Two Tikvat Israel members who have contributed for decades to the religious and cultural life of the synagogue have been selected as the 2015 Chattan Torah and Kallat Bereshit with public recognition on Simchat Torah.
The husband-wife pair of Steve and Helen Raucher, volunteers in major aspects of synagogue life, will be honored with special aliyot during the Torah service on Simchat Torah morning on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Following the service, a luncheon in their honor will be held in the TI social hall. (Contact the synagogue office to RSVP for the luncheon and to make a donation in honor of Helen and Steve.)
Literally the “groom of the Torah” and “the bride of the beginning,” the Chattan Torah and Kallat Bereshit honors are accorded each year to two deserving Tikvat Israel congregants or staff members who have made significant contributions to the synagogue’s spiritual, educational and/or cultural life.
Steve Raucher, Brooklyn born and bred, joined Beth Tikva in 1969. In the 46 years since then, he has served in an array of leadership roles with particular attention to youth affairs, education, finance and facility needs – all related to his professional work of many years.
He and his fellow honoree, his wife of 53 years, started the synagogue’s nursery school in 1972. They helped revise the Hebrew School curriculum and got Beth Tikva to join the Board of Jewish Education. A long-time Tikvat Israel board member, including nearly two years as president, Steve proudly points to his nomination in 1974 of Phyllis Newman z”l, who soon after became the first elected female synagogue president in the Washington, D.C., area Conservative movement.
Steve currently serves as treasurer on the shul’s governing board.
A founding member of Eine Kleina Tikva, the TI Klezmer Band with whom he played clarinet, Steve retired from the Montgomery County Public Schools after serving in various posts, including director of transportation. He then served for seven years as the executive director of the 1,000-member Association of School Business Officials of Maryland and D.C. Now fully retired, he serves as president of the Montgomery County Public Schools Retirees Association.
Helen P. Raucher, also a Brooklyn native, continues to serve on the TI board of directors.
A member since 1969, she started the Beth Tikva Nursery School (now known as the ECC), serving as its first administrative director. She has been an active member of ECC Committee, the Youth Commission, Sisterhood and Book Club and a longtime member of Hadassah.
Professionally, Helen worked in K-12 education. She retired after 35 years as a teacher and chair of the mathematics department of the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy. For several years, she continued to provide enrichment to gifted and talented children at the school several days per week. She currently volunteers through the Jewish Council on Aging’s Interages Program as a math tutor.
She says she always has been motivated to serve. “I believe the synagogue must thrive, not just for us but for the sake of our children and their children.”
The Rauchers proudly point to the fact all three of their children had their Bar/Bat Mitzvah and wedding in the synagogue.
Grandparents of five boys and one girl, they are especially pleased that their oldest grandchild Joe now teaches 6th grade science in Anne Arundel County, Md.. “This makes him the fourth consecutive generation of a Raucher in a classroom,” Steve says.
