St. Patrick's Youth Group to Participate in a Mock Seder at the Synagogue
The Youth Group of St. Patrick's Church in Southold will visit our shul on Thursday, March 25, to participate in a mock Seder at 6:30 p.m., to be conducted by Rabbi Fenster.

The youngsters will witness the Seder rituals, taste the symbolic foods, and learn about the Passover story that has survived for thousands of years. The event was the idea of Bob and Kerri Scott, leaders of the youth group, who viewed the Seder as an excellent learning experience for the children as well as their parents. Shul president Micah Kaplan immediately agreed and made all of the arrangements to welcome the young people to Congregation Tifereth Israel.
The St. Patrick's Youth Group is a nonprofit organization, involved in many philanthropic activities. The group's participants, ages 13 to 16, recently camped out in freezing temperatures to raise more than $3,000 for Maureen's Haven, a homeless shelter on the North Fork.

It has been suggested that youngsters from our shul might work together with the St. Patrick's Youth Group in organizing charitable events and multicultural projects. It is hoped that such mutual participation will foster better understanding and respect in our small but diverse community.

-- Lawrence A. Rubin

Rabbi Fenster to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

The New York Board of Rabbis has named our own Rabbi Myron Fenster as the first Conservative rabbi to receive the board's Lifetime Achievement Award. The presentation will take place at a reception on Sunday, April 25, at 5:30 p.m., at the Shelter Rock Jewish Center in Roslyn, NY, a congregation that Rabbi Fenster served for 36 years. Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive director of the New York Board of Rabbis, will present the award to Rabbi Fenster. Rabbi Potasnik praised Rabbi Fenster for his longevity of service, ongoing participation, and many accomplishments that have had "an extraordinary impact on the American Jewish community," he said. He paid tribute to Rabbi Fenster as one who has counseled younger and older colleagues. "He is 'a rabbi's rabbi,'" Rabbi Potasnik said.

In addition to his long service at the Shelter Rock Jewish Center, Rabbi Fenster was at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights for 11 years, and has been interim rabbi for congregations in Great Neck, Old Westbury, Easthampton, and now our Greenport shul, where he has been the spiritual leader since August 2008. "He belongs to many communities," Rabbi Potasnik said, noting that Rabbi Fenster has served Orthodox, Conservative and Reform congregations in the spirit of Klal Yisrael (All of Israel.) This  sense of shared community among all movements and ethnic backgrounds is a mission of the New York Board of Rabbis, the largest interdenominational organization in the world,

Rabbi Potasnik said. Rabbi Fenster was president of the organization from 1990-1992. "This award is most unexpected, and I am richly humbled," Rabbi Fenster said, expressing "questionable wonderment" on whether he is deserving of this honor. He cited his service at Congregation Tifereth Israel, a post-retirement position that is keeping him active, as contributory to his nomination. "I am looking forward to a happy family reunion and friendly faces," Rabbi Fenster said.
For more information about the presentation event, call the New York Board of Rabbis at 1-212-983-3521, or the Shelter Rock Jewish center at 1-516-741-4305.

At the Sunday, Dec. 27, shul meetings, the Board of Directors and the Congregation voted to plant trees in Israel as a living memorial to Rabbi Jackie Wexler. The rabbi, who died suddenly on Nov. 20 of cardiac arrest, was serving as rabbi of Temple Shalom in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, at the time of her death. Formerly, she had been rabbi of Congregation Tifereth Israel from 2006-2008.

Gabbai Stanley Rubin placed an order for six trees with the Jewish National Fund, which administers the tree-planting program. The JNF will acknowledge the memorial gift and indicate the location of the trees with a certificate, which our shul will forward to the rabbi's parents, Bernice and William Wexler of Pompano Beach, FL.

Members wishing to express their condolences to the family can contribute to charities or institutions of their choice in memory of Rabbi Wexler, or write the rabbi's parents at 3051 N. Course Drive, Apt. 401, Pompano Beach, FL 33069-3347.

519 Fourth St.
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