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JEWISH COMMUNITY
CENTER OF
LONG BEACH ISLAND
E-LETTER
May 16, 2025
18 Iyar 5785
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In this week’s Torah portion, it says “You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people…” (Leviticus 23:32). How does one “not profane” God’s holy name? One does this by going out of one’s way to do good in the world. Here is a midrash that helps to explain:
Shimon b. Shetah was a trader in flax. His students said: ‘Master, give up this trade. We will buy you a donkey and you will not have to weary yourself so much.’ They went and purchased a donkey from an Ishmaelite which turned out to have a pearl entangled in its neck. They came to their master and said: ‘From now on you will not need to weary yourself.’ He asked them: ‘Why not?’ They said: ‘We bought you a donkey from an Ishmaelite which has a pearl entangled in its neck.’ He asked: ‘Did its former owner know about the pearl?’ They answered: ‘Of course not.’ He said to them: ‘Go and return it.’ They argued with the Master: ‘Even those who say that cheating a non-Jew is forbidden nevertheless admit that an article lost by the non-Jew may be kept!’ He replied: ‘What do you think, that Shimon b. Shetah is a barbarian? Shimon b. Shetah would rather hear “Blessed be the God of the Jews” than gain any profit in this entire world.’ [Talmud Yerushalmi Bava Metzia 2:5, 8c]
What the Rabbis are trying to teach is that when we go out of our way to lead lives of integrity, decency, and honor, we uphold, and add holiness to, God’s Name.
We Jews need to be continually mindful of this lesson. Because the world is always watching, we need to be vigilant in how we comport ourselves.
Parashat Emor also contains the instruction to count seven weeks from the day after Pesah to Shavuot, Sefirat HaOmer. If you have joined us for evening services, you have taken part in this Custom.
This Friday is the 33rd day of counting the Omer, which is known as Lag B’Omer. Here are 7 interesting facts about this holiday:
1. It's the 33rd day of the Omer count
2. It's the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, writer of the Zohar and teacher of Kabablah
3. It's also the day that commands us to love and respect each other.
4. It's traditional to light bonfires on Lag B'Omer eve.(I do not recommend this custom be followed this year.)
5. It's customary to eat carob on Lag Ba’Omer. If you want to know, why come to services on Friday evening.
6. Traditionally it is the one day during the Omer (the counting between Passover and Shavuot) when you can suspend mourning practices and do such things as have a celebration, listen to music or cut your hair.
7. There are seven facts here because seven our tradition’s number of perfection. Seven's a pretty popular number in Judaism. Look at some of the 7’s in our tradition:
7 weeks of the Omer.
7 emotions, one for each week of the Omer( love, fear, compassion, ambition, humility, bonding and receptiveness).
7 branches in the Temple Menorah.
7 days of the week.
7 colors in the rainbow- the sign of G-d's covenant.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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SHABBAT SHALOM
Candle Lighting Time
(Southern Ocean County)
Shabbat Eve
Friday, May 16, 2025
7:47 PM
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Friday
May 16, 2025
Services
7:30 PM
IN PERSON AND
ON ZOOM
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join Services
on Zoom
FRIDAY NIGHT
Saturday
May 17, 2025
9:00 AM
IN PERSON AND
ON ZOOM
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
TORAH READING
Parashat Emor
Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Emor (“Say”) opens with laws regulating priestly behavior, working in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), and consuming sacrifices and priestly food. It describes the biblical holidays of Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, and ends with a story about a blasphemer and his punishment.
Here is the Parshah
HAFTORAH
Ezekiel 44:15-31
This week's haftorah discusses various laws that pertain to the kohanim, the priests, a topic also discussed at length in the first part of the week's Torah portion.
Here is the Haftorah
HAVDALLAH
8:30 PM
ON ZOOM ONLY
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
HAVDALLAH
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WEEKDAY SERVICES
Monday - 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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LAG B'OMER
May 16/18 Iyar
Lag BaOmer (Hebrew: ל״ג בעומר), also Lag B’Omer, is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. One reason given for the holiday is as the day of passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Modern Jewish tradition links the holiday to the Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Roman Empire (132-135 CE). In Israel, it is celebrated as a symbol for the fighting Jewish spirit.
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stu’s a-stu-te sayings…..
THE TALMUD
Mishnah – Gemora
Jewish learning has always been the hallmark of our heritage – One of if not the extraordinary digests of all Judaic study is often known as the Par Excellence of Judaic Learning: it is The Talmud
The Talmud includes the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects, including halakha, Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, and folklore, and so on
The Talmud is constituted by the Mishnah משנה a written compendium of the Oral Torah and the Gemara גמרא a commentary on the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings - Sometimes, the word "Talmud" may only refer to the Gemara - This text is made up of tractates or in Hebrew: Maseket or the plural is Masekhtot מַסֶּכְתּוֹת , each covering one subject area
There are two established sets of Gemora - The earlier of the two compilations took place in Galilee known as the Jerusalem Talmud (or Talmud Yerushalmi). Later, and likely sometime in the sixth century, the Babylonian Talmud was compiled (Talmud Bavli]
Talmud translates as "instruction or learning", from the Semitic root lamude, meaning "teach, study" - Any wonder where the word Talmeed stems from?
The following is a bare bones example of an issue that a segment of Gemora would cover – Adam has an apple tree that literally sits on the border of his next door neighbor: Eve – It’s apple season, and the apples start to fall off the tree: some land on Adam’s property yet some do fall on Eve’s – So we have a question: Whose do the apples that have fallen onto Eve’s lawn belong to and thereby if they are now Eve’s may she derive benefit from dare I say it: Adam’s apples? – All kidding aside this has merits to be a conflict with ramifications that saged rabbis will have difference of views - This and a mountain load and a myriad of other fascinating “stuff” is just the icing on the Talmudic Cake!
