|
Join our list
|
 |
| Follow OC on Facebook |  |
|
Shabbat Service Schedule
| | 
Friday, September 5: 7:30 PM Shabbat Services
Saturday, September 6: 10:00 AM Shabbat Services and Jonatha Berg becomes a Bat Mitzvah
Friday, September 12: 7:30 Shabbat Service
Saturday, September 13: 10:00 AM Shabbat Services and Julia MacIsaac becomes a Bat Mitzvah
Friday, September 19: 6:30 PM Shabbat Brown Bag Dinner
Friday, September 26: 7:30 PM Celebrate Shabbat at home with family and friends. No services at Or Chadash.
|
| College Student Outreach | |
As fall approaches, the College Student Outreach Program of Or Chadash is about to swing into full gear. The purpose of this program is to maintain a Jewish connection for our students away from home at preparatory, college or graduate schools. Students will be mailed a treat symbolic for each of the following holidays: Rosh Hashanah or Simchat Torah, Chanukkah, Purim and Passover. The Rabbi includes a delightful letter reminding students of the significance of the occasion. Students tell us each year how much they look forward to these packages and how comforting it is to know that they are still important to our Or Chadash Family.
We create a new "Student Address List" each year, so all interested parents should send in their child's address for the coming year as soon as possible. You must submit this each year, even if there has not been a change. You will notice that there is space for an email address.
Don't let your child miss out on the first mailing, which will be later this month!
Click here to complete the registration form.
|
|
In Our Community
|
|
Welcome to our new members:
Tony and Barbara Persichetti join us from Flemington.
Sergey and Honeylet Wortman-Vayn join us from Annandale with their son Aaron Parker Wortman-Vayn
Doug Beman and Kimberly Gold join us from Flemington
Mazel Tov to Ellen and Ted Pytlar on the engagement of their son Steven to Tori Daniel.
Refuah Sh'leima (Get well) to...
Susan Blaicher
Fred Bernstein
Barbara Sansevere
Dorothy Saks
Virginia Murphy
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.
|
|
Upcoming Yahrzeits
| | |
May the memories of the following individuals be for a blessing:
August 29 (Will be read on September 5)
Benjamin Friedman
Father of Hilda Suchow
Dena Harwin
Aunt of Phillip Harvey
Martin Ribler
Father of Andrea Weinberg
Morris Aaron Smith
Father of Connie Smith
September 5
Janet S. Lowey
Mother of Susan
Ingram
Grandmother of Phillip and Andrea Harvey
Don Pickell
Father of Chris Pickell
Grace Riddle
Aunt of Amara Willey
Iris Rittenberg Willey
Mother of Amara Willey
September 12
Barbara Wasserman
Mother of Glenn
Wasserman
September 19
Gussie Brodsky
Grandmother of Gary Brodsky
Joan Ferrone
Mother of Gerald Tracey
September 26 (To be read on October 3)
Emanuel Blumenfeld
Father of Ray Blumenfeld
Sadie Eisenberg
Grandmother of Gary Brodsky
Susan Lerman
Loved one of Isabel Mahalick
Thelma Levey
Mother of Mark Beckman
Mother of Alan Beckman
Israel Rabiner
Great-Grandfather of Betsy Zalaznick
Nathan Wagner
Grandfather of Susan
Albrecht
Jennifer Weller
Daughter of Shelly Weller
Harvey Werstein
Father of Leslie Hann
|
| Donations | |
Thanks to all who contributed
Ben Atkinson & Faith Fuhrman
General Contribution
Ronald & Judith Schlossberg: Donation for Kiddush Cup
Harvey Gold
Nelson & Beverly Kornstein
Stuart Oxenhorn & Robin Schutz
Darren & Yulia Pincus
Stephen Sinoway & Beth Golden
Yizkor
Robert & Alice Schwade
Stephen Sinoway & Beth Golden
|
| Bat Mitzvah - Jonatha Berg | |
Jonatha Saratoga Berg will become a Bat Mitzvah on September 6, 2014.
