REMINDER: Spring Break

Just a reminder there will be no Religious School on the following days during spring break:

Shabbat and Holiday 

Service Schedule

Thank you Sharon Katzman

Thank you, Sharon, for the book reading, signing and discussion of your book "Tearing Down the Wall". 

Click here to see more photos from this special event.

Our next book reading, discussion and signing will be on Friday, May 6 with Estelle Breines and her book Brooklyn Roots: A Tale of Pickles and Egg Creams.

JFS Job Seekers

Support Group

Are you unemployed, underemployed or seeking a career change?

Are you looking for a lifestyle change or a better balance between work and family ?

You are invited to

attend our free

A group for active job seekers that focuses on strategies and issues affecting your job search

"Ace the Interview"

Presenter:  Linda Trignano of Trignano Coaching & Consulting, LLC

Date:  Wednesday, April 6

Time:  7:00-9:00 p.m.

Place:  150-A West High Street, Somerville, NJ

Please contact JFS

at 908-725-7799 to register

Funding for this program

provided by a grant from

Magyar Bank

Photos from the L'Taken Seminar in Washington, DC and our special 8/9/10 Grade Challah Baking Class are now up on the web! 

If you or someone you know is over 60, homebound or has a disability, Meals on Wheels in Hunterdon can deliver a hot noontime meal Monday through Friday with weekend coverage if needed. Participants are also invited to join Meals on Wheels at one of its Congregate Dining Nutrition Sites around Hunterdon County. Delicious meals delivered and served by warm and caring neighbors - what could be better?

If you or someone you know would benefit from the security and support of home delivered meals or congregate dining, contact Meals on Wheels today. Call (908) 284-0735 for more information.

Yarns and Midrash-- Knit, Crochet, Storytelling Circle

In the coming weeks we will usher in the first of the Hebrew months - Nisan.  Nisan marks the beginning of spring, the rebirth of the natural world.  It is a time when we emerge from the coldness of winter into the warmth of brighter and longer days.  It is also a time when we celebrate Passover - our festival of freedom - reminding ourselves of the preciousness of that blessing.  As we watch from afar the current struggles for freedom in so many lands ruled by tyrants, we cannot forget that we, too, were strangers in Egypt, a place that now struggles to define freedom for its citizens.  Freedom, though, is not only a matter of politics.  As the conflicts rage across the Middle East, its clear that economic challenges are a deep source of dissatisfaction. 

One of our traditions at Seder is to fill the cup of Elijah to overflowing - symbolic of the abundance we enjoy as free people.  We are blessed to be able to fill our stomachs  - and that blessing demands that we help those still laboring for freedom, still fighting to earn a living wage, still struggling to fill their plates with food.

I hope this spring you will find opportunities to share your abundance with those less fortunate. 

Rabbi Joseph M. Forman

On April 8th - 10th, South Ridge Community Church, in partnership with Feed My Starving Children, (www.fmsc.org) will mobilize 1500 volunteers in 9 shifts (two hours each) over 3 days to pack 270,000 of these vacuum-sealed meals for starving children in impoverished countries.  This is an opportunity for us to join with others in bringing relief from starvation and hope to hopeless circumstances. 

Our 1:30-3:30 PM shift on Saturday, April 9 is now full! Thank you to all those who have volunteered to come help out during that time.

If you would still like to come and help, another Or Chadash team has been formed (Team Tracey) for Saturday, April 9 at 11:00 AM- 1:00 PM. 

The address is 7 Pittstown Rd, Clinton, NJ  - just up the hill past WalMart

During our two hour shift we will

· Receive education about the hunger needs of our world
· Receive training for the packing process
· Work with a team to put dry meal ingredients in bags then seal, label, and pack them
· Celebrate the thousands of meals we helped pack

Click here to Join Team Tracey! (Once on the page, click on the Join a Team button, then choose Tracey from the drop down list.) 

Click here to see Or Chadash's Feed the Need page and donate to this important program. 

Visit www.helpfeedtheneed.org for more information!

