M A N E T T O H I L L J E W I S H C E N T E R

Volume 50, Issue 1 Sept/Oct 2017 - Elul/Tishri/Cheshvan 5777/5778

SHOFAR

L’Shanah Tovah 5778

Pride and Thanks

I’m thankful to be a rabbi. Joining lovers in marriage, honoring noble lives, making the sick feel better, teach-ing an exciting class and sharing in the glee of a bar/bat

mitzvah family make my soul soar.

I’d like to share with you some examples of why I have so much pride in our 2017 Bar/Bat Mitzvah class (so far) this year.

In February, Daniella Pearlman read her Torah reading and all of the Haftorah with just two months preparation! Her reading was accurate and engaging; Daniella put in tremendous work and it showed.

In March, Danielle Silverstone became the first bat mitzvah student to perform instrumentally in our band. With extraordinary skill, she led Shabbat services with her flute, bringing us all great joy. Moreover, Danielle has come back three since then to enhance our musical Shab-bat experience!

Jonathan Rokofsky comes from a family of musicians, and I noticed as soon as I started learning with him that he has a wonderful voice. Jonathan, who was known to be quite shy in Hebrew School, excelled at his Bar Mitzvah, singing the lead in musical Shabbat and reading the Torah and Haftorah with expertise!

Noah Bernstein led us in a commentator’s service. His char-ismatic personality shined through as he explained the origin and meaning of the various prayers.

Heather and Alyssa Sanborn came into my office not appre-ciating how beautifully they sing and harmonize with each other. They were the model of sisterly love as they too led an inspiring musical Shabbat.

Likewise, Gabi and Nick Oliva both play instruments in their school bands, but did not realize that they sing well together. Since their Bnei Mitzvah was on a Monday morning, we formulated a vibrant musical morning service incorporating new and old melodies.

Gabi also stunned me when she quoted one of my stories in her D’var Torah. I carefully choose my stories and Divrei Torah with the hopes that they will inspire and infuse in the hearts of the listeners a love for Judaism and spirituality. It was heartwarming to see that my words were earnestly received.

Katherine Passick utilized her unique skills and talents as an artist and a poet to celebrate her bat mitzvah. Katherine drew a gorgeous rendition of her Hebrew name and com-posed modern, personal versions of the Psalms we sing in Kabbalat Shabbat. Please view them in their own section later in this Shofar edition. As she read them, I cried, for how many of us write poetry and share our hearts with G-d? How many of us have taken our place with Kings David and Solomon and the great poets of our people? Katherine did.

I want to thank Larry Kurtzman for his devoted service to our synagogue. Larry is a natural leader who used his gift of

oratory and commanding presence to guide and grow our synagogue. May G-d bless him, Mindy and the whole family, and may he see the many excellent initiatives he started give forth their fruit.

I extend my thanks and blessing to Michael Dashow for accepting the mantle of leadership. Being president of MHJC is challenging and is a position of great responsibility; I’m thrilled

though that someone with keen insight, intelligence and diligence will be leading us. May G-d bless the work of his hands.

Speaking of new initiatives, we will be announcing people’s birthdays and anniversaries on Friday night. Please contact us with your information so that we can celebrate with you. Furthermore, in the month of your birthday, you are all in-vited to join us on a Shabbat morning (to be determined) when you’ll receive an Aliyah in your honor.

On behalf of all the paid staff, I want to thank Phil Kolton for his excellent work and the commitment he has shown to our synagogue in his role as Treasurer. Thank you for all those late nights and impromptu dashes into the syna-gogue. I thank Ronni Leo and Harriet Blatt for stepping up to become our Co-Financial Secretaries. May we all see our bottom line only improve over time. Thank you to all the outgoing members of the board, and welcome to all the new members. You are making Judaism stronger for yourselves, the community and the Jewish people.

Thank you for welcoming my new bride, Judy Heicklen, with such warmth. I truly appreciate that you accepted me as a single rabbi, and now as team, Judy and I hope that you will consider our home, your home. We look forward to accomplishing great things and celebrating wonderful times together. As we enter the High Holiday season, we wish you all a happy and healthy new year. May it be one of growth and fulfillment for all of us.

from the rabbi’s studyRabbi Neil Schuman

2 September/October 2017

Michael Dashowfrom the president

What I love about MHJC are its members, values, and haimish atmosphere.