She is the daughter of Jeff and Christine Berg and sister to Jacob and Dylan. An 8th grader at Clinton Public School, Jonatha plays soccer and basketball for her school teams and dances at Eleanor Connell School of Dance. Jonatha's Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, is all about doing mitzvahs; together, the mitzvahs described in this Torah portion teach us to be considerate to nature, animals, and people. For her mitzvah project, Jonatha has been baking her grandmother's recipes for the caregivers and patients at the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center.
|
Bat Mitzvah - Julia MacIsaac
| | |
Julia MacIsaac will be a Bat Mitzvah on September 13. She is going into 8th grade and goes to Clinton Township Middle School. Between reading and math, she much prefers reading. Some of her many favorite books are the Harry Potter series and the Hunger Games Trilogy. She gets all A's and loves hanging out with her friends. She is the eldest of four siblings and has taken hip hop dance for six years. Her favorite color is purple and her favorite food is chocolate ice cream. She looks forward to her special day.
|
| Health Services Available | | |
The Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center at Hunterdon Medical Center is offering free screening tests for breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer to those who qualify. If you or someone you know is without adequate health insurance, call the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center at 908-237-5409 to see if you qualify.
|
| Jewish Family Services | | |
JFS is a non-profit, non-sectarian social service agency whose mission is to preserve and strengthen the quality of individual, family and community life based on Jewish values. We provide our services to a diverse socio-economic client population that includes individuals, children, young adults, families and the elderly.
Click here for information on additional services.
|
| Scrip News | |
Announcing a way to reduce your dues by purchasing scrip!
Just purchase your scrip and for every dollar you earn Or Chadash, you will receive 25% as a reduction of your dues, a "scrip credit." So, that's 25 cents of every dollar your scrip purchase earns Or Chadash that goes back to you, back in your pocket as a scrip credit.
Come give it a try. Click here for the scrip FAQs sheet, and you'll be on your way to making a great contribution to your temple!
|
| Meals On Wheels | |
Meals on Wheels needs volunteer drivers in our area. Serve your homebound senior neighbors a hot noontime meal. The commitment to drive is only once a month. It will take only an hour or two once a month to get that good feeling of giving. Call our office at (908)284-0735 to offer your time or for more information (and/or check out our website at mowih.org). Help us, help others. Many thanks.
|
|
|
|
L'Shana Tova 5775!
| |
 May the sound of the shofar mark the beginning of the New Year 5775, filled with health and happiness.
L'Shana Tova U'mitukah. May it be a good and sweet year for you. 
|
Rabbi's Message
| | 
Dear Members and Friends of Or Chadash,
It is said that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. But second chances are what living is all about: learning from our mistakes and trying to do better. "If we only knew then what we know now," we might lament. So here is a story to help get us on the right track as we prepare ourselves for Rosh Hashanah. In the beginning, God didn't just make one or two people. God made a bunch of us because God wanted us to have a lot of fun. God said: "You can't really have fun unless there is a whole gang of you." So God put us in this playground place called Eden and told us to enjoy. At first, we had fun just like you would expect. We played all the time. We rolled down the hills and waded in the streams. We climbed in the trees and swung in the vines and ran in the meadows. We frolicked in the woods. We hid in the forest and just plain acted silly. We laughed a lot. Then one day this serpent told us that we weren't really having fun because we weren't keeping score. We didn't even know what "score" was. When the serpent explained it, we still didn't see the point. But he said he would give an apple to the one who was best at play. And we would never know who was the best if we didn't keep score. Well, we could all see the point of that. Each of us was sure that we were the best at play. Things were different from then on. We yelled a lot. We didn't laugh so much. We had to make up new scoring rules for the games we played. Games like frolicking we stop playing altogether -- it was too hard to keep score. By the time God found out about our fun, we were spending 45 minutes a day in actual playing and the rest of the time working out the score. God was very upset about that. God said we couldn't use the Garden anymore if we didn't stop keeping score. God should not have gotten upset just because it wasn't the kind of fun God had in mind. But God just wouldn't listen. We were kicked out of the Garden and told we couldn't come back until we stopped keeping score. To rub it in, or to get our attention, we were told we were all going to die anyway, and our score wouldn't mean anything. But God was wrong. My cumulative all-game score is 16,548.5. That means a lot to me. If I can raise my score to 20,000 points before I die, I'll know I've accomplish something in my life. And even if I can't, my life has a lot of meaning now because I've taught my children to score high. And perhaps they will be able to reach 30,000 or even 40,000! Really, it was life in Eden that didn't mean anything. Fun is great in its place, but without scoring there is no reason for it. God has a very superficial view of life, and I'm glad my children are being reared away from that way of thinking. We were lucky to get out. We are all very grateful to the serpent for what he taught us. ___
As the New Year approaches, and we begin to take an accounting of our days, of the things we wish we had and hadn't done, we are keeping a kind of score of our own. It's a score in the game of life that has no competitors - just our own sense of who we really want to be. I hope these coming Holydays enable you to know which scores we need to let go of and which ones are worth keeping. I wish you and your families an early Shana Tova, a year of goodness, health and purpose.
