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JEWISH COMMUNITY
CENTER OF
LONG BEACH ISLAND
E-LETTER
December 15, 2023
3 Tevet 5784
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FOR THE BEST VIEWING OF THE SHABBAT REMINDER,
CLICK HERE
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THURSDAY NIGHT PJP PROGRAM 12/14 AT 8:30 PM:
“The Beginnings of Kabbalah”
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MOVIE AT THE LBI FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS AND SCIENCES
THURSDAY NITE 12/14
7:30 pm
Police presence will the there
"IRMA VOW" Caught in a German roundup to be used as a slave laborer, Polish nurse Irena Gut becomes a German army major's housekeeper during World War II. Irena risks her life to conceal a dozen Jews within the major's home.
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It’s that time of year again. We are lighting our Menorahs and recall the various miracles that God performed for our ancestors as they overcame the Greek army and rededicated the Temple. I love this time of year. I love the Menorah. I love the story. I love the songs. I love the latkes. Too often I love the latkes in excessive amounts.
Having acknowledged my immense adoration of the holiday traditions, something dawned on me as I was preforming the mitzvah of pondering the candles flickering on our Menorah. I am a bit nervous to report that I have an issue with the whole idea of the miracle(s).
Before you shout out “Blasphemy!”, hear me out.
My problem is borne of the fact that, more often than not, a miracle is required because something bad has happened or is happening. Look at the Hanukkah story. Israel is overrun by the Syrian Greeks and the Israelites are forced to convert. The Temple is defiled, and needs to be purified. The military and oil miracles only become necessary because of the sad state of affairs experienced by our ancestors.
Indeed, review the many miracles of our tradition and you will note that misery, or something resembling it, preceded each wondrous event. Redemption from Egypt occurs after centuries of slavery. The Red Sea splits only because the Egyptians have given chase. David slays Goliath, but he only must do so because the Israelites are in constant conflict with the Philistines.
It seems that the flip side of the occurrence of a miracle is the fact that the miracle was needed in the first place.
While I recognize the importance of acknowledging the miracles that happen (and I love celebrating them), I have a new thought. Perhaps we should be praying for a time when miracles are no longer needed. With that in mind, here is my prayer for this holiday season:
Dear God:
Who spoke and created the world.
May the time soon come when the world will not need You to perform miracles.
A time when the way it is, is as it should be.
A time of peace,
A time of love.
A time free of conflict.
May this time occur soon.
Amen.
We are each a light. Shine as bright as you can.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Hanukkah– Rabbi Michael S. Jay
| LIGHTING THE MENORAH AT THE JCC | |  |
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SHABBAT SHALOM
Shabbat Candle
Lighting time
Friday evening
December 15, 2023
4:40 PM
JOIN US FOR SERVICES
&
CELEBRATE THE BAR MIZVAH OF
MAX YUDMAN
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Caring, passionate, outgoing and empathetic are just a few words to describe Max Yudman. Max has had the honor of studying with Rabbi Jay and Mr. L for the past few years and is elated to showcase what he has learned when he makes is Bar Mitzvah on December 16th.
Max is a conscious student who has made a mark in his school career by being awarded the Upstander Award not once but twice. This award is only given to one student per month who show true leadership and respect for their teachers and peers. Max has a passion for helping others and would like to give back to the community by becoming a police officer.
Max is an avid athlete, he plays competitive soccer and lacrosse and wrestles for Barnegat Middle School. Max gives it his all both on and off the field.
The JCC of LBI has become a place where Max is able to feel at home and have a true understanding of what it means to be Jewish.
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Friday, December 15, 2023
SERVICES
6:30 PM
IN PERSON AND
ON ZOOM
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
FRIDAY NIGHT
Saturday,
December 16, 2023
9:00 AM
IN PERSON AND
ON ZOOM
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
SHABBAT
TORAH READING
Parashat Miketz
Genesis 41:1-44:17
Here is the Parshah
Miketz (“After”) follows Joseph as he interprets Pharaoh's dreams and rises to become second-in-command to Pharaoh. When Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt seeking food during a famine, Joseph accuses them of spying. He insists that they return with their youngest brother, Benjamin, and later plants a goblet in Benjamin’s bag.