Many members are my friends, and I look for-ward to seeing them on Shabbat, the holidays, and outside of services. MHJC has become an extension of my family. I am proud to be a member of MHJC, an organization whose values support Tikkun Olam, improving the world.

MHJC’s values extend beyond our local Jewish community. A number of years ago, we spearheaded a community effort to purchase an ambulance for Israel. Today, our Ambucy-cle project will save lives of all denominations in Israel. Al-though we are a small congregation, we can and do make a difference in the world.

Our haimish atmosphere accepts everyone in his or her per-sonal beliefs on how to pray.

My goals are simple, by having more members attend ser-vices and social events, we can let MHJC become more a part of your family. To accomplish this, we need to listen to each other and work together to get things done. I pledge to listen to everyone and ensure that their voices are heard and to follow up. The answers you get may not be the ones you want to hear but I will represent you and strive towards com-promise. To do this, I need your help. I want to hear from you as to what we are doing right, what we are doing wrong, what social events appeal to you, what religious/educational events you would like, etc.

If you want to get more involved there are committees to join, events to plan, help is always needed. Besides making donations, sometimes donating time can be even more re-warding knowing that you are helping everyone.

I can be reached at (516) 942-0414 or mhjc.michaeldashow@gmail.com

Happy New Year!

In June we commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the Six Day War. Israel was saved from annihilation and all of Jerusalem as well as the Golan Heights (a very strategic

piece of land) came under Israeli rule. For the first time, we could actually go to the Kotel. Those who have been there know what a meaningful experience that is. It is something that just cannot be put into words.

Yet with Israel’s victory comes a multitude of problems. There are many different issues (with many different view-points) that have arisen from the Six Day War. Perhaps this is a topic that we can explore in the coming year.

While there are many issues upon which people can dis-agree, we feel confident in stating that we can all agree that the invention of the ambucycles used in Israel has saved countless lives. Thank you to everyone who has donated to our ambucycle project. Barry Katz has been the impetus for the ambucycle and continues to work tirelessly on this project. In his work as chairperson, Barry reached out to the other synagogues in our area on behalf of MHJC but thus far it looks like this is solely a Manetto Hill Jewish Center project. The good news, however, is that our members have always come forward to support projects such as the am-bucycle. It is partially why we are “the little synagogue that does.” To date, we have raised over $10,000. There is an-other organization (not in our area) that has raised $18,000. If we could just raise $8,000 more, we could join with that other organization and purchase an ambucycle for Israel. So please join with us and help up reach our goal. As has been said many times, one who saves one life, it is as if that person has saved an entire world. Please help us fulfill that very important mitzvah.

This article is being written a few days after the abhorrent events in Charlottesville, NC, where bigotry, racism, and anti-Semitism reared its ugly head when white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched, inciting violence, ending in the murder of Heather Hayer. We have an obligation to speak out when such despicable events take place, as well as to be pro-active. After the Holocaust, Pastor Martin Niemoller wrote this famous poem:

First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists

And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out

Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me

MANETTO HILL JEWISH CENTER CONTACT LIST

Main Office: (516) 935-5454 MHJCOffice@gmail.com www.manettohilljc.org

Rabbi Neil Schuman rabbi.mhjc@gmail.com (201) 456-1343 (cell)President: Michael Dashow, mhjc.michaeldashow@gmail.com, (516) 942-0414Co-Financial Secretaries: Harriet Blatt & Ronni LeoEducation Director: Ruth Kravit, rkravit@yahoo.com

3 Elul/Tishri/Cheshvan 5777/5778

israeli and jewish affairs

And there was no one left

Sharon Dashow

YAHRZEITS

In this the September/October issue, the Hebrew months of Elul10-29, Tishri and Cheshvan 1-11 fall, and thus, we list the Yahrzeits observed during these periods. If you do not see a Yahrzeit listed, please notify the office with the neces-sary information so that it can be added to the Synagogue’s computer system.