Sandwiched between that fantastic first 75-degree Friday and a seemingly untimely snow-blizzard Monday was Or Chadash's annual celebration of Purim at the Purim Carnival on Sunday, March 20^th.  In addition to two spiels this year, one by the teaching assistants and one by the 6^th grade class, a lively and happy crowd of children and parents alike enjoyed more than a dozen games (did you find the lucky key?), great arts and crafts (did you create sand art?), pampering in Esther's Salon (did you get your face painted?), as well as a variety of tasty carnival foods-from hotdogs and popcorn to sandy candy and our carnival's signature treat:  hamentaschen!    

Click here to see pictures from the carnival!

Many many thanks to our local merchants for various donations:  Shop Rite, Wegmans, and Philadelphia Pretzel Factory. 

And a huge thank-you to all our volunteers-the parents who pitched in during the carnival and also helped to clean it all up, and the big kids who made themselves available to do various tasks the morning of the carnival and then also ran the games and made a bunch of fun for a bunch of delighted little kids.  We couldn't have done it without you!

Though Purim is a time to don a costume and get a little crazy, there is no disguising the good feeling we get when we come together as a community to have some fun.  See you at the carnival next year!

The Purim Committee:    Kristina Witzling, Elyse Belkin, Audrey Belkin, Alexa Parliyan, Susan Lazar, Caryn Tomljanovich, Christine Berg

Erika Lewy:
Walking into the lobby of what would be our home for the next three nights, the atmosphere was clearly buzzed. At the sign-up area, there were several men with kippahs bent over clipboards and the entire population seemed to have name-tags with their names, temples, and states (Betsy would have been in heaven). I went last year, but this feeling swallowed me again: yes, we all had suitcases, disheveled hair, name-tags, nervous chaperones, but we all felt oddly alike. All of the teens around us were Jews. And in Hunterdon Central, that's weird...

Click here to read more of the students perspectives on the L'Taken Seminar.

Bea and Larry Abrams:
We had the privilege of chaperoning 9 of our temple's teens for a weekend in Washington, DC, sponsored by The Religious Action Center (of the Union for Reform Judaism).  It was the second time we participated in the program, called L'Taken (meaning to heal or fix). While the program was similar to that of last year, we were still impressed by its timeliness, scope and depth, as well as the professionalism and approachability of the RAC staff.  We also were awed by how well the students became involved. Their grasp of subject matter and final presentations would make any rational person proud.

Friday, April 1 5:00 PM - Or Chadash goes to college. Join us at Muhlenberg Hillel for Shabbat Service and Dinner.  No Service at Or Chadash.

Saturday, April 9, 1:30-3:30 PM - Feed the Need.  Volunteer with Or Chadash to help prepare 270,000 meals for those in need around the world.

Tuesday, April 19, 5:00 PM - Second Night of Passover Seder 

Check out the OC Calendar for all upcoming events. 

On Sunday, March 27, the 3rd Grade Jewish Studies Class visited the Rolling Hills Nursing home as an act of G'milut Chasadim.  This was an excellent opportunity for them to perform the specific act of kibud z'keinim - respect for the elderly.  The children brought aloe plants they decorated with them - center-pieces for the dining room tables - and they sang songs for the nursing home residents, and read to them short paragraphs explaining what makes springtime special to them.  The children had the opportunity to interact with the residents, and everyone at the nursing home was truly appreciative of the time they spent visiting.

Click here to see more pictures from this special program.

Rabbi Richard Jacobs Nominated as URJ President

 Sign up NOW to make a difference in the life of a child!

The Fresh Air Fund needs your help in summer 2011 to give more inner-city children the opportunity of new experiences and lasting friendships in Hunterdon County! Since 1877, The Fund has provided free summer vacations for more than 1.7 million New York City children. Sign up to become a host today and discover what many families in the area have already learned - a Fresh Air summer is one that makes a difference. On first time visits to host families, Fresh Air children are six to 12 years old and stay for one to two weeks. Fresh Air children and volunteer families often form bonds of friendship that last a lifetime.

For more information, please call Julie Stine at (908) 832-7153 or Jody Berkowitz at (908) 359-0509. You can also reach The Fresh Air Fund at (800) 367-0003 or visit the website at www.freshair.org.