HAFTORAH
I Kings 3:15-4:1
Here is the Haftorah
Oneg Shabbat & Kiddish sponsored by Ken & Jill Yudman in honor of Max's bar mitzvah
HAVDALLAH
5:15 PM
IN PERSON &
ON ZOOM
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
HAVDALLAH
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Sunday - Thursday
Ma'ariv Service
7:30 PM
Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to
join Zoom services:
MA'ARIV
Monday- Friday
Shacharit Service
8:15 AM
Sunday at 9:00 AM
Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to
join Zoom services:
SHACHARIT
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THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITIES
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17
Pickleball
10:00 AM
PJP Program
“Jewish Greece”
1:00 PM
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19
Pickleball
3:00 PM Beginners Session
4:00 PM Regular Play
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20
Canasta & Mah Jongg
12:30 PM
Rabbi's Class
"The Case for Israel"
7:30 PM following minyan
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21
Pickleball
10:00 AM
Torah Study with the Rabbi
11:00 AM
Intermediate Hebrew with Ira
2:00 PM
WAX Book Discussion
4:00 PM
FRIDAY DECEMBER 22
Studying the Prophets
9:00 AM
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PICKLEBALL
SUNDAY 10:00 AM
TUESDAY 3:00 PM
THURSDAY 10:00 AM
Reminder: Pickleball for members only!
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MAH JONGG & CANASTA
WEDNESDAYS
12:30 PM TO 4:00 PM
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PJP
Join us for our 2nd 3-Part Series on Jewish Hollywood
Funny Girls Part 2
Jan 18, 2024 08:30 PM
Those Were the Days
Feb 22, 2024 08:30 PM
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PJP Program
“The Beginnings of Kabbalah”
Thursday, December 14
8:30 PM
Bar Mitzvah of Max Yudman
Saturday, December 16
9:00 AM
PJP Program
“Jewish Greece”
Sunday, December 17
1:00 PM
WAX Book Discussion
Thursday, December 21
4:00 PM
WAX Brunch
39 Degrees North
Friday, December 22
11:00 AM
New Year's Eve Party
Saturday, December 31, 2023
8:30 PM
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January Shabbat Dinner
Friday, January 5
6:30 PM
Successful Retirement & Successful Aging with Bernard Hershenberg
Sunday, January 7
12:30 PM
PJP Program
"Jewish Egypt"
Sunday, January 7
1:00 PM
Program video will be available
WAX Brunch
Place TBD
Friday, January 12
WAX Book Discussion
Thursday, Jamuary 18
4:00 PM
Learn Signing
Friday, January 19
10:00 AM
Cholentfest
Saturday, January 20
11:30 AM
following services
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LET'S BRING IN THE NEW YEAR TOGETHER
AT THE JCC OF LBI
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RIGHT NOW THE PAY ON LINE IS NOT WORKING.
PLEASE RESPOND TO THE BUTTON ABOVE
THAT YOU WILL BE ATTENDING.
SEND YOUR CHECK TO:
JCC OF LBI
2411 LONG BEACH BLVD.
SPRAY BEACH, NJ 08008.
MARK IT NYE
Questions? Call Diane Buskirk
856-952-5940
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JCC WOMEN’S AUXILIARY: BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION
THURSDAYS AT 4:00 PM
NEXT BOOK REVIEW MEETING
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THURSDAY, December 21th at 4:00 pm NEW DATE
The Women of Rothschild: The Untold Story of the World’s Most Famous Dynasty
By: Natalie Livingstone
From the East End of London to the Eastern seaboard of the United States, from Spitalfields to Scottish castles, from Bletchley Park to Buchenwald, and from the Vatican to Palestine, Natalie Livingstone follows the extraordinary lives of the Rothschild women from the dawn of the nineteenth century to the early years of the twenty-first. As Jews in a Christian society and women in a deeply patriarchal family, they were outsiders. Excluded from the family bank, they forged their own distinct dynasty of daughters and nieces, mothers and aunts. They became influential hostesses and talented diplomats, choreographing electoral campaigns, advising prime ministers, advocating for social reform, and trading on the stock exchange. Rothschild women helped bring down ghetto walls in early nineteenth-century Frankfurt, inspired some of the most remarkable cultural movements of the Victorian period, and in the mid-twentieth century burst into America, where they patronized Thelonious Monk and drag-raced through Manhattan with Miles Davis. Absorbing and compulsive, The Women of Rothschild gives voice to the complicated, privileged, and gifted women whose vision and tenacity shaped history.
