The Seder Plate NI/15/71
-The Herclar Club Passover Newsletter
3/30/10 Issue 14
SEDER FACTS: This is the 40th Annual Seder. It is being held on Tuesday March 30th (2nd Seder), 2010 (the 15th of Nissan, 5771) at the Green Brook Country Club, North Caldwell New Jersey. Ellen and Sam Weinstock are hosting the Seder. There are going to be 60 people in attendence. FROM THE EDITOR Howdy. Life continues to be great here in South Florida. Since we’ve moved we have had no hurricanes here, but New Jersey has been hit by 4 “hurricane type events.” Go figure! Poo poo poo. Jack (10 – in 5 days) is doing very well in 4th grade. He is still doing Karate and has taken up piano and electric guitar. He has written and performed an original number called “Death of a Star” and it has received rave reviews. He is looking forward to going to sleep away camp for the first time this summer at Camp Lokanda in Upstate New York. Hannah (8) is having a great time in 2nd grade. She continues to make us laugh almost every day with a new story or song. She enjoys dancing to the latest songs, and we are waiting for her to start a real dance class. Susan is still teaching Spinning at LA Fitness in Boca and being Captain of her tennis team. She recently reentered the work force as Director of Recruiting for a Head Hunting company down here placing partners in Washington DC firms. She enjoys the work but it is definitely a lot to manage. We lost our dog of almost 11 years this past December. We were forced to put Woody down after he suddenly entered kidney and liver failure. It was very very sad. We did however get a new puppy a couple of months ago. A chocolate labradoodle named Charlie joined our family. He’s a great puppy and we’re enjoying him very much. I’m working very hard here at Capitol Lighting with the rest of my famiy trying to weather the storm of this recession while setting ourselves up for growth and success. It is definitely challenging, but I know the rewards will come. I miss you all and I hope to see you all soon! -Eric Lebersfeld NEWS FROM AROUND THE TABLE Greetings from Sam Weinstock Greetings “WOW 40 years of Herclar Family Seders. Something to celebrate and something to brag about. I am so proud of all of my extended family. Today, we live in a different world, than the one that existed in 1970 when the five original Geller brothers and sisters started us on this wonderful family journey. I am not sure that they envisioned that this magnificent tradition would sustain itself this long. At this milestone in our family history, we are now five generations old and there are 123 descendants (including spouses) of Herman and Clara Geller As each year goes by, we continue to grow in numbers (evidenced by the recent birth of Lily Bridget Ryan on March 22) and in strength. In the tradition of our forefathers : “L’dor V’dor” from one generation to the next generation and as members of the Herclar family, together all of us have made this evening happen for four decades It is my hope that our mutual love of family and our pride in belonging to the Herclar family will motivate us to continue the tradition of celebrating the second Seder together for many more years. Listed below is the article I submitted to the Jewish News in honor of our 40th anniversary. I thought you would enjoy reading it. I am hopeful that they will print something in honor of our 40th anniversary. Wishing everyone a “Sweet Passover” and good health in the coming year. Sam
The Skoloff Family There have been a couple of major changes this year for our family. One was Aunt Miriam's move and adjustment to living in Wilmington , Delaware. I am happy to report we all made the right decision and she is very happy there. She has made nice friends and continues to live in her own apartment with Nana or Lia and the special bonus of living close to Harriet and Lew , Rayme , Mike and Presley and Camryn. The other major change this year is Joe went back to work where he is practicing pediatrics once again as well as doing medical office administration a few days a week. He enjoys the challenge and the change. Joe was supposed to be in Haiti on the hospital ship The Comfort. He was very excited about being asked to do that. On February 25th he got an email that said the Navy was stopping any new deployment to Haiti. So the good news is he is here with us. The sad news is he was looking so forward to going and making a contribution. As for myself, I keep very busy with various activities . *Our children and grandchildren are doing great. Samuel, Marshall, Zachary, Sophia and Ben are all very busy with their various activities and it is fun to share in them when we are able given our distance. We are fortunate to be able to spend time with all of them in their various places, but of course it is never enough. Brian is still with the AP in West Palm and aside from being the Correspondent in that area, he is being trained to do video by the AP and is therefore enjoying a new challenge. Eric is still with St. Jude Medical in South Carolina. Eric and Katie are in the process of building a beautiful new home. Kim and Ernie are still in Avon, Connecticut and Ernie is keeping busy with Stanley Works as they have just bought Black and Decker . We were all together Thanksgiving and it was wonderful. It is the one time of year we can do that as a whole family. We then spend Christmas time of the year with Eric and his family in South Carolina and New Years with Kim and her family in Connecticut. This year we went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with Eric, Katie, Sam and Marshall . It was a wonderful time together. Joe and I will be leaving for Utah for twelve days in May. We will be in the area of Park City, Cedar City and Moab where we will be exploring the national parks So if any of you have already done this, we would appreciate any suggestions for visiting that area of the country. *We are looking forward to the spring and flowers and saying goodbye to the snow for this year. Happy Passover to all of you and congratulations to all of us