18-25 Saddle River Road    Fair Lawn, New Jersey 07410    201-797-0502

www.ahavatachim.org

Uri Goldstein, Rabbi

Arnie Spier, President

 

Parshat Vaera

January 5, 2008

 

 

Please Do Not Speak During The Davening

 

Please be respectful. Do not enter or leave

the shul sanctuary during the d’var torah.

 

Things To Know This Shabbat

 

v      Kiddush this Shabbat is being sponsored by Mr. And Mrs. Marty & Elayne Riskin in honor of their son Greg’s 40^th birthday.

 

v      Seuda Shlishit is being sponsored by the Wigod family and Ron Sokoloff in memory of the Yahrzeit of the parents of Cheryl and Ron Sokoloff.  Benjamin Sokoloff, Baruch Chaim ben Zevulun Aryeh and Leah Sokoloff, Leah bas Zev.

 

v      Sisterhood Book Club Meeting, 3:00 pm at the Agress home

 

v      The Journal Committee is proud to announce that to commemorate our 30^th Anniversary the shul will be honoring our Founding Members: Hilda a”h & Richard Aarenau, Edith & Paul Cooper, Margo & Norman Greenstein, Irene & Howie Komet, Eita & Richard Latkin, Hanna & Jacob a”h Lewinson, Esther & Nathan a”h Miller, Sandy & Jay Rothschild and Sarah & Henry Stanger, at our annual Journal Dinner on Saturday March 8, 2008.  Please solicit ads and submit your vendor and personal ads as soon as possible.

 

v      If you need to add/revise/delete your birthday/anniversary listings, please check the notice in the mail and notify Robyn at rjsafier@optonline.net as soon as is possible. 

 

v      Volunteers are needed to help update our web site with new designs and content.  If you can assist Leslie Gabor please contact him. 

 

v      Please keep Gil Adler's safety in the Israeli army in mind when you light your Shabbat candles.

 

v      Please daven for the soldiers: Gilad (ben Aviva) Shalit, Ehud (ben Malka) Goldwasser and Eldad (ben Tova) Regev.

 

v      The shul has Siddurim & Machzorim ($36) and Chumashim ($54) available to be donated.  Please contact Eli Greenbaum for details

 

v      If you know anyone who could use a visit or assistance from the Bikkur Cholim/Chesed Committee please contact the Rabbi or Heidi Oster.

 

Kiddush/Seuda Shlishit

 

v      Please remember that no food or drinks are permitted in the classrooms or Beit Midrash.

 

v      An anonymous sponsor has stepped forward and has offered to sponsor one Kiddush a month provided the other 3 Kiddushim in the month are sponsored.  Please don’t let us lose this generous opportunity. Thank you to our anonymous sponsor.

 

v      If you would like to sponsor a Kiddush, contact Gail Plotnick. If you would like to sponsor a Seuda Shlishit, please speak to Barry Weinraub.

 

v      Kiddush setup this week are the following families: Plotnick, Racenstein, Reichardt

 

v      Next week’s kiddush setup are the following families: Rein, Riskin, Safier

 

v      Kiddush cleanup for the month of January are the following families: Komet, Kor, Kustanowitz, Kwestel, Lang, Latkin, Levine, Lewis, Lewissohn, and Matkowsky.

 

Weekday Davening Schedule

PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND MINYANIM.

 

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday Rosh Chodesh	Wednesday	Thursday
Shacharit	8:15 am	6:15 am	6:00 am	6:25 am	6:15 am
Mincha/Ma’ariv	4:25 pm	8:00 pm	8:00 pm	8:00 pm	8:00 pm

 

 

This Week at Ahavat Achim

Friday, January 11         Oneg Shabbat at 7:30pm at the Sonnenblick home, Topic to be discussed: "Slip-Sliding Away: Dealing with Snow and Ice on Shabbat"

 

Adult Education at Ahavat Achim

PIRKEI AVOT Join Rabbi Goldstein on Monday mornings at 9:15 am for a class on Pirkei Avot.

