The Seder Plate NI/15/68
- The Herclar Club Passover Newsletter -
4/3/07
Issue 11
SEDER FACTS: This is the 37th Annual Seder. It is being held on Tuesday April 3rd (2nd Seder), 2007 (the 15th of Nissan, 5768) at the Green Brook Country Club, North Caldwell New Jersey. Harvey and Cheryl Geller led the Seder. FROM THE EDITOR Howdy. Susan, Jack, Hannah and I would like to wish everyone in the Herclar clan a very happy Passover. As you may know, we moved to Florida last August. It has been a very eventful year. Jack (7) is attending St. Andrews School and Hannah (5) is going to the JCC preschool. She will be joining Jack next year at St. Andrews. Jack is constantly busy writing books, playing games on the computer, making up his own games and watching Spongebob Squarepants. He recently started a Karate class that his cousin Ethan Schwartz is in and he loves it. Hannah continues to discover herself and how close she can come to make her mother drive off a cliff (luckily there are no cliffs in Flordia). She really is an incredibly warm and wonderful child, she just has a bit of the devil mixed in for flavor. She just recently learned to swim and she got her first bike with training wheels. Susan is working hard at making friends and being a busy mom. She still is teaching spinning four times a week and also doing some personal training. She has joined the tennis league in our development and is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with. As for me, I miss my family and coworkers in NJ, but love working down here with my brother. I’m also learning to play tennis. Oh, Woody (8) is crazy as ever. Have a wonderful Seder everyone. -Eric
NEWS FROM AROUND THE TABLE Greetings from Sam Weinstock Tradition is such a powerful and meaningful guide for us on the highway of life. We, the members of the “Herclar Family,” are a great example of tradition as tonight will be celebrating the 37th family Seder. This year we formally welcome into our family, Alexis Leven, who married Seth Leven in December. . We look forward to welcoming the fiancées of Kate Geller and Noah Geller into our family in the very near future. I just learned that Jared Baritz got engaged to Rachael. Mozel Tov to both families. It’s great that the Herclar family continues to grow. May we continue to go from strength to strength. I want to thank Eric Lebersfeld for continuing to be the Editor and chief of the “Seder Plate” It’s wonderful that geographic distance has not distanced him from our family. Eric, we miss you but applaud your work in producing another wonderful edition of the “Seder Plate.” I am excited to once again greet all of you this evening as we come together to celebrate Passover 5768. We are so admired in the community for our commitment to family and for all of the rewards that it brings. We must continue this circle of strength and love that adds a wonderful dimension to every one of our lives. Wishing all of you a sweet Passover and continued good health in the coming year. -Sam
The Skoloff Family Lot of changes for the Skoloff family this year. The major one being Joe has retired from full time pediatrics due to physical problems. The good news is it has not stopped us from doing alot of things and the better news is it allows us more time together with our family. Hardly a -1-
week goes by that we are not on a plane going to New Jersey, South Carolina, Florida and now Connecticut. Actually in a couple of weeks we are off to see Brian in West Palm. June 12th was our 40th anniversary and we went to Austria, Italy and Switzerland, an incredible trip for us. This past summer we spent a week in Chatham on the Cape with Kim , Ernie and the three little ones. It was the best - nothing like time with your grandchildren walking to the beach. In November we spent Thanksgiving with mom and dad and as we did last year, we brought the "mountain to Muhammad" since mom and dad can't travel. Brian, who is living in West Palm, as well as Eric , Sam and Marshall came from South Carolina and Kim Ernie, Sophia, Ben and Zachary came from Rhode Island along with Harriet and Lew and Rayme, Mike and Presley and Debbie and Mark flew in From Raleigh North Carolina. We had Thanksgiving at the Highlawn Pavillion. We were all together, only happens once a year. It was great. Joe and I spent the next week in Aruba....... The great milestone this year of 2007 was mom and dad's 65th anniversary. We celebrated at Beth El. We wished you could have all been there, but they were blessed to have Max, Debbie, Gloria, Harvey, Stanley, Roz and Aunt Ruth, and my mom's nephew and his wife, Danny and Doris among many friends in the congregation. In February - March Kim and Ernie moved to Avon, Connecticut and we were with them for two weeks helping with the move. Their new home is beautiful. Joe and I will be spending time with friends in Aspen and Evergreen Colorado this summer and we will be off to Spain in October. That's about all for now until the next Seder plate in 2008. Wishing you all a very happy Passover... Adele and Herman Lebersfeld Adele and I closed title to our new condo in Livingston Center. We moved out of Max and Debbi’s house where we had been staying for the past 3 months. My