|
JEWISH COMMUNITY
CENTER OF
LONG BEACH ISLAND
E-LETTER
December 8, 2023
25 Kislev 5784
| |
|
|
FOR THE BEST VIEWING OF THE SHABBAT REMINDER,
CLICK HERE
| | |
|
|
Don't forget to replace your front door light bulb with a blue one in honor of Chanukah and in support of Israel.
Please send any pictures of your decorations or celebrations to be published next week.
| |
|
|
ONE MORE CHANUKAH RECIPE
CHEESY STUFFED LATKES
| |
JCC COMMUNITY CANDLE LIGHTING
| | |
|
SATURDAY EVENING
DECEMBER 9 AT 4:45 PM
FOLLOWED BY
HAVDALLAH
DONUTS & HOT CHOCOLATE
| | |
 | |
Being Light
After we light the Hanukkia (The Hanukkah Menorah) we sing “Haneirot Hallahlu”. The poem, gleaned from a passage in the Talmud, reads as follows:
We light these lights
Because of the miracles and wonders,
Deliverances and victories
You performed for our ancestors in those days, at this season, through Your holy priests.
Throughout the eight days of Hanukkah
These lights are holy
And we are not permitted
To make any other use of them,
Except to look at them,
That we may give thanks and praise to Your great name
For Your miracles, Your wonders and Your deliverances.
The Hebrew is poetically beautiful; the words are instructive in nature. The poem is broad in its scope. “We” refers to “us” in the present tense. “You” refers to God, Who performs miracles. “Ancestors” refers to those who came before us. “At this season” is intended, in some way, to inform us that the miracles and wonders are continuous. Thus, the song contains references to Present, Past, and Future, together with God, Who transcends time.
The light given by the Menorah is not to be used for utilitarian purposes. The Hymn begs us to be contemplative in the Menorah’s glow. The flickering candles transport us to moments of miracle.
Hanukkah is a celebration of the Maccabees’ miraculous victory over the Greek army. However, when we stare into the candles we do not have to limit ourselves to that awesome moment in (Jewish) history. Use the candles to be conveyed to your own miracles. Conjure up a great sports victory; dream about your first car; ponder the birth of a child; think of a moment of personal triumph; summon a time of transcendent humility; or recall a moment of unfettered love.
The candles’ gentle undulation beckons us to take this journey.
But don’t consider only past miracles. Use the glow to revel in your hopes and dreams. Find them in the flames. Seek your desired future in that space between the flame and the wick. Create the poetry that will be your life in the yellowish shimmer rising from the wax.
In this way, the Hanukkia becomes a connective portal between our past, present, and future. In its glow, we shift from what was, to what is, to what might be.
There is an important, piece to the Hanukkah puzzle. Each of us should try to be the Shamash, the candle that lights all of the other candles . I first saw this concept on Rabbi David Wolpe’s Facebook page. “BE THE SHAMASH”! What a poignant message it is.
While each candle plays a role in our visual and visionary play, it is the Shamash that sets the memory and hope in motion. It is the Shamash that assures that past, present, and future are bound together. It is the Shamash that has the vision, foresight, and the energy needed to light all of the other candles. It is the Shamash that brings them from darkness to light.
But the other candles are not simply waiting to being ignited. They are in position to be lit. They are waiting for the right time to bring light to the world, and they know that the more of them that get lit, the brighter the world will be.
We are living in near-cataclysmic times. There is a battlefield in Gaza and Israel is there and our brothers and sisters are suffering in many ways in their attempt to eradicate evil. But there is, sadly, also a war being waged against the Jewish people in the States and throughout the world. It will take many Shamashim to do the lighting, and many candles to be lit, to battle the darkness surrounding us.
Our tradition teaches us that we are to be an “Ohr LaGoyim”, a light to the nations. Despite what despicable people might say, we are the glimmer of hope in a darkened world. We sing “Haneirot Hallalu”, but we shouldn’t just light the lights. We need to be the light.
Chag Urim Sameach (Happy Holiday of Lights) – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
| |  |
|
SHABBAT SHALOM
Shabbat Candle
Lighting time
Friday evening
December 8, 2023
4:15 PM
Shabbat Mevarchim Chodesh Tevet
The Shabbat before the start of a Jewish month
Friday, December 8, 2023
SERVICES
6:30 PM
On Zoom ONLY
| |
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
FRIDAY NIGHT
Saturday,
December 9, 2023
9:00 AM
In Person and on Zoom
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
SHABBAT
TORAH READING
Parashat Vayeshev
Genesis 37:1-40:23; Numbers 7:18-23
Here is the Genesis Parshah
Here is the Numbers Parshah
Vayeshev (“He Settled”) begins the story of Joseph, describing his rivalry with his brothers, slavery in Egypt, and imprisonment after his master’s wife frames him in response to Joseph’s refusal of her advances. It also contains the story of Tamar, her husbands, and her father-in-law, Judah.
