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Message from the Chairman
Dear Friends,
September is always a busy month, with the High Holidays usually meaning family obligations or finding your way in a new community. For those who are new to the Hudson County community, HudsonJewish extends a warm welcome and best wishes for a Shanah Tovah uMetukah (Happy and Sweet New Year). Our many synagogues are open to visitors and new members and we hope that you will take the opportunity to explore them, meet the members and connect with other Jews in the area.
Speaking of connecting with others, HudsonJewish is pleased to feature the following opportunities for socializing with other Jews in the area:
- Weekly bike ride (Wednesdays, 6PM, leaving from the Korean War Memorial on Washington Street in Jersey City)
- Social/Intellectual "Salon" (next scheduled for Wednesday, September 9, 7:30PM at the C.A.S.E. Museum at 80 Grand Street in downtown Jersey City)
- "Tashlich-on-the-Hudson" (second day of Rosh HaShana, September 20, 4PM at the foot Washington Street near the Korean War Memorial in downtown Jersey City)
- Klezmer Selichot service at Temple Israel Community Center of Cliffside Park, on Saturday, September 12 at 9:30PM
- Mitzva Day followed by barbeque sponsored by United Synagogue of Hoboken on September 13 featuring over a dozen ways to contribute to the community in and around Hoboken
All of these events are open to the entire community, and more details are available at www.HudsonJewish.org. We hope that you will take advantage of the myriad events and programs in the community and that you will form connections with other local Jews who are seeking the same thing.
L'shana tova tikatevu v'tikatemu (may you be written and sealed for a good year),
Adam
Adam S. Weiss, Chairman, HudsonJewish
Adam@HudsonJewish.org
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Third Jewish Social/Intellectual "Salon" a Great Success. Fourth Planned for September 9th
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The August Salon featured a controversial topic: "How do we feel about the recent arrests of
prominent Jews and rabbis, and how do we think that such events affect others' feelings
about Jews?" The next Salon will focus
on a less controversial topic near and dear to Jewish hearts at holiday
time: "Do you have to be Jewish to love Levy's Rye Bread?, or, 'Jewish food and memory'." What are your memories of holiday foods? What memories do certain foods bring back to
you? Join a growing group of talkers and listeners for thoughtful discussion
and socializing on Wednesday, September 9, 7:30PM, at the CASE
Museum, 80 Grand StreetWashington) in downtown Jersey City.
For more information contact HudsonJewish Trustee Raylie Dunkel: Raylie@HudsonJewish.org. A small donation of refreshments is always
appreciated, especially if they relate to your memories of Jewish holidays. PS. Volunteers to serve on the HudsonJewish Program Committee should also contact Raylie. |
Volunteers Sought; Donations Appreciated
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HudsonJewish is a 100% volunteer effort and relies on the
community for support. While donations
are always appreciated (see, Our Donors), the most important thing
we need is people to help with specific tasks.
In particular, if you have skills in publicity or website development,
contact us at info@HudsonJewish.org. You will be joining a dedicated and capable
group of volunteers to serve a growing community that depends on HudsonJewish
for information and connection to other Jews in the vicinity. High Holidays time is also a time of giving. If you agree that HudsonJewish is doing good work for the community, you are also invited to make a donation either by PayPal on our website, or by check to: HudsonJewish, PO Box 225, Jersey City, NJ 07303. HudsonJewish is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.
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High Holidays Services and Synagogues
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All local synagogues have High Holidays services but dates
and times vary. As a reminder, Rosh HaShah begins at sundown
on Friday, September 18; Yom Kippur begins with Kol Nidre at sundown on Sunday,
September 27.
Here are some of the choices. Readers are encouraged to make arrangements
as soon as possible to ensure that there is room at the synagogue of their choice. A full list is available on the HudsonJewish website under "Directory."
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Congregation B'nai Jacob, 76 Westside Avenue in Jersey City.
Conservative. 201-435-5725. www.bnjaijacobjc.org
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Temple Beth-El of Jersey City,
2419 Kennedy Boulevard
in Jersey City. Reform.
201-333-4229. www.betheljc.org
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Temple Emanu-El of Bayonne, 735 Kennedy Boulevard
in Bayonne. Conservative.
201-436-4499. www.templeemanuelnj.com
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Congregation Mount Sinai, 128 Sherman Avenue in Jersey City.
"Traditional"/Orthodox.
