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Shabbat Service Schedule
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February 6:
7:00PM Shabbat Family Service with 3rd & 4th grade participation And the Only One Club
February 13: Celebrate
Shabbat at home with friends and family - No Services at OC
February 20: 6:30PM Falafel dinner. 7:00PM Shabbat Experience and Israeli Film Series.
February 27: 7:30PM Shabbat Service
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In Our Community
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Refuah Sh'leima (Get well) to... Eileen Berkelhammer Susan Blaicher Barbara Sansevere Dorothy Saks Virginia Murphy
Mazel Tov...
Darren and Yulia Pincus & Daniel Frankel - on the Naming of Sierra Ruth
Brianna Lifshitz - on being named Co-Captain of the NHHS Softball Team
Rabbi Joe Forman - on his Jubilee Birthday
Abigail Weinick - on being named Number 1 for Regional Choir
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.
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Upcoming Yahrzeits
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May the memories of the following individuals be for a blessing:
February 6
Albert Goldstein
Beloved Father of Robert Goldstein
Isaac Sacks
Beloved Cousin of Carolyn Sansevere
Ralph Sacks
Beloved Father of Carolyn Sansevere
Ralph Moutner
Beloved Father of David Moutner
Saul Marder
Beloved Father of Susan Blaicher
Myra Rascover
Beloved Great-Grandmother of Susan Albert
Natalie Brait Cohn
Beloved Mother of David Cohn
Anthony Mazzocchi
Beloved Brother-in-law of Sherrie Mazzocchi
February 13 - To be read on February 20
Sidonia Wolf
Beloved Grandmother of Steve Albert
Robert Tuschak
Beloved Brother of Vicki Tuschak
Margaret Mazzocchi
Beloved Mother-In-Law of Sherrie Mazzocchi
Julie Speizer
Beloved Sister of Louis Speizer
Beatrice R. Abrams
Beloved Mother of Larry Abrams
February 20
Estelle Zaner
Beloved Grandmother of Adam Levinson
Faye Alpert
Beloved Mother of Evelyne Hersch
Michael Hann
Loving Brother of Chris Hann
David Suchow
Beloved Husband of Hilda Suchow
Frederick Wolf
Beloved Grandfather of Steve Albert
February 27
Judy Lewis
Beloved Sister of Alice Schwade
Rabbi Judah Fish
Beloved Uncle of Rabbi Joseph Forman
Peppy Kluft
Beloved Aunt of Betsy Zalaznick
March 6
Arnold Kassanoff
Beloved Father of Jim Kassanoff
Anita Moutner
Beloved Mother of Dave Moutner
Dale Moutner
Beloved Sister-In-Law of Dave Moutner
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Donations | |
Evelyne Hersch: In Memory Of Dr. Donald Glucksman
General Contribution
Steve & Susan Albert: In Honor of Rabbi Steinbrink
Jeff & Christine Berg
Vincent & Lori Egan
Sergey & Honeylet Wortman-Vayn
Bruce & Betsy Zalaznick
Building Fund
Barry & Alison Levine
Education Enrichment Fund
Bruce & Betsy Zalaznick: In Honor of the naming of Katherine Beth Beman
Bruce & Betsy Zalaznick: In Memory of Bernie Dickman
Bruce & Betsy Zalaznick: In Memory of Netty Lowenstein
Bruce & Betsy Zalaznick: Mazal Tov to Yulia and Darren Pincus and big brother Daniel on the naming of Sierra Ruth.
Rabbi's Discretionary Fund
Vivian Forman: In Memory of Raoul Rabiner
Harvey Gold: Thank You for Everything you do
Craig Wolfson & Vicki Tuschak
Youth Programs Fund
Peter & Tara Speer: In Honor of Jacob & Jonatha Berg
Ner Shel Tzeddakah
Larry & Beatrice Abrams
Ken Becker & Sharon Bobnar-Becker
Jeff & Christine Berg
Rabbi Joseph M. Forman
Harvey Gold
John Graybeal & Laura Senator
Chris & Leslie Hann: In Memory of Steve Grumbach's Mother
Mark & Jessica Hodkinson
Susan Ingram
Nancy Kanter
Craig & Sudha Kantor
Estelle Katcher
Joseph & Carolyn Sansevere
Stephen Sinoway & Beth Golden
Glenn & Lydia Sokoloski
Marc & Caryn Tomljanovich
Paul & Maureen Weiner
Gary & Debbie Weiss
Bruce & Betsy Zalaznick
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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.
