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Av/Elul 5773
cover photograpgh by Laurel Levinsohn
Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
Jewish Family Congregation www.jewishfamilycongregation.org
August 2013
August 2013
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
August 2013
From the Rabbi’s Desk Making Connections By the time you receive this edition of the Shofar, I hope that I will have connected with you in one way or another. During my first month, I tried to meet, call, and/or e-mail every member of our congregation. It will take a while to remember everyone’s name and their connections to other members, if any, but I am on my way. It was a wonderful surprise to have about 100 people at JFC for my first Shabbat service on July 5, and I think that we began the year with a great start. Hopefully there will be many chances to celebrate Shabbat and holidays with such great ruach – spirit. In the last month, I loved meeting people – for lunch, at their homes for dinner, at camp (both Kutz and Eisner!), and at the various temple meetings that took place. Thank you to so many people who welcomed me warmly last month. If we have not had the chance to meet outside of a temple function, please do not be shy – feel free to contact me to set something up.
Because we are an intimate congregation, I hope that I will have the chance to spend quality time with at least
one person in each household this year. Our meetings do not necessarily have to be at JFC; I will be glad to meet you at your home, office, a local café -- wherever. One of my top priorities this year is to make connections with each of you – getting to know you and your history, learning about meaningful moments in your life, and discovering the gifts and talents you have that can add to our congregation. I will be happy to share the same with you. It will probably take most of the year to arrange all of these meetings, so please be patient if it does not happen immediately. Again, feel free to be in touch.
One way we can get to know each other is if you notify me when a member is sick or if they might need a little
extra support. I will rely on you to inform me of lifecycle events and people in need of healing, as well as celebratory moments that should be acknowledged. Please let me know about these events so that I can reach out.
I look forward to making meaningful connections with you that will last for a long time to come.
L’hitra’ot – hope to see you soon!
Rabbi Marcus Burstein ECC and RS--------------------page 3 ECC Summer Fun-------------page 5 Service Schedule--------------page 6 Presidents’ Message-----------page 7 August Calendar-------------page 16
Youth Group------------------page 21 Social Action-----------------page 28 Sisterhood---------------------page 30 Ritual Committee------------page 31
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3 Page Jewish Family Congregation 111 Smith Ridge Road P.O.Box 249 South Salem, NY 10590 Phone: (914) 763-3028 Fax: (914) 763-3069
email: office@jewishfamilycongregation.org website: www.jewishfamilycongregation.org ----------------Rabbi Marcus L.Burstein, D.Min. rabbi@jewishfamilycongregation.org Cantor Kerry Ben-David cantor@jewishfamilycongregation.org ---------------Director of Education Leslie Gottlieb lgottlieb@jewishfamilycongregation.org Administrator Kathleen Sakowizc ksakowicz@jewishfamilycongregation.org Early Childhood Center Director Jane Weil Emmer jemmer@jewishfamilycongregation.org
Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
From the Early Childhood Center & the Religious School
August 2013
By Leslie Gottlieb, and Jane Emmer JFC Is… A Community
So why exactly do we call ourselves Jewish Family Congregation and not some other name like B’nai Israel or Temple Shalom? The founders of our synagogue had a very specific motivation for giving JFC its name. Founding member and current JFC Board of Trustees member Robi Margolis was happy to share her thoughts about those early days. “Stephen and I and two other couples (The Steinbergs and Mandels) along with 20 families felt that giving JFC this title would characterize who we wanted to be-- and the values we wanted to represent to the community. We wanted to share that we were a congregation of families of all kinds—young couples with little ones, older adults, families with no children—and we wanted this congregation to become a family made up of all of our families.” And that is at the heart of why we are who we are today—a blended multi-generational community sharing ideas, energy and ruach! On any given day at JFC—especially evident over the summer—one can witness JFC members Phyllis and David Amerling planting flowers outside the building, sometimes with one of their grandchildren, also members, helping. At the ECC Summer Camp, many of the Religious School B’nai Mitzvah students and those well past that stage can be seen blowing bubbles with our little ones. This summer they all had a splash going through the hand-crafted new car/kiddie wash! Thanks to our camp volunteers this year: Aly Andrade, Laurel Levinsohn, Stephen Henshaw, Bennett Wattles, Juliette Bellinson and Zachary Brand.
