendocino Coast Jewish Community May 2009 (5769) The Jewish Center (Shul) is located at 15071 Caspar Road, Caspar CA. The MCJC can be reached at (707) 964-6146 Mail can be sent to PO Box 291, Little River, CA 95456 website: http://www.mcjc.org email: mcjcmegillah@mcjc.org PDF Version: http://www.mcjc.org/mjoldart/Megillah/MJMM0000.htm Facebook: MCJC - Mendocino Coast Jewish Community USPS: MCJC, PO Box 291.Little River, CA

Flying home from New Orleans a couple weeks ago, the four of us kept asking each other, “So, do you have your sound byte ready for when everyone asks you how it went?” And none of us did. Not at all.

We went to Louisiana with Frank Fanto, local friend and building contractor, to participate in some small piece of the ongoing rebuilding effort still going on three years after Hurricane Katrina (and a year after storms Gustave and Ike did yet more damage.) This was, I believe, Frank’s fifth rebuilding trip. The whole situation down there has really moved him. He has taken local high school students, skilled craftspeople and folks like ourselves who just wanted to help however we could. This was intended to be an MCJC trip, and, I suppose, in the open-ended way that we are a community together, it kind of was.

Lucky me, I traveled with three of my closest friends: Donna Feiner, Cathie Mellon and Lyla Nathan (from Santa Rosa – Mickey’s dearest friend in the world, and one of mine as well.) Lucky for New Orleans, Donna is a plumber and electrician, and Cathie knows her way around these things as well. As to me, well, Cathie and Donna tease me, remembering a time that they were working together installing a skylight in Cathie’s roof, while I sat up there with the tin snips, making earrings out of flashing scraps… Lyla’s no carpenter either, but she’s a good, hard-working, sensible pal.

Frank warned us all before we went that we shouldn’t expect to be busy all the time, that things there are chaotic, that jobs he was hearing about before we left might not materialize when we were there, that we might not be able to find materials, that he wasn’t sure where we’d sleep or what we’d eat. Still, he said, he felt sure that we’d leave things at least a tiny bit better than they would have been if we didn’t come at all. And just showing up makes a difference to people there.

The first time (or two?) that Frank brought folks down to New Orleans to volunteer, they participated in a Habitat program. This didn’t work so well for a variety of reasons, and as he has stayed involved, Frank has connected with various people who are involved in smaller scenes. So he was passing e-mails on to us from various folks: someone someplace was going to need help with something or other, and someone else had offered us a place to sleep. Off we went. We really didn’t know what to expect, so why have any expectations?

Frank met us at the New Orleans airport. After a coffee and beignet in the French Quarter (the first time that any of us girls had been in New Orleans!) we crashed on the floor of someone’s beautifully-renovated, totally empty house in Arabi, next to the Ninth Ward. Just walking around the next morning we got a little of the lay of the land. A woman pulled up next to us and let down her car window. “Are you volunteers? My son-in-law needs help…” (We gave her Frank’s cell number.) Walking into the Arabi Store (great biscuits and grits!) the woman behind the counter said, “Are you volunteers?” We could see houses in all states of rubble and resurrection. In the famed Ninth Ward, once a teeming ghetto, half the lots were empty, grassy. It was an odd mix of slum and pasture. On every phone pole were flyers advertising demolition, mowing, haulage, construction of every kind. Three years after Katrina, the city was pouring sidewalks in front of the house where we stayed.

In the morning we set out to the bayou country, an hour and a half away. We were bound for Isle de Jean Charles, a tiny strip of land accessible by about a mile-long road. The roadbed was washing away and was just two skinny lanes with water lapping up on both sides. The island itself was like a little berm, rising just inches above the swamp water all around. It had a single street, maybe a mile long, houses or remains of houses on both sides. All the houses standing were on poles eight or ten feet in the air. And there was almost nothing growing – dead cypress trees, a bit of grass, and an oil refinery in the distance. It was a pretty grim and surreal scene.

