The Newslink is sponsored by Marlene Goldhagen in memory of her husband, Bruce Goldhagen
Announcements & Upcoming Events
Kiddush is sponsored this week in honor of friendship and the extra mile(s!), literally and figuratively, community members will go for each other.
Shabbat Morning Mishna: Join Dr. Eric Klein during the Haftarah and Rabbi's Drasha. Open to all 6th-8th graders. Saturday, September 10 10:30am-11:00am
Kickoff SNIF: Fun activities with your high school Madrichim for grades 1-8 Saturday, September 10 at 6:00pm
Q & A with Yoetzet Stacey Goldman for Women: Saturday, September 10, 9:00-10:30pm at the home of Lea Sadiky, 27 Liberty Lane To submit questions anonymouslyclick here Chodesh Elul Book Club: We will be reviewing and going through the exercises in the book Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey - Monday, September 12 8:30pm-9:30pm
Semichas Chaver Program with Rabbi Davies: Wednesdays after Maariv, Next session Wednesday, September 14.
Baking Party: Wednesday, September 14 7:00pm-10:00pm
Men's Bonfire: Thursday, September 15 8:30-10:00pm at the Daniels, 12 Jade Lane
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 excerpt from an article by Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman entitled ‘The Ben Franklin Effect’, which speaks to appreciating both the positive and challenging situations we face in life. In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin tells of a rival legislator with whom he was having trouble getting along. Franklin devised what may seem as a counterintuitive plan to win him over. Knowing that this rival had a rare book in his library, Franklin sent him a message requesting that the legislator lend him the book for a few days. Franklin returned the book with a thank you note a week later. Subsequently, the man who up to this point never spoke to Franklin, treated him with great civility and they kindled a friendship for the rest of their lives.
The lesson from this story became known in the psychological literature as the Ben Franklin Effect. First studied in the 1960’s by Jon Jecker and David Landry, the Ben Franklin effect demonstrates that a benefactor who does a favor for another person is likely to increase positive feelings towards the person he is benefiting, even if the benefactor originally did not like the other person. [...]
If we pay close attention to the laws Moses repeats in Deuteronomy, we will notice discrepancies between the formulation in Deuteronomy and previous presentations. In this week's Torah portion the law regarding helping a fallen animal on the road states, “If you see your fellow’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it - you must help him raise it” (Deut 22:4). Yet in Parshat Mishpatim the law reads as follows: “When you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him” (Exodus 23:5). While there is more than one difference between the verses, the most glaring one that the commentators address is the switch from the animal belonging to one’s enemy (“sona’acha”) to belonging to one’s fellow (“achica”). Why the switch from enemy to friend? [...]
Rabbeinu Bechaye suggests [an] answer to the switch from enemy to friend. He writes that the Torah is hinting to a strategy as to how to transform someone from an enemy to a friend. If there is someone that you don’t like, and you go out of your way to help him, you will come to like him. By doing him a favor, you will become his friend. In other words, the switch of the words in the verses is hinting to the Ben Franklin effect.
If we would like to decrease the amount of strife and hatred in our lives, we would do well to internalize these messages. First, realize that there are limited acceptable justifications for hating someone. Second, if we do have strong negative feelings towards other people, consider doing them a favor. By acting kindly towards them, you can alter your own perceptions and enhance the relationship, transforming them from enemy to friend.
What Do You Love To Do? Congregation Sons of Israel thrives on the efforts put forth by our volunteers. We would love to connect you with committees that can use your help in ways that utilize your unique skills, talents, and interests. Click here to let us know what you love to do so you can get involved!
Volunteer opportunities to help with
our Rosh Hashana honey project! We are looking for: 1- One person to coordinate the honey deliveries 2- Honey delivery drivers
We are pleased to let the congregation know of a new family moving into the community over the summer. This family relies on the use of a service dog and you might see the dog accompany the family at shul. Service dogs help perform specific tasks for individuals with disabilities and they are well trained.
Please keep in mind these important best practices: - Do not feed/pet/distract the dog while the dog is in his harness. Ignoring the dog altogether is best. - Do not grab the harness in an attempt to guide. This is alarming for the handler. - Talk to your kids about the work service dogs do and prep kids to not feed/pet/distract the dog.
Preparing yourselves and your family to encounter a service dog in shul will help ease this family's transition into the community. Contact Chani Wiesman with any questions at chaniwiesman@gmail.com.
Do you want to join our staff of Group Leaders? Being a Group Leader is a great opportunity to add meaning to your Shabbat mornings, enhance the experiences of our cutest and youngest shul-goers, as well as foster useful life skills such as teamwork, leadership and board game strategy. 8th-12th graders are eligible for paid positions and younger middle schoolers can volunteer to help support our younger age groups. Please let Ora Davies know if you are interested by emailing oradavies@gmail.com.
Important Membership Dues Reminder As the High Holidays draw near, we are so glad that so many of our members have already renewed their SOI membership dues for this year! If you have not yet done so, please take a moment to log into your ShulCloud account on www.soicherryhill.organd pay your membership dues for the 22-23 year. You can either pay in full, send a partial payment or set up a payment plan. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your account, please contact the Financial Secretaries Yaeli Sokolic ( financialsecretary@soicherryhill.org / 551-206-7385) or Michael Partnow (mrpmjp@aol.com/ 609-760-9083).