for keeping this seder going for 40 years. We are all blessed to be a part of this wonderful family gathering called "Herclar." May it always continiue in memory of our grandparents and our parents who had this wonderful idea that this would keep us in touch with each other. The Rempfer Family (Mike, Rayme, Presley and Camryn) This past year has been a great one for our family. Our lives continue to be busier than ever between work and activities for the kids but we all seem to thrive in the chaotic, never ending hussle and bussle of life. Presley will be turning 5 in May and we just got her registered for Kindergarten which she will start at the end of August. It is hard to believe that our little baby is growing up before our eyes. She stays busy with school 3 days a week, dance, gymnastics and swimming lessons, all of which she loves. She recently cut 8+ inches off of her hair to donate it to Pantene Great Lengths, an organization that makes wigs for women with cancer. She was hesitant at first to cut off the hair that she loved, but after seeing pictures of women her hair would be helping, she was excited and
now says I can cut her hair anytime I want. Camryn turned 2 in September, however she acts more like she is the big sister in our family. She is feisty, opinionated and really giving big sister Presley, and Mommy and Daddy, for that matter, a run for our money. Camryn started preschool in January and is really enjoying it. She is also doing gymnastics and swimming and doing great at both. She is loving the recent spring weather and loves to be outside playing on her playground or riding her bike. We recently got back from a family trip to Disney which we were lucky enough to have my mom and dad join us for. It was truly magical, as Disney should be. The girls enjoyed every minute of it and I think the adults probably had just as much fun as the kids. We were busy from the early morning until the parks closed at night and the girls are already talking about wanting to go back next year. With the arrival of spring our family has so many great things to look forward to. In just a few weeks we will be celebrating our nephew Austin's first birthday in Wilmington. My girls love their cousin and can't wait to smother him every time they see him. Mike's family opens up their beach house at the end of March so we will start going there as much as possible from spring all the way through early fall. We plan on being in Avalon, NJ quite a bit this summer as we are a family that LOVES the beach, well atleast the girls and I do and Mike just comes along for the ride (he is outnumbered). The girls will be going to summer camp for 4 weeks and we always have our week long vacation at the Delaware beach with my parents and my sister Debbie and her family which is always one of the highlights of the summer coming up in July. You hate to rush things along but with all of the snow we have had, we are more than ready for a warm and sunny spring and summer. We wish everyone a very happy Passover! Renee and Stuart Baritz Family This has been a very eventful year for the Baritz family. Casey and Chris got married on June 13, 2009. It was a great time and fun was had by all. They went on a great honeymoon to Southeast Asia with stops in Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Cambodia was their favorite. Stuart and Renee sold their apartment of 25 years in December. They will be moving to a new address on March 24th and are ready to begin the next chapter. Stuart has a new role with Metlife. He is responsible for enterprise relationship management, coordinating relationships with all outside firms from each department at Metlife. He is enjoying his new position and has been traveling less. It is nice having him around more. Renee has been privately tutoring. She tutors pre-K- 8th grade in reading, math, vocabulary, English, homework help, enrichment, literacy etc. She is enjoying working with kids again and is always looking for new students. Chris has a new job working for TD Bank. He is celebrating his 30th birthday on May 5th, "Cinco de Mayo". Casey continues to work for the Private Bank. She was promoted at the end of 2009. She continues her role in marketing for the Bank with a focus on branding, collateral, and data communication. They obviously appreciate her work because she has survived all the turmoil. Rachel and Jared continue to enjoy being married and are about to celebrate their 2nd anniversary. They're both working very hard but try to get away and travel whenever possible. They recently visited Turks & Caicos and can't wait to get back. On the work front, Rachel was recently promoted to Director of Business Development at Fragments and continues to focus on initiating new and exciting opportunities;
including the launch of her company's products on QVC. Jared has also been busy in his role with Northeast Equity, trying to capitalize during the downturn, on strategic and undervalued real estate opportunities; most recently acquiring several parking and development deals. They continue to love living in the city, and taking advantage of all that it has to offer. Stuart is turning 60 on May 30th. We are hoping that the six of us can go on trip before year end to celebrate. We always enjoy our times spent together. We wish everyone a Happy Passover. Love, all the Baritzs Kim and Ernie Huber Family Since the last time we were all together, we have created many more memories in the Huber household. First of all I turned 40 years old this year- wow. In addition, Ernie and I celebrated our 10 Year Anniversary with a wonderful trip to the Napa and Sonoma area. Our kids were very happy as their Grammy and Grandpa Joe took very good care of them while we were away. Unfortunately, upon returning the kids and I had to fight the Swine Flu. Ernie has been working hard at the Stanley Works as he is deeply involved in the integration of the Stanley Works and Black & Decker. Zachary tried his feet at ice hockey and loved the skating part, but did not enjoy the padding required for hockey. He