The island is the home of an unofficial band of Houma Indians. We went to a small but intact elevated house, where we had been asked by the Chief to raise a water heater to the second floor and install it. To do so, a little deck needed to be built and a room framed around it. The house belonged to an elderly couple. We met the old man, who chatted with us a bit with what little English he knew. We worked there for two days, got the water heater put up and the room framed in. Lyla and I bent a million nails, and we started calling ourselves the Twisted Nails. It was warm and sunny. And the oddest thing was: the old couple whose house we were working on never offered us a glass of water. In the afternoons their neighbors (mostly relatives, I think) came over and drank coffee on their upstairs deck, and they never introduced us, much less invited us up for a cup. I sometimes think that our whole trip would have been different if they had.

I wasn’t offended or anything. Certainly none of us expected any big thanks. But we got to talking about it. It was weird. Maybe they didn’t have enough cups. Maybe they were embarrassed that they needed help. Maybe so many volunteers had floated through that they were just sick of being friendly. Maybe that’s just not how they do things. We just started to realize that we really didn’t understand the scene we were in. And that, as much as you think you don’t have any expectations, well, expectations crop up… At some point we learned that the old woman was Chief Albert’s sister. Hmmm, interesting…

We spent another day nailing up siding on another house, belonging to Chris, a young man who is paralyzed and raising a young niece and nephew. He was just as friendly and outgoing as the first couple was retiring. And he was a ferocious worker himself, moving plywood sheets and power-washing them from his wheelchair. An impressive guy. Still, it seemed like when local cars passed by and people saw us, they glared. Or maybe we were getting a little paranoid.

Back in New Orleans we showed up at the Arabi Community Center, a beehive of cooking, free clothing, legal aid, computer classes and more, all in a kind of hollowed-out warehouse. The whole thing was run by a speedy guy named Iray, who had apparently come down from the Northeast after Katrina and more or less single-handedly gotten this whole operation going. We heard that he himself was about to get evicted by the city from a FEMA trailer and might end up homeless.

It didn’t seem like there was much of a plan. In a neighboring building Iray and Co. wanted to set up some clothes washing facilities. Frank and another Coast guy had worked on it a year ago, and everything lay just where they had left it. Donna and Cathie dug in. Meanwhile Lyla and I tried to help out in the kitchen, where they were preparing a lunch to serve to the neighborhood. There were a million volunteers all over the place. At one point a visiting reporter (from Free Speech Radio News) came up to me and said, “Give me something to do, please!” I pointed to a cutting board of onions and peppers, already chopped. “Here,” I said, “chop these finer.” (Why was I giving orders at all? Just how I am, as you all know…)

The wash machines got kind of hooked up. Lyla and I taped and mudded the ceiling there. Stuff got done, sort of. Would another layer of mud ever be applied? Would the water be turned on? Hard to tell. We all got kind of dejected. Frank said at one point, speaking of the ongoing work of rebuilding New Orleans, “The era of the volunteer is over.”

And it probably is. They probably don’t need a bunch of smiley Twisted Sisters showing up from California. Or there needs to be some planning to make use of the likes of us. Or whatever. Not my area of expertise, by any means, how to rebuild a destroyed city (a destroyed city abandoned by its country, a destroyed city which keeps getting re-destroyed, even as the volunteers pour in, a destroyed city which itself is the poster child, while a whole region of even poorer places are completely forgotten…)

What I find myself thinking about is a little more personal. I think I’ve always imagined that there is some value to just showing up in a place of sorrow or destruction. But one morning I was eating my grits and biscuits at the Arabi Store, looking at the two styrofoam boxes they came in, the foam coffee cup and plastic fork and knife, the foil butter wrapper – and I thought, “I may actually be making more of a mess than I’m cleaning up here.” Or to put it differently, while there is no end to need in our world, it may be that in most of them there is nothing at all I can do to help, even with all good will and energy. I’ve always believed in living a life of service (to whatever degree I’ve actually lived out that belief.) In Louisiana I confronted the unpleasant underside of that belief – a kind of arrogance which says, “Of course they need me here.”