Shalom, Rabbi Joseph M. Forman |
President's Message
|
|
I'm sure most of you have heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. In the weeks since the challenge exploded in June, ALS has raised over $35 million (and by the time your read this, it might be significantly more). It is a mind boggling number for any nonprofit, but particularly for one that fights to support those with a rare, but fatal, disease.
As someone with significant professional fundraising experience, I want to whack myself over the head for not thinking of this. It is such a simple and absurd way to raise money. Ask people to do something silly, post it to social media, and "challenge" their friends to do it.
Let's hop on the bandwagon with our own Or Chadash Challenge (I like #OCChallenge, but feel free to get creative). With the High Holy Days fast approaching, we are entering our prime fundraising season. If you haven't already, you will soon be receiving a letter for our High Holy Days Appeal. Funds raised from this appeal our are primary means of supporting programming and education at Or Chadash not covered by the dues we pay.
I challenge each of you to make a donation to the High Holy Days Appeal. Whatever you donate is deeply appreciated. Whether it is the change from the bowl on your nightstand or a check you have a minute to put in the mail, each gift is greatly appreciated. If you are a lover of hashtags, feel free to take a picture of yourself and your family with a sign that says, I love OC, use our hashtag and post it on the social media site of your choice. If hashtags aren't your thing, your generosity is still greatly appreciated.
I look forward to seeing many of you over the High Holy Days as we join together to celebrate this season of reflection and renewal. My family and I extend our warmest greetings for a new year filled with health, peace and happiness.
L'shana Tova,
Caryn
|
| Educator's Message | | 
Rushing the seasons is definitely not for me. Even though I have become accustomed to seeing holiday lights and decorations set up the day after Halloween, it's summertime that I really want to hold onto. It is especially challenging when August 1st arrives, and I start hearing "end of summer" comments like "summer is almost over" or "enjoy your last few weeks of summer." Since when do we dismiss an entire month of unscheduled events and activities, amazing tomatoes, fresh corn, 8:30 PM sunsets, and spectacular weather? Why would we want to rush away a summer that still had a month to go? I know there are schools that begin before Labor Day, but still, it seems that long before summer was over, there were some who rushed it away. But why? And is there something we can do about it?
I have been thinking about these questions and how we spend our time. So have a lot of others as I've found in a few recent articles. Bruce Feiler, in The New York Times, discusses how Team Sports Are Taking Over Kids' Lives. Feiler believes the reason the sand castles are not being constructed in August is because teenage children are busy going to tryouts, practices, attending mandatory workouts, and letting other extracurricular activities encroach on once-sacred family time -- including weeknights, weekends, religious holidays, and vacations. Feiler writes this as many of you are beginning to assemble your Google Calendars to keep track of the many activities in your households. I strongly encourage you to read his article and share it with your team parents and coaches. Perhaps it will be the start of a healthy discussion.
