HAMSA The Hand of Miriam HADASSAH AT STONEBRIDGE

HAMSA The Hand of Miriam HADASSAH AT STONEBRIDGE Volume 7, Issue 2 May 2017/ Iyyar-Sivan 5777 Southern New Jersey Region Hadassah, the Women s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. Presidents Message: A young man from Gaza transforms himself into a medical clown at Hadassah hospital. This is the story of...how A CLOWN WAS BORN. We think you will enjoy reading about it! After receiving treatment for a rare cancer in Israel and being uplifted during his painful hospital stay by medical clowns, 23-year-old Abdullah Abu Shaaban from Gaza decided he wanted to join the profession of medical clowning. I was sitting in my hospital bed the first time I met a medical clown, Mr. Abu Shaaban recalls. I didn t know that there were such people as clowns and thought that a crazy person had come into my room. I wondered how people were allowed to do such things in a hospital. It quickly became clear to him, however, that the clown was there to cheer him up. The clown pulled me out of my depression and brought joy into my life, he said. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be a clown. Mr. Abu Shaaban, lacking the financial resources to formally study clowning, resorted to developing his skills through YouTube videos and websites. Then, with the help of social media, he connected with American-Israeli documentary filmmaker Sasha Kuperstina, who was creating a documentary about clowning in Israel. She reached out to David Barashi at Hadassah hospital to explore the possibility of Mr. Abu Shaaban training with him. Mr. Barashi presented the idea to Prof. Eitan Kerem, head of the Pediatrics Division at Hadassah, who gave it his blessing. The plan: Mr. Abu Sheeban would come to Israel for four weeks to study under Mr. Barashi, and Ms. Kuperstina would film him for her documentary. We think this is one small step on the path to building a stronger relationship between people from two different worlds. This is one tiny example of the magic that takes place at Hadassah Hospital every day. Thanks to all of our members who work so hard to contribute to the successes big and small at HMO. Everything you need to know about activities and programs coming up are in this issue of Hamsa. Please read it and join us for as much as you can fit into your schedule. We look forward to seeing you.soon. Karen Hyman and Lynn Bender Co-Presidents 1

CARDS, TREES, AND CERTIFICATES Hadassah cards are for more than simchas and sympathy. We have cards for all occasions; births, birthdays, anniversaries, and get well. We also have a new blank card which can be customized. For example, Welcome to Stonebridge or Congratulations on Your Retirement. We also have lovely note cards. If you want to plant a tree in Israel, there is a certificate for that as well. The tree certificate is $18. If we address and mail your card, the cost is $5. If you wish to mail and address the cards yourself, the cost is 5 cards for $20. To order cards or certificates, please contact: Michele Greenfield 609-655-5193 mgreen8084@comcast.net Andrea Lasker 609-655-4069 aelasker@gmail.com No calls on Shabbat Please Celebrate your Simcha Become a Simcha Sponsor for our General Meetings Your donation will help defray the costs of our general meetings Contact Roberta Neutuch or Ilene Karp Refund Policy A wait list will be kept for all paid events that have limited space. A reservation that is cancelled will be filled by the next person on the wait list. Reimbursement will be made directly to you by the person who replaces you. We cannot refund your money if we are unable to fill your space. 2

Heads Up! Save These Dates May 1 - Monday - Visa Raffle deadline. Return to mailbox in Clubhouse sold and/or unsold. May 2 - Tuesday, 7:00pm - General Meeting - Female Spies presented by Traveling Stage Company May 3 - Wednesday - Bus trip to and tour of Temple Emanu-el. Registration in progress, contact Sheila Hertz: sheilahertz@yahoo.com or Karen Sulzman: kelzulz@gmail.com Proceeds to benefit HMO stem cell research. May 9 - Tuesday, 10:00am - Jewish Heritage Museum Lecture in Stonebridge Theater - The story of Jews in Monmouth County. Register by depositing a $5.00 check to Hadassah. Place in Hadassah mailbox. May 23 - Tuesday, 7:00pm - Membership Tea June 6 - Tuesday, 7:00pm - Book and Author event with Pam Jenoff. Desserts and coffee will be served. June 13 - Tuesday, Lunch and Learn" at Temple Anshei Roosevelt in Roosevelt, NJ. More information coming soon. June 22 - Thursday, 7:00pm - Book Discussion - The Orphan s Tale by Pam Jenoff. June 29 - Thursday, 7:00pm - Tzofim Concert 2017 at Monroe Township Senior Center - tickets will be sold at our May 2 general meeting. July 25 - Tuesday, 7:00pm - Summer Social August 15 - Tuesday, 7:00pm - Summer Girls Night Out October 3 - Tuesday, 7:00pm - General Meeting - Stephen Flatow Oct 29 - Sunday - Myrtle Wreath Luncheon and awards Ongoing Outreach Project: Knit Witz - New projects are being started. Contact Shirley Zuk, (hmzuk@aol.com ) if you would like to join the corps of knitters. Magazine Collections: to be dropped off May 7 - May 14, to benefit local nursing homes. Details coming. All General Meetings are held at the Monroe Township Senior Center, 12 Halsey Reed Road Hadassah members from all chapters are welcome to General Meetings, Non-Member Guest fee: $5.00 Study groups and certain events are for Stonebridge members only, except where noted 3