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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.
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Rabbi's Message
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As lovers of Israel and unconditional supporters of Israel's right to exist, we are well aware of the many serious challenges confronting Israel today, as well as the threats faced by the Jewish people everywhere. In addition to the existential questions confronting Israel, as Reform Jews we are also faced with serious questions concerning societal and institutional values. Questions like: Will Israeli society and institutions respect and fairly treat all denominations, regardless of how they observe Judaism? Will gender equality be the norm - where men and women can pray and live as equals? Will we see lasting peace with security and stability for the land and people of Israel and her neighbors?
Or Chadash is committed not only to supporting our brothers and sisters in Israel but also to shaping its future. Together, we have an opportunity to advocate for an Israeli society that represents our values and clearly puts forth our vision for Israel - a vision in which the ideals of pluralism, equality and peace are accepted.
A few weeks ago I shared with all of you some information about how each one of you can have a very real impact on Israel and Jewish people around the globe. From the comfort of your favorite spot and a link to the Internet, you can vote in the World Zionist Congress elections. You might think: What is the WZC and does voting really make a difference? The WZC was created by Theodore Herzl more than a century ago -- long before Israel became a modern state. It helped support the Zionist cause in those early years. It is still on of the most important organizations that determine what policies Israel follows because it directs financial resources in proportion to groups that receive votes. So yes, voting absolutely matters!
We are given the opportunity to vote for representatives to the WZC only once every five years. So, if you care about the Reform Movement in Israel, if you support egalitarian prayer, if you believe in freedom of religion, the right of Reform rabbis to conduct marriage, divorce, burial and conversion, if you believe that women should have equal status, here is your chance to make a difference.
Please join me in supporting ARZA, the Reform Zionist group, and vote in the World Zionist Congress elections. For information on the WCZ and a link to vote in the critical election click here.
Shalom,
Rabbi Joseph M. Forman
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President's Message
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By the time you read this, January will be over. It's one of my least favorite months. We are all recovering from the Hanukkah/New Year's rush and the excitement of the holidays feels long past. Yet, it's still dark early in the morning and the afternoons still feel as though I am missing out on some essential daylight.
But when the page turns to February, there is a glimmer of hope for spring ahead. In our family we have Evan's birthday to look forward to, and even though it is a holiday constructed completely by Hallmark, there is always Valentine's Day. (Really an excuse to eat more chocolate, but that's not a bad thing.)
At Or Chadash the latter part of January has been quite busy as we emerged from the quiet time at New Years. Having enjoyed the events in January (again, chocolate was a theme!) and new programs filling practically every weekend in February, the activities at Or Chadash definitely give me something to look forward to.
The Purim Carnival is on March 1 this year. Our fantastic committee always has some new fun things up their sleeves. We also have an ongoing roster of Sisterhood "Walk and Talks." It's a great way to spend a few hours after you drop the kids at Religious School on Sunday morning.
Mark your calendars for June 6th, when we'll be holding a fundraising wine tasting event at Old York Cellars. Tickets will go on sale shortly. Bring your friends and neighbors to enjoy a beautiful and fun night out.
Don't forget Friday night services and our monthly family services. They are great events with terrific and engaging programming. No matter how you've kicked off the new year, I look forward to seeing you at Or Chadash in the weeks and months to come.
Shalom!
Caryn
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Religious School Director's Message
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NBC news recently featured a segment on Quiet Time, a stress reduction strategy used in several San Francisco middle and high schools. Initially controversial to many parents, faculty and administrators as the meditation time takes away from academic minutes, the program's results have been outstanding. Within a year of adopting meditation, the school which had gunfire and murders, fighting, suspensions and high teacher absenteeism has had a complete turnaround. In the first year suspensions fell by 45 percent. Within four years, the suspension rate was among the lowest in San Francisco. Daily attendance rates climbed to 98 percent, and GPAs increased markedly. Other schools that adopted Quiet Time recorded the highest happiness levels in San Francisco, less stress and depression and greater self-esteem than non participant schools. I encourage you to watch this link.
Our custom at Or Chadash is to observe a moment of silent meditation during services. But what exactly does that mean and how do you do that? How can we make this more meaningful to our students? What might be the impact of incorporating a moment or two of meditation with our middle school students in a sanctuary setting?
