Jewish Community Center of Long Beach Island E-Letter


May 20, 2022
19 Iyar 5782


WELCOME TO CAFE JCC

Our JCC tent is set up out back for Shabbat lunch with our grab 'n go
sandwiches, drinks, fruit and snacks.
It will be fun once again to enjoy the comraderie of being together after services.

We also welcome our Wednesday mah jongg players to
enjoy being outside to play the tiles.
A MESSAGE FROM THE
RABBI

As I have been pointing out at Kabbalat Shabbat, Havdalah, and weekday Maariv services, at this time of year, we count the Omer every evening. Indeed, we count each night from the Second day of Passover until the beginning of Shavuot. In the days of the Temple, our ancestors were required to bring a Barley offering on the second day of Passover and to count each day until Shavuot. Since the destruction of the Temple, we literally “count” the Omer each day. Thus on the first day we recite a blessing and then say, “This is the first day of the counting of the Omer”. On the second day we recite the same blessing and say, “This is the second day of the counting of the Omer.” And so on. And so on. We count until the 49th day and then on the 50th day is the holiday of Shavuot.
 
While the reason for this counting ritual has been subject to conjecture, the Rabbis determined that its purpose, in part, was to count the days until receipt of the Torah.  
 
One little fact that might go unnoticed is that we are not counting “down”; rather we are counting “up”. This is probably not an accident. There is a meaningful symbolism inherent in this process. At the time of the Exodus, our ancestors were slaves who were slowly elevating themselves higher and higher until they were ready to receive God’s gift, the Torah.
 
Frankly, one might think that the idea of counting every day is a bit ridiculous. What purpose could it possibly serve? One answer is that, by counting, we are creating intention and anticipation.
 
The message this week is that in our lives we should always be looking to count up; we should be trying to elevate ourselves.  If a slave population can become a nation of priests, then each of us has the ability to count up and improve ourselves.  The improvement might be intellectual, spiritual, or emotional; it might be personal or communal.
 
By counting, we account for ourselves. For who we are and whom we wish be. The mountain we climb today to receive the Torah is the mountain of elevated thoughts and elevated actions. When we strive to raise our selves, we elevate the world around us.
 
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay 

SHABBAT
SHALOM
Candle Lighting time
Friday evening
May 20, 2022
7:50 PM
(So. Ocean County)

JOIN US FOR
SERVICES

Friday Evening
May 20, 2022
6:00 PM
ZOOM ONLY

Here is 
your invitation from 
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services


Saturday Morning
May 21, 2022
Shabbat
Service
9:00 AM
IN PERSON
AND
ON ZOOM

Here is
your invitation from 
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services

Torah Reading:
Parashat Behar
Leviticus 25:1-26:2 
 Here is the Reading

Behar (“On The Mountain”) details the laws of the sabbatical year (Shemita), when working the land is prohibited and debts are forgiven. It also sets out laws of indentured servitude and of the Jubilee year (Yovel), when property reverts to its original ownership. 

Haftorah
Jeremiah 32:6-27
Here is the Haftorah
Torah Study
8:00 PM
Havdallah
9:00 PM

Here is 
your invitation from 
Rabbi Jay to
join Zoom services
TORAH STUDY/HAVDALLAH

Sunday - Thursday
Ma'ariv Service
7:30 PM

Here is 
your invitation from 
Rabbi Jay to
join Zoom services:

Monday- Friday
Shacharit Service
8:15 AM
Sunday at 9:00 AM

Here is 
your invitation from 
Rabbi Jay to
join Zoom services:
THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITIES


MONDAY, 5/23
10:00 AM
Hartman Institute Seminar"
with Rabbi Jay
Last class until September

WEDNESDAY 5/25
Mah jongg/Canasta
12:30 PM

following Ma'ariv
7:45 PM
Studying the weekly portions
with Rabbi Jay based on the book
"Judaism’s Life-Changing Ideas"
by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
an Sacs
THURSDAY 5/26
11:00 AM Torah Study with the Rabbi
2:00 PM Beginning Hebrew with Ira

HERE ARE THE LINKS :
Mah jongg
MAH JONGG AND CANASTA IS BACK
AT THE JCC OF LBI
Beginning Wednesday May 18th
12:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Weather permitting, the tent will be available for playing outside.

The Last of our Kol Nashim Programs

Dana Newborn will lead us in the reading of the Book of Ruth, as we approach the holiday of Shavuot.