Back home, I feel humbled. I think of the various situations of need into which I’ve dropped myself over the years, including my beloved Cape Town. What do I actually have to offer in any of these places?

The answer isn’t nothing. In our week in Louisiana, we installed a water heater for an elderly couple, framed a room, put up siding on the house of a paralyzed man, plumbed a bunch of washers and dryers, taped and mudded a ceiling and put nicely minced onions and peppers into a cole slaw. Frank is probably right – things are probably a little better down there on account of our showing up. He’s probably right as well when he says that the whole city is being rebuilt by volunteers: if not us, then who?

Still, showing up in someone else’s trouble is a complicated business. Sometimes I hear Rabbi Tarfon in my head (Pirkei Avot 2:16): “Yours is not to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” Today I wonder… Maybe there are times when desisting is the work. Maybe the job is to find the places in the world where I really can offer something of use, and to live with my helplessness when I can’t. As promised, I have no sound byte to offer here, no punchy conclusion. I’m glad I went. It’s always great to be in a new place, always a happy thing to be with my friends. I learned a lot. But it wasn’t quite the Torah I expected. And I guess, like any good Torah study, I’m mostly left with more questions.

– Rabbi Margret Holub

Elders Conversation About Life
Everyone is invited to an open conversation – Thursday, May 7, 11:00AM – 1:00 PM at the shul. Our topic this time will be aloneness and company. How do any of us balance our need for solitude with our desire to be connected? What is the difference for us between solitude and loneliness? How do we stay close to the people we care about but still keep time and space for ourselves? People of every age are invited to join the conversation. Veggie snacks are welcome. (mh)

Aging in our Community
It’s time to get together again to work on the program part of our growing older together effort. We will meet on Wednesday, May 20, 5:30 – 7:00, with a light dinner served. When we started meeting last year, people had a lot of strong ideas about working to improve learning, health care, transportation, social life and more as we age. Some work has been done in the meantime, and it’s a good time now to put some energy in together. We will review our ideas from last year, talk about what has worked out and what hasn’t, and see if it’s time to take on a new project together. People of all ages are encouraged to join in. It’s exciting, and we’re all getting older! (mh)

Shavuot Leil Tikkun
Thursday night, May 28, is Shavuot – the festival celebrating the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai. Those wild Safed mystics gave us the tradition of staying up all night, studying, meditating and preparing ourselves for revelation. This year we will spend the night on Jacob’s ladder, studying the story in Torah (Genesis 28:10 – 22) and climbing the ladder accompanied by the sages and mystics who have elaborated this amazing vision.

We will begin at 8:00 PM with an evening service and offering of first fruits, followed by yizkor at 8:30 and our studies beginning at 9:00 and continuing til dawn. As always, your presence is invited at any time, and you are also welcome to close your eyes and sleep as the studies go on. Your spirit will be felt! (mh)

Kabbalat Shabbat
This month we will be celebrating Kabbalat Shabbat and dinner on Friday, May 8th at the home of Edie and Ira Plotinsky in Mendocino. Please call them at 937-1415 for directions and to let them know you are coming. In June we will be at the home of Jay and Monique Frankston. The monthly Kabbalat Shabbat includes a song-filled short service that begins at 6:00 pm and is followed by a pot luck vegetarian dinner. If you would like to host this wonderful event in your home in future months, contact Mina at 937-1319. (mc)

MCJC Board meeting dates
The next MCJC board meeting has not yet been scheduled for May. If you would like to attend a meeting please contact Raven Deerwater at raven@taxpractitioner.com so he can let you know the date and include you on the agenda. (mc)

Book Group
The book group will meet Monday May 18th at the home of Rosamond Gumpert Jorgensen Please call Fran Schwartz at 937-1352 if you wish to join us. We will be reading “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs. Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes. The books are available at Cheshire Books in Fort Bragg for a 10% discount if you let them know you are in the Jewish Book Group. We welcome new people at any time. In June the book group will be reading Meir Shalev's "A Boy and a Pigeon." (mc)

