To read the latest updates from national USCJ headquarters, click here for USCJ eNews.
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| To read workshop summaries and to download handouts from the 2010 Synagogue Leadership Conference, visit the METNY website. |
| Publicize your event on the METNY Community Calendar. Please email
Kimberly Bastin at bastin@uscj.org to have your event posted.
Click here to view the calendar. |
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METNY USCJ has an extra set of Encyclopedia Judaica. If you are interested in attaining this set for your synagogue library please contact Rabbi Charles Savenor at savenor@uscj.org. |
| Contact METNY |
| 820 Second Avenue, 10th Fl.
212-533-0800 (p)
212-533-0400 (f)
| SAVE THE DATE!
METNY District's
Biennial Convention
2010 will be held on
Sunday,
November 14
at Beth El Synagogue Center
in New Rochelle.
More information will be forthcoming.
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The Metropolitan New York District of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
presents newly restructured and freshly redesigned
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCES
for Synagogue presidents, officers, committee members, clergy and professionals
Conducting a Successful High Holy Day "Appeal"
Facilitator: Jeff Horowitz, Vice President of METNY District
May 13th, 7:30 PM at the Dix Hills Jewish Center, Dix Hills in Suffolk County -
RSVP by Tuesday, May 11 - Guest presenter: Lee Grebstein, Past President Dix Hills Jewish Center, Chairman of High Holy Day Appeal
May 17th, 7:30 PM at the Orangetown Jewish Center, Orangeburg in Rockland County - RSVP by Thursday, May 13 Guest presenters: President Karen Goldstick and Rabbi Aubrey Glazer of the Jewish Community Center of Harrison, NY
RSVP for either session by contacting Rabbi Moshe Edelman at 212-533-0800 or edelman@uscj.org.
The theme of the Yamim Noraim/Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur is the three-fold concepts of Teshuvah, Tefillah and Tzedakah.
Through change which we initiate in ourselves, through the experience of prayer/reflection and through acts of righteousness including deeds of kindness (hesed) and tikun olam (change behavior) and tzedakah as financial gifts we elevate our lives and transform society.
The High Holy Days have become a time for tzedakah for the synagogue. We will address the following questions at the seminar:
- How should a synagogue develop a meaningful approach to raising funds for itself?
- What role do lay leaders play in the process?
- What part is reserved for rabbi, hazzan or other religious leaders?
- When should the campaign begin?
- Who should be contacting the membership?
- How should we approach members?
- What financial goals should be set for each year?
- What techniques have been successful already?
SUCCESSFUL EFFORT SHARED. QUESTIONS DISCUSSED, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR 5771/2010 EFFORT.
The Leadership Series is coordinated by Norman Korowitz , METNY Executive VP and Rabbi Moshe Edelman, METNY Associate Director.
To RSVP or for more information, contact Rabbi Moshe Edelman at (212) 533-0800 or edelman@uscj.org.
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Bone Marrow
Registry Drive for Ramah Parent, Matt Fenster
Jennifer & Matt Fenster  |
The
Fensters, a deeply committed Ramah family, need your help. Matt,
Jennifer, and their four children spend summers at Ramah Berkshires
and Nyack. He has worked endlessly to help his community in Riverdale, NY,
and beyond.
Matt
was recently diagnosed with AML, acute myelogenous leukemia. He needs a bone
marrow transplant to save his life and we are desperately searching for a
marrow match for Matt. His family and friends are now calling on the
Ramah community to assist in this time of need.
There are two
opportunities to register as a potential bone marrow donor:
Thursday,
May 13 from 2:30-8:00 p.m. at the SAR Blood Drive (dedicated in memory of
Zack Meller z"l) Sunday,
May 16 from 9:00-5:00 p.m. at Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of
Riverdale (CSAIR), 475 West 250th Street, Bronx, NY
- Sunday, May 16 from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at The Jewish Center, 131 West 86th Street, New York, NY
- Sunday, May 23 at the Salute to Israel Parade, details to follow
Both
drives are coordinated by the Gift of Life Foundation.
Registration involves a simple cheek swab (adults age 18-60).
You can also make a
contribution to the Matt Fenster Donor Circle to defray the costs of processing
of the donor kits. Each donor kit costs $54 to process.
The more kits collected and paid for, the better chance we will have of finding
a bone marrow match for Matt.
More
information about this effort, including how to make a contribution can be
found at www.mattfenstercircle.org.
