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Greetings!
Thanks to everyone who made the January 24th celebration honoring
Ellen Braitman, Sylvia Ettenberg, Ellen Tucker & Alan Rosenstein a success,
including Jerry Raik, Jan Kaufman, Jerry Abrams, Marge Goldwater and Jeff
Bogursky who wrote and presented the tributes; Martin Green, Freda Eisenberg
and Mary Feinberg who managed the journal; Joni Greenspan and Dan Lenchner
of Manna Catering for donating their catering services; Elana Weinberg who
designed the awards; New York University's a capella singing group
Ani V'Ata for performing;, and Pearl Beck, Mary Feinberg, Jane Head, Barry
Holtz, Jordan Horvath, Morton Leifman, Linda Messing, Elaine Morris, Judy
Oppenheim, David Shapiro, Roberta Shapiro and Paul Shapiro who volunteered
prior to the event and volunteers at the event Michael Brochstein, Mary
Feinberg, Deb Kayman, Ruth Sharfman, Lea Golan, Grace Freundlich and Sam
Kayman. Also thanks to our wonderful staff, led by Executive Director Randi
Jaffe. Pictures of the honorees are included below.
February is an event-filled month including a February 7 potluck
followed by two Tu BiShevat events in celebration of the New Year of the
Trees; one with Nigel Savage of Hazon on "Keeping Kosher with the Earth",
and a seder for families with Lauren Kurland. More great family events
include a special program for teenage girls on Body Image February 10,
the next installment in the popular "Talk to Your Family About" series on
February 8 about Being an Interfaith Couple with Rabbi Carol Levithan,
and the kick-off of an innovative "Saturday Date Night for Parents"
February 14 when parents can join their children at Ansche Chesed for
Havdalah and then enjoy an evening out while their kids play at the
synagogue. Everyone is invited to sign up for a Shabbat dinner and talk
(scholarly yet funny) by Professor Allan Nadler on "Holy Kugel "on
February 20 that will include home-made kugel tastings , followed by
Seudah Shlishit on February 21, and Salsa Dancing on February 22
sponsored by the Outings Group. And save March 7-8 for Purim activities
including the annual Purim Extravaganza. Details on these programs and more
activities are included below.
February Calendar
CANDLE LIGHTING TIMES
2/6 5:00. Shabbat ends 6:03
2/13 5:09. Shabbat ends 6:11
2/21 5:17. Shabbat ends 6:19
2/28 5:26. Shabbat ends 6:27
SERVICE TIMES
Morning Minyan
Monday & Thursday 7:20am
Tuesday, Wedneday, Friday 7:30am
Sunday & Secular Holidays
8:30am
On Shabbat
Torah Study 9:00am
Morning Services 10:00am
Learners Minyan 10:00am
Children's Shabbat services
Preschool Service, llana Garber / Shai Specht
For families with children ages 4 and under, 11:00am - Noon.
Family Service, Elena Sassower
For children ages 5-7 and their parents. 10:45am- 12:15pm.
Family Davening, Mindy Fischer / Tommy Treitel
For children 8+ and up and their parents. 11:00-12:15pm.
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 2ND
2/2 Israel-Zionist Reading Group 7:45pm
2/3 Antisemitism in America class, J. Chanes 7:30pm
Young Judaea Youth Group 5:45pm
2/4 Lunch Learning w/ R. Kalmanofsky 12pm
Talmud Study w/ R. Kalmanofsky 6:30pm
Yiddish Conversation Group 7:30pm
2/6 Hebrew School Kabbalat Shabbat Service & Dinner
2/7 SHABBAT - Beshalach
Tu BiShevat Potluck lunch with Nigel Savage
Family Tu BiShevat Seder 12:15
Jennifer Poretz bat mitzvah
2/8 Parenting Workshop 10:30am
City-wide Zimriya (Songfest)
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9
2/10 Antisemitism in America 7:30pm
Body Image Teen Program 6:30pm
2/11 Lunchtime Learning w/ R. Kalmanofsky 12pm
Talmud Study w/ R. Kalmanofsky 6:30 pm
2/14 SHABBAT Yitro
Daniel Starer-Stor bar mitzvah
Family Kiddush 12pm
Havdala & Parents Date Night 6:15pm
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 16
2/16 Presidents Day - Office Closed
2/17 Antisemitism in America 7:30pm
Jewish History Reading Group 7:30pm
2/18 Lunchtime Learning w/ R. Kalmanofsky 12pm
Talmud Study w/ R. Kalmanofsky 6:30pm
2/20 Allan Nadler Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner & Lecture
2/21 SHABBAT Mishpatim
Seudah Shlishit 4:45pm
2/22 Rosh Hodesh Adar
Outings Group Dance 7pm
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 23
2/23 Rosh Hodesh Adar
2/25 Lunchtime Learning w/R. Kalmanofsky 12p
Talmud Study w/ R. Kalmanofsky 6:30pm
Board of Trustees 8pm
2/27 Family Kabbalat Shabbat 5:30pm
2/28 SHABBAT Terumah
Eitam Miron bar mitzvah
2/29 Young Judaea Youth Group 4pm
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A Message from the Rabbi |
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SERVICES WITH A SMILE
Almost all our community agrees we should work to attract new members,
helping Ansche Chesed grow both in numbers and through the personal
contributions of newcomers. Growth is usually good for synagogues, since
shuls should be dedicated to helping any Jew experience the richness of
religious life. So the more, the merrier - or as the Bible puts it:
b'rov am hadrat melekh, God's glory lies in the multitude of us
people. Until that unforeseeable occasion when this community has more
people than it can include within our communal bonds, it will always be
good every time someone new wants to experience Jewish life at Ansche
Chesed. So many Jews in New York seek the right synagogue community. For
many of them, we could be it.
