 Or Chadash Newsletter May 2011 |
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Mitzvah Day is Coming on Sunday, May 15 | | |
Or Chadash's Mitzvah Day is an annual event in May (the third Sunday in May) where volunteers participate in a day of community service. Members of all ages worki together to foster a relationship with social service agencies that work to improve the lives of people in need. In keeping with Judaism's teachings of tikkun olam, to repair the world, Mitzvah Day strives to inspire its participants to pursue social justice through social activism.
We hope you will check out our new volunteer opportunities and projects as well as our perennial favorites. We think there is something for everyone (cooking, gardening, donating blood, knitting, playing with live animals, creating stuffed animals, art activities to name a few.)
Can't make it on Sunday, May 15th? This year we have
created opportunities to help, even if you cannot attend on the 15th. Thanks in advance for making Mitzvah Day a success.
Click here to register to attend Mitzvah Day!
Blood Drive: 8 am - 2 pm
Other Mitzvah Day Activities: 9 am - 12 noon |
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Sharon Katzman's Appearing on Lifetime Channel's
The Balancing Act | |
See our member Sharon Katzman on The Balancing Act airing
J une 1st on Lifetime channel at 7 AM!
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habbat and Holiday
Service Schedule | |
May 6: 7:00 PM Shabbat Service - Book Reading, Signing and Discussion and 7th Grade Movie Premier
May 7: 10:00 AM Bat Mitzvah - Samantha Tracey
May 13: 7:00 PM Festival of Shavuot and Confirmation Service
May 14: Bat Mitzvah - Caitlan Griffith
May 20: 7:30 PM Shabbat Evening Service - Book Discussion
May 27: Memorial Day Weekend Shabbat Evening Service/Program - Time TBD |
| Shomer Volunteers Needed | | |
Are you looking for a Tikkun Olam project to get involved with? You can participate as a Shomer. A Shomer sits in or outside the room with the casket and reads from the book of Psalms (in Hebrew or English). We are looking for Jewish people who will volunteer to be a Shomer for at least two hours between the time of death and the funeral. Interested congregants contact Rich Skydell at 732-563-1895 or Rana Slosberg at 908-722-9416 for more information and to volunteer to be on a list of available Shomrim who will be contacted when a Jewish person dies in our area, whose family would like this service. |
Hebrew 101 (with a sprinkle of Yiddish)
| | We often hear Hebrew and Yiddish phrases and we are not sure exactly what they mean. We have decided to help demystify some of them. If you have any phrases or terms that you would like help with, please email Rabbi Forman.
Tzedek - Justice The Jewish idea of pursuing justice originates in the Book of Deuteronomy. Rather than a call for excessive retribution, Deuteronomy demands that limits be placed on our sense of retribution. We are encouraged to restrain ourselves. Moreover, Tzedek also embodies a sense of righteousness, doing what is good, honorable, above reproach. Pursuing Tzedek, then, is a commitment to seeking the highest sense of the goodness in others and in ourselves.  |
| Meals on Wheels | | |
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. |
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Yarns and Midrash-- Knit, Crochet, Storytelling Circle | | |
Amara Willey and Rabbi Jonathan Gerard invite Or Chadash members (and their friends) who do needlework (or who would like to learn) to join themfor a knitting/crochet circle.
First Tuesday of each month:
June 7
9:00 - 10:30 AM
CitiSpot in Clinton, NJ
Questions? Call Amara at 908-868-4311. |
| Donations | |
Building Fund
Robert & Shirl Levy, Commercial Grill
Education Enrichment Fund
Bruce & Betsy Zalaznick, In memory of David Miller
Oneg Fund
Steve & Susan Albert, In memory of Stanley Weinstein
David & Marcie Wolfskehl, In honor of Justin's Bar Mitzvah |
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Upcoming Yahrzeits | |
May the memories of the following individuals be for a blessing:
May 6
Esther Adleman
grandmother of Laura Senator
Louis Brodsky
father of Gary Brodsky
Robert Hann
father of Chris Hann
Doris Lerman
loved one of the Mahalick Family
Deborah Schwartz
loved one of Shelly Weller
Sheldon Weinick
father of Ross Weinick
May 13
David Abrams
father of Larry Abrams
Lillian Golden
grandmother of Beth Golden
Kate Hirsch
great grandmother of Betsy Zalaznick
Milton Price
father of Randy Price
Reva Rothstein
wife of Gerald Rothstein
Herbert Waters
father of Diana Carr
May 20
Morris Graff
father-in-law of Gerald Rothstein
Else Marx
grandmother of Diana Carr
Louis Rothstein
father of Gerald Rothstein
Hannah Rachel Sandler
mother of Jeff Sandler
Charlotte Werstein
grandmother of Leslie Werstein-Hann
May 27
Lillian Friedman
mother of Hilda Suchow
Leo Heller
grandfather of Dave and Jim Lewy
father of Elizabeth Lewy
Anna Wolf
grandmother of Leslie Werstein-Hann
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| Rabbi's Message - Seeking Justice, Finding Peace | | |
 As nearly every corner of the world celebrates the success of the Omaba Administration's efforts to find Osama bin Laden, there is tension in the minds of many who struggle with the at-times-opposing values of Tzedek and Pikuach Nefesh, of Justice and preserving life at all costs. Our Jewish tradition is rich with this struggle - from Biblical texts regarding the endorsed ruthless treatment of Canaanites and Babylonians (calling for their children's head's to be dashed upon the rocks) to later accounts of Medieval persecuters and the call to God (in our Hagaddah, read during Passover, a time when we condemn oppression, no less) to "pour out Your wrath upon them" and those like them.
