SHABBAT SHALOM, GESHER SHALOM!


 
May 22, 2020
 
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Shabbat Times: 
Candle Lighting
Virtual services see below

7:56pm
 
  Forecast: 65
/rainy





Mi SheBayrach 
We make special prayers for those who are ill at every Shabbat Morning and Monday & Thursday Minyan. Since the onset of the pandemic, we have added a special Mi SheBayrach for those who have contracted the coronavirus.  
You can add a name (traditionally: Hebrew/Yiddish name and mother's Hebrew/Yiddish name, but we'll take English names and the names of those who are not Members of our Tribe) by calling or emailing me.
Or better yet: why not join us for the 9:00 am weekday morning minyan, and read the Psalm (in English) just before we include the name of your family member, friend or acquaintance in the Mi SheBayrach?

2020 Census
Now is a great time to fill out and file your Census questionnaire! If you need help doing it online, please contact me. kas

Don't Be Foolish!
Overcome any reluctance you may have to go to hospital Emergency Departments due to the COVID-19 pandemic-especially if you suspect that you may have suffered a potential heart attack or stroke . Be assured that hospitals and their healthcare teams are continuing to care for all patients in a safe environment.                             
New Jersey Hospitals Are Ready to Care for You (social media version)
New Jersey Hospitals Are Ready to Care for You (social media version)

How Are You Doing?
Would You Like a Zoom, FaceTime, or Phone Visit? 
Call me or email me to set one up. kas







Torah Reading
B'MIDBAR
True to its name in English, the fourth book of the Torah, Numbers, begins with a census of all Israelite males over the age of twenty who would be eligible for military service. The total came to 605,550.
 
Because of their consecrated role in the Sanctuary, the Levites were exempt from military service and were not a part of this population tally. However, in a separate survey there were found to be 22,000 male Levites, who were to serve in a religiously dedicated capacity in place of all other firstborn males. In the general population 22,273 first born males were numbered. The extra 273 first born Israelites (for whom there were no corresponding Levites) had to pay the sum of five sh'kalim to Aaron as their redemption price from service in the Sanctuary.
 
The Torah provides us with a description of the configuration of the Israelite encampment. The Sanctuary was at the center with the priests and the other three Levitical families stationed on each of its four sides. The twelve tribes formed the outer cordon, with three tribes arrayed on each side.










SHABBAT SCHEDULE
An Important Notice from:

Dear Valued Customer,
As you may know, Zoom 5.0 is live! Please update all your clients to version Zoom 5.0 now or before May 30th.
When:  Beginning May 30th, 2020, Zoom will be enabling  GCM encryption across the entire Zoom platform, providing increased protection for meeting data. 
  
What:
Please  update all your clients to Zoom 5.0. After May 30, 2020, all Zoom clients on older versions will receive a forced update when trying to join meetings as GCM encryption will be fully enabled across the Zoom platform.
 

ALL our Synagogue Prayer Services and Programs are conducted over ZOOM

        You can participate in one of two ways 
          • Dialing in - or - 
          • Using internet access and a smartphone, tablet or computer
Shabbat Services
Friday evening at 7:00 pm  CLICK HERE TO ATTEND                                                
Dial in by phone 929-205-6099   Meeting ID: 869 8266 6380
 
Shabbat Morning at 10:30 am CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone:   929 205 6099       Meeting ID: 874 8132 0020
We sing this each Shabbat morning after the special prayer for those stricken with the coronavirus: The Jewish Prayer Getting Me Through the Pandemic Mi Shebeyrach - specifically, Debbie Friedman's version - is a call for communal healing.
         
