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JEWISH COMMUNITY
CENTER OF
LONG BEACH ISLAND
E-LETTER
November 7, 2025
16 Cheshvan 5785
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A MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI
Parashat Vayeira illustrates many important Jewish values.
When God visits Abraham while the prophet is convalescing after his circumcision, God is performing the value of Bikur Cholim, visiting the sick. When Abraham, despite still healing from the circumcision, insists on welcoming and feeding 3 men (angels) who pass by his tent, he is exhibiting the value of Hachnasat Orchim, welcoming guests. When Abraham attempts to dissuade God from destroying Sodom and Gomorrah he is demonstrating the importance of Pikuach Nefesh, saving a life.
Why are these stories and the values they represent important? The answers vary, but one good reason is that because they are in writing, and we pass them down from generation to generation, they will not be forgotten. Once something is in writing, you can comfortably anticipate that it will be passed on, and future generations will learn from them. This is the beauty of the Torah and our system of reading it every year.
But what if we, you or I, want to pass down an idea or a value to our loved ones? One way to do this is through an “ethical will”, which is a personal document that shares a person's values, beliefs, and life lessons with loved ones, unlike a legal will which focuses on distributing assets. It can be a written letter, a video, or a recording that conveys a person's hopes, advice, memories, and guidance for future generations.
We can try to teach our children or grandchildren by setting good examples, but if we want to make sure that they understand what we were trying to do or say, the best way is to accomplish this goal would be to put it into a tangible form designed specifically for the purpose of teaching the lesson.
How important is this exercise?
It is so important that I spoke about it before Yizkor this past Yom Kippur in an effort put it out there for you to consider. I used the book “The Forever Letter”, by Rabbi Elana Zaiman (see information below), to illustrate the benefit and the mechanics of preparing an ethical will.
It is so important that when WAX was looking for me to do a program this fall, we decided that we should go back to the Ethical Will topic. Please join us on Thursday, November 13th after Evening services, around 7:45 for an in-depth discussion of what an Ethical Will is, what is might contain, and how you can prepare one. Services begin at 7:30 join us at the start or wait until 7:45. Here is the link: LINK
It is so important that the Talmud, in tractate Taanit, provides a good illustration of the meaning of leaving a legacy. In it we read the story of Honi, the circle drawer. One day he saw an elderly man planting a carob tree. Honi asked him: “Are you aware that it takes about 70 years for a carob tree to bear its fruit? Do you really think that you will be around to enjoy the fruit of this tree?”
The old man replied: “I am well aware of the number of years it takes for the carob tree to produce fruit. But just as my parents planted carob trees for me to enjoy, I am planting trees for my children.”
After he speaks with the older man, Honi has a meal which puts him into a deep sleep. He awakens in 70 years; the precise amount of time it takes a carob tree to give fruit. When Honi awoke, he saw a man picking carobs from the tree. Unaware of how long he slept, Honi inquires of the man: “Are you the one who planted this tree?”
“No” he replied. “That was my grandfather”.
Let’s be certain to plant trees for our children and grandchildren so that what we plant will nurture them and their descendants forever. Join me on the 13th!
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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Candle Lighting Time
(Southern Ocean County)
Shabbat Eve
Friday, November 7, 2025
4:30 PM
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Friday
November 7, 2024
SERVICES
7:30 PM
ON ZOOM ONLY
Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join Services
on Zoom
FRIDAY NIGHT
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Saturday
November 8, 2025
9:00 AM
ON ZOOM ONLY
.Here is
your invitation from
Rabbi Jay to join
Zoom services
SATURDAY MORNING
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TORAH READING
Parashat Vayera
Genesis 18:1-22:24
Vayera (“He Appeared”) opens as guests inform Abraham that Sarah will give birth. Despite Abraham’s attempts to convince God otherwise, God destroys the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sarah gives birth to Isaac, and Abraham sends away Hagar and Ishmael. At God’s command, Abraham prepares to sacrifice Isaac, but an angel of God tells Abraham to offer a ram instead.