Membership News Barbara Levine and Helene Cohen Membership Co-Vice Presidents We are very happy to welcome all of our new Hadassah at Stonebridge members. They have become part of our chapter since the last quarterly publication of Hamsa. Our newest annual members include: Carole Lucks, Marcia Wesalo, Karen Hochren and Barbara Siegel. We have one new life member: Faith Weinstein. The following woman has upgraded to Life membership: Marlene Director. In addition, the following women have transferred from other chapters to our Stonebridge chapter: Harriet Berlowitz, Karen Blitz, Roberta Cohen, Judy Diamond, Audrey Markman, Michelle Millinger and Adrienne Weissman. We also have one new gifted member: Adena Blum We are extremely excited that our Hadassah at Stonebridge chapter continues to grow and welcome new members. We now have 365 members. We look forward to a membership tea on May 23rd. Mark your calendars for the annual Summer Social on July 25th at the Senior Center. Education News Barbara Nalitt and Judy Freilich Education Co-Vice Presidents In the interest of providing a wide range of educational programs, we are trying some new things this year. On Tuesday April 25th, we were delighted to host our first Yom Hashoah Program in the Stonebridge Clubhouse Ballroom. We had well over 200 in attendance. Many Hadassah members were there along with friends and spouses but we also welcomed many members of our community to this event. Miriam Gottesman Dobin was our guest speaker. As a 2nd generation Holocaust survivor she was raised in a unique family situation, and she spoke about how her family survived and was able to move forward. She shared from her book, I AM Because of You. Her talk was stimulating, and you could feel the emotion in the room grow as she spoke of the difficulties her mother, father and other family members experienced. We were honored to share the importance of Holocaust Remembrance Day with the Stonebridge Community and felt that it was truly a successful outreach effort. May We Never Forget. On April 27th, we held our book discussion on The Night, The Day by Andrew Kane. We were fortunate enough to have 3 houses in which we met. Our gracious hostesses were Eileen Adams, Ellen Parker Keller and Michele Greenfield. Our capable facilitators were Karen Sulzman, Roz Blinder and Terry Luxenberg. As always, the discussions were lively and close to 50 women attended. If you have never been a facilitator or hostess for Hadassah, please volunteer. We love the intimacy of our book discussion and can only keep this format, if we have volunteers! The next book discussion will be on The Orphan s Tale by Pam Jenoff. It will be held on June 22nd. 4

Programming/Outreach News Roberta Neutuch and Ilene Karp Programming/Outreach Co-Vice Presidents We are delighted that we had such a successful quarter for our General Meetings. Our February program featured Marian Gelber, RN, Cardiology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner for Women and Heart Health Month. This was followed in March with Prof. Maurice Mahler s presentation on Edgar Degas. For April, we invited back Larry Wolfert for his Jewish Folk Singers program. Upcoming General Meetings General Meetings are all held on the first Tuesday of the month, at 7 pm, at the Monroe Twp. Senior Center. The schedule is also included in Heads Up. May 2 - Female Spies presented by Traveling Stage Company June, July, August No General Meeting September Stay tuned! Sponsors of our General Meeting March Susan Bauer in honor of Bat Mitzvah of granddaughter, Sammy Bauer. Carol Cooper-Burke in honor of the Bat Mitzvah of granddaughters Hailey Cooper and Madyson Cooper Roberta Neutuch in honor of engagement of son Eric Neutuch to Helen Medina Judy Rubenstein in honor of Bat Mitzvah of granddaughter, Hallie Jacobson Cheryl Victor in honor of the birth of grandson, Liam Henry Peykar April Ellen Parker Keller in honor of Bat Mitzvah of granddaughter, Alexandra Bierman Barbara Solomon in honor of the birth of granddaughter Ava Riley, and engagement of son David to Rachel Berman Ongoing Outreach Projects These programs make a difference to so many people! Knit Witz - Shirley Zuk s group of knitters, affectionately known as Knit Witz, spends countless hours knitting baby hats and blankets for distribution to local hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and nursing facilities. Contact Shirley at hmzuk@aol.com to get involved. Jewish Family Services We collected a full carload of Passover food that was delivered to Jewish Family Services for distribution to the needy in our area. Volunteers were Cindy Block, Carol Kallman and Roberta Neutuch Magazine Collection Dates: May 7-14. Magazines are distributed to local nursing facilities. Magazines are to be no more than 3 months old. Drop off locations: Nancy Mayrowetz and Jane Butensky Shoe Collection Dates: April 23-30. Shoebox Recycling distributes gently worn shoes to men, women and children. Acceptable shoes include: athletic, casual, dress, work boots, soccer cleats, sandals, heels flats and loafers. Additionally, we will be compensated by Shoebox Recycling, raising funds for Hadassah! 5