Elul 10-29

Freda Arlick, Leonard Bernstein, Adele Birnbaum-Lampert, Fannie Charton, Elsie Cohen, Frank Dashow, Louis Delin, Eugene Gae Feldman, Annette Fischer, Gerhart Friedlander, Irma Gordon, Kenneth Jacobs. Sheila Kaldor, Seymour Kleinman, Helen Konel, Gerald Walter Konigstein, Thelma Konigstein, Harry Kurtzman, Bernard Levy, Samuel Mann, Milton Miller, Nathan Minkoff, Hyman Nizewitz, Alice Pure, Daniel Rabinowitz, Harry Reich, Myron Resnick, Re-becca Silverman, Ida Uslan.

Tishri

Louis Apfel, Melvin Bart, Harry Black, Florence Borodinsky, Samuel Charton, Samuel Cohen, Rose Coyner, Carol Da-shevsky, Neil Endelson, Sam Finkelstein, Pauline Froehlich, Mollie Goldblatt, Al Goldstein, Miriam Goldstein, Natalie Goldstein, Michele Kahn Iskovitz, Abraham Kay, Irving Klein, Sol Kleinman, Paul Leipzig, Isidore Neiman, Florence Osterweil. Claire Polansky,Minnie Randall, Dorothy Rose-man, Lillian Schiffman, Moe Schiffman, Anna Schwartz, Robert Solomon, Rose Stier, Marion Tetenbaum.

Cheshvan 1-11

Bernard Axelrad, Rose Berenson, Elaine Caplan, Solomon Clarin, Debbie Eichen, Albie Goldman, Howard Kay, Rose Marks, Aaron Spund, Emily Starr, Irving Yarmeisch.

September Anniversaries: Jeffrey & Raquelle Akavan, Erwin & Sherie Coyner, David & Edie Friedel, Stuart & Jessica Glass, Robyn & Keith Greenstein, Leslie & Jan Grubman, Glenn & Nina Schnabel, Ellis & Felicia Schneberg, Howard & Laurie Starr, Gary & Deborah Talkofsky, Michael & Sha-ron Zelkind.

October Anniversaries: Russell & Mara Blatt, Daniel & Lorin Bocian, Alex & Debbie Edelstein, David & Alyssa Gorfinkel, Jonathan & Emily Herstoff, Michael & Laurel Konel, Paul Konigstein & Martha Kovel, Lance & Amanda Lefkowitz, Ira & Arlene Minkoff, Ben & Marcy Rosenbaum, Adam & Liz Sauer, Matt & Beth Spolansky, Glen & Lauren Stifelman, Ronan & Michelle Taylor.

September Birthdays: Genna Apfel, Scott Bauer, Andy Criss, Martin Dashevsky, Jennifer Drossman, Jaime Eichen, Joel Elstein, Audrey Engel, Jacob Glass, Robert Goldman, Sa-mantha Goldstein, Jake Kitograd, Bethany Konel, Marjorie Labowitz, Terry Leichtling, Ronni Leo, Amanda Lefkowitz, Ira Mandelbaum, Susan Martin, Marilyn Millman, Shlomo Mordechai, Stephanie Novatt, Tyler Novatt, Tamara Os-doby, Bobbe Ritter, David Rokofsky, Aliyah Ronen, Cheryl Sanborn, Irwin Scharf, Ethan Scheiner, William Schweitzer, Noah Sheinwald, Ken Silver, Laura Silver, Patti Silver, David Smallberg, Samantha Starr, Glen Stifelman, Lawrence Teten-baum, Jake Trembley, Andy Wilder.

October Birthdays: David Atlas, Seth Bart, Ariana Ber-man, Robert Blatt, Jake Bronnekant, Robert Carmen, Har-vey Cohen, Alexa Dicken, Barbara Dicken, David Engel, Steve Fuchs, Harold Gaynes, Stephen David Gerard, Jessica Goldman, Robert Goldstein, Jeri Ganzekaufer, Adam Hers-hkowitz, Brian Hershkowitz, Idina Hordos, Alex Horowitz, Julie Horowitz, Barry Katz, Emily Kavanaght, Tiffany Kis-tenberg, Martha Kovel, Jason Leichtlng, Jeff Lerner, Bruce Lesser, Carol Levine, Douglas Levine, Shelia Lipshie, Jeffrey Lynch, Leah Mandelbaum, Naomi Mann, Brett Marx, Sta-cey Marx, Amanda Nizewitz, Ross Ostrager, Alan C. Ozur, Katherine Passick, Rachel Pearl, Seth Pearl, Trudy Reznik, Carron Rokofsky, Shawn Ronen, Hayley Rudes, Nathan Ruthizer, Leila Sand, Aaron Scheiner, Roberta Schechter, Glenn Schnabel, Karyn Schutzer, Alice Schweitzer, Adam Silverstone, Erica Sommer, Evan Spolansky, Laurie Starr, Robyn Sutnick, Ella Tuomey.

