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PURIM TAKES ON A SPECIAL MEANING THIS YEAR AS WE ARE FIGHT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF OUR HOMELAND AND TO COMBAT ANTISEMETISM

IN OUR COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD.

THE STORY HAS NOT CHANGED OVER THE CENTURIES.

Shofar blowers at The Wall this morning

Our pickleball players take time out to say the Shemah

A PURIM MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI

This morning, between 11:15 and 11:35, I and about 60 others on our Zoom link, watched and participated in the Worldwide Shema service that was livestreamed from Israel. There were thousands of people at the Kotel, and an expected million more watching on the Livestream.

I cannot adequately express the emotions we all felt as we watched and listened to prayers being said for the soldiers, the hostages, Israel, and the Jewish people. There were prayer leaders, but hearing and seeing our brothers and sisters join them in loudly and with fervor sent chills up my spine.

When the time came for the Shema, everyone recited it and then a group of, maybe 25 huge Shofars stationed just under the Western Wall, were rousingly blown. What followed resembled, in some respects, the service that ends Yom Kippur. Additionally, Pieces of the Hallel service were read. After each section there was more Shofar blowing. 

Then everyone sang “Avinu Malkeinu”. It was a “wow” moment. I envisioned all our ancestors watching this and kvelling at what their descendants were capable of.

When the service in Israel was over, I decided that it would be appropriate to recite English versions of the prayers for the IDF, the hostages, and Israel for our Zoom Group. As it turned out, I was not the only moved by the service. The ever-unflappable Don Pripstein was choked up as he read the prayer for the IDF. 

I first learned of the event on Tuesday from my Aunt Estelle in Israel. I knew that it was something that we should be involved in. I have intense gratitude to each of the people who went out of their way to join us. It is about the first time since October 7^th that I have felt truly uplifted. 

Please watch the recording by cutting and pasting this: https://www.dropbox.com/t/Qca5ZLXYJtHVmcDY  

It will be worth your while. Unless you want to learn about Megillat Esther, watch the recording from about the 15:20 mark.

We are not alone. We have amazing resilience. We are a unique and strong people.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Purim Sameach – Rabbi Michael S. Jay

PS: With Purim coming this Saturday night, here is a quick review. The holiday has four main Mitzvot:

1) The reading of the Megillah (Mikra Megillah)

2) The festive Purim meal (Seudat Purim)


3) Sending gifts (Mishloach Manot)


4) Gifts to the poor (Matanot l’Evyonim)

Below is a brief summary of the story of Purim that I reprinted from My Jewish Learning. As always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to email me or to call me.

The Story of Purim

The plot and themes of "the whole Megillah."

By Rabbi Robert Goodman

The Purim story is the Book of Esther; which is a part of the Ketuvim or Writings (also called the Hagiographa), the third section of Tanakh [the Hebrew Bible]. An outline of the Purim story follows:

•  King Ahasuerus dethrones Queen Vashti.

•  Esther is crowned queen after winning a beauty contest.

•  Mordecai uncovers a plot to kill the king and reports it.

•  [King Ahasuerus promotes Haman, making him more powerful than all the other officials.]

•  Mordecai refuses to bow before Haman [a close confidant of the king].

•  Haman seeks to destroy the Jews after his run-in with Mordecai.

•  Mordecai appeals to Esther to save her people. Esther initially refuses but changes her mind after some convincing by Mordecai.

•  Esther approaches King Ahasuerus and invites him and Haman to a banquet.

•  Mordecai is honored for having saved the king's life. Esther entertains the king and Haman, and invites them to a second banquet.

•  Esther pleads for her people at the second banquet. She accuses Haman.

•  The king grants Esther's request and condemns Haman to die on the gallows that he built for the Jews.

•  The Jews defend themselves throughout Persia [against those following out the decree to destroy the Jews].

•  The holiday of Purim is established and Mordecai advances to a position of importance.

Esther 3:8 is a classic statement of anti-Semitism, perhaps the first such written anywhere. It reads: "Haman then said to King Ahasuerus, 'There is a certain people, scattered and dispersed among the other peoples in all the provinces of your realm, whose laws are different from those of any other people and who do not obey the king's laws; and it is not in Your Majesty's interest to tolerate them.'"

Haman tells the king that, because the Jews are different, they must be suspect. He then lies to compound the felony, for indeed the Jews did follow the laws of the land. Unfortunately, this type of reasoning has, again and again throughout Jewish history; been the unwarranted rationale for the persecution of Jews.

