PASSOVER SERVICES

Wednesday, April 1 at 8:15 AM

Fast of the Firstborn is a unique fast day in Judaism which usually falls on the day before Passover. Rabbi will be conducting s short study session to break the fast.

Thursday April 2 at 9:00 AM

Friday April 3 at 9:00 AM

Wednesday, April 8 at 9:00 AM

Thursday, April 9 at 9:00 AM - Yiskor at 10:45

ON ZOOM AND IN PERSON

SALE OF HAMETZ

PRINT AND SEND BACK TO RABBI BY MARCH 31, 2026

Stu’s a-STU-te Sayings    

DON’T PASSOVER TO MAKE PASSOVER PERSONAL, SPECIAL & FUN

Pesach or Passover is my family’s favorite holiday whether we have 30 at our Sedars or just a dozen as we will this year, here’s how, over the years, we have made our Pesach come alive with astounding sweetness and yup: fun!

In the beginning we read in English from beginning to end, each paragraph from the Maxwell House Hagadah – We did recite the Blessings and more famous songs as Daiyenu and Chad Gadyah in Hebrew – After a few years, we found it dull and at times: confusing and unclear and thus that prompted our changing the Sedar Scene to fit our family’s needs for a Perfect Passover!

The first thing we did was charging our nephew and “Uncle Stu” to rewrite that standard Hagadah so that the Hebrew had a better translation and what was ambiguous, we did our research and entered that to explain what we all found hard to understand

I then literally typed it all up with a bigger font and some creative graphics and then ran off 36 copies and inserting them in the plastic page protectors and binding them in plastic folders so that in the event of spills: it would be kept clean – I will now admit that I didn’t always use spell-check so the typos found in our Hagadahs have now become a source of enjoyment

Our Sedarim are hosted by Stu’s wonderful sister Susan and our brother in law Michael in Highland Park NJ

Now, the next step was to have our nieces and nephews and now our grandnieces and grandnephews seek out the first 3 stars outside to begin our Sedarim – We do the usual person by person reading of each paragraph BUT we now a great deal of singing and how are some other things we do to make our Sedars both entertaining and personal

• After the youngest reads the 4 Questions, we then take the Murray Spiegel and Rickey Stein Book on The 4 Questions in 300 Languages and each one of us reads them from at least 2 dialects
• We’re a very theatrical family: so, we have plays performed and followed by our own Awards Ceremony and then during our reading from the Hagadah, we will often use different voices and accents
• We’re a very dancing family so we perform dances of all types  
• We’re a very fair family: one night the kids hide the Afikomen and the adults have to find it and the next night, it’s reversed [though the kids always manage to find it]
•  Our family and guests [and yes, we often have guests, neighbors, and friends join us], are of all professions and we can go joyfully on and on with commentaries, interpretations, debates, and so all about what is found in the Hagadah and the Pesach story   
• We use props [vis: the 10 Plagues] and encourage all to share their memories of past Passovers
•     

And then there’s the last song: Chad Gadyah – we each take on one of the characters: since you all know Eve, she has become water and douses all with the water that quenched the fire [our brother in law now wears a raincoat as we begin Chad Gadyah] – And since basically everyone knows me: it is a ‘no-brainer’ that obviously I’m the dog

Yes, we don’t start eating an incredible full meal from the “Egg Vasser” and Soup and Veal,Chicken, Brisket as well as Vegan offerings and a gazillion desserts till about 11 PM, and don’t conclude till about 1 AM sometimes later, we have made our Pesach incredibly special, meaningful, fun, and personal

In conclusion, as it is customary to wish one a “Chag Sah’may’ach” on Jewish Holidays, we actually add a word to that bestowed wording to friend and family – As an emphasis of Pesach is food [ie – some foods that are normally kosher year round are not on Pesach] and as Kosher literally means Clean and Pure: it is customary to wish one and all a Chag Kosher v’Sah’may’ach!

I will also add and apologies to all for any possible slighting on my part, but I am not a Matzah fan [and not just because at our Sedars, we only have Shmora Matzah], but and this is a big but: this meant that I really never had a taste for Matzah Brei until I had the Rabbi’s Mother’s z”l Matzah Brei – Even though I now really like that treat: no one makes it like Zena Jay z”l

So, we wish all a joyous, inspirational, peaceful and fun Passover – to all a great Chag Kosher V’Sah’may’ach!

CLICK HERE FOR A WAX CALENDAR OF EVENTS

TUNE IN THIS SUNDAY NIGHT AT 8:00 on FOX

The Faithful: Women of the Bible

The second installment follows Isaac’s wife, Rebecca, and the way she treats her two sons, Esau and Jacob.

Editors Note: Would love to hear your review of the program. Please respond to this email with your thoughts. Rose

WAX BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP

Wednesday, April 22nd at 4:00 pm

Discussion Leader: TBA

The Midwives’ Escape: From Egypt to Jericho

By Maggie Anton

An Egyptian mother and daughter, Asenet and Shifra, a midwife and her apprentice, wake up on the morning of the tenth plague to find Asenet's husband and son, both firstborns, dead. Asenet's sister Pua, married to an Israelite, urges Asenet's family to leave Egypt with them, which they reluctantly do, along with Asenet's wainwright father and his two apprentices. Recognizing that the Hebrew god is more powerful than any of the Egyptians' gods, other non-Israelites join the exodus, including Hittite and Nubian palace guards. Once hearing and accepting God's commandments at Mt. Sinai, these two Egyptian midwives join the Israelites on their forty-year journey to The Promised Land where they tend to the wounded, share hardship and adversity, fall in love, and start a new home and a new generation.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR JUNE 10

NEED A SEDER PLATE? MATZAH BOX? WINE GLASS?

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.

CONGREGATION NEWS

We would like to expand our Caring Committee to reach out to folks who need a "how are you doing?" call once and a while. Please contact

Debby Schweighardt

973-634-5349 if you are interesting in participating

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

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

Scroll down to see the new Ner Tamid Fund

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.

NER TAMID FUND

The Ner Tamid Fund was established in 2025 as part of the JCC’s 75^th Anniversary Celebration. Its purpose is to fund necessary maintenance or improvement of our beautiful JCC building as well as the Parsonage. To ensure that the JCC remains an Eternal Light for the Jewish Community on and off the island and in Southern Ocean County generally, please consider making a separate donation to the Ner Tamid Fund, or allocating a small portion of your High Holiday donation to that fund.