JEWISH COMMUNITY

CENTER OF

LONG BEACH ISLAND

E-LETTER

December 13, 2024

12 Kislev 5785

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OF THE SHABBAT REMINDER

BILLBOARD ON ROUTE 72 MANAHAWKIN

Thank you Coastal Living Real Estate

Decorated Door at the Long Beach Township Municipal Building. Thank you Gina for your help.

Menorah at the reception desk at the LBT Municipal Building

If you have taken some pictures of candlelighting with family and friends or have decorated your home for Chanukah we would love to publish them in a future Shabbat Reminder. SEND TO rvalen1963@aol.com

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 (12^th century Spain and Egypt) determined that the episode was a prophecy or a dream. However, Nachmanides (13^th century Spain) determined that the fight could only have been a real encounter.

Rashi (France 1040-1105 AD) said that Jacob’s “man” was none other than a ministering angel fighting on behalf of Esau. Rashbam (France 1085-1158 AD – Rashi’s grandson) said that God sent an angel to make sure that Jacob did not run away from Esau so that God’s promise that Esau would not hurt him is realized. Ramban (Spain AKA Nachmanides 1194-1270 AD) tells us that God gives an angel sent on a mission the appearance of a man. Others have explained the incident as a prophetic dream and as a psychological drama wherein Jacob is actually battling himself.

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

Candle Lighting Time

(Southern Ocean County)

Shabbat Eve

Friday. December 13, 2024

5:19 PM

JOIN US FOR

SERVICES

Friday

December 13, 2024

Services

7:30 PM

ON ZOOM ONLY

Here is

your invitation from

Rabbi Jay to join Services

on Zoom

FRIDAY NIGHT

Saturday

December 14, 2024

9:00 AM

IN PERSON AND

ON ZOOM

Here is

your invitation from

Rabbi Jay to join

Zoom services

SHABBAT

TORAH READING

Parashat Vayishlach

Genesis 32:4-36:43

Vayishlach (“He Sent”) follows Jacob and his family as Jacob wrestles with a man (commonly understood as an angel), is renamed Israel, and reconciles with his brother, Esau. Jacob’s daughter, Dina, is raped by a Hivite prince, and her brothers sack a city in response. Rachel dies as she gives birth to Jacob's youngest child, Benjamin.

Here is Parshah

HAFTORAH

Obadiah 1:1-21

This week's haftorah mentions the punishment of Edom, the descendants of Esau, whose conflict with Jacob is chronicled in this week's Torah reading. The prophet Obadiah, himself an Edomian convert to Judaism, describes the punishment destined for the nation of Edom.

Here is the Haftorah

WEEKDAY SERVICES

Monday - Thursday

Ma'ariv Service

7:30 PM

Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to

join Zoom services:

MA'ARIV

Sunday - Friday

Shacharit Service

8:15 AM

Sunday at 9:00 AM

Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to

join Zoom services:

SHACHARIT

Here is the link for last week's PJP program on Jewish Yemen. I highly recommend you watch it. The story of the Yemenite Jews is facinating. Rose

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/WDpLZYnM6vGIZYTPlZgV6eNLq6RExl7Z6kUtRLJpEbR9pkBXiUZ60Z3UQPR_A081.pyuBi3U6vLT-23hg

Passcode: 15N1*&#a

A group of JCC members went to see the Maccabeats at Stockton University last Sunday. Not only was this acapella group fabulous but to be part of over 400 supporters of the group singing and clapping was inspirational. An early dinner was enjoyed but all.

Shabbat Dinner celebrating the 90th birthday of Harold Farin was very special. Thank you Harold for all you do for the JCC and for sponsoring the dinner.

SUNDAY, December 15

PRAY, STAY AND PLAY

Pickleball (see times below)

****

TUESDAY, December 17

Pickleball (See times below)

******

WEDNESDAY, December 18

Canasta & Mah Jongg

12:30 PM

WAX Book Club

4:00 PM

Led by Rabbi Jay

*********

THURSDAY, December 19

Torah Study

11:00 AM

PJP John Kendrick Series

Joan Rivers

8:30 PM

***********

FRIDAY, December 20

Studying the Prophets

PICKLEBALL SCHEDULE

CLCK HERE FOR WAX BOOK DISCUSSION

CLICK HERE FOR THURSDAY TORAH STUDY

CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY PROPHETS CLASS

Wednesday, December 18

WAX Book Club

Led by Rabbi Jay

4:00 PM

Thursday, December 19

PJP John Kendrick Series

Joan Rivers

8:30 PM

Friday, December 20

WAX Brunch at Kubels

11:30 AM

Thursday, December 31

New Year’s Eve Party at the JCC

8:30 PM

MAH JONGG & CANASTA

WEDNESDAYS

12:30 PM TO 4:00 PM

Pickleball for members only

Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays

SUNDAY DECEMBER 15

Join the Pickleball Group for Minyan at the JCC at 9 AM this Sunday. Enjoy Bagels. Lox, Cream Cheese, Coffee amd Tea. Pray. Stay and Play or just enjoy schmoozing.