Tisch
The monthly Tisch has been lots of fun and we’ve enjoyed delicious Shabbat dinners ably served by our Torah School students and “graduates.” Join us for another enjoyable dinner on Friday May 1st and again on Friday, May 29th. We welcome one and all at 6:00 for candlelighting, Kiddush, and Challah followed by dinner, singing, and general schmoozing. Our entrée is provided but we welcome desserts if you are so inclined. (mc)

Thank You for Megillah Help
Thank you to Sydelle and Laura for collating and mailing our April megillah. Contact Mina if you’d like to help with this task. (mc)

Whole Mishpocha: Videos
by Mina Cohen
UI had the lovely opportunity to fill in for Jessica at torah school at Frankies just before Passover. We had “chametz” pizza and talked about the story of Passover. It was so fun. I told the children about the film “The Prince of Egypt” made by Steven Spielberg a few years ago. It’s an animated and musical version of the Passover story. It made me realize that there are lots of these kinds of movies. There is a whole series called “Shalom Sesame” a Hebrew and Jewish version of “Sesame Street” that we have in the MCJC library. For older children there are films like “The Chosen” and “Brighton Beach Memoirs”. (mc)

Torah School
Our Monday afternoons at Frankie’s have been going well. The children have been meeting 3;30 to 5:00 pm with Jessica Grinberg and Missy Fiedler. We are learning about the holidays, studying a little about the torah and learning Middot, guides to living a righteous life. May will be our last month until Fall. (mc)

Film Showing of “Arranged”
After a long hiatus the movies are back! We will be starting with a showing of “Arranged” on Saturday, May 16th at 7:30 pm. The film centers on the friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. Over the course of the year they learn that they share much in common - not least of which is that they are both going through the process of arranged marriages. This is a funny, poignant, and timely film. Tickets are $10. at the door or you can reserve by contacting Mark Zarlin at 937-0341 mzarlin@mcn.org . We will have our usual fabulous desserts at intermission and before the show. Doors open at 7 pm. (mc)

A Lunch Celebration
Rosamond Gumpert Jorgensen and Mina Cohen, with help from others from time to time have been reading the Tanach (Torah, Prophets, and Writings) from cover to cover. It’s taken them about three years to finish and they are within striking distance of finishing Chronicles in the next week or so. They invite you to celebrate this mitzvah on Saturday, May 16th following services with lunch that will be provided. Come for services and lunch or just lunch which will be served around 1 pm. (mc)

In Appreciation
Thanks to all of you for coming and making our annual Ledford House Dinner so specially wonderful and fun. Many people worked to make it successful and we are grateful to all who helped, as well as the businesses that donated prizes, but the MCJC board wants to especially thank Nona Smith and Fran Schwartz for organizing such a great and complex auction. Many kudos as well to Sharon Shapiro who gleaned such wonderful libations for us to enjoy and to George and Donna Montag who organized and made some of those fabulous appetizers. When did you last have homemade chopped liver with gribbeness? If you don't know what gribbeness are you can email Harriet Bye at bysawyer@mcn.org We look forward to seeing you all Same Time Next Year. (hb)

TODAH RABAH! (Great Thanks)
For The Following Generous Contributors Who in the Last Month Helped Sustain Our Community

Dan Mandelbaum and Benna Kolinsky; Margaret Fox-Kump; Mina Cohen and Jeff Berenson; John Allison and Rebecca Picard; Nicole and Clark Fish; Rick Edwards and Tracy Salkowitz Edwards; Karen Rakofsky; Neil and Joy Wilensky; Nancy Harris; Shirley and Michael Issel; Donna Camitta

Rachel Lahn In Memory of her mother, Leah Lahn; Fran and Roger Schwartz In Honor of Rosamond Gumpert-Jorgensen's 92nd birthday; Fran and Roger Schwartz to the Bikkur Cholim Fund In Honor of Naomi Kerwin; Carolyn Steinbuck In Memory of David Saxe; Carolyn Steinbuck In Memory of Ella Russell; Mettika Hoffman to the Adele Saxe Tzedakah Fund In Memory of Jenny, Lillian, Louis and William Hoffman

________________________________________

Mendocino Maven
by The Shadow
The last month was a very full one for Mendocino’s Jews. The annual MCJC dinner and auction was a huge success and sold out. Next year get your reservations in early. The annual matzah bake took place in Caspar this year. (Photos of the matzah bake and dinner will be posted on Facebook and Flickr, rumor has it that videos of Sandy Glickfeld’s performance will also be posted soon).