-------------------Glenn Kurlander Co-President Hal Wolkin Co-President president@jewishfamilycongregation.org Richard Mishkin, Vice-President Polly Schnell, Vice-President Robyn Cohen, Treasurer Suzanne Sunday, Secretary executive@jewishfamilycongregation.org Josh Blum, Trustee Karen Conti, Trustee Michael Gitlitz, Trustee Ken Levinsohn, Trustee Robi Margolis, Trustee Paul Storfer, Trustee Bonnie Wattles, Trustee Richard Weiser, Trustee Elisa Zuckerberg, Trustee board@jewishfamilycongregation.org -------------Shofar Editor Bryan Wolkin Shofar Printer Copy Stop Royal Press
In the building you may see Laurence Furic busy helping us to manage the JFC website; her son Jacob is a mentor here during the school and is on the Youth Group Board! Robyn Cohen, JFC Treasurer and long-time member has been so helpful in working with Kathleen and Carol in the office. Member Pete Kessler is at JFC almost daily and can be found fixing the Youth Lounge benches or installing the playground shade canopy. In the religious School Library, in June, eighth grader Claire Lichtman volunteered to help reorganize our collection. Also in June—so many months before the High Holy days, The Sisterhood and its many volunteers were busy organizing the honey fundraiser. Over the summer many of the staff professionals (Leslie, Jane and Rabbi Burstein) will have visited our JFC/URJ Eisner & Kutz campers of all ages to share a special moment with them. (We wish we could visit all of the rest of our congregant campers at other places like URJ’s Harlam Camp but we’ll get there in the near future.) continued on next page
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
August 2013
continued from previous page Clearly we have not mentioned SO many important helpful members and we wish we could go on with this list forever—but the essence of family comprises individuals who together make up the whole much like a jigsaw puzzle. Together we make a beautiful picture of a vibrant community.
So... what are we trying to say by providing these targeted examples of life here at JFC? We are trying say that it’s not all about each program or service we offer—but collectively it is the people who power the engine. We are the Little Synagogue Who Could… just like the children’s book title to which this alludes. Someone in Jewish education world (from the former Board of Jewish Educators of Westchester) used to call JFC, “the little gem up north.” Here there is a place for any and all kinds of involvement. Every kind of person and family is welcome under this tent. This is truly a mishkan or dwelling place for spirituality, friendship, worship, community… and love. We hope you agree! We wish all of you a special Elul and a very sweet New Year in the coming weeks.
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
JFC ECC Summer Fun
August 2013
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
August 2013
August Service Schedule
August Shabbat Schedule August 2 August 9 August 16 August 23 August 30
7:30 pm 7:30 pm 5:30 pm 7:30 pm 7:30 pm
Parshat Re’eh Parshat Shoftim Family Service, 6 pm pot-luck dinner, 7:30 pm Service - Parshat Ki Tetze Parshat Ki Tavo Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech
Oneg Schedule 8/2/2013 Richard and Sandi Auerbach Gail Asher Board Host: Bonnie Wattles 8/9/2013 Brian Bersterman/ Allis Ganis Ted Bloch/ Lisa Block Board Host: Richard Mishkin 8/16/2013 Michael and Marcela Berland Richard Bersch and Amy Selig Board Host: Robyn Cohen 8/23/2013 Ken Aufsesser Ken and Cindy Carson Board Host: Bonnie Wattles 8/30/2013 Richard and Jennifer Carter Kevin Brand Board Host: Bonnie Wattles
914-276-2602 914-533-5577 914-763-6585 914-533-7146 914-763-6289 914-764-8305 914-763-6467 914-669-9132 914-533-5521 914-533-2889 914-763-8320 914-763-6585 203-244-5661 914-244-0725 914-763-6585
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
Presidents Message
August 2013
By Glenn Kurlander and Hal Wolkin, co-Presidents As we write our first co-President’s message— only two weeks into our tenure—the good news is that there is not that much to report. Well, except for the BIG news of course. But we hope that the big news is old news to you by now: we hope you know that Rabbi Marcus Burstein officially became JFC’s Rabbi on July 1. Indeed, we hope you already have met Rabbi Burstein, and as we write this mid-July, he has already led two wonderful Shabbat services at JFC. As both Rabbi Burstein and Ritual Committee Chair Michael Salpeter wrote in the last Shofar, any change in our services will be evolutionary and organic—none of us is instituting change for the sake of change—but there already have been subtle changes to our celebration of Shabbat, and even the first two July services were different, albeit in nuanced ways, from each other. But they shared several important attributes in common: both services were characterized by extraordinary warmth and spirit; by a transporting sense of joy and energy; by Rabbi Burstein’s beautiful Torah chanting, and his very personal and thoughtful commentaries on the portions he chanted; and by beautiful music. Rabbi Burstein’s guitar playing is a lovely compliment to Cantor Kerry’s magnificent voice. The sheer musicality of our services—one of JFC’s hallmarks all these years—is becoming an even more significant feature of our worship. Both services were extraordinarily well-attended: there were faces we haven’t seen in years and plenty of new ones. But if you weren’t among them, you really should join us one Shabbat before the summer gets old. We’re certain you’ll find the experience joyous, energetic, warm and uplifting.