201-222-3445 and 201-434-6629. www.mtsinai.net
- Temple Israel Community Center/Congregaton Heichal Yisrael, 207 Edgewater Road
in Cliffside Park. Conservative.
201-945-7310. www.ticc.org
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United Synagogue of Hoboken, 115 Park Avenue in Hoboken, Conservative.
201-659-4000. www.hobokensynagogue.org
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Free Shuttle Bus to High Holidays Services for Palisades Area Residents
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If you live along or near Palisade Avenue between Tom Hunter
Road in Fort Lee and Edgewater Road in Cliffside
Park, and you need a ride to shul (or don't
want to waste time parking), Temple Israel Community Center/Congregtion Heichal
Yisrael has the answer:
Take its shuttle bus, instead.
IT'S ABSOLUTELY FREE!
The bus will run continuously from 8:45 a.m. until around 2:30
p.m. both days of Rosh
Hashanah and on Yom Kippur, and from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Kol Nidre night, so you
can come and go as you please.
Please call the synagogue office to help the synagogue plan stops and timing.If you live in the North Hudson-Guttenberg area TICC/CHY will
consider a similar service if there is sufficient interest.
Just call the office at 201-945-7310 and leave a message, including your name and address.
Or send an e-mail with the information to the irrepressible Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer at: rabbi.engelmayer@verizon.net. |
"Tashlich-on-the-Hudson"
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Join Congregation B'nai Jacob for the traditional casting
away of sins ("tashlich") on the second day of Rosh HaShana, September 20, at
4PM at the foot of the Washington
Street on the promenade near the Korean War
Memorial. If you are not familiar with this lovely tradition it is the
one where you cast away your "sins upon the waters" symbolically by throwing
bread into the water. There will be singing and dancing and plenty of
bread so you can join the inimitable Cantor Marsha Dubrow in ritually cleansing yourself of sins to be ready for the New Year. For more information contact HudsonJewish Trustee Raylie Dunkel: Raylie@HudsonJewish.org.
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Post-Yom Kippur "Break Fast"
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Once again Tara Levy has offered to host a Break-Fast for Yom Kippur on September 28, 2009. Address: 128 Sussex Street, Apartment 1A. Contact Tara at: taralevy@aol.com.
Just as last year, everyone is invited bring something to share with the group and participate in what is becoming a wonderful neighborhood holiday tradition: Bring a dish you prepare or buy to share with the group. Or, it can be sodas, paper goods, a bottle of wine or bagels. It doesn't matter, just bring something (and someone) and come along to share a meal with our growing Jewish community in downtown Jersey City . Tara is one of the lucky people who has a real backyard including a grassy lawn so there is plenty of room for the crowd to "spill out the door" and on to the deck and into the yard. Children are welcome! You can arrive any time between 6:30 and 8:30 but if you are coming later you are encouraged to drop off your food in the afternoon so that those coming early will be able to taste all the goodies. There is no cost for this but you MUST RSVP and tell us what you are bringing so that we don't wind up with 400 bagels and nothing to put on them! If you attended the Break-Fast last year you know what a lovely evening it was. If you didn't, then please make an effort to join in the festivities, have something to eat (whether you have fasted or not) and wish everyone a "happy and healthy New Year". |
Eruv for Jersey City Heights!
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Congregation Mount Sinai is pleased to announce the creation
of an eruv in Jersey City
Heights! The boundries
are Palisade Ave
to the East, Central Ave
to the West, South Street
to the North, and Ferry Street
to the South. More information to come.
Contact Rabbi Shlomo Marks for additional details:
ravshlomo.mtsinai@gmail.com.
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Hebrew and Basic Judaism Class in JC Heights
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The Basic Judaism and Hebrew class taught by Rabbi and
Rebbitzen Marks is ongoing. The class takes place at Congregation Mount Sinai on
Monday nights 6:00-7:30 and focuses on conversational Hebrew. Please contact
Congregatoin Mount Sinai if you would like your email added to this list.
Comments and suggestions welcome. Congregation Mount Sinai
128 Sherman Avenue Jersey City, NJ 07307 Phone: (201)222-3445 Email: Info@mtsinai.net
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Mitzva Day and Welcome Back BBQ at USH
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On Sunday, September 13, United Synagogue of Hoboken will sponsor a multifaceted Mitzva Day followed by its annual welcome back barbeque. The BBQ itself lasts from 4 pm-7 pm, Contact HudsonJewish Trustee Matt Meistrich at Matt@HudsonJewish.org.