brother and sister-in-law were wonderful and we enjoyed each others company and established a great friendship. We even vacationed with them in the South of France in June. Moving day in July turned out to be a disaster. While unpacking the cartons, which had been in storage, I contracted a terrible infection in my arm which landed me in intensive care at Overlook Hospital. I went through two operations to remove the infection and skin graft the wound. It took a month of intensive care and Adele’s care to get me back to health. If you ever hear the words necrotizing fasciitis, wash your hands. That was the end of a summer I would like to forget. We love our new condo and the life style in Livingston center. We also love our life in Florida, especially since Eric and Susan and the kids moved ½ mile away. It’s great fun working at Capitol Lighting in Boca with my two sons on either side of me. Adele has a great many friends in Boca and of course is involved in the Jewish federation of Boca Raton. We have many great trips planned for later in the year. In May we travel to Israel, where Adele will participate in the Joint Distribution Committee board meetings. In June we will visit France with Max and Debbi. In September we go to Africa for an interesting 10 days. In October we are off to Tunisia, Turkey and Morocco with Adele leading a JDC fact finding trip. Renee and Stuart Baritz The Baritz family is very excited with our news that Jared is engaged to Rachel Golden. We are thrilled to have her as part of our family. For those of you who haven't met Rachel you will have an opportunity to meet her at the Seder. Stuart continues to travel the globe, hardly ever slowing down. It is a wonder that he knows what country or city he is in on a given day. Renee -2-
continues to be involved around issues dealing with seniors and now even the "baby boomers" She is part of a task force looking at issues around elder abuse and vital aging. She is part of a committee that is awarding grants for a program to fund a "train the trainers" group to being able to recognize signs of elder abuse and also grants for programs for Vital Aging. Most of us are part of this age group and the programs are very necessary and cutting edge. Stuart and Renee continue to travel for leisure as well. We took a wonderful bike trip form Bologna to Venice in the fall. It is such a great way to see an area and really get an opportunity to meet the people. Jared continues to work hard with his private equity group and very excited for his wedding. No dates or details yet, but we will keep you posted. Casey has been traveling and working hard for The Private Bank. I think she has a lot of her father's blood in her. She is just back from doing an event at the final four. We were all only disappointed that Wisconsin didn't go further in the tournament. She has many more trips planned for the coming months. Rachel, our newest member of the family works in the showroom for Fragments as the Director of Retail and a Principle Designer Rep. Happy Passover to everyone
Ellen and Sam Weinstock Greetings from Ellen and Sam. There are many perks of grandparenthood. But this year Sam and I experienced another new and wonderful chapter as grandparents. We decided to take Sara on a trip of her choice, as her Bat Mitzvah present from us. Since Sara has been studying French as her foreign language it would follow that she wanted to go to Paris. Who wouldn’t love her selection of Paris. We had a splendid time introducing Sara to the beauty and sights of Paris and the rewards of traveling to foreign countries. We know that this trip to Paris together created a lasting memory for us and hopefully for Sara, too. It’s hard to believe but this year Sam celebrated his 70th. One of his requests was to go away with the family to celebrate this milestone. In November, we spent 5 days at the Atlantis in the Bahamas and we highly recommend family trips to this amazing resort. There was something to do for everyone. Steven was in absolute heaven when we took him to swim with the Dolphins. He has wanted to do this for so many years. The pictures which I have inserted tell a better story than all of my words would do to justify the wonderful family holiday we had at the Atlantis. I don’t want to say, that Sam delights in the past, but if you want to know anything about the city of Newark, Sam is like a walking historian. In addition to his association to Newark, his loyalty to Weequahic High School runs deep. Recently he was elected Treasurer of the Weequahic High School Alumni Association. This organization is dedicated to raising funds to mentor and offer scholarship assistance to current students of our high school. There are so many rewarding stories that are a result of the fundraising efforts of the Weequahic Alumni Association, just ask Sam and he will be happy to tell you one. Wishing everyone a Happy Passover... Let’s keep building memories together. Ellen and Sam Harriet & Lew Schloss It has been a good year for us. Last May we attended a beautiful wedding in Sedona, Arizona and made a road trip out of it to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. We saw so many beautiful, awesome and historic sites. In July we had our second, which we hope to be an annual family vacation, at Sea Colony in Bethany Beach, Delaware. It's wonderful being all together for a -3-
