October, 2025 Megillah
WITH LOVE
One of my last little clerical tasks before Rosh Hashanah was to rewrite the cards for this year’s Sin Buffet. I love this job! In case you’ve never been with us for Rosh Hashanah, let me explain the Sin Buffet. On the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah day, it is customary to go to a body of water and turn your pockets out into the stream. This should in theory release the crumbs that have accumulated in them through the year. This act of tashlikh—sending forth—symbolizes the release of all spiritual and emotional crud that gathers in our souls over the course of a year.
I love thinking about times and places of old when perhaps a person wore the same jacket every day, and maybe they tucked their sandwich in there, or some matzah during Pesach. So you could count on a good accretion of crumbs. Nowadays maybe we don’t wear the same garment week after month; maybe we do laundry now and then. So perhaps we have to provide some crumbs for the sending forth. It occurred to me long ago that it might be interesting to label cups of crumbs with some of the kinds of spiritual and moral detritus we might wish to rid ourselves of. Thus was born the Sin Buffet.
For many years I used the traditional al cheyt for the crumb labels: “for the sin of… running to do injustice, haughty eyes, palming of a bribe.…” These are serious misdeeds well worthy of repentance, but a while ago it occurred to me that it might be interesting to query our community about what we consider to be “real sins.” What are the wrongdoings, poor habits, unhelpful character traits that we are struggling with in our own lives right now? So every year a week or so before Rosh Hashanah I send out an e-mail asking this question. And I make cards with the new answers that folks in our community send in. Over these many years we’ve accrued a collection of timeless favorites, among them buying too many shoes (or other things we don’t need), not RSVP’ing, ignoring abuse of power and privilege, and not pulling over on Highway 128.
Lest we need a table a mile long to accommodate our buffet of crumbs, I cull a few sins every year. And that’s always an interesting process for me. Some just feel a little repetitive (like various iterations of “inaction”), and others have the sound of something one person was struggling with at one moment, but maybe by now they have worked it through. Some I wonder if it’s appropriate to include in a community setting (like “wishing our fascist leaders and their toadies were dead”).
And some just make me stop and think. The word “cynicism” came up this year. And I wonder: is cynicism a sin? Or is it simply an opinion, an assessment? Maybe cynicism is appropriate. Maybe it’s a reasonable metric for determining what action is worth doing. Maybe it’s even wise. But it has a tinge of bitterness to it, a bit of an eye-roll. It feels like it has some curse words springloaded behind it. It has a little flavor of despair. But then is despair a sin? Maybe sometimes despair is reasonable and honest.
Which makes me think, in turn, about a couple of submissions that have to do with not being joyful enough. How joyful is joyful enough in cataclysmic times? Isn’t it sometimes crass to be joyful in a time of great suffering? But is rejoicing not a commandment? (The psalmist says ran’nu tzadikim b’HASHEM—the righteous shall rejoice in the Divine)
I rewrite the cards every year, nominally so that they’ll look the same (with my same degenerating handwriting). But I think I really do it because, as I copy the list, I can feel the earnest desire of our friends to be kind and inclusive and just and responsible and creative and generous and inspired and courageous and more. I feel people searching their souls and trying to shake out the stuff that makes life bitter and joyless and misdirected. It moves me very much when a person thinks to say, “I don’t want to habitually spread bad news” or “be withholding” or “not include people I’m not close to” or “let my timidity keep me from speaking up about things I care about.”
If anything does, our community’s annual effort to look within and look around and try to dredge up and shake loose what really does deserve to be cast out makes me un-cynical and un-despairing. Not to be too rejoicing about it or anything, but it gives me a little bit of hope.
DOF CHODSHI
Shanah tova! This first day of October finds us on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, the ninth day of this new Hebrew year of 5786, and the start of Yom Kippur. As I look up at the yellowing redwood boughs that have barely received rain since Pesach, I feel the communal introspection and repentance of Yom Kippur lingering over us. Our core prayer of Ashamnu frames each “sin,” or version of us having missed the mark, in the communal form: we have transgressed, we are guilty, we have betrayed…. What a time in our world to take accountability for the harmful actions of others, especially if we’ve been actively protesting against them. How do we know what “we” we belong to? If I’m American, do I repent for the crimes of my fellow Americans? If I’m Jewish, do I repent for all the wrongdoings of my fellow, worldwide Jews?
