What s Inside Rabbi s Reflections...page 5 Our Classroom Community...page 8 Temple Shalom Gift Cards...page 11

Transcription

1 Join us as we celebrate Chanukah! This year s major fundraiser is a 50/50 raffle. Find out here how you can help. For Chanukah information and prayers, go to page 4. And don t miss... Lech Lecha Our Biblical Journey A Temple-Wide Family Program on Sunday, December 13th Our annual blood drive is January 10. What s Inside Rabbi s Reflections...page 5 Our Classroom Community...page 8 Temple Shalom Gift Cards...page 11 December 2015 Kislev-Tevet 5776 Volume LIII Issue 4

2 Page 2 Wednesday, December 2 5:15 pm Religious School Friday, December 4 7:30 pm Shabbat Evening Worship Saturday, December 5 10:00 am Shabbat Morning Worship Parshah: Vayeshev, Genesis 37:1-40:23 Sunday, December 6 FIRST CANDLE OF CHANUKAH 9:45 am Religious School 9:45 am Women s Connection Breakfast 12:30 pm Kol Shalom (Jr. Choir) 6:00 pm Brotherhood Pot Luck Dinner 6:00 pm Brotherhood lights outdoor Chanukiah Monday, December 7 SECOND CANDLE OF CHANUKAH 6:30 pm TSHY Monthly Board Meeting 7:00 pm TSHY & Temple Board light out door Chanukiah 7:30 pm Temple Board Meeting Tuesday, December 8 THIRD CANDLE OF CHANUKAH 5:00 pm Outdoor Lighting Wednesday, December 9 FOURTH CANDLE OF CHANUKAH 12:15 pm Torah Net watch your for sign-up information 5:15 pm Religious School 6:00 pm Religious School lights outdoor Chanukiah Thursday, December 10 FIFTH CANDLE OF CHANUKAH 11:30 am L Chaim Chanukah Deli Luncheon 7:00 pm The Dickman Family lights out door Chanukiah Friday, December 11 SIXTH CANDLE OF CHANUKAH NER SHEL TZEDAKAH 6:00 pm Tot Shabbat 7:20 pm Rabbi Levy & Chris Mason light outdoor Chanukiah & Grand Chanukah Light-In 7:30 pm Visual Tefilah Class led Shabbat-Mrs. Okrent s 7 th Grade Class Camp Shabbat Kol Shalom (Jr. Choir) participates Rosh Chodesh Blessing: Dinah Fox Saturday, December 12 SEVENTH CANDLE OF CHANUKAH 10:00 am Shabbat Morning Worship Bar Mitzvah of Lucas Harvey Parshah: Miketz, Genesis: 41:1-44:17 Ushers: Randi & Manuel DeBrito Michelle & David Stein

3 Page 3 6:00 pm Israel Trip Participants light the outdoor Chanukiah Sunday, December 13 EIGHTH CANDLE OF CHANUKAH 9:30 am Our Genesis Journey: A Congregation-wide Program & Chanukah Party 12:30 pm Kol Shalom (Jr. Choir) Renaissance Chanukah Event 7:00 pm The Steckler Family lights the outdoor Chanukiah Monday, December 14 6:30 pm Temple Shalom Academy 6:30 pm Gesher Tuesday, December 15 TEMPLE OFFICE CLOSED ALL DAY Wednesday, December 16 5:15 pm Weekday Religious School 7:30 pm Executive Board Meeting 7:30 pm Brotherhood Board Meeting Friday, December 18 7:30 pm Shabbat Evening Worship Saturday, December 19 10:00 am Shabbat Morning Worship Parshah: Vayiggash, Genesis: 44:18-47:27 Drasha: Lay led study following services Sunday, December 20 9:30 am Religious School 9:45 am Jewish Topics Tapas with Rabbi Levy 9:45 Women s Connection Mah Jongg 12:00 pm TSHY Painting Youth Lounge 12:30 pm Kol Shalom (Jr. Choir) Monday, December 21 6:30 pm Temple Shalom Academy 7:00 pm Exploring Israeli Ideas & Customs: How Israel Does Education, with Shlicha Morah Shevach Wednesday, December 23 No Religious School Friday, December 25 Offices Closed for Legal Public Holiday 6:00 pm Kabbalat Shabbat Evening Worship Services will be followed by hors d oeuvres oneg Saturday, December 26 10:00 am Shabbat Morning Worship Parshah: Vayechi, Genesis: 47:28-50:26 Sunday, December 27 No Religious School Monday, December 28 No Temple Shalom Academy No Gesher Wednesday, December 30 No Religious School Thursday, December 31 12:00 pm Offices Close ***Please remember the Temple offices are closed every Tuesday from 12:00-1:00 for lunch. Please plan your visits accordingly.*** Chanukah candles available for non-religious school families beginning December 1 in the lower lobby.