A few weeks ago we showed this excellent video on how to meditate (I encourage you to take five minutes to watch it) with our 5th - 7th graders. Although still novel, our middle school students clearly seem to enjoy the few moments of quiet time, and there seems, at least to me, to be something very calming to take those few moments, after a full and busy day of school, homework and activities --and just "chill" in our sanctuary setting. With eyes closed and feet flat on the floor our students have an opportunity to sit quietly with their thoughts. We have decided to incorporate this meditation into our weekly Assembly, and just yesterday introduced the idea of meditation to our younger students in our Sunday Religious School program.
We conclude the meditation with the song and these most fitting words,
Yi-hiyu l'ra-tzon im-rei fi, v'heg-yon li-bi l'fa-necha, Adonai Tzu-ri v'Go-ali.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, O God, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Betsy Zalaznick
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Student Cantor's Message
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During the depth of Winter I often find myself resentful of the cold, snow and darkness that seems to pervade my world. My activity level decreases as I spend more time indoors, curled up with my dogs in front of the TV or with a good book. I feel as if my world becomes somehow smaller as I go inward into a semi-hibernation state, a reflection of the slumber of the world outside.
It is precisely at this time of year that I start to notice small changes. As I drive to work at 7:00 in the morning the sun is already peeking over the horizon. I have become aware that we have close to an hour more daylight in the afternoon. Somehow my car feels a little bit warmer when parked in the sun all day. These small changes add up to an awareness that the earth is slowly coming back to life, renewed once again by the restorative power of the seasons.
I carry this awareness with me into my daily life. When things seem dark and empty I look for the small changes, powerful spots of time that indicate a potential transformation into something greater than the present if we but embrace them.
It is at this time of year that we will be starting our 6th grade Torah trope classes. I thoroughly enjoy introducing our students to the basics of chanting Torah, a system that is older than musical notation. In six weeks I hope to give them a basic understanding of how this system works, which will make their Torah portion much easier to chant when the time comes. Chanting Torah is a very powerful experience for me, I feel myself connected to the generations before me, chanting the same words with the same melody. My greatest hope is that I can transmit this same connection to the students as they take their place in the history of our people, a living legacy of LaDor vador, "from generation to generation." On a "seasonal" note, the classes will be finished just in time for Spring break!
Many Bles-sings,
Kathy Gohr
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Or Chadash Sisterhood Presents: Sunday Morning Trail Walks and Coffee Talks | |
Want to meet some new people, or catch up with friends you only see in the hallways of OC or while waiting to pick up your children?
Join us monthly for either a quick trail walk, and/or a quick coffee klatch! We never seem to have time to get together, so a nice walk and talk during Hebrew school on Sundays seemed to be just the thing! We are scheduling the walks and coffee shops alternately between Flemington and Clinton: Baker's Treat, and Citispot, respectively. Email/text me to let us know if you can join (parliyan@comcast.net, 646-491-2648), or just show up! Bring walking shoes, and garbage bags for trail walk in case we find garbage to clean up. JOIN US!!!!!! Trail walk 9:30-10:00 Weather dependent! This is a fair weather event ONLY! Coffee talk 10:15 - 11:00
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MELT WORKSHOP February 8 - 10:30 AM - 12 PM
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Come to a MELT intro workshop and experience changes in how your body looks and feels. Learn simple self treatments you can do at home to remain active, healthy, and pain-free for life.
This all-levels workshop will use specialized soft body rollers and small MELT hand and foot treatment balls to simulate the results of manual therapy. Learn to eliminate stuck stress before it accumulates causing chronic aches, pains, and unwanted signs of aging. Reduce inflammation, ease chronic neck and low back strain improve alignment, enhance athletic performance, and keep your whole body feeling great at any age.
Don't miss your chance to experience this breakthrough self-care technique, featured in The MELT Method: A Breakthrough Self-Treatment System to Eliminate Chronic Pain, Erase the Signs of Aging, and Feel Fantastic in Just 10 Minutes a day (January 2013, HarperCollins) Instructor: Alida D. Weisfeld
Cost: $22 Other: bring yoga mat, dress comfortably
MELT RSVP
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Feed the Need Sunday, February 22 - 12:30 PM-2 PM
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The Or Chadash Sisterhood and Brotherhood are excited to announce that we will be participating in Feed the Need on February 22nd from 12:30-2:30pm.This is a great experience that the entire family can do together. The minimum age to participate is 5 years old. There is a way for everyone to contribute!Those of us who have participated in the past found it not only to be fun, but also a very personally rewarding experience. When you see, at the end of your shift, what you've done as a group in just a short time, I promise you it is truly a priceless feeling. Please sign up to join us as part of the Or Chadash Sisterhood and Brotherhood team by clicking on this link.If you have any questions, please contact Debbie Weiss at Deb1508@aol.com or feel free to visit the Feed the Need FAQs site.
