Kol Hashofar FROM THE PRESIDENT S DESK VIEW FROM THE BIMAH. Hanukkah Inside this issue:

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1 B H Young Isr a e l o f Lawr e nceville, 2556 P rinceton Pike L a w r e n c ev ille, NJ www. y i o l.com FROM THE PRESIDENT S DESK President s Message Wishing everyone a Happy Chanukah. Condolences to the David Lev and family on the passing of his brother. If you have not been to our Friday night minyan, I recommend that you give it a try. It is a very uplifting experience. BH Chanukah Our Yom Tov. Why is this holiday different from all other holidays? For all the other holidays, we need to settle for second best, but on Chanukah, nothing is compromised. Allow me to explain: Pesach is celebrated by eating Matzah and bitter herbs, while removing all leaven foods from our homes and diet. Yet, the primary component of Pesach, the Pascal offering, which Jews partake in on the evening of the seder, is We would like to wish Mort Cohen and Daniel Zuckerman speedy recoveries from their recent car accidents. On January 26 Parsha Yithro, will be the 48 th anniversary of the founding of the synagogue. Anyone who would like to make a donation in honor of that occasion, it would be appreciated. One of our best fundraisers, with no additional cost to you, are the Shop-Rite vouchers. To order you vouchers, call Eleanor Heck. Charles Miller, President VIEW FROM THE BIMAH completely missed. Having no Beit Mikdash means that we simply aren t able to observe the main Mitzvah of the holy day. So, we got used to doing without. Another example is the Day of Atonement, for which, without the Kohen Gagol, the Holy of Holies, and the sacrifices of the day, we are left with a distant second best. Similarly, all the other major holidays have primary components that are not observed for the same reason. Chanukah, on the other hand, is all about illuminating the darkness around us. In fact, publicizing the miracle of Chanukah, particularly in areas that are devoid of holiness, is an essential element of this holiday. It is called Pirsumei Nissa. And the further the reach, the greater the achievement. It turns out that Chanukah is the perfect celebration for our time a time that is so dark, and a world that is so desperately in need of redemption. December 2018 Kislev 5779 Volume, Issue Editors: Eleanor Heck Lynda Sacharov Hanukkah 5779 Inside this issue: Community Bulletin Board 3 Donations and Good Tidings Sisters In The Hood 5 A Beautiful Voice 7 Ask The Rabbi 10 4

2 Page 2 A View From the Bimah (continued) If we still had any doubts, the senseless hatred that the world is currently witnessing, particularly with the recent acts of Anti-Semitism in Pittsburgh, should make it abundantly clear that there is no better time to Share the Chanukah message. May the bright flame of Chanukah help bring healing to a fragmented world, when peace will prosper in our homeland Israel, and all over the world. Happy Chanukah! Rabbi Y. Goldenberg Did you know? Do you need help with checking or placing a Mezuzah? We are happy to offer assistance and guidance related to all aspects of Mezuzot and Tefillin. Mezuzot should be checked twice every seven years to see if they have been affected by adverse weather conditions. Or by folding (which can cause cracks in the letters), or if any other defect has occurred. It is preferable to check Mezuzot which are on the outside of a building more often, due to their vulnerability to the elements. To have your Mezuzot or Tefillin checked or for information, call (609) or rabbi@jewishlawrence.com. Please return your siddur, chumash and talis to the bookshelf after services.

3 Page 3 Young Israel - Community Bulletin Board Adult Education Program lease join us for our classes. P All classes are conducted in English and are held at the Synagogue..Tuesday evening class -- Rabbi Goldenberg will be announcing a new series for his Tuesday night class at 7:30 pm rabbigoldenberg@hotmail.com Women s class Dina Goldenberg teaches a women s class on alternate Mondays at 7:30 pm. dinagoldenberg@aol.com There is no charge for participation. For further information, call the synagogue at (609) any day from Saturday at nightfall through Friday early afternoon. If there is no reply, leave a message on the answering machine Tzedakah Fund Our Shul has a Tzedakah fund to help those in special need of assistance The fund is derived primarily from contributions collected from the pushka in Shul. If you would like to contribute to this fund, or know of a person who is in need of assistance, please advise either Rabbi Goldenberg or Charles Miller. The Memorial Board o he Memorial Board in the Synagogue is a T special way to honor, in perpetuity, the memory of departed loved ones. Plaques are $250 each and may be ordered by contacting the Rabbi. Kiddushim ur thanks to those who have sponsored kiddushim. For a full list of recent kiddush sponsors, please refer to Donations and Good Tidings. To celebrate your special occasion with a kiddush, please Dina Goldenberg: dinagoldenberg@aol.com When paying your dues, please send your kiddush assessment ($100) in a separate check, made payable to the Sisterhood. If you don't have , you can reach Carol at (609) PLEASE PURCHASE SHOP-RITE SCRIP. IT'S AN IMPORTANT AND EASY FUNDRAISER. TO LEARN MORE, CALL OR ELEANOR HECK eleanor333@outlook.com Board of Trustees 2018 President Charles Miller Tel: Treasurer Norman Ferstenberg Tel: Secretary Eleanor Heck Tel: Directors Dr. Bruce Bitcover Lynda Sacharov Dr. Ted Shafman Yahrzeit Advisory Tel: Tel: Tel: t is very important that our Shul I provide a minyan to enable members and others to observe a Yahrzeit anniversary. Whenever you need to observe a Yahrzeit, please contact one of our gabbaim several days in advance so we can ensure a minyan will be available. Please contact Charles Miller ( ). Visiting the Sick t is a religious duty I (a mitzvah) to visit someone who is ill. If you become aware of someone who is unwell or infirm, please advise Rabbi Goldenberg or Charles Miller immediately so that the person may be contacted and visited at an appropriate and convenient time.