How will we attract these new members? Various portals draw people
toward Ansche Chesed - our prayer services, programs, educational
offerings and communal activities. But every plan for membership growth
also demands that our current members manifest a basic attitude of
warmth and encouragement towards those who come to our doors. Think of
the exhortation by Shammai the Elder in Pirkei Avot [1.15] to
greet everyone with a smile, or with sever panim yafot.
With respect and affection for this community of ours, I'd like to
share a few words with you in this e- message about our need to grow in
this area. AC members probably know - or should know - that our
reputation in the world is that we can be an unfriendly, unwelcoming
institution. The deadline for changing that was yesterday, but today
will have to do. For AC to grow, we need, as a whole institution and as
individuals, to become a place where people feel invited and embraced,
not where they feel they have to qualify.
You may be saying to yourself . . ."Sure, be friendly, got it. But
that's self-evident (or in Talmudic jargon peshitta). Now quit
wasting my bandwith."
Let me offer one kavvana or perspective on sever panim
yafot, or "services with a smile," that may be illuminating. I
define a welcoming community as one where the other members actually
prefer that each other are there, instead of not caring one way or
the other, or God forbid, wishing that other people would go away. Sure,
there will always be individuals that you may not like. But it seems to
me the key question is this: are you genuinely glad that we are all
here? Do the new faces - and old faces - enhance the life of Ansche
Chesed? Would you be sorry to see anyone go, or secretly glad?
To an extent, part of our problem may be the paradoxical condition
that we have too many friends to be friendly. One of AC's hallmarks has
been a "small-is- beautiful" tone, in which we share our Jewish lives
with close comrades, face to face, and not with strangers. (Some of you
remember that Minyan M'at's name - the "small minyan" - is related to
the days when it left behind the then-larger West Side Minyan partly
over this value.) As a result, when AC people come to shul on Shabbat,
often they want to talk to their friends, they want to be with their
hevreh, they want to hang with their posse. This is lovely, important,
and not without its own problems. For instance, on several occasions in
various minyanim in the building I've introduced people who have
davvened in the same room for years, but have never known each other's
names.
In some sense, perhaps subliminally, our desire to be with people we
know and love sometimes makes us a little jealous and suspicious of
people we don't know, as if their very presence erodes the intimacy of
the shul. Please keep in mind the need to smile at the new faces, even
as you value the familiar ones.
Also, given our multi-minyan format, inescapably choosing one minyan
means choosing not to davven with another. Newcomers often sense that
each minyan eyes the others a little . . . ungenerously. (Have you ever
said: "Oh that minyan is for the blah- blah-blah people"?) We can appear
like Dr. Seuss' Star- bellied Sneeches and Plain-bellied Sneeches, who
jostle to be the best sneeches on the beaches. It is never lost on a
newcomer that we have multiple minyanim for social reasons - not
liturgical ones.
Of course, being a multi-minyan shul is our charm, and there are
plenty of good reasons we do it this way. But this too creates problems.
In a welcoming shul, whose members genuinely prefer that others are
around, it is important to value the mosaic, and not disparage the other
minyanim, either in public or in private.
It seems to me that a simple but critically important task for the
current and future health of Ansche Chesed is to train ourselves to be
glad that other people are here. Even if they sit in our seats, even if
they choose to davven in another minyan, even if they observe Shabbat
less traditionally or more traditionally, even if they are too young or
too old.