Share your Simchas with us!MHJC is your extended family. We want to know of special anniversaries, engagements, marriages, births, etc. that are taking place in your family. Let us celebrate with you by putting your simcha on the board (first names only) and may even have other treats for you.

4 September/October 2017

simchas

If you see that a Yahrzeit is omitted, please notify the office with the necessary information so that it can be added to the Synagogue’s computer system.

If you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary in the above listed months and it is not listed, please notify the office so that we can update our records.

As always, it seems like the summer has flown by. Thank you to all who made that extra effort to at-tend weekday and Shabbat services and to all who

led services, lain Torah, and chanted Haftorah.

Thank you, as well, to everyone who worked on our Aloha Shabbat. Rabbi Neil prepared special tunes (Hawaiian themed, of course) and tropical themed food and pina co-ladas were served. Judging from the feedback, it was a great success. We hope to have more special services like the Aloha Shabbat in the near future. If there is a theme you are interested in, please let the Ritual committee know.

Preparations for the High Holidays have been underway since May and we are now in the home stretch. If you have not sent in your High Holiday forms yet, please do so. There is a great deal of work that is involved in ensuring that ser-vices run smoothly, that everyone receives their tickets, and that we provide a safe and good environment for services. Timely submission of your forms helps us to accomplish these goals. When submitting your forms, please consider volunteering to usher. We will make sure that ushering does not interfere with your honor. As we do not have much time to set up the Y for the High Holiday services this year due to their schedule, we would also appreciate it if you could volunteer to help. Please check the High Holiday schedule for set up times

Honors have been sent out. We would appreciate it if you would let us know as soon as possible if you are accepting your honor. If the time or day does not work for you, let us know, and while we can’t promise we can switch your honor, we will do our best to try to accommodate you. The only downside to growing our synagogue, is that we are unable to give everyone an honor every year. So if you do not receive anything this year, please know that we value you as a mem-ber and we will put you at the top of the list for next year!

From our Manetto Hill Jewish Center family to yours, best wishes for a very happy and healthy New Year!

L’Shanah Tovah Tekatevu!

Ritual committee

We are excited to be approaching another new year with Young Family Life. As in the past, we will run our “Minyan Munchkins” program on Rosh

Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and several times throughout the year on Shabbat morning. Minyan Munchkins is a fun, in-teractive program geared for families with children ages 0-5.

We are also starting something new this year – a transition program for families with kids ages 5-7 who are too big for Minyan Munchkins, but not quite ready for Ruth Kravit’s amazing Junior Congregation. This program is currently called “Davening Donuts” (hey, it comes after Minyan Munchkins), but if you have another name idea, please sug-gest it!! We plan to debut this program on Rosh Hasha-nah and Yom Kippur, and hopefully offer it several times throughout the year on Shabbat morning.

Please note that these programs are not drop-off events – at least one parent or guardian must remain with your child(ren). However, due to space limitations for the High Holidays, please limit the number of adults to two per fam-ily. (If you have additional adults that would like to come, please ask and accommodations can probably be made.)

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to attend any of our High Holiday Children’s programs. Please fill out the registration form located at the link below:

http://bit.ly/2vqhqgh

High Holiday Minyan Munchkins (ages 0-5): 10:30-11:15

High Holiday Davening Donuts (ages 5-7): 11:30-12:15

Registration for our High Holiday children’s programs is FREE for MHJC members, and $18 per child for non-mem-bers. Space is limited, so MHJC members will be given the first opportunity to sign up. Registration is open to MHJC member families only now through Sept 1, and will be opened to non-members Sept 1 through Sept 14.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at mhjcfamily@gmail.com.

Thank you, and I look forward to celebrating the new year with you!