After a Bar Mitzvah I officiated a couple years ago, the teen’s dad, who did not grow up Jewish himself, said to me in awe, “I now better understand the stereotype of Jews growing up to become doctors and lawyers and successful professionals. What a nourishing process for a pre-teen to grow up in—learning to articulate their values into a speech, honing public-speaking confidence, analyzing complicated texts, feeling supported by their intergenerational community, and receiving blessings for being exactly who they are.” I used to feel similarly about Yom Kippur. I used to feel that, if every single human being annually held themself accountable, truly inspecting how they show up in the world and impact others, how could there be mass murder or war? As with the B Mitzvah journey of a pre-teen growing into a more self-aware and responsible young adult, if we take Yom Kippur seriously, we cannot possibly continue to commit gargantuan crimes. We have seen the harm, we have felt the pain, we are healing the wounds.
Yet, we share this earth with fellow Jews who pray on Yom Kippur and then continue doing wrong. We share this earth with fellow Americans who maybe go to confession or engage in other purgative spiritual practices, and still continue their transgressions. We all of course continuously miss the mark in many ways throughout our lives, which we continue to repent for year after year, but what about these life-destroying atrocities? How do we hold those this Yom Kippur?
With the Gates of Repentance open, we step into the paradox: we are each only one drop of water, yet together we form the storm. We use the pronoun “we” not to bear the weight of every harm in the world, but to honor the ways we are connected. As the Mishnah teaches, לא עליך המלאכה לגמר, ולא אתה בן חורין לבטל “it is not on you to finish the work of the world, nor are you free to neglect it.” Our task is to recognize not only what we have committed, but the currents we swim in, the systems we benefit from, and the harm done in our name. To confess “we” is to belong, not to excuse, not to collapse in despair, but to compost what is rotting and make fertile ground for healing. Like the patient winter rains waiting to fill our sky, healing asks that we root ourselves in awareness, stay tender to the reality of the pain, and tend what we can. This Yom Kippur, may our prayers and repentance ripple beyond the sanctuary, healing both ourselves and the world we share.
HIGH HOLY DAYS, 5786, Part 2
L'Shana Tova! We wish you and your loved ones and our world a very happy and healthy new year. Below is a fairly complete schedule of October services and other gatherings. Keep an eye out for a few more details in days to come. We will gather in our shul for Yom Kippur services, but all evening and daytime services will also be accessible on the MCJC zoom link (see page 4).
Yom Kippur:
Kol Nidre, Wednesday, October 1, 7:30 PM.
Morning service, Thursday, October 2 10:30 AM.
Yizkor (memorial service) 4:30 - 5:30 PM. If you would like to add names to our community yizkor list, please contact Donna Montag at montag@mcn.org (or by phone at 707-877-3243, but e-mail preferred) before Yom Kippur. If you have ever given a name to be read, it will still be on the community list.
Mincha and Ne'ila, 5:30 PM to sundown. Also on Zoom.
Breaking the fast. Community kiddush at the shul will follow. All are invited to continue the joy of the conclusion of Yom Kippur at potluck break-the-fast meals at community members’ homes. There are four hosts: Adina & Kerry in Elk, Sydelle in Albion, Esther & Neil in Little River, and Gowan, Hunter & Luna at the shul in Caspar. Directions will be provided on Yom Kippur.
Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah — the Season of Our Joy!
Sukkot begins Monday, October 6th at sundown and concludes the following Sunday, October 12th at sundown. Plans are afoot for several different sukkah gatherings. If you would like to host folks in your sukkah, please let Margaret know at mholub@mcn.org or 707-734-0311.
Sunday, October 5th at 2:00 PM — SUKKAH-BUILDING AT SHUL with the Young Adults. Everyone welcome!