Pesach seders were held up and down the coast and many homes were graciously opened to those who were not having one at their own home. I had the good fortune to attend Seders on the first and 2nd days, plus a “bonus” community Seder. At the first Seder I was surrounded by thousands of exuberant kids and at the 2nd I was the youngest person there.

Holly Moskowitz is leaving us! After 4 years working on the Mirembe Kawomera (Delicious Peace) Coffee project, Holly is returning to Virginia, where she will be entering the VA Commonwealth University Accelerated Master’s Degree Program in Nursing to become a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. Mazel Tov and For Gezunterhait!! Holly’s work at Thanksgiving Coffee be taken over by ... drum roll please … Jenais Zarlin! It will be great to see Jenais davening with her parents every Saturday morning at the shul.

The Shadow had the great good luck to be able to help the Torah Kids Class paint tiles and learn about seed planting. It is a delight to have kids and young families involved in the MCJC again, but it seems that with the exception of the Tisch, the older and younger don’t seem to attend the same events. – The Shadow

If you have any simchas you would like to share with the community please email The Shadow at
maven@mcjc.org

Purim Thanks
Every year we send Purim packages (Shalach Manot) to MCJC college students. This year we received the following letter from Kira Wojack who is at Yale.

Dear MCJC,
I just got back from a geology field trip in Italy to find a Purim Package waiting for me in my mailbox. It was a delightful surprise. Thank you very much for the Purim package; it will come in very handy while I am studying for midterms this week. Thanks again, Kira Wojack. (mc)

Facebook and the MCJC
The MCJC Facebook Group now has 44 members, and zillions of photos. Sign up now and start a brilliant online discussion or play Lexulous with Mickey. ;-) (rge)

?????-???? (mame-loshn = mother language)
Yiddish was the language spoken by most European Jews, and for those of us whose progenitors came from Eastern Europe, it was the language of our ancestors. Yiddish (literally Jewish) split off from German around the 10th century and evolved into multiple dialects which came to include Slavic and Hebrew words. Yiddish as a living language was thought to have died during the Holocaust, but it continues to survive in Haredi enclaves and among the elderly. There is a resurgence of interest in Yiddish in the US and elsewhere. Perhaps we can be a part of this renaissance, by incorporating some of the words Mettika mentions below into our conversations. Lang leben zolt ir! - Long may you live! (rge)

More than 12 Tribes?
By Cindy “Mettika” Hoffman
I have been thinking about Yiddish words for a while now and perused an old favorite book called The Taste of Yiddish, A Warm and Humorous Guide to a Fascinating Language written by Lillian Mermin Feinsilver. I wanted to remember and see the Yiddish words I grew up with in northwest Baltimore, a large Jewish Suburban Ghetto. My mother and father, first generation Americans, used Yiddish words first to keep my brother and I from understanding what they were saying. Then, after a while, they used Yiddish words to describe people, events and situations so that the meaning of the Yiddish words were gleaned from the exemplars used.

I have read and reread the stories of Shalom Alecheim and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Singer, with his mystical, heavenly and hellish worlds of people and Shalom Alecheim, known as the Yiddish Mark Twain with his cast of characters from the small Jewish shtetls and the poor but rich characters who inhabit these small towns. His are the stories of everyday woes, joys, trials, tribulations, sorrows, simchas, sufferings, and misunderstandings with a strong dose of Jewish irony. The Yiddish words I learned from these writers added a rich contextual layer of nuance and vocabulary to everyday language. It adds to the English language warmth, spice, humor, pathos, empathy and to quote a Yiddish word-tam or taste.

