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Rosh Chodesh Elul 2023

Begins on

Wednesday, August 16, 2023


Elul, the month before Rosh Hashanah, is traditionally a time of introspection and taking stock of where we have missed the mark.


Known in Hebrew as cheshbon hanefesh, an accounting of the soul, our tradition invites us to return from these reflections with an open heart so that we may begin the year as our best, most essential self – a more connected friend, a generous partner, a kinder neighbor, an engaged member of our sacred community. In this way, we can truly transform our world from the inside out.


It is customary to read Psalm 27 each day from the beginning of Elul through Hoshana Rabbah, which is the last day of Sukkot. 

Jewish Quote of the Week

“The great journey of transformation begins with the acknowledgment that we need to make it. It is not something we are undertaking for amusement, nor even for the sake of convention; rather, it is a spiritual necessity.”

- Rabbi Alan Lew

FJMC and ADL participate in the

60th Anniversary of the March on Washington Saturday, August 26, 2023

וְיִגַּ֥ל כַּמַּ֖יִם מִשְׁפָּ֑ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה כְּנַ֥חַל אֵיתָֽן


Let justice well up like water,

Righteousness like an unfailing stream.

(Amos 5:24)

Shalom Haverim (Brothers),


We are informing you of the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs (FJMC) participation in a momentous occasion. FJMC has accepted the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) invitation to participate in the 60th Anniversary of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington on Saturday, August 26, 2023. You can find information and registration details by clicking here.


The FJMC has a strong and friendly connection with the ADL, and we stand firm in taking action based on our shared Jewish values. Our Inclusion Initiative is how we honor God's creation and command. Walking in this commemorative march is one way to demonstrate those values, practice anti-racism, and stand up to antisemitism. 


A close study of Jewish-American history would remind us of our people's extensive relationship with Dr. King and the civil rights movement. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Theologian, and Professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, was another friend of Dr. King. Heschel joined King in numerous speeches and protests. At one point, he called King "the voice of God in our time." After walking with King and other religious leaders in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March for voting rights, Heschel described the trek as spiritually moving, like he was "praying with his legs."


Our history as people who were freed from slavery in Egypt obligates us to stand with those who still find themselves oppressed by racism and bigotry. When God created humanity, we were made as everyone's neighbor with a collective responsibility to preserve each person's dignity and integrity. 


What you can do:

We ask you to consider attending because, as Jews, we believe everyone is entitled to respect and dignity. We realize the event is on Shabbat and do not suggest anyone violate their usual ritual practices. However, If you can attend, please inform your Club President, who should notify your Regional President. If there is enough participation, the club or region might be able to arrange a bus or otherwise organize the participants. FJMC can assist with this.


While attending, please wear an FJMC shirt. If you don't have one, please ask your Club President to contact your Regional President, who will see that you get one. Since this will be such a large gathering, we know it will be impossible to have a central meeting point, but if you see other FJMC brethren, please march with them. The sight of many FJMC members together will be a strong statement of our values and commitment to protecting the rights of everyone.


Whether or not you can attend, please ask your congregation to commemorate this historical event with a Shabbat service and prayers. A Hearing Men’s Voices/Inclusion program with speakers from traditionally marginalized groups can also be a way to continue the work of the March on Washington. Men's Clubs can help to coordinate these events in their synagogues.


While we were invited by the ADL, there are other organizations involved. We do not know who the speakers will be, although we have been assured that there will be no anti-Israel or anti-Zionist rhetoric. You're encouraged to do your own research. Find out more facts (not opinions) about the event.


In his "I Have a Dream Speech," Dr. King preached that one of the main goals of his movement was to "transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood." I look forward to standing with you as individuals, clubs, and a community in this sacred endeavor. 


In Brotherhood

Alan Budman

FJMC International President, 2023 - 2025

ADL New York/New Jersey Walk Against Hate Sunday, August 20, 2023

TAKE A STEP FOR GOOD


This August, we're on the move to fight hate in our community!


Join us back at the Parade Ground in Van Cortlandt Park to move as a community toward a future without antisemitism, racism and hate.  


Let's get moving, New York/New Jersey! 


Rain or shine, we will come together at

the Parade Ground in Van Cortlandt Park

5770 Broadway, Bronx, New York


Click here to register! There is no fee to register!

