Religious School News

Our first Friday's family Shabbat dinner and service was a feel-good Shabbat experience.  We had fifty people for a dinner and a full house for our consecration service.  Our two honorees, Haley Mendlin and Rebekah Friedman, did an outstanding job sitting like two young ladies, dressed in their Shabbat best.  Their poem was recited beautifully.  All of our classes, from pre-school through the 8th grade, led a prayer for this family service.  This was the first of our monthly family services.  We will continue to build on the children's participation in these first Friday services and enjoy dining together for a traditional Shabbos meal.  Thank you to everyone who helped make this a special Shabbat.

I sure enjoyed the family game night with some of our school "kinder" and the big kids like me, too.  I hope to see many more of you at our next game night.  I really hated losing my crown to Hannah Doyle in the princess game, but she won fair and square!  Leo Egel, our resident professional ping pong player, gave some free lessons on game night and is a great role model for all of us who that we are never too old to play games.  Jewish learning is not all about books and religious school.  Our children can learn about Judaism by playing games at their second home with their peers, parents, and our seniors.  Thank you to everyone who came, played, and bought books, too!

December is an extra-busy month for all of us, but also an exciting month, too.  Don't miss our three BIG family events:  our family Shabbat service on December 1st, the Rick Recht concert December 2nd, and our family Hanukkah party & latke dinner on December 17th!  Take time this December to really smell the latkes and watch the dreydel spin 'round and 'round!  Time and learning together are the most precious gifts we can give to each other.

Have a safe, happy, and healthy Hanukkah!

An Old-Fashioned Family in a Newfangled World

Congregation Beth Shalom bids a loving "shalom" to the Lester family, most of whom are moving forward to the past, as they leave Modesto behind for Quincy, Illinois.  Jane, Paul, and family are doing what many dream about and few have the courage to do.  They are pulling up stakes and starting all over in a small town of 40,000 with the promise of "new possibilities, new wonders, and new adventures."  They are also moving into a new congregation family, housed in a 150-year-old synagogue with 40 close-knit families.

When they made the decision to seek their fame and fortune away from Modesto, they first explored the internet and found Quincy to be one of the "best places to live" in the U.S.  After making the decision to sell their Modesto home in late summer, pioneer Jane took it upon herself to visit Quincy and find the family's "new" home, a 177-year-old Queen Anne Victorian with enough room for the whole family and Jane's mom, Grandma Mary.

Although the local hospital was not hiring at the time, Jane, who has been a registered labor and delivery nurse at Memorial and Emanuel Hospitals for twenty years, has been offered a labor and delivery job, based upon her solid and lengthy experience.

Paul, who has spent the last 23 years as a Modesto Police Department animal control officer, is looking forward to discovering a new niche for his many talents, one of which has been as a gifted sound person for Sunday Afternoons at CBS.

Paul comes from an historically talented family, and almost everyone in the Lester family is musically gifted.  Paul's father is a violinist who has toured nationally and was a paid member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at age 14.  Paul's grandmother was an opera singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera House.  Paul has been a member of the rock band Dry Creek, and plays guitar, mandolin, violin, and accordion.  He and oldest son, Eli, 24, have serenaded many at Cafe Shalom.  Eli is also part of the local band Project 59, works in a music store, and teaches numerous music students.  Jane, who plays flute, has taught daughters Hannah, 26, Sadie, 17, and Naomi, 15, to play as well.  Sons Jonah, 21, Ezra, 19, and Isaac, 6, just enjoy listening to the others.

Jane and Paul, who will have been married 30 years on December 10, started married life very young.  Jane was 19 and Paul only 17.  They now are the proud grandparents of Eli and wife Jackie's two sons, Elijah, 3, and Noah, 6 months.  They are very excited that Hannah and husband, Omar, are expecting a baby in April.  Both Hannah's and Eli's families will remain in Modesto for the time being.

Paul is from Fresno, where his family was very active with the local Reform congregation, and Jane hails from Pacific Grove.  They came to Modesto from Fresno in 1981 and were once active with Modesto's Ohr Tikvah Jewish community.  Hannah has taught Religious School and all the older children have been active with Kadima and USY.

Since joining the CBS family, Paul maintains, "I would do anything for this synagogue.  I do it because it needs to be done."  In accordance with this philosophy, Paul has provided countless hours of synagogue security, volunteered hours of time with Sunday Afternoons at CBS sound and properties, accompanied many CBS choir performances, and joined Eli to serenade guests at Cafe Shalom.

Paul speaks for the whole family when he says, "We will miss everybody, and we're sorry we can't say goodbye to everyone in person.

"In the same way a Jewish mother always cooks too much food, our house is large, warm, and open, and we would welcome anyone who wants to stop by and visit.  There are only two rules: Eat as much as you like and stay as long as you wish."

Y'asher Koach to the whole Lester family, and may they experience nothing but joy and good health in their future adventures.

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