HERE IS THE PORTION
HAFTORAH
II Kings 4:1-37
In this week's Torah reading, G‑d promises a child to Abraham and Sarah, despite childless Sarah's advanced age. This week's haftorah describes a similar incident that occurred many years later — the prophet Elisha assuring an elderly childless woman that she will bear a child.
Here is the Haftorah
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MA'ARIV & HAVDALLAH
Saturday
November 7, 2025
5:30 PM
Minyan for Harris Weisel’s yahrzeit for his father
Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to
join Zoom services:
HAVDALLAH
WEEKDAY SERVICES
Monday - Thursday
Ma'ariv Service
7:30 PM
Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to
join Zoom services:
MA'ARIV
Monday - Friday
Shacharit Service
8:15 AM
Sunday at 9:00 AM
Here is your invitation from Rabbi Jay to
join Zoom services:
SHACHARIT
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BEGINNING NOVEMBER 7, FRIDAY NIGHT SERVICES (EXCEPT FOR SHABBAT DINNER EVENINGS)
WILL BE
ON ZOOM ONLY
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Inspired by the medieval tradition of the ethical will, forever letters are heartfelt letters we write to the people who matter to us with the hope that, even if our letters aren’t kept forever, the wisdom and
love that we share will be.
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This Sunday is the 87th anniversary of Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, literally the “Night of Crystal,” but generally translated as the “Night of Broken Glass,” was a tragic turning point in the fate of Germany’s Jewish community. The country-wide pogrom began on November 9, 1938, and lasted through the 10th. Over the course of Kristallnacht, close to 100 Jews were killed, 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, hundreds of synagogues were burned and desecrated, and over 7,000 Jewish shops were vandalized and had their windows shattered (hence the name Kristallnacht).
Previously oppressive measures had been non-violent, but Kristallnacht was the first step toward the horror of the “Final Solution.”
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SUNDAY, November 9
Pickleball
10 AM - 1 PM
Everything You Want to Know About the Surflight Theatre
with Steve Steiner
11:00 AM
ON ZOOM
******
MONDAY, November 10
Drawing with Joyce Smith
10:30 AM
Davening 101 with Stu
7:45 PM
TUESDAY, November 11
Pickleball
10 AM - 1 PM
******
WEDNESDAY, November 12
Canasta & Mah Jongg
12:30 - 4 PM
****
THURSDAY, November 13
Torah Study
11 AM
Pickleball
10 AM - 1 PM
Ethical Wills
with Rabbi Jay
7:45 PM
*****
FRIDAY, November 14
Studying the Prophets
following morning minyan
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Sunday, November 9
Everything You Want to Know About the Surflight Theatre
with Steve Steiner
11:00 AM
Monday November 10
Adult Education: Davening 101
7:45 PM
Monday, November 10
Drawing with Joyce Smith
10:30 AM
Thursday, November 13
WAX Brunch
Friday, November 14
LBI Table
11:00 AM
Wednesday, November 19
WAX Book Review
4:00 PM
Sunday, November 23
PJP Shtetl Series
“A Virtual Tour of the Once
Jewish Towns of Eastern Europe”
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WAX Brunch
Friday, December 12
at Beach Bum
11:00 AM
Sunday, December 14
PJP Shtetl Series
“Exploring the Lives of Jewish Children in Eastern Europe”
Hanukah Shabbat Dinner
Friday, December 19
at Beach Bum
11:00 PM
New Year's Eve Celebration
Wednesday December 31
8:30 PM
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MAH JONGG & CANASTA
WEDNESDAYS
12:30 PM TO 4:00 PM
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PICKLEBALL
Sundays and Thursdays
10 - 1
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DAVENING 101 with Stu
Monday,November 10
7:45 PM
Learn to participate more fully during services
with Stu Lehrer, Ritual Chair.