is a very happy 1st grader who thinks his teacher knows "everything". He is excited about soccer and has played for 3 years now, including indoor soccer for the last 6 months. Ben and Sophia go to a brand new early education magnet school. They are excited to start taking tennis lessons and in the spring, they hope to follow in their older brother's footsteps and play soccer for the YMCA. Since my children are in school full time, I have gotten involved with a local charity organization called Gifts of Love and work for them a few hours per week. In addition, I have kept quite busy between chauffeuring my kids, volunteering for the schools, and I sit on an advisory board for the Chai Center (a group that supports Jewish Life in the Farmington Valley). We are looking forward to warmer weather and a little spring break get away to Chincoteague, VA with Grammy and Grandpa Joe. In addition, we always look forward to celebrating the 4th of July with Grammy and Grandpa Joe here in Hartford. The kids are excited for summer day camp and we are all excited about planning a summer beach vacation. We wish everyone a year of good health. Katie and Eric Skoloff Family Hello from the family of Eric Skoloff! Eric and I (Katie) are happy to announce that we had a beautiful wedding that filled more than our wildest dreams. Thank you to our family for making it so special and contributing with your love and wellwishes! We were married on May 9th in downtown Greenville, our home town, with Eric's sons Samuel and Marshall, his brother Brian Skoloff and my sister, Christine Bruner, at our side. We had over 250 of our friends and family in attendance for the big event! Eric flew me off the next morning to a secret destination of Saint Barth in the West Indies for a one week honeymoon that was the trip of our lifetime. Upon our return to our new life as a married couple, our days never had the chance to slow down. We immediately began the process of building a home on a
piece of property in our small city center that we purchased earlier in the year. Thanks to Eric's confidence and trust in me, I had the opportunity to fully design the house myself from the ground up. We are in the thick of it now and are already wiring the home! It has been a dream come true for both of us. The process has been rewarding and exciting. The boys have enjoyed seeing their new home go up and enjoy the other kids on the street. We are looking forward to a completion date between September and October. *The boys are doing beautifully: Samuel is now nine and he is in third grade. He is excelling in school and still amazes us with his memory and knowledge of anything factual that includes numbers- his favorite pastime is to play sports trivia: reciting rules, jersey numbers, positions, plays, you name it. Samuel is also involved in multiple sports- he has just finished basketball season where he made us very proud parents shooting beautiful baskets and directing traffic on the courts to strategically position the other teammates for the plays. He has also begun minors baseball with our local Little League. He is a lead hitter and holds the center field and second base positions. His favorite meal is breakfast (banana waffles with chocolate chips!) There is no one like our Samuel. *Marshall is now seven and he is in the first grade. He does not enjoy school because it is hard for him to sit still but he has impressed us with excellent grades and his teacher and fellow students love him- it’s really hard not to fall in love with Marshall. He has the charm and sense of humor of an old soul and he always keeps his company entertained with his wit. He is a lover of all people- young and old, of all colors and all types. Marshall seems to excel at everything he does. Certainly sports come natural to him too. His favorite pastime is to find a group of older kids playing basketball, football or baseball and join in and wow them with his skills. All toughness aside, at night Marshall still takes baths and likes stuffed animals! He is really one of a kind. *Eric's work is truly busier than it has ever been. He is on his sixth year of employment with St. Jude Medical company where he holds the title of Regional Territory Manager. He now has four employees that he oversees, nine physician practices which he helps manage, and thousands of patients under his supervision- all neurostimulator business. We are ever proud of him. He handles all events in his life with grace, precision, and attention to detail. Above all he is a spectacular husband and an extremely caring father. We all adore him and the joy he brings to our everyday. Eric loves to sing songs to us and change the words so that the songs are about us- it is "American Idol" live in our own home and we are his biggest fans. *I am busy with the building of our new house and its involvements; I have very few interior design clients outside of that job until we are settled in. Raising the boys with Eric has has been rewarding and a true blessing. Our days are filled with extra happiness when we are together as a family. My favorite pastime is still cooking- I am looking most forward to my new professional kitchen! Eric and I are headed off to New York City for our one year anniversary. I could not be happier to be a Skoloff. Life is good! All the best to each of you and all of our love for the upcoming year! Katie, Eric, Samuel, and Marshall Skoloff The New Jersey Lebersfelds This past Monday (March 15) Jason, Illana and family just moved into their new home, so I will take over for Jason who has written the family entry in Seder Plate the last few years. Let me start with the most important item, health. All of our family had a healthy year with the minor exception of my prostatectomy in January. A jump in my PSA brought me to a urologist for the first time in the fall and a subsequent biopsy showed cancer. On the advice of a friend, I consulted with Mitchell Benson, head of urology at Columbia Presbyterian (NYC), who performed a robotic laparoscopic removal on Jan 20. Happy to say my recovery has been quick and uneventful. Prior to the surgery, we spent a wonderful, sun-filled warm week in the Dominican Republic at a villa we shared with Illana’s parents, brother and sister-in-law together with Jason & Illana, Gracie, Addison & Charlotte, Daniel & Allison, and Brian & Lana. Less than two weeks following the surgery, Debbi & I were able to spend a week with Adele & Herman in Boca in February (one of their typical “cold” weeks this winter) and then a week’s vacation in S America (Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Rio). The latter trip was a bit abbreviated. We were due to arrive in Santiago, Chile the afternoon after the earthquake followed by three days at a vineyard resort in Mendoza, Argentina. Best we could manage was to catch up with our small group in BA, but we found it very worthwhile anyway. While in Buenos Aires, Debbi and I took a