 

9am registration and check-in options

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Enjoy Community Expo

10:00 AM: Opening Remarks & Kickoff 

10:30 AM: Walk Against Hate 

1:00 PM: Event Concludes

Men's Health & Sports

Over time, eating lots of foods high in saturated fats — like cheeseburgers — can increase your risk of heart disease.

6 Foods Every Man Over 50 Should Avoid Eating — and Why


(Everyday Health) Nutrition experts hesitate to call any food “forbidden,” reasoning that it’s okay to eat all foods in moderation, with an occasional “treat” of less-than-healthy fare. Still, some foods do merit a spot on the “worst foods for your health” list for men over 50. Why that age 50 cutoff? Because, as the Cleveland Clinic explains, one way to cut the risk of medical conditions that are more common in older men, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, is to cut back on foods high in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars... 


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Sylvan Adams at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland, Aug. 4, 2023. (SWpix)

Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams wins cycling world championship in Scotland


(JTA) — Israeli-Canadian billionaire and philanthropist Sylvan Adams, a key figure in the development of Israeli competitive cycling, won a world championship of his own in the sport’s 65-69 age group. At the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland, Adams, who owns the Israel-Premier Tech Cycling Team, finished first in the Masters 65-69 age group on Friday. Then on Monday, Adams, who turns 65 in November, also finished first in his age bracket in the championship’s individual time trial...


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Around the Jewish World

Hadar students read a piece of text together. (Courtesy of Hadar)

Growing egalitarian yeshiva Hadar Institute will relocate to larger Upper West Side space


(New York Jewish Week) — The Hadar Institute is moving on up — to a recently renovated synagogue where the egalitarian yeshiva says it can continue to grow. Since 2007, the Jewish educational institution has run many of its programs out of West End Synagogue, a Reconstructionist congregation at 69th Street and Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side. But starting this fall, Hadar will move 24 blocks uptown to become the long-term tenant of Congregation Shaare Zedek.


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Campers at Ramah Ukraine greet each other after returning to camp for the first session in the country during wartime. (Courtesy Midreshet Schechter)

Camp Ramah returns to Ukraine after a war-induced exile — now with a bomb shelter


(JTA) — Ramah Yachad, a Ukrainian Jewish summer camp, celebrated its 30th anniversary last year in exile, having relocated to Romania following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that February. This year, the camp is back in its longtime home in the Chernivtsi region of western Ukraine — a move that camp leaders said was both pragmatic and symbolic...


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Rabbi Elisheva Salamo joins the community where the worst antisemitic massacre in British history took place in 1290 with 150 Jews murdered.

British city of York, site of a medieval pogrom, gets its first Rabbi in 800 years


(New York Jewish Week) — For the first time in 800 years, the British city of York, whose Jewish population was decimated in a medieval pogrom, will be home to a rabbi. Rabbi Elisheva Salamo arrived in York from California last week after decades of pulpit work in the United States, Switzerland and South Africa. She will take a part-time pulpit at the York Liberal Jewish Community, which is affiliated with a denomination akin to the American Reform movement. The congregation was founded in 2014 and now has about 100 members...


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Important Read

Camp offers clergy and lay leaders a chance to interact with their congregations in fun, authentic ways that are hard to recreate elsewhere.

Getting off the bimah and into the community


(eJewishPhilanthropy) “I’ve never played roofball with a rabbi.” These were the words that a 9-year-old camper said to me as we threw a ball onto the roof of one of the bunks at the Union for Reform Judaism’s Crane Lake Camp. For the uninitiated (which I was until recently), roofball is a game that involves throwing a soccer-type ball onto a slanted roof and then jumping to catch it and throw it back up – it’s a camp favorite. The camper made his comment with a mix of surprise and fascination that a rabbi would join in playing this game with them. It was a similar reaction to the one I received from several campers when I went flying down one of the inflatables on the lake, landing a little more quickly in the water than I had expected...


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Affinity Groups & Webinars

FJMC Affinity Groups & Webinars are open to all.

Join us for Yiddish Lite!

Beginner's Yiddish Group

Alternate Tuesday Evenings

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

at 8pm ET

Hosted by Al Davis


Click here to register!

Join us for Pride & Prejudice!

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

8-9pm ET | 7-8pm CT | 5-6pm PT

Affinity Group Leader: Stephe Sturman


Accommodating Our Marginalized Communities with Jonathan Brody,

Johnny Parker & Michael Pucci.


Click here to register!

