If it seemed harder to get a minyan in October, there was an excellent reason. Some days it seemed that half of Ansche Chesed, young and old, was chasing voters and votes in battleground Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania for -- well, I couldn't find anyone doing it for W. Some examples:

Russell Miller took off the entire month to organize and canvas in Ohio. Elana Berkowitz (Dena and Howard's daughter) couldn't take off that much time, but she's driven there with friends every weekend. And Orli Cotel (Aliya and Moshe's daughter) crossed the continent from San Francisco to Florida to spend five weeks of 14-16 hour days coordinating an effort to turn out 13,000 previously unregistered voters in Penellas County as part of a joint venture of the Sierra Club and America Votes 2004.

Mom Aliya is in the game, too. No car owner, she needed one to drive to North Philly to do door-to- dooring. Never shy, she asked an Israeli friend who owns a car rental place, " How badly do you want a new president?" "Very badly." "How'd you like to donate a rental car to help make that happen?" "You've got it." And so Aliya Cheskis-Cotel is off for Philadelphia Friday for the weekend and hopes to fill the car with volunteers.

Mik Moore created Operation Bubbe to fly 100 volunteers to South Florida to help get Jewish seniors to the polls. And Amy Stone and husband Ed dropped everything two weeks ago to go to Akron to work for John Kerry. Says Amy, "I keep being surprised at all the out-of-state volunteers. We keep getting thanked and blessed for coming to help. We tell them, 'Thank goodness we're not needed in New York."

She adds, "A never-used 1953 Ohio law allows voting challengers at the polls to challenge would-be voters on address, age, and citizenship. Both Republicans and Democrats registered their challengers, but in one county Republicans reached an agreement with Democrats not to have challengers. Then they sneakily registered theirs. Dems got word of this just in time to scrape under the deadline to register theirs."

Last but not lost is Jon Posen, living in California during a semester off from Columbia, who headed for Ohio to do his part. "There've been a lot of rewarding moments," says Jon. "Like my encounter with eight little kids outside an apartment building who wanted to know what I was doing. When I told them it had to do with voting, they chanted in unison: 'We're voting for Kerry! We're voting for Kerry!" Not everyone felt that way, but I couldn't feel badly when a very nice lady said, "I'm supporting the president." Before she closed her door she added, "Thank you for being patriotic."

We thank them, too.

RELIGION AND STATE IN ISRAEL AND AMERICA
 

Friday Night Lecture:
Being the Hands of God: Jewish Social Justice at a time of Crisis and Opportunity
Services 5:30 p.m.; Dinner 6:30 p.m.; Lecture 7:45 p.m.

Shabbat Lunch Lecture:
The Uses and Abuses of Jewish tradition in Contemporary Political Debates
Lunch 12:45 p.m.; Lecture 1:45 p.m.

Seudah Shlishit Study Session:
The Battle for Religious Freedom and Tolerance in Israel
4 p.m.

Rabbi David Saperstein is the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, which advocates on a broad range of social justice issues and provides extensive legislative and programmatic materials used by synagogues, federations and Jewish community relations councils nationwide. He currently co-chairs the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, comprising more than 50 national religious denominations and educational organizations. Also an attorney, Rabbi Saperstein teaches seminars in both First Amendment Church-State Law and in Jewish Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Rabbi Saperstein's latest book is Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time.

This Scholar-in-Residence Shabbat is funded in part by the generosity of the family of Aviva Isobel Kirsch.

Scholar-in-Residence Registration:
Print and return the form below to the Ansche Chesed office, 251 West 100th Street, NY NY 10025 or by email to sposen@anschechesed.org. To pay by credit card, call ext. 415. (Do not email credit card information).

Registration for Friday night dinner is due in the office by Tuesday, December 7. Late registrations will not be accepted.
 

Enclosed is $_____________________________

Name(s) ________________________________

________________________________________

Email or phone ____________________________

AC Member? ____

Friday Night
Adults $25; Children 4-10 $10; Lecture & dessert $10
No. Adults ____ No. Children ____
No.vegetarians ____ Lecture only ____
 

Shabbat Lunch
Lunch is an organized potluck meal.
No. Adults ____ No. Children ____
Enclosed is $____toward the purchase of food ($10 per person)
OR
I/We will bring ___________________________
(Side dish, main dish, dessert, or beverage)
 

Seudah Shlishit Study Session
No. Adults _____

TOTAL ENCLOSED $____

Childcare will be available during the Friday evening and Shabbat lunch lectures.

Learners Minyan
A perfect place to learn, and learn about, the Shabbat morning service in a welcoming, relaxed, intimate group. You do not need to read Hebrew characters to participate.
Through December 11 at 10 a.m. Next session begins January 15.

Seudah Shlishit, The Third Sabbath Meal
As the sun sinks and the shadows grow, we can stave off the weekday spirit with a final occasion for song and study, food and drink. Join us 90 minutes before the end of Shabbat to sing and learn and savor the final moments of the day of rest.
Monthly. November 13 at 4 p.m.

Family Kiddush Lunch
Saturday, November 6, 12 p.m.
Join us for a family kiddush lunch (yes, a real lunch!) right after children's services and bring the whole family.

Shabbat Family Dinner
Friday, December 17
Come experience the magic of a short Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service and a nice meal. See how simple it is to bring the joy of Shabbat to your home. More details to follow.

Shabbat Gym Program
November-March
Meet, shmooze, and enjoy the company of other families on Shabbat afternoon from 3 to 5 p.m. For children ages 1 to 7. Fee per family: AC members $40/Non-members $75.
 

Pre-paid registration is required for the gym program. Pick up a form in the lobby or send your check with family name, phone number, address, and children's names and ages to the Ansche Chesed office, 251 W. 100 St. NY NY 10025. Each registered family will receive a season pass and two guest passes.
 

For information about family programs call Shai Specht in the AC office at ext. 412 or email Shai.Specht@anschechesed.org

Hester Street
Saturday, November 20 at 8 p.m.
Introduced by David Roskies, Professor of Yiddish at The Jewish Theological Seminary

Carole Kane is a Jewish immigrant trying to make sense of life in turn-of-the-centry New York. Directed by Joan Micklin Silver.
Suggested contribution $5.
 

Next month:
Enemies, A Love Story
Saturday, December 18 at 8 p.m.

Tuv Ha'Aretz brings together Steve Greenberg, an Orthodox rabbi well-known for teaching about the relationship between traditional halakha and contemporary issues, and Isaac Grody-Patinkin, a fair-trade activist and student organizer. Together Steve and Isaac will talk about where your coffee comes from, how it's grown, and explore the broader issues involved when an ancient localized tradition confronts a global marketplace.

Held at Ansche Chesed
AC/Hazon/Tuv Ha'Aretz Members $10
General Admission $15
Students $5

Part of the three-part series "Jews, Food & Contemporary Issues" to celebrate the end of the 2004 Tuv Ha'Aretz season. Sponsored by Tuv Ha'Aretz, Hazon, and Ansche Chesed.