is bringing innovation to our policies and practices, and has just implemented a revised dues structure designed to retain members , bring former members back into the JFC family and attract new members of all ages and family composition.
We also have a new Board of Trustees in place, and we welcomed Karen Conti and Josh Blum to the Board in July. We want to thank again, our two retiring Board members, Carrie Kane and Pat Schafer, both of whom provided thoughtful and dedicated leadership to JFC. The new Board is working well and collaboratively together, in partnership with Rabbi Burstein, Cantor Kerry, and our talented educators and dedicated staff to help JFC grow, become more vibrant and vital and continue to play a central role in our communal lives as Jews. The Board
In closing, we want to give special thanks to Polly Schnell, our departing President, for her energy, devotion, spirit and vision. Polly’s love for JFC is so evident in everything she does, and she has energized the Board and all of JFC with her remarkable devotion and commitment. She is indeed a very hard act to follow, but we will seek to live up to the model she has created.
Our chief priority as a Board is retaining and growing membership.But if that’s to happen, collaboration can’t be limited to the Board, Rabbi, Cantor, educators and staff. Indeed, the most important ingredient—the one essential without which nothing else works—is you. The only successful collaboration will be one that thrives at all levels, and includes as many members as possible. That means recognizing that if we want a Jewish communal presence in northern Westchester, we have to support it. Not just financially, although that of course is of crucial importance, but support it by being engaged. We have to be involved in the ways that are meaningful and comfortable for us. For some, that’s attending services; for others, it’s volunteering for a committee or a special project; for others still, it might be enrolling in adult Hebrew or attending Torah study with Rabbi Burstein. And of course, it means spreading the word about just how unique JFC is: about telling our story, bringing friends to High Holy Day services or our Shabbat pot luck dinners or our summer barbecues. That’s something each one of us has to do. The Board, the Membership Committee and the Transition Committee are planning new communal events which you will be hearing about in the weeks to come but they will mean little without your committed support.