Havdalah at  9:00 pm  CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone:  929 205 6099       Meeting ID: 729 396 135


This Week's Yahrzeit Observances
We hope that our weekly listing of yahrzeit observances will serve 2 purposes:
1)     To remind those who have the yahrzeit for a second time, much closer to the date of the actual observance
2)     To alert friends and acquaintances that someone they know is observing a yahrzeit. We hope that you will show them your support by joining them at our (virtual) minyanim, and helping to assure that Kaddish can be recited with a minyan 

Mrs. Rose Jakoby will be observing yahrzeit for her brother, Faivel Bendiger on Friday evening, May 22nd
Mrs. Rose Jakoby will be observing yahrzeit for her brother, Michael Bindiger on Friday evening, May 22nd
Mrs. Rose Jakoby will be observing yahrzeit for her sister, Seril Bindiger on Friday evening, May 22nd
Mrs. Rita Berliner will be observing yahrzeit for her father-in-law, Aron Berliner on Friday evening, May 22nd
Mrs. Rita Berliner will be observing yahrzeit for her brother-in-law, Martin Berliner on Friday evening, May 22nd
Mrs. Rita Berliner will be observing yahrzeit for her mother-in-law, Regina Berliner on Friday evening, May 22nd
Mrs. Carol Tycko will be observing yahrzeit for her father, Arnold Rothman on Saturday evening, May 23rd
Mr. Mordechai Warshavsky will be observing yahrzeit for his sister, Bracha Ben-Zvi on Sunday evening, May 24th
Ms. Jean Burnick will be observing yahrzeit for her sister-in-law, Barbara Burnick on Sunday evening, May 24th
Mr. Jeffrey Adler will be observing yahrzeit for his father-in-law, Frank Lustig on Sunday evening, May 24th
Mr. Solomon Arbeiter will be observing yahrzeit for his father-in-law, Daniel Sonkin on Sunday evening, May 24th
Dr. Jerome Margolin will be observing yahrzeit for his mother, Molly Margolin on Sunday evening, May 24th
Mrs. Rose Jakoby will be observing yahrzeit for her sister, Ms. Helen Schnoll on Monday evening, May 25th
Mrs. Rita Berliner will be observing yahrzeit for her sister-in-law, Frida Berliner on Wednesday evening, May 27th
Mrs. Suzette Kolitch will be observing yahrzeit for her father, Alexander Ross on Wednesday evening, May 27th
Ms. Regina Friedman will be observing yahrzeit for her father-in-law, Joseph Friedman on Wednesday evening, May 27th
Mrs. Hilde Straus will be observing yahrzeit for her sister-in-law, Katie Straus on Thursday evening, May 28th
Ms. Carolyn Tauber will be observing yahrzeit for her great-grandmother, Pauline Lippel on Thursday evening, May 28th




Birthdays and Anniversaries 
 Olivia Hausman
Jeffrey Kaplan
Mitchell Shedlarz
Alvin Cohen
Alfred Strauss
Douglas Krakauer
Irene Eisenstein
  Mordechai Warshavsky
 
Barbara & Barry Sussman
Heidi Skolnik & Michael Glantz
Terry & Eran Gensler
Laurie Small-Levy & Richard Levy
Sue Ann & Wayne Koby




Our Minyan Has Been on Very Solid Footing Throughout the Quarantine!          
 Why Not Listen to this Lament and Then Join Us at Any of the Times/Days Listed Below...
Nobody Comes To The Minyan No More - Country Yossi
Nobody Comes To The Minyan No More - Country Yossi


OUR WEEKDAY MINYANIM
 
Do you need a CROSS-REFERENCE GUIDE to pages in the old Sim Shalom (Blue cover) for Shabbat and Holidays (when we are using Lev Shalem)?...Or to the Weekday Services in Lev Shalem (when we are using the burgundy weekday Sim Shalom)? Call me or email me for the GUIDE

Sunday - Friday Mornings at 9:00 am CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone:  929 205 6099     Meeting ID: 110 379 215
 
Sunday - Thursday Evenings at 7:00 pm CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone:  929 205 6099       Meeting ID: 338 747 559
 
Special Request: if you purchased or downloaded Siddur Lev Shalem (Shabbat and Holidays) and/or Siddur Sim Shalom (Weekdays), please let Rabbi Stern know. (Please call him or email him).
 