If
you have already been tested, please consider donating $54 to cover the cost of
someone else's test.
For more information
or to volunteer to assist with this effort, please contact info@mattfenstercircle.org.
A Message from Matt
I was diagnosed with leukemia on April 23, 2010, not long ago. Until that day,
I never would have guessed that I had cancer. Since then, my family's world has
been turned upside down. Overnight, we went from the normal family down
the
block whose biggest concern was getting all the kids dressed, fed, and into the
car in time for school, to a family fighting this potentially fatal disease. We
have been sustained through all of this with the overwhelming support of our
family, friends and community.
Those people have not only taken it upon themselves to bring us meals,
make playdates for our kids, and coordinate Yonah, Ari, Leah and Elie Fenster  | visits, but they have now made it
their mission to help me beat this disease by finding me a donor who will
provide the bone marrow that I will need to survive. I have full confidence in
them, and know that they will find that person out there who will save me, and
in the process, help to keep intact my family, including my wife, my daughter
(8 years old), and my three sons (6, 4, and 2 years old).
My family and I would deeply appreciate your joining my donor circle and
contributing funds to offset the cost of testing. And if you are able to
register with the Gift of Life as a potential marrow donor, better yet.
Thank you,
Matthew, Jennifer, Leah, Yonah, Ari, and Elie Fenster
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The Metropolitan New York District of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism presents: A MORNING OF STUDY AND SOCIABILITYwith HAZAK: the Senior Adult Program of Conservative JudaismIn Celebration of ShavuotMAY 11TH 2010BETH EL SYNAGOGUE CENTERNEW ROCHELLE NEW YORK
10:15 a.m. Welcome to the Beth El Synagogue of New Rochelle. Come in an have a cup of tea or coffee. Meet new friends. Say hello.
10:35 a.m. Meet Rabbi David Kosak, Assistant Rabbi of Beth El and our guest speaker Rabbi Moshe Edelman Associate Director, METNY District of USCJ.
10:40a.m. FAITH, FAMILY AND FRIENDSHIP in the BOOK OF RUTH. In 4 short chapters we shall explore
- Judaism's attitude to non-Jews
- Conversion to Judaism
- The place of Israel in Jewish tradition
- The relationship of generations(mother in law and daughter in law in Ruth)
- The coming of the Messiah: Jewish idea, Christian thought
- The relationship of Ruth to the holiday of Shavuot
And time for a few Q&A too.
11:55 a.m. Shalom. Thanks for coming. Please let us know of other topics for us to prepare for you.
12:00 p.m.Lunch at one of New Rochelle's kosher restaurants. On your own.
Please RSVP to (212) 533-0800 or edelman@uscj.org to let us know if you will be coming with friends, other congregants, or other seniors. Beth El Synagogue Center is located at 1324 North Avenue in New Rochelle. The program is free to all.
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Yasher Koach Corner
Students represented the following schools:
Adath Israel (Riverdale, NY)
B'Nai Sholom (Rockville Centre, NY)
Huntington Jewish Center (Huntington, NY)
Little Neck Jewish Center (Little Neck, NY)
Midway Jewish Center (Syosset, NY)
North Shore Jewish Center (Port Jefferson Station, NY)
Park Avenue Synagogue (New York, NY)
Temple Beth Sholom (Roslyn, NY)
Temple Hillel (Valley Stream, NY)
Temple Israel (Great Neck, NY)
Temple Israel (South Merrick, NY)
Yashar kochachem to all of our participants, and a special Mazel Tov to the B'Nai Sholom in Rockville Centre team, who won the competition! 
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of all the parents, teachers, and coaches who helped prepare the students for the Hidon. We also salute the lay leaders and professionals who arrived at JTS at 8:30 on Sunday morning to assist with the program (scorekeepers Abe Eisenberg, Carol Green, Manny Korman, and Micah Shilcrat; judges Rabbi Steven Axelman, Rabbi Moshe Edelman, Dave Siegel, and Gila Drazen; Hidon overseer Dr. Len Wasserman; METNY staff Kimberly Bastin; and Rabbi Paulette Posner, METNY director of education.
We hope that your synagogue's religious school will join us for Hidon 2011! For more information about Hidon HaTorah, contact METNY at metny@uscj.org. To see more pictures from the Hidon, please go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/metnyuscj) and click on the Photos tab.