tango lesson. If anyone is interested in a demonstration, let us know. When we are not away vacationing, Debbi & I play bridge (she, social bridge with her girlfriends; me duplicate once or twice a week with Gloria (we make an awesome sister-brother team), spend plenty of nights in NYC dining and attending theatre, and most fortunately, because our children and Debbi’s parents live so close, getting together often with them. Since last August, I consider myself semi-retired. That was when we went live at Capitol with a new computer system, replacing the one I had overseen for the last thirty years. That together with hiring a controller last January has relegated me (very happily) to sitting at my desk in East Hanover four days a week answering phone calls and e-mails and kvelling at how well Herman’s sons and mine are running things. Unfortunately, we are facing the most difficult business conditions in our history, but we are hopeful for a turnaround soon and I know that the boys have learned many lessons which will stay with them for the rest of their careers. As I told you at the outset, Jason, Illana, Gracie (6), Addison (3) and Charlotte (1 ½) just became Short Hills residents. They are renting a beautiful large house built by an eminent Short Hills builder for himself forty years ago and which I remember helping him to fixture at the start of my career at Capitol. When I first went to look at it with Jason and Illana, I could not believe that I actually remembered some details about it. We are all thrilled that Gracie will be attending first grade at Deerfield School, the same elementary school that some of Herman’s and my kids attended. Jason was the point man for our new computer system and oversees communications for our entire operation. He also is an integral member of 4G (Lebersfeld fourth generation) which plots Capitol’s course. Daniel and his girlfriend, Allison became apartment mates in a nice newer building in the flower district of Manhattan (27th St & 6th Av) in August. Last summer they traveled to Croatia and Paris. Allison even managed to get Daniel to some museums! Brian also moved into a new apartment since he and Daniel separated last summer. He is still doing the reverse commute, to Capitol Lighting in East Hanover, heading up our 1800lighting.com division which we look to to spearhead our growth. .Debbi tries to give him a heads up when she hears there is a traffic issue. His steady is the lovely Lana Serebryanaya who became a licensed occupational therapist since last Pesach. Melissa Weinstock and Jeff Foor Happy Passover to the HerClar Family. It’s amazing to think that another year has already passed. 2009-2010 has been a good year for the Foor family. Max is growing up; hard to believe that he is already 27 months. He is quite the little chatterbox—there are some days where we feel like he literally talked the entire day. He is still in daycare five days a week and seems to really be enjoying the 2-year old room. His latest interests are Thomas the Train, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street, water color painting and playing with Play-Doh. Also, he absolutely loves books—we must read “The Cat In the Hat” two or three times a day. Jeff and I can probably recite it from memory at this point. In October, we left Max with Grammy and Poppy Weinstock for a week and went on our first trip alone since he was born. We spent a week in the beautiful weather in Phoenix, AZ and ended our trip at the Four Seasons to attend a friend’s wedding. We had a great time in Phoenix and Sedona and even hit a U2 concert while we were there. Apparently, Max had so much fun in NJ that he didn’t even ask for us once. We spent Thanksgiving in NJ this year at Green Brook country club. It was nice to get together with the family to celebrate including the Ertags. In addition, we spent about two weeks in Florida over the Christmas holiday—when the weather in Florida was actually warm!! We also celebrated Max’s second
birthday there with a nice get together in Palm Beach Gardens. Unfortunately, there were a few health scares this year on Jeff’s side. His father had some complications during surgery and his sister had major pancreatic surgery in December. But luckily, everyone seems to be mending well. Jeff was lucky enough to attend the Superbowl in January with his brother, while Max and I were left at home in Washington, DC to brave Snowpocalypse 2010 by ourselves. Somehow, we actually did not lose our minds, but we did learn that even with snow boots, Max does not like to walk on the snow. Apparently, it is too slippery. I am hoping this will change in the future since he seemed to love watching the “skiiiting” on TV during the Olympics this year. Jeff and I are still working hard at the SEC and FHLBanks respectively. Things have quieted down somewhat as the financial markets have stabilized over the last year. In the meantime, we have become quite focused on trying to find a new place to live since our family is going to be expanding in September—we will officially become the four Foors!! We are very excited to report that Max is going to become a big brother. He seems to be quite interested in