Weekly Newslinks

                                                 Tragedy, Clarity and Unity
     You know the drill…we are beset by a tragedy, we are brought to reckon with what’s truly important in life and then we hear calls and cries for unity. We have watched this over a dozen times in the last two decades. Both in the Jewish world when we are attacked by terrorists or natural disasters as well as in the general world after attacks on American soil and in Houses of Worship; we get knocked out of our rhythms and reminded that life, health, security and stability are all gifts from G-d to be appreciated and not taken for granted. When we are driving 85 on the Turnpike we don’t appreciate the foliage that surrounds in the forests on either side.
     The pandemic took us all for a loop. Who knew what to expect, how long it would last, how many would be lost, and truth be told we are not out of the woods just yet. But we got used to it. We started working remotely, figured out how to order groceries on line and learned to entertain ourselves while being Socially Distant and compliant with the CDC guidelines. When we achieved the new normal we carried on without pause and lost the sense of fragility and vulnerability that arrived with Covid 19.
     With the Meron Malfunction and the loss of 45 precious and holy souls we again have been thrust into a space of sadness and fright. We again hear calls for unity and lack of divisiveness. I saw a chart on line with the addresses of all the homes where one can visit as they sit Shiva throughout Israel. The State of Israel has not had a national day of mourning since the days of the Holocaust. 
     As the Omer winds down and we make our way to Shavuos, the holiday of truth and cheesecake; are we changed? Are we willing to finally stand up and take responsibility for our wrongdoings and come clean with Hashem? Or will we continue to live in a contrived reality until the next tragedy hits G-d forbid?!
My friends – Wake up! Do Teshuvah! G-d gave us the medicine for all ills in this world, it’s called Torah, Mitzvoth, Chessed and Maasim Tovim. If we follow the prescription, we will merit Moshiach and the return to a rebuilt Jerusalem, and if we continue to delude ourselves into believing we are good enough, we follow what we follow, accept me for who I am, unfortunately more wake up calls are bound to arrive.
                                  It’s up to us, let’s do it right this time.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Epstein

      Kindness -  “the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic”, according to the Free Dictionary.  Kindness, to me, is doing something nice for someone for no reason except that you can.  I was putting away some teaching supplies this week and came across this story by Barbara Hauck:
                                                         A Simple Smile
“She smiled at a sorrowful stranger.
The smile seemed to make him feel better.  He remembered past kindnesses of a friend and wrote him a thank-you letter.
The friend was so pleased with the thank-you letter that he left a large tip after lunch.
The waitress, surprised by the size of the tip, bet the whole thing on a hunch.  The next day she picked up her winnings and gave part to a man on the street.
The man on the street was grateful; for 2 days he had had nothing to eat.  After he finished his dinner, he left for his small dingy room. (he didn’t know at that moment he might be facing his doom).  On the way, he picked up a shivering puppy and took him home to get warm.
The puppy was so very grateful to be out of the storm.
That night, the house caught on fire.  The puppy barked in alarm. He barked until he woke the whole household and saved everybody from harm.  One of the boys that was saved, grew up to be a great Rabbi.
All this because of a simple smile that hadn’t cost a cent.”

     Kindness is free and you never know how or who it will affect.  In celebration of our upcoming Jubilee Year, my goal is to do 50 random acts of kindness in our community. Please join me.
     My first random act of kindness is to pass on a fantastic recipe for Ricotta Cheese Cake to enhance your Shavuot holiday.  Enjoy.

Shabbat Shalom
Donna Moskowitz
SOI President

                      Decadent Cream Cheese &  Ricotta Cheese Cake
Ingredients:
2-8 oz packages cream cheese - softened                  1 1/2 cup sugar 
16 oz whole milk ricotta cheese                                    4 large eggs
1  T. lemon juice (or you can substitute Ameretta)        3 T flour
3 T. cornstarch                                                               1 pt. sour cream
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled                                     2 tsp grated orange zest
optional: confectioners sugar, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, pie fillings
Note: A crust is not necessary, but you can coat the bottom of the springform pan with 1 1/2 c. graham crackers mixed with 1/2 c. melted butter and 3T. sugar.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. Mix the cream cheese and ricotta cheese together in a mixing bowl until well combined. Stir in the sugar, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, cornstarch, flour, and butter. Add the sour cream last and stir. Pour the mixture into the prepared  pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven 1 hour until golden brown and the sides pull away from the pan; turn oven off and leave in oven 1 hour more. Allow to cool completely in refrigerator before serving.
4.To serve, release the sides of the springform pan.  Garnish with pie fillings or fresh fruits and dust with confectioners sugar. 
5. Slice in wedges, serve and enjoy.