The barbeque will be preceded by "Mitzva Day," an
opportunity to contribute to the community in myriad ways. For example:
In partnership with the City of Hoboken and the Hoboken Housing Authority, USH
is holding a health, nutrition and fitness program in the Housing Authority,
geared toward educating children about good eating and exercise habits, and how
to make them fun in addition to the long-term benefits. 10 to 15 volunteers are
needed to help make this activity a success. Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer will give kids some pointers on bike safety.
In addition, USH will be doing maintenance projects and
various odd jobs for the Jubilee
Center, the Hoboken
Shelter, the Hoboken Boys & Girls Club, the Liberty Humane Society animal
shelter and the YMCA (a project to be spearheaded by Councilwoman Beth Mason).
USH
will also volunteer for the Hoboken Emergency Food Pantry and the Jersey City
branch of Dress for Success of Jersey City, Jewish Family Service, and visit the Harborage Assisted-Living Facility in North Bergen to run a bingo game.
Contact the synagogue for
more details at: 201-659-4000 or mitzvahday2009@hobokensynagogue.org.
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Abbreviated Hoboken Arts & Music Fair
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Although it is the morning before Kol Nidre, USH will have a
table at the Hoboken Art & Music Festival on September 27. Stop by to greet neighbors and provide information
to prospective members of the community.
The USH table will close at 4PM to give time for people to prepare for
Kol Nidre. Contact HudsonJewish Trustee Matt Mestrich for
more info: Matt@HudsonJewish.org.
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Seeking Jewish Men
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No, it's not JDate. The Northern New Jersey Region of the Federation of Jewish
Mens Clubs is seeking to start a group in Hudson County
and would like to find Jewish men interested in getting a club started. Creative events could include a whiskey
tasting in the sukkah, speakers from a broad speakers bureau or similar
activities. For more information contact
Regional President Eric Weis at 973-722-0368 or emweis@gmail.com.
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New Preschool Option!
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Rabbi and Mrs. Mendy Schtroks have started a Jewish
preschool on the border between Bayonne
& J. City
(Kennedy Blvd.
in the 50's). The program is for children 1-3 years old & includes the usual
sort of preschool activities (arts & crafts, music, movement, play, baking,
etc.). If you are interested in this
wonderful program contact HudsonJewish Trustee (and preschool mother) Michelle
Levine at: Michelle@HudsonJewish.org. Classes are 9am-3pm Monday-Thursday and 9am-1pm
Friday.
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"Jew-grass" Concert and Selichot Service
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On Saturday evening, September 12 at 9:30 PM, Temple Israel
Community Center of Cliffside Park is proud to present a free concert by Margot
Leverett & the Klezmer Mountain Boys, an innovative troupe that combines
the best of klezmer with bluegrass music to create a unique "Jewgrass" sound. Here
is what David Kaufmann had to say about the group in Forward:
"First there was bluegrass, then there was newgrass and now,
perhaps inevitably, there is Jewgrass...
"Oddly enough, bluegrass is well suited for this kind of
ethnic makeover. For all its Appalachian origins, bluegrass is, like most forms
of music, a hybrid. Its musical structures can be a little rigid, but you can
hang a lot of stuff on them. To be sure, bluegrass came from the hill country
of the South, but people who listened to the radio invented it. They were
virtuosos who played swing jazz on the mandolin. They knew what blues sounded
like. They just never had heard of klezmer.
"As the name indicates, the group Margot Leverett
and the Klezmer Mountain Boys is trying to remedy that. The most prominent
Jewgrass band at the moment, the musicians blend classic bluegrass with what
could be called classic klezmer by whipsawing from one to the other within a
single song....
"Leverett, who was one of the original Klezmatics, is a classically trained clarinetist. She claims that
for years, bluegrass musicians were leery of her, precisely because the
clarinet is unimaginable in bluegrass. (What's more, her band doesn't have a
banjo.) Nevertheless, because she keeps good company now (her fiddler and her
mandolin player are famous in bluegrass circles), she has begun to gain
acceptance....The Klezmer Mountain Boys play gigs around the country and even
received a standing ovation in Kentucky, the mothership of bluegrass.
"According to Leverett, the musical marriage
between the Appalachians and the Carpathians is a natural. Beyond the similarities between the
peoples themselves (both poor, nostalgic for home and quite religious),
"klezmer and bluegrass come from the same place in the human heart,"
she said. They're both soul music for the dispossessed."
