JEWISH COMMUNITY

CENTER OF

LONG BEACH ISLAND

E-LETTER



September 19, 2025

26 Elul 5785





CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST VIEWING

OF THE SHABBAT REMINDER

A MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI


After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God looked for them in the Garden of Eden and said Ayyeka: “Where are you?”

Surely God knew where they were. Rather, God was asking a deeper question: Where are you in your world? How have you lived your life? How do you plan to live the rest of your life?

 

The month of Elul and The High Holy Days provide us with a mechanism to ask and answer these questions. At this time of year, we ask: Where are we? How did we get here? What purpose does our life serve? Where do we want to be? (Hopefully the answer to this last question is: “At the JCC of LBI”! J). The mechanism is prayer.

 

Prayer is an important part of our Jewish tradition and during the High Holy Days our prayers, and our praying, become more intense. 

 

We pray for many reasons. Sometimes we pray to give thanks. Sometimes we pray to apologize or confess. Sometimes we pray to exclaim wonder. Sometimes we pray to ask for something.

 

The Hebrew word for prayer is “T’fillah”. The root for this word literally means “to assess”. In its reflexive form it means “to seek consideration, to pray, to plead, and to intercede. According to Stephen M. Brown, in his book “Higher and Higher: Making Jewish Prayer Part of Us”, ‘For the Jew, prayer is a way of relating to ourselves, our fellows, and to God. Through prayer we consider who we are, and what we should become. We turn to prayer for personal comfort, strength, fellowship, self-expression, self-assessment, and identity.”

 

The cycle of the Days of Awe is designed to get us to do an assessment of ourselves and our lives. Only after an intense accounting can we then determine what needs to be done. It is only at this point that we can even begin to know what to pray for.

 

I learned from my friend and teacher, Rabbi Richard Hammerman, that in preparation for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, every Jew should ask himself or herself the following two-part question: “What blessing do I really ‘want’, and what blessing do I really ‘need’, for the New Year”?  This formulation will help us to focus in on what it important.

 

May each of us find 5786 to be a year of multiple blessings of health, peace, joy, and fulfillment.

 

Shabbat Shalom and

Shana Tovah U’Metukah

May the New Year be Good and Sweet

Rabbi Michael S. Jay

 

Bonus: As we head into Rosh Hashanah, I humbly request that you consider and answer the following question: “What is it that you will most fervently being praying for this year?”

Candle Lighting Time

(Southern Ocean County)

Shabbat Eve

Friday, September 19, 2025

6:40 PM

Friday

September 19, 2024

JOIN US

FOR

SHABBAT

SERVICES


7:30 PM

IN PERSON AND

ON ZOOM

Here is 

your invitation from 

Rabbi Jay to join Services

on Zoom

FRIDAY NIGHT

Saturday

September 20, 2025

9:00 AM

IN PERSON AND

ON ZOOM

Here is

your invitation from 

Rabbi Jay to join

Zoom services

SATURDAY MORNING

TORAH READING

Parashat Nitzavim 

Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20

In Nitzavim (“Standing”), Moses addresses the Israelites, emphasizing the importance of following God’s covenant and of not worshiping other gods. He describes the process of repentance and returning to God, and stresses that God’s commandments are achievable and “not in the heavens.” 

Here is the Torah Reading


HAFTORAH

 Isaiah 61:10-63:9

Isaiah begins by reminding the people that salvation is near, and that all of the nations will see it. He invokes imagery of weddings to symbolize triumph, and seedlings to symbolize growth. The nasty names that Israel has been called in the past–“Forsaken,” “Desolate”–will be replaced by terms of affection

Here is the Haftorah


WEEKDAY SERVICES


Monday - Thursday

No regular service

9/23 & 9/24

Ma'ariv Service

7:30 PM

Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to

join Zoom services:

MA'ARIV


Monday - Friday

No regular service

9/23 & 9/24

Shacharit Service

8:15 AM

Sunday at 9:00 AM

Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to

join Zoom services:

SHACHARIT


If you wish to order a lulav and esrog for Sukkot, please contact the Rabbi.

ROSH HASHANAH


Erev Rosh Hashanah

Monday, September 22

Candle lighting is at 6:35 pm

 

Tuesday, September 23

Candle lighting is at 8:04 pm


Taschlich

12:45 at the Spray Beach Yacht Club

ALL ARE WELCOME


We look forward to a special Yom Tov at the JCC of LBI including a traditional Break the Fast following the final shofar blowing.


