Beth Israel Congregation Board Minutes
Wednesday, June 24, 2008

Present: Rashes, Finerman, Bernstein, Kaplan, Hirshbein, Peller, Landau, Bender, Dwoskin, Hartman, Rubinfeld, Sorkin, Dobrusin

The meeting was called to order at 8:07 p.m. The Agenda was approved. The May Minutes were corrected and approved. Hirshbein/Landau. Each Board member introduced themselves.

Rabbi�s Report: Rabbi Blumenthal will officially begin her position at Beth Israel on August 4th, and her installation will take place on Sunday, November 2nd.
The staff is planning a free Beth Israel Fair on September 7th outside on the grounds of Beth Israel which will be open to the entire Jewish community.

President's Report: Rashes distributed floor plans reviewing changes in office space to accommodate the new Rabbi and the expanded role of the Rabbis� Administrative Assistant. Rashes suggested written reports be submitted by some of the various committees for future Board meetings.

Landau offered everyone a taste of plum tree wine in memory of her father, Max Stryer, and expressed her appreciation for all the kindness and support at her time of loss.

Executive Director's Report: The budget is still projected to be in the black at the end of the fiscal year, with a possible surplus. With the new board, he proposed the adoption of the following the bank resolution, a summary of which is below:

Motion: Board Resolution � Ann Arbor Commerce Bank is authorized to honor any checks, drafts, or orders drawn on said financial institution and signed in name of BIC by officers Liberman-Lampear, Rosenblum, Rashes and Bernstein. The motion was unanimously approved.

He further proposed that the Board approve a the purchase of 2 new computers, so that the new Assistant Rabbi and Administrative Assistant will have their own, purchase of a new business server and thereby changing the network from a peer- to peer system to a server based network, and adding wireless capability to the Main Floor and the School.
Some members of the board felt that the proposals by Qualitech, Beth Israel�s I.T. company, should be reviewed by an oversight committee. Since Rabbi Blumenthal will be arriving soon, only the purchase of one computer was approved immediately. Dwoskin also recommended that the Librarian has access to a computer as well.

Motion: To approved the purchase of a new computer at a cost of $1,200, to be taken from the Building Fund. This was approved.

Cemetery Committee Report: Rashes stated that the cemetery property lacks maintenance. A meeting will be planned to discuss this and other issues.

Communication Report: Landau read letter of appreciation for Beth Israel expressions of sympathy from the Schapiros..

Religious Committee Report:The Beth Israel Connection will offer a 3 hour class on the ins and outs of Bikkur Holim, taught by Rabbi Sara Adler.

Program Committee Report: Hirshbein reviewed current planning and activities by his committee.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,
Sherri Peller
Recording Secretary

Written Reports for
Meeting of the Board of Directors
July 23, 2008
Beth Israel Mitzvah Connection
We are receiving requests for assistance, and for the most part, are able to fill them. We are also being notified of people who are hospitalized, who might appreciate a visit from a friend. We are matching up visitors with the person who is hospitalized. Rabbi Sara Adler will give a workshop on August 24 on how to visit members who are hospitalized or home-bound.
Submitted by Carol Finerman
Cemetery Committee
Rabbi Dobrusin, Elliot Sorkin, Haran Rashes, and Jeff Bernstein met with the staff of Arborcrest. Several issues were discussed. We expressed our concern over upkeep and landscaping. Arborcrest insists that they are taking steps to improve in this area. We can expect increased weeding by the end of July and replacement of worn grave frames and dead juniper bushes by the end of September. Arborcrest is working with Barry Margolis to see if interlocking stone grave frames might be a better option. We informed Arborcrest that they are not to call congregants with complaints nor to solicit them for grave purchases. In addition, they should refrain from calling about grave markers for the first thirty days after a death. Arborcrest is concerned about stones left on grave markers in plots without frames. They are however, amenable to people placing their own non-glass bowls or containers next to headstones to prevent stones from falling on ground and posing a safetly hazard to maintenance staff. Beth Israel will also present an optional wooden frame surrounding just the headstone to prevent stones from posing a hazard, at a current cost of $576, if people opt out of purchasing the full frame, or installing a non glass bowl. Arborcrest also informed us that they have raised the cost of grave frames to $1900. We were previously paying $1200. Haran Rashes has also been in contact with the Cemetery Commissioner regarding our concerns about Arborcrest.
Submitted by Haran Rashes and Elliot Sorkin
Endowment Committee
The color Endowment Brochure is finished and has been approved by Haran Rashes and Carol Finerman. Steve Klein is now looking into costs of printing and anticipates an initial run of 500 copies.
Submitted by Carol Finerman
Library Committee
Beth Israel has a new librarian. Her name is Nika Bareket, and she is a member of the shul. She begins work July 21, but will be taking vacation in August.
Submitted by Beth Dwoskin
Men�s Club
Solicitations for High Holiday Ushers will be going out with the Congregational High Holiday Mailing in August. All Board Members are encouraged to usher at services.
Submitted by Haran Rashes
Social Action Committee
The Social Action Committee will be working with the Synagogue�s educational theme for the year, �Educating Ourselves, Educating Others.� Rabbis for Human Rights will be holding its annual conference from December 7 through 9. The Social Action Committee would like to encourage people to attend and will possibly subsidize registration fees with the expectation of participation in a community discussion afterwards. The Social Action Committee sponsored a d�var torah by Bob Savit of the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan concerning the Agriprocessors/Postville situation. Social Action will continue this work through talks about the Hekhsher Tzedek program. The founder of the Hekhsher Tzedek program, Rabbi Morris Allen, has been invited to speak at Beth Israel in December.
Submitted by Ruth Kraut

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