A recent blog entry in Motherlode, Casting Call: Rethink Family Dinner with Jenny Rosenstrach, addresses a similar issue, in this instance focusing on balancing activities within our own homes over which we used to have a lot more control. Rosenstrach writes: "I've spent the last five years writing the blog Dinner: A Love Story, which covers every facet of family mealtime from the cooking to the eating (or the not-eating as the case may be). If there's one thing I've taken away from readers, it's this: Getting family dinner together, something that should be therapeutic for parents and comforting for kids, is instead the opposite: It's a major source of anxiety, even for Sarah, an emergency room physician and mom, who spends her days sewing up gunshot wounds in the local ER. Sarah's family issues are all about time and inspiration -- or, maybe, the lack of both? Families everywhere often face a complicated cocktail of busy-parent, busy-kid obstacles which include questions like: What do I make? How do I shop? How do I get my spouse to help? How do I get the baby to stop crying when the chicken is burning? How do I learn how to cook? How do I get home in time to cook? How do I get my toddler to eat something besides pasta? How do I tell the coaches that the 6 p.m. practice is not necessarily conducive to family dinner?"
Again, families are trying to fit 30 hours of activity into a 24 hour day, which is not good for us.
Anne Lamott writes in Time lost and found, "I've heard it said that every day you need half an hour of quiet time for yourself, or your Self, unless you're incredibly busy and stressed, in which case you need an hour. I promise you, it is there. Fight tooth and nail to find time, to make it. It is our true wealth, this moment, this hour, this day." Lamott's approach to time is simple: "You have to make time....This means you have to grasp that your manic forms of connectivity--cell phone, email, text, Twitter--steal most chances of lasting connection or amazement."
So, with summer now a memory and Labor Day past, and a plethora of activities to attend, meals to prepare, errands to run, and the rushing around beginning, I am glad that I have made the time to wish you and your families Shana Tova U'metuka, a happy and sweet New Year filled with the gift of good health. I encourage you this New Year to challenge yourself to find and embrace the many precious parcels of time we do have between games and meals. Perhaps you will even discover a bit of time if not to escape and get a few grains of sand between your toes and build a sandcastle, then, and perhaps more importantly, to savor the moments we have with one another.
Betsy Zalaznick
|
| Student Cantor Kathy Gohr | |  As I write this, it is August 27th, which corresponds to the Hebrew date of the first of Elul. Summer is winding down, the school year is about to start. The days are becoming shorter, the nights cooler, and the serenade of the cicadas fills the evening air. It is at this time of year that we as Jews begin to prepare for the holiest time in our calendar, the Days of Awe, or the High Holy Days. We begin the process of introspection that cumulates with the 10 days of teshuvah, or repentance, which both connects us to our past as well as propels us into our future. It is as if the late summer climate change signals something within us, resetting our biological clock to begin a new year.
As part of my own practice during the month of Elul, I blew my shofar for the first time last night (inside my house so as to not scare my neighbors). I try to blow it every day to awaken my soul to the magnificence of the season. By the time we officially blow it as a community on Rosh Hashanah it will be sweet music to my ears.
Another part of my practice is the ceremonial dusting off of the music which has been carefully tucked away since last year, a renewing and reviewing of the melodies reserved exclusively for this most holy season. Perhaps this is one reason we also call this time, "Yom ha-zicharon," the time of remembrance! Rabbi Joe and I have been meeting in preparation for this year, fine tuning the order of services to make this year even more meaningful than the last.
One of my most treasured tasks of High Holy Day preparation is working with our student participants, post B'nei Mitzvah students who will be taking part in services this year. These talented young adults have willingly given of their own time to learn to chant a portion of Torah or to assist in providing music at services. It is quite an honor to chant Torah or to offer a gift of song as part of services; it is an even greater honor to be able to work with these incredible folks who will assure us that we as a community will continue.
This year's student chanters: On Rosh Hashanah we will have Sarah Loew and Sam Weiss. On Yom Kippur we will have Shay Beckman and Sydney Stoter. Ayla Schwartz, Kristina Witzling and possibly others will be sharing their musical talents as well. I am looking forward to this new year with awe and excitement; may we all be blessed with a year of health and joy.
Many bles-sings,
Kathy
|
Rally in Support of Israel Sunday, September 7 at 5 PM
| |
On Sunday, September 7 at 5:00 PM, the Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties is holding an Israel Solidarity Rally
at the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center, 775 Talamini Road, Bridgewater, NJ.
More than 3,000 missiles have been launched
at Israel to date by Hamas.
In the last month, Israel has been besieged by Hamas terrorists affecting 6 million people, extending deep into Israel.