Tuesday, May 31st at 10:00 AM


May 31 WAX Kol Nashim with Dana Newborn
JUNE 10 - Shabbat Dinner

JUNE 15 - WAX Book Club

JUNE 17 - WAX Craft Project

JUNE 17 - Shabbat on the Beach (Spray Beach)

JUNE 24 - Shabbat on the Beach (Loveladies)

JUNE 26 - Membership Brunch
JCC WOMENS AUXILIARY: BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION
 WEDNESDAYS AT 4:00 PM

Thanks to Nora Hochman for leading a great book review of Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner last Wednesday.
JUNE BOOK
Wednesday, June 15 at 4:00 PM
Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris
Discussion Leader: Sondi Pripstein

Cilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, where the commandant immediately notices how beautiful she is. Forcibly separated from the other women prisoners, Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly taken, equals survival.
When the war is over and the camp is liberated, freedom is not granted to Cilka: She is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to a Siberian prison camp. But did she really have a choice? And where do the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was send to Auschwitz when she was still a child?
In Siberia, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she meets a kind female doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing and begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions.
Confronting death and terror daily, Cilka discovers a strength she never knew she had. And when she begins to tentatively form bonds and relationships in this harsh, new reality, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.
From child to woman, from woman to healer, Cilka's journey illuminates the resilience of the human spirit―and the will we have to survive.
ORDER YOUR BOOK NOW AND START READING TODAY: Click here to order Cilka’s Journey from Amazon.
Click here to borrow the book from the Ocean County Library. 
RSVP to Debby Schweighardt, Book Group Coordinator at: dschweig19@gmail.com

A Zoom link will be sent shortly before the event.

FUTURE BOOKS:
July 13 - Concealed by By Esther Amini
by Maggie Anton
September 14 - Rav Hisda’s Daughter Book II Enchantress: By Maggie Anton

UPCOMING ZOOM PROGRAM
with PARTNERS IN JEWISH PROGRAMMING
\
CLICK ON EACH EVENT FOR
DETAILED FLYER



Link will be sent out prior to the program
and is free to members of the JCC of LBI
Non-members $18.00

The following names will be read by the Rabbi on Friday evening

Rena Entin
Victor Marcus
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
Josephine Cramer
Dr. Harry Herman*
David Kaplan
Elizabeth Piwosky
Isidor Rothstein
Bernice Szanger*

*Memorial plaque will be lit this week.

In this Zoom era, we have been able to have a daily minyan at 8:15 AM and at 7:30 PM and on Shabbat. 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 COalso welcome to share with the minyan some special memories of your loved one.
Cake
Allen Demby
May 21
Anne Karp
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
Karen Shatz
May 27


James Donovan & Judy Nelson
May 24
35th Anniversary
Martin & Ellen Weinberg
May 24
41st Anniversary
Roger & Rima Rosenstein
May 25
47th Anniversary
Charles & Barbara Hirsh
May 26
66th Anniversary
Gary & Denni Koupf
May 27
44th Anniversary
Stephen & Rhonda Lang
May 27
43rd Anniversary
 


SHARE YOUR NEWS
AND PICTURES
CONTACT: 

Joanne & Howard Babbitt & Family at the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson Luke Jaclin
Caring
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 


LOOKS WHO’S GRADUATING
 FROM RYDELL HIGH 

The Class of ‘59 will be Rydell High’s coolest class ever!
Here are the four fantastic triple-threats stars for the cast of 
GREASE
 ISAAC SILVER as Danny Zuko, RILEY MARTIN as Sandy Dumbrowski, GARRETT  FORRESTAL as Kenickie and SHARAE MOULTRIE as Rizzo.

AXELROD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
100 Grant Ave., Deal Park, NJ 07723
June 3 - 19
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.
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: 


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

2022 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:

To pay on line
Click on PAY ON LINE
Fill in your information and then
go to Donation Details - then
Other and type in 2022 Membership

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 INFORMATION

THE JCC OF LBI IS LOCATED AT
2411 Long Beach Boulevard (24th Street)
Spray Beach, NJ 08008
Telephone: 609-492-4090 FAX: 609-492-7550
web site: www.jccoflbi.org  
  
THE OFFICE IS OPEN
TUESDAY AND THURSDAY
FROM 10 - 2
CONTINUE TO USE THE PHONE OR EMAIL WITH REQUESTS.
OUR OFFICE STAFF WILL BE CHECKING IN REGULARLY.


 Staff:
 Leslie Dinkfelt, Office Manager
  Mary Beth Krieger, Staff Member
Diane
Kitchen Manager: Susan Berube


LATEST
BULLETIN:

PRAYER BOOK:
 
WEB SITE:

PAVERS:

TREE OF LIFE
  
YAHRZEIT PLAQUE FORM:

KOL HAKAVOD DONATION FORM

TRIBUTES:


CONTACT INFORMATION:
  Rabbi Michael S. Jay

Michael Babst, President

 
E-mail Editor: Rose Valentine 
rvalen1963@aol.com 
Graphics by
Irene Babst