4 Page 4 Celebrate the Festival of Lights! Lighting the Outdoor Chanukiah Join us each evening of Chanukah for the lighting of the Temple s outdoor Chanukiah. Each evening a different Temple organization, committee or family will lead the lighting. Come out each evening to join with your Temple Shalom family in prayer and song as we engage in this festive tradition. Grand Chanukah Light-In: Friday, December 11 at 7:20 pm Bring your own Chanukiah and seven candles so we can usher in the sixth night of Chanukah together. Add your light to ours as we proclaim the miracle of Chanukah. Shabbat Evening Service follows immediately after the lighting. Chanukah Blessings (The first Chanukah candle should be lit on Sunday, December 6.) Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-loech ha-olam a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mitz-vo-tav ve-tzi-va-nu le-had-lik ner shel Cha-nu-kah. Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the Chanukah lights. Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam she-a-sa ni-sim la-avo-te-nu ba-ya-mim ha-hem bi-zman ha-zeh. Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors in those dates, at this time. (First Night Only) Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-lech Ha-olam she-haeche-ya-nu ve-ki-yi-ma -nu ve-higi-a-nu la-zman ha-zeh. Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion. A Ner Shel Tzedakah Blessing to recite on the 6th night of Chanukah when you substitute the giving of tzedakah for gift giving. (Friday, December 11) After reciting the traditional blessings, you might wish to add the following: Baruch Ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech Haolam, Asher Kidshanu B mitzvotav, V limdeinu L Hadlik Ner Shel Tzedakah Blessed are You, Eternal our God, who makes us holy through the performance of Mitzvot, and inspires us to light the Candle of Righteousness. The Temple provides each Temple family with a blox of Chanukah candles as a gift. Candles for families with children in Religious School will be sent home via the youngest child. Those with no children in Religious School may pick up their candles in the lower lobby beginning Tuesday, Dec. 1.

5 Page 5 Rabbi s Reflections A Special Trip and a Very Special School Last month I had the great pleasure of accompanying a 16 member group from Temple Shalom on our Adult Israel Trip. For some it was their first visit to Israel, for others it was a return visit, but for all of us it was a trip to remember. Even those of who had been before, myself included, had our eyes opened to new things we had never before experienced. Our visit included such highlights as a jeep excursion in the Golan, a beautiful Erev Shabbat service in Jerusalem at Congregation Kol Haneshama, explorations of Meggido and the City of David, visits to Masada and the Dead Sea, dinner with a Yemanite family in the Negev and a tour of the border with Gaza. But among the places we visited, one stuck out in particular for the impact it had upon our hearts. During our trip we visited the Nirim School in Haifa on the recommendation of our member, Rich Rosen, who had previously visited there. What we found was a most amazing school situated in one of the more economically distressed areas of the city. The students of the Nirim School live in the Temple Shalom 215 S. Hillside Ave. Succasunna, NJ Web: Facebook: tshalomnj Phone: Fax: Professional Staff Rabbi David C. Levy, D.D., R.J.E. Rabbi Jenny Winters RabbiLevy@tshalom.org Religious School Dir. jwinters@tshalom.org Leslie Kallus, M.S.W. Administrator Administrator@tshalom.org Rabbi Joel E. Soffin D.D. Rabbi Emeritus Administrative Staff Phylis J. Sapherstein rabbisoffin@gmail.com Rabbi s Admin. Asst. RabbisSecretary@tshalom.org Lisa Testa Accountant accountant@tshalom.org Amy Olsen Rel. School Secretary religiousschool@tshalom.org Congregational Officers Robin Katchen President rkatchen@optonline.net Jennifer Wilck Vice President Erik Rofe Vice President Matt Goldblatt Secretary David Weinerman Treasurer wilckjz@optonline.net erik@rofegroupinc.com msgold5@optonline.net David.S.Weinerman@morganstanley.com Glenn Weiss Financial Sec. glennweiss@optonline.net (Continued on page 6)