Monday, October 6th at 5:30 PM — EREV SUKKOT shul sukkah, with potluck and moonrise
Friday, October 10th at 6:00 PM — KABBALAT SHABBAT/SUKKOT at Margaret’s sukkah
Saturday, October 11th — SHABBAT SERVICE WITH POTLUCK KIDDUSH IN THE SHUL SUKKAH
Hoshana Rabah-Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah —
On Tuesday night, October 14th at 5:30 PM we will celebrate the three remaining holidays of the season with a mash-up service. Come and pour water, beat willows, and pray for another year of beautiful, plentiful rain, and read the conclusion of the Torah: the death of Moses with the people of Israel about to enter the Promised Land. Then we will roll the Torah back to her beginning, and dip into the creation of the world.
General Information:
We encourage you to come for as many of the High Holy Day services as you like. Please feel free to enter while services are underway or to leave when you need to. If you have High Holy Day-related questions, contact Marnie Press at marniepress@gmail.com or Nina Ravitz at ninabo@mcn.org.
We suggest a contribution of $200 for each adult who is not already a supporting member of MCJC. Please send a check to P.O. Box 291, Little River, CA. 95456 or contribute via PayPal at the MCJC website: www.mcjc.org. As always, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. It is traditional not to handle or discuss money on the holidays. If you have any financial questions please call Raven Deerwater, our treasurer, at 707-937-1099.
ALL THE DAYS OF SUKKOT
Plans for pleasures and celebrations of this year’s Sukkot festival are still in the making, and YOU can help make them. The more sukkahs, the more invitations, the more festivities, the better. The festival begins at sundown on Monday, October 6th and concludes at sundown October 13th. Times and dates of the activites planned so far are on the next page in the High Holy Day schedule. If you’d like to host folks in your sukkah during the week, please let Margaret know at mholub@mcn.org.
SHABBAT MORNING SERVICES
A full Shabbat service is led by community members, with singing, chanting and silence, Torah teaching and reading, blessings for healing and peace, and time for mourners to say Kaddish. The teachers for October are listed below. We have hybrid services, so come to the shul or Zoom in from 10:30 AM until about 12:30 PM.
| 10/04/25 |
Ha'Azinu |
Hunter Rook (b'mitzvah) |
| 10/11/25 |
Sukkot |
Margaret Holub |
| 10/18/25 |
Bereshit |
Ruby Gold |
| 10/25/25 |
Noach |
Paige Lincenberg |
During the morning services on October 4th, Hunter Rook will be called to the Torah as a B’Mitzvah. After the service, Hunter, Gowan, and Simcha invite everyone to share a celebratory Kiddush lunch with them at the shul.
If you would like to give a Torah teaching during Shabbat services, or want more information about what’s involved, please contact Raven Deerwater at raven@taxpractitioner.com or (707) 937-1099.
KABBALAT SHABBAT
On October 10th we will gather to dwell in Rabbi Margaret’s sukkah on Albion Ridge at 6:00 PM. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share during the evening.
Hosts in November will be Leslie Krongold and Jessica Nussbaum in Surfwood. We’re set for the rest of this calendar year, but if you want to host a Shabbat gathering in 2026, please contact Mina at (707) 937-1319 or mcohen@mcn.org.
JUSTICE GROUP
MCJC’s Justice Group meets in-person (only) at the shul at 5:30 PM on the last Monday of the month. This month we will gather on the 27th. All are invited. Come hear updates on the Justice projects, Citizenship Scholarship and Indigenous Relationships. Share updates on organizing for immigration rights and other local justice activities. Find out how organizations on the Coast are preparing for possible ICE encounters. Learn how to get involved in the Mendocino County Response Network. Discover ways you can speak and act for peace and humanity in Israel and Palestine. For information or to receive Justice Group announcements, contact Donna Medley at dmthebeez9@gmail.com.
LET’S THINK ABOUT THIS
The Philosophy Circle usually meets on the first Wednesday of the month, but that's Yom Kippur this month, so we'll combine the October & November circles on the last Wednesday of October, the 29th. There won’t be one in November. We're also starting at 5:00 PM, with sunset coming earlier. There is no outside reading; just show up, hear a few profound sentences from a Jewish philosopher then join the discussion with other members of our community. For more information, contact Rabbi Paige at rabbipaige@gmail.com.