babies, so we are hopeful that he will be up to the job. While the next several months will be quite hectic for us, we wish all of you a happy and healthy year ahead. Much love, Melissa, Jeff and Max Ellen and Sam Weinstock Hi Everyone—It is one year since our last edition of the Herclar Seder Plate and as I was trying to gather my thoughts about what to say for this year’s article I re-read last year’s edition. Perhaps because this is a milestone year or maybe I had the gift of one year’s time, as a perspective. Whatever—I just want to say that our newsletters are wonderful histories of each family’s doings. Under the crush of time I know I annoy so many of you to send in a short article and Eric puts it together (with even less time) and the result is a wonderful professional newsletter that we all enjoy. So I want to thank all of you who have contributed to this effort. For those who have not yet contributed, I hope you will in the future. The newsletter is another testimony of the connectivity of the Herclar family. Thanks again and again to Eric for his commitment to the newsletter project. Here is the yearly update from the Weinstocks…….We think that if we had to choose a theme for this article, it would be the rewards of being grandparents. For us, so many of this year’s highlights revolve around the wonderful time spent with our grandchildren. Read on……… Last year, once Passover was behind us, we began the countdown to Justine’s Bat Mitzvah which took place on Saturday, June 6th. Cheryl did a fabulous job with a most creative theme using Justine’s initials JBG. For grandparents these milestone events are memories of pleasure and joy that we will recall for a lifetime. We will remember the outstanding job Justine did conducting services on Shabbat and how beautiful she looked at her Just B Gorgeous Party. On July 18th Sam and I celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary with some friends at a weekend getaway in NYC. Glancing back at that Saturday night 50 years ago at the Clinton Manor in Newark, and so many of you were there to share our marriage. Gloria Schwartz was a bridesmaid, Renee Leven was the flower girl and Stanley Geller was one of the ushers. Adele Lebersfeld attended the wedding even though, Herman did not because he was stationed in Texas with the Air Force Reserve. But Aunt Rose insisted that Adele had to be invited and who challenged what “Aunt Rose” said!!!! We are so glad that fifty years later, Adele together with Herman celebrated with us. In August, Steven moved to a new group home in Berkley Heights, NJ. Architecturally, the home is
newer, fully handicapped accessible and has fewer residents. All of which has resulted in a positive move for him. We hope that he will enjoy residing in this new home and that it will provide opportunities for him to lead a rich and satisfying life. For us, the highlight of the year occurred at the end of August when we took our two B’nai Mitzvah grandchildren, Brett and Justine on a grandparents’ trip to London and Rome When we asked them both what they thought were some of the highlights of the trip, surprisingly without consulting with each other, they concurred “Going away with us was the true highlight.” Really, we did not bribe them!! However, in London—they loved the high tea at the Dorchester and the Winston Churchill war rooms and museum. At the Churchill museum there is an interactive digital table that makes all of world history come alive. Unbelievable!!. We highly recommend a visit to the Churchill Museum when you are in London. In Rome, two exceptional Jewish Tour guides directly contributed to what the kids considered to be the outstanding highlight there. The first tour guide gave us a tour of the Vatican, this icon of Christianity with a Jewish perspective. Yes, we (Jews) were there much to the chagrin of the Pope--right on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The other attraction was our up close and intimate visit to the Jewish Ghetto with Micaela, a knowledgeable and most beautiful young woman whose love of Judaism was so inspiring for the grandchildren. As I mentioned, many of the highlights of this past year seem to revolve around our grandchildren. So in October we were delighted to have Max Foor visit with us in NJ for a week while his parents went on vacation. Max loved visiting Turtle Back Zoo---to see “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, as Max puts it and to play in the park. But the best activity for him was opening and closing the garage doors and turning every light switch that he could reach on and off. This proves that no matter how much money you spend on toys, kids still love everyday things around the house. We loved having him. Every grandchild should be as good and as easy going as Max. (Just Boasting!!!) But Max does have an open invitation for a return visit. From this short article you can see that we enjoy hanging out with all of our grandchildren and we adore the role of grandparents. Although, we love having six grandchildren, seven would be even better. So, we are very excited that Melissa and Jeff are expecting their second child sometime between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipper. We look forward to welcoming number seven into our family and into the Herclar family. But we do not want to rush the time away. Let’s enjoy tonight as we recall forty years in the desert and forty years of sharing family Seders together. Chag Sameach and a Zizzen Pesach to everyone. Ellen and Sam Harriet & Lew Schloss It has been a good year for us. On April 16, 2009 Debbie and Mark blessed us with a grandson, Austin Joseph Bednarcik. Although they live in North Carolina, we do get to see them often but not often enough! They will be coming to Delaware in April to celebrate Austin's first birthday at our house. In January we had a wonderful vacation in Disney World with Rayme, Mike, Presley and Camryn. It was great to get away from the cold weather even if it was only for five days and what a fun time we had. Mom (Aunt Miriam) continues to do well in Delaware thanks to the great care she gets from Lia and Nana and living so close to us. She gets to see us and her great grandchildren more than she did when she lived in New Jersey and attends an adult daycare twice a week. We celebrated mom's 90th birthday in January with a luncheon attended by her children and most of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We had another celebration at her apartment with the lovely new