What is the meaning of our guiding principle of Tzedek if not a restrained sense of justice, of compassion. On the very eve of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day when we still ask if Nazi Germany can ever be forgiven its atrocities, again we were faced with the destruction of an evil leader who has incited violence and hatred across the globe. Where does our sense of Tzedek go at such times? Our emotions are undoubtedly mixed.
I encourage you to listen to the program on NPR which, while addressed to children, really speaks to each of us as we seek to find a balanced sense of elation, relief and sorrow.
Shalom,
Rabbi Joseph M. Forman |
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Invitation to Confirmation - Friday, May 13 | | |
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Brooklyn Roots: A Tale of Pickles and Egg Cream
Book Reading, Signing and Discussion with our member Estelle Breines - Friday, May 6 at 7:00 PM | |  Brooklyn Roots is the story of Estelle Breines' experience growing up in Borough Park, but it will resonate with anyone who grew up there, or for that matter, in any other urban, ethnic neighborhood. She paints word pictures that take you back in time, evoking the scenes, scents and sensibilities of the old neighborhood.
Click here to learn more about Estelle and her new book! |
| Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief | | |
"What is might? When you see people about to fall and rescue them."
Midrash Tehillim 52:24
In response to the tragic devastation of the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, and more recently the series of deadly tornadoes that swept across the Southeast, killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless, the URJ is accepting donations for tornado and tsunami relief efforts. Click here to learn more and donate . |
| Matzah and Pita Making Experience | | |
Under the supervision of Nina and Jonathan White, owners of Boblink Dairy and Bakehouse, in Milford, NJ, 40 children and adults from the Islamic Center of Hunterdon County and Or Chadash, both of Flemington, were treated to a tour of the Bobolink farm. Joining together to bake pita bread and matzah bread (in preparation for the holiday of Passover) in Bobolink's wood-fired oven. The group learned about Bobolink's mission of farming sustainably. The visit to Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse was the third joint program of the Islamic Center and Or Chadash in 2010/11.
Click here to see more pictures from this event! |
| Rimmonim Dedication Service | | |
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| In Our Community | |
Refuah Sh'leima (Get well) to...
Evelyne Hersch Matthew Ringel, father of Robin Lewy
Todah Rabbah (Thank You) to ...
Jacob Berg and his family for ushering at the Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7 services.
Benjamin Weil and his family for ushering at the Friday, May 13 service.
Jack Weiner, Mei-lin Sloan and their families for ushering at the Saturday, May 14 service.
Thuy Blumenfeld and her family for ushering at the Friday, May 20 service.
Yevette Hendler, Rebekah Lazarek, Harvey Gold and Jaimee Gold for organizing and setting up for the Passover Seder.
In order to help us be a more caring community, please share your lifecycle events with Rabbi Forman. Feel free to click on a hyperlink to send a note and let someone know you are thinking about them. |
| OC In the News | | |
Click here to see our 3rd Grade Jewish Studies Class featured on LehighValleyLive.com!
Look for OC in the news in your local paper! |
| Upcoming Special Events | | |
Friday, May 6, 7:00 PM - Book Reading, Signing and Discussion with Estelle Breines
Friday, May 13, 7:00 PM - Confirmation Service
Sunday, May 15 - Mitzvah Day
Friday, May 20, 7:30 PM - "Nemesis" book discussion
Check out the OC Calendar for all upcoming events.
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Nemesis Book Discussion - Friday, May 20 at 7:30 PM | |  In the "stifling heat of equatorial Newark," a terrifying epidemic is raging, threatening the children of the New Jersey city with maiming, paralysis, lifelong disability, and even death. This is the startling theme of Philip Roth's wrenching new book: a wartime polio epidemic in the summer of 1944 and the effect it has on a closely knit, family-oriented Newark community and its children.
At the center of Nemesis is a vigorous, dutiful twenty-three-year-old playground director, Bucky Cantor, a javelin thrower and weightlifter, who is devoted to his charges and disappointed with himself because his weak eyes have excluded him from serving in the war alongside his contemporaries. Focusing on Cantor's dilemmas as polio begins to ravage his playground-and on the everyday realities he faces-Roth leads us through every inch of emotion such a pestilence can breed: the fear, the panic, the anger, the bewilderment, the suffering, and the pain.