6 Page 6 (Continued from page 5) neighborhood, are predominantly children of immigrant families from Ethiopia and Eastern Europe. Often a visit to such a school will introduce you to children who are working hard to overcome their depressed surroundings, but whose stresses show deeply upon their faces. Here we saw something quite special. Though the classrooms were filled, as expected, with hard working children seeking to advance themselves despite their difficult surroundings, their faces shined, their demeanors were glowing and their joy was unbounded. This school was clearly working some kind of magic in the lives of its students. And at the heart of that magic is an amazing educator, Oded Hershko, who serves as the principal of this school. Oded is a pediatrician by trade and the son of Nobel Prize wining chemist Avram Hershko. Oded has devoted himself to the mission of not simply educating these children s minds, but healing and supporting their bodies and souls as well. Some of his methods are quite unique, such as creating a virtual menagerie of animals within the school, from dogs and cats to snakes, birds and rats, for the children to care for. From these animals they gain powerful lessons in responsibility and receive the kind of unconditional love and comfort that only a pet can offer. Even more powerful are some of the more traditional things the school offers. Oded has created a social service office to offer support from on-site psychologists and social workers not just to the children, but also to their families. He has made sure that there is lunch available for those who might otherwise go without and he has created a multimedia reading lab with donated tablet computers that can provide read-along experiences to encourage young readers. All of this he has done by hustling for donations and by finding benefactors such as the wife of the Mayor of Haifa. Our group left feeling that our Temple should find a way to be among those benefactors. As a Temple who, over the course of its history, has helped bring Jews from Ethiopia and Eastern Eurooe to our homeland in Israel, being among those who will help their children and grandchildren thrive in their new home just seems b shert. In the coming weeks, I look forward to working with Rich to determine what we can do and how you can help us make another of Oded s dreams for his students a reality. I hope that as we bring their story and their needs to you, you will feel as compelled to help them as we did while sitting in the midst of their classroom in their very special school. L Shalom,

7 Page 7 From the Temple Board The Community-Wide 50/50 Raffle is Coming! Be on the lookout for your 50/50 raffle tickets. Tickets will be $50 each and will be sold in books of 10 or 12. While ultimately, the amount of the prize will depend on how many tickets are sold, we have the potential for the following: There will be a total of 2,800 tickets available for sale and there will be TWO drawings. Drawing #1 will have one winner who will potentially win up to $35,000. Drawing #2 will have 99 winners with varying tiers, totaling up to $35,000 as well. You do not want to miss this raffle. It s a great way to support the temple (up to $70,000). Buy tickets yourself and sell them to family and friends.

8 Page 8 Our Classroom Community The school is bustling with activity this December! Last month on November 20, the 7 th grade conducted a lovely Friday night service, and this coming Friday, December 11 you will get to see the 7 th grade again during our Camp Shabbat Service. This will be a very special service featuring Kol Shalom (our Junior Choir) and a speaker from the URJ Camp Harlam. I urge all of you whose children have attended Harlam to come to the service and bring at least one other family who might be interested in sending their child(ren)! I personally will be at Camp Harlam this summer and would love to see lots of our kids there!! The students at Temple Shalom Academy (8 th -12 th grades) are busy with core classes of Jewish values, such as tzedakah, humility and tikkun olam (repairing the world). They also chose electives, which are Writing Children s Books, Jewish Jeopardy and Creative Arts. On November 30, our Israeli Shlicha Moran Shevach conducted a TSA-wide program about Israeli culture. On December 21, we will conclude the first unit with a Great Debate between all of the kids on Jewish answers to modern problems. And as an aside, half of TSA (31 kids) now belong to TSHY, the temple youth group! I am really excited (I mean really excited) for December 13 when we have the first School-Wide program of the year entitled Lech Lecha Our Biblical Journey. You and your kids will get a chance to meet in person lots of biblical characters such as Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Leah and Rachel! In this journey you will experience life and activities throughout the Torah, visiting different times and places. Also there will be food and music and celebrating Chanukah! I look forward to seeing you there in a couple of weeks. As always, I am always available to talk and help with anything you need. Jenny Winters, R.J.E. Religious School Director Photos from the K-1 Religious School class planting tulips in the Temple Shalom garden and decorating tzedekah cans. (Special thanks to Bob Castellucci for bringing this special project to the children of our Religious School.)

