Fri., Dec. 19 Shacharit 7/8AM Daf Yomi 7:45AM Candle Lighting 4:13PM Minchah 4:20PM

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1 The Jewish Center S H A B B A T B U L L E T I N December 13, 2014 PARSHAT VAYESHEV 21 Kislev 5775 Erev Shabbat 4:11PM Candle Lighting 4:15PM Minchah 5:15PM Pre-Chanukah Shabbat Dinner with Dr. Erica Brown (reservations required) 7:15PM Community Dessert and Special Talk by Dr. Erica Brown (this event is free and open to the public) Shabbat 7:45AM Hashkama Minyan 8:30AM Rabbi Israel Silverstein Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Yosie Levine 9:00AM Shacharit followed by our Public Lecture by Dr. Erica Brown, Chanukah and Heroism: Who Are Today's Jewish Heroes? 9:15AM Young Leadership Minyan (Max Stern Auditorium) 9:15AM Hashkama Shiur with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, Ma'ariv, The View of Tosafot 9:29AM Sof Zman Kriat Shema 9:30AM Teen Minyan (4 th floor) and Hot Kiddush 10:00AM Youth Groups, 2-year-olds, 3-4-year-olds and 5-6-yearolds: Geller Youth Center; 2 nd -3 rd graders and 4 th -6 th graders: 7 th floor 11:15AM Youth Department Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, Sanhedrin With Thanks to Our Kiddush Sponsors: Teen Kiddush, Eleanor Merczynski & David Hait and Rachel & Daniel Solomons 12:20PM Early Minchah 2:45PM Youth Department Bikkur Cholim Visits (see page 3 for more information) 2:45PM Bikkur Cholim and Bikkur in the Home. Meet at the Westmont, 730 Columbus Avenue 4:05PM Minchah, Shabbat afternoon groups Israel Friedman Daf Yomi 39 Melachot with Rabbi Dovid Zirkind Seudah Shlishit Speaker: Miriam Gedwiser, Chanukah - A Celebration of Torah She-be-al Peh (see page 2 for her complete bio) Seudah Shlishit Youth Speaker: Tova Kleiner With Thanks to Our Seudah Shlishit Sponsors: Hedda Rudoff & Family in commemoration of the 3rd yahrzeit of Rabbi Sheldon Rudoff Barbara & Steven Schnipper in commemoration of the yahrzeit of Steven s sister, Wendy Schnipper Clayton 5:11PM Shabbat concludes Parent-Child Learning for grades 1-3 with Rabbi Daniel Fridman 7:00PM (Please note earlier time) 5 th Annual Teen vs. Clergy Basketball Game DAILY SERVICES COMMUNITY SCHOLAR SHABBAT, DECEMBER DR. ERICA BROWN Pre-Chanukah Shabbat Dinner with Dr. Erica Brown Community Dessert and Special Talk by Dr. Erica Brown, Guilt and Gelt: Judaism's Attitude To Money With Thanks to Our Sponsors: Ruth & Lawrence Kobrin and Barbara & Guy Reiss Shabbat Morning Public Lecture: Chanukah and Heroism: Who Are Today's Jewish Heroes? With Thanks to Our Benefactors: Rachel Wolf & Andrew Borodach Millie & Alvin Hellerstein Fran & Jonah Kupietzky THIS MOTZEI SHABBAT 5 TH ANNUAL TEEN VS. CLERGY BASKETBALL GAME Tired of seeing your clergy and officers looking like penguins in top hats waddling around the Bima? Come support the JC teens, Rabbis and officers in this all-star game and help raise money for our Youth Department. Please visit our website to register, become a sponsor or for more information. You can register online or at the door. With Thanks to Our Sponsors: Lori Zeltser & Len Berman, Sharon & Cliff Brandeis, Susan & Arthur Degen, Shira Orenstein & Daniel Kahn, Amanda & Daniel Laifer, Leslie & Jeffrey Lang, Rabbi Yosie & Rachel Levine, Sarah &Stuart Milstein, Barbara & Guy Reiss, Rachel & Daniel Solomons, Rachel & Jonathan Sopher in memory of Judith Levine, Rabbi Mark & Jill Wildes and Anonymous. MEMBERSHIP MONTH HAS BEEN EXTENDED THE JEWISH CENTER IT S WHERE YOU BELONG Become a member by December 15 th and save 20% on the annual membership fee. Sun., Dec. 14 Daf Yomi 7:45AM Shacharit 8:30AM Minchah 4:15PM Mon., Dec. 15- Thurs., Dec. 18 Chanukah begins on Tuesday Shacharit 7/8AM Daf Yomi 7:45AM Minchah 4:15PM Fri., Dec. 19 Shacharit 7/8AM Daf Yomi 7:45AM Candle Lighting 4:13PM Minchah 4:20PM Apply for membership online at or pick up an application in the lobby. Women's Tehillim Group - Mon., December 22 at 7:15PM. Contact Joyce Weitz for more info at The Jewish Center - The Modern Orthodox Center for Jewish Life and Learning