In my early teens, I heard my mother describe a friend of a distant relative as Moishe Kapoyr, which translates as Moses upside down which actually means he is the kind of person who falls on his back and breaks his nose. This particular person did manage to get most things wrong. She also described Adlai Stevenson who ran for President twice as a funfer - a person who talked up his sleeve - mumbled. A long time ago I told my father I hadn't paid the phone bill because I was mad at the phone company. He called me a chocham - wise person-a put down in a humorous way, that has an edge to it.

This past Passover I was invited to the second Seder and those invited were given the opportunity to be part of the seder - the story, songs, prayers, blessings, kiddushes, via a 25 page outline. We were invited, if we wanted, to add to the meaning of the Passover story. We could follow the outline or add something that we had read or had pondered, or had grown up with that we wanted to share. For many years I have wondered who those 2.4 million people were who wandered in the desert with Moses after leaving Egypt as slaves? The answer was obvious on a genetic level. They are us and we are them. But the reflection went further and I realized in order to make the wanderers real it would be good to give them personality traits. What better language than Yiddish could describe personalities so well? I lumped the types together sometimes at random, sometimes, because the words rhymed and sometimes because certain types hang with certain similar types.

I got out my favorite book, mentioned earlier, and made a list of the Yiddish words I had heard from friends and family. The briefest definitions will be given.

The farbrent [burning], ferlempt [tight jawed], kvetches [complainers], ungabluzzen [puffed up-note-pissed off], vainers [criers], farbisseners [embittered ones] and farkrimpt [frowners]

The klutzs [dumb clucks], fressers [eaters], shikkers [drunks], yentas [busybodies], shleppers [draggers], nudniks [pests], shrayers [yellers], kibitzers [sticking in your two cents worth], chazers [pigs], schnooks [fools] and Chayem Yankel [comic name for an unreliable character]

Schnorrers [those looking for something for nothing], kvellers [those who feel proud, especially of their children's accomplishments] and schvitzers [those who sweat], schmoozer [one who chews the rag-chats] ,fermished [mixed up], schlemiels, schlamazels [the schlemiels spill the hot tea and it lands on the schlamazel] luftmensch [airheads], farblunget [lost], schmutzes [dirty ones], ferdrayt kupps [ mixed up] and schmegegge [disoriented]

The fertootzed [overdressed], machers [deal makers] momser [bastard], ipsi-pipsi [very fancy], goniffs [thieves], schnook [sucker-fool] and gansa knocker [big shot]

The maziks [little trouble makers ], vilde chayas [wild animals], meshugenehs [crazy people] and tumelers [ones who liven things up]

The balabuste [a fine housekeeper], berya [a domestic marvel] and maven [connoisseur or expert]

I hope this short list invites you to reflect on hamish Yiddish vocabulary from your youth so that it can be passed on to the next generation. If you remember your family's special words - please - pass them on to me at cindyho@mcn.org (ch)

The Megillah: Have It Your Way
The Mendocino is generated in two formats: the legacy hardcopy format which is optimized for printing on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper and the HTML format which is formatted to be read on a computer display.

For the ~325 subscribers to the Megillah, we print about 185 hardcopies each month. This is about 11,000 pages per year, 220 pounds of bleached paper, the equivalent of 1.3 trees!

You can subscribe to the hardcopy version and have it mailed to you or you can subscribe to the email version or you can receive both. If we don’t print a copy for you, it will help us save trees, postage, energy, chlorine (source of carcinogenic dioxins) and help fight global climate change.
You can also now download either the hardcopy (PDF) version that you can print yourself or computer display (html) version online. at

http://www.mcjc.org/mjoldart/Megillah/MJMM0000.htm

If you don’t need the hardcopy and want to do your bit to repair the world, please email
Myra at myrah@mcn.org Todah Rabah! (rge)

Mina Cohen To Be Honored at Dinner
On Sunday May 17, Mina Cohen will be honored for her many years of commitment to the education of youth in the Mendocino community and for her tireless service to Mendocino Unified School Enrichment (MUSE) and the MCJC. The dinner and auction will be held at the Hill House in Mendocino at 5:30pm. Proceeds from the event benefit MUSE. Please contact Jessica Grinberg for additional information and reservations at mcop@mcn.org or 937-6267. (rge)