HAFTORAH
Zechariah 2:14-4:7
Here is the Haftorah
COMMUNITY CANDLE LIGHTING FOLOWED BY
HAVDALLAH
4:45 PM
IN PERSON &
ON ZOOM
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
HAVDALLAH
|  | |
JOIN US ON ZOOM EACH CHANUKAH NIGHT TO LIGHT YOUR MENORAH
7:30 PM
Use the link below for Ma'Ariv
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
| | |
|
NEW FRIDAY NIGHT SCHEDULE
December - April
FRIDAY SERVICES WILL BE AT
6:30 PM on ZOOM ONLY
with exceptions:
12/15/23
and the
First Friday of the Month
Shabbat Dinner followed by Services
6:30/7:30 PM
IN PERSON AND ON ZOOM
1/5/24
2/2/24
3/1/24
4/5/24
| |
|
A great time was had at the December Chanukah Shabbat Dinner. Lighting the Shabbat candles together, singing Chanukah songs, a delicious dinner of three kinds of salmon, latkes, kasha varnishkes, donuts, cheese cake and a wonderful feeling of joy being with the JCC of LBI family. Thank you to Rose Valentine, board member in charge of organizing the dinner, and our wonderful chefs: Joyce Levine (salmon), Suzy Geier (latkes), Eve Lehrer (kasha). Next Shabbat Dinner is January 5.
| |
|
RABBI'S CLASSES
MONDAY - 10:00 AM
"Choosing Hope" by David Arnow.
(starting date TBA)
WEDNESDAY - 7:30 PM following minyan
Studying "The Case for Israel" by Alan Dershowitz
THURSDAY 11:00 AM
Torah Study
Study of the weekly Torah portion.
FRIDAY 9:00 AM after morning minyan
The Prophets
| |
|
THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITIES
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10
Pickleball
10:00 AM
*******
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12
Pickleball
3:00 PM Beginners Session
4:00 PM Regular Play
******
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13
Canasta & Mah Jongg
12:30 PM
Rabbi's Class
"The Case for Israel"
7:30 PM following minyan
**********
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14
Pickleball
10:00 AM
Torah Study with the Rabbi
11:00 AM
Intermediate Hebrew with Ira
2:00 PM
PJP Program
“The Beginnings of Kabbalah”
8:30 PM
FRIDAY DECEMBER 15
Studying the Prophets
9:00 AM
| |
|
PICKLEBALL
SUNDAY 10:00 AM
TUESDAY 3:00 PM
THURSDAY 10:00 AM
Reminder: Pickleball for members only!
| |
MAH JONGG & CANASTA
WEDNESDAYS
12:30 PM TO 4:00 PM
| |
|
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
| |
|
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 Brunch
39 Degrees North
Friday, December 22
11:00 AM
New Year's Eve Party
Saturday, December 31, 2023
8:30 PM
| |
|
LET'S BRING IN THE NEW YEAR TOGETHER
AT THE JCC OF LBI
| |
|
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
| |
|
JCC WOMEN’S AUXILIARY: BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION
THURSDAYS AT 4:00 PM
NEXT BOOK REVIEW MEETING
| |
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.
| |
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
| |
|
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.
| |
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.
| | | |
|
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
| |
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. | |
 | |
The following names will be read by the Rabbi on Friday evening:
Ralph Celebre
Saul Hurwitz
Leanore S. Klein*
Jerome Odenheimer*
Stella Pervin*
Temi Saivetz
Philip Schleifer
Samuel Tucker
Rachel Cherins
Herman Glassman*
Sol Grossman
Martha Rosenblith
Lionel Wolpert
Joseph Blumenthal*
Arnold Schwartz
Marcia Yankowitz
Shari Zalkind*
Stanley Antonoff
Carl M. Cole
Nathan Shapiro
Harvey Sherman
Joseph Valentine*
Seymour Abend
Sylvia Applebaum
Inge Batoff
Clara Beckerman
Michael Kaplan
Lorraine Liebowitz
Jacqueline Mogil
Joseph Nakkab
Reba Papier
Millie Wolpert
Sidney Fisch
Mark Goldman
Irving Butler
Mendel Fischer
Henry Gondelman
Ruth Moss
Dan Renzin
Ethel Snyder*
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.
| | |
|
Richard Berson
December 10
Ronald Buskirk
December 10
Barnett Hoffman
December 10
Lisa Schlossman
December 11
Arthur Davis
December 13
Larry Spitzer
December 13
Marlene Herman
December 14
Ruth Hochberger
December 15
| |
Philip & Beth Rosenzweig
December 9
34th anniversary
Harris & Sheila Weisel
December 10
57th Anniversary
Joel & Laura Leizer
December 12
53rd Anniversary
Art & Amy Schreer
December 13
31st Anniversary
| | |
|
MAZEL TOV TO
LYNN & STAN BERMAN
on the marriage of their granddaughter
Abby to Jonathan
| |
|
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
| |
MEET THE SOUP TROOP: Noralyn Carroll, Irene Babst and new member Robin Jenna. 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!
| |
|
FROM OUR CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST SHEILA WEISEL
10 Things For Senior To Remember
1. Talk to yourself. There are times you need expert advice.
2. "In style" clothing means anything that still fits you.
3. You don't need anger management. You need tolerance for idiots.
4. You have good people skills, You just need to learn how to deal with fools.
5. You need to write it down to remember anything.
6. On time means whenever you get there.
7. Duct tape fixes everything.
8. People your age look so much older than you do.
9. You still haven't learned to act your age and hope you never will.
10. Aging has slowed you down but hasn't shut you up.
And one more for good measure ... One for the road means a visit to the bathroom before you leave anywhere.
HERE IS A VIDEO FROM SHEILA TO WATCH WITH YOUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS. ENJOY!
| |
YOU CAN NOW FILL OUT A GIVING FORM AND PAY ON LINE IN ONE SIMPLE PROCESS.
| |
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
| |
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:
| |
 |  |
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.
| |
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
| | |
|
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
| | | | | |