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WAX BOOK DISCUSSION
The third Wednesday of each Month
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Wednesday, November 19th at 4:00 pm
Discussion Leader: TBA
ON ZOOM
Beyond the Rivers of Babylon: My Journey of Optimism and Resilience
in a Turbulent Century
By Joseph Samuels and Julie Fax
Growing up on his family’s cattle farm in western Iceland, young Orri has gained an appreciation for the beauty Rowing upon the Tigris River to enjoy a summer campfire on the tiny islands that emerged every summer, teenaged Joseph Samuels never could have imagined that these waters would soon become his only hope for freedom. At the age of 19, he was forced to leave his family behind as he smuggled out of Iraq in the secret hold of a Basra riverboat to escape the violent and repressive anti-Semitism that, over the next few years, would spell the end of the twomillennium old Iraqi Jewish community. Beyond the Rivers of Babylon follows Joe’s remarkable journey, from his colorful childhood in the Old Jewish Quarter of Baghdad, to his life-altering service in the Israeli Navy, to starting a family and building a real estate empire in Montreal and Los Angeles. Blessed with a landscape of a home that is no more, and in the process imparts the lessons of a life lived to its fullest. remarkably vivid memory and a keen ability to look inward, Joe paints a sensoryJoe paints a sensory landscape of a home that is no more, and in the process imparts the lessons of a life lived to the fullest.
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The JCC section at Crescent Memorial Park is available for sales. Please contact Bonni Rubin-Sugarman at 609-417-7148.
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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.
The gift shop is open during office hours M-F 10 - 2.
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CALL PAUL LEVINE WITH ANY QUESTIONS
484-802-0586
SEE ORDER FORM BELOW
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The following names will be read by the Rabbi on Friday evening:
Sadie Rose Entin
Bernice Hudes
Saundra Opatosky
Julius Robinson*
Lauren Westlake
Steven Baron
Benjamin Cohen
Beatrice Plotkin Fruchtman*
Mae Goldberg*
Abe Josephson*
Harris Weiner
Isidor Weisel*
Vivian Chairnoff
Abraham Levy
Joseph Litt
Joseph Meshulam
Ada G. Bass*
Bertrand Berman
Joseph Levin
Bess Silver
Laura Ziegeler
Claire Gottlin
Sidney Lichtenstein
George Medvin
Gilbert Tebeleff
Helene Geier
Libby Himelstein
Martin Samwick
Naomi Greenberg
Alex Hirsch
Elaine Ives-Cameron
Susan Ossanna
David Plotkin
Joseph Sherman
Max Silver
Manuel Smith*
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.
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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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Mark Pass
November 12
Janet Wayne
November 12
J.Ashley Klayman
November 14
Debra Levy
November 14
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Steven & Dale Hartman
November 8
44th Anniversary
Sharon & Jon Spina
November 8
39th Anniversary
Gerard & Robin Genna
November 9
35th Anniversary
Harris & Michelle Goldman
November 11
25th Anniversary
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SHARE YOUR NEWS
AND PICTURES
CONTACT:
rvalen1963@aol.com
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MAZEL TOV TO
LONG-TIME JCC OF LBI MEMBER
JUSTIN BRASCH
on his election as Mayor of White Plains, NY
CLICK HERE TO READ AN ARTICLE
THAT APPEARED IN THE JERUSALEM POST
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YOU CAN NOW FILL OUT A GIVING FORM AND PAY ON LINE IN ONE SIMPLE PROCESS.
Go to jccoflbi.org - Giving/Pay
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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:
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
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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
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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.
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JCC LEADERSHIP
OFFICERS
President- Phil Rosenzweig
1ST Vice President-Sherry Fruchterman
2ND Vice President-Diane Hoffman
3RD Vice President- Jon Geier
Treasurer- Stu Cofsky
Secretary- Cliff Denker
Immediate Past President -Michael Babst
BOARD MEMBERS
Howard Babbitt
Diane Buskirk
Lorna Klein
Ken Podos
Sondi Pripstein
Terri Robinovitz
David Shatz
Bonni Rubin-Sugarman
Rose Valentine
Ken Yudman
WOMEN'S AUXILIARY
President - Diane Buskirk
Treasurer - Suzy Geier
Secretary - Joanne Babbitt
Lorna Klein
Joyce Levine
Representative to the Board - Sondi Pripstein
Immediate Past President - Irene Babst
Rabbi Michael S. Jay, Spiritual Leader
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