4 Page 4 Donations and Good Tidings May G-D bless those who dedicate synagogues for prayer and those who enter them to pray, those who provide light for them, wine for Kiddush and Havdalah, bread for guests and charity to the poor and all who are involved faithfully in the needs of the community. (from the Yekum Purkan prayer said every Shabbat at the end of the Shacharis service). Kiddushim MIRIAM STOCKHAMMER In honor of Lee Stockhammer's 50 th birthday ELEANOR HECK In honor of her 65 th birthday TYBIE ABRAMS In honor of Nevin and Lauren, Noah and Eliana CHANOCH NE'EMAN GOLDENBERG FAMILY In memory of Rivka Munitz, OBM, and in honor of Simchas Torah JOEL FINKELSTEIN In honor of his recent move to Lawrenceville JEFFREY LEWIN In memory of Miriam Lewin, OBM AARON AND LYNDA SACHAROV In honor of the birthday and the yahrzeit of Lynda s mother Tybie Abrams Yizkor Bill and Carol Aronoff Donation, Yizkor, Yahrtzeit, Lulav, Simchat Torah, in memory of Diane Miller s Father Bruce and Lydia Bitcover Two Yizkors Enoch Namensom Donation Fern Uresse In memory of David and Nancy Yeger Donations (As of November, 2018) Norman and Karrielyn Ferstenberg In memory of Manu s Father and David Lev s Brother, two yizkors Martha Friedman Yizkor YK, and Sukkot Shuli and Jeannette Levin Yizkor in memory of Manu s Father and in memory of David Lev s Brother Cyril and Faye Lonstein Yizkor Jeff and Rose Lonstein Donation Charles and Diane Miller Donation Aaron and Lynda Sacharov In honor of the birthday and yahrzeit of Lynda s Mother Ted and Marian Shafman Mi Sheberach, two yizkor, lulav, simcvhat Torah donation Milton Yudkowitz Yizkor Daniel Zuckerman Yizkor and Donation Thank you all for your contributions and your support of the Shul!

5 Page 5 SISTERS IN THE HOOD A month ago the Jewish world suffered a great loss. A mad man walked into The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, PA and slaughtered 11 people just because they were Jewish. This was personal, my daughter-in-law, Kit, is from Pittsburg. She knew all of the victims, a family friend, who was her doctor, was among them. Kit and Shlomo/ Samuel went to Pittsburg to comfort and to be comforted. Shlomo helped to bury the dead. Now that Shoshim is over we need to go back to a normal life. We can never forget and we need to remember, but by not living we let the bad guys win. Closer to home our YI family had these loses; David Lev's brother, Manu Zur's father and Daniel Zuckerman's aunt. My deepest sympathies to all of you and your families. May you be comforted in Zion. May we only hear good news from on. Eleanor once said that when she went someplace with me, we always met someone I knew. The same can be said for Bill, wherever we go he seems to run into alumni from The Bronx High School of Science. I think they must wear a sign, like a secret handshake. The last was at a Science Fiction convention in Cherry Hill. The Con was lots of fun and it was nice to get away alone. Karrie has said that anywhere you go with your spouse without kids is a date and I have expanded that to anytime you go to a hotel without kids, it is a vacation. Speaking of vacations, by the time you read this, Bill and I will be on a Caribbean cruise. Days at sea, warm exotic islands and we did not need to get on an airplane to meet our ship. We sailed in and out of Bayonne. I would like to say that I will be thinking about you, but most likely not. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I see the holiday as a time for food, family, friends and fun. This describes the Jewish Chags as well, except on Thanksgiving we can take pictures. Enjoy Chanukah. More family, friends and fun but this time the food is fried. May the candles of the menorah bring light and peace into your life. The sale of ShopRite gift cards is Sisterhood's biggest and ongoing fundraiser. You pay nothing extra, ShopRite give us a discount. Eleanor usually sends out an about one week before she places an order. When the "you have mail" pings, please answer it. I am not rushing your life, but please start thinking about Purim. Every year Sisterhood puts together Purim goody bags. Is there something that you would like to see in these packages, something new and different? Many of you have felt that Chinese food for the Sudah is getting old and tired. What would you like to eat and where should the food come from? Help us to make this upcoming Sudah one to remember. NachamaDina is still in charge of the Kiddush calendar. Call or her to reserve your date. Any occasion or none at all is a reason to sponsor a Kiddush. Hard beverages are running low so if you drink it, please help to replenish. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Bebe Brown and Mort Cohen. I am glad that Mort was not hurt any worse and that Daniel was not hurt in their separate car accidents. All the best, Carol for Sisterhood

