Jewish Community Center of Long Beach Island E-Letter
November 19, 2021
15 Kislev 5782
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THIS WEEK THE OFFICE WILL BE OPEN ON WEDNESDAY ONLY FROM 10 AM - 2 PM |
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A THANKSGIVING PRAYER
By Rabbi Naomi Levy
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For the laughter of the children,
For my own life breath,
For the abundance of food on this table,
For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,
For the roof over our heads,
The clothes on our backs,
For our health,
And our wealth of blessings,
For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,
For the freedom to pray these words
Without fear,
In any language,
In any faith,
In this great country,
Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.
Thank You, God, for giving us all these. Amen.
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A TORAH MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI |
THE DAWN OF LIGHT
We have all suffered through them. We have each known the angst of the sleepless night; the night of tossing and turning. Few are spared the misery and loneliness of a night of worrying about a child, or a spouse, or a parent, or a friend, or a business, or a community, or a country, or the world, or about themselves. As we lay awake and consider the myriad negative possibilities, we are certain that we will never know joy again. There are no tricks to getting through these evenings; we just crumple the pillow, shiver, shed a tear and wait for daylight to filter through the window. Our energy is spent and we know that we cannot face the day.
And then, when we are too exhausted to sleep and too emotionally taxed to think about navigating our day, the light hits our eyes and somehow, though nothing has changed, and despite suffering the scars of the night that has passed, we muster the energy to get up and face the challenge, whatever it might be.
Jacob has just such a night in Parashat Vayishlach. He tries to go to sleep knowing that he will face his powerful and angry brother the next day; it is Esau, the brother from whom he stole a birthright and an inheritance. The Torah tells us that he is confronted by, and wrestles with, an angel until daybreak. At daybreak, after fighting to a draw, the angel needs to leave. The celestial being blesses Jacob and changes his name to Israel (He who wrestles with God and succeeded).
The question has been raised by many a commentator whether Jacob really wrestled an angel, or whether he dreamed it, or whether the angel is a literary metaphor. Maimonides (12th century Spain and Egypt) determined that the episode was a prophecy or a dream. However, Nachmanides (13th century Spain) determined that the fight could only have been a real encounter.
Whether the fight was real, dreamed, or imagined, seems irrelevant. The fact remains that Jacob struggled through the night. The result of his struggle is that by the time morning came, he was ready mentally and physically to confront his brother. Sometimes it is only through those torturous evenings that we are able to seize the ability to confront what is before us. Perhaps the disharmony of the all-night struggle is what imbues us with the ability to move forward.
Somehow Jacob’s struggle, whether internal or external, whether real or imagined, or whether at night or in a symbolic “night”, enabled him to face his challenge. The message is that times get bleak; this fact is unavoidable. But the darkness does not last forever. The Psalmist understood this dynamic in Psalm 30 when it says “Tears may linger for a night; joy comes with the dawn.” Poets and songwriters recognized it too. Cat Stevens, in wonder and amazement, sang, “Morning has broken, like the first morning”. And George Harrison understood it when he penned, “Here comes the sun, here comes the sun; and I say, it’s all right.”
Face the struggle, confront the fear, shed the tear, and know that at some point the light will make its way to you.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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Rabbi Jay will be away for the Thanksgiving Weekend. Thanks in advance to Ira Morgenthal and Zach Lombardi for helping with service.
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FROM IRA & INA MORGENTHAL
We want to thank everyone who joined us for our grandson Michael’s bar mitzvah last week and for all of their good wishes (we plan to reach out to you individually). A special thank you to everyone involved with the beautiful gift we received. While really not necessary, it is greatly appreciated. It is a joy to be part of this community.