 
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
In Honor of Memorial Day
Memorial Day Drive-BY in Fort Lee
May 25, 2020, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM @ Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Ctr.
Monday, May 25 is Memorial Day and although we can't hold our typical "parade," Fort Lee will sponsor a Memorial Day "Drive-By!" At 10am on Monday, our First Responders and their emergency vehicles along with our Vets will be making their way around Fort Lee and we hope that everyone will come out say hi! They will start at the Community Center and their route will take them down Inwood Terrace; South on Anderson Avenue; East on Columbia Avenue, North on Palisade Avenue, continuing onto Lemoine Avenue; West on Myrtle Avenue; South on Linwood Avenue; East on Main Street; then finally, South on Anderson Avenue, back to Community Center.
Please maintain the guidelines our town has in place when in public to keep everyone safe: adhere to social distancing, wear a mask and avoid congregating in groups.

The history of religious identification in military insignia-and how Jewish symbols evolved

 
From Ghosts to Ancestors...Honoring Our War Dead on Memorial Day

  GPS is Back!
G uided P rayer S ervice
Please join Rabbi Stern for a series of explanatory talks that will reveal the structure, choreography, and varied functions of the prayers we say.

GPS is Cancelled This Week (May 25) in Respect for Memorial Day   
 
Mondays at 11:00am
June 1    Part II of the Shabbat Morning Service  ( and I'm betting there may be a Part III)
Dial in by phone: 929 205 6099       Meeting ID: 892 7086 4772
 
No, not really. Linda Richman will not be joining us...but join us for schmooze anyway!
 
Every Wednesday, 12 Noon with Rabbi Stern
BYO coffee, lunch, etc.
CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone: 929 205 6099           Meeting ID: 814 6433 7599
 
"Talk Amongst Yourselves; I'll give you a topic: Discuss..."         
     
And we are looking for VOLUNTEERS to share their passion or expertise with the COFFEE TALK crowd....
Your profession
Your avocation
Your hobby
Your expertise
Your life experiences
Your travels
Please be in touch with the Rabbi...

Next Wednesday:
Mike and Sally Seymour  will share the story of their emotional trip to Germany in search of Mike's parents' life stories-much of which they only discovered after they had passed away.
Rabbi's Weekly Class
Rabbi's Class: Thursday at 11:00 am
Class this week is canceled for Erev Shavuot
Louis Ginzberg's, The Legends of the Bible, can be purchased at nominal cost from Amazon
CLICK HERE TO ATTEND
Dial in by phone:   929 205 6099     Meeting ID: 362 376 833
 
Bible class is cancelled this week for Shavuot
Dial in by phone:  929-205-6099      Meeting ID: 836 6939 4720


Corrected Shavuot Service schedule below:

Shavuot Webinar from the Seminary: The Ten Commandments in 2020 



The 2020 Celebrate Israel Virtual Event will have a theme of  Todah  ( thank you in Hebrew). Join us in thanking all the healthcare, first responder and other frontline workers in New York, across the United States, in Israel, and around the world.  It will also be an opportunity to thank our long time sponsors, marching groups, and spectators for the past 55 years of parades and look forward to being together on 5th Avenue next year.

The Celebrate Israel Parade Virtual Event will be on   Sunday, June 7th at two times for your viewing convenience - 1pm and 7pm eastern time   at     celebrateisraelny.org!















Important/Interesting Reads

Two Millenia of Jerusalem Customs in Honor of Jerusalem Day                      
Not only is Jerusalem mentioned some 850 times in the Bible and dozens of times in the siddur, our love for Jerusalem was also expressed in the form of laws and customs after the Destruction           
 Objects Hidden by Auschwitz Prisoners Discovered During Restoration Work                                                                                    
 U.S. Sanctions Former Iranian Intelligence Chief behind Deadly Bombings of Jewish Targets  
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Adopts Bipartisan Legislation for U.S. Security Assistance to Israel.
Vital funding ensures that Israel can defend itself, by itself-and is the first important step in the legislative process to secure this funding for the year.
Also contained in the bill are provisions to enhance cooperation between the United States and Israel in areas such as energy, water, agriculture, and healthcare, including medical projects aimed at detecting, treating and curing COVID-19.
        