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The Salute to the Israel Parade is on Sunday, May 23, 2010.
Click here to learn more and have your synagogue march!
This year the celebration and parade will mark the 62nd anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. The METNY District of United Synagogue, which is made up of over 100 congregations, has always had an impressive contingent at the Annual Salute to Israel Day Parade. We hope you will participate and bring your members, friends and family.
METNY will be marching with our regional USY group. Details are below:
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Our assembly time is 1:30 p.m.
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We will meet at West 54TH
Street between 5th and 6th Ave.
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The parade ends at 74TH
Street
------- We have a few simple questions for your synagogue: 1. Will your congregation be marching in the parade as its own group, your area or METNY? YES____NO____. If YES, which one? 2. Will you be watching, but not marching? YES_____NO______ 3. Did you congregation run any special programs for Yom Hazikaron or Yom Ha'atzma'ut this year? If so, please describe it here: Name of Congregation:_______________________________________________ Address_____________________________City________________Zip_________ Your Name __________________________ email__________________________ Please be in touch with any questions. We can be reached at metny@uscj.org or 212-533-0800. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at the Salute to Israel parade on May 23rd! B'shalom,
Jeffry Horowitz Sharon Steinberg METNY Israel Affairs Chairman METNY President P.S. - USCJ has an Israel Affairs Committee with hundreds of congregations represented. If you have not submitted the name of your congregation's chairperson, please do so at this time. You can send your information to Jeff Horowitz at jeffry.horowitz@verizon.net.
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Two Minutes of Israel from Rabbi Paul and Nina Freedman
Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), the 28th day of the month of Iyar (which this year falls on May 12), celebrates the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967.
From 1948 until 1967, Israelis- Jews, Christians and Muslims - were denied access to their holy sites, which were under Jordanian occupation. Synagogues, including the Hurva Synagogue in the Old City, rebuilt and rededicated during Pesach this year, were utterly destroyed. Tombstones in the ancient Jewish cemetery were desecrated and used to build roads an latrines. Today, all holy sites are not only open to all religions but are properly maintained and men and women of all faiths flock to Jerusalem. If you have been in Jerusalem on Sukkoth, you surely have been moved by the parade of Christians from countries across the world who come here to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles and to express their support for the people of Israel.
Jerusalem Day is a day of great rejoicing, not only for Israelis, but for Jews across the world. But for Jerusalemites, every day is Jerusalem Day, and especially for those who remember the anguish of gazing yearningly from afar at the ancient walls, of seeing cypress trees which hid even the sight of the Western Wall. The children of Israel, and especially of Jerusalem and its surroundings, dance through the streets and into the Old City on this special day.
Perhaps, you, too, sat in front of your TV in June, 1967 and cried with joy at the sight of young soldiers weeping as they listened to the sound of the Shofar.
Many synagogues add Hallel to the regular morning services. For it was in 1967, during the Six Day War, that we truly returned to Zion.
Rabbi Paul Freedman is the Director of the USCJ Israel Commission and Director of Outreach for the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center. Nina Freedman, together with her husband, has made their home a warm and welcoming center for visitors, soldiers and USYers.
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92Y Resource Center for Jewish Diversity Presents:
The Hidden Jews of Persia
Tue, May 11, 8:15 pm
Tickets: $27
Order your tickets today and receive 20%discount! Use the code BP20 when ordering tickets.
Go to www.92Y.org/JewishDiversityor call 212.415.5500 
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Volumes
An Exhibition of Art Curated by Tobi KahnOpening May 5, 6:00-9:00 pmin The Library of The Jewish Theological SeminaryThe Jewish Theological Seminary3080 Broadway (at 122nd Street)New York City |
Chevra Kadisha and
Jewish Cemetery Conference
The 8th
North American Chevra Kadisha and Jewish Cemetery Conference begins in just 5
weeks Sunday June 5, 2010 at the Perimeter Marriott Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia -
and ends on Tuesday June 7. Participants will be coming from all over the United States and Canada. Don't miss this opportunity
to learn, network and bring back to your community.
Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the conference is intense; there are many workshop choices
and lots of networking to accomplish in a short time. You may not get a lot of
sleep, and you will be full of new ideas and inspiration when you get home. We
apologize in advance for the intensity and spiritual uplift that you will
receive.
