YOM
HASHOAH
REMEMBRANCE SERVICE
for the 6,000,000 Jewish martyrs
SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2009
4:00 pm
FAIR LAWN JEWISH CENTER / CONGREGATION bNAI ISRAEL
10-10 Norma Ave. Fair Lawn
Keynote Speaker: Paul Shapiro
Director, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies
US Holocaust Museum
Washington, D.C.
Sponsored by UJA of Northern
New Jersey
REMEMBER TO LIGHT YOUR
YELLOW CANDLE at
SUNDOWN on MONDAY,
APRIL 20...27 NISSAN
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Remember to light a memorial candle on
the eve of Yom HaShoah/ Holocaust Remembrance Day
Monday evening, April 20 (27 Nissan)
Yellow candles are available at the GRJC, thanks to
a generous contribution from one of our members to
the Federation of Jewish Men's ClubsAll donations
made for receiving a yellow candle will go toward
purchasing solar cookers for Darfurian refugees who
have fled the genocide in the Sudan. |
 GLEN
ROCK JEWISH CENTER
MARKS HOLOCAUST DAY 2009
WITH SANDY RUBENSTEIN'S
MARK IT WITH A STONE*
MULTI-MEDIA PRESENTATION
THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 23
8:00 PM YOM HASHOAH SERVICE AND PROGRAM
OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY
BOGRIM AND MADRICHIM FAMILIES STRONGLY URGED
TO ATTEND
*Mark it with a Stone is a Holocaust memoir
written by
Sandy's father, Joseph Horn, who, along with his
wife Dinah,
were members of the GRJC for 20 years.
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ROSH CHODESH
WOMEN'S GROUP
WELCOMES THE
MONTH OF IYAR
Sunday April 26
7:00 - 8:30 pm
GRJC Social Hall
Contact Ornit at
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 Pampers
has a program called 1 pack = 1 vaccine. Pampers
will donate the cost of one tetanus vaccine to the
US Fund for Unicef for every pack of specially
marked Pampers diapers and wipes
purchased by May 1, 2009. For
those congregants who have children or grandchildren
in diapers this seems to be a "no-brainer". For
those of us who do not have anyone in diapers this
can serve as a double mitzvah: We can buy the
SPECIALLY MARKED Pamper diapers and wipes and drop
them off at the GRJC where they will be donated to
those in need of them. There is only a short window
of time to do this, so please participate now!
Note: The cost of a package of Pampers
wipes is significantly cheaper than a pack of
diapers, but still results in a tetanus vaccine
for a child in need. So please pick up a package
the next time you're out shopping!
For further info please go to
www.pampers.com/en_US/unicef/tab/partner.
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COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE-APPLY
NOW!
Open to Jewish undergraduates who wish to attend a 4
year school full time in the USA or Israel. Open to
all North Jersey residents & special consideration
given to students with special needs. Students must
possess demonstrated financial need and be in good
academic standing.
DEADLINE MAY 15, 2009! Download applications at
www.jccotp.org (under children's and teens). Mail
original and 4 copies to Kaplen JCC on the
Palisades, 411 East Clinton Avenue, Tenafly, New
Jersey, 07670. Attention: Ronit Gorelik
More Info.: Debra Turitz, LCSW at 201-569-7900,
ext. 305. |
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Shabbat, April 17-18, 2009
24 Nisan 5769
Torah
portion: Shemini
We light our Shabbat candles at
7:20 pm.
Friday night services will
begin at 8 pm.
Saturday morning services will begin at 9 am
Shabbat ends at 8:23 pm on Saturday.
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COUNTING THE
OMER
From the 2nd
night of Seder through the day before Shavuot,
we count each of the 49 days. Each night, we
count the next day in the sequence. The Omer
was a grain offering brought on the second day
of the Passover holiday in ancient times. The
Rabbis turned the Omer into a 7 week counting-up
to the celebration of receiving the Torah at
Sinai. Follow this link for a printable
Omer-counting calendar.
http://www.uscj.org/Koach/documents/omer.pdf
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Shabbat Shalom to the GRJC family
In this week's reading for Shabbat, we will
explore a fundamental question dealing with the
Jewish approach to eating.
