Tu BiShvat or the "New Year of the Trees" is Jewish Arbor Day. The holiday is observed on the 15th (tu) of the Hebrew month of Shvat. Scholars believe that originally Tu BiShvat was an agricultural festival, marking the emergence of spring. In the 17th century, Kabbalists created a ritual for Tu BiShvat that is similar to a Passover seder. Today, many Jews hold a modern version of the Tu BiShvat seder each year. The holiday also has become a tree-planting festival in Israel, in which Israelis and Jews around the world plant trees in honor or in memory of loved ones and friends.

https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/tu-bishvat

https://reformjudaism.org/tu-bishvat-history

https://reformjudaism.org/recipe-search?keys=Tu%20Bishvat&field_tags_target_id=All

Landscaping (Backyard) Project, Covid-19 resources

Not to give too much away if you have yet to see it, the movie begins with a young boy taken to The Greatest Show on Earth by his parents, one a scientist who tells him how still images going by at 24 per second turns into a “moving picture” that fools the brain, and the other an artist who tells him about how movies let us dream and reimagine our world. The train crash in the movie traumatizes him, until he gets a train set for Hanukkah that allows him to recreate the crash and start making films himself.

The Sisterhood book club meets monthly on the second Monday of each month at 1:30 PM. We read books that are intellectually stimulating and centered on Jewish values - social consciousness, strength of character, ethical lifestyle and historical significance. All Sisterhood members are welcome. Books are selected at the beginning of the year and monthly gatherings are led by the person who volunteers to host that month.

The discussion will take place at the NCJCC and will be facilitated by Judy Silberman. We will gather at 1:30 p.m. and the discussion will take place from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Please rsvp to Judy at judysca303@gmail.com or (530) 798-0385. 

Lisa Shliff will be the guest speaker at our February Sisterhood meeting. It will be interesting to read and discuss her book in January and then hear Lisa speak about her book and answer any of our questions.

More details to follow in the Schmooze.

NCJCC Facilities

Our JCC continues to get better and better with your help. We’ve completed some projects, have others underway and have future projects we hope to do with future donations.

We recently received a generous anonymous donation for the side concrete walkway and installation was completed a few weeks ago. We used some of our backyard funds to extend the fence along the new walkway. We are extremely grateful to our anonymous donor for the many generous donations over the years.

The backyard continues to look beautiful thanks to the ongoing efforts of Ralph Remick. He maintains our landscaping and he recently fixed the rear access gate and permanently installed our tool shed. Una Kobrin and her helper completed the installation of the Star of David shaped memorial garden. Thank you, Una, for your large contribution to this new special place. A memorial brick walkway will lead to the memorial garden and bricks will be engraved in memory of loved ones. Information on sponsoring a rose bush or brick in memory of a loved one will be forthcoming.

A donation by Carolyn Weisswasser’s father enabled us to purchase the gazebo structure for our pavilion and we are currently seeking help installing it and are looking for recommendations for an experienced handyman or contractor with a couple days available to do the job. Please contact Mya Russell to discuss. Thank you, David Siegal, for your generous donation.

The plaques for the tool shed, Yardena Bobys garden bench, gazebo and Waxman sculpture are in and will be installed soon. If anyone has an hour or two to spare to install them, please contact Mya. The lawn is looking a bit thirsty these days due to the city’s requirement to cut back on water use combined with the extensive heat waves of the summer, but our landscaper has ensured us that it will rejuvenate quickly with the onset of the rainy season.

Jan Brenner donated to our sukkah beautification, and we were able to purchase outdoor curtain rods and curtains for the sukkah. Gordon Mann recently installed the curtain rods, but the beautiful new curtains are missing. For Sukkot, the Sunday school improvised and decorated the sukkah beautifully. If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of the brand new, still in package outdoor curtains, please contact Mya Russell. Our new wheelbarrow has also gone missing, so if anyone borrowed it, please return it promptly.

The new fencing needs to be stained, as does the sukkah, rear deck and ramp and play structure and playhouse. The play structure and playhouse also need some TLC with bolt tightening and minor repairs. We need a crew of volunteers to help with this maintenance. If you can make a little time for any of these, please contact Gordan Mann of the Men’s Club.

The bee boxes in the neighbor’s yard along the new side fence are active with honeybees this time of year, so if you have a bee allergy, please enter the yard through the building. We do keep Benadryl and an Epi-Pen with our first aid kit in the kitchen.

Garrett Eckerling has purchased an AED (automated external defibrillator) for our JCC and it will be mounted in a prominent location for use in case of emergency. We will be organizing a training session for how and when to use an AED and we encourage everyone to attend.

A foul smell was detected near one of the classrooms early in the summer. We had the facility inspected and we are happy to report that there was no evidence of any current pests, just a forgotten school project that once tossed eliminated the odor. We did receive confirmation that our previous pest control measures had prevented new issues and are thankful to the helpful school project! Recently, some insulation has come up through our floor vents and we will be having an inspection of our ductwork soon. Pests were just ruled out a few months ago, so we expect some other source of damage to the ductwork, but we shall see.

Some other minor repairs such as a loose stair banister and lightbulb replacement were made over the summer. If you notice anything needing attention or if you have a little time to help with minor maintenance, please let Mya Russell know. Every contribution is appreciated.

As many have pointed out over the years, our outdated brass chandeliers and sconces in the sanctuary stand out in stark contrast to our gorgeous contemporary bima. Mya Russell has searched for newer LED light fixtures which will use less energy and enhance the bima while tying together the other design elements of the sanctuary such as our Sh’ma wall sculpture with the bima. There are 6 chandeliers and 4 wall sconces that would need replacing to update the sanctuary. If anyone feels inspired to make a large, lasting contribution to our JCC, this would be an impactful donation. Please speak to Mya or another board member if you feel inspired to contribute towards this.

As most of you have noticed, the handicap accessible ramp to the social hall is currently out of service due to age deterioration. Replacing the ramp requires a full overhaul of the front entry to meet current ADA and city requirements. We are currently seeking a security grant to better protect our facility from those with malicious intent. If awarded the grant, we will make upgrades to the exterior lighting, security cameras and front and side entry and we are hopeful that the grant will provide enough funding to be able to incorporate the handicap accessibility to the building for faster egress. Thank you to Garrett Eckerling and Iola Gold for working on this grant application. Let’s all hope the grant is awarded.

Our facility is an extension of our community, and it provides the physical space for us to gather as a Jewish community.  As members of our community, we all play an important role in making our JCC great. Some give with their time, others with money and many with joy and we value everyone’s contributions.