May 2013 Shofar - Israel Congregation of Manchester

21 Iyar–10 Tammuz 5773 Page 4 May/June 2013 New Additions to the Israel Congregation LibraryThe Library Committee has been busily atwork adding important new books to ourcollection, among them two major works offiction that we hope will attract readers andenrich their lives.By Night Under the Storm Bridge by LeopoldPerutz is new to our collection, but was writtenat the turn of this century and was firsttranslated into English in 2007. Perutz lived inVienna until the Anschluss, when he moved toIsrael. He was a noted mathematician whoeven has an algebraic equation named afterhim. He wrote his first novel in 1915 andeventually completed 10 during his lifetime.Despite the accolades he received from otherauthors, including Luis Borges, Ian Fleming,Italo Calvino and Graham Greene, Perutz wasnot recognized as the literary genius he wasuntil recently.By Night Under the Storm Bridge is a series ofindependent stories which, taken collectively,become a historical novel spanning threecenturies. The characters are an amalgam ofreal-life people, folktale personalities, andfictional movers and shakers. The history ofcentral Europe during these centuries startswith a love affair between an emperor and thedaughter of a Jewish merchant and continueswith more and more unlikely-but-true events.The People of Forever Are Not Afraid byShani Boianjiu is totally a story of today. Theauthor was born in Jerusalem in 1987 and stilllives in Israel. This is her first novel. Telling thestory of three young girls who grew uptogether in an Israeli village, the book is ariveting insight into the mindset of youngIsraelis today. Like teenagers everywhere, thegirls gossip, have crushes, pass notes to eachother in class… and are conscripted into thearmy together. And from that point on theylive inside a single, intense second beforedanger erupts. Their story is told with humorand intense intelligence.—Doris BassICM staffs Community FoodCupboard in MayManchester’s Community Food Cupboard(CFC) does an exceptional job in ensuring thatpeople who struggle to eat are able to findreadily accessible food. Each month, the CFCis staffed by volunteers from Manchester-areafaith communities, and May is ICM’s month.The CFC is open on Tuesday morning from10:00 am – 12:00 pm, Tuesday afternoon from2:00 pm – 4:00 pm, and Wednesday afternoonfrom 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Each shift lasts forapproximately two hours and fifteen minutes.Volunteers are assigned “stations” byMartha Carey, the CFC administrator, to helpthe CFC clients get their food items. The CFCprovides a wide variety of items — fromdried goods in boxes to canned food tofrozen meats to personal care items. As partof its mission, CFC also has keeps gardeneach year in order to raise its own produceand complement what is already deliveredby area farms.For the last few months, ICM has had thehonor of welcoming the CFC board to ourA note from the PresidentIsrael Congregation’s multitalented officeadministrator, Karen Dreiblatt, has decided tomove on and has resigned from ICM.I want to thank her for all of her years ofwonderful and dedicated service to oursynagogue and wish her the best in whatevernew endeavor she chooses to follow.—Ed Glazer building for its monthly meetings.ICM congregants who have volunteered in thepast describe it as a richly rewarding experience.To volunteer, contact Judy Hirschberg(judyhirschberg@yahoo.com or 802-297-2662) orMicki Lisman (msloane.esq@mindspring.com or802-362-4332), or call the rabbi and he will letyou know what shifts are available.Nobody in the Manchester area should gohungry: this is our opportunity to use our timeand energy to feed those in need whilebuilding camaraderie with fellow congregants!