YOUNG FAMILY LIFEJaclyn Novatt

5 Elul/Tishri/Cheshvan 5777/5778

Sharon Dashow

My husband, Gerry Matis, has End Stage Kidney Disease and needs a life-saving donor kidney with blood type B or O. He needs dialysis treatments

three days a week to keep him alive. Each treatment takes about 4 1/2 to 5 hours from start to finish. But dialysis is not a cure. It’s a life support system. Though it’s keeping him alive, dialysis shortens life expectancy. Currently, there are over 100,000 people on the national registry, waiting and hoping for a phone call that a kidney has been located for them. Unfortunately, due to the scarcity of organ donors, there are less than 17,000 kidney transplants that occur each year.

Most people do not realize that a kidney transplant from a living donor is an important option for a person needing a transplant. Our family members would like to donate a kid-ney but are either not a match or have medical conditions that make them unable to donate. We have been Manetto Hill Jewish Center members for much of the past 30 years. Three of our children, who are now adults, made bar/bat mitzvah at MHJC. Three of their children have now made bar/bat mitzvah at their local synagogues. Gerry is very be-loved by all of his grandchildren for his warmth, compas-sion, unconditional love, and crazy sense of humor. He is hopeful that he will live to see three more bar/bat mitzvahs and lots of school graduations. I have written this article in hopes that you may know of someone who is willing and able to do the incredible mitzvah of donating a kidney in order to save a life.

Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital has put us in contact with a wonderful non-profit organization named Renewal. They are dedicated to helping anyone interested in kidney donation through the entire process. They offer guidance and support, without any pressure. They help arrange testing, rides to ap-pointments, and possibly cover lost wages directly related to kidney donation. All medical expenses are paid by the recipient’s (Gerry’s) insurance. Renewal can be contacted by e-mail (R6191@renewal.org) or by phone (718 431-9831 x. 209 mention Gerry’s code R6191). All inquiries to Renewal are strictly confidential and without any obligation. Renewal can put you in contact with others who have donated a kid-ney and are happy to share their experiences.

If you have any questions, would like any additional infor-mation, or do not want to contact Renewal directly, please feel free to contact us at 516 931-2057 or by email: mgma-tis@optonline.net.

matis donation Madeline Matis

sisterhoodPatti Silver and Jodi Hirsch, Co-Presidents

Sisterhood had a successful year filled with many sold-out and well-attended events. We primped, we cooked, we created, and we celebrated together. This year, we

are excited and anxious to encourage our younger women to check out Sisterhood and to come join in our upcoming events. Sisterhood will be celebrating and supporting Breast Cancer Awareness in the month of October with two events. Thank you to Barbara Dicken, for bringing this great pro-gram to us.

On 10/18, we have a breast cancer speaker, nutritional sup-port, and craft-making activity followed by our first ever “Pink” Sisterhood Shabbat on October 20. Looking ahead we will have our annual Hanukkah gift swap on December 20, followed by our Annual Sisterhood Shabbat on January 19, 2018.

We would love to have as many women congregants partici-pate in this years Service. Of course, will again be having our annual Women’s Seder and are really excited about making this event the biggest, by far, than we’ve ever hosted.

Check the calendar for the Sisterhood page for a schedule of events to come, in addition, check the website, and watch your e-blasts for details as events get closer and additional events are planned for this year. Send us your e-mail address (MHJCSisterhood@gmail.com) so we can add you to our e-mailings and keep you up to date on any changes that may come up.

In addition to all our fabulous events, Sisterhood supports the Synagogue and various committees and events through-out the year. Without support from our Sisterhood mem-bers, we would not be able to continue to do that. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our members, and our Board for supporting Sisterhood, and here’s to making this year our best year yet.

Don’t forget, pick up of your Rosh Hashanah round chal-lah orders on September 17.

6 September/October 2017

men’s clubLarry Tetenbaum & Michael Konel

L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu

Shalom to all of our fellow brethren and families of MHJC. On behalf of Men’s Club, we extend our warmest greetings for a very “Happy and Healthy New

Year.”

As we start this New Year, we want to offer our sincere best wishes to MHJC’s New President, Michael Dashow.

