Eve Narrow & Sam Tilonsky are sponsoring the Newslink as a thank you to everyone who sent us shalach manot.
COVID UPDATES FOR THIS SHABBAT The 9AM Main Sanctuary Minyan and minyanim during the rest of Shabbos and throughout the week will be “mask optional”. For the time being, the 8 AM Minyan will remain “fully masked” for all participants.
Based on the recent lifting of the State Mandate and following the decisions of local schools, children’s groups will now be “mask optional”.
Out of concern for fellow Shul attendees, if you are feeling sick we ask that you please refrain from attending. Thank you. Rabbi Michael Davies, Donna Moskowitz, and the Covid Task Force
Erev Shabbat, March 18: Shushan Purim (Adar II 15) 6:45am Shacharit 9:00am Politz Purim Carnival (Ends at 3:00pm) 5:55pm Plag HaMincha (Earliest Candle Lighting) 6:50pm Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv 6:51pm Candle Lighting
Shabbat, March 19: Tzav (Adar II 16) 8:00am 8AM Minyan 8:30am Sephardic Minyan 9:00am Main Minyan 10:07am Latest Shema 10:00am Groups K-2nd Jr. Congregation 3rd-5th 10:30am Tot Shabbat 6:40pm Mincha 7:05pm Rabbi's Parsha Shiur 7:40pm Maariv 7:51pm Havdalah
Sunday, March 20 (Adar II 17) 7:00am Shacharit 8:00am Shacharit 10:00am Bnai Akiva Purim Carnival 7:00pm Mincha/Maariv
I am very excited for the opportunity to share words of Torah with you. Each week, in this spot, I look to share an idea I've found that speaks to me and that I think will resonate with you as well. This week, I share an article by Rabbi Ron Jawary entitled 'Take Out the Garbage', which speaks to our perspective on past mistakes and how we move forward from them.
One of the misconceptions people have about Judaism is the Jewish view of guilt. Interestingly, if the guilt motivates us to change and improve, it can play a crucial role in our lives and in our relationship with God. What the Torah does not want is for us to allow the guilt to pull us down or for us to use it as an excuse for not changing.
The Talmud teaches us that we should never view ourselves as "bad". Our self-image should be positive as it is impossible to relate to God if we do not have a sense of self-worth. Interestingly, the first act the priests did at the start of their day in the Temple was to dispose of yesterday's garbage (Lev 6:3). In fact, this was such a popular mitzvah that they actually fought with each other for the privilege. This is because they understood the need to start each day anew with a positive outlook on themselves and their opportunities. So the first action is to discard yesterday's garbage. Only then could they fulfill the role the Almighty had in store for them.
That is one of the reasons a Jew washes his hands first thing in the morning; he should try to wash away the baggage of the day before. We might have excuses for what we are right now, but we should not use those excuses for what we remain. With that realization, we can then say the morning prayer that "the soul given to me by the Almighty is pure".
Hopefully you all are having/have had a wonderful and meaningful Purim. In the event that your Purim was not quite as uplifting as you would have liked, don't let that get you down. Pesach is right around the corner and we've got a lot of Pesach cleaning to do - not just the physical search and clearing our of our Chametz, but putting aside all that is holding us back and heading into Zman Cheiruteinu (The Time of Our Redemption. Looking forward to continuing to grow with all of you in this coming season.
"The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side." -Margaret Carty
Heshy Chaitoff started our March Board Meeting with an interesting D'var Torah about the difference between Mitzvot, Good Deeds and Obligations, specifically relating to the holiday of Purim. Our meeting, then, progressed and was extremely informative and effective due to the cooperative, team mentality of this exceptional group of men and women. To expedite the meeting, committee chairs are submitting a brief update prior to the meeting.
Our Education Committee is considering a new series in preparation for Pesach and a couple new classes with various presenters. Information will be forthcoming.
The Fundraising and Gala Commitees are working in tandem to make our Jubilee GALA a success. Hannah Farkas of the OU gave an informative presentation this past month on Fundraising techniques to the Board, which will help these committees to move forward harmoniously. If you would like to be inolved in this committee please reach out to Vicki Miltz at vickayvickay@gmail.com.
Our Mishloach Manot campaign was a big success for both Sons of Israel and Politz Day School. Thank you to everyone who participated and especially to our committee of Oze & Maetal Henig, Eytan Irwin, and Flo Shulman.