8 Page Jewish Family Congregation Shofar From Generation to Generation A parent’s reflection on NFTY-Israel L’Dor V’Dor program By Laurence Furic
August 2013
I knew that sending my son away for a defining journey accross the world was going to be emotional: I was prepared. I was very proud that he had chosen to undertake the pilgrimage to his roots, and to travel through Central Europe prior to his first visit to the Land of Israel. This program, called “NFTY-Israel L’Dor V’Dor”, from generation to generation, is designed to introduce the teens to their heritage, most of them being descendants of Jews coming from this area, Czekoslovakia, Ukraina, Lithuania, Poland… Many of them, too, having heard of the many family members who perished in the Nazi atrocities that took place on the very land they were going to visit seventy years later. They are discovering how rich the Jewish life was prior to be decimated. The remnants are powerful, and no one can measure on paper how much emotion they carry. Because human life is stronger than just a story, it has a soul and a way to attach itself into symbols, and into the passing of these symbols into the very same rituals that we observe today: you go far away from home, and some of the things you see, names, places, signs, are strangely familiar and known. The teens went to visit the camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau. They grew. They understood something that has no words to describe the experience. Each of them is going to process differently and make what they felt their own in their own way. Some took pictures, some wrote poems and shared, some kept silent and will talk about it later, some will never say anything about it, but still, they are transformed by the experience anyways and they are grown from it, like having received sprinkles of a spiritual shower that has been particularly attached to that place, so that the seeds of life that were planted there for the wrong reasons - hatred, fear, prejudice - grew into love, support, understanding: life. This generation of teens is the very last one who will be able to hear the stories from those who were their age at the time: what they lived, what they did, and how they remember it and what happened to them since. Next generations will only hear from those who were told the stories, and decided to pass them on. But, we Jews, have done that for centuries. We know how to pass stories that stay alive. I am thankful for my community, for my Jewish family to allow this adventure to go on for the better, for life. Whenever something difficult is ahead, we know we can face it and transform it into hope and growth. To quote one of the groups’chaperones, Rosanne Selfon, “Forever changed, but forever Jewish.” Jacob is a 16 year old JFTY member traveling with NFTY in Israel - an organization providing Summer Israel experiences for teens. Laurence Furic - Jacob’s mother
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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The Best of Old World Elegance, Rural Beauty and Modern Amenities Located in a country setting, the newly renovated clubhouse features a stunning ballroom windowed throughout, with panoramic views of a spectacular golf course and surrounding hills.
Parties of all sizes welcome One affair per day Kosher catering available
Salem Golf Club 18 Bloomer Road, North Salem NY 10560 914*669*5485 www.salemgolfclub.org
Notes by
Nancy, Inc.
Nancy Silberstein Invitations and stationery at discount prices tel/fax: 914-232-0835 e-mail: notesbynancy@aol.com www.notesbynancyinvitations.com
Cantor Ben-David is available to our congregants for all life-cycle needs Call/Text: 917-400-4068 Email: cantorbd@aol.com
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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Rabbi Burstein and Jackie Kalter at Kutz Camp in July. Rabbi Burstein was invited to teach at their annual Beit Midrash, a chance for campers to study with rabbis from around the country.
Members of the JFC Sisterhood Book Club. Very special evening on July 17, 2013, with author Lori Carson discussing her first novel “The Original 1982.� A wonderful book and a memorable evening.
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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Rabbi Burstein, Leslie Gottlieb and Jane Emmer visit Eisner JFC campers and staff members during session one last month. It was a great visit.
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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JFC BBQ If you were one of the 150 people who attended our Friday evening BBQ/service I think you will agree with the following comment – WOW!! In case you were unable to attend, the evening began with an enjoyable family service for those with young children. This was followed by the food portion of the evening with hot dogs and hamburgers grilled by our own grillmeister Richard Mishkin, along with all the accoutrements. Despite the severely hot weather earlier in the day, it cooled off enough in the evening for about 50 people to sit on blankets and chairs on the front lawn. The remainder sat in the Garden Room and Sanctuary, using the time to connect with old friends and some of the prospective new members