9 Page 9 Bar Mitzvah Profile Lucas Joshua Harvey, son of Patrick & Hilary Harvey of Budd Lake, NJ, will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on December 12, A seventh-grade student at Mount Olive Middle School, he is the brother of Tamryn Jade Harvey and the grandchild of Herbert Schoffel (maternal) and Teruko Stephens (paternal). Lucas enjoys many sports including baseball, football, and soccer. He s an advanced musician and plays alto and baritone saxophone. He loves playing in 3 different school bands (Junior Winds, Jazz and the middle school band) and has a deep appreciation of Jazz music and history. Lucas loves camp; especially climbing the rock wall (which he even did blindfolded), acting, singing, swimming, basketball, and kayaking. He s truly one of the most polite, sensitive, caring, sweet and intelligent people on Earth. He s also a great dancer with exceptional hip-hop moves. Lucas and his sister own 2 Guinea Pigs named Cookie and Cocoa. His mitzvah project is done at the Friendship Circle in Livingston. He learned how to work with differently abled children/children who have special needs for six weeks. Since he shares the love of sports with them, he volunteers one time per week teaching sports skills in the area of basketball. It is both challenging and rewarding. This ties together both of his parents loves and interests. His mother is a school psychologist working with special needs children and their families and his father has coached different sports including football and baseball. Our family finally has a simcha. We ve had our share of tragedy and Lucas becoming a Bar Mitzvah is the happiest day for our family. We have heartfelt pride and joy and are so proud of Lucas becoming a man. Watching the glow on his face as he is practicing leaves us beaming. To hear him say how excited he is fills us with happiness and excitement. LIFE LONG LEARNING Wednesday, December 9 at 12:15 pm: TorahNet Online Torah Study on Parashat Vayeshev. Join from PC, Mac, Linux, ios or Android at or join by phone: (US Toll) or (US Toll) Meeting ID: Sunday, December 20 at 9:45 am: Jewish Topics Tapas with Rabbi Levy: Understanding Tzedakah: Is It Charity or Is It Justice? Monday, December 21 at 7pm Exploring Israeli Ideas and Culture: Education with Moran Shevach, shlicha (emissary) How Israel Does Moran Shevach was educated in Kiryat Shmona, a city in northern Israel. She has been a coordinator in the youth movement, "Ida"n. At present she is in the last year of her university studies towards a bachelor's degree in international relations and education and spending the year as a shaliach to MetroWest, New Jersey. She has volunteered with children at risk and was a counselor of a Diller Teen Fellows group in Bet Shemes-Mat-Yehuda. RSVP requested (but not required) to Leslie Kallus, temple administrator: administrator@tshalom.org or x 5.

10 Page 10 Brotherhood December 6: 6 pm Outdoor Chanukiah Lighting and Pot Luck Dinner. Please RSVP to Ken Horwitz at krhorwitz@yahoo.com. December 16: Brotherhood Board Meeting Saturday, December 19: NJ Devils vs. Anaheim Ducks hockey game on Saturday at 7:00 PM. Prudential Center in Newark, only $38/ticket, and families are welcome. Blood Drive Temple Shalom s Brotherhood Blood Drive will take place Sunday, January 10 from 8:30 to 12:30. Snacks & drinks will be provided. Women s Connection All women at Temple Shalom are invited to the First Women's Connection Breakfast on December 6, 2015 at 9:45 am. We will enjoy bagels, lox and cream cheese as well as get to know each other and plan our events for the balance of the fiscal year. Please RSVP to Barbara Herman Hoff via or by cell So far we have an event at at Uptown Art on 1/13/15. This is a group art experience and promises to be a lot of fun. We also have a Ladies Night Out scheduled in January. On March 9, we will have a Pre-Passover cooking class We still need to book events for February, April and May At this breakfast I will be asking for feed back as to they type of events you are looking for and overall what direction you would like to see the Women's Connection go. All your input is welcome and needed. If you cannot attend the breakfast and want to me your thoughts, I encourage to do that as well. My address is aaronsharalee@yahoo.com. Don't forget the Mahjong Group and the Book Club are still going strong and always welcome new members to join them! I hope to see many of you there on December 6th. Barbara Herman Hoff