ZOOM ADDRESS
We are using the Zoom address below for many MCJC events. Password is shalom. Disregard the numeric passcode at the bottom of the invitation unless you’re dialing in on a landline. If you have questions or problems, contact susan.tubbesing@gmail.com.
Join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7071836183?pwd=NzFaTkpjOXVYMDNnNnprOXlnZjVhQT09
Meeting ID: 707 183 6183
Passcode: shalom
Numeric Passcode: 776001
BIRTHDAYS
Please reach out to the celebrants noted below and spread love. If you would like your natal day listed, email rabbipaige@gmail.com with your birth date. (We list the day, but not the year, and your name will be featured only during your birthday month.) Below are the October birthdays:
10/6 baby Simcha, 10/11 Liz Helenchild, 10/13 Kenny Wortzel, 10/15 Rick Edwards, 10/23 Dale Cohn
HERE FOR YOU
Rabbis Margaret & Paige want to remind you all that we’re always available for you in any way we can be! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of them to go on a walk or have tea with you.
HARVEST DINNER AT THE LEDFORD HOUSE
For the annual MCJC dinner and silent auction at the Ledford House on November 18th. This is an important fundraiser for the shul and a fun evening of eating and drinking with our community. This year the auction will have both an in-person and online component that will feature vacation and experiential packages in addition to the usual gift certificates. Come at 6:00 PM for appetizers by our own MCJC chefs as well as Mendocino County wines; dinner is at 7:00, with entrees for eaters of all persuasions. RESERVE YOR SEATS NOW! Tickets are $85 per person; the complete menu is posted on the MCJC webpage. For more info or to make a reservation, contact Harriet Bye at 684-9041 or bysawyer@mcn.org.
HOW DOES OUR GARDEN GROW?
The MCJC native plant garden project is underway! To help gather ideas and inspiration, a tour of two beautiful native plant gardens has been planned by the Garden Group for Wednesday, October 8th. The first stop will be the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah, and the second will be the Kol Ha Emek garden in Redwood Valley. Louisa Aronow and Andrea Davis, two experienced native plant propagators, will be the guides. A carpool will form in the Harvest Market parking lot at 10:00 AM; the group will return around 3:00 PM. Bring a bag lunch and water. If you would like to join in, please RSVP by October 6th to Louisa at midnite@mcn.org or (707) 280-1443.
The tour will be a prelude to actually planting a garden in the front yard of the shul, a good space for sustainable stewardship of what was part of the Coastal Northern Pomo homeland. It will be a place for reflection, learning, and community connection. The garden will feature native plants of ecological and cultural significance, as well as art and other joyful elements. There will also be information about the plants, land history, and local Indigenous communities. Everyone is welcome to join the Garden Group; please email Adina Merenlender at adinainelk@gmail.com with “MCJC garden” in the subject line.
ELDERS’ CONVERSATION
The Elders’ Conversation meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. October dates will be the 14th and 28th. We pick our topic at the end of the prior meeting and it is shared before the meeting in the MCJC announcements sent out by Susan Tubbesing. People of all ages are most welcome.
SHARE YOUR GIFTS
The Matanah is on a break for the next couple of months. The organizers are looking for people to share their talents and avocations with the community. If you are hiding your light under a bushel, think about letting it shine for all! Please contact Leslie Krongold at elkrong @yahoo.com if you are interested.
BOOK GROUP
The constant readers will meet on Monday October 20th, at 2:00 PM on Zoom, to welcome the New Year with humor and wisdom by discussing Judith Viorst’s Making the Best of What’s Left: When We’re Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered. Now in her 90s, Viorst writes about life’s “Final Fifth” with her signature blend of humor and vulnerability. She confesses that her retirement community is “wonderful, marvelous, swell—good as gold. Except for this one little problem: everyone’s old.” She discusses the afterlife (she doesn’t believe in it, but if there is one, she hopes her sister-in-law isn’t present). She complains to her dead husband (“I need you fixing our damn circuit breakers). And she explores the late-life meanings of wisdom and happiness, second chances and home. If you are not currently in the Book Group, please contact Fran Schwartz for the Zoom invitation at franbschwartz@gmail.com. Books are at Gallery Bookshop.