Two grants have been filed. One by Ora Davies for a Mother/Daughter Bat Mitzvah Program with the Jewish Women's Foundation and another by Ilana Weiss to upgrade the men's mikvah through The Jewish Community Foundations.
Thanks to the hard work of our MCAT Committee and a generous donation by Robbie Friedner, we will be updating our lobby board. Keep looking for our latest improvements.
At our Executive Management Retreats, we are trying to increase managerial organization at SOI. We are looking for people who want to get involved in specific committees. A Nominating Committee is also being formed to interview for our slate for the next SOI Board of Trustees. If yi are interested in nominating someone for the Board, please reach out to me or Eytan Irwin at eytan.irwin@gmail.com .
The Security Committee has been hard at work having extra cameras and alarms installed, financed through our Homeland Security Grant. A big concern discussed was safety and security at the Politz Playground on Shabbat. There is no supervision by SOI security at the playground. We recommend parents supervise their children outside and discuss emergency procedures with them if something occurs. Our safe house is the Jungreis Home at the end of the path in Aqueduct. Emergencys can happen. Preparation helps decrease casualties.
As the weather is getting better, and hopefully the masive effects of COVID are behind us, we have many new families to meet and invite to your home for Shabbat. If you would like a list of new families, please reach out to members of our Welcoming Committee: Aliza Chaitoff, Ora Davies, Michal Drabkin, Hannah Kaufman, Melissa Klein, Rachel Klein, Michael Linetsky, Suzie Mindel, Alise Panitch, Aliza Sadiky, or Ilana Weiss.
I hope everyone had a beautiful Purim and I look forward to having many more times to celebrate as a community.
By the time women were being trained as university scientists, the “solar system” had been pretty well-mapped. But Sara Seager, born in 1971, has discovered 715 planets in her time working with the Kepler Space Telescope, a remarkable contributor to the modern understanding of space.
FINANCIAL/MEMBERSHIP UPDATE It’s hard to believe that as Purim is just around the corner, we are heading towards the end of the current fiscal year. We appreciate everyone's support and commitment to SOI. We respectfully ask everyone to review your accounts, to see if you are up to date with dues and pledges. Clearing any outstanding balances allows the shul to start the new fiscal year fresh and financially ready to meet the challenge of returning to normal programs and services. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to Heshy Chaitoff or Michael Partnow with any questions or concerns Thank you!
Advertising Opportunity Do you have a business or service you’d like to advertise to our Cherry Hill community and beyond? Would you like to get more business and benefit SOI at the same time? Now you can! SOI now has a Products and Services page on our website where, for a small donation, people can post a business card advertising their products or services. As more business cards are added, cards will be displayed by category – the more people advertise, the more people will look, and the more business will flow. Check out https://www.soicherryhill.org/local-products-services for more info.
Mazel Tov to Caryn & Zumi Brody on Eitan's Bar Mitzvah this past week.
Mazel Tov to Menorah & Jeff Schwartz on the birth of a grandson.
Mazel tov to Dan Sandler on his 95th birthday.
Thank you to all our kitchen help last week: Dan Malamud, Ilana Weiss, Hannah Kaufman, Alisa Fox Malka Baratz, and Yair Klein.
Thank you to Tamar Weiner for making the delicious chulent last week.
Thank you to all our packers for Mishloach Manot: Chana Davies, Ora Davies, Maetal Henig, Eytan Irwin, Bob Moskowitz, Malka Moskowitz, Yaeli Sokolic, Ilana Weiss, and Meira Weiss
Thank you to all our drivers delivering Mishloach Manot: Belfer, Henig, Kivolowitz, Melissa & Gersh Klein, Linetsky, Lomas-Malamud, Miltz, Suzie & Harvey Mindel, Donna & Bob Moskowitz, Malka & Moshe Moskowitz, Panitch, Debbie Pester, Rynderman, Aliza & Avi Sadiky, Sokolic, Spector, Narrow-Tilonsky, Wiesman-Berliants, Jen Wilkins, Yares
Thank you to Sabrina Spector, Aliza Sadiky and Suzie Mindel for the great Purim programming - Purim Pizza Palooza and the Pirate Show and Treasure Hunt. And thank you to our generous benefactors making it possible for everyone to participate.