Here is the link to the registration form if you want to print, fill out and return it by mail. HIGH HOLIDAY LETTER AND ORDER FORM


Here is the link to make your Holy Day reservations on our website.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AND PAY ON LINE


PREPARING THE SYNAGOGUE FOR THE HOLIDAYS


On Sunday, September 21st we will have in-person morning services beginning at 9 AM. When services conclude, we will be preparing the Synagogue for High Holy Day services by replacing the Siddurim and the Chumashim with the Machzorim. We will additionally be setting the chairs in the Social Hall.


We can use your help!


Don’t worry about heavy lifting because there will be other vital tasks to be done that do not require strenuous work. Please join us! We appreciate your helping out with this tremendous Mitzvah!



JCC CLASSES CANCELLED

THIS WEEK


MAH JONGG & CANASTA 

WEDNESDAYS

12:30 PM TO 4:00 PM 


NO GAMES THIS WEEK


Thursday, September 25

8:30 PM

Druze Israeli Minority


Sunday, October 5

John Kendrick's Broadway Series

Oklahoma

8:30 PM


Thursday, Octorber 9

The film "Torn"

7:30 PM


Friday, October 17

WAX Brunch

11:00 AM


Sunday, October 19

The Jewish Museum, NY – “Afterlives: Recovering the Lost Stories of Looted Art”

1:00 PM


Wednesday, October 22

Boscov's Friends Helping Friends


Sunday, October 26

John Kendrick's Broadway Series

South Pacific

8:30 PM


Monday, October 27

Adult Education: Davening 101

7:45 PM

PICKLEBALL

Sundays and Thursdays

10 - 1

NO PICKLE BALL UNTIL AFTER THE HOLIDAYS



Looking for members to join the New Years Eve Committee to help plan this year's party.


Contact Diane Buskirk is you can help. dianebuskirk@yahoo.com


We have an exciting upcoming event on October 22, 2025, and I need your help and support. 

 

Boscov’s Department Stores are sponsoring “Friends Helping Friends”, a 1 day only in store and on-line shopping event. For a $5 (or more, if you like) donation to Women’s Auxiliary, you will receive a 25% off Shopping Discount Pass! All proceeds from your donation go to the Women’s Auxiliary! This is a win-win for everyone! You get to do your shopping at a discounted price (Chanukah is right around the corner), and Women’s Auxiliary raises funds to help the JCC!

 

Boscov’s stores are located in Toms River, Egg Harbor Township, Monmouth, Moorestown, and Woodbridge in New Jersey, as well as Neshaminy and Plymouth Meeting in Pennsylvania.

 

I have a supply of the Shopping Passes, so please reach out and support our event!

 

Thank you,

Joanne Babbitt

215-962-3688 (cell; call or text)

609-312-7439 (home)

Jb_toot@att.net


BEGINNING OCTOBER 6TH WE WILL BE SENDING OUT A SEPARATE WEEKLY EMAIL FOR ALL THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO OUR MEMBERS.


A LINK WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON THE SHABBAT REMINDER

The Druze Israeli community is considered one of the loyalist minorities in Israel. The strong and unique relationship between the Jews and Druze started before the establishment of the State of Israel, relying on mutual values and goals, and today, it is considered a successful model of the integration of a minority in Israel. Join us to learn about this unique community, its contribution to the state of Israel, its identity, challenges, and future vision.


Gadeer Kamal Mreeh, Israeli Druze politician and journalist, will lead the seminar. 


Jewish Museum Series

This is the first of the Zoom programs brought to our members through our participation in PJP (Partners in Jewish Programming). Look for more information about future Museum programs including "American Jewish Soldiers and the Liberation of the Concentration Camps” and Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience – “Stories from the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience” 

Sunday, October 19 @ 1:00 PM

The Jewish Museum, NY – “Afterlives: Recovering the Lost Stories of Looted Art”

 

During World War II, untold numbers of artworks and pieces of cultural property were stolen by Nazi forces. After the war, an estimated one million artworks and 2.5 million books were recovered. Many more were destroyed. This exhibition chronicles the layered stories of the objects that survived, exploring the circumstances of their theft, their post-war rescue, and their afterlives in museums and private collections.


Afterlives includes objects looted from Jewish collections during the war, including works by such renowned artists as Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, Gustave Courbet, Paul Klee, Franz Marc, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Camille Pissarro. The Jewish Museum has also commissioned four contemporary artists to create new works that address the resonance of the exhibition’s themes: Maria Eichhorn, Hadar Gad, Dor Guez, and Lisa Oppenheim. Treasured pieces of Judaica, including rare examples of Jewish ceremonial objects from destroyed synagogues, will also be on view, as well as rarely seen archival photographs and documents that connect the objects to history.