Thank you!
Welcome to new members Yaacov Linder & Sari Gindoff-Linder and Jeremy Heyman & Yael Taler
Mazel Tov to the Meles family on the upcoming Seudat Hodah for Rafi and for his returning to school. The family thanks all those individuals who assisted in a variety of ways over the last year as Rafi underwent a life saving bone marrow transplant to correct a life threatening genetic disease.
Mazel tov to Yaffa & Jack Fuchs on the Bar Mitzvah of their grandson, Lev Simcha, last week in Riverdale.
Thank you to Devora Schpektor, Suzie Mindel, Donna Moskowitz, Sabra Weinberg, Liana Weinberg, Flo Shulman, Sofia Miltz, Lyla Lubin & Itay Lubin for helping with kiddush last week.
Thank you to Debbie Fineberg (doors and main minyan), Ken Panitch (main minyan), Adam Shulman (cameras), Harvey Chaitoff (cameras), Jeff Liss (cameras), Andy Rauer (cameras), Chemmie Sokolic (cameras), Mike from OPS and Sam Tilonsky
Front Door Update
The new front doors are tentatively scheduled to arrive at our vendor by the end of September. This means installation should be in early October. The most recent issues are procurement of the bullet-resistant glass and the choice of door pulls. The bullet-resistant glass is a manufacturing/supply chain problem which we have no control over. The original cup pull design for the doors created a weak point in the ballistic protection of the doors and therefore needed to be changed. Needless to say, we are working closely with our vendor to solve the door pull design issue and have the new doors installed as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience and we will keep everyone updated as this project proceeds to completion.
Bikur Cholim along with Boscov's department store is sponsoring, "Friends helping Friends" on October 19,2022 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Amazingly you will get a 25% discount on most items in the store. All you have to do is donate $5.00 to SOI's Bikur Cholim organization and you will get your discount shopping pass. You then present it when checking out your purchase and receive your discount price. So get your discount shopping pass now!!! Call the shul office or Janet Miller at 856 667-0860 to receive you pass.
New Fiscal Year - Locker Rental Renewals - New Rentals Available
Mr. Finkelstein L'Chaim Bottle Club
The Bottle Club is seeking to replenish its cart for the upcoming year. Please consider donating a bottle of your favorite alcoholic beverage or making a donation at www.soicherryhill.org/sponsor to sponsor a bottle to be served at kiddush. Contact Donna Moskowitz for more information at donnamoskowitz1@gmail.com.
Florence Axelrod – Fruma bas Sarah Gavriel Yehuda ben Chaya 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 Chayim Gedalya haLevi ben Henya Joan Solomon Weinberg - Yehudit Sarah bat Esther Yisroel Chanan ben Riva Alta
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
Recently, a local medical student contacted our congregation with an opportunity to participate in a short survey looking at religion and spirituality in medical care and we are pleased to be a source of support. You will find a description of her project and information on how to participate at this link: Link: https://rowan.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abIW62WUtVm0Isu
Cherry Hill's very own Shlomo Levy is a fifth-year psychology doctoral student at Widener University. He is conducting a survey as part of his dissertation. Click the link below to participate in the survey: https://widener.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5nhvMRNyMX7zEvc If you have any questions or concerns about this study, you may contact Shlomo at 347-545-0631 or slevy@widener.edu.
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We are excited to inform you that the construction to the front entrance of the building has begun!
Since the front entrance will be inaccessible during the construction, please see below on how to get into the building:
Shabbat Minyanim: Please enter through the back sukkah doors. Just as we usually have security volunteers by the front door, there will be a volunteer by these doors as well. There is some ongoing construction around the building including near the Politz Classrooms. Please remind your children of all ages to stay away from construction and not cross any barriers.
Daily Minyanim: Please come as timely as you can. The side doors from the main sanctuary will be open for some time to let everyone in with a point person guarding and overseeing the area. The door will be closed when davening begins. Those who are running late may text the point-person, Ken Panitch at 856-906-2545 and he will let you in when you arrive.
Office Visitation Entering the building outside of minyan times will be through the back sukkah doors. We encourage you to communicate with Jean via email and phone as much as possible during this time. We understand that for some, email is not an efficient option and some issues are easier to deal with in person visitation. Please email or call Jean to make an appointment prior to coming to the office. When you arrive, please call her so she knows to let you inside.
Thank you for your patience while we beautify our campus.
Rabbi Heshy Chaitoff Ilana Weiss SOI Co-Presidents
COVID UPDATES FOR THIS SHABBAT Due to the increased number of cases nationwide and specifically in our community, mask wearing is highly recommended inside but not mandatory. Vaccination, including booster immunizations, are highly recommended. Snack items served at kiddush will no longer be individually packaged. Please be courteous to others and make use of the serving utensils provided.
Out of concern for fellow shul attendees, if you are feeling sick, we ask that you please refrain from attending. Thank you for your cooperation.
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
All submissions for the Newslink are due by noon on Wednesday
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 closed Monday for Labor Day and reopen Tuesday - Friday 10am-2pm Rabbi Davies general office hours are Monday, Wednesday-Friday 10am-5pm
Congregation Sons of Israel 720 Cooper Landing Road Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