2 WELCOME, RABBI JOSHUA & BETHANY STRULOWITZ We welcome Rabbi Joshua & Bethany Strulowitz to our community. Beginning in February, Rabbi Strulowitz will be co-leading a special six-week seminar for engaged and recently married couples. Pricing and registration coming soon. MAY & SAMUEL RUDIN LECTURE FEATURING MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF Mosab Hassan Yousef addressed a sold-out crowd on Tuesday evening. Missed the lecture? You can listen to the recording which is posted on our website. The video recording of the lecture will be available next week. To view the rest of the photos from the event please visit our Facebook page. Intrepid JC members joined Rabbi Levine for an excursion to The Museum of the City of New York on Wednesday to visit Letters to Afar. The fascinating installation exhibits video footage of Jewish life in Poland during the interwar period. For those who missed the trip, the exhibition runs through March 22, YOUTH DEPARTMENT'S PRE-CHANUKAH FAMILY DINNER With Thanks to Our Dinner Chairs: Deena Blanchard, Mindy Horowitz and Amy Latkin With Thanks to Our Advising Chairs: Jeannie Fisher, Limor Gutkind, and Beth Schwartz With Thanks to Our Sponsors: Lea & Ami Aharon, Deena Blanchard & Akiva Novetsky, Dana & Matthew Hiltzik, Amanda & Daniel Laifer, Eleanor Merczynski & David Hait, Sarah & Stuart Milstein, Sabrina Rosen Salomon & Guy Salomon, Beth & Josh Schwartz, Jennifer & Mark Smith, and Adina & Phil Wagman. END OF THE YEAR CHECKLIST As 2014 comes to a close, we ve prepared this handy JC checklist for the benefit of our members: Join The JC (or if you are already member, ask a friend to join) Redeem any unpaid pledges to The JC or Rabbi Jung Fund Register to join The JC Delegation to the AIPAC Policy Conference Consider making an additional end-of-year contribution to The Jewish Center SEUDAH SHLISHIT SPEAKER: MIRIAM GEDWISER Miriam Gedwiser is a full time faculty member at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. She has a BA from the University of Chicago in the History and Philosophy of Science, and a JD from NYU School of Law. She studied in the Drisha Scholars Circle as well as at other programs in Israel and Boston, and has taught at several New York area synagogues and Hillels. She practiced commercial litigation at a large law firm, and recently completed a judicial clerkship in the Southern District of New York. JEWISH CENTER UNIVERSITY FALL SEMESTER DAILY (except Shabbat) Israel Friedman Daf Yomi, 7:45AM MONDAY A Talmudic Study of the Shema with Rabbi Dovid Zirkind, 8:00PM TUESDAY Advanced Talmud Chabura with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 7:45AM Nosh & Drash Hanukkah Luncheon at My Most Favorite Food with Dr. Adena Berkowitz, 12:15PM WEDNESDAY Advanced Talmud Chabura with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 7:45AM Women of the Bible with Rabbi Yosie Levine, 11:00AM Words from the Wise - The Book of Proverbs with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 8:00PM The Next Level with Rabbi Mark Wildes, 8:00PM THURSDAY Innovation & Conservation: Ancient Judaism & Christianity with Rabbi Ari Lamm, 8:15PM SHABBAT Rabbi Israel Silverstein Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Yosie Levine, 8:30AM Ramban on the Weekly Parsha with Rabbi Daniel Fridman, 9:15AM Youth Department Mishnayot Class with Rabbi Daniel Fridman Israel Friedman Daf Yomi with rotating JCU Faculty Parent-Child Learning with Rabbi Daniel Fridman 39 Melachot (through December 27) with Rabbi Dovid Zirkind JC Online - Become a fan for the latest news and events. Facebook.com/TheJewishCenterNY

3 UPCOMING EVENTS YOUNG LEADERSHIP CHANUKAH DINNER FEATURING RABBI BENJAMIN BLECH, CHANUKAH & MICHELANGELO'S SECRET MESSAGES IN THE SISTINE CHAPEL Friday, December 19 at 5:45PM Please join us for Young Leadership s Shabbat Chanukah Dinner. Rabbi Blech will speak about his book, The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican. The dinner costs $38 for members and $45 for non-members. Please visit our website for more information and to register for the event. If you have questions, please yl@jewishcenter.org. CHANUKAH AND MEVARCHIM KIDDUSH Shabbat, December 20 Join us for a special Shabbat Chanukah and Mevarchim Kiddush. To sponsor the Kiddush, please visit our website or call x100. JC & CONGREGATION SHEARITH