Weekly Newslinks

                                               Drawing Strength
As the Twelve Spies venture into Israel, ten of them were armed with evil intentions, while Yehoshua and Kalev remained loyal and true to Hashem, Moshe and Klal Yisrael. How did they stay true to their convictions? How come they were not swept up in the mix of the majority of spies like the people of Israel were swept up in the congregation of Korach?

There is no one answer to how we gain strength in times of need. Yehoshua and Kalev drew strength from different reservoirs. Yehoshua was blessed and even renamed by his Rebbe Moshe (from Hoshea to Yehoshua), while Kalev davened at the graves of our Patriarchs. Both are acceptable and beautiful approaches to fortification. Both reached back into arenas of spiritual blessings and growth, and held onto those blessings as they faced off against the Ten Spies when they encountered the Ten Spies’ evil report.

We live in a time where there are tremendous pressures from groupthink ideas and values. People stand to lose their jobs, their friends and their social status if they do not tow the line and fall into place with the rest of the gang. This is unfortunate and an ominous development in America and Western Culture.

As Jews we know that our task in this world is not to fall into line with any group-
thinking. The Zohar states that our father Avraham was called Avraham Haivri (on the other side), because the whole world proverbially stood on one side worshipping idols and performing Human Sacrifice and Avraham stood proudly on the other introducing Monotheism to the world. We are the children of Avraham. These are the original Abraham Accords.

We need to remain true to our beliefs and convictions and not fall prey to the isms of the day. One thing about isms is they never last three generations. There aren’t too many Bolsheviks around and Communists are just as scarce.
Yet remaining true does not happen on its own. One must fortify him/herself with
powerful mentors, reliable friends and always keep learning. Davening is also a must as Kalev showed us.

​​​​​​​As the winds of change blow strongly throughout our society, may we merit drawing strength like Yehoshua and Kalev did and stay true to our history and journey forward towards our destiny.          
           
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Epstein

                                      Hats off to our Graduates
“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”
                                                       attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Mazel Tov to all of our graduates.  Graduation is the stepping stone to the next phase in your child’s and your life.  Whether they are graduating from nursery or college, your life, and theirs, is changing forever. Some of you still have the luxury of watching your children grow right before your eyes, while others will watch them leave for new adventures in Israel, college, or the work force. Whatever this next year holds, it will be full of changes. There is a whole beautiful world to explore and put your mark on.
 
Many changes are happening at SOI too.  There is something going on almost every day/night next week.  We have our Graduation Kiddush this Shabbat, Rabbi Slifkin (sponsored by Noah & Shaindy Lindenberg) on Sunday morning, SOI Historical Society, Welcoming Committee and Sisterhood meetings,  Rabbi Shaffer’s new class “To Agree or Disagree…That is the Question” starting on June 8th, and Birthday in the Park next Shabbat.  We can’t wait to celebrate, commemorate, and learn with you!
 
As DR. Seuss says.....

Shabbat Shalom 
Donna Moskowitz
SOI President

​​​​​​​(I'm up to 22 random acts of kindness - 28to go)
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Please Note:
Highlighted section reserved for social distancing and unvaccinated people

SECURITY GREETER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Volunteers needed for 1 hour shifts on Shabbat from 8:30-11
Training Provided
Contact: Sam Tilonsky at drsamod@gmail.com
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                          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
Historical Society                         president@soicherryhill.org
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

 Sisterhood is working hard behind the scenes to get back to our full strength.  We had a wonderful meeting in May with a lot of positive energy and ideas to move us toward the future.  We have postponed our June 10th program and will instead have a short meeting to vote on our proposed board slate, discuss committee opportunities for getting involved, and to discuss our exciting July membership program!  Our meeting will be held on Zoom at 8:30pm and should be a quick 30 minute meeting (unless we choose to stay on and socialize after our short agenda is finished!).  The link for the meeting on June 10th is https://tinyurl.com/SOIsisterhood
The proposed board slate is as follows:
President: Karen Cohen
Vice President of Administration: Debbie Fineberg
Vice President of Programming: Aliza Sadiky
Treasurer: Hannah Kaufman
Recording Secretary: Open (Contact Karen Cohen if you are interested in this position)

We are in need of volunteers for committees such as: Kiddush/Kitchen; Sanctuary Flowers; Fundraising (including Siddur/Chumash Dedications); and more!  There are opportunities for everyone – we will train you!