Moving between the smoldering, malodorous streets of besieged Newark and Indian Hill, a pristine children's summer camp high in the Poconos-whose "mountain air was purified of all contaminants"-Roth depicts a decent, energetic man with the best intentions struggling in his own private war against the epidemic. Roth is tenderly exact at every point about Cantor's passage into personal disaster, and no less exact about the condition of childhood.
Through this story runs the dark questions that haunt all four of Roth's late short novels, Everyman, Indignation, The Humbling, and now Nemesis: What kind of accidental choices fatally shape a life? How does the individual withstand the onslaught of circumstance? Join Rabbi Forman for a discussion of this compelling book on Friday May 20 at 7:30 PM. |
Lifelong Learning
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JEWISH LIFE
Jewish LIFE www.ssbjcc.org Click on the Jewish LIFE page or call the JCC 908-725-6994.
Come out and celebrate Israel, Tuesday, May 10 at 7 p.m. at the Community-wide Yom Ha'Atzmaut celebration featuring the Israeli Defense Force Musical Ensemble. Doors open at 6 p.m. with an Israeli Celebration and the concert begins at 7 p.m. This program will be held at Temple Beth-El, Hillsborough. To purchase tickets, please call Friends of the IDF at 212-244-3118 x14. |
| May is Jewish American Heritage Month | | |
 On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month. The announcement was the crowning achievement in an effort urging the president to proclaim a month that would recognize the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. The month of May was chosen due to the highly successful celebration of the 350th Anniversary of American Jewish History in May 2004. Click here for more information!
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| Caregiver Forum - May 5 | | |
May 5, 2011
7:00-9:00 PM
SSBJCC, 775 Talamini Road, Bridgewater
"Powerful Tools for Caregivers". A Panel Discussion moderated by Susan Harris, LNHA, CEO of the Wilf Campus. An informaition forum to help caregivers of older adults learn how to reduce stress, balance their lives, make tough decisions and locate helpful resources. Please email any questions that you would like covered at the forum to info@wilfcampus.org. To register contact the SSBJCC at 908-725-6994 x201 |
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Become an English As a Second Language Tutor | | |
2011 SPRING TUTOR TRAINING
When: Tuesday May 10 continuing weekly through June 7
Where: 4 Walter E Foran Blvd, Suite 401, Flemington, NJ
Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Cost: $40 registration fee to cover cost of materials
To register call Hunterdon Helpline at 800-272-4630, visit www.helplinehc.org or email literacy@helplinehc.org |
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Jewish Federation Business Networking Breakfast | | |
Business Networking Breakfast
Thursday May 12, 2011 - 7:30AM
Roberta Smith,
Mortgage Consultant - Metlife Home Loans
Registration: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
7:30 AM AT THE FEDERATION OFFICES IN THE JCC
To register for this event, log on to www.jfedshaw.org |
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IHN's Box City - June 4 | | |
Or Chadash has been invited to participate in the first annual BOX CITY, sponsored by the Interfaith Hospitality Network. It is a special night under the stars to raise funds and awareness for homelessness. The event kicks off on Saturday, June 4th, 2011, at 6:00 pm at a field at Hunterdon Central High School . Everyone is encouraged to solicit multiple sponsor pledges for a total of at least $100 for their "rent" at BOX CITY. Participants will spend the night in a cardboard box- or in a sleeping bag, lawn chair or other insufficient "housing" to draw attention to the lack of affordable housing in Hunterdon County and the necessary work of IHN which assists families and inviduals who are temporarily displaced.
This event is perfect for youth groups, students, service groups, school groups, individuals and friends and anyone who would like to learn how to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. This event will be held rain or shine. For more information www.ihnhunterdon.org |
| Bat Mitzvah - Samantha Tracey | |  Samantha Tracey will become Bat Mitzvah on May 7th. She is the daughter of Liz and Gerard Tracey. Sam is a 7th grader at Clinton Township Middle School. She enjoys gymnastics and music. Sam's Torah portion is K'doshim, which contains the Holiness Code and some of the most well known commandments. Sam is enjoying her mitzvah project which is preparing for a butterfly making station set for Mitzvah Day on May 15th. The butterflies will be sent to the Holocaust Museum in Houston which is collecting 1.5 million butterflies to remember those children who perished in the Holocaust. Sam is looking forward to celebrating her Bat Mitzvah with her family, friends and Or Chadash community. |
| Bat Mitzvah - Caitlan Griffith | | |
 Caitlan Griffith will become a Bat Mitzvah on May 14. She is the daughter of Jane and John Griffith and the sister of 6 year-old, Charlotte. Caity goes to JP Case Middle School and participated in both of the school plays this year, as well as plays for the Downtown Performing Arts Center, in Lambertville. She also enjoys seeing Broadway shows, writing, designing, sewing, traveling, and being with her friends. Her Torah portion, B'har, focuses on the details of sabbatical years. For her Bat Mitzvah project, she created Plushies for Peace. Caity and her friends made plushies, small, unique, hand-made stuffed animals, which they donated to the children of deployed servicemen and women. Caity is very excited to celebrate this important day with all her family and friends.
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