ISRAEL SKI AND SNOWBOARD TRIP Thursday, December 25 at 7:00AM First-times, black diamond skiers and snowboarders welcome! Hit the slopes for a day at Hunter Mountain with friends and family. All levels ages 7 and up welcome. This trip is all-inclusive (lift tickets, optional rentals, transportation and quality time with our clergy), but it is BYOL (bring your own lunch). Except for the beginners package, group lesson tickets will be available for purchase for ages 13 and up. The cost for a reservation ranges from $60-$110. For more information about the different price packages and to register, please visit our website. SCREENING OF ABOVE AND BEYOND Wednesday, February 25 at 8:00PM In 1948, just three years after the liberation of Nazi death camps, a group of Jewish American pilots answered a call for help. In secret and at great personal risk, they smuggled planes out of the U.S., trained behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia and flew for Israel in its War of Independence. This ragtag band of brothers not only turned the tide of the war; they also embarked on personal journeys of discovery, sacrifice and renewed Jewish pride. Above and Beyond is their story. The first major feature-length documentary about the foreign airmen in the 48 War, Above and Beyond brings together new interviews as well as stunning aerial footage to present a fascinating, little-known tale filled with heart, heroism and high-flying chutzpah. Registration will open shortly. Please visit our website for more information. BIKKUR IN THE HOME Shabbat, December 13 JC youth grades 5 through 8 will be visiting homebound and semi-home-bound-seniors this Shabbat. Orientation will be at 2:45PM in the 5 th floor dance studio. Children will be leaving for visits at 3:15PM. Pick-up will be at about 4:30PM in the dance room. Upcoming visits will be visit will be on January 10, February 7 and March 14. RSVP to bethschwartz18@gmail.com. 5 TH ANNUAL TEEN VS. CLERGY BASKETBALL GAME Saturday night, December 13 at 7:00PM See the cover page or visit our website for more information. PRE-CHANUKAH ART FESTIVAL Sunday, December 14 at 4:00PM Join us for a snack buffet, a project for parents, music, and a giant Dreidl full of surprises! Children ages 2-10 will create art projects with Aviah and Yael and those ages 11 and older will work with Tobi Kahn's on his PlusLight Project (see our website for more information). Visit our website to register. YOUTH DEPARTMENT BAT MITZVAH PROGRAM Motzei Shabbat, December 20, January 3, 10, 24, and February 7 at 6:30PM A six-week course for Bnot Mitzvah, and those about to become Bnot Mitzvah, on the Torah values of Jewish womanhood. Topics covered, through the lens of Biblical Jewish heroines, will include familial leadership, prayer, kindness, personal modesty, loyalty, courage and fearlessness. The course will conclude with presentations by all the student participants at a family gathering at the shul. Co-taught by Rabbi Daniel & Chaya Fridman. Visit our website to register. SPECIAL PARENT-CHILD LEARNING Sunday, December 21 at 12:00PM The program will begin with learning with Rabbi Fridman from 12:00PM-1:00PM for 3 rd graders and older. Afterwards, the group will enjoy pizza and Skype with the IDF Widows & Orphans Organization in Israel for a special candle lighting ceremony. Sponsorship opportunities available. Please contact Rabbi Daniel Fridman at dfridman@jewishcenter.org with question and to sponsor. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS COMMUNITY ACCOMPLISHMENTS Congratulations to Yael Federbush on her award from "Jew In The City" as one of ten orthodox Jewish All- Stars Congratulations to Rabbi Benjamin Blech whose article, When Charity Is A Sin, was published in The Jewish Week THANK YOU TO OUR USHERS Thank you to Barbara Reiss and Seth Jonas who are our ushers this Shabbat. THANK YOU TO CSS We would like to once again thank CSS and our dedicated CSS members for providing the security for our synagogue this week. GROWING OUR CHILDREN'S LIBRARY The Youth Department is seeking to grow our library of shul appropriate books to enhance our children's experience in shul each week. If you have have new or gently used