Rabbi Arnold
Goodman - 35 years after writing the groundbreaking A Plain Pine Box
Richard
Fishman - The Future of Cemeteries from the perspective of NY State's Cemetery
regulator
Rabbi Mel
Glazer - Caring for the Caregivers
Simcha
Raphael - A Traveler's Guide To The Afterlife For Contemporary Hevra Kaddisha
Gan Yarok
Panel - Green Burial and Green
Cemeteries
Workshops
are grouped into four tracks - Community Education, Tahara, Chaplaincy and
Jewish Cemetery. The
Community Education track includes workshops on starting a Chevra Kadisha,
community education about Jewish funeral and burial practices, a preview
of the new Jewish Funerals, Burial, and Mourning resource web site, and
developing Jewish-Muslim funeral strategies. The
Tahara track includes a tahara demo, complicated tahara issues, processing
emotions, and the evolution of tahara manuals. The
Chaplaincy track includes a hospice intensive for Chevra Kadisha members,
sessions on working with children experiencing bereavement, and afterlife
and Jewish death rituals.
The
Jewish Cemetery track includes sessions on genealogy, financial issues,
cemetery regulation, Hebrew free burial, land use, and customer service.
On Sunday
evening our Poster Session highlights conference participants who want to share
their experiences and the wisdom through posters that summarize concepts and
insights. Here are some poster examples:
Shmira training - what to read and how to read it
Successful strategies to recruit volunteers for your Chevra Kadisha
Using cemetery field trips to educate pre-schoolers about Jewish funeral
and burial traditions
The poster
session will be accompanied by music and desserts and the opportunity to
interact with conference exhibitors. Four poster prizes will be awarded.
The first 10
entries will receive a Kavod v'Nichum T-shirt. To register for the poster
session, contact Dr. Joyce Friedman, Poster Coordinator at jfriedman14@cox.net.
On Monday
evening we'll continue last year's discussion of Cremation and Ground Burial.
This "elephant in the room" has a significant impact on Jewish funerals and
burials.
If all this
isn't enough to convince you to attend the conference, consider this
enticement. The Gamliel Institute, the first-ever systematic course covering
all aspects of our Chevra Kadisha experience, begins its second course at the
Atlanta Conference. This course concerns the rituals Tahara and Shmira.
Perhaps you have never performed these rituals; or perhaps you consider
yourself a seasoned expert. In either case the Gamliel course on Tahara and
Shmira will deepen your understanding and emotional ties to these ancient
Jewish practices.Please take a moment to read the course outline and then register
today for Gamliel.
The
logistics of the conference are designed to make it easy and inexpensive. The Atlanta airport has many
airline options. MARTA is cheap and easy and drops you off 1 block from the
hotel. Hotel rooms are under $100 a day (available until May 15) and will
accommodate 1, 2, or 3 people. Six Kosher meals are included in your conference
registration fee.
We hope to
see you in Atlanta.
Register
now - rates go up on June 1.
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From UJA-Federation of New
York's SYNERGY Leadership Development Project
Webinar: So What's New About
Mergers?
Wednesday, June 2, at noon
and at 7:30 p.m.
In a time of dramatic
change in the synagogue world, two things are "new" about an apparently "old"
idea-namely, merger. First synagogues have new and urgent motivations to
consider such a change. And second, recent research has identified innovative
merger approaches few synagogues have ever seriously considered. In this
webinar you will:
· Explore
innovative forms of collaboration and merger relevant to the current situation
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Examine "myths about merger" that could harm your chances of success
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Consider how congregations shift from a survival focus to a visionary stance
that favors thoughtful innovation, and how leaders address the loss and
disorientation members experience along the way.
Workshop leaders: Robert
Leventhal and Alice Mann, both Senior Consultants with the Alban Institute
For more information please contact Gayle Bloom at 212.584.3346
or bloomg@ujafedny.org.
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Upcoming Transitions in YOUR Synagogue Leadership
METNY USCJ would like to keep all of your synagogue board members up to date on the METNY programs and information. When your synagogue elects new board members please fill out the Synagogue Leadership form and send back to the METNY office so we can include your leadership on our lists. Please click here for the form.
Please email, fax or mail to metny@uscj.org or fax to 212-533-0400. The form can be mailed to 820 Second Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10017.
Furthermore, many of our congregations are currently in search for professional and spiritual leadership. METNY is here to help. Please contact any of our staff with questions. We wish our congregations success in this sacred enterprise.
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