friends she has made from her building. Lew and I are going on a trip to Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota in June. In July we return to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for our 6th annual family summer vacation. I am still working, but just a little, babysitting for Presley and Camryn which we love to do, and volunteering. Lew is doing creative mentoring, babysitting and enjoying retirement. Once again wishing you all good health and happiness at Passover and throughout the year. Cheryl and David Garfinkel Family A happy Passover to all. It is hard to believe another year has gone by; I still have trouble writing the year 2010! Justine is graduating this year and going on to the high school here in Mendham. You know you are really in trouble with your teenager when they can look you directly in the eye, stare you down all while wearing your new shoes! Justine was captain of her middle school field hockey team this year; although they had a losing record she still had a good time. Lucas who is now 10 is also moving onto a new school next year and will be a 5th grader in the Mendham middle school. He loves watching ice hockey and attending as many games as his Dad can afford on an MDs salary! He plays many sports and this Spring he will be spending a lot of time in mom’s car being shuttled from field to field putting on different types of cleats as he attempts to play three sports, soccer, lacrosse and baseball! I think that deserves a new vocabulary word besides just “soccer mom”! David and I are working towards expanding our female healthcare business by adding a physician or two, adding another office and launching our new website! We recently went to Tampa to see David’s alma mater Northwestern play in a fabulous nail biter of a bowl game on New Year’s day. And to top it all off we were able to see Kenny and his family there. We also spent a week in Scottsdale with the kids at the Phoenician. We enjoyed great weather, played some golf, went to Sedona and did a jeep tour, were active all day and of course came back 5lbs heavier from the great food! We can’t leave you without telling you about the highlight of our year: Justine’s Bat Mitzvah! On 6.6.09 our little girl, Justine, became a Bat Mitzvah in grand style. It was such an overwhelming experience, filled with pride, joy and merriment. Justine was outstanding and we all had a great weekend together-family and friends. These occasions make you recognize the importance of family and tradition and to take a step back and relish all the wonderful moments in life and JUST BE GRATEFUL! Cheryl, David, Justine & Lucas Adele and Herman Lebersfeld In May 2009 Adele and I led a mission with the JDC, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, to Morocco. Max and Debbi came with us. We visited a Jewish School in Casablanca where 700 children were learning Hebrew, French and Arabic. We dedicated the Levine Community Residence where 60 poor, elderly Jewish citizens will live in dignity and safety. Adele participated in a nationally publicized event with the Amicales Marocaine des Handicappes. Sleek sports wheel chairs were distributed to hundreds of disabled athletes. We were hosted by the Minister of Tourism, Serge Berdego, who happens to be Jewish, and by other leaders of Casablanca’s Moslem community. Adele spent most of the summer in a wheel chair after she broke her foot in a fall. I had fun carrying her, pushing her wheel chair, and seeing to her every wish. In November we vacationed in Costa Rica. In January Adele and Joanie co-chaired the MetroWest Federation’s Women’s Mission which was part of the National Women’s Philanthropy’s Heart to Heart Mission to Israel.
Our oldest grandchild Daniel Silver turned 20 in March and Jenna Lebersfeld will be 20 in April. How time flies! Soon they will be as old as us. Speaking of how fast the time is passing, I will be attending my 50th reunion at Lehigh in May , and we will be celebrating our 50th weddimg anniversary in June. Joan and Michael Silver Family The Silver household is down to three. Michael has been holding his own being outnumbered by the women. Daniel is a sophomore at Susquehanna University. He is majoring in Communications/business. He put his football career aside and enjoys playing basketball for recreation. Jake is a freshman at the University of Maryland. He became a Teke brother, but we have been spared the details of that transaction. Jane is a sophomore at Millburn High. She maintains her sense of humor despite the drama that surrounds her. Joanie is trying to be civil to everyone, but it has not been easy. Hag Sameach to everyone. Jill and Barry Cohen Family Happy Passover and Congratulations to the Herclar Club on its milestone 40thth Seder. I can safely say that I have probably been to all 40 of them. The venues and menus have changed and the actual Seder seems to get shorter each year. Some family members are no longer with us, and new family members have arrived. Some of us have aged and “amazingly” some of us have stayed the same! But the Geller family spirit lives on inside each of us, now and forever. Even though we may only see each other once a year, and it is getting more and more difficult to remember all our names and faces, we are truly blessed to have this unbreakable connection that links us from past generations to future generations. I personally don’t know another family that has a tradition like this. May we continue to go from strength to strength and be blessed with good health and fulfillment as we celebrate this special milestone. Sara is 17 years old and