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SUNDAY, May 18
Pickleball
10 - 1
******
TUESDAY, May 20
Pickleball
10 - 1
John Kendrick Series
Screen to Stage
8:30 PM
******
WEDNESDAY, May 21
Canasta & Mah Jongg
11:00 AM - 1:45 PM
WAX Book Club
4:00 PM
*******
THURSDAY, May 22
Torah Study
11:00 AM
Pickleball
10 - 1
FRIDAY, May 23
WAX Brunch – LBI Table
11:00 AM
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Tuesday, May 20
John Kendrick Series
Screen to Stage
8:30 PM
Wednesday, May 21
WAX Book Club
4:00 PM
Friday, May 23
WAX Brunch – LBI Table
11:00 AM
Sunday, May 25
Blessing of the Pets
10:00 AM
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Sunday, June 1
Interfaith Singers at the JCC
11:00 AM
Wednesday, June 4
Singles Club
3:00 PM
Friday, June 6
JCC Family Dinner and Service
6:30 PM
Friday, June 13
WAX Welcome Back Brunch
11:00 AM
Sunday, June 15
Blessing of the Fleet
5:30 PM
Sunday, June 22
Welcome Back Brunch
10:00 AM
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MAH JONGG & CANASTA
WEDNESDAYS
12:30 PM TO 4:00 PM
May 21, 28.
Play starts at 11am and ends at 1:45
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PICKLEBALL
Sundays, Tuesdays
and Thursdays
10 - 1
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CLICK HERE FOR UPCOMING EVENTS
THIS SPRING AND SUMMER
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JCC WOMEN’S AUXILIARY: BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION
WEDNESDAYS AT 4:00 PM
NEXT BOOK REVIEW MEETING
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Wednesday, May 21st at 4:00 pm
Discussion Leader: TBA
The Woman with the Blue Star
By: Pam Jenoff
1942. Sadie Gault is eighteen and living with her parents in the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous tunnels beneath the city. One day Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers.
Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding. Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds. Inspired by incredible true stories, The Woman with the Blue Star is an unforgettable testament to the power of friendship and the extraordinary strength of the human will to survive.
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LOOK FOR INFORMATION ABOUT
THESE OTHER SUMMER EVENTS
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July 17: Irvin Moreno Rodriquez, Director Stockton Holocaust Resource Center 7pm
July 30: JCC Summer Bazaar with Susan Shapiro hosting a Book Signing
August 21: Tour of Harvey Cedars Bible Center (HCBC) – 10am
BEACH SERVICES
June 13 – Beach Services at Loveladies 6pm
June 20: Beach Services at Spray Beach 6 pm
June 27: Beach Services at Loveladies 6pm
July 11: Beach Services at Spray Beach 6pm
July 18: Beach Services at Loveladies at 6pm
July 25: Beach Services at Spray Beach at 6pm
August 8: Beach Services at Loveladies
August 15: Beach Services at Loveladies
August 22: Beach Services at Spray Beach
August 29: Beach Services at Spray Beach
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The JCC section at Crescent Memorial Park is available for sales. Please contact Bonni Rubin-Sugarman at 609-417-7148.
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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 one of our new products. The gift shop is open during office hours M-F 10 - 2.
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The following names will be read by the Rabbi on Friday evening:
Joseph Lawrence Greene
Ray Lehrer
Kathleen Rifkin
Rena Entin
Victor Marcus
Abe Morgenstern
David Slott*
Cory Alpert*
Robert Gottlin
Dora Koyner*
Shelly Keller
Evelyn Rubinfeld
Walter Steigerwald
Mollie Bass*
Samuel Buznitsky
George Fuhrmann
Sylvia Greenspan
Clara Hoffman
Harvey B. Levin
Bernard Ostroff
Abraham Rosenfeld
Howard Sherry*
Samuel Rosenweig
Elaine Berkowitz
Milton Britz*
Jerome Molbert*
Scott L. Paley
Esther Rosenfeld
Joseph Tomar
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.
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Francine Braun
May 18
Susan Carson
May 18
Ina Telles
May 18
Benjamin Margulies
May 20
Kim Hirsh
May 21
David Nelson
May 21
Carol Barsh
May 22
Lawrence Garb
May 22
Michael Miller
May 22
Deede Schneider Rothenberg
May 23
Toby Slomovitz
May 23
Ian Zimmerman
May 23
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Stuart & Lori Steigerwald
May 18
45th Anniversary
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MAZEL TOV TO
Diane & Ron Buskirk
on the bat mitzvah of their granddaughter
Ava Taylor Sacco
daughter of
Jennifer and Phil Sacco
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CONDOLENCES TO
The Family of JCC member
Howard Lander
"May God remember forever our dear ones who have gone to their eternal rest. May they be at one with the One who is life eternal. May the beauty of their lives shine for evermore, and may our lives always bring honor to their memory."
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SHARE YOUR NEWS
AND PICTURES
CONTACT:
rvalen1963@aol.com
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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.
Go to jccoflbi.org - Giving/Pay
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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:
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
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2025 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
BE A PART OF THE WOMEN'S AUXILLARY
2025 DUES FORM HERE
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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- Jon Geier
Treasurer- Stu Cofsky
Secretary- Cliff Denker
Immediate Past President -Michael Babst
BOARD MEMBERS
Howard Babbitt
Diane Buskirk
Lorna Klein
Paul Levine
Ken Podos
Sondi Pripstein
Terri Robinovitz
Bonni Rubin-Sugarman
Rose Valentine
Ken Yudman
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
Representative to the Board - Sondi Pripstein
Rabbi Michael S. Jay, Spiritual Leader
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