NEXT BOOK
Thursday, January 18th at 4:00 pm
Discussion Leader: TBA
How to Fight Anti-Semitism by Bari Weiss
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Thanks to our membership in the PJP we are able to enjoy a variety of programs. Here are the new programming lists. No need to register in advance. | |
PJP Series "What Jews Think”
2023-2024
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Thursday, December 14 @ 8:30 PM
“The Beginnings of Kabbalah” examines the fundamental theological questions that gave rise to the tradition of Jewish texts and ideas known as Kabbalah. The program historically locates Kabbalah’s origins in Medieval Europe and considers how Kabbalah arose, in part, as a response to philosophical conceptions of the divine. The program will then explore some early Kabbalistic texts to understand how Kabbalists understood both the nature of divinity and the relationship between G-d and the world with a focus on humanity’s place therein.
Brian Hillman is an assistant professor in the department of philosophy and religious studies at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. He earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2021. His research focuses on modern Jewish thought and Kabbalah. In addition to being the managing editor of the Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, his writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Jewish Studies Quarterly, Religious Studies Review, and The Jewish Book Council.
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PJP Travel Programs
2023-2024
Sunday, December 17 @ 1:00 PM
“Jewish Greece” with Evan Kapros Greece is full of history, and this is reflected in the history of Greek Jewry, a unique combination of Sephardic, Ashkenazi, and Romaniote communities with roots in Spain, the Balkans, and going back all the way to the Roman Empire. We will discover this rich history, and will talk about the social perceptions prevalent in contemporary Greek society concerning Jewish identities. Finally, no good discussion about Greek Jewry can be conducted without talking about the language, food, and music of the community!
Evan Kapros was born in Greece, while later he moved to Ireland. Right now he lives in Barcelona, where he is a volunteer at Mozaika. When in Greece, Evan was involved with groups for refugee rights and against antisemitism, and in Ireland he was a member of the Education Committee of the Irish Jewish Museum.
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Join us for our 2nd 3-Part Series on Jewish Hollywood
FUTURE PROGRAMS
Funny Girls Part 2 - Jan 18, 2024 - 8:30 PM
Those Were the Days - Feb 22, 2024 - 8:30 PM
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LAST CALL FOR PAVER ORDERS | |
If you would like to order a paver for this 2023 installation, please fill out the form ( click below ) and return it to the JCC office with payment. | |
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The following names will be read by the Rabbi on Friday evening:
Louis Bass*
Linda Marlene Herman
Jacob Stern
Naomi Antonoff
David Fineberg
Jerry Green*
Henry Herzig
Samuel Lisagor*
Mary Berkowitz
Larry Boxer
Marilyn Morgenthal*
Samuel Rosenberg
Lena Scheer
Stuart D. Snyder
Sam Telles
Esther Ruta Mirrer*
Vernon Rosenberg*
Rosie Starr*
Rose Kleinfeld
Sarah Mizrahi
Robert Ian Stevens*
Jay Unger
Susan Blumenfield*
Anne Galer
William Gordon
Samuel Horowitz*
Ann Kamler
Helene Lowenthal
Herman Marcus
Becky Reiff*
We encourage you to join us on the day of your loved one’s yahrzeit. In the morning, the service is about ½ hour beginning at 8:15 and in the evening at 7:30 until about 7:45. Rabbi will be glad to say the traditional El Malei Rachamim prayer for you, which is recited during the funeral, going up to the grave of the departed, Yizkor remembrance day and other occasions on which the memory of the dead is recalled. You are also welcome to share with the minyan some special memories of your loved one.
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Philip Rosenzweig
December 16
Stanley Spitzer
December 16
Jill Berson
December 20
Elly Rosenthal
December 20
Irwin Sablosky
December 21
Bernard Barrish
December 22
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David & Viki Pashman
December 21
55th Anniversary
Frank & Renee Ward
December 21
37th Anniversary
Mitchell & Arlene Frumkin
December 22
44th Anniversary
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SHARE YOUR NEWS
AND PICTURES
CONTACT:
rvalen1963@aol.com
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MEET THE SOUP TROOP: Noralyn Carroll, Irene Babst and new member Robin Genna. They made soup in the JCC kitchen to be given to our members who are not feeling well. Contact Irene or Noralyn if you or if you know of a member who needs some Jewish penicillin. Local delivery only! | | |
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CARING COMMITTEE
This committee acts as a support system for congregation members facing illness and other personal situations that need to be addressed.
Please contact Chairperson,
Debby Schweighardt
if you are in need of assistance or if you know of a JCC member that needs our help.