Saudi Writer: It Is in our Strategic Interest to Maintain Real Relations with Israel                                                                       
Healing Hands  
Jewish law-and my own obsessive-compulsive grandfather-can teach us valuable lessons that apply to today's pandemic        
Daily Guide to Zoom Events, Livestreams and Other Online Resources 
 



Iran / Syria / Hizbullah
IDF: Iran Is Slowly Pulling Out of Syria               
Report: Israel Retaliated for Iranian Cyberattack  (and please follow the link to the Washington Post article right at the beginning of this article)                                             
By Design, Cyberattack on Iran Port Was Limited
Report: Airstrikes in Syria Kill Iran-Backed Fighters                                      
Iran's Khamenei Accuses UAE of "Treachery" after Humanitarian Aid Flight to Israel 


The Palestinians
Jordanian Army Doesn't Want to See Palestinian Security Forces on Its Border    (please see the end of the article)
Israeli Is Convicted of Murder for Arson Attack on Palestinian Family                                
PA to Bypass Banks to Pay Prisoners' Salaries                                                      
European Parliament Condemns Palestinian Authority Textbooks that Promote Hate and Violence  


Hi-Tech        
 
Israel Beefs Up Cyber Defenses at Key Sites to Repel Iranian Attacks                              
Israeli Scientists Develop Corona-Busting Disinfectant That Stays Active

The Book, "Thou Shalt Innovate: How Israeli Ingenuity Repairs the World" Has Been Translated into 31 Languages and Has Worldwide Appeal  (Most Recently into Thai)                                   



Join us for our next live webinar on Sunday May 24th: Trees in the medicinal cabinet: The wonder of trees and their ability to cure in times of crisis in Israel and the world with Dr Galia Hanoch-Ro'ee

20:00 - Jerusalem
18:00 - London
13:00 - New York/Toronto
10:00 - California
Picture  - palestine oak
Click here to register
Upcoming webinars
- Spring Migration Finale with the Birdlife Israel team
Sunday May 31st at 20:00 Israel time, 13:00 NY time - 
- Swifts at the Western Wall with Amir Balaban
Sunday June 14th at 20:00 Israel time, 13:00 NY time - 
- Birds as Agents of Peace with Noam Weiss
Sunday June 28th at 20:00 Israel time, 13:00 NY time - 
For the last 6 days Israel has suffered through a continuous 105 degree heatwave.

Heatwaves are not abnormal, here we call them "hamsin". But this one isn't. A hamsin normally lasts for 2 or a maximum of 3 days before breaking. This is the FIRST EVER 6 DAY hamsin. Twice the normal length. All 6 days of unrelenting heat between 105-109F (41-43C). Unbearable heat day and night with no stopping since last weekend. I can't imagine hell is much hotter.

Each morning I walk my delightful 5-year-old son Asher to kindergarten. 

We leave the house just before 8 am. It's only 88F (31C). Bearable. By the time I return home it's already noticeably hotter and I'm sweating profusely. It's only 8:30 am.

Right now I'm sitting under a ceiling fan and I'm uncomfortable. The family hamster doesn't get the same treatment. I put ice in her cage and pray she'll survive until the heat breaks.

We're a one-car family. My wife drives to the hospital every day where she's a senior anesthetist. I can't imagine picking Asher up at 4 pm and walking home with him for 20 minutes in the 105F (40C) degree heat. Fortunately we have friends who drop him off in their car.

Asher is normally a good sleeper.  But right now, the nights are too hot. Every night this week he's woken up 3-4 times because of the heat. He's not getting the good night's sleep that he desperately needs. I can already see that this lack of sleep is negatively impacting his behavior at home.

In a boiling hot classroom with another 30 over-tired 5- and 6-year old's around him, it's impossible to imagine how any of them are learning properly.

Fortunately for my family and all Israelis, by the time you are reading this the heatwave should have broken. The temperature will have dropped to a tolerable 95F (35C), and then high 70's (mid 20's C) on Shabbat.