week - Debbie, Mark, Rayme, Mike and Presley. This year we are going to rent a house in Rehoboth. In September Lew and I took motorcycle ride to Nova Scotia, did the Cabot Trail and put a lot of mileage on the bike and our bodies! It also was a great trip. In a few weeks we will be going to Riviera Maya in Mexico with dear friends we met on our honeymoon to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe!! We've celebrated many milestones since last April - Presley's first birthday in May, Lew's 60th birthday in November, Dad's (Uncle Leo's) 92nd birthday in November, Mom's (Aunt Miriam's) 87th birthday in January, Mom & Dad's 65th wedding anniversary in February and Rayme's 30th birthday in March. We have had lots of memorable celebrations. Our other wonderful news is that Rayme and Mike are expecting child number 2 in September. We are very fortunate to live not too far from them. Not only do we get to see them often but we get to babysit for Presley every Tuesday and other days when Rayme has to go to QVC. Rayme works for Kathy Van Zeeland and Bruce Makowsky (they make handbags for department stores and QVC). Presley is such a joy and we have so much fun together. Looking forward to Debbie and Mark flying up here from North Carolina for Mother's Day and Presley's 2nd birthday. Wishing everyone well and a Happy Pesach!
Gloria Schwartz and Family This will be the first time I'll be missing our family Seder, and I surely will be missing all of you, and seeing all the new additions to the family. However, none of my kids were coming up this year, so I will be going to Florida to spend the holidays with Andy, Dina and Ethan and Jasper. Nothing much is new since last year. Andy, Dina and the kids are doing great, very involved with their temple activities, etc. Andy's law practice is doing quite well, and he is also coaching his son's soccer teams. Donna and Jeff are also well, and very busy chauffeuring Sydney and Kyle to their various activities and parties. They just came back from Florida where they were staying at the Four Seasons hotel in Ft. Lauderdale for one of Jeff's conferences. (not bad, eh?). Matt is still working for Verizon putting all the music on your cell phones, and traveling all over the country listening to different bands and meeting with some VIP's from the big companies. Interesting stuff. Dave is still in Boulder, Co., and loving it. He's doing very well at his job with Volt, and traveling to different parts of the country to see his friends getting married. Baron, our "Bernese Mountain Dog" is almost a year old now and still a little hyper, but is 110 pounds of sweetness, most of the time. Happy Passover to all of you, I will miss you a lot.. Much love, Gloria Jill and Barry Cohen-Weinstock Family Happy Passover and Congratulations to the Herclar Club on its 37th Seder. A great highlight for our family this year was Sam’s 70th birthday. We did a family trip to The Atlantis, in The Bahamas. We had a great time and now fond memories that we can savor forever. Sara is 14 years old, attends Millburn Middle School and math is her favorite subject. She enjoys art, skiing, photography, tennis, softball, piano and IMing her friends. It will be her 6th summer at Camp Robindel in New Hampshire. She takes French as a 2nd language and placed 3rd in the nation in the National French Exam last year. She was able to put her French to use this summer when she traveled to Paris with Grammy Ellen and Poppy Sam. They dined and saw the sights at a lightening pace since Grammy Ellen packed their days with excitement and wonder. C’est vraiement la belle vie! When Sara’s not watching American Idol she is watching Designer’s Challenge. She is also technologically advanced and she saves the day whenever there is a computer/printer/scanner problem (which is often when you have Jill as Mom). Brett is 11 and in the 5th grade at Deerfield School. In February the 5th grade performed the show Seussical and Brett was a “cool juror”. He enjoys Math, has a great interest in business and would like to be a contestant on The Apprentice some day. He reads the sports section of the NY Times -4-
every morning looking to see the scores on the NJ Devils and NY Yankees, hoping that they will be playoff contenders. Brett plays goalie on his roller hockey team and they nearly won the championship with less than 1 minute to go in double overtime. He plays tennis, basketball, and skis. Brett plays 1st base on the Marlins in Little League Baseball. This will be his 3rd summer at Camp Winadu in the Berkshires. He is our resident weatherman, trip coordinator and comedian all in one. We can always count on Brett to make us laugh with his jokes, antics, and dynamic duo of Sara and Chloe. Chloe is 6 1/2 years old and attends first grade at Deerfield Elementary School. She is extremely independent and “must do everything herself!!” She always has a smile on her face and says hello to every student as she passes them in the hallways of Deerfield. She loves to laugh and her laugh is contagious. She loves to