 

GEMARAH SHIUR Join Rabbi Goldstein every Shabbat afternoon approximately one hour before Mincha.

 

PARSHA CLASS A weekly Parsha class with the Rabbi takes place every Tuesday evening at 8:30 pm.

 

CHUMASH CLASS Jerry Halpern gives a shiur every Shabbat morning from 8:00 – 8:45 am.  Men and women are invited to attend. We are studying Toldos.

 

A Glimpse Into Our Future

Sunday, January 13       Annual Bagels & Baseball with Murray Chass, 9:30 am at the Shul

Monday, January 14       Shul Board Meeting, after Ma’ariv at the Shul

Shabbat, January 19      Aufruf of Josh Steinberg

Saturday, Feb 9             Men’s Club presents Improvodoxication: Jewish Improv You Can’t Resist, 8:00 pm at the shul

Monday, Feb 11 Shul Board Meeting, after Ma’ariv at the Shul

Fri-Shabbat, Feb 15-16   Scholar in Residence, Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf, Professor at Bar Ilan University

Shabbat, Feb 16            Aufruf of Steven Kirschenbaum

Friday, March 7             Oneg Shabbat, seeking a home volunteer

Saturday, March 8         Annual Shul Dinner, honoring our Shul’s founding families

Fri-Shabbat, Mar 14-15   Yachad Shabbaton at the Shul

 

Gita Cooperwasser Youth Program

The Gita Cooperwasser Youth Program appreciates your ideas and suggestions.  The committee is focusing on creating a meaningful Shabbos in the Shul experiences for our kids.  Any thoughts how to accomplish this - programming ideas, references material, good books to learn from, or books to read the kids, meaningful experiences to pass on to the children of the shul - are more than welcome. Please contact someone on the committee: Ilana Schwitzer at ilanatree@aol.com, Renee Freund, Eli Greenbaum, Sara Bernstein, Arnie Spier and/or the Rabbi. 

PRE-K MINYAN We are proud to announce that have a new Junior Congregation for those children in 2^nd grade through pre-K to be led by Julie Goldstein.  Younger children are welcome when accompanied by a parent.

JUNIOR CONGREGATION The new Junior Congregation for boys in grades 3-6 takes place in the Beit Midrash at 10:15am led by Stu Oppenheim and some of our older boys.

 

Tzeitchem L’Shalom/Boachem B’Shalom

Please email rjsafier@optonline.net the name(s) of those members either going to, or returning from, Israel so they can be included in the weekly bulletin.

 

Tehillim List

Please say Tehillim for the following people: Ariel Ben Vera (Ariel Sharon), Yaakov ben Sarah (Paul Sanemeterio), Menachem Manis ben Sarah Raizel, Yehudah Shlomo ben Yehudis Shosha, and Taibi Yehudit bat Tama Gossya.

 

If you would like to add/delete a name from this list, please contact rjsafier@optonline.net

 

Sisterhood and Men’s Club

BOOK CLUB The Sisterhood Book Club meeting will take place on this Saturday, January 5, 2007 at 3:00 PM at the home of Amy Agress. Meri Bodoff will be reviewing the book In My Brother’s Image by Eugeny L. Pogany.  "Primarily an account of the author's Hungarian grandparents between 1910 and 1945, this Holocaust survivors' story brings the profound emotional effects of the trauma to life. Although from secular Jewish families, they converted to Roman Catholicism and raised their three children in that faith. Nevertheless, they were all regarded by their neighbors as Jews during the 1930s and 1940s and were treated accordingly. The couple's twin sons had very different experiences of the Holocaust. One, who had been ordained a priest, was sheltered in a southern Italian friary during the war and always refused to believe that the leaders of his Church could have failed to combat the horror. The other (the author's father) had remained in Hungary and saw most of his family transported to concentration camps; he later turned to secular Judaism. Both brothers immigrated to America, but their different experiences of the Holocaust drove a permanent wedge between them. This is also the story of the author's attempts to learn about his family, since much was not discussed when he was a child. Based primarily on interviews and conversations, this moving tale of faith and acceptance belongs in most general collections." Library Journal.  All are welcome! For further information please contact DonnaJGree@aol.com