who had come. At 7:15pm the Rabbi managed to tear us away from our food and led a joyous sing-along in the sanctuary. Then at our usual service time of 7:30pm we began an abbreviated summer service which included the Rabbi showing us where in that week’s torah portion the Shema came from, inviting children and adults alike to come up to the bima to view the Sephardic scroll. In addition, we heard from JFC member Susan Westlake as she described the wonderful life of her late father as we dedicated a yahrtzeit plaque in his memory. Of course the evening would not have been complete without an oneg hosted by Paul and Elizabeth Amerling, where people continued to mingle, long after the service ended. There definitely was excitement in the air on July 19 and we know that it will continue. If you haven’t been to services in a while, come on out next Friday evening and join us. --Michael Salpeter, Chairman of the Ritual Committee
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August Calendar Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday -25 Av 5773 -7:30pm Board Meeting
4 -28 Av 5773
5 -29 Av 5773
11 -5 Elul 5773
12
18 -12 Elul 5773
-7 Elul 5773 -7:30pm Ritual Meeting
-13 Elul 5773
-14 Elul 5773
27 -21 Elul 5773
-26 Av 5773 -7:30pm Service
-16 Elul 5773
-22 Elul 5773
-23 Elul 5773 -6pm Youth Group
28
10
16
22
-15 Elul 5773 -3pm RS K-3 Hebrew Review -4pm RS 4-6 Hebrew Review -5pm RS Gr 7 & Hebrew Mentor Review
--27 Av 5773
17 -11 Elul 5773
23
24 -18 Elul 5773
-17 Elul 5773 -7:30pm Service
29
30
-24 Elul 5773 -7:30pm Service
3
-4 Elul 5773
-10 Elul 5773 -5:30 pm Family Service -6pm Pot-luck dinner -7:30pm Service
-9 Elul 5773
Saturday
9
15
21
2
-3 Elul 5773 -7:30pm Service
-2 Elul 5773
-8 Elul 5773
Friday
8
14
20
26 -20 Elul 5773
-1 Elul 5773
13
19
25 -19 Elul 5773
-30 Av 5773
-6 Elul 5773
7
6
1
31 -25 Elul 5773
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Jewish Family Congregation Religious School presents‌
Kids Knesset
(Student Government Program: Grades K-6)
Just think‌ You can volunteer to be one of two student representatives for your grade in order to help make important decisions about our school. There will be 4-5 meeting dates throughout the school year with the school director and the rest of the representatives. Meetings will be: Thursdays at 5:10 PM and Sundays at 10:10 AM. See calendar for exact dates. You can also volunteer for many RS special events!!!!!!!!!!!! You can volunteer by filling out this form and then submitting it to Leslie Gottlieb asap. Or you can send an email to lgottlieb@ jewishfamilycongregation.org to enroll Who should volunteer? Anyone who believes that he/she can help to create and plan great programs for the school--- with the help of the school director! --------------------------------------------------------------------Return this section or email information! Name___________________________________ Grade in Sept. ___________
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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Anniversaries Frank & Susan Andrade
Richard & Lydia Hellinger
Jeffrey Berg & Debra Paget
Peter & Dawn Kessler
Theodore Bloch & Lisa Block
David & Erica Levens
Adam & Robyn Cohen
Harold & Ruth Ossher
David & Sally Firestein
Linda & Douglas Paulding
Andrew & Amy Fishkin
Harry & Sandra Rosenhouse
Allan & Ellen Goldstein
Steven Sturm & Amy Rackear
Lawrence & Leslie Gottlieb
Steven & Judy Vandervelden
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Birthdays
Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
August 2013
Zachary Amerling
Nate Fishkin
Elisabeth Rich
Adam Andrade
Lillian Gilbert
Alan Sanders
Charlotte Bellinson
Michael Gitlitz
Eva Schenk
Samantha Berg
Kenneth Gordon
Anthony Senese
Richard Bersch
Allan Gottlieb
Aspen Shafer
Cole Brand
Abbey Grzymala
Skylar Shafer
Jason Breslin
Dillon Haims
Steve Shainmark
Debra Cohen
Nicole Haims
John Stern
Rick Cohlan
Alexander Junquera
J. J. Stevelman
Benny Davis
Spencer Kane
Matthew Tessler
Matthew Duckett
Peter Kaplan
Zoe Vandervelden
Jane Emmer
Spencer Kaplan
Marc Waldman, MD
David Firestein
Hillary Lavin
Zarabeth Waldman
Dillon Firestein
Dylan Leitner
Daniel Westlake
Sally Firestein
Justin Lipper
David Fischer
Rebecca Mishkin
Andrew Fishkin
Sarah Raimondi
August Yarhzeits Jerry Blum
Leo Klotz
Sadie Dutka
Dina Leitner
Theresa Ehrman
Edward Joel Mendell
Sam Feinleib
Dax Nemerov
Abraham Feldman
Kenneth Rosenthal
Richard Glass
Henry Salmon
Julius Goodman
Joseph Salpeter
Seymour Kalter
Hugo Sternberger
Charles Karsch
Janet Treitman
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JFC Religious School Fundraiser- Challah Program --From Steve’s Bagels of Ridgefield-****************************** Want to make Shabbat a special time in your home ? A fresh-baked challah on hand can help distinguish Friday evening dinners from all the others. --All proceeds go to the Religious School Fund—
Challah will be distributed during our K-3 program on Thursdays all school participants/ congregants may register if Thursday pick up is possible). Each challah will be wrapped in a plastic bag so that it will be fresh for Shabbat. If your child is absent, we will hold it for you until noon on that Friday. If we do not hear from you, the items will be donated to that week’s Oneg Shabbat.