So I will sum up by giving the last word to Isaiah, 2nd greatest of
all the prophets and the most eloquent [41.6-7]:
Everyone helped his neighbor and said to his brother: be strong! And
the carpenter encouraged the smith, and the one who smoothes with a
hammer encouraged the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the bonds: it
is good! He fastened it tight with nails, so that it is never moved.
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Family Programs |
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The Ansche Chesed Spring Program Calendar is available in the
lobby and on the Ansche Chesed website. Please pick up a copy or send
one to a friend!
Family Tu BiShevat Seder
Shabbat, February 7, 12:15pm
Following a communal potluck lunch in Hirsch Hall after Shabbat morning
services, families are invited to participate in a Tu BiShevat Seder, at
which we will celebrate trees and the land of Israel, and taste
different kinds of fruit. Upon registering, you will receive an
assignment for a type of fruit to bring to the Seder.
Teens Talk--Body Image: Friend or Foe?
Tuesday, February 10, 6:30-8pm
In this girls-only forum co-faciliated by AC teens and Sharon Rebell,
Ansche Chesed member and psychotherapist with training in eating
disorders, we will talk about how Judaism does or does not inform our
view of our bodies.
Date Night for Parents
Saturday, February 14, 6:15-10pm
Celebrate Havdalah as a family, then parents are invited to go out while
the kids eat pizza, romp in the AC gym, play games, and watch movies.
For children ages 5-12 only. Registration required by February 12. Cost:
Members $10 first child/$5 each additional child. Non-members $15 first
child/$10 each additional child.
Family Kabbalat Shabbat Services
Friday, February 27, 5:30PM
Come to this lively Kabbalat Shabbat service followed by home
hospitality Shabbat dinner. This is a great opportunity to get to know
other Ansche Chesed families.
New "Talk to Your Family About.." Series.
Come to one or all four of these sessions designed for parents.
Childcare or children's activities will be available. Pre-registration
required. Suggested contribution $5/family. The second session, on
Sunday, February 8th, will be "Talk About Being an Interfaith
Family." Members of interfaith families are invited to bring
questions and concerns to this workshop faciliated by Rabbi Carol
Levithan, Ansche Chesed member and Senior Dirctorof Learning, Outreadh
and Support at the JCC of Manhattan. The next workshops are: "Talking
about Shabbat" on March 27 and "Talking about the Holocaust" on April
15.
Young Judaea Youth Group - Grades 3- 5
3rd-5th graders are invited to join the Young Judaea youth group at
Ansche Chesed. The club meets at AC twice monthly. February sessions:
Tuesday, February 3 from 5:45 to 7:00 pm, and Snday, February 29, from
4:00 to 6:00 pm.For more information please contact Noah Wilker, Group
Leader 212-451-6878 or nwilker@youngjudaea.org
SAVE THE DATE!
Purim Extravaganza at Ansche Chesed
Sunday, March 7, 11:30am-3pm
Includes a show with the great David Charnee, mask making, balloon
animals, carnival booths, face painting, bake sale, play in the gym,
great prizes, and a costume contest too! Sponsored by the parents and
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Opportunities in Learning |
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Antisemitism in American Life, taught by Prof. Jerome Chanes
3 Tuesdays, February 3, 10, 17 at 7:30pm
Professor Jerome Chanes. We will discuss history, personalities, current
affairs (including anti-Zionism and other topics); explore what we know
and don't know about antisemitism, and perhaps explode some myths.
Setting a historical context for antisemitism, we will consider whether
it is embedded in the institutions of power in America. Members
$35/non-members $55
Weekly Classes with Rabbi Kalmanofsky
Lunchtime Learning
Wednesdays, Noon-1:00 PM, No fee.
Many of the Bible's greatest stories in terms of literary artistry,
spiritual depth and national significance are not found in the Torah at
all, but in the less often studied books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings.
Join Rabbi Kalmanofsky to study these masterpieces in English (while
also consulting Hebrew). Bring lunch if you'd like, and join us every
week you can.
Hevra Shas - Talmud Study
Wednesdays, 6:30 PM, No fee.
We continue our "weekly page" study of Babylonian Talmud, tractate Avoda
Zara (Idolatry), examining important questions of how Jews interact with
the non- Jewish world outside their own community. Most members of this
class use the ArtScroll English-Hebrew Talmud (volume one of this
tractate), enabling them both to read the traditional text and fully
understand the content.
COMING IN MARCH
The Haggadah and How It Grew
Rivka Widerman
5 Tuesdays, 7:30-9:00 p.m. March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
The Haggadah is not just a prelude to dinner. It's one of the keys to
continued Jewish survival. Find out why as we explore the development of
the Haggadah and the Seder ritual from its earliest days to modern
times. You'll come away with a deeper understanding of why the Haggadah
tops the Jewish bestseller list.