But I'm worried. I worry at the best of times. I don't feel like this is the best of times right now. I hope it's ok for me to share my worries with you.

I'm worried about how hot it will get the rest of this summer. And the summer after that.

How hot will Israel be in 2050? I worry about that too.

My birthday is on Sunday. I'll be 36. In three weeks, Asher will celebrate turning 6. (Instead of buying either of us a present you can donate to SPNI here, there's a place to dedicate the gift to either Asher or me).

In 2050 I'll turn 66. Asher will turn 36. He's a natural flirt, unlike me. I expect he'll have his own family and children by then. So I imagine I'll get to celebrate my 66th birthday with his children, my grandchildren.

I worry about how hot it will be on my 66th birthday!

I assume I'll have retired from SPNI by then. I'm worried if I'll be able to afford to keep the air-conditioned on, or will I be like the 41-year-old man who died from heatstroke this week?

I'm worried right now about all the holocaust survivors, newly unemployed, and those on fixed incomes who this week are having to choose between paying their air-conditioning bills and eating. So far only a few people have been hospitalized because of the heat. Thank G-d.

I'm worried whether Israel will habitable in 2050. I read an article last week about how in Dubai temperatures have been recorded that are so extreme that a healthy human lying in the shade, wearing no clothes and with access to infinite water will still die as their body cooks from the inside.

By 2050 Israel is predicted to be as hot as Dubai.

Is this the Israel that I'm leaving for Asher and his friends to raise their families in? I don't want them to be worried about them being cooked from the inside when they go outside.

I pray to G-d that this isn't the Israel I'm leaving them. That there's still time to do something. That there's still time to invest wisely in the infrastructure we need to mitigate the impacts of future weeks long heatwaves.

Because if not, this coronavirus lockdown is going to look like nothing when going outside during the long summer months will be physiologically impossible.
 
Lawrence Kasmir
Resource Development Coordinator
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel
Yes I want to help mitigate the impact of climate change















Coronavirus Humor
You'll need a lot of time to watch these 3:
How to Pass the Salt While Maintaining Proper Social Distance
How to Pass the Salt While Maintaining Proper Social Distance
How to Pass the Salt While Maintaining Proper Social Distance

When Life Gives You Lemons  
The Lemonade Machine
The Lemonade Machine

How to Pass The Pepper While Social Distancing  
How to Pass The Pepper While Social Distancing
How to Pass The Pepper While Social Distancing
                                      

 

 

I don't want to alarm anyone,
but apparently there comes a point
when you can't fit into your pajamas, either.

Far Safer and With Fewer Side Effects:



J-ADD  is the Jewish organization that sponsors the Group Homes in which Sharon Berman and Robert Perlis live. Please support it, if you can:

 
SHAVUOT is in less than 1 week:

 





Ramah Ba-Bayit:
Experiencing Ramah at Home
In this unprecedented time of staying at home, Ramah camps, Israel programs, and National Ramah are providing outstanding ways to engage our Ramah community. Please enjoy these glimpses of Ramah virtual programming, and check out Ramah Ba-Bayit for complete listings. We look forward to seeing you online!

Kolot Ramah - Solidarity and Song
Sundays, May 17 and 24 at 8 pm ET
For four Sundays in May, we are pleased to present a movement-wide interactive concert, led by Rick Recht and Rabbi Josh Warshawsky, with musical performances and guest appearances by Ramah directors, staff, and campers. The first two "episodes" were upbeat and inspirational, and viewed by thousands of people! This movement-wide initiative is funded by the Staenberg Family Foundation. Tune in to National Ramah Facebook Live this Sunday night, May 17, at 8pm ET.

Kolot Ramah #1 & #2
Ma'ariv Minyan on Zoom
Tonight at 8pm ET
Weekly Ramah Ma'ariv minyan Wednesdays on Zoom. Email reshet@campramah.org for additional information.