Chesed Committee:
The Chesed Committee is proud to announce that, in partnership with the Jewish Federation of South Jersey, we are launching a Tomchei Shabbos Program to assist with Shabbos and Yom Tov meal expenses for those who have a financial need. We received a grant from the Jewish Federation of South Jersey for $3600 to establish our Tomchei Shabbos program, but in order to sustain the program, we will need to continue fundraising.  Our goal is to ensure that no family is ever without the means to have a joyful Shabbos and Yom Tov with dignity and grace.   If you, or someone you know, could benefit from this program, please fill out a very brief form at https://tinyurl.com/SOIchesed  If you are not in need, but would like to donate to any of the Chesed Committee programs, you can donate at www.soicherryhill.org/donate-dues
Since its inception in February, the Chesed Committee has raised and distributed almost $10,000 directly to Cherry Hill families with financial need ($3,650 for Matanot Levyonim was distributed among 15 households; $6000 for Maos Chitim was distributed among 14 households; we have raised an additional $380 which remains in reserve).  We also partnered with Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) Food Pantry to distribute bags of Pesach groceries to families who could benefit from them.  We were able to assist 12 households with these groceries.  

Mazel tov to the Herzberg Family on the marriage of their daughter Erika.

Mazel tov to the Benedon family on the marriage of their son Mitchell.

MAZEL TOV to ALL of our Graduates
Tobie Cohen      Amalia Littwin        Kobi Littwin        Rafi Littwin         
Melanie Raush         Arielle Mindel        Yoni Mindel        Chani Chaitoff       
Tali Weg        Aliza Delman        Ariana Berlin        Levana Berlin    ​​​​​​​Sarah Hess     

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Thanks to Debbie Fineberg and Sam Tilonsky for providing security on Shabbat and Shavuot.

To Ken & Yoni Panitch for re-erecting our tents
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GABOYIM NEEDED
The Gaboyim supervise religious services in the Shul every morning, evening and Shabbat.  They designate people to lead the services, distribute aliyot and other Shul honors and are custodians of all religious articles and books.  If you are interested, please contact president@soicherryhill.org .
______________________________________________________________
HELP WANTED
Children’s Group Leaders. 
Shabbat mornings 10-11 am.  Must be good with children.  Duties include davening and creative programming/learning about the parsha each week. 
To apply email president@soicherryhill.org
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MISSING
1 Riser used for the Outdoor Minyan.  If you borrowed them, please return them to the office or in front of the sukkah doors.
Thank You

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". If you would like to be featured here, please contact Chani Wiesman.  In this feature, you will get to meet new families as well as become reacquainted with familiar faces. 

Click here to see past submissions

Florence Axelrod – Fruma bas Sarah
Estelle Lerner- Esther Ethel bas Rochel
Andy Rauer – Avigayal bas Peshe Ella
Bruce Goldhagen - Berel Dov Ben Chia
Sheryl Malamud 
Yoni Yares
Amy Goldwasser
Gavriel Yehuda ben Chaya Sarah 
Binyamin Yedidya Nachshon ben Shira Ruth
​​​​Robbie Friedner
Raphael Shraga Ben Dina Sarah 
Joseph Chaim Ben Dina Sarah 
Akiva Moshe Ben Dina Sarah
Tinok Ben Chana Faygel
 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)
Bottle Club ($36)
https://www.soicherryhill.org/sponsor ​​​​​​​

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