973-634-5349
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YOU CAN NOW FILL OUT A GIVING FORM AND PAY ON LINE IN ONE SIMPLE PROCESS.
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GIVING OPPORTUNITIES
PAVERS
Inscribe a paver at the front entrance to the building
8" X 4", 8" X 8" and 12" X 12"
SEE UPDATED ORDER FORM:
Become a permanent part of the JCC landscape.
Purchase a personalized paving stone
in honor of your family or in memory of a loved one.
Please contact Diane Hoffman
with your order or with any questions:
PRAYER BOOKS
There are still High Holiday Prayer Books and Chumashim available to be purchased in memory or honor of someone or something. The cost of a Prayer Book is $72 each and $120 for an Eitz Hayim Chumash. The donation includes an affirmation sticker in the book and an acknowledgement letter or letters.
TRIBUTES
SEND ONE OF OUR TRIBUTES IN HONOR OR IN MEMORY OF
TREE OF LIFE
Add a leaf (leaves) to our beautiful Tree of Life located in the Social Hall. See the order form here: TREE OF LIFE
Bronze Leaf $90
Silver Leaf $126
Gold :Leaf $180
ENDOWMENT FUND
Herb and Selma z”l Shapiro established the first individual Endowment Fund in memory of his father, as part of the JCC’s Endowment Fund portfolio.
Since then, three additional individual Endowment Funds have been established. Other members are encouraged to also provide for the future of our JCC by establishing similar funds. Please consider adding to this number.
A donation of at least $50,000 to the endowment fund will allow the donor to name one of the funds as the donor wishes. All such named funds will be joined together to be part of the Endowment Fund portfolio.
Endowment funds are necessary to ensure the continuation and well being of our congregation. All members are encouraged to help this important effort by contributing to this portfolio, whether as a specific named individual fund, or as a general donation. The donation can be spread over one, two, or three years, and can be paid via check, donation of appreciated stock, wills, or from the RMD of your IRA or 401K account. Your gift to the fund can be sent to the JCC Office. Please mark your check accordingly.
YAHRZEIT PLAQUES
Space is available for memorial plaques on the yahrzeit boards in the Sanctuary.
Here is the order form:
KOL HAKAVOD
Please consider being a part of this campaign to supplement the clergy needs of our congregation. This is a separate, voluntary commitment and is additional to our low annual dues obligation. HERE IS THE LINK TO BRING UP THE DONATION FORM KOL HAKAVOD
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2023 MEMBERSHIP FORMS
Your support is so important to the continued success of the JCC.
Here is form for renewal:
And if you have been reading our Shabbat Reminder and other communications and have not yet joined our congregation, here is the new member form:
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JCC FUNDS
Your gift to the JCC supports our Clergy, our Congregation and the Community.
ENDOWMENT FUND
This fund was established to assure the continuity of our JCC, and our ability to continue providing a full-service congregation to serve the Jewish people of the area. While a donation of any amount is encouraged, a donation of at least $50,000 allows the donor to name a special or specific Endowment Fund in memory or honor of a specific person event, or family.
GENERAL FUND
Donations to this fund are not earmarked but placed in the general administrative account. Donations to this fund can be in honor or memory of a person, event, or family.
KOL HAKAVOD FUND
Donations to this campaign supplement the clergy needs of our congregation.
RABBI’S DISCRETIONARY FUND
This fund, managed by the rabbi, allows donors to enable the rabbi to do the work of tzedakah in response to the needs of individuals, organizations and the community.
ZENA & JERRY JAY KIDDISH FUND
The Zena and Jerry Jay Kiddush Fund was established in memory of Rabbi Jay's parents to help provide funds for our Saturday morning kiddushes.
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JCC LEADERSHIP
OFFICERS
President- Phil Rosenzweig
1ST Vice President-Sherry Fruchterman
2ND Vice President-Diane Hoffman
3RD Vice President- Rose Valentine
Treasurer- Ira Morgenthal
Secretary- Cliff Denker
Immediate Past President -Michael Babst
BOARD MEMBERS
Howard Babbitt
Diane Buskirk
Mitch Frumkin
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Jon Geier
Paul Levine
Ken Podos
Terri Robinovitz
David Shatz
Bonni Rubin-Sugarman
WOMEN'S AUXILIARY
President - Diane Buskirk
Co-Vice President - Noralyn Carroll
Co-Vice President - Jill Denker
Treasurer - Suzy Geier
Secretary - Joanne Babbitt
Immediate Past President - Irene Babst
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