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OF THE SHABBAT REMINDER

OH CHANUKAH, HANUKAH, HANNUKA, OH

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

FIRST NIGHT DECEMBER 25, 2024

24 KISLEV 5785

LIGHTING YOUR MENORAH

On the first of Hanukkah’s eight nights, only two candles are placed in the Hanukkah menorah: the shamash, or “helper” candle, which has its own designated spot (usually in the center), and another candle that designates it is the first night. The first night’s candle is placed in the right-most spot. Each night, another candle is added so that on the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, all nine candles (the shamash plus eight others) are lit.

To complete the ritual on all eight nights with one menorah, you will need a total of 44 candles per menorah. Most boxes of Hanukkah candles contain 45.

The candles are placed in the menorah from right to left (just as Hebrew is written from right to left), but are lit from left to right. The blessings are said before the candles are lit.

In Ashkenazi communities, the shamash candle is the first one lit, and it is used to light the others, starting with the left-most one. (Think of it as lighting the candle representing the current night first.) In Sephardi communities, an extra candle — not part of the menorah — is used to light the candles that represent the nights, and then the shamash is lit last and the extra candle used for lighting is blown out.

When to Light

Hanukkah candles are lit after sundown, when it is dark. But there is one exception. Since Hanukkah lasts for eight nights, the holiday will inevitably overlap with Shabbat at least once. Lighting a fire during Shabbat is forbidden according to Jewish law, so there are slight adjustments to Hanukkah candle lighting on both Friday and Saturday nights. According to Jewish law, the menorah should be lit before the Shabbat candles on Friday evening while it is still light out. As for Saturday night, the candles are lit after the sun goes down and Shabbat has ended, but there are differing opinions regarding whether the menorah should be lit before or after the havdalah rituals are completed.

The Blessings

Before lighting the candles (but after placing them in the menorah), it is traditional to recite three blessings on the first night and then two on every night thereafter.

Blessing #1

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִידְשָׁנו בְּמִצוֹתָיו וְצִיוָּנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל חַנֻכָה

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadlik ner shel Hanukkah.

Praised are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who made us holy through your commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah lights.

Blessing #2

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁעָשָׂה נִסִּים לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה

Baruch atah, Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, she-asah nisim la’avoteinu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh.

Praised are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who performed wondrous deeds for our ancestors in those ancient days at this season.

Blessing #3: Shehechiyanu (First Night Only)

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָּנוּ, וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיָּענוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה

Baruch atah Adonai, elohenu melech ha’olam, shehecheyanu, v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu lazman hazeh

Praised are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has given us life and sustained us and enabled us to reach this season.

My Jewish Learning

Watch a Chanukah parady from Wicked

HANUKKAH DEVILED EGGS

Jamie Geller says "We call these Hanukkah deviled eggs because we fried them" 

Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• ½ cup flour
• 1 egg, lightly 
• Extra virgin olive oil, for frying
• ¾ cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons Caesar dressing
• Garnish: paprika and chives 

Preparation

1. Hard boil 8 eggs, peel shell, and slice eggs in half. 

2. Remove egg yolks, place in a small bowl, and set aside. 

3. Dredge egg white halves in flour, then beaten eggs, and then bread crumbs. 

4. Heat evoo in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, fry egg halves for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until golden brown. 

5. Combine dressing with reserved egg yolks. Place egg mixture in a piping bag and pipe into fried egg halves, or spoon mixture into halves. Garnish with paprika and chives.

Jamie Geller Test Kitchens

Dec 19, 2019

A-STUTE SAYINGS from Stu Lehrer

A new column of Jewish Trivia

Why is the cabinet in which Torahs in the Synagogue are kept called an Ark?