is in 11th grade at Millburn High School. She is a member of the Millburn High School Science team and competes with other High Schools in NJ. Millburn’s team is ranked 1st in the state at this time. She has recently been awarded The Vassar College Book Award a distinction based on outstanding academic achievement. Her artwork has received local awards and has been on display. She is an editor for the French Magazine at Millburn High School and participates in the Iris Teen Tzedakah program through Jewish Federation. She is beginning to look at colleges and will be getting her driver’s license in April. She is an accomplished pianist and she performs for the Mended Hearts, a support group for adults who are recovering from heart surgery. One of the best things about Sara is her sense of humor and how much she loves to laugh. Brett is 14 years old and is in 8th grade at Millburn Middle School. He has a perfect track record with making the school bus every morning at 7:10 am. He enjoys Math and Science and has a great interest in business and sports. Seems like he spends a great deal of his free time (too much free time if you ask me) doing Fantasy baseball, football and hockey on ESPN. Brett volunteers at the Friendship Circle, Congregation Bnai Israel and through his Peer leader group, specifically to work with children with special needs. He is also applying to be an umpire for 2nd grade Little Leaguers. He plays Senior League Baseball and tennis all year round. He also plays the euphonium (you can ask him which instrument that is) in the Millburn School band. He is an avid Devils and Yankees fan and reads the NY Times Sports section daily. He will be returning to Camp Winadu for the 6th summer as an Olympian. He had a real test of his fan loyalty during the final Hockey game of the Winter Olympics Canada vs. USA. Can you guess which team he chose to support? You will have to ask him to find out.) Of course you know which team Barry supported! Chloe is 9 1/2 years old and is in 3rd grade at Deerfield Elementary School. There is not a doubt that she is a “Geller”. When you look at Chloe, blonde hair, blue eyes, ivory complexion, Lillie is all that you see. Chloe always has a smile on her face and is very friendly and inquisitive. Many teach-
ers have described her as being “an old soul”. She enjoys tennis, piano, dance, art, running, Barbies, and jumping on the trampoline. She is returning to Camp Danbee for her 2nd summer. She has a contagious laugh and a vivid imagination. She loves to write and illustrate stories and poems. Recently she has become a backgammon champion too. She loves to bake and lick the batter, and is the “sous chef” for her Grammy Ellen. One of our favorite past times is watching the Food Network’s “amazing cakes challenge”. She greatly enjoyed the massive amounts of snow and endless snow days (even though Jill lost her mind from cabin fever). On our recent ski trip to Vail, Colorado she received her ski poles and was so proud of her accomplishment. She cruised down all types of terrain, following her daring brother’s lead. Great job Chloe! Barry is busy as usual, with his profession in Cardiology. He is chief of the Catheterization Lab at Morristown Memorial Hospital 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 and heart valve research He enjoys skiing, politics, and spending time with the family during his free time. Jill has the challenge of being the master juggler: the family choreographer overseeing that each family member is going in the correct direction at the correct time. Keeping everyone happy, while staying sane, is quite the challenge. She balances the home and business fronts with yoga, running, and skiing. We want to wish everyone continued good health, happiness and joy this Passover and for years to come. Jamie and Ken Lebersfeld We are sorry not to be at the HERCLAR Seder with all of you. We wish you all a Happy Pesach. Jenna will be 20 next month and she is now a sophomer in college. She is still freezing her toochas off in Chicago at Northwestern University (the Alma Matter of my cousin Jill). Although, she reports it is not as cold as last year. Jenna is currently double majoring in biology and psychology and hopes to become a Brain Surgeon. Her course work is very challenging as she is taking Organic Chemistry and Biology this year. She is also working in a research lab on campus. Jenna is balancing her class work while playing trumpet in the Basketball spirit band and campus bands, and being President of her Dorm. I am not sure if she sleeps. Alexa (17) is a junior in High School. She is still singing and has just performed in the School Show. The show was Fiddler on the Roof and she played the part of Chavah (the 3rd daughter that runs away with the sheggitz, vay zmir). She attends a performing arts camp over the summer and starred in 2 shows (Pippin and Hair). You can see excerpts of her performances on my YouTube site. http://www.youtube.com/user/kenlight6384?feature=mhw4 Jamie and I have been busy at the store. I am enjoying working with my brother, Eric, every day. I get to work with my father every day (that is if he doesn’t have a golf game). I talk to my cousins and Uncle Max almost every day. These are the joys of a family business even when business is so challenging We wish you all a healthy and safe Pesach! The Schwartz’s Lots of happenings in the Wide World of Schwartz! Gloria Schwartz was recently featured on the show 'Intervention'. For those who don't know, Gloria had been hiding her addiction to Banana Bread for 26 years. It started when a friend offered her some banana bread at a party at the Jersey Shore. Gloria turned it down at first, but everyone was eating the banana bread and peer pressure got the best of her. She woke up the next day