 

BAGELS AND BASEBALL BREAKFAST Men’s Club is sponsoring “Bagels and Baseball” Breakfast with Baseball Hall of Fame Sports Writer MURRAY CHASS (of the New York Times).  This year’s Bagels and Baseball with Murray Chass will again be an extra special one, as Murray (a long-time Ahavat Achim member) will be hosting our Men's Club’s annual roundtable hot stove discussion. In addition to hearing hot stove insights from Murray, the Men's Club also will be raffling off both graded and ungraded Rookie cards, regular baseball cards of major stars (past and present), autographed baseball cards from the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and other major baseball players including some Hall of Famers (no card of Murray yet, but we are still trying).  Raffle cards or the Auction may include: Mickey Mantle – Yogi Berra - Whitey Ford - Phil Rizzuto – Billy Martin - Don Mattingly – Mel Stottlemyre - Derek Jeter – Alex Rodriguez – Joba Chamberlain - David Wright - Jose Reyes – Carlos Beltran - Sandy Koufax - Duke Snider - Johnny Bench - Randy Johnson – Ichiro – Ryan Howard and much, much more.  The more raffle tickets you buy, the better chance you have to win (and volume discounts will be available for raffle ticket acquisitions).  (Note: autographs are certified by either Major League Baseball (MLB), PSA or BVG). Sunday, January 13, 2008 at Congregation Ahavat Achim at 9:30 A.M. (FYI, Shacharit begins at 8:15 A.M.) Cost:  $10 per person/$18 per family (Raffle Tickets Extra!) Please RSVP to Steve Winchester, swinchman@aol.com or 201-796-1766

 

IMPROVODOXICATION – JEWISH IMPROV YOU CAN’T RESIST – Improvodox, New York City’s Jewish Longform Improv Team is coming to Ahavat Achim on Saturday, Feb 9 at 8:00 pm at the shul.  A Shomer Shabbat comedy troupe that explores both Jewish and secular themes in the famed tradition of Chicago-style longform comedy improvisation (i.e. Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade.)  A Men’s Club 30^th Anniversary celebration.  Admission fee: $18/members $23/Non-members (sponsors are welcome.)  For more information: Mensclub@ahavatachim.org.

 

Please contact Steve Winchester at swinchman@aol.com to join the Men’s Club.  To join Sisterhood, please contact Gail Plotnick or Andrea Riskin at ajriskin@aol.com.

 

Ahavat Achim Misc.

RABBI GOLDSTEIN’S OFFICE HOURS Although Rabbi Goldstein is always available to the membership; he will be maintaining office hours in the shul every Wednesday evening from 8:30 pm to 10:00 pm. Those wishing to make an appointment to speak to him during this time may contact him in advance either via e-mail rabbi@ahavatachim.org or by phone 201-794-3927.

 

BECOME A MEMBER OF AHAVAT ACHIM If you are not yet a member of Congregation Ahavat Achim; please speak with Eli Greenbaum (796-7081) or email eligreenbaum@yahoo.com for details on membership.

 

NOTICE TO THOSE RECEIVING ALIYOT At the conclusion of your Aliyah, you are asked whether you would like to make an optional Mishebayrach for your family.  As part of that additional Mishebayrach, you pledge to give Tzedakah in any amount of your choosing in behalf of those for whom you have asked Hashem's blessing.  Contributions to the shul can be made on-line via Paypal to treasurer@ahavatachim.org, or via MasterCard, Visa or check by sending the information to Aryeh Brenenson and indicating on the note or check "Aliyah Donation."  Thank you for your generosity and continued support of Ahavat Achim.