The word God is not mentioned in the entire Book of Esther. This omission exists in spite of the fact that throughout the Bible, God's intervention is ever present. Mordecai does, however, make an indirect reference to God when he speaks with Esther about intervening with the king: "…if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father's house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis" (Esther 4:13-14).

In other words, not only does Mordecai suggest that God might indeed play an active role in resolving the crisis, but further suggests that Esther's becoming queen may have been the work of God, Who was preparing for the day when the Jewish people would face crisis. Another explanation for the absence of the name of God is that since the book was written in scroll form and sent to Jews throughout Persia, the name of God was omitted in case the scroll was desecrated in any way.



Whether the events related in the book are factual or not, the Book of Esther is more truthful than many so-called historical works. Unfortunately, the story has been repeated throughout Jewish history on many occasions, but without the benefit of a hero or heroine. The Book of Esther thus serves as an allegory describing the life and lot of the Jewish people in an alien and hostile world.

PICKLEBALL

SUNDAY 10:00 AM

TUESDAY 3:00 PM

THURSDAY 10:00 AM

Reminder: Pickleball for members only!

Stop the Bleed

by Jewish Federation of Ocean County

Friday, March 22, 2024

11:00 AM -1:00 PM In Person

Magillah Reading

Saturday, March 23, 2024

7:00 PM

Rabbi Jay “The International Court (ICJ) and Current Ruling”

Sunday, March 24, 2024

1:00 - 3:00 PM

In Person & Zoom

   WAX Brunch

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

11:00 AM -1:00 PM

Wally’s

JCC WOMEN’S AUXILIARY: BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION

 WEDNESDAYS AT 4:00 PM

NEXT BOOK REVIEW MEETING

Thank you to Sondi Pripstein for so skillfully leading the March discussion.

Wednesday, April 17

"The Genius of Israel" by Dan Senor and Saul Singer

Discussion Leader: TBA

Why do Israelis have among the world’s highest life expectancies and lowest rates of “deaths of despair” from suicide and substance abuse? Why is Israel’s population young and growing while all other wealthy democracies are aging and shrinking? How can it be that Israel, according to a United Nations ranking, is the fourth happiest nation in the world? Why do Israelis tend to look to the future with hope, optimism, and purpose while the rest of the West struggles with an epidemic of loneliness, teen depression, and social decline?

Dan Senor and Saul Singer, the writers behind the international bestseller Start-Up Nation, have long been students of the global innovation race. But as they spent time with Israel’s entrepreneurs and political leaders, soldiers and students, scientists and anti-government activists, ultra-Orthodox Jews, Tel Aviv techies, and Israeli Arabs, they realized that they had missed what really sets Israel apart.

Moving from military commanders integrating at-risk youth and people who are neurodiverse into national service, to high-performing companies making space for working parents, from dreamers and innovators launching a duct-taped spacecraft to the moon, to bringing better health and climate solutions to people around the world, The Genius of Israel tells the story of a diverse society built around the values of service, civic engagement, and belonging.

Widely admired for having the world’s highest density of high-tech start-ups, Israel’s greatest innovation may not be a technology at all, but Israeli society itself. Understanding how a country facing so many challenges can be among the happiest provides surprising insights into how we can confront the crisis of community, human connectedness, and purpose in modern life.

Bold, timely, and insightful, Senor and Singer’s latest work shines an important light on the impressive resilience of Israeli society in the face of external and internal challenges—and what other countries can learn.

PJP Series "What Jews Think”

2023-2024

Thursday, April 11 @8:30 PM Dr. Andrea Dara Cooper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Jewish Philosophy and Feminism”

In this talk, we’ll consider how scholars and theologians have attempted to find a feminist space within the Jewish interpretive tradition. How can contemporary approaches to gender analysis allow us to understand the use of gendered terms in Judaism, and in what ways can Judaism be both challenged and revitalized by these approaches? Andrea Dara Cooper is Associate Professor and Leonard and Tobee Kaplan Scholar in Modern Jewish Thought and Culture in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she teaches a range of courses on religion and culture, the history of Judaism, gender, and philosophy. She is the author of Gendering Modern Jewish Thought (Indiana University Press, 2021).

CONGREGATION NEWS

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 z"l 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

2023 MEMBERSHIP FORMS

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