This crisis results in increased needs for long term national recovery throughout Israel which include ongoing trauma support, community resilience, training for first-line responders, and emergency preparedness at the communal and organizational levels.
Call for more information
908.725.6994 x 238
|
|
Shana Tova 5775
| |
|
The High Holy Days are quickly approaching! Please read the following carefully.
On August 15, High Holy Day tickets began to be mailed to members when at least 25% of the current year's dues were paid, or an on-line payment plan initiated, and there are no Dues in arrears. Direct any questions or inquiries to Deb Weiss at treasurer@orchadash-nj.org. No tickets are required for Children's Services (interactive services geared toward families with children ages 10 and younger). - Non-members (Guests and Relatives of Members) will need to turn in their tickets at each service. - Forgot your ticket and are half way to Or Chadash? Need to purchase an extra ticket that day? We will have tickets available at the door.
If you are a member of Or Chadash and wish to purchase additional tickets, prayer books, or make an additional donation, please see the email you received upon completion of your membership
renewal form. There you will find the link to the High Holy Days Information form for members.
If you have any other questions or concerns, please email Deb Weiss at treasurer@orchadash-nj.org.
|
|
| High Holy Days Schedule | |
| Rosh Hashanah | | |
Evening Svc, Wednesday September 24
Morning Svc, Thursday September 25
Children's Svc, Thursday September 25
|
8:00 PM
10:00 AM
3:00 PM
|
Yom Kippur | | |
Evening Svc, Friday, October 3
Morning Svc, Saturday, October 4
Children's Svc, Saturday, October 4
Study Session, Saturday, October 4
Yizkor/Ne'ila, Saturday, October 4
|
8:00 PM
10:00 AM
2:00 PM
3:00 PM
4:00 PM
|
Congregational Break Fast will follow at 5:30. All are welcome.
Thank you for supporting our High Holy Day food drive.
You may place your non-perishable food items in Room 1.
As a reminder, parking and seating are limited. Please arrive early.
Shana Tova - Happy New Year
|
|
Religious School
| |
The Religious School registration form for members is attached to the completion of your membership renewal form. Once you've completed the registration form, you will receive an email confirming your child's registration. If you need help, please contact Linda, our administrator, at admin@orchadash-nj.org.
If you are a non-member of a child entering K-2 and wish to register your child for Religious School only, please visit the form for Religious School Only
Sunday, September 7 at 9:00 AM - The first day of Sunday School
Sunday, September 14 at 12:00 pm - The first day of 8, 9, & 10 grades
Thursday, September 18 at 4:15 PM - The first day of 5, 6, & 7 grades
|
|
Teaching Assistants for Religious School
| | |
Betsy Zalaznick, our Religious School Director, invites all eligible students to be Teaching Assistants. The link below is the application for the 2014-2015 Teaching Assistant program. Please share this with your kids.
Thanks. Any questions? Please call Betsy at 908-310-9247.
|
|
What You Might Have Missed
| | |
Annual Meeting:
On June 10, the Congregation held its Annual Meeting. Congratulations to the new Board of Trustees for 2014-15:
President: Caryn Tomljanovich
Treasurer: Deb Weiss
Secretary: Kristina Witzling
Immediate Past President: Jeff Berg (He was left off the previous newsletter)
Board Members:
3 year term: 2 year term: 1 year term:
Adam Belkin Gerald Jones Larry Abrams
Audrey Belkin Michele Korfin Louis Speizer
Harvey Gold Rick Rosenthal Paul Weil
Kim Turner Laura Senator
Betsy Zalaznick
Mitzvah Day Potholders on sale at Baker's Treat!
Baker's Treat is featuring the potholders Or Chadash created on Mitzvah Day in its front lobby. The potholders are available for purchase or as gift with a donation. Thanks to everyone for participating in Mitzvah Day, just one of Or Chadash's many days we perform Tikkun Olam, the repairing of the world.
Operation Gratitude received the bracelets made by Mitzvah Day students. Their thank-you letter says that our "contribution will enable [Operation Gratitude] to send over 100,000 'chock-full' Care Packages this year."
|
|
|