Members $60/Non-members $90
Flavors of the Mitzvah: Rationales for Kashrut
Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
4 Wednesdays, 8:00-9:30 p.m. March 3, 10, 17, 24
Ever since Jews received the Torah, we have been seeking to discover the
reasons for our traditional practices. Few systems in Judaism are more
complex than our food restrictions. It makes you ask ... why? What does
God have against shrimp? In this course we will examine ancient,
medieval and modern attempts to explain why. We will find some of these
reasons inspiring, others repellent, but all illuminating how our people
has understood its religious path.
Members free/Non-members $65 |
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Beyond the Classroom - AC's Study Groups |
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Ansche Chesed's member-led study groups, covering a range of topics and
interests, meet on a monthly basis. New members are welcome. For more
information call ext. 415 in the AC office.
Israel-Zionist Study Group
First Monday of the month at 7:45pm</>
Jewish History Reading Group
Third Tuesday of the month at 7:30PM
Hevrat Sarah, Women's Study Group
Next meeting TBA
Israeli Fiction Reading Group
Next meeting Tuesday, March 2. For information contact Janet Burstein,
Jburstei@drew.edu or 212.316.1386
Yiddish for the 21st Century with Charles Nydorf and Elinor Robinson
Every Wednesday (all year round), at 7:30 PM. |
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Special Shabbat Events
& Shabbat Learning |
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Keeping Kosher With the Earth: A Tu BiShevat Lunch and Study
Shabbat, February 7
How should we apply traditional Jewish teachings to contemporary
environmental issues? The ancient "new year for the trees" in our day is
becoming a Jewish Earth Day. That makes it a perfect time to eat
together, to celebrate the food the earth gives us, and ask how we can
produce food in the most proper way.
Nigel Savage is a founder of Hazon, a Jewish environmental
organization which has raised many thousands of dollars through its
famous bike rides. Originally from the UK, he was a founding trustee of
the New Israel Fund there and teacher and organizer of Limmud.
Please bring a dairy or parve dish from a kosher kitchen;
alternatively, you may contribute $10 toward the purchase of food.
Holy Kugel! The Sanctification of East European Jewish Ethnic
Foods at the Hasidic Tish
Friday, February 20
Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner & Lecture with Professor Allan Nadler
Put some ideas in your head, kugel in your mouth and a smile on your
face, and join us for a scholarly--and funny--exploration of the higher
meaning behind the high calories for which Jewish food is so celebrated.
Professor Nadler will explain how ingenious Hasidic writers related
classic texts to their contemporary menu, finding specific mystical
significance in eastern European Jewish foods such as kugel, lokshen
(noodles), gefilte fish, farfel, and kishke. With this secret knowledge,
the Hasidic rebbe was prepared to free the holiness in his food from its
material shell.
Dr. Allan Nadler is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at Drew
University. He was a director of Research at the YIVO Institute for
Jewish Research in New York City, and has taught at Cornell and NYU. Dr.
Nadler is also an ordained rabbi and has served congregations in Boston
and Montreal.
Dinner & Program: AC members $20, non-members $25. Program & dessert
$10. P.S. Bring your home-made savory or sweet kugels for side dishes
and dessert! (Dairy or parve, from a kosher kitchen.)
Weekly Torah Study with Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky and other AC
members
Shabbat mornings, 9:00 - 10:00 AM
Join us to discuss the weekly Torah portion. Participants are welcome on
either an occasional or regular basis.
Learners Minyan
Shabbat mornings 10-11 AM, 3rd floor
A perfect place to learn the Shabbat morning service in a welcoming,
relaxed, intimate group. If you want to understand more about the
prayers and the prayer book, the Learners Minyan is for you. You do not
need to read Hebrew characters to participate in our prayers and
learning.
Seudah Shlishit: The Third Sabbath Meal
Saturday, February 21 at 4:45pm
As the sun sinks and the shadows grow, we can stave off the weekday
spirit with Seudah Shlishit, a final occasion for song and study, food
and drink. The commandment of eating a third meal on Shabbat was
elevated by mystics to a spiritual highpoint, a time for discussing the
inner meaning of the weekly reading. If you would like to sponsor this
month's seudah, please call ext 415 in the AC office. |
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Singles and
Other Community Events |
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Outings Group's "Salsa Sensational!"