6 Page 6 Did you know that you can raise funds for Young Israel simply by shopping at Amazon? It doesn't cost you anything extra! There's a one-time setup that needs to be done, and then just shop at smile.amazon.com (instead of like you normally would. All of your account settings will already be available. To set this up for the first time, point your computer or mobile browser to smile.amazon.com. You will be asked to select a charity on the right side of the screen. Below the spotlight charities, there is an option to pick your own charitable organization. In the box, enter "Young Israel of Lawrenceville" and click "Search". The results will appear on the left, and you can select our Shul by clicking "Select" next to "Young Israel of Lawrenceville". To learn more about how AmazonSmile works, point your browser to about/ref=smi_se_uspo_laas_aas ********** Daniel Zuckerman Keep Smilin After that, just remember to shop at smile.amazon.com, and all eligible purchases will generate a donation to Young Israel.

7 Page 7 Think Science!!! Algorithm is often paired with words specifying the activity for which a set of rules have been designed. Utilizing their algorithms, NCRI is collaborating with the ADL, and gathers words and images with community-wide meanings and maps out terms and images which are anti-semitic. The goal of the NCRI is to then use social science to gain insight into those communities where antisemitic content was picked up and hold them responsible, and ultimately hold individuals and communities responsible. Only Good can come of limiting the Evil voice of anti-semites. A Beautiful Voice By Lynda Sacharov The battle between Good versus Evil has prevailed over the millennia. It is only when someone is courageous and uses their voice to speak out, does Good stand a chance to win out. Whether he s standing up to Evil or standing up at the bimah, Joel courageously raises his voice and the result is just.beautiful. Think Science!!! There is someone new among us at YIOL that has such a voice, and that would be Joel Finkelstein. Joel recently graduated from Princeton University with a Ph.D in psychology. He attended services at the Princeton Center for Jewish Life, where he met our own Rabbi Goldenberg. Joel was looking for a small, calm, beautiful neighborhood in which to settle. He knew he d found the right Rabbi, now he only needed to find the right house for his family; daughter 13-year old Annika and 10-year old Nathaniel. It s been said that timing is everything, or maybe it was just meant to be, and the four-bedroom home from an estate sale just a couple of blocks from the Shul was a perfect fit at a perfect price. Joel knew he would be able to learn Torah and Talmud from the Rabbi, but he knew Evil was lurking in the form of anti-semitism, and that he couldn t stand by to continue to hear about horrors such as in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Joel works for an organization he created, The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI). Working with other like-minded individuals they created algorithms, or, sets of rules a machine (like a computer) follows to achieve a particular goal. For example, take a search engine like Google or Yahoo, each search engine has its own proprietary computation that ranks websites for each keyword or combination of keywords.

8 Page 8 Dear Fellow Shul Goer, I would like to present the community with an opportunity that could benefit its members: I ll call it the No-Hassle Kiddush Initiative. If you would like to sponsor a Kiddush but you can t (or don t want to!) deal with the headache of shopping, preparing, setting up, etc., no worries. I will do it for you. Yup, you read that correctly. I will prepare your entire Kiddush all you need to do is show up! It s that simple. I will offer you choices of delicious homemade salads and baked goods, pretty platters, tasty deserts, and more. I will even include the paper goods. On the next page, you will find a list of options, as well as other information that you might need. Note: this offer is my own personal initiative. It is in addition to, not in place of, what is currently being arranged by the YI sisterhood. If you have any questions, you can contact me: dinagoldenberg@aol.com

