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January 2014 / Shevat 5774

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Happy New Year!     

Now that the new (secular) year is underway, we get to enjoy another New Year... an uncharacteristically early Tu b'Shevat.

The fifteenth (tu) of Shevat is the traditional the New Year for trees, used in ancient Israel for determining which fruits were set aside for tithes and which ones were from trees old enough to yield legally edible fruit. But it's just one of four different New Years in the Hebrew calendar.

We're all familiar with the first of Tishrei, Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the civil year... used for calculating Sabbatical years and the reigns of foreign kings, among other things... but wait, there's more!

On the first of Nisan, we mark the Exodus, our nation's defining event... and so we count the months starting with Nisan. It's also the New Year for the reigns of Jewish kings (not that there have been many of them lately.)

The first of Elul is the New Year for calculating cattle tithes. (If you don't know that, it must mean you've fallen behind in your cattle tithing.)

Is your club signed up for the  World Wide Wrap? Super Bowl Sunday is just a few weeks away!

As always, we welcome your submissions and your constructive input.  Let us know how best to serve your needs and those of your Club.

In This Issue

Myles' Musings - Musings on Volunteerism

Landsmen? Landsmen!
The FJMC Composting Initiative

Join the NFL

Four Million... and Counting!

Wanted: Mad Men

Meet Our Officers:
Stephen Neustein, Vice President
Myles Simpson
Myles' Musings:
Musings on Volunteerism

"...That's the culture of Men's Clubs, isn't it? To volunteer, to help out, to perform Mitvah projects, to help "repair the world" (tikkun olam). Yes, I know we're not unique... but don't you feel that being a committed volunteer is a particularly strong and significant part of being in Men's Club? Isn't service and support to one's synagogue and community one of the most important functions of most Men's Clubs?"

 Read more

Landsmen? Landsmen!
The FJMC Composting Initiative

You can be a Landsman in the literal sense!

Why use chemical fertilizers in the home or synagogue garden when you can use compost?  Composting is easier than you think - in fact, it's one of the easiest ways to reduce household and dining waste while producing excellent plant and lawn food, reducing our carbon footprint, and teaching adults and children about environmental stewardship.

 Read more

Join the NFL
(the Narrow Flat Leather League)
Four Million... and Counting!

Beyond the obvious - the ongoing need to remember the victims of the Shoah and to educate future generations - the Yellow Candle Program offers all kinds of opportunities and benefits for your Men's Club and your synagogue.

 Read more

Wanted: Mad Men

Are you a social media maven? Do you have a propensity for promotion - are you a savvy seller? Boy, do we have an opportunity for you...

Read more

Stephen Neustein, blowhard extraordinaire
Meet Our Officers: Stephen Neustein, Vice President

"Sports have always been a big part of Stephen's life. He lettered in track for his high school as a sprinter. He has been stuck being served as secretary of his B'nai Brith Freedom Lodge bowling league for over 25 years... and his love of the Steelers is practically legendary."
 
 

Have something of interest to your fellow Men's Clubs?  Send it to HaShofar!  

 

HaShofar is another way that FJMC is keeping the flow of information moving between clubs and the international organization.  We want to keep you informed on:

 

     + What we do to support our more than 22,000 members

     + What FJMC does to address Conservative/Masorti issues

     + What our Clubs and Regions are doing that everyone can benefit from

 

The only way we can let everyone else know what's happening is if we hear from you first!  Send your submissions to HaShofar editor Steve Krodman at [email protected] and we'll do our best to squeeze them in.

 

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