sing, especially to the sound tracks from Seussical, High School Musical, and Dreamgirls. She has a unique fashion sense… “the more sparkle and glitter the better”. She loves dressing up and every chance she gets she puts on a little lip gloss. She enjoys tennis, piano, ballet, soccer, and playing with “Polly pockets”. She loves to bake and lick the batter from the spatula and bowl! She was the cutest “ski bunny” as she cruised down the trails in Vail, Colorado during our recent trip in February. It will be her 4th summer at Harbor Hills Day Camp with Cousin Lucas. Barry is busy as usual with his profession in Cardiology. He is chief of the Catheterization Lab @ MMH and its new Gagnon Heart Hospital -the only heart hospital of its kind in the state of New Jersey. He continues to be involved in innovative cardiac research including stem cell research. The 2nd edition his book Coronary Heart Disease: A Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment is being published in April 2007. He enjoys skiing, politics, and spending time with the family during his free time. He coaches many of the children’s sports and is greatly involved in each of their lives. Jill has the challenge of being the master juggler: the family choreographer overseeing that each character is going in the correct direction at the correct time (and characters they are!) and keeping them happy and sane; while simultaneously applying her rare blend of creative and business talents in her Interior Design business. She balances the home and business fronts with Yoga and music for relaxation (we are all for that), an art class in NYC and skiing in the Cohen Black Diamond Club of Colorado. We want to wish everyone continued good health, happiness and joy this Passover and for years to come. The Muriellos Bobbie and Tony are eagerly awaiting springtime in East Brunswick so they can start digging and planting in the garden. Tony is working hard, heading up the production division at JBS in Manhattan. Bobbie loves her job as a real estate agent and can’t believe after all the years of volunteering; this is a job she actually gets paid for. The family recently celebrated Bobbie’s 60th birthday in the Bahamas. Although they already have 4 grand doggies that they adore, they are expecting their first grandchild this summer. Needless to say, they are ecstatic! Nanci and Michael are still living in Massachusetts. Michael continues to run his wall boarding business and Nanci is a fitness instructor, teaching spinning, yoga and pilates. They have been very busy preparing for their move back to New York City. They are planning to open a yoga studio in Manhattan. It will be called Big Apple Power Yoga, specializing in heated Vinyasa style yoga. They are very enthusiastic about what’s to come. David and Lauren enjoy living in Clifton, especially because it makes the commute to New York so easy. Sadly, David won’t be here this year. He is in Seattle for a month long dog training seminar. His dog training skills are so well respected, that this year he appeared on the Rachel Ray talk show. He is the director of training for all of the Biscuits and Bath locations which are steadily expanding. He has recently added agility training to the curriculum. It has been very popular and a big success. After finishing her master’s degree in counseling last spring, Lauren has been working as both a personal coach and as a therapist at a mental health agency. During the summer, she will continue her role as a director at Omega Teen Camp, a division of the Omega Institute (the nation's largest holistic education center). They are both very fond of what they are doing. John and Lindsey are living sky high overlooking the water in Battery Park City. John is really enjoying his career as a wine sales rep. He sells rare and fine wines to restaurants and retail stores. Lindsey continues her work as an analyst at a hedge fund. They are expecting their -5-
first child in July, a baby boy! They are very excited and plan to give him the middle name Raymond and the Hebrew name Rachmel, in honor of their beloved Zeide. The Garfinkel Clan Time does fly when you are having fun—the year is now the lucky 007’. The Garfinkel clan is hoping for better luck and happy times in 2007. Both Justine and Lucas had a rough patch in 2006 with mono and Lyme’s respectively. They are both doing great now. Lucas has made it to the number grades now and is sailing through. He is a math whiz and I am shocked since he is already learning geometry which I think I just mastered last year! He also has taken a liking to chess and can out strategize us already. He still is an avid sportsman playing soccer, lacrosse and waiting for baseball season to begin. His soccer team coached by his Dad was undefeated this year in Mendham! He is a great spectator when it comes to hockey and loves to play indoor “carpet” hockey in our family room! He was momentarily bummed for me that Duke was eliminated in the big March madness but he got over it quickly and picked another favorite to go all the way in the tournament. Justine has entered Mendham Middle school. She had a bumpy start since she had mono at the end of September into October and had to miss