books for children or if you would like to donate towards this project please contact Rabbi Zirkind. JLIC INTERCOLLEGIATE WINTER BEIT MIDRASH (JANUARY 4-8) The JC is proud to host the inaugural Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) winter learning program in our Max and Marion Grill Beit Midrash. The program welcomes students and educators from university campuses from around the country for a 5-day Beit Midrash program addressing the theme of "The Jewish Community and The Broader World." JC members are welcome to join the program free of charge for all or part of the week. Topics and times for the specific lectures, including presentations from our clergy, coming soon. For more information contact Rabbi Zirkind. To sponsor Kiddush or Seudah Shlishit or a JC event, please contact Aaron at aaron@jewishcenter.org

4 Seekers in the Streets Rabbi Ari Lamm, William Fischman Resident Scholar Childhood experience on occasions like Yom Kippur, the nights of Selichot, and Tisha Be-Av taught me to be wary of piyyut traditional liturgical poetry. The genre s literary density, with its cascading streams of Scriptural allusions and oblique references to rabbinic traditions, invariably left me intimidated. My childhood phobia of piyyut s recherché stylings, however, gradually gave way to awe at the stunning virtuosity of the greatest payyetanim. Among the giants of these early liturgical poets was Yannai. His origins are mostly shrouded in mystery, but some of his poems have survived, among them a piyyut for the rapidly approaching holiday of Chanukkah. Like many of the early payyetanim of the Land of Israel, Yannai s conception of Chanukkah was rooted not in its historical dimensions, but rather in its significance for the renewal of Temple services. His poems concerning Chanukkah, therefore, read as paeans to the Temple of old. The second stanza is representative: You caused Your Divine Presence to dwell among a nation of desirable ones 1 // and <those who joined together> 2 did not lack it 3 // and your awesome strength is in the heavens 4 // and among your seekers in the streets 5 In one short pericope, Yannai weaves together a host of texts and traditions, each of which contributes to a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Although space prevents us from giving each reference the close attention it requires, the image evoked by TIRED OF CRAMMING YOUR FAMILY INTO A ONE- BEDROOM APARTMENT? COME CHECK OUT CONGREGATION AGUDATH SHOLOM (CAS) IN STAMFORD, CT WITHOUT LEAVING NEW YORK CITY! Please join us on January 3, 2015 from 12:15PM until 1:15PM at Manhattan Jewish Experience (10 th floor of The Jewish Center) for a light kiddush and meet and greet with CAS Rabbi Daniel Cohen as well as Stamford families to learn more about this vibrant and growing modern Orthodox Jewish community. Pre-registration requested by ing David Brand (dbrand79@yahoo.com). This is a paid advertisement the poet is of the Almighty s Presence manifesting in three places: the heavenly realm, the Temple, and among the common people wherever they may be. Comprehending the first is the province of angels, or perhaps philosophers like Maimonides of the highest spiritual caliber. The second is not, at present, a practical concern, although we pray that it will speedily become so. The third, however, is of immanent relevance to us all. God s presence can and must be made manifest in this world, not only in those places where it is already welcome like the Beit Ha-Mikdash, Beit Midrash or Beit Keneset, but precisely in places where it may be disruptive: in the streets, in the marketplaces, in our places of work. This needn t mean that we should ostentatiously wave our religion in the faces of others, but it does mean that each of us seekers of God in the street, in Yannai s words must hold ourselves and our community accountable at all times, and in all places, to the values sanctified by the Torah: justice, kindness, humility and obedience to the will of our Creator. 1 Compare R. Eleazar ha-kalir, Eleh ha- Edot, line 2, for Shavuot. 2 The manuscript is fragmented here, and my translation represents an attempt at a reconstruction. 