 

TEFILLIN AND SHOES FOR NEEDY KIDS IN ISRAEL There are Bar Mitzvah boys in Israel whose families don't have the resources to purchase a pair of tefillin. Many go to orthodox yeshivas. Without your help they will have the ability to fulfill an important mitzvah that is the obligation of every Jewish man. There are thousands of boys and girls in Israel who have never had a new pair of shoes. The hand-me-downs don't fit and/or are in disrepair. Wearing these poorly fit shoes can cause foot injuries. A pair of tefillin costs $160. A pair of shoes costs $36 or 3 for $100. It is our intention to donate tefillin through the scholarship fund led by Rabbi's Rivlin and our own Rabbi Yasgur. We will purchase shoes for girls at the Bayit Lepleitot Orphans Home, and for boys and girls through Mesamche Lev. Through these two organizations, 50,000 pairs of children’s shoes were given to indigent children in 2006. So far thirteen member families have donated seven pairs of tefillin and twenty-three pairs of shoes. More are needed. Please send your generous donations made payable to Cheryl Wigod z"l Cong. Ahavat Achim Tzedakah fund to Jack Bickel at 36-02 Hale Place Fair Lawn, New Jersey 07410.

 

BAR/BAT MITZVAH The Fair Lawn Jewish Community Council gives a book as a present to all Bat and Bar Mitzvah children in each Shul.  If your child is going to be a Bar or Bat Mitzvah (or if they were recently a Bar or Bat Mitzvah), please contact Shirley Vann to receive the book. 

 

BOOK THE DAVID SCHWITZER SOCIAL HALL FOR A SHUL OR PERSONAL EVENT All bookings must be cleared through our calendar person, Steve Winchester. Please contact him at 796-1766 or swinchman@aol.com.

 

Easy Ways To Support Your Shul

SCRIP is available from Sisterhood for Food Showcase.  To purchase, please speak with Shelly Winchester at 796-1766.  Scrip is also available from the Men’s Club for Pathmark and Shop Rite.  To purchase, please speak with David Garfunkel at 791-1205.  You can pay for Scrip via Paypal to Treasurer@ahavatachim.org or MasterCard or Visa, by giving that information to Aryeh Brenenson. 

 

YAHRZEIT PLAQUES Memorialize a loved one and receive written notice of your upcoming yahrzeit every year. In addition, your loved one’s name will be mentioned during the public yizkor we recite on Yom Kippur.  Plaques are $250 for members and $350 for non-members.  For more information, contact Sophie Infield at 791-5518.

 

MITZVAH CARDS

Contact Eita Latkin at 791-8940 or via email at parentsof3@aol.com.   Mitzvah cards sent through Eita cost $3 and those sent to shul members will be acknowledged in the shul bulletin.   Mitzvah cards can also be ordered in bulk.  Ten cards will be sent to your home for $25.  These cards (which you send out yourself) cannot be acknowledged in the bulletin.

 

To:        Mimi Weinraub in memory of your mother

From:    The Racenstein, Wigod, Sokoloff, Kustanowitz, Sonnenblick, N. Levine, Komet, Rein, Vann, Smedresman, Heller, Eis, Baron, Agress, G. Greenberg and Safier Families

And We Remember…  During Tevet

 

Name	Hebrew Date	Shul Member	Relationship
Sylvia Eis	4	Jacob Eis	Mother
Blima Jablon	8	The Schwitzer Family	Grandmother
Benjamin H. Sokoloff	12	Seymour Wigod	Father in Law
Benjamin H Sokoloff	12	Ron Sokoloff	Father
Samuel Eis	12	Jacob Eis	Father
Lester Plotnick	13	Steve Plotnick	Father
Ida Freilich	15	Eita Latkin	Mother
Leah Gershon	15	Seymour Strausberg	Mother in Law
Anna Strausberg	16	Seymour Strausberg	Mother