                    
                          SOI Committees 2020-2021
Advertising          Chemmie Sokolic     chemsok@aol.com
Bikur Cholim        Larry Miller              twinks-3043@msn.com
Fundraising         Dore Provda            dore_provda@yahoo.com
Jubilee                 Helene Raush         raushfamily@comcast.net
                            Sabrina Spector      sabrinaspector@gmail.com
                             Helen Baker            bakera412@comcast.net
Membership         Ilana Weiss             weiss.ilana@gmail.com
                             Heshy Chaitoff        heshychaitoff@gmail.com
Programming       Chani Berliant         chaniwiesman@gmail.com
                            Sabrina Spector      sabrinaspector@gmail.com
                             Suzie Mindel           suziepm@yahoo.com
Ritual                    Heshy Chaitoff        heshychaitoff@gmail.com
Security                Sam Tilonsky           drsamod@gmail.com
Shalom Bayit        Ken Panitch            ken.panitch@gmail.com
Sisterhood                                         sisterhood@soicherryhill.org
Youth                    Sabrina Spector     sabrinaspector@gmail.com
                             Suzie Mindel          suziepm@yahoo.com
Welcome              Aliza Chaitoff          alizachaitoff@gmail.com

Mazal Tov to Eve and Sam Narrow-Tilonsky on the birth of a new grandson in Israel.  Yishai Ezra is the newest son of Atara and Avi and brother of Ziv Yitzchak.  The bris was held Thursday morning, May 6th in Jerusalem.
 
Moshe and Malka Moskowitz on the birth of a baby girl to their son and daughter in law Rabbi Yaakov and Esti Moskowitz in N Miami Beach.         

Welcome

Welcome to Nate and Tamar Wiener and their children who moved to Cherry Hill last week!!

Thanks to Jeff Liss, Debbie Fineberg, Jon Bender and Sam Tilonsky for providing security on  Shabbat.

Rivka Keiserman for a joyful Laugh Yoga presentation

Noah and Shaindy Lindenberg for sponsoring the Brunch Lecture by Rabbi Slifkin “The Animal Kingdom in Jewish Thought” 

Karen Cohen and the Sisterhood for a beautiful First Kiddush this past Shabbat

Thank you to everyone who got groups off the ground last week:
  Chani Wesman, Avital Sadiky, Hannah Kaufman, Sabrina Spector, Ilana Weiss, Avi Sadiky
May the groups continue and grow.

Eytan Irwin & Harvey Mindel for hanging our new Trauma Kit. 
WARNING:It Is ALARMED

Rivka (Rachel Goldfarb) Shwarzberg on the loss of her beloved mother Chaya Tova (Carole) Klavens
​​​​​​​
May the mourners be comforted among the mourners of Zion & Jerusalem

"Won't You Meet Our Neighbors"

We are optimistic that we will all soon be able to return to shul together, however as of yet, things are not quite back to normal. Many of us have not seen our friends from shul for months. Additionally, many new families have moved to the community, but due to the pandemic, we have not had a chance to meet and get to know each other. To help us stay connected, we are bringing a new feature called "Won't you be my neighbor". In this feature, you will get to meet new families as well as become reacquainted with familiar faces.  
Get to know Helen & Alan Baker.
Click here  to learn more about this long-time SOI couple and find out how you can be featured in future emails.

Florence Axelrod – Fruma bas Sarah
Estelle Lerner- Esther Ethel bas Rochel
Shari Goldberg - Sarah Chasha bas Raisie Hinda
Andy Rauer – Avigayal bas Peshe Ella
Bruce Goldhagen - Berel Dov Ben Chia
Sheryl Malamud 
Tinok ben Shira Ruth
Gavriel Yehuda ben Chaya Sarah 
 Since the tehillim group is not meeting again until after COVID, following is a link to the prayers for good health and healing that you can recite for our ailing members

There are many ways to support our Shul:
Yartzeit Plaque ($400)
Shabbat Security ($180)
Chumash for the sanctuary ($75)
Newslink ($72)
Siddur for the sanctuary ($50)
Welcome Basket ($18)
https://www.soicherryhill.org/sponsor ​​​​​​​

Date has been changed for Rabbi Slifkin:
Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 11 am

Reminder:  If your mailing information has been changed, please update it on our website by logging on at  soicherryhill.org 
If you know someone who is not receving our weekly email, please let the office know

Office Hours Next Week for Jean Klein:
Monday to Friday 10:00am - 2:00pm