The January Edition Includes:

John Paul Thornton's Art History Zoom Presentation on January 10th,

"Save The Date" May 5, 2024 -"Blintzes & Burritos Brunch",

Winter Break Basketball Camp, Macabbi 2024 Registration,

Youth and Adult Basketball, Readers Club, Men's Club

Letter From Jeff Rubin

Executive Director, Valley JCC

Happy Holiday’s from Valley JCC!

Happy New Year from Valley JCC!

Dear friends,

As we bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new, we are filled with hope and excitement for what lies ahead. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

The start of a new year symbolizes fresh beginnings, growth, and endless opportunities. It is a time when we reflect on the past year's accomplishments and set new goals for ourselves. At Valley JCC, we believe in embracing this spirit of renewal wholeheartedly.

Our commitment to your health and happiness remains unwavering as we embark on this journey together. We are dedicated to providing you with fulfilling programs and events that will enrich your life in meaningful ways. Whether it's through cultural activities, educational workshops, or community gatherings, our aim is to create connections that bring joy and fulfillment.

As we enter this new chapter, know that your friends and family at Valley JCC are here for you every step of the way. We will continue to explore new horizons, connect with one another, and bring you experiences that inspire growth and happiness.

May this New Year be filled with abundant blessings, good health, and countless moments of joy. Thank you for being a part of our community as we embark on this exciting journey together. Happy New Year!

Warm regards,

Jeff

Register for John Paul Thornton's Art History Presentation On Zoom

SAVE THE DATE!

Sunday, May 5, 2024,

11:00am-2:00pm

"Blintzes & Burritos" Brunch

A Cinco de Mayo Celebration Featuring a

Presentation of Jewish and Mexican Art and Artists

By

John Paul Thornton

Renowned Artist and Art Historian

Letter From Ollie Haas

President, Board of Directors



Dear VJCC Members and Friends,

Often at this time of year, we are subjected to listing off the year in review, but I prefer to look to the future. Let’s choose to embrace the future with hope. Of course, achieving peace in the Middle East has been a complex and ongoing effort, filled with difficulties, frustration and pain. It requires diplomacy, cooperation and understanding among many nations. May Israel and the region find a path to lasting peace. 

Also, a small request that you "Save the Date": Sunday, May 5, 2024 (Cinco de Mayo) from 11am to 2pm. The Center will be having a delicious and enlightening “Blintzes and Burritos Brunch - 2024 Celebration” and Fundraiser with a presentation featuring John Paul Thornton, live and in-person, on the subject of Jewish and Mexican artists and art. It promises to be a wonderful and unique experience! So, please plan on being a part of it.

Have a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve and I wish you and yours a year ahead

filled with happiness, good health, light and peace.

Warmly,

Ollie

Valley JCC President

History Behind

New Year's Resolutions

January was named for the two-faced Roman god Janus, who looks forward to new beginnings as well as backward for reflection and resolution. The Romans would offer sacrifices to Janus and make promises of good behavior for the year ahead.

New Year’s resolutions actually go back to ancient times! From the Babylonians who resolved to return borrowed farm equipment to medieval knights who would renew their vow to chivalry, New Year’s resolutions are nothing new. 

In 2000 B.C., the Babylonians celebrated the New Year during a 12-day festival called Akitu (starting with the vernal equinox). This started the farming season to plant crops, crown their king, and make promises to pay their debts. One common resolution was the return of borrowed farm equipment, which makes sense for an agriculturally based society.

Over the years, resolutions seem to have migrated from denying physical indulgences to general self-improvement, like losing weight. It's been said that today’s resolutions are also a reflection of status, financial wealth, responsibility, and self-discipline, which isn’t that different from how the New Year’s resolution tradition began.

https://www.almanac.com/history-of-new-years-resolutions

Exploring Opera: Verdi’s “Nabucco”

Thursday, January 4

1-2:15pm (PT) on Zoom

Save! Purchase “Early Bird” ticket before Jan 2.

For details & tickets, click here.

Art & Artists: 100 Jewish Artists – Part I

Three Mondays, January 8, 15 & 22

11am-12pm (PT) on Zoom

Save! Register by Jan 6th for “Early Bird” pricing!

For details & tickets, click here.

Music & Morsels: More Treasures for the Classical Guitar

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

1-2pm (PT) on Zoom

Save! Purchase “Early Bird” ticket before Jan 7.

For details & tickets, click here.

Exploring Music: Jewish Masters of Popular Song

Two Thursdays, January 11 & 18 

1-2:15pm (PT) on Zoom

Save! Get “Early Bird” ticket prices; register before Jan 9th!

For details & tickets, click here.

Basketball

The Wayne League

by

Jason Moser

The new year is bringing big changes to our basketball programs. Now that we have merged with The Loot for our adult league, we have upwards of 120 teams in 7 different divisions to choose from. There will be multiple skill sets on every night including women's and a 35 and over level.

Our youth leagues are now merged with Valley Stars and we are looking at potentially 40 teams on both Saturdays and Sundays, also with multiple divisions and girls divisions as well.

With these partnerships with long standing programs, we don't have to focus on recruiting as much and can now shift to live game scoring, full game box scores, individual player awards, and a much larger social media presence.

We are really starting 2024 off on the right foot and I am very excited to see what the next 12 months will bring. Happy New Year!

See you in 2024! 

Please join us - Shalom!