Hospitality Thank you to the ladies who arrive early to our meetings to help set up, and who stayed late to help clean up. They include Cindy Block, Jane Butensky, Judy Diamond, Carol Kalman, Sandy Rothfarb, Maxine Stearn, and Audrey Tumpowsky. Celebrate your Mitzvah with your Hadassah Family What better way to celebrate your mitzvah than to sponsor a meeting! Your mitzvah will be announced at the meeting. It will be listed in Hamsa, and the mitzvah recipient will receive an acknowledgment of your sponsorship. The cost is $50, payable to Hadassah. To schedule your sponsorship contact Ilene Karp, Ilenekarp@gmail.com or Roberta Neutuch, neutuch@yahoo.com. You are welcome to join our committee, or just share your ideas. Committee Members: Joyce Bartick, Cindy Block, Jane Butensky, Anita Gore, Carol Kallman, Renee Leffler, Sylvia Lynn, Nancy Mayrowetz, Judy Rubenstein, Lynn Schutzberg, Karen Slater, Maxine Stearn, Ann Steinberg, Marion Weitz. Fundraising Sheila Hertz and Karen Sulzman Fundraising Co-Vice Presidents Winter Girls Night Out/Game Night February 28, 2017 - Co-Chaired by Jane Bloom and Joanne Redell. There were 97 attendees: 91 members and 6 guests. Members and guests enjoyed a light supper of wraps, salads and two hot dishes, served at four buffet stations. After supper, attendees played Mah Jongg, Canasta, Scabble, or Sequence in pre-arranged groups. A great time was had by all! Schlach Manot/Purim Baskets - Co-chaired by Joyce Gorsky and Barbara Sambol. The baskets were created, assembled and distributed by the committee. Each basket was filled with at least 10 goodies, a groger and a scroll identifying the holiday well-wishers. The Third Miriam Seder - Co-chaired by Susan Pomerantz and Iris Altschuler. It was a truly spectacular event! It was held at Temple B nai Tikvah, North Brunswick,NJ and officiated by Rabbi Adina Blum. New this time was a choir which was comprised of 8 Hadassah of Stonebridge members. There were 215 attendees. There were 2 Journals: an advertising journal which was comprised of advertisements from local businesses, and another Journal, Best Wishes from our residents which included the Jewels in their lives and Precious Pets (new this year). 6

In progress and Upcoming Events Visa Gift Card Raffle - In progress at this time. The deadline is May 1st, raffle books/checks are still being returned by our members. The drawing will take place at the 2017 Region Education Symposium Event on Wednesday, May 24th, at the Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township so stay tuned! The Shoe Collection for Recycling Project - Chaired by Renee Leffler. Shoe collection began Sunday, April 23rd and will continue until April 30th. This is a joint project of Fundraising and Outreach. The collection box is on Renee s porch as the truck will only pick up from one location. The flyer that was sent included a notation that future dates will be announced. Temple Emanu-El and Plaza Hotel Architectural Tours - The Temple Emanu-El tour is $39 and the Plaza Hotel tour is optional at $25. Sharon Cohen is chairing this event and proceeds will be going to HMO Stem Cell Research. This event will take place May 3rd and it s open to family and friends. There is time to walk and tour the neighborhoods of the Upper East Side, shop, have lunch on your own and be sure to check out the new Food Hall on the lower level of The Plaza Hotel even if you re not taking The Plaza Hotel tour. It s modeled after Harrod s Department Store in London. Book and Author Event with Pam Jenoff - June 6th at the Monroe Township Senior Center, Co-chaired by Gay Kassan and Andrea Mitzner. This event is $18 and is open to all, family and friends. Attendees will be treated to desserts and coffee afterwards. Pam Jenoff has authored many books: The Kommandant s Girl, an international best seller, The Diplomat s Wife, just to name a couple with her newest book, The Orphan s Tale. Tzofim Friendship Caravan Concert Tour 2017 - Thursday, June 29th at the Monroe Township Senior Center. This event is being presented in collaboration with Congregation Beit Shalom and Hadassah Chapters Alisa, Regency and Monroe. The Tzofim Friendship Caravan is a delegation of talented 17 year old scouts who bring you the spirit of Israel through song, dance, and stories. Tickets will be on sale at our May 2nd Hadassah General Meeting: Advance Sale $15 adults, $10 Seniors and Children; At the Door $20 adults, $15 Seniors and Children. For questions and information, please contact Karen Hyman. Summer Girls Night Out - Tuesday, August 15th. Co-Chaired by Ruth Fagin and Rena Kreisler. Something very special is being planned and will be at our Clubhouse Ballroom! Please keep the date open and stay tuned for more information! 7