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What You Might Have Missed | |
In A Nutshell with Cara Tannenbaum
Religious School Dancing with Elyse Litt
Chef Rachel of Food Fix Kitchen Circus Club
Gingerbread Menorahs
Hanukkah Shabbat
Falafal and Films
Temple Tots
Sunday Supper
College Packages
Sisterhood Holiday Shop |
Jewish LIFE: Learning Is For Everyone | | 
Jewish LIFE (Learning Is For Everyone), our community wide adult education program, has a great lineup of special events scheduled in addition to a wide variety of classes and films offered at our participating synagogues. The complete 2014-2015 Jewish LIFE brochure is available on line here.
Below is a rundown of the special events coming up this Winter.
Iris Krasnow
Sex After... Women Share How Intimacy Changes as Life Changes
Wednesday, February 4 | 12pm Program & Lunch
Sex After... is filled with advice in the voices of 150 women, from waitresses to CEOs, ages twenty to eighty-eight. Their stories are raw and prescriptive, describing the challenges that can arise in each phase of a woman's life - from navigating the hooking-up culture in the twenties, to sexuality after pregnancy, midlife malaise, breast cancer, menopause, divorce, widowhood. The interviews with ordinary women are bolstered by expert commentary from sex researchers, gynecologists, oncologists and therapists, coming together in an all-encompassing exploration and explanation of everything about sex you are dealing with, or are curious about that lies ahead. The bestselling author of The Secret Lives of Wives offers an honest, candid and intimate guide to enjoying a long, satisfying sex life.
Co-Sponsored by Brandeis National Committee, Somerset Chapter; Temple Beth-El, Hillsborough Sisterhood; Temple Sholom Sisterhood
Fee: $18/advance, $22/day of
Liberation Of Auschwitz: An Event to Commemorate Those Who Perished and Honor Survivors Wednesday, February 25 | 7:00pm
Hear firsthand fron a child survivor about her experience in Auschwitz and life after Liberation. Hers is an inspiring story that is not to be missed. This special event is open to the entire community. For more information, contact JFS at 908-725-7799 orwww.JewishFamilySvc.org
Sponsored by: Jewish Family Service Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties.
Fee: $10/adult and free for students.
Rebecca Alexander Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found Wednesday, March 11 | 12pm Program & Lunch Rebecca Alexander is a psychotherapist, spin instructor, volunteer and extreme athlete. She also happens to be almost completely blind and deaf. Not Fade Away is her inspiring and moving memoir of a young women who is slowly losing her sight and hearing and yet continues to live life to its fullest potential. Co-Sponsosored by Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties and Brandeis National Committee, Somerset Chapter. Fee: $18/advance, $22/day of Originals by an Original The Artistic World of Mordechai RosensteinArtist in Residence, Temple Sholom Thursday, March 12 | 7:00pm
Meet artist Mordechai Rosenstein and observe him creating a work of art in the synagogue lobby. At 7:30 there will be a presentation and discussion by Mordechai of several of his noted pieces of Hebraic calligraphy and artwork. Afterwards, paint with the artist a collaborative piece you can take home.
Location: Temple Sholom, Bridgewater
Free to the Entire Community, Sponsored by Temple Sholom
Glenn Kurtz: 3 Minutes in PolandThursday, March 19 | 7:00pm
Five years ago, Glenn Kurtz discovered three minutes of color footage film shot by his grandfather on a 1938 trip to the Polish Village of Nasielsk. His grandfather inadvertently captured a world that ceased to exist just one year later. Of Nasielsk's 3,000 Jews, fewer that 100 survived the war.
Fee: $8/advance $10/day of
Please refer to the Jewish LIFE webpage for additional information. To register for programs hosted at the JCC, please call 908-725-6994 x201. To register for programs at other locations, please contact the hosting synagogue or agency. |
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