Bagels and stuff donated by

Celia Satzman

As part of the PJP group, JCC members are privy to various programs. This Thursday evening at 8:30 PM you can enjoy a program "Joan Rivers - Can We Talk" John Kenrick's 3 Part Series.

John Kenrick combines his passion for entertainment history with the practical know-how earned while working on stage productions at every level from amateur to Broadway. John served as personal assistant to six Tony-winning producers, working on such productions as the Pulitzer Prize-winning hit Rent and the first revival of Grease. He gives talks on theatre and film history.

Here’s the link to register. You should receive the zoom link once you’ve registered.

https://bethelsynagogue.shulcloud.com/form/Kenrick

Our you can go directly:

Link: https://zoom.us/j/9729253056?pwd=Q3hMZFNmRVZ2ZndvdEZyMWVkcWl3QT09#success

Meeting ID: 972 925 3056

Password: 1234

JCC WOMEN’S AUXILIARY: BOOK GROUP DISCUSSION

WEDNESDAYS AT 4:00 PM

NEXT BOOK REVIEW MEETING

Wednesday, December 18th at 4:00 pm

Discussion Leader: Rabbi Jay

Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza

By: Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole

One May day in 1896, at a dining-room table in Cambridge, England, a meeting took place between a Romanian-born maverick Jewish intellectual and twin learned Presbyterian Scotswomen, who had assembled to inspect several pieces of rag paper and parchment. It was the unlikely start to what would prove a remarkable, continent-hopping, century-crossing saga, and one that in many ways has revolutionized our sense of what it means to lead a Jewish life.

In Sacred Trash, MacArthur-winning poet and translator Peter Cole and acclaimed essayist Adina Hoffman tell the story of the retrieval from an Egyptian genizah, or repository for worn-out texts, of the most vital cache of Jewish manuscripts ever discovered. This tale of buried scholarly treasure weaves together unforgettable portraits of Solomon Schechter and the other heroes of this drama with explorations of the medieval documents themselves—letters and poems, wills and marriage contracts, Bibles, money orders, fiery dissenting tracts, fashion-conscious trousseaux lists, prescriptions, petitions, and mysterious magical charms. Presenting a panoramic view of nine hundred years of vibrant Mediterranean Judaism, Hoffman and Cole bring modern readers into the heart of this little-known trove, whose contents have rightly been dubbed “the Living Sea Scrolls.” Part biography and part meditation on the supreme value the Jewish people has long placed on the written word, Sacred Trash is above all a gripping tale of adventure and redemption.

IF YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN THIS NEW YEAR'S EVE, WE WELCOME ALL SINGLE FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO HELP TO MAKE UP A TABLE.

PLEASE CONTACT DIANE BUSKIRK.

dianebuskirk@yahoo.com

CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATION

PAYMENT INFORMATION

You can send in your check to the JCC office

2411 Long Beach Blvd., Spray Beach, NJ 08008

Make your payment on the JCC Website.

See button below.

CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR PAYMENT ON LINE

Scroll to the bottom of the page on the Giving Opportunties page. Fill out the form with your information and type in under Donation Details, Other Reason box "NYE Party".

PJP PROGRAMS

As part of the PJP consortium the JCC is privy to many outstanding programs.

Travel around the world to Jewish neighborhoods...Study the ever complex dynamics of Eretz Yisrael...Enjoy stories of famous Jewish commedians,,,,

Zoom link will be published prior to each program....

The JCC section at Crescent Memorial Park is available for sales. Please contact Bonni Rubin-Sugarman at 609-417-7148.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PAVER WORK SHEET

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. Here is a sample of some of our new products. The gift shop is open during office hours M-F 10 - 2.

Eileen Jacobs, Potter

Seacrest Designs

Lavina Haven Soy Candles and

Essential Oil Soaps

Mezzuzahs

Resin Bowls and Candlesticks by Seacrest Designs

CONGREGATION NEWS

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

Henry Berman

Sylvia Gussin

Rae Konner

Neal Chilton

Rabbi Jacob Friedman*

Maxwell Kahn

Herman Pokras

Arthur Schoen

Marcus N. Silverman*

Miriam Levine

Milton Luxemburg

Mindy Iris Morgenthal*

Anna Mott

Frieda Ross

Charlotte Frank

Jeanette Kaufman*

Hy Zimmer

Abraham Weissler

Jack Barham

Alfred Berson

Pauline Kolsby*

Abe Morgenthal*

Lillian W. Pacharz*

Bertha Simandl

Albert Haas

Miriam Kaplan

Sam Rosenblith

We encourage you to join us on the day of your loved one’s yahrzeit. You are also welcome to share with the minyan some special memories of your loved one.

CLICK HERE FOR EVENING SERVICE

CLICK HERE FOR MORNING SERVICE

Marlene Herman

December 14

Ruth Hochberger

December 15

Philip Rosenzweig

December 16

Stanley Spitzer

December 16

Martin G. Bershtein

December 18

Erez Halevah

December 19

Jill Berson

December 20

Elly Rosenthal

December 20

SHARE YOUR NEWS

AND PICTURES

CONTACT:

rvalen1963@aol.com

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

FEDERATION NEWS....

TO RESERVE A TICKET CLICK HERE

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

2024 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

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.