Hadassah at Stonebridge Officers and Board Members January - December 2017 Co-Presidents Karen Hyman Lynn Bender Executive Vice President Patty Winetz Membership, Co-VPs Barbara Levine Helene Cohen Membership Committee Sharon Cohen, Michele Greenfield Fundraising, Co-VPs Sheila Hertz Karen Sulzman Fundraising Committee Audrey Tumpowsky, Joanne Redell, Jane Bloom, Susan Pomerantz, Iris Altschuler, Joyce Gorsky, Barbara Sambol, Diane Needleman, Sharon Cohen, Andi Mitzner, Rena Kreisler, Ruth Fagin, Edie Vigdor, Bea Grossberg, Gay Kassan Education and Study Groups, Co-VPs Barbara Nalitt Judy Freilich Education & Study Groups Committee Committees will be formed for each event as it occurs Programming/Outreach, Co-VPs Roberta Neutuch Ilene Karp Programs & Community Outreach Committee Cindy Block, Anita Gore, Carol Kallman, Carol Levine, Sylvia Lynn, Nancy Mayrowetz, Judy Rubenstein, Lynn Schutzberg, Karen Slater, Maxine Stearn, Ann Steinberg, Marion Weitz, Mollie Gedell, Sandy Rothfarb, Lynn Schutzberg, Audrey Tumpowsky Communications, Co-VPs Gloria Meyer Ellen Adelson Communications Committee Sharon Cohen Cards, Certificates & Trees Michele Greenfield Andrea Lasker Corresponding Secretary Bobbie Schwartzberg Co-Treasurers Lisa Fischer Sylvia Lynn Recording Secretary Jane Cutler Historian Irene Baden Past President Susan Pomerantz Hamsa Gloria Meyer Ellen Adelson Co-editors Board Members at Large Sharon Cohen, Bea Grossberg, Andi Mitzner, Edie Vigdor, Iris Altschuler, Rena Kreisler, Renee Leffler Founding Co-Presidents Emeriti Glenda Beller and Suzy Klein-Eisner HADASSAH, THE WOMEN'S ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA, INC.2015 2015 Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc. Hadassah is a registered trademark of Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc. 8

[ ] $15 a month [ ] $30 a month [ ] $ a month or [ ] quarterly [ ] once a year for [ ] $180 [ ] $360 [ ] $ payable by December 31st each year NAME AS IT APPEARS ON CREDIT CARD CREDIT CARD NUMBER EXPIRATION DATE Check enclosed (make payable to Hadassah) Charge my donation: MC Visa AmEx Discover I wish to donate Israel Bonds or stock or IRA distribution as payment for my Chai Society gift. Go to hadassah.org/dyd to read about doubling your donation by your company. Your chapter will receive goal credit. Please fill out form and mail to: Hadassah, Attn: Donor Services PO Box 1100 New York, NY 10268-1100 or call 800.928.0685 or email chaisociety@hadassah.org or donate online at hadassah.org/chaisociety NAME ADDRESS CITY/STATE/ZIP PHONE NO. EMAIL ADDRESS We welcome all members, Associates and Hadassah supporters to invest in the future of Israel and medicine by joining Chai Society. YES, I WANT TO JOIN HADASSAH S CHAI SOCIETY! I d like to support: [ ] Hadassah [ ] Medicine & Healthcare [ ] Medical Research [ ] Youth Aliyah [ ] Young Judaea Scholarships [ ] U.S. Initiatives [ ] Other SIGNATURE By checking one of the above monthly, quarterly or annual payment options, I agree that my credit card will continue to be charged each year as directed above and that this authorization for automatic debit remains in effect until I cancel or transfer my method of payment. I agree to notify Hadassah upon the expiration or cancellation of the above credit card and to supply Hadassah with updated credit card or other payment information. I understand that I may cancel the automatic renewal payment option at any time by contacting Hadassah Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc. 40 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005 www.hadassah.org 9