Thanks, Ira and Ina
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SHABBAT SHALOM
Candle lighting Time
Friday evening,
November 19, 2021
4:20 PM
So. Ocean County
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JOIN US FOR
SERVICES
Friday evening
November 19, 2021
6:00 PM
ZOOM ONLY
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to Join
Zoom Services
Saturday morning
November 20, 2021
Services
9:00 AM
IN PERSON
AND
ON ZOOM
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to Join
Zoom Services
Torah Reading:
Parashat Vayishlach
Genesis 32:4-36:43
Here is the Reading
Haftorah
Here is the Haftorah
Obadiah 1:1 - 1:21
Saturday evening
5:30 PM
Havdallah
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to
Join Zoom Services
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:
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8 NIGHTS OF HANNUKAH
LIGHTS AT THE JCC
SUNDAY 11/28 - JEWISH JEOPARDY
MONDAY 11/29 - LET'S MAKE SUFGANYOT
TUESDAY 11/30 – TBD
WEDNESDAY 12/1 – SING ALONG
THURSDAY 12/2 – PLAY DREYDEL
FRIDAY 12/3 – SHABBAT DINNER
SATURDAY 11/4 -MOVIE
SUNDAY 12/5 – COMMUNITY CANDLE LIGHTING
Details tp Follow
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THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITIES
MONDAY 11/22
10:00 AM
Hartman Institute Seminar
"Foundations for a Thoughtful Judaism'
with Rabbi Jay
TUESDAY 11/23
Open Mah jongg/Canasta
12:30 - 4 PM
LOOKING FOR CANASTA PLAYERS ON TUESDAYS
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TUESDAY 11/23
INSTEAD OF WEDNESDAY
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.
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News from the
Women's Auxiliary of JCC
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THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO CAME TO THE
WAX HANNUKAH SALE
ON SUNDAY.
DROP IN ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH FROM 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
FOR ANY LAST MINUTE HANNUKAH GIFTS
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FRIDAY Night Shabbat Dinner (ZOOM)
December 3, 2021
Services at 6:00 PM
and dinner following. We will Schmooze, sing, pray, Schmooze, learn, eat, and Schmooze some more! Dinner following candle lighting and kaddish in your own private chat room with friends or new friends.
Future Dates - Save the Dates
January 7
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WAX BOOK CLUB
Wednesday, December 22nd at 4:00 PM Discussion Leader: Marlene Herman
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than sixty years, the Goldman and Weingold families – best friends and business partners – have presided over this glamorous resort which served as a second home for well-heeled guests and celebrities. But the Catskills are not what they used to be. Long-buried secrets emerge, new dramas and financial scandal erupt, and everyone from the traditional grandparents to the millennial grandchildren wants a say in the hotel’s future. Business and pleasure clash in this fast-paced, hilarious, nostalgia-filled story, where the hotel owners rediscover the magic of a bygone era of nonstop fun even as they grapple with what may be their last resort.
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Charlotte Frank
Jeanette Kaufman
Abraham Weissler
Jack Barham
Alfred Berson
Pauline Kolsby*
Abe Morgenthal*
Lillian W. Parcharz*
Bertha Simandl
Albert Haas
Israel J. Cramer
Esther Gold Entin
Rachel List*
Henry Medvin
Jerome Polaner
Charles Farin
Houshang Golsaz
Henrietta Schocat
Robert Eisner
Dora Levy
Benjamin Serepca*
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 also welcome to share with the minyan some special memories of your loved one.
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SHARE YOUR NEWS
AND PICTURES
CONTACT:
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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Rima K. Rosenstein
November 22
Renee Van Naarden
November 23
Art Schreer
November 24
Dale Morgenstern
November 25
Judy Nelson
November 25
Howard Cohen
November 26
Michelle Ehrich
November 26
Robert Finkel
November 26
Adam Meyers
November 26
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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:
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.
TRIBUTES
SEND ONE OF OUR TRIBUTES IN HONOR OR IN MEMORY OF
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
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JCC FUNDS
Your gift to the JCC support 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 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
THE OFFICE IS OPEN TUESDAY AD THURSDAYS
FROM 10 - 2
CONTINUE TO USE THE PHONE OR EMAIL WITH REQUESTS.
OUR OFFICE STAFF WILL BE CHECKING IN REGULARLY.
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Staff:
Leslie Dinkfelt, Office Manager
Mary Beth Krieger, Staff Member
Kitchen Manager: Susan Berube
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LATEST
BULLETIN:
PRAYER BOOK:
WEB SITE:
PAVERS:
TREE OF LIFE
YAHRZEIT PLAQUE FORM:
KOL HAKAVOD DONATION FORM
KOL HAKAVOD
TRIBUTES:
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Rabbi Michael S. Jay
Michael Babst, President
E-mail Editor: Rose Valentine
Graphics by
Irene Babst
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