"The Jewish Approach to Eating" may at first
sound like a scholarly paper to be found in the
archives of an academic journal. We might
expect it to talk about what Jews have eaten in
different communities over the centuries. On
the other hand, we might expect an article with
this title to be a spoof piece or parody about
schmaltz, schnapps, or the way that we tend to
prepare (and eat) too much at our regular and
festive meals throughout the year.
Instead, we can focus on something more
practical and more straightforward: Is there a
Jewish approach to eating, and if so, what is
it?
Jewish tradition teaches us that the tables
where we eat, whether at home or at the deli,
are a "mikdash me'aht", a small version of the
Holy Temple that once stood in Jerusalem. In
other words, each table is a holy place. This
reality transforms the act of eating into
something more than just satisfying our
appetites. Many of our families cannot even get
together for a family meal on a regular basis
whether at breakfast or dinnertime. With the
few opportunities we do have, we can take
advantage of them and transform a meal into
something more.
Turning the table into a small holy place is not
something that happens overnight, but it is also
not as difficult as it might at first sound. We
can take steps, one at a time, at our own
pace... A first step is to be proactive in being
thankful when everyone gathers around the table,
and perhaps make this a time to give tzedakah
coins.(Or possibly talk about world events in
light of Jewish values.) A second step would be
to say the one-liner blessing "Baruch Atah...hamotzi
lechem min ha'aretz," before eating a meal.(or
"...Shehakol ni'yeh bidvaro" for a meal without
bread). A third step would be to add in a short
blessing after the meal in English or in
Hebrew.(A shorter version of the blessing after
meals appears in the Siddur Sim Shalom on p.
778/779.)
There remains one more aspect of Jewish
eating: kashrut. Incorporating kosher food
into a home is not an overnight exercise just as
creating a mikdash me'aht at the family table is
not an overnight exercise. It is though, as
before, not as difficult as it might at first
sound. In this week's Torah portion, we'll read
about the origins of the practice of kashrut in
chapter 11 of the Book of Leviticus. In this
spirit, a first step could be to designate
certain meals as dairy and others as meat
meals. A second step could be to start
purchasing products that have kosher labels on
them. A third step could be purchasing kosher
meat. A fourth step could be to have separate
dishes and silverware for meat and milk.
The Jewish approach to eating, then, is one that
connects us to who we are through how and what
we eat. Judaism teaches us we are MORE than
what we eat! We can use our time at the table
to fill ourselves with more than a tasty meal.
We can fill ourselves with a dose of spirit and
inspiration as well.
With blessings of peace,
Rabbi Tow |
Upcoming Week's Calendar
Sunday, April 19
9:00-11:00am
Men's Club Breakfast (Social Hall)
9:00am - 1:10pm
Sunday School/Hebrew School
11:00am-noon
Rabbi Tow's B'not Mitzvah Class
Monday, April 20
Light Yellow Candle for Holocaust
Remembrance Day / Yom Hashoah at
sundown
YOM HASHOAH
9:30-10:45am
Mommy & Me (Social
Hall)
11:15am-noon
50+Club Senior
Aerobics (Social Hall)
8:00pm
Book Discussion:
The Zookeeper's Wife
with Rabbi Tow (Library)
Thursday, April 23
4:00pm
Hay Class with Hackensack
River Keeper
8:00pm
GRJC Holocaust Remembrance
Memorial Service, followed by video
presentation by Sandy Rubenstein,
discussing her dad and former GRJC
member Joseph Horn's memoir Mark
It With A Stone.
BOGRIM
AND MADRICHIM in attendance.
(Sanctuary)
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UPCOMING EVENTS in MAY
Look for separate email "blasts"
beginning next week on the following:
May 2 Rock n Roll Dance
May 3 Nursery School Garage Sale and
Book Sale
May 3 GRJC Annual Meeting
May 9 Men's Club Shabbat
May 9 Comedy Nite at the GRJC
May 15 Musical Prelude to Shabbat
May 28-30 Shavuot
May 29 Shabbat (dinners) Across the GRJC
Community
May 31 GRJC Marches in the Israel Day
Parade in NYC
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