There would be too many words, and not enough space in this article, to give praise and thanks, to my colleague, and my good friend Mike Dashow. It has been my honor and privilege to serve with him as Men’s Club Co-Presidents over the last several years. Michael has helped Men’s Club to reform and re-think itself, so we could move forward into the 21st century.

I look forward to continue working with Michael in his new role, and I know he will continue to take an active role in helping us all forge a new path towards the future - Yasher Koach.

Your Men’s Club has 3 immediate goals: (1) to provide fi-nancial support to MHJC through fundraising activities; (2) to sponsor events that engage current members, past members, and non-members and their families; and (3) to coordinate with and support other committees within our synagogue.

We envision a Men’s Club in which all can participate. We welcome everyone’s thoughts and ideas for fun, educational, religious, and fundraising events. We encourage all of you to take an active role in your Men’s Club. In fact, new mem-bers are entitled to free Men’s Club dues for their first year as members. Please join us and let’s work together to make Men’s Club even stronger than it already is.

We are planning the following events in the next few months:

Sunday, September 10th - Join us at 6:30 pm for Pizza & Beer. Come down and get to know us and help us plan our future together at our Monthly Meeting scheduled that eve-ning before minyan services.

Sunday, October 22nd - 4:00pm Let’s watch our NY Giants vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Food and drinks will be offered; Look for RSVP info to follow

Our fourth annual “Shabbat Service” will be held this au-tumn, so look for more upcoming details. So many of you

7 Elul/Tishri/Cheshvan 5777/5778

participated in the past, that we wanted to ensure that every-one has a part in this year’s service as well.

Also, our Men’s Club “Breakfast”, to be held on Monday December 25th, with much, much more scheduled for the 2018 upcoming year.

Please join us at our Scheduled Monthly Meetings held the 3rd Wednesday night of every month, (except for the Sep-tember 10th meeting as mentioned above, because of Rosh Hashanah) as well as our events throughout the year.

We look forward to a prosperous year as we kick-off the 2017 - 2018 Men’s Club year!

Shalom, and once again, L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu

membershipRuss Blatt

I am entering my 5th or 6th year on the Executive Board, and every year, at the beginning or the end of the year, I try to write an article to inspire members of our con-

gregation to get involved and help improve our synagogue. After all of these years, I am not sure that it helps. That does not sound too inspiring for an end of the year/first article of the year, but it may be the truth.

Attendance at our Board of Directors meetings has gone way down. It has been a struggle, at times, to have enough people for a weeknight Minyan. Events have been canceled, post-poned, or not planned at all because of the fears of minimal attendance. We were once a synagogue that had a bowling league with over 30 teams on Saturday nights, but last year we barely had 20 people show up for Comedy Night. What happened to us?

There was a survey last year that had a response that stated that the synagogue does not utilize the individual member’s talents. After that, we asked (for months) for someone to step up and become the Treasurer of the Synagogue. Finally, after almost a year, someone stepped up to take over the role. Since then, we announced that we are going to have the first ever MHJC Lecture Series led by you, our members. Since then, one person has told us that they want to partic-ipate. These are just two examples that are recent and that I have been directly part of.

The Men’s Club has been looking for members to help it grow and move forward. Committees always need new members to bring fresh ideas and energy to the committees.

There are people that have said, “We can’t have the same 30 people doing everything.” Others have said, “I can’t get involved in established committees.” A third thing I have heard is, “I don’t know how to get involved.”

Wow. Now, forget everything you just read. It is time for a change.

The beautiful thing about this time of year is that we can look to the past and let it go, while looking forward to the future. Just because what I have written above HAS hap-pened, doesn’t mean that it will continue to happen. Think of the past like the words of this article. It is the past. It has happened, and it cannot be changed.

The future has not been written. What will happen in the upcoming year is up to me and up to you. That lecture series I spoke about? Maybe you can share your skills with the rest of us. We have many events throughout the year, we can all attend a few of them because they are fun and they are

developed with you in mind. What interests you? I bet there is something at MHJC that meets that interest.

The year is just starting. Read the emails and check out the events and meetings that are coming up. Think about at-tending and adding your voice to our Shul. Check out our calendar and plan to attend our events. You will have a good time. You will laugh and you will meet people that can be-come life long friends.

I’ve seen it happen. My parents joined here in 1977 and some of their best friends in life are from within our con-gregation. I have made some amazing friends and gotten involved with some fantastic programs while having thou-sands of laughs.