11 Page 11 Temple Shalom Gift Cards Gift cards you buy them for birthdays, holidays, teachers, to send to kids away at school. Consider buying them from the Temple and we make a profit on each one you purchase. You can already purchase Panera Bread and Starbucks on Sunday mornings, now you can purchase so many others. Aeropostale, Marshalls, Macys, Olive Garden, AMC Theaters, Old Navy, Chuck E. Cheese, TGI Friday and Walgreens are just a few of the cards available. See the order form for a full listing. Since you already shop at so many of these places, consider buying cards for your regular shopping too and make a little profit for the Temple at the same time. How Can I Order? Complete the order form and mail it to the Temple with your payment either a check or the credit card form. Order forms and credit card forms are on the tshalom.org website. If your credit card is not on file in the office, contact Leslie Kallus first to set that up. Keep in mind that using a credit card takes 3% from our profit so checks are appreciated when possible. Stop by the Temple on any Religious School Sunday to complete a form and make payment. How do I get my Order? Pick up your order in the Temple lobby during Religious School Sunday, 2 weeks after you place your order, or call the office to pick them up. Questions? Debbie Osberg, osberg12@yahoo.com, (973)

12 Page 12

13 Page 13 Women s Connection JOIN US FOR OUR FIRST BREAKFAST OF BAGELS CREAM CHEESE AND LOX December 6, 2015 From 9:45 am 11:30 am We will be expanding our programming this year to include our favorites, Mahjong, Book Club and Girls Night Out with a variety of additional events such as: Movie Night Glass Works Game Night Passover Culinary Class Breakfasts with Speakers Joint Events With Other Temple Groups Please join us at our first gathering to get to know each other and discuss your interests for future events. For more information please call Barbara Herman Hoff at

14 Page 14

15 Page 15

16

17 APTERCHAPELS.COM

18 Page 18 Imagine Your Ad Here! Flanders Valley Monument Co., Inc. Granite, Bronze, Engraving, Plaques & Urns Catherine M. Troup, owner 150 Mountain Ave. Hackettstown, NJ f: Do you want to reach Temple members? Would you like to draw attention to your business or service? We offer ad space in Kesher each month. Ads run for full year. Contact Leslie Kallus for more information and an ad contract , ext. 5 or administrator@tshalom.org. ALJEN ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC ELLIOTT S. COLLINS CFP NAMED ONE OF NEW JERSEY MONTHLY S 2013 FIVE STAR WEALTH MANAGERS OF THE YEAR Fee Based Financial Planning, Investments, Retirement Plannng Employee Benefits Plan administration 1140 Parsippany Blvd, Suite 103 Parsippany, NJ Elliott S. Collins, CFP is a Registered Representative of and offers securities through Purshe Kaplan Sterling (PKS) Investments, Member FINRA & SIPC Headquartered at 18 Corporate Woods Blvd. Albany, NY HOWARD R. GOODKIN, D.M.D. Family Dentistry Celebrating 25 years Serving the Community Associates Rick Giralt, DDS Kimberly J. Tauber, DMD Jarred Pilek, DDS Cosmetic/Restorative Porcelain Laminates Implant Restorations Root Canal Therapy NEW PATIENTS WELCOME! Insurance Accepted All instruments & hand Pieces heat sterilized. Valley Professional Center 59 East Mill Road (Route 24) Long Valley, NJ

19 HK Carpentry & Home Improvement, LLC Page 19 Harold Katchen Specializing in: Home Repairs Trim Work Decks Built-ins Bathrooms Kitchens Custom Woodworking Fully Insured Reg. 13VH

20 Page 20

21 Page 21 Mazel Tov Barbara & Glen Salny on the marriage of their daughter, Melissa, to Jeffrey Hassert. Barbara & Howard Levinson on the engagement of their son, Keith, to Lauren Walter. Gloria Gura on the birth of her granddaughter, Lily Mae, on April 29, 2015 Condolences Robert & Harriet Gruber on the loss of his mother, Betty, on November 11, Tributes Yarzeit Fund From: Nan Barcan From: Leslie Kallus From: Sharon Bayer From: Gloria Gura In memory of her son, Andrew Warner Hoffman In memory of her mother, Gilda Kaplan Hecht In memory of her cousin, Melvin Kwassman In memory of her father, Harry Antebi Food Pantry Chai + From: Rugmini Iyer To: The Horwitz Family In memory of your father Lifelong Learnig Kavod From: Barbara & Barry Dean To: Cathi Cooper & Family In memory of your mother, Lee A huge thank you to everyone who shopped at our holiday bazaar on November 22 and to all who donated tables. A big shout-out to Lois Ensel for assisting with the final close-out. And our deepest appreciation to Stacey Seligson without whom this important annual fundraiser could not take place.