asleep on a park bench surrounded by crumbs and banana peels- and it was downhill since. But 26 years later, we are very proud of Gloria for coming clean and she's been off banana bread now for 18 weeks. Please ask her about this addiction as talking about it is part of her 12 step program. Donna Schwartz Banker and her family are doing great. Donna has started a new business of making wallets for export to developing countries. She's employed her two children Kyle and Sydney and if they each sew together 500 wallets per day, they are rewarded with condensed grain pellets. If they make less than 500 wallets per day, they are forced to watch Donna flush their grain pellets down the toilet. At 18 hours a day of wallet making, these kids are troopers! Keep on keeping on Donna! Matt Schwartz has not been seen since he went underground, literally, to play live action Dungeons and Dragons in lower Manhattan. His character's name 'Obedius' must slay 10 dragons to earn 50 hit points in order to advance to a 'terrestrial' or above-ground status. Until then, Gloria will feed him lamb shank and apples with honey through a manhole during tonight's seder. Good yontiff Matthew or as you say "Experiem Yontificus". Andy Schwartz remains employed as a cashier at Target. Despite being held on suspicion of RHUIL (riding a horse under the influence of lemonade), Target has kept him onboard due to pressure from the media surrounding Andy's case. The now famous phrase of "Free The Horse Rider" can be directly attributed to Andy and his attorney. David Schwartz was last seen wearing a wetsuit and pony-tail wig on his way to the Tillikum orca exhibit at Sea World. We haven't heard from him in a few weeks but we're sure he's ok. Ironically, a strange woman has been answering the telephone at Dave's home in Colorado. All our love to the family! The Leven Family We are sorry we are unable to attend this year. We wish everyone a happy Passorver. Seth and Alexis are doing very well. We are all very excited that Seth has entered private practice in internal medicine with a doctor in Westchester. He enjoys the work and is right on top of the health care debate. Andrew continues to work on his career. He worked on the movie 'Men Who at Stare Goats', if you saw it and stayed to see the closing credits, you would have seen his name. Also, he directed a couple of music videos and just finished working as an editing assistance on a show for HBO. He is hopefull that he will get a job on NBC's show 'Parks and Recreation'. As for myself, Five Star Group ( J.Leven) was sold in January. I was part of the team working on deal all of last year. I decided to take my exit plan, and after 35 years I am no longer working for the company. I am looking for new opportunities and hope to find something in the next few months. Love Joe 40th Herclar Family Seder - this was printed in the New Jersey Jewish News March 23rd. The Herclar Family Club was founded in 1963 by the five children and their spouses to perpetuate the memory of Herman and Clara Geller. The Geller family moved from Brooklyn to Newark and lived in a six family house on South 18th Street. They had five children. Lillian, the oldest child, married Max Weinstock. Their second child, Max married Ruth Goodman. Daughter, Rose, married Arthur Lebersfeld and son, Leo married Miriam Kaplan. Their youngest daughter, Nettie, married Raymond Leven. These five families produced twelve children which became the third generation of decedents to Herman and Clara Geller. The third generation produced 32 off springs born into the Herclar Family. The fourth generation, to date, has increased the family by 32 additional members. To date, the five generations have grown to a total of 121 family members. And we are still growing. Our oldest member, Aunt Miriam is 90 and our youngest member, Lily Presley Ryan was born March 22nd, 2010. The “fab five� as the original children were colloquially known; all resided in Essex County and formed a very close bond to each other. The geographic and emotional closeness allowed them to get together frequently as families on the weekends, nurturing positive relationships among the twelve first cousins. All five families were active in conservative synagogues and they believed strongly in honoring Jewish traditions and in the celebration of the Jewish holidays. Therefore it was only natural that soon after the Herclar Family Club started to have monthly meetings, it was decided that the entire family would get together on the second night of Passover to share the traditions of the Seder and to socialize together as one large family. The founding members also decided to have the Seder in a public place rather than in a family member’s home in order to avoid any competition among its members. In 1970, we gathered at Richfield Caterers, in Verona for what would become the first annual Seder. At this time, we did not know how many years this tradition would continue. However, as
each Passover approached, more and more family members began to anticipate attending the second night Seder so that they could see each other and to celebrate Passover as the Herclar family. About ten years ago we created a family newsletter, call the Seder Plate. Each family writes an article about their family’s doings during the past year and highlights any up and coming milestone events. The articles are sent to our editor, Eric Lebersfeld (4th Generation) and he edits and assembles the newsletter which is distributed at the Seder. As the years have passed so have the five original children of Herman and Clara passed on. In 2008, with the passing of Leo Geller, the titular head of the family, the torch was passed to the third generation to protect and perpetuate the fine tradition of gathering for the second Seder. This year as we will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Herclar Family Seder. 62 family members will gather at Green Book Country Club for this special event which will be led by Sam and Ellen Weinstock Although the original family members all lived in Essex County, the Herclar family members are now spread from Rhode Island to South Florida. Although dispersed along the Eastern seaboard and separated by distance what unites everyone is the pride in knowing that they are members of the Herclar Family Club. Submitted by Sam Weinstock