2013-14 School Year: Cost- $150 ($6 each) 25 Thursdays/Dates of Delivery: Oct. 3– April 24 If we cancel school on a Thursday due to weather conditions, an additional delivery day will be added at the end of the school year. ************************************** Please return by Thursday, Sept. 26 2013-14 JFC Religious School Challah Program Student’s Name: _____________________________________ (last) (first) Grade:________ Thursday Teacher: ___________________ Check # ___ Amount paid $_______
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Our Youth Group Members at JFC Last month…
NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) visited Eastern Europe to remember… then it was… onto Israel!! JFC students and JiFTY (Jewish Family Temple Youth Board Members) members Sam Blum and Jacob Furic participated in the experience.
2013-14 Religious School- First Class Meeting Dates Thurs., 9/12- K-3- 4:15-6PM- Parents invited 5:30 – 6 PM Thurs.,9/12- Confirmation- 6:15-7:15 PM Thurs., 9/12- Student Mentor Program– 3:30-6:00 PM- JJHS bus arrival option Sun.9/15-
Grs. 4-6 9 AM-12 PM- Parents invited 11:30AM –12PM
Mon., 9/16- Gr. 7 3:15 at JFC- Gr. 7 HHD Food Drive- not a regular class!!!! (Grade 7 Parent Volunteers/Drivers Needed!) Dismissal in Katonah, 6 PM.
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Early Childhood Center at Jewish Family Congregation Jane Emmer – Director 914-763-3028 x 15 111 Smith Ridge Road South Salem, NY 10590
Application for 2013-2014 School Year Child’s Name __________________________________________ Gender ________Date of Birth ___________________________ Home Street Address____________________________________ Town/State/Zip Code____________________________________ Home Phone ___________________________________________ Parent Name___________________________ Cell Phone ______________ email address ____________________ Parent Name___________________________ Cell Phone ______________ email address ____________________ Siblings - Name: _______________________ birthdate_____ Name: _______________________ birthdate_____ Name: _______________________ birthdate_____ Please Check One: Circle Days : 2’s 2 day _________ 3 day__________ (M – W – F 9:15-11:45) 3’s 4 day _________ 5 day _____ ( M – T – W – Th- F 9:15 – 12:00) 4’s 4 day _________ 5 day _____ ( M – T – W – Th- F 9:15 – 12:00) Tuition Information $250 Non –refundable registration fee must accompany this form. Tuition is p Tuition is as follows: 2 day 3 day 4 day 5 day
2 payments of $ 1,400 due 6/1 and 9/1/2013 (2’s only) 3 payments of $ 1,400 due 6/1, 9/1 and 11/1/2013 (2’s only 3 payments of $ 1,800 due 6/1, 9/1 and 11/1/2013 (3’s & 4’s) 3 payments of $ 1,966 due 6/1, 9/1 and 11/1/2013 (3’s & 4’s)
total tuition total tuition total tuition total tuition
$ $ $ $
2,800.00 4,200.00 5,400.00 5,900.00
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Beginner& Intermediate Hebrew for Adults at JFC
Instructor: Linda Paulding, Grinspoon Steinhardt Award Winner for Teaching Excellence
Sundays & Weekedays
Meets twice a month/1 hour Schedule TBD dependent on enrollees Open to all congregants and non-members Fee for instruction/materials: $30 per class, members $50 per class, non-members To enroll, please email Leslie Gottlieb, Director of Education at JFC at: lgottlieb@jewishfamilycongregation.org
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American Conference of Cantors/Guild of Temple MusiciansHonoring JFC’s Kathy Storfer
At this year’s ACC/GTM (American Conference of Cantors/Guild of Temple Musicians) annual Convention in Minneapolis, I had the great honor of receiving the GTM’s Shomeir Shirah award for contributions to the Guild and its work in promoting Jewish Music. What added greatly to this, was the gift given by Cantor Kerry and many others who enabled JFC to host the “First Timers” cocktail party, the traditional opening to the Convention, in honor of that award. How proud I was to see our shul listed as as the sponsors in the program for the event and our name emblazoned on the placard guiding everyone to the location. Few events are sponsored this way at Convention. To have our relatively small shul demonstrate such largesse, noted by some of the biggest and most influential members of the Reform Movement, was thrilling for me and I am deeply grateful. --Kathy Storfer
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Youth Group End of Summer Get Together Thursday, August 29 6-7:30 PM & *YG Board Meeting 4:30-6 PM
All registered (and non-registered JFC members) 8th-12th Graders welcome! No fee. Please RSVP by August 27 to Leslie Gottlieb @ lgottlieb@jewishfamilycongregation.org or lesliejo0312@gmail.com