MCJC BOARD MEETING
The MCJC board will meet on Wednesday, October 8th at 5:30 PM on Zoom. If you wish to attend part of the meeting, please contact Susan Tubbesing for the Zoom address at (707) 962-0565, or susan.tubbesing@gmail.com.
THANKS TO THE MAILERS
Myra Beals and Renate Eberl prepared the last Megillah for mailing. With cheerful willingness like theirs, this mitzvah can be yours. Please contact Sarah at 962-0565 or sarah.nathe@gmail.com
MEGILLAH SUBSCRIPTIONS
The Mendocino Megillah is published monthly as an emailed PDF and an online version. The online Megillah is posted on the newsletter page of the MCJC website: www.mcjc.org/newsletter. Any information on changes in email address or in email notifications should be sent to Sarah Nathe at sarah.nathe@gmail.com. If you choose not to be a contributing member of MCJC, we request a $54 annual fee for the Megillah.
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING DONORS
Donna Weintraub, Marinela Miclea, Marcia & Robert Popper, Myra Beals, Bob Evans, Rachele & Zach Hayward, Sally & Lee Welty, John Allison & Rebecca Picard, Sandra & Kenny Wortzel, Kath Disney Nilson, Ronnie James, Esther Faber, Susan Hofberg, Tracy Salkowitz & Rick Edwards, Laura Goldman & Dennak Murphy, Ira Beyer, Deborah Carson, Brian Wortzel, Kelly & Steven Kalus, Teel Gordon, Benna Kolinsky & Danny Mandelbaum, Lynne Spillinger, Julie & Bob Melendi
Fran Schwartz in gratitude for our community, Rabbi Margaret & Rabbi Paige, and all the services and support MCJC offers
Sandra & Kenny Wortzel in celebration and honor of Paige & Ben’s and Aviv & Reesha’s weddings
Jonathan & Annett Lehan in memory of Jean Garrett
Donna Medley in memory of Linda Jupiter
Mark & Deena Zarlin in memory of Janet Berenson and Mickey Chalfin
Anne O'Leary In memory of Leonard and Itzak Schonberg
EDITORIAL POLICY
The Mendocino Megillah is published monthly, except for August. The deadline for article submission is the 20th of the month before publication. The editor will include all appropriate material, space permitting, with the exception of copyrighted material lacking the permission of the author. Divergent opinions are welcome. Material printed in the Megillah does not necessarily represent the policy or opinions of the MCJC Board of Directors.
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| Chevra Kadisha |
Clare Bercot Zwerling |
956-571-0945 |
clarebercot@icloud.com |
| Cemetary |
Donna Montag |
707-877-3243 |
montag@mcn.org |
| Outreach (new to the community), Finance Committee, Announcements |
Susan Tubbesing* |
707-962-0565
|
susan.tubbesing@gmail.com |
| Justice Committee |
Donna Medley* |
707-962-9493 |
dmthebeez9@gmail.com
|
| Women's retreat, Annual dinner |
Harriet Bye |
707-937-3622 |
bysawyer@mcn.org
|
| Kabbalat Shabbat Coordinator |
Mina Cohen |
707-367-3390 | mcohen@mcn.org |
| Volunteer Coordinator |
Joy Lancaster* |
510-703-9955 | martyjoy@sbcglobal.net |
| Building Maintenance |
Marnie Press* |
707-937-1905 | marniepress@gmail.com |
| Treasurer, Finance Committee |
Raven Deerwater* |
707-964-8333 | raven@taxpractitioner.com |
| Landscaping, Library |
Nina Ravitz* |
707-357-6462 | ninabo@mcn.org |
| Secretary, Finance Committee |
Alix Sabin* |
415-238-1342 | alixsabin@gmail.com |
| Book Group, Bikkur Cholim |
Fran Schwartz |
707-937-1352 | franbschwartz@gmail.com |
| Web dude |
Gus Mayeno |
webmaster@mcjc.org | |
| Megillah Editor, Name & Address & Subscription changes |
Sarah Nathe |
707-962-0565 |
sarah.nathe@gmail.com |
| Rabbi |
Margaret Holub |
707-734-0311 | mholub@mcn.org |
| Rabbi |
Paige Lincenberg |
rabbipaige@gmail.com |