Looking to the Future
From time to time members have given additional financial help to MCJC. Upon the sale of a home, stocks or some other positive financial event they have shared their good fortune. Also, several members have remembered MCJC in their wills. These generous acts insure the long term strength and sustainability of the Jewish Community and our shul here on the Coast.
We encourage you to do this if you can. (mz)

Yom HaShoah Book Online
Jay Frankston’s chap book YOM HASHOAH is now available online at the MCJC website in the articles section: http://www.mcjc.org/mjoldart/MJAFS006.htm . Thanks to Jay for sharing his work. (rge)

Subscription and Notification
If you would like to subscribe to this publication and/or receive email notifications for events, changes, or important news from MCJC contact Myra Beals at myrah@mcn.org or send to P.O. Box 1113, Mendocino. Let her know if you prefer to receive a printed Megillah coming in the mail or by email. If you would like to receive notifications by email please indicate that as well. Subscription to the Megillah is included with a contributing membership of $200. or more. A subscription alone to the newsletter is $25. per year. Checks can be made payable to MCJC and mailed to P.O. Box 291, Little River, CA. 95456. (mc)

Editorial Policy
The Mendocino Megillah is published monthly. The deadline for submission of articles is the 10th of the month before desired publication. The editor will include all appropriate material, space permitting with the exception of copyrighted material that does not have permission of the author. The material printed in the Megillah is not the policy or representative of the opinions of the Board of Directors of Mendocino Coast Jewish Community. Divergent opinions are welcome. (mc)

Contributions to the MCJC can be sent to: MCJC, Box 291, Little River, CA 95456. Please specify if your contribution is in memory or honor of someone, and please include your name and mailing address. Thanks! (mz)

Using the Shul
If you are opening or closing the shul please double check that the furnace, water heater and lights are all off and that all doors are locked when you leave.
THANKS! (rge)

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Thanks to Our Underwriters for Supporting the MCJC Megillah and the Community

Albion Doors and Windows: 1000s of recycled windows, French doors, thermal windows, entry doors, new & used * Leaded glass, arches & unique styles * Liquidation prices at 937-0078 in Albion * www.knobsession.com

Cheshire Books: Eclectic community bookstore located in the heart of downtown Fort Bragg at 363 N. Franklin St. * Open Mon.- Fri. 10:30 am-5:30 pm, Sat. 10:00 am-5:00 pm, & Sun. 11:00 am-3:00 pm * 964-5918

College Bound Advising * College search, coaching, and application assistance * Mina Cohen, certified college counselor * Individual consulation and group workshops * Tel: 937-1319 * cbadvising.com

Frankie's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor: Homemade pizzas, Cowlick's ice cream and other yummy things to nosh on. Beer and wine available. Live music weekly, all ages welcome. Open daily from 11 - 9 at 44951 Ukiah Street, Mendocino, 937-2436. www.frankiesmendocino.com

Fashen Faber: Marriage and Family Therapist * Offering psychotherapy with EMDR, Guided Imagery, Insight Therapy * Deep healing for trauma, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, relationship problems * Gay & lesbian & transgender issues * Individuals, couples, teens, families * Mendocino * 937-2791

Hortus Botanicus Nursery and Gardens (since 1994): Annuals, perennials, unusual trees, shrubs, clematis, nepenthes and other carnivorous plants, orchids and succulents at 20103 Hanson Rd, Ft. Bragg. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fall and Winter hours are Thursday - Monday 10 to 4, Sundays 11 to 3. Robert Goleman, Owner. www.hortusb.com or 964-4786

ICONS: Global Gifts- Local Art: Coastal photography; wood carvings; ceramics; Judaica (siddurim, seder plates, etc.) ; Buddha; saint: and goddess statues; classic rock tee-shirts and memorabilia; new CDs and DVDs and used LPs; cards, books, and much more! Open daily, 10466 Lansing St., Mendocino 937-1784