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
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Social Action Committee The Social Action Committee can use help sorting and labeling the donated clothing for the Midnight Run. You can take a bag or two home and work at home, if you want. Or of course, you can do it at JFC, we are storing everything in the basement now. Please let Debbie Lavin know if you can help DebbieLav@aol.com. We have a lot of clothing and if we have a bunch of volunteers, it will get done so much more easily. We will need some volunteers to help with the Blood Drive, which will be held November 11. This is also a good opportunity for a Mitzvah Project for a B’nai Mitzvah student. We will be planning a date for the next Midnight Run for the late fall, look for announcement next month.
Youth Group and the High Holy Days Youth Group High Holy Day Services 5774/2013-14
Please join us for these special services (written and led by JFC’s Youth Group, JiFTY) For children younger than 13 on : Rosh HaShannah, Thursday, Sept. 5 at 10:30 AM in the sanctuary And on Yom Kippur, Saturday, Sept. 14 at 10:30 AM in the sanctuary
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Donations General Fund Doris Hettmansberger----------In memory of Indy Goldman Michael and Rona Salpeter----------In memory of Milton Better Music and Choir Fund Doris Hettmansberger----------In honor of Kathy Storfer’s Shomeir Shirah Award Andrea, Robert, Josh and Zander Bolgar----------In honor of Kathy Storfer’s Shomeir Shirah Award Gordon and Polly Schnell----------In honor of Kathy Storfer’s Shomeir Shirah Award Peter and Liza Breslin----------In honor of Kathy Storfer’s Shomeir Shirah Award Shelagh McLean----------In honor of Kathy Storfer’s Shomeir Shirah Award Jeff Berg and Debra Paget----------In honor of Kathy Storfer’s Shomeir Shirah Award John and Karen Conti and family----------In honor of Kathy Storfer’s Shomeir Shirah Award The Gottlieb Family----------In honor of Kathy Storfer’s Shomeir Shirah Award Rabbi Discretionary Fund John and Karen Conti and family----------In honor of John’s conversion with gratitude and love Lee Furman, Amy Rossberg, Suzanne Saperstein----------In honor of Rabbi Marcus Burstein, wishing you the best in your new position Religious School John and Karen Conti and family----------In honor of Linda Paulding on the occasion of Julie’s torah reading for her father John’s conversion
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
JFC Sisterhood News By Linda Lederman
It seems as if most organizations we come in contact with these days demand much of us, our time and our energy. The unfortunate truth is we often comply out of a sense of obligation and rarely reap much satisfaction from such endeavors. Not true with JFC’s Sisterhood. We are a vibrant organization within the temple that sponsors a variety of activities that combine social, cultural, charitable and educational aspects of Jewish life. We don’t even take a summer vacation! On July 17, our book club met to discuss The Original 1982, a fascinating exploration of one woman’s asking “what if”, and then describing, in often heartbreaking detail, exactly how it would have been if she had made a different life-changing choice. As if the topic wasn’t fascinating enough, we were privilleged to have our discussion led by none other than the book’s author, Lori Carson. Needless to say the insights and thoughts shared that evening left a lasting impression on those fortunate to have attended. Keep an eye out for our next book club selection and remember, even if you haven’t finished the book, please join us for an evening of rousing conversation! As summer is rapidly rolling along, remember the holidays come early this year. An easy way to spread the sweetness of the New Year to loved ones, college students, business associates and friends is by supporting the Sisterhood’s Rosh Hashanah Honey Fund Raiser. For $13.50 per jar (which includes shipping and handling anywhere within the United States), you can send a distinctive 8-ounce jar of kosher honey, decorated with a festive label and a personal-
August 2013