Thank you to Diane & Eytan Irwin for enhancing Purim with their donation of copies of Megillat Esther so that everyone should have one.
Thank you to Bill Jungreis, Debbie Fineberg, Avi Rynderman, Harvey Chaitoff, Yoni Berliant, Chemmie Sokolic and Mike from OPS for providing security this past Shabbos.
It’s your shul, help protect it! Please give us 30 minutes of your Shabbos morning to help protect your friends, family and fellow congregants. Volunteer for security greeter duty now!
A Message from the Welcoming Committee: Over the past two years during the COVID pandemic, many families have moved into our community. As many of us become more comfortable hosting people for meals, consider inviting these new families to your home or including them in your mishloach manot deliveries. If you would like a list of new families, reach out to anyone on the SOI Welcoming Committee: Aliza Chaitoff , Ora Davies, Michal Drabkin, Hannah Kaufman, Melissa Klein, Rachel Klein Michael Linetsky, Suzie Mindel, Alise Panitch, Aliza Sadiky, or Ilana Weiss
Florence Axelrod – Fruma bas Sarah Estelle Lerner- Esther Ethel bas Rochel Andy Rauer – Avigayal bas Peshe Ella Sheryl Malamud Amy Goldwasser Gavriel Yehuda ben Chaya Sarah Eytan Raphael Shraga ben Dina Sarah David Partnow - David Avram ben Tilla Razel Robert Shapiro - Doniel-Avraham ben Hannah Aaron Moshe ben Ruth Yosef Simcha Chaim Ben Sarah Chana Gaela bas Pinina Jackie Nussbaum - Eta Ruchmam bas Chaya Golda
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
JFCS will be holding a Passover Drop & Go Food Drive to help bring the joy of the holiday to clients in need. On Monday, April 4 from 10am to 1pm, the agency will be accepting donations of Kosher for Pesach food outside the Rhona Fischer Family Assistance Building (6 East Miami Avenue in Cherry Hill). Most-needed items include Matzo, Matzo Meal, Matzo Ball Soup Mix, Cake Mixes, Cake Meal, Gefilte Fish, Borscht, Chicken Broth, Grape Juice, Canned Fish, Canned Fruits & Vegetables, and Dried Fruits & Nuts. When cleaning your home to eliminate chametz, please consider donating any unopened, nonperishable food items you no longer wish to keep in your home, including cereal, rice, pasta, tomato products, peanut butter, and jelly. For more information, please contact Donna Broecker at dbroecker@jfedsnj.org or 856-818-3604.
If your family is in need of food assistance as Pesach approaches, please reach out to JFCS at 856-424-1333 or faphelp@jfedsnj.org.
With the encouraging news of dropping numbers of Covid cases in our area, we are taking small steps to relax our masking requirements. If numbers continue to fall, we hope to further relax these masking requirements.
· The 9AM Main Sanctuary Minyan, as well as the other minyanim throughout Shabbos and the course of the week will be “mask optional”. · For the time being, the 8 AM Shabbos Minyan will remain “fully masked” for all participants. · Based on the recent lifting of the State Mandate and following the decisions of local schools, children’s groups will now be “mask optional”.
We will continue to seek guidance from the CDC, the NJ Department of Health, and the rabbinic and medical leadership of the OU to help keep our synagogue safe and we expect that our policies and recommendations may change as the pandemic continues to unfold. Thank you all for helping to keep our synagogue and our community safe.
It is time to get moving toward that 50 mile goal! Start the new year off right by adding some exercise to your week. Yes it's cold out, so bundle up and embrace the crisp air ~ you won't regret it and your body will thank you for it! Here are log sheets to record your progress. Feel free to print and stick on your fridge. If you have any questions, email Hildy at hberlin610@gmail.com
Just go to smile.amazon.com, search for Congregation Sons of Israel Synagogue. Every qualifying purchase will send 0.5% of the total to our Shul. Over time, this will add up.
https://www.kosherwine.com/?rfsn=5940204.12e2a2 SOI members and affiliates can click the link to go to the JCommerce websites and purchase their products. You can support SOI through the commission we earn.
Shoprite Scrip Now Available SOI Office Monday-Friday 10-2 Yaeli Sokolic at ycsgraphix@gmail.com Flo Shulman at florence.shulman@gmail.com
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 The office will be open from 10-2 Monday to Friday