Wayne Girls Basketball

Girls league playing Sundays at A. E. Wright Middle School

Valley JCC sports leagues are named

in memory of beloved former

Executive Director Jerry Wayne

A Special Bond: Martin Luther King, Jr., Israel, and American Jewry

Each year, U.S. Jews, like other Americans, mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by remembering him as a powerful voice against racism and for civil rights. But, for Jews, Dr. King was also something else: a uniquely important ally in the fight against antisemitism and for a secure Israel.

Today, Dr. King’s close bond with the Jewish community is treated only as a small footnote of his life and work. But, toward the end of his life, Dr. King devoted significant time and energy to strengthening what were becoming increasingly strained ties between Black Americans and U.S. Jews. One issue Dr. King was particularly concerned with was the growing mischaracterization of Zionism as racism.

Dr. King spoke and wrote often about Israel. However, the true depth of Dr. King’s commitment to Israel was readily apparent in a September, 1967 letter he sent to Adolph Held, of the Jewish Labor Committee. Dr. King wrote Held after the Jewish leader contacted him regarding press accounts of a conference that Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference participated in. At the meeting, strongly worded resolutions blasting Zionism and embracing the position of the Arab powers had been considered.

Understanding Held’s worries, Dr. King explained that, beyond offering opening remarks, he had no part in the conference. But, Dr. King said, had he been present during the discussion of the resolutions “I would have made it crystal clear that I could not have supported any resolution calling for Black separatism or calling for a condemnation of Israel and an unqualified endorsement of the policy of the Arab powers.”

“Israel’s right to exist as a state is incontestable,” Dr. King wrote. He then added, almost prophetically, “At the same time the great powers have the obligation to recognize that the Arab world is in a state of imposed poverty and backwardness that must threaten peace and harmony.”

Referring to the stake U.S. oil companies have in the Middle East, Dr. King went on to note that “some Arab feudal rulers are no less concerned for oil wealth and neglect the plight of their own peoples. The solution will have to be found in statesmanship by Israel and progressive Arab forces who in concert with the great powers recognize fair and peaceful solutions are the concern of all humanity and must be found.”

Were Dr. King’s comments to Held intended only to soothe a miffed supporter? Hardly. In a March 25, 1968, speech to the Rabbinical Assembly, Dr. King said: “peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.” Less than two weeks later, on April 4, Dr. King was murdered while organizing support for striking sanitation workers in Memphis, TN.

We can only speculate how, had he lived, Dr. King might have helped Jewish and Black communities foster better understanding of one another’s lived experiences and commonalities and fight collectively for liberation. What we do know is that Dr. King’s vision of a secure Israel and a peaceful Middle East is as relevant today as it was in the 1960s. We know something else, too: that it’s up to each of us to help make it a reality.

https://rac.org/special-bond-martin-luther-king-jr-israel-and-american-jewry

13 Fantastic Ways to Make Hot Chocolate Even Better

Baby, it's cold outside, and a steaming mug of rich, sweet hot chocolate is a favorite warm winter drink! But why should you be satisfied with just a single, yummy hot chocolate recipe, when there are so many wonderful, sweet and delicious variations?

We've rounded up our absolute favorite homemade hot chocolate recipes here, from classic European hot cocoa to Mexican hot chocolate. Whether you want to add a splash of booze, or gift your hot chocolate concoction, we've got a hot chocolate here to delight every palate, and warm every tummy.

Some examples on the website are: Red Velvet Hot Chocolate, Authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate, Viennese, Mounds Bar Cocktail, Hot Peppermint Patty, and White Hot Chocolate. For the other variations and all the ingredients, go to:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/fantastic-hot-chocolate-recipes-4155725

Book Recommendation

The River We Remember

by

William Kent Krueger

In 1958, a small Minnesota town is rocked by a shocking murder, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances in this dazzling novel, an instant New York Times bestseller.

On Memorial Day in Jewel, Minnesota, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast.

The investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.

Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.

Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of mid-century American life that is “a novel to cherish” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), The River We Remember offers an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home.

www.amazon.com

From Today's Montessori...

Valley JCC Men's Club

Meet and socialize

with other 55+ men in the Valley!

Past outings include special tours of Santa Anita Park, Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena, experiences at Dodger Stadium, the Getty Museum, and Axe Throwing at Lumberjack's in Northridge.

The Men's Club meets the first Monday of the month

unless there is a national or religious holiday.

The Men’s Club will meet:

Monday, January 8th at 6:00pm

(The first Monday of the month is New Year's Day)

The Stand

19600 Plummer Street, Northridge

Please RSVP to me and let me know 

whether or not you will be able to attend

I hope you and your family had a good holiday

and a Happy New Year!

 ...Steve Levine 

For more information, contact [email protected] or call 818-360-2211

Valley JCC is looking forward to engaging in continuous outreach in the community.

Stay tuned for details...

Fundraising Opportunity

On Your Birthday!

"How To" Use Ralphs To Benefit Valley JCC

1. Go to: www.ralphs.com
2. Click on "Sign in" to the right of the search box. (If you don't have an online account, click on "Register")
3. Click on your name to the right of the search box at the top
4. You will now be on your Account Summary page
5. Scroll down to "Community Contributions" and click on "Enroll"
6. Complete the online form and Click on "Save"
7. Enter organization number SK677 and click on the "Search" button
8. "Valley Jewish Community Center" will be displayed. Click "Enroll"
9. You will see a confirmation at the top of the Account Summary page
10. A percentage of your purchases will be donated to Valley JCC