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. 

The High Holy Days have come and gone -- and not without the tremendous efforts of so many dedicated members of our congregation.  To all of them -- and to all of you who continue to strengthen our community-- I say: Todah!!  Thank You!!  Or Chadash is a community that relies deeply on the care and assistance of its members to make all the wonderful programs here happen.  It also depends on the tireless efforts of our small senior staff. We are blessed with a gifted cantor -- Kathy Gohr -- who enriches our worship and programming with song and spirit.  And we are blessed with our remarkable educator, program creator (and baker extraordinaire -- just ask members of our Teaching Staff or Board of Trustees), Betsy Zalaznick, for all she gives of herself to our community.
We are also fortunate to have a group of volunteers who give of themselves tirelessly.  Our president, Caryn Tomljanovich, has been a support to me and a cheerleader for all thing OC!  In addition to the demands of her job, family and other commitments, she manages to find time to devote to Or Chadash.  An Ashet Chayal - a true Woman of Valor - as our tradition would say.  Jerry Jones, our Religious Practices Chair, who has dedicated himself to making sure that all the details of the High Holy Days were taken care of, is a gift to our community.  And our Treasurer, Deb Weiss, has labored tirelessly during this busy season (as she does all year long) to make it possible for everyone to be able to stay connected to OC.  There are so many others who also have given of themselves.  I appreciate every one of you and every minute you give to building our community!
During this holiday of Sukkot - known as the Season of our Joy - I hope each of you find joy in the work you do, the family you support, the friends who surround you and the communities that are enriched by your presence.
Wishing you a year of blessing.

Let me share something with you. I'm tired. It's been a busy eight weeks since the start of the school year, and that, combined with the whirlwind that is the Jewish High Holy days, means I'm ready for a long nap. But as usual, there is more on my plate. School events, synagogue events, family time, and making time for myself. As the days get shorter, I am called inside and have this strong desire to make soup and cookies. While I'll indulge that feeling, there are things outside of my house I don't want to miss.

 

Or Chadash's upcoming Simchat Torah celebration is certainly worth marking on your calendar for Friday, October 17th. We welcome our new Religious School students and new members and come together as a community to read the final portion in the Torah. Later in the fall, save November 15th for our Annual Wine Tasting Fundraiser at Old York Vineyards. It is open to the entire community and a great way to spend some social time with the Or Chadash friends. Bring your neighbors as well!.

 

If you have not yet made your contribution to the Or Chadash High Holy Days Appeal, there is still time to do so. You can make your gift through our website (by clicking here) or mail it in to the Or Chadash office. Your gift of any size is greatly appreciated and brings us to our goal of 100% participation of our entire congregation. Thank you for your support.

 

Shalom.

 

Caryn

David and Michele Kinderman join us from Milford with their sons Simon and Calvin.

On Sunday, October 5 at 9 AM, the construction of the Sukkah took place. The Brotherhood once again led the construction of the Sukkah.

We celebrated Sukkot on Friday, October 10 at 6:30 PM with a combination Shabbat/Sukkot Experience and Picnic Dinner in the Sukkah followed by s'mores.

Come Join Or Chadash for our 2nd Annual Wine Tasting Event! Saturday, November 15 from 6:00 to 10:00 PM at

Old York Cellars

80 Old York Road

Ringoes, NJ.

You will get a tasting of 6 different wines and there will be food for all. Wine is also available for purchase. 

Come and enjoy the night out and bring friends and family!!! This event is open to the entire community and is sure to be a blast!

Adam & Audrey Belkin

6 Jennings Lane

(or you can drop them off at the Temple).

Or Chadash welcomes Cara Tannenbaum, the author of In a Nutshell: Cooking and Baking with Nuts and Seeds.

The only cookbook of its kind,

In a Nutshell is a complete guide to cooking and baking with nuts and seeds, ranging from soups and sauces to pasta and dessert. Cara Tannenbaum and Andrea Tutunjian deliver the essential cookbook for Mother Nature's most versatile and nutritious ingredients. Publishers Weekly calls the book, "A smart blend of toothsome and approachable recipes, this volume gives readers plenty of options for all times of the day as well as appetites." With more than 250 recipes exploring the culinary and cultural history of nuts and seeds in foods from Hazelnut Roulade to Pumpkin Seed Guacamole, In a Nutshell unites the smooth, crunchy, savory, and sweet and proves that nuts are so much more than just a Happy Hour snack. 

On Thursday, October 9, the 5-10th grades volunteered at Peaceful Valley Orchards to harvest tomatoes for America's Grow-A-Row.  50 member of Or Chadash gathered over 3800 lbs of tomatoes in 90 minutes!!  All donated to food deserts in NJ.

L'shanah tovah to you from me and my family!

Now that we have asked ourselves the important questions about what we have done wrong this past year and what we can do better, I wonder if I could add another question for you to consider:

 

Would you be willing to be part of a $12,000 fundraising initiative for Or Chadash that would cost you nothing? 

 

Raising that great amount for Or Chadash can truly and easily happen if we all chip in and participate.

 

But how do we fundraise at no cost to us?

The scrip program.  Participating together.  My goal is to explain how easy it is to participate and how easy it is to earn money for Or Chadash from hundreds of retailers.

 

How does the scrip program work?

Scrip is the same as gift cards.  The Great Lakes Scrip Center sells scrip online. You sign up to make purchases and designate Or Chadash as the beneficiary. Each retailer offers a certain percentage back to Or Chadash.  You get what you pay for, and Or Chadash gets a percentage because you purchased scrip.  *Bonus:  you also get a scrip credit on dues, which means this program actually pays you to participate!

 

What do I need to do to contribute to the $12,000 fundraising goal?

Choose one retailer and commit to buying scrip for that retailer every month.  Buy your groceries with scrip (ShopRite, Stop&Shop, A&P).  Buy your gas with scrip (Shell, BP, Exxon). Make all your Walmart or Target purchases with scrip.  There are hundreds of retailers from which to choose.  Find something you purchase every month, and do it with scrip.

 

How does my single purchase contribute to the $12,000 goal? Your purchase matters.  It is one meaningful part of a group effort that can easily bring in $12,000 to Or Chadash in just one year.  For example, I buy $500 of ShopRite scrip every month.  That earns Or Chadash $20 in one month.  In one year, my ShopRite scrip purchases earn Or Chadash $240.  If you do that, too, Or Chadash gets $480.  If 50 families do it, too, then Or Chadash earns $12,000.

 

Please consider joining me and Jeff, and the 20 families signed up so far, and participating in the scrip program each month.  You can make a difference!  And together, we can make a very big difference!

 

Feel free to find me with any questions at all: cberg3@comcast.net.  The Scrip FAQs are also on the Or Chadash website and can be accessed here.

 

Thank you for your consideration!

 

Christine