It is reminiscent of when the Children of Israel kept the Ten Commandments in what was called the Ark of the Covenant carried by the Levites – If you think about it, that Ark was as if it was a ship navigated and steered by the Levites till they reached the Promise Land – Since our Torah is the modern day equivalent of the Ten Commandments and thus making them Holy, we call the sacred armoire that holds them the אֲרוֹן קׄדֶש the Aron Kodesh: Holy Ark. This, though is not to confused with the vessel that Noah, his family, and the animals were confined to during the Great Flood – That Ark in Hebrew is identified as a תֵּיבָה [‘Tay’vah’]

JCC WOMEN’S AUXILIARY: BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION

 WEDNESDAYS AT 4:00 PM

NEXT BOOK REVIEW MEETING

NEXT BOOK REVIEW MEETING

Wednesday, January 22^nd at 4:00 pm

Discussion Leader: TBA

Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant



Yona Stern has traveled from New York to Israel to make amends with her estranged sister, a stoic ideologue and mother of five who has dedicated herself to the radical West Bank settlement cause. Yona’s personal life resembles nothing of her sister’s, but it isn’t politics that drove the two apart.

Now a respected Jerusalem Talmud teacher, Mark Greenglass was once a drug dealer saved by an eleventh-hour turn to Orthodox Judaism. But for reasons he can’t understand, he’s lost his once fervent religious passion. Is he through with God? Is God through with him?

Enter Aaron Blinder, a year-abroad dropout with a history of failure whose famous father endlessly―some say obsessively―mines the Holocaust for his best-selling, melodramatic novels. Desperate for approval, Aaron finds a home on the violent fringe of Israeli society, with unforeseen and devastating consequences.

In a sweeping, beautifully written story, Joan Leegant, winner of the PEN New England Book Award and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, weaves together three lives caught in the grip of a volatile and demanding faith. Emotionally wrenching and unmistakably timely, Wherever You Go shines a light on one of the most disturbing elements in Israeli society: Jewish extremist groups and their threat to the modern, democratic state. This is a stunningly prescient novel.

IF YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN THIS NEW YEAR'S EVE, WE WELCOME ALL SINGLE FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO HELP TO MAKE UP A TABLE.

PLEASE CONTACT DIANE BUSKIRK.

dianebuskirk@yahoo.com

PAYMENT INFORMATION

You can send in your check to the JCC office

2411 Long Beach Blvd., Spray Beach, NJ 08008

or

Make your payment on the JCC Website.

See button below.

Scroll to the bottom of the page on the Giving Opportunties page. Fill out the form with your information and type in under Donation Details, Other Reason box "NYE Party".

For those who missed Thursday Night's Eretz Yisrael program, "The Political Dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" with Nadav Shelef, you will find the recording link below.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK

Passcode: 3H#9u$&X



The JCC section at Crescent Memorial Park is available for sales. Please contact Bonni Rubin-Sugarman at 609-417-7148.

We are very excited to add to the WAX Gift Shop items from local merchants and artisans. Stop in to look and buy one (or more) of these beautiful pieces for your home, as a gift or just for yourself. Here is a sample of some of our new products. The gift shop is open during office hours M-F 10 - 2.

New item in the Gift Shop COASTAL COLORS COLLECTION OF MEZZUZAHS. Great Chanukah gift or for someone moving into a new home.

Eileen Jacobs, Potter

Seacrest Designs

Lavina Haven Soy Candles and

Essential Oil Soaps

Mezzuzahs

Resin Bowls and Candlesticks by Seacrest Designs

CONGREGATION NEWS

MISHABERACH LIST

As we do every year, the names for healing on the current Mishaberah list will be removed as we start a fresh list on January 1. Please notify the office jccoflbi@gmail.com if you want to have a name included. If circumstances change for this person please notify the office. THANK YOU.

SPEEDY RECOVERY

TERRI ROBINOVITZ

reovering from knee surgery

SHARE YOUR NEWS

AND PICTURES

CONTACT: 

rvalen1963@aol.com

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 

YOU CAN NOW FILL OUT A GIVING FORM AND PAY ON LINE IN ONE SIMPLE PROCESS.

Go to jccoflbi.org - Giving/Pay

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:

PAVER 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:

dihoff1@aol.com

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.

See Order form here: Prayer Book

TRIBUTES

SEND ONE OF OUR TRIBUTES IN HONOR OR IN MEMORY OF

See order form here: TRIBUTES

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: 

YAHRZEIT

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

2024 MEMBERSHIP FORMS

Your support is so important to the continued success of the JCC.

Here is form for renewal:

RENEW NOW

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:

JOIN NOW