Sunday, February 22, 7-10PM Free refreshments. Co-sponsored by B'nai
Jeshurun. Cost is $20 ($15 AC/BJ/MOMC members) Volunteers are needed
(in return for free admission). Call Michael (212/678-7881 before
9:00pm) to volunteer.
Learn the hottest Latin moves with Reba Perez. No partner, experience or
reservations necessary, and partners are rotated during the lesson,
which will have you dancing in no time.
Wilderness First Aid
Sundays, February 29 and March 14, 8:45am- 5:30pm
This 16-hour program is recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard and various
guides' licensing boards as meeting their first aid requirement. Limited
class size. Cost is $109 for AC/MOMC/AMC members. Call Michael
212.678.7881 for registration information. |
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Donations |
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GENERAL DONATIONS
Oscar & Ruth Awner in memory of his parents, Jacob & Regina Awner
and his brother, Max Awner
Sarah Barkagan in memory of her father, Benny Z. Mizioznek
Bonnie Beck in memory of her father, Irving Beck
Aline Benzaken in memory of her husband, Maurice Benzaken
Howard Berkowitz & Dina Rosenfeld in memory of his father, Fred
Berkowitz
Theodore & Erica Braude in memory of their son, Matthew Braude
Leonard Brauner
Sylvia Cohen in memory of her mother, Ida Hassin
Evelyn Dichek in memory of her son, Arthur M. Dichek
Howard Eisenberg in loving memory of his wife, Arlene Eisenberg
Beatrice Epstein in memory of her husband, Nat Epstein
Richard & Louise Gabel in memory of her mother, Cora Kohn
Ann Glassman in loving memory of her husband, Hyman Glassman and
Arme Rosedahl
Amalia Lorber Goldstein in memory of her husband, Jacob Lorber
Debra & Martin Greenberg in memory of his father, Solomon
Greenberg
Walter & Esther Hautzig in memory of her great-uncle, Max C.
Hillson, her grandfather, Shlomo Mordecai (HaLevi) Rudomin, Sonia
Etingin Rudomin, and their friends, C. Reisz, Lester Shriner, Pamela
Brumberg, Vicki Wimpfheimer and Fanny Beiner
Rabbi Jan Caryl Kaufman in memory of her grandmother, Alice
Deutch
Phyllis Kish in memory of her husband, Jack Kis
Anne Koenig
Michael & Meta Levi in memory of his father, Ludwig Levi
Abraham Melezin in loving memory of his wife, Rachela Melezin
William Meyers & Nahma Sandrow in memory of her grandmother,
Molly Sandrow
Martin Miller in appreciation of the hospitality provided by
Freda & Evan Eisenberg for the family of the late Alfred Feiler
Ronald & Elaine Morris in memory of his father, Philip B. Morris
Bettyrose Nelson
Sol & Rita Rosenkranz in memory of his relatives, Shimon Cooper,
Harry Rosenkranz, Zippa Chava Cooper and Felix Cooper
Ellen Schorr & Nat Polish in honor of the birth of Orli Kessler-Godin
and the B'not Mitzvah of Sasha Bogursky, Anna Weissman and Miriam
Sinkoff- Dreiblatt
Hugh & Lilianne Segal in memory of his father, Sammy Segal
Rabbi Marion & William Shulevitz in memory of her father, Daniel
G. Cullen
Diane & Joel Siegel in memory of his father, Aaron Siegel and his
sister, Sandi Siegel Hessler
Abbott Simon in memory of his friend, Freda Diamond
PAUL COWAN FUND
Sylvia Weber in loving memory of her husband, Alvin H. Weber
KIDDUSH FUND
Billy K. Moore
Herta Shriner in memory of her beloved husband, Lacy Shriner
KOL NIDRE APPEAL
Bertie & Rachel Bregman
Gary Dreiblatt & Nancy Sinkoff in memory of Esther Mintz, Paula
Dickman, Jonathan Crespy and Vicki Wimpfheimer
Susan Greenfield & Matthew Weissman in honor of their daughter's
bat mitzvah on November 15, 2003
Rabbi Jan Caryl Kaufman
Pamela Mendels & Carl Kaplan
Jennifer Rosenberg
MINYAN RIMONIM KIDDUSH FUND
Anne Koenig Dennis Sandler
RABBI'S DISCRETIONARY FUND
Zachary Braiterman & Margaret Karalis
Ernest & Heidi Kahn
Ellen Schorr & Nat Polish
Marion & William Shulevitz in memory of Dr. Melvin Yahr; in honor of
the birth of Jerry & Donna Weiss' grandson
REFUAH SHLEMA
Leon Pear by Marion & William Shulevitz
SHELTER FUND
Anne Koenig |
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