3 See Bavli Yoma 21b, and compare Yerushalmi Makkot See Psalm See Song of Songs 3.2 JC DELEGATION AT THE AIPAC POLICY CONFERENCE MARCH 1-3, 2015 The AIPAC Policy Conference is the pro-israel community's preeminent annual gathering. The event attracts more than 14,000 community and student activists from all 50 states, and more than half of the Senate, a third of the House of Representatives and countless Israeli and American policymakers and thought leaders. Over three jam-packed days, Policy Conference participants choose from hundreds of informative sessions and participate in the pro-israel community's largest and most important advocacy day. The JC is proud to be sending a delegation to this conference. Tickets cost $399 per person. Register before December 31st to lock into this deal. Questions? Please visit our website to purchase your tickets....8 TICKETS REMAINING Clergy & Staff Yosie Levine Rabbi Dovid Zirkind Assistant Rabbi Chaim David Berson Cantor Daniel Fridman Resident Scholar Erica Brown Community Scholar Rabbi Ari Lamm William Fischman Resident Scholar Aaron Strum Executive Director Eliane Glassman Director of Programming and Communications Yitzchak Sprung Youth Director OFFICERS Avi Schwartz President Andrew Borodach First Andrew Kaplan Mark Segall Rose Lynn Sherr Michael Jacobs Assistant Yaron Kinar Treasurer Len Berman Assistant Treasurer Phone Numbers Miri Lipsky Secretary Lisa Septimus Yoetzet Halacha Chevra Kadisha UWS Mikvah Hatzalah Eruv Status

5 THE JEWISH CENTER BASKETBALL SATURDAY NIGHT, DECEMBER 13 AT 7:00PM (NOTE EARLIER TIME) 5 TH ANNUAL JC TEENS VS. JC CLERGY BASKETBALL GAME Tired of seeing your clergy and officers looking like penguins in top hats waddling around the Bima? Come support the JC teens, Rabbis and officers in this all-star game and help raise money for our Youth Department. TICKETS T : no charge G A : $10 in advance, $15 at the door R S : $36 SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES F : $100; includes 2 reserved tickets P : $180; includes 2 reserved tickets J V S : $360; includes 4 reserved tickets V S : $500; includes 4 reserved tickets and customized game night t-shirt G M : $1000; includes 10 reserved tickets two customized game night t-shirts For more information or questions, please contact the coach of the clergy team, Rachel Levine at rachel.levine1@gmail.com The Jewish Center 131 West 86 th Street New York, NY pizza and popcorn included WITH THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Lori Zeltser & Len Berman, Sharon & Cliff Brandeis, Susan & Arthur Degen, Shira Orenstein & Daniel Kahn, Amanda & Daniel Laifer, Leslie & Jeffrey Lang, Rabbi Yosie & Rachel Levine, Sarah &Stuart Milstein, Barbara & Guy Reiss, Rachel & Daniel Solomons, Rachel & Jonathan Sopher in memory of Judith Levine, Rabbi Mark & Jill Wildes and Anonymous PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO REGISTER OR TO BECOME A SPONSOR

6 CELEBRATE CHANUKAH WITH THE JEWISH CENTER For more information about Chanukah events and programs at The JC, visit PRE-CHANUKAH SHABBAT DINNER FOLLOWED BY A COMMUNITY DESSERT AND SPECIAL TALK BY DR. ERICA BROWN Shabbat, December 12 Meet our new Community Scholar, Erica Brown during a lovely Shabbat dinner. Following dinner, please join us for a community dessert followed by a special talk, Guilt and Gelt: Judaism's Attitude To Money YOUTH DEPARTMENT CHANUKAH ART FESTIVAL Sunday, December 14 Join us for a snack buffet, a project for parents, music, and a giant Dreidl full of surprises! Children ages 2-10 will create art projects with Aviah and Yael and those ages 11 and older will work with Tobi Kahn's on his PlusLight Project (see our website for more information). Visit our website to register. CHANUKAH & SHABBAT MEVARCHIM KIDDUSH Shabbat, December 20 Celebrate Chanukah with the community at this special Kiddush. JOIN US DAILY FOR CANDLE LIGHTING FOLLOWING MINCHAH AT 4:20PM YOUNG LEADERSHIP SHABBAT CHANUKAH DINNER FEATURING RABBI BENJAMIN BLECH Friday, December 19 at 5:45PM Please join us for dinner with young professionals, followed by a special talk by Rabbi Bejamin Blech, Chanukah & Michelangelo's Secret Messages in the Sistine Chapel. The Jewish Center 131 West 86 th St., New York, NY