school but she rebounded and is excelling in her new surroundings. She loves math and science. (Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree I suppose!) She is still leaping, jumping, and showing us her pointed toes as she performs in her dance routines. Her Jazz Competition dance troupe is poised to perform “Hot Stuff” in several dance competitions this spring. She is also challenging herself to try lacrosse this spring season. Anyone have any pointers let us know. Upon entering the double digits, Justine is now the consummate teen—emailing and instant messaging everyone she knows. She is eagerly awaiting the return of summer so she can get back to Robindel and hang with her blue and white girlfriends. The Garfinkel mom and dad are still in the business of caring for women and babies. We attempted to take up golf in 2006 and went on a great family vacation to Kiawah Island where all four of us whacked the ball around on the links. We went to Vegas and David went to Arizona on a business trip and now he is convinced life must be better out there. Stay tuned for our new address!! One highlight of our year was going to the Atlantis with the Weinstock entourage to celebrate Sam’s 70th birthday. A good time was had by all! Till next year…….Cheryl & David Jamie and Ken Lebersfeld We are sorry not to be at the HERCLAR Seder with all of you. We are thrilled to have Eric, Susan, Jack and Hannah in Florida this year to celebrate with Mom and Dad and my family. We are relieved not to report any hurricanes this year. Jenna (17) is a junior in High School. She is still playing trumpet in the Marching Band and Jazz Band at school. She is an A student with a very challenging workload at school including 4 AP classes and 2 honors classes (AP Calculus, can you imagine?). She has just taken the SATs and is deciding which colleges to apply to. She is looking for course offerings in Bio-medial Engineering. The highlight of her year was getting her Drivers License. With her new found independence, she got a job as a hostess at Outback Steakhouse. She has a large group of friends and enjoys a very active social life. She doesn’t sleep very much. Jenna also enjoys digital photography, videography and Instant Messaging. Alexa (14) is in her last year Middle School in Pine Crest. She is still singing in the school Chorus and is also looking forward to performing in the Middle School play. She was selected to the All State Florida Chorus and performed in the All State concert in Tampa. Alexa also earned straight A’s and was elected secretary of the Beta Club Honor Society. Alexa enjoys Pop Music. She knows every new band and can sing every song on the radio word for word. She also enjoys Instant Messaging her friends and playing games on-line. Jamie and I have been busy at the store. It is great having Eric and his family here in Florida. He is a tremendous help in the business plus I love him like a brother. We wish you all a healthy and safe Pesach!
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The Gellers Roz, Stanley and family have had an excellent year. Beth’s new Endermologie studio, Just Be Smooth, is taking off well. Beth has also purchased an investment property on Long Beach Island and we all hope to get the chance to enjoy it. Stanley and Roz have been boating in Venice and the B.V.I., visiting in Normandy, Copenhagen and Minneapolis. Last New Year's holiday eighteen of the Schott/Geller family celebrated Grandma Leila's 80th birthday together in Punta Cana. Roz’s son Jason and granddaughters Lexi and Syd are currently living with them while their house is being renovated. They’re all having lots of fun and they will be missed when their home is finished.
The New Jersey Lebersfelds (aka Max, Debbi, Daniel, Brian, Jason, Illana & Gracie) Another year and another pass at a witty entry to the Seder Plate. Let's see what's been happening for the last 12 months...Max & Debbi continued their never ending world tour Budapest where they met Max's Olympic Swimming champion cousin - apparently she invented the butterfly stroke (sounds like the scene from Austin Powers about inventing the question mark), Las Vegas (hot), Antibes with Herman & Adele (ugh, another converted), and just recently to Costa Rica (nothing funny here). They also turned 115 this year (well 60 for Max and 55 for Debbi but bigger numbers are more impressive). Daniel continues his ascent up the lawyer ladder at Dechert LLP. He is racking up hours worked like most of your kids build their scores on Play Station 3. Brian has also spent the last year building Capitol Lighting's website into one of the largest lighting e-commerce sites out there. It's a good thing because Max & Debbi still have lots of places they need to see. As for Jason & Illana, well not much is new...oh except for that whole "new baby coming in a couple of weeks thing." Gracie, who is now much smarter than her parents, is very excited about becoming a big sister. If you're interested, you can ask her what the name of her new sister will be. My time is short as I have to go and move some more baby furniture. Happy Passover to all (and to all a good night).
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