Loie Rosenkrantz: MSW, CHT, CMT. Experienced, mature, depth counseling; short term practical problem solving * Hypnotherapy and somatic therapy * Rosen Method Body work practitioner * HUMA transpersonal bodywork teacher * Feel free to call for information about these modalities, 964-3094, Fort Bragg

Montag’s Handyman Service: Carpentry, Plumbing, Electrical, Furniture Repairs, Antique Restoration * George Montag * 33410 Greenwood Rd., Elk, CA. 95432 * montag@mcn.org * 707-877-3243

Out of this World: telescopes, binoculars, & science toys at 45100 Main St., * Box 1010, Mendocino * 937-3335 * www.DiscountTelescopes.com

Phoebe Graubard: Attorney at Law * Wills, trusts, probate, conservatorships * 594 S. Franklin, Fort Bragg, 95437 * 964-3525 * www.mcn.org/a/celr * Member National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys * Wheelchair accessible

Rainsong & Rainsong Shoes: From head to toe in Mendocino! * Contemporary clothing * Shoes & accessories for men & women * 3 locations: Mendocino, Healdsburg, and our new store in Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa * 937-4165 (clothing) * 937-1710 (shoes) * 433-8058 (Healdsburg) * 576-8919 (Santa Rosa)

Raven Deerwater, EA, PhD: Tax practitioner * Specializing in families, home-based & small businesses, & non-profit organizations * 45121 Ukiah St. * Box 1786, Mendo * 937-1099 * raven@taxpractitioner.com www taxpractitioner.com

Richard Green & Co. Certified Public Accountant * 45170 Main Street, Mendocino * 937-5260 * rgcpa@adelphia.net

Richochet Ridge Ranch: Trail rides on beach, across from MacKerricher State Park * Reservations: 964-PONY(7669) * 1-1/2 hr. to all day rides, exceptional horses, English and Western * Weeklong No. Calif. & International riding vacations * Free brochure contact Lari Shea, 24201 N. Highway 1, Fort Bragg, 95437 * www.horsevacation.com

Rosenthal Construction: 703 N. Main St., Fort Bragg * 964-1200

Silver and Stone: 45005 Ukiah St., Mendocino * 937-0257 * Contemporary sterling silver & gemstone jewelry for women & men * Affordable to indulgent *11 am to 6 pm daily

Thanksgiving Coffee Co.: local roasters on the Mendocino Coast over 3 decades * Certified organic, shade grown coffee & Fair Trade Coffees * Box 1918, Fort Bragg, 95437 * (800)462-1999 * www.thanksgivingcoffee.com

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MCJC Board & Useful Numbers

Rituals and Holidays (including Hevra Kadisha/Cemetery)	Joan Katzeff*	964-9161	jkatzeff@mcn.org
Rituals and Holidays	Donna Montag*	877-3243	montag@mcn.org
Community Care (rides, help when ill)	Karen Rakofsky*	937-5522	nerak@mcn.org
Outreach (new to the community)	Donna Montag*	877-3243	montag@mcn.org
Culture (films/ speakers/ Women’s Retreat)	Harriet Bye*	937-3622	bysawyer@mcn.org
Education (adult and children/ library)	Mina Cohen*	937-1319	mcohen@mcn.org
Treasurer (finance and donations)	Mark Zarlin*	937-0341	mzarlin@mcn.org
Board Secretary	Raven Deerwater*	937-1099	raven@taxpractitioner.com
Building Maintenance	Mark Zarlin*	937-0341	mzarlin@mcn.org
Building Maintenance	Harriet Bye*	937-3622	bysawyer@mcn.org
Torah School	Jessica Grinberg	937-2115	mcop@mcn.org
Book Group	Fran Schwartz *	937-1352	franamie@cs.com
Megillah Submissions and Website	Bob Evans		bobevans@mcjc.org
Name & Address, Subscription Changes	Myra Beals		myrah@mcn.org

* = board member

© MCJC 2009