Let’s turn the corner together and make the upcoming year the best ever at Manetto Hill Jewish Center.

I look forward to seeing you!

8 September/October 2017

Page 15 Psalm 95

Let our voices join together in song to give thanks to G-d for all He has given us. He is in our vacant deserts, royal moun-tains, open valleys and lively oceans. If you open your arms to G-d and all His creations, He will open His arms to you.

Page 16 Psalm 96

G-d’s beauty spreads to every corner of our lives

He is in a donation to charity

In treating yourself

He is in the organised sound of an orchestra

In complete silence

He is in seeing long lost friends

In everyday faces

He is in being completely alone

In being wrapped head to toe in support and love

He is in bustling subways with jazz music pouring through them

In empty fields framed with trees

Where there is beauty, He is there

Page 18 Psalm 98

In these pearl white walls and royal blue and faded carpets, hundreds sing the same songs.

In harsh brown deserts or in little temples like our own.

Parents watch their children stand in the same spot they once did and sing the praise of G-d

Generations joined to sing the orchestra of G-d’s love.

Page 20 Psalm 29

His voice is in the rosy sunsets

Sunning through yellow fields

Whispering in clear crystal desert skies

Screaming and crashing on lighthouse shores

Moving orderly through oceans

His voice is mighty enough to split rocks, or be whispers of sunlight streaming through gray days

Wherever we are, we hear His voice

modern day psalmsKatherine Passick

MHJC calendar

By now you all should have received a copy of our 2017/2018 calendar. We are pleased to announce that we grossed over $13,000. We do not know what

the net is yet, but we believe that it will be close to $12,000.

Many thanks to those who obtained ads as well as those who supported our calendar. Thanks, as well, to those who helped to collate and bind the calendar. Those who helped to assemble the calendar enabled us to print it in-house, thereby saving a substantial amount of money. As of now we expect that the drawing for the watch will take place at the next Board of Directors meeting. All of those who purchased new ads have been entered in the raffle.

The calendar project takes a great deal of time. We need more people to solicit ads so that together we can make this project even more successful than it has been. If you are in-terested in assisting us, for next year’s calendar project, please let us know.

Sharon Dashow and Marilyn Morris

P l e a s e v i s i t t h e M a n e t t o H i l l Jewish Center Facebook page and “like” us. Invite your friends, your family, your children, and your chil-dren’s friends to “like” us as well.

We will be posting all of our events and special dates on Facebook.

9 Elul/Tishri/Cheshvan 5777/5778

Page 24 Psalm 93

Wherever we go we must take Adonai

We must take His fountains of love and blessing to our smoggy cities

His grand cathedrals to our cramped apartments

His astonishing morals

In a world where they are fading

We must take His words, His actions and His abilities, into our words, actions and abilities.

We must take His love, and love others

from the hebrew school

Shalom-

Upon receiving this newsletter, Hebrew School will be getting ready to start up again. However, Hebrew

School is never “over” for me. I would like to title my article as “Why should children attend religious education classes?”

As a mother of three children, I am very well aware of some of the decisions one needs to make when it comes to that pressing question: Should I send my child to Hebrew School?

For most of us, secular education is most prevalent. Public education focuses on your child’s academic-based intelli-gence with the goal of making them succeed in terms of status, materialistic gain, etc. However, social science often-times has underlined the importance of giving children a sense of belonging to a community—not just a cultural or sports group—but something more lasting and meaningful. Giving a spiritual identity gives a child a stronger set of be-liefs.

Spiritual teaching leads to promoting emotional intelligence by nourishing their minds with positive and uplifting mes-sages.

So—going back to my initial question—Should I send my child to Hebrew School?—The answer is Yes! The earlier your child associates with their Jewish identity, the stronger and more natural it will feel.

Registration is currently going on. Please feel free to call me at 516-776-5619 so I may further share with you about our wonderful curriculum and amazing teachers.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe summer. Looking forward to seeing everyone in September.

B’Shalom,

Ruth Kravit

Ruth Kravit, Hebrew School Director birth announcements

10 September/October 2017

11 Elul/Tishri/Cheshvan 5777/5778

birth announcements

Rafflemazel tov rabbi neil & judy

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