Mental Health Awareness Month
Zoom Webinar Series
Tuesdays, May 19 & 26, 8 pm ET
Join us on Zoom for open discussions about mental health, self care, and resilience during these challenging times in this interactive two-part series hosted by Reshet Ramah and BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy. Email reshet@campramah.org for additional information.


Israeli Culture in North America
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Music
Yotam Silberstein #JazzfromHome | May 24 , 7:30pm
Jazz Times has noted that guitarist Yotam Silberstein has "made an impact on the scene with his precision bebop lines and fleet fingered improvisation." Jazz at Lincoln Center's #JazzfromHome concert will showcase Yotam's incredible virtuosity--don't miss it!  Presented in collaboration with the Consulate General of Israel in New York.

Film
Israel Film Center Film Festival | June 7-14
JCC Manhattan's 8th annual Israeli Film Festival goes online, with a program packed with the best new Israeli films and talks with the filmmakers.  Supported by the Consulate General of Israel in New York.

Dance
Gaga Classes Online | Daily
Experience Gaga classes, Ohad Naharin's movement language, now online. Strengthen your body, improve flexibility and stamina, and enjoy the pleasure of movement from your living room. Classes are donation-based and open to everyone, no dance background required.

Music
Alone Together, The Eli Degibri Quartet | May 26, 2pm
The Eli Degibri Quartet showcases four incredible musicians each in their own right, coming together as one, performing heart-wrenching, head bobbing, ultra swinging masterpieces time and time again. A one-time-only performance in your living room.

Theatre
Sholem Aleichem: A Yiddish Remembrance | May 24 , 2pm
Lea Koenig, 1st Lady of the Israeli stage, joins Broadway stars Mike Burstyn and Eleanor Reissa and other international artists in an all-Yiddish tribute to Sholem Aleichem, the most beloved Yiddish writer of all time, on his 104th yortsayt.

Music
The Guy Mintus Show | Thursdays, 2pm
Young Israeli piano virtuoso Guy Mintus has built a weekly worldwide audience in the thousands for his intimate show in which he presents gems from his repertoire of many genres, as well as requests from his dedicated viewers.

Film
Gesher VOD
Gesher Multicultural Film Fund in partnership with T-Port, have made a collection of their short films available to watch online. Among them The Caregiver, a short film by Ruthy Pribar, the emerging Israeli filmmaker who just won three prizes at Tribeca Film Festival for her feature debut Asia.

Music
MusicTalks: Jerusalem of Gold, a Musical Journey | May 24 , 2pm
A special concert celebrating 3000 years of Jerusalem's rich history. Together we will reflect upon the city's importance to people all around the world and celebrate the diversity of cultures that call this city home through an array of musical genres.
Film

Go2Films On Demand
The film distribution company is offering a wide selection of Israeli film and series to watch at home, through their Vimeo platform.

Music
Lahav Shani and Friends
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra's Incoming Music Director Lahav Shani is joined by violinist Renaud Capuçon, cellist Kian Soltani, violist Gérard Caussé and double bassist Alois Posch to perform a beautiful rendition of Schubert's "Trout" Quintet.

Music
Mira Awad Live@Five | Mondays, 10am
Catch Mira Awad's unique Arabic Fusion style of sounds, combining the East with the West and weaving the Arabic language and its oriental ornaments with Western harmonies, on her show Live@Five on Thursdays.

Music
Nani Noam Vazana - Live From Her Room | Mondays, 2pm
Noam "Nani" Vazana is an acclaimed international Singer, Composer, Pianist and Trombonist. "A musical phenomenon", as described on the Kulturbörse Freiburg program, Noam Vazana will have you holding your breath while you marvel at her voice as she performs for you live on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Dance
Paramodernities Live | Through May 24
Netta Yerushalmy presents the livestream premiere of her epic work Paramodernities. The six-part encyclopedic series deconstruct historic dance works by Alvin Ailey, George Blanchine, Merce Cunningham, Bob Fosse, Martha Graham and Vaslav Nijinsky. Each performance is followed by a live discussion with special guests.