75 years after the Second World War, Afterlives explores how surviving artworks and other precious objects were changed by those events, and how they have moved through time, bearing witness to profound historical ruptures while also acting as enduring carriers of individual expression, knowledge, and creativity. The exhibition follows the paths taken by works of art across national borders, through military depots, and in and out of networks of collectors, looters, ideologues, and restitution organizations.


Coming in January 2026, we will also be bringing to our members a PJP series entitled " Jewish Art with Evgenia Kempinski"


Evgenia Kempinski is a professional Jewish tour guide, born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. With over fifteen years of experience guiding Jewish heritage tours in her hometown, she has developed a deep passion for uncovering and sharing the stories of the Jewish Diaspora. With her family she spent six enriching years living in Israel and now resides in Barcelona, continuing her mission to connect people with Jewish history and culture around the world. She is the founder of the Online Jewish Travel Club, a vibrant community that brings together Jews from different countries through a shared love of travel, art, and Jewish heritage.






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.


The gift shop is open during office hours M-F 10 - 2.

Honey Pots for your Holiday table

Mah jongg Key Chains and Bags

PAVERS

CALL PAUL LEVINE WITH ANY QUESTIONS

484-802-0586

SEE ORDER FORM BELOW

CONGREGATION NEWS


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

Rose Epstein Danon*

Kyle Frand

Hilda Kelsen

Lucille Jerome

Esther Martin*

Rachel Mosios

Andrew Ross

Yetta Zimmer

Irwin Horowitz

Gussie Ungar

Barbara Goldstein

Elizabeth Greene

Dr. Irving Young

Alfonso Muscente

Abram Plon

Frieda Baker

Howard Brody

Melvin Leistner

Katie Shrensel*

Muriel Nelsen Stein

Estelle Steinberg*

Ann Taub

Annette Grossman

Herbert Klosk

Martin Reiff*

Morris Treiber*


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.


 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


Cake

Mark Chazin

September 22

Cliff Farin

September 22

Suzanne Katz-Kinzler

September 22

Ruthellen Rubin

September 22

Howard Babbitt

September 23

Charles Hirsh

September 23

Sylvia Horowitz

September 24

Arlene Silverman

September 24

Arthur Steinberg

September 25

Paul Carniol

September 26

Marc Andrew Landis

September 26

 

Robert & Fay Slotnick

September 20

38th Anniversary

Theodore & Yvonne Finkelthal

September 21

Peter & Dana Langerman

September 22

40th Anniversary

 

SHARE YOUR NEWS

AND PICTURES


CONTACT: 

rvalen1963@aol.com


MARLENE MATZ


DIANE HOFFMAN


MARTY HOCHMAN


OTHER NEWS...



Congregant, Rosalee Keech of Barnegat, is currently running for NJ State Assembly. 

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


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


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- Jon Geier

Treasurer- Stu Cofsky

Secretary- Cliff Denker

Immediate Past President -Michael Babst


BOARD MEMBERS

Howard Babbitt 

Diane Buskirk

Lorna Klein

Ken Podos

Sondi Pripstein

Terri Robinovitz

David Shatz

Bonni Rubin-Sugarman

Rose Valentine

Ken Yudman


WOMEN'S AUXILIARY

President - Diane Buskirk

Treasurer - Suzy Geier

Secretary - Joanne Babbitt

Lorna Klein

Joyce Levine

Representative to the Board - Sondi Pripstein

Immediate Past President - Irene Babst



Rabbi Michael S. Jay, Spiritual Leader


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

email: jccoflbi@gmail.com

web site: www.jccoflbi.org  

  

THE OFFICE IS OPEN

MONDAY - FRIDAY

FROM 10 - 2




 Staff:

 Leslie Dinkfelt, Office Manager

  Mary Beth Krieger, Staff Member

 Diane Parzych, Staff Member

Susan Berube, Kitchen Manager



LATEST

BULLETIN:

BULLETIN


PRAYER BOOK:

Prayer Book

 

WEB SITE:

JCC WEB SITE


PAVERS:

PAVER FORM 


TREE OF LIFE

TREE

  

YAHRZEIT PLAQUE FORM:

YAHRZEIT PLAQUES


KOL HAKAVOD DONATION FORM

KOL HAKAVOD


TRIBUTES:

TRIBUTES 



CONTACT INFORMATION:

  Rabbi Michael S. Jay

mjayrab@gmail.com


Phil Rosenzweig, President

prosenzweig@sanddlawyers.com 


 

E-mail Editor: Rose Valentine 

rvalen1963@aol.com 

Graphics by

Mary Beth Kreiger

Contributing Articles by

Stu Lehrer