9 Page 9 BASIC KIDDUSH - $150 Salads (vegetable): Choice of 3 (Each additional salad $7) Eggplant marinated Eggplant babaganoush Taboule (quinoa) Coleslaw Potato Carrot cooked or grated Tomato Egg Salad Olive dip Chummus Platters: Choice of 1 Fresh vegetable Fresh fruit (seasonal) Fish: Choice of 2 (Each additional $10) Gefilte fish with horseradish Tuna (plain or scallion) White fish salad (store bought) Herring (store bought) Nosh: One of each (Each additional $5) Cookies 2 types (rugelach, biscotti, chocolate chip, etc.) Nuts or chocolate Extras: Cake for special occasion: $50 *Price includes paper goods *Liquor provided by Kiddush sponsor List is flexible. If you would like specific or select items, that can be arranged. One week advance notice for all orders! Orders must be pre-paid. NOTE: If you are expecting a larger than usual crowd, please indicate approximately how many additional guests you expect. Prices will be adjusted accordingly. Potato chips or Tortilla chips Pretzels or other chips Crackers 2 types Drinks: 2 seltzers and 1 juice (Soda upon request) DELUXE KIDDUSH: $225 Same as basic plus: 2 additional vegetable salads Fish platter OR deli platter Kugel choice of potato, noodle or apple

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11 Page 11 Ask The Rabbi Is there a question you might like to ask Rabbi Goldenberg? If so, send it to LSach@msn.com. Your answer will appear in the next newsletter. Question: Is it against Jewish tradition to give away shoes? Rabbi: There is no issue with giving away shoes belonging to a living person. As for shoes of someone who has already passed, the following explanation is from jewishlawrence.com: The Sefer Chassidim1 says that one shouldn't wear the shoes of one who has passed away. However, this rule has been interpreted in different ways: a) Some say that this injunction is based on a Talmudic statement2 that a dream wherein a deceased person comes to take away any object is a positive sign unless the object is shoes. Since dreams are largely a result of one's thoughts while awake, the fear is that wearing a deceased's shoes will cause the person to think about it by day perhaps causing this "bad omen" dream. According to this line of reasoning, there would be no exceptions to this rule.3 b) Another reason given is that leather is a conductor of contagious diseases. According to this reasoning, if it is clear that the person did not die from a ransmittable ailment such as if the person dies due to an accident or was killed there would be no problem with wearing his shoes.4 final illness.5 c) Others have a completely different spin on the words of the Sefer Chassidim. They understand the injunction to apply to shoes made of the hide of a deceased animal, whose death was a result of illness "one should not wear the shoes of a dead [animal]"! The reason for this ban is for fear of transmitting the disease which felled the animal to the one wearing the shoes.6 According to this interpretation, there is no problem whatsoever with wearing shoes which were worn by a deceased person! It would be advisable for you to speak with your rabbi to determine your family/community tradition in this matter. If your community has no defined custom, then you can choose whichever aforementioned opinion suits your taste. FOOTNOTES 1.A halachic work, written in the 12th century by one of the great Baalei Tosafos (Talmudic commentators), Rabeinu Yehudah HaChasid. 2.Brachot 57b. 3.Koret Brit, Kuntret Notfot Mor section This opinion is brought down in Igrot Moshe Yoreh De'ah vol. 3 s Following this reasoning, some say that the rule only applies if the person passed away while wearing the shoes, while others say that they shouldn't be worn if they were worn by the deceased during the person's 5.See Nitei Gavriel Hilchot Aveilut. 6.See Igrot Moshe referenced in footnote 3.

12 Page 12 Bereavement Services King Solomon said, There is a time for all under the heavens a time to love, a time to journey, a time to plant, a time to reap, a time to rejoice and a time to mourn. In a most loving and caring way and with the greatest sensitivity, Rabbi Goldenberg will make it his business to offer all the comfort, guidance and bereavement support needed. In addition, he will be glad to offer his assistance in preparation, officiating at the funeral, making Shiva services, arranging for the kaddish to be recited, etc. For assistance, or for more information, please call: (609) THIS SPACE HAS TRADITIONALLY LAID OUT LIGHTING AND SERVICE TIMES FOR SHABBOS AND YOM TOV. HOWEVER, THANKS TO THE CHABAD OF LAWRENCEVILLE CALENDAR THAT THE RABBI MAILS OUT ANNUALLY AND TO THE RABBI'S WEEKLY E- TORAH , WE HAVE DECIDED THAT IT MAY NO LONGER BE NECESSARY TO INCLUDE THE INFORMATION IN THE NEWSLETTER. PLEASE NOTIFY RABBI GOLDENBERG IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE THE CALENDAR OR BE ADDED TO THE MAILING LIST TO RECEIVE THE E-TORAH PLEASE FEEL FREE TO NOTIFY ELEANOR, LYNDA, OR THE RABBI IF YOU WOULD PREFER THAT THE NEWSLETTER ALSO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION.

13 Page 13 IN CELEBRATION OF YOUNG ISRAEL ***** Marian and Ted Shafman Sach of Beads DiabeaDes Handmade bracelets & necklaces Made to order Caryn Sacharov / Cell: Lynda Sacharov / Cell: Website: A portion from each sale benefits the ADA. Thanks to our Advertisers for their support! Want to place an ad? Contact Eleanor Heck or Lynda Sacharov Don t forget to check out Young Israel s website