I hope all of you have been enjoying the holiday season in health and with family or friends. This is typically a quiet time for Or Chadash, but as you can see from the Newsletter, much has been happening at OC. In fact, the Reform Movement has been pretty busy this month, as well. More on that in a bit. 

I hope you will take some time to read the articles from our president, educator and student cantor. I am excited that we have a team of dedicated individuals who help make OC such a vibrant community. As they work toward strengthening our Jewish living, they have each shared a bit of their own Jewish thoughts and experiences. Liz Tracey, our Religious Practices chairperson, and I are particularly excited that this month we begin our explorations of and introduction to a new prayerbook for our worship services. This month 30 copies of Mishkan T'filah: A Reform Siddur, the newest prayerbook published by the Reform Movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis, arrived at OC. We hope you will consider dedicating one or more of them. I will be offering a class in the new year on the prayerbook, its history and development, and we will examine how this new publication is a remarkably different kind of prayerbook. We will not be using it every week, but I will keep you informed so you can join in our shared discoveries.

And now back to the Union for Reform Judaism, the congregational arm of our Reform Movement. For nearly a week, over 6000 Reform Jews gathered for the Biennial, held this year just outside Washington, D.C. President Barak Obama spoke, as did Ehud Barak, past president of Israel. Rabbi Eric Yoffie gave a magnificent retirement address, and Rabbi Rick Jacobs was installed as the new president, sharing his vision for the future. So many of the workshops, addresses, and programs are available to watch on-line. Click here for some of the Biennial highlights. I encourage you especially to watch President Obama share his deep respect of Reform Judaism and his daughter Malia's connection to Judaism as she attends Bar and Bat Mitzvah services and celebrations each week!

Again, thanks for all that each of you does to enrich our wonderful congregation. I wish all of you a happy and healthy secular new year.

Shalom,

Rabbi Joseph M. Forman 

Or Chadash, the Reform Temple of Hunterdon County, offers a caring and inclusive congregation that prays together, builds Jewish community through acts of Tikkun Olam, shares life's events and provides education for all ages.

Recently the Board of Trustees approved an updated mission statement for Or Chadash which you see above.  I want to thank Caryn Tomljanovich, our Vice-President,and the full Board for their thoughtful effort here.  Our mission statement says a lot about who we are as a congregation, and I believe this updated version succinctly captures the essence of what we are all about.

I hope you reflect on our new mission statement and find it resonates with you.  Its message is that prayer, community, sharing and lifelong-learning are the key ingredients that make Or Chadash special.   

My wife, Christine, and I are preparing - along with our son, Jacob - for a Bar Mitzvah celebration.  Having a child of Bar Mitzvah age highlights to me how all four components of our mission statement gel around one singular event, which the new mission statement so vividly captures.  Becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah is a milestone event for both the child and the family, as well as for the congregation as a whole.  It highlights years of education and asks the child to commit his/her self to the study of Torah and to perform acts of Tikkun Olam.  Lastly, and most importantly, it is a call on the congregation to pray together in celebration.  

Please consider joining me and my family at Or Chadash at 10:00AM on January 7, 2012, as my eldest becomes a Bar Mitzvah -- or attending any upcoming B'nai Mitzvah.  I know the B'nai Mitzvah families would be honored to see their congregational family in attendance as they celebrate this wonderful event.

Shalom,
Jeff Berg

President 

At our monthly Board of Trustees meeting, a Board member volunteers to deliver the D'var Torah (literally, words of the Torah) about that week's Torah portion.    

I wanted to share with you some of the thoughts I prepared for the the December 13, 2011 Board meeting--which fell, a few weeks post Thanksgiving and a week before Hanukkah, a perfect time for thinking of gratitude and dedication.  

I feel very grateful for the opportunities I have had and feel thankful for what I have achieved.  Some days more so than others.  

On Sunday I learned that one of our tenth graders, Aiden Lewy is taking a course at Hunterdon Central called Leadership and Philanthropy---which is very similar to the Teen Philanthropy program, under the direction of the URJ'sYouth Engagement Initiative we are piloting with our 8th, 9th and 10th grade classes. Aiden thought this was totally cool.   Me too. It turns out Central's curriculum is completely aligned with what we are doing at Or Chadash.

Click here to read the rest of the D'var Torah.  

Best wishes for a 2012 filled with good health and happiness.

Shalom,

Betsy Zalaznick

Educator 

It's hard to believe that I have served as student cantor at Or Chadash for six months already. It feels as if I have been here for much longer than that.  In that time I have assisted in eight B'nei Mitzvah, reassembled the community choir and become a presence in the Religious School.  I have been a part of the Hanukkah celebration weekend where we kindled the lights of the hanukkiah .  The warmth and welcome this congregation has extended to me over this brief time has touched me deeply; I have been blessed to become a part of a community that feels more like an extended family. 

As many of you know, I live in Allentown, PA, so I thought I would use this opportunity to give you a glimpse of my life across the Delaware.  I moved to Allentown from West Michigan six years ago after losing my secular position as a field representative, a fate shared by many others in my area. It had been my dream to become more involved in synagogue music, so at the suggestion of some good friends in this area I moved eastward and have never regretted the decision. 

As some of you may know, I share my home with a variety of furred and feathered creatures.  Accompanying me in my move were three parrots and a dog.  They have served as my constant companions, each with their own personalities and peculiarities.  I also have taken to raising finches in the last couple of years, and they fill my home with song.  Having offered Torah tutoring over the internet, those who have met with me via webcam have had the opportunity to meet some of my feathered friends.

As each future Temple Newsletter is published I hope to continue to give you a glimpse of who I am outside of Temple, as well as keep you informed of my activities within the community.  Once again, I feel totally blessed to have become a part of such a warm, growing congregation. May the new year bring blessings, health and spiritual prosperity to us all.

Bles-sings,

Kathy Gohr