ized card reading “L’Shana Tova—Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year.”. We will gladly mail orders outside the United States for an additional fee. To order honey go to www.jewishfamilycongregation.org, click on the honey link and follow the step-by-step instructions. For our Sisterhood, there is much to look forward to next year. Along with turning some of our wildly successful events from last year into new traditions for this year, new programs are also in the works. Mark your calendar, October 6, 2013 is the night of our very popular annual dinner. Details to follow. For those of you who might be thinking Sisterhood is for their mothers, think again! We have a great diversity of women of all ages, professions, talents and interests! Being a part of JFC’s Sisterhood is your time to do something just for you! Take time to be with other Jewish women, to learn something new, network, and have some fun and a good laugh. Please complete the Sisterhood Membership Renewal form and send it together with your membership dues to JFC. We are counting on you, as we all count on each other. Please reach out to us with your ideas and suggestions or just to find out how you can get involved. Your Sisterhood Membership, your participation in Sisterhood events and your contributions of ideas and time make all our events and programs possible and all of our combined efforts worthwhile. Our members make us strong, our events make us fun and your participation makes us run.
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
Ritual Committee
August 2013
By Michael Salpeter, Chairman Normally this is a busy time for the members of the ritual committee and this year with the arrival of our new Rabbi and the occurrence of Rosh Hashanah merely days after Labor Day, the pace of our planning has accelerated. As we all know, Rabbi Burstein began his tenure on July 1 and the very next evening the ritual committee hit the ground running with our first meeting of the JFC calendar year. Along with some “housekeeping” and some nuts and bolts items, we began our discussions of what JFC ritual will look like. What was most important was that committee members were able to share with the Rabbi what we most and least like about our services to give him a sense of direction. There was a large turnout of worshipers for that first Shabbat evening service and although I was out of town and unable to attend, I heard positive comments about that service. With the re-emergence of attendance by families with young children, we are hoping to reinstitute the Tot Shabbat program where the children younger than 8 or so can have supervised activities upstairs so their parents and older siblings can be engaged in the service in our sanctuary.
our members perform this mitzvah. A few openings for chanting still exist – contact me if you wish to chant. To those of you who have been offered honors, please be sure to respond to that request timely so that planning may move along slowly. As in years past we are asking for members to volunteer to act as an usher for one or more services. If you can help us out in this regard, please let us know at jfchonors@gmail. com . We no longer have access to our previous location for tashlich on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, so we are working on securing a new site which we will pass along to you as soon as it is finalized. One of the great pleasures of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar. At JFC we are privileged to have members of our congregation who participate by blowing their shofarot. If you have been a Baal Tekiyah (shofar sounder) in the past, we invite you to participate this year again. If you have a shofar at home but do not know the various tones or you do not know how to sound it at all, the Rabbi will conduct a class to give you the skill to do so. Just drop him an email and he will work with you to arrange a session.
By the time this article is published the 2nd annual JFC July BBQ will have already occurred. Hopefully you were there to help make it the success we anticipated. This is one of the events we envision as an opportunity to recruit new families for membership, as well as the chance for existing members to connect with people you know already or those you may be meeting for the first time. The High Holy Days are only about 5 weeks away at this point so much needs to be done. If you have volunteered to chant Torah, thanks for giving our congregation the ability to hear
Besides working on the High Holy Days, the ritual committee is working on the annual JFC calendar – as we develop festival and “special” Shabbat service lineups we will keep the membership in the loop. We also envision some “at home” activities which will be highlighted soon. As always if you have any comments or questions, please let myself, any member of the committee or the Rabbi know to make our JFC experience as meaningful as possible.
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Jewish Family Congregation Shofar
Non Profit Organization Postage PAID White Plains, NY Permit No. 9022
Current Resident Or
August 2013