The concert begins promptly at 9:30PM and will be followed by the
brief Selichot service at approximately 11PM led by the irrepressible Rabbi
Shammai Engelmayer.
The synagogue is located at 207 Edgewater Road, Cliffside Park,
07010. Parking is available on the side street next to the synagogue.
For more information contact HudsonJewish Trustee Annette Hassell at: Annette@HudsonJewish.org.
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September Events
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To post your own organization's events to the HudsonJewish community calendar, email Trustee Jessica Lemmon (Jessica@HudsonJewish.org) for a username and password. Posting events is the best way to avoid scheduling conflicts and broadcast your events (and existence) to the community. Dates/times/locations may change, so check the online calendar for updates. More information is often available on the HudosnJewish website.
Wednesday, September 9 @ 7:30PM: Downtown Jersey City Jewish Social/Intellectual Salon. Join a growing group of talkers and listeners for thoughtful discussion and socializing on Wednesday, at the CASE Museum, (80 Grand Street and corner of Washington). Tonight's topic "Jewish Food and Memories." For more information contact HudsonJewish Trustee Raylie Dunkel: Raylie@HudsonJewish.org.
Wednesday, September 9 @ 7PM: Join the young women of Hadassah as they officially charter the newest chapter- Hoboken Hadassah at the United Synagogue of Hoboken (115 Park Avenue). Learn about Hadassah members' experiences as well as how to make a tasty cocktail! $5 Hadassah members, $10 non-members. To RSVP by Sept 1, visit: www.nnj.hadassah.org/hoboken-sept-charter.
Friday, September 11 @ 7pm: Shabbat Dinner and Torah Study for Young Adults. Meet other people in their 20's and 30's in Hoboken's Jewish community, and enjoy a relaxed Chinese dinner and discussion at the United Synagogue of Hoboken. It's free, but be sure to RSVP to bdeitsch@gmail.com.
Saturday, September 12 @ 7:30pm: Congregation B'nai Jacob of Jersey City invites the entire Hudson Jewish community to its 'Saturday Night at the Movies' and Selichot Services on September 12 at 7:30 PM. Award-winning filmmaker, Ellen Friedland, of JEMGLO productions will present "A Torah Returns to Poland" and another film TBA. A brief, traditional Selichot service conducted by Cantor Dubrow will follow. The entire community is welcome to this free event. For more information and directions, see: www.bnaijacobjc.org/events.html.
Saturday, September 12 @ 9:30PM: Temple Israel Community Center of Cliffside Park is proud to present a free concert by Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, an innovative troupe combining klezmer and bluegrass music to create a unique "Jewgrass" sound. Concert is followed by a Selichot Service at 11PM. Contact HudsonJewish Trustee Annette Hassell at Annette@hudsonjewish.org for more information.
Sunday, September 13 @ 10AM: "Mitzva Day-Hoboken." United Synagogue of Hoboken will sponsor a multifaceted Mitzva Day followed by its annual welcome back barbeque. The BBQ itself lasts from 4 pm-7 pm, Contact HudsonJewish Trustee Matt Meistrich at Matt@HudsonJewish.org
Sunday, September 20 @ 4PM: "Tashlich-on-the-Hudson." Join Congregation B'nai Jacob for the traditional casting away of sins ("tashlich") on the second day of Rosh HaShana, September 20, at 4PM at the foot of the Washington Street on the promenade near the Korean War Memorial. For more information please contact Raylie@hudsonjewish.org.
Sunday, September 27 @ 11AM: USH will have a table at the Hoboken Art & Music Festival on September 27. Stop by to greet neighbors and provide information to prospective members of the community. Monday, September 28 @ 6:30PM: Post-Yom Kippur "Break Fast". Once again Tara Levy has offered to host a Break-Fast for Yom Kippur. Address: 128 Sussex Street, Apartment 1A. Contact Tara at: taralevy@aol.com. You MUST RSVP!
Monday, September 28 @ conclusion of Yom Kippur Services: Congregation B'nai Jacob of Jersey City will host its 2nd Annual Community Break-the-Fast. This delicious catered event is free to the entire Jewish community thanks to sponsorship by Sid and Jane Canter. Reservations by September 23rd are necessary. For more information and directions, see www.bnaijacobjc.org/breakthefast.html
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"HudsonJewish" and the HudsonJewish logo are trademarks of the Hudson Jewish Community Forum, A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation having 501(c)(3) status. Our mission is to nurture and support Jewish life in Hudson County, New Jersey.
HudsonJewish: Connecting Our Community
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