Join us for Torah Talks!

Thursday, August 17, 2023

7:30pm ET | 6:30pm CT | 4:30pm PT

With Norm Kurtz and Benny Sommerfeld


Click here to register!

Join us for Yiddish Alive!

Advanced Yiddish Group

Monday, August 21, 2023

at 8pm ET

Hosted by Jeffrey Newton, Joe Rotstein, Esther Scheer and Barry Wagner


Click here to register!

Upcoming Events

to the Editor


If you have an article of interest, a special event happening at your Men's Club or other news for the New York Metro Region newsletter, please forward them to Lisa Pollack at assistant@fjmc.org

Special Events

Around the Region

Forest Hills JC

106-06 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills, NY 11375

Phone: (718) 263-7000

www.fhjc.org


Party Like It's 1923



Monday, August 14, 2023 at 6PM

at the West Side Tennis Club

located at 1 Tennis Place, Forest Hills, NY


Cost $95 per person.

Click here to register.

Midway JC

330 South Oyster Bay Road, Syosset NY 11791

Phone: 718-224-0404

www.mjc.org

Midway Jewish Center Men's Club

2023 Annual Golf Outing


Monday, August 14, 2023

12:00 PM - Registration and Lunch from Regal Deli

1:15 PM - Shot Gun Start

6:30 PM - Kosher BBQ Dinner


Located at

Glen Cove Golf Club

109 Lattingtown Road

Glen Cove, NY 11542


Click here for further information.


For sponsorship options and pricing, please contact: midwayjcmensclub@gmail.com

Congregation L'Dor V'Dor

49-10 Little Neck Pkwy, Little Neck, NY 11362

Phone: 718-224-0404

www.olnjc.org


Please join us for

Shabbat Morning Services

followed by a special Gala Kiddush

Honoring

Cantor Joshua Shron


Saturday, August 19, 2023


Register here to let us know you will be attending.

Dix Hills Jewish Center

555 Vanderbilt Parkway, Dix Hills, NY 11746

www.dhjc.org

631.499.6644


Shabbat on the Shore


August 25, 2023

5:30pm - 6:30pm

Temple Israel of Great Neck

108 Old Mill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023

www.tign.org

(516) 482-7800

Slow Pitch Co-ed Softball Game


Sunday, August 20, 2023

10:30am - 1:30pm


This is a great opportunity for all skill levels to come out and have some fun playing softball while engaging with other congregants.


Register by Friday, August 18th!


If you have any questions, please reach out to:

Steve Spitzer at Steven.r.Spitzer@gmail.com.

Forest Hills JC

106-06 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills, NY 11375

Phone: (718) 263-7000

www.fhjc.org


Join FHJC Men's Club

Mets Game and Salute to Israel


Seattle Mariners vs New York Mets


National Anthem sung by

Shireinu Choir of Long Island

(80 person choir)


Tickets Cost $36/each.

Contact: Gary Weil

geedubs1953@gmail.com

Dix Hills Jewish Center

555 Vanderbilt Parkway, Dix Hills, NY 11746

www.dhjc.org

631.499.6644


DHJC 10th Annual Chai-Athlon


September 10, 2023


Registration at 9:30am

Event starts at 10am


Click here to register and for further info!

Historical New York

One fundamental part of the restaurant’s DNA didn’t make the move: its founder, Abe Lebewohl. He was robbed and killed on his way to the bank on March 4, 1996, in a crime that transfixed New York City and has yet to be solved.

Abe Lebewohl Park honors murdered 2nd Ave Deli founder and East Village ‘mensch’


(JTA) — “I need two matzah ball soups!” a deli clerk yells into the microphone during the lunch rush at 2nd Ave Deli — which, since 2006, is no longer located on Second Avenue but on East 33rd Street between Lexington and Third Avenue. While the original deli building is now a bank, the Midtown location boasts the same old-school vibe: The menu is packed with Ashkenazi treats such as knishes, stuffed cabbage and, of course, pastrami; the gregarious waiters are full of personality; the logo’s Hebraic-styled lettering remains unchanged.


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Jewish Arts & Culture

The corner of West 57th Street and Seventh Avenue was co-named Isaac Stern Place in 2003, in honor of the man who saved Carnegie Hall from destruction and then ran its operations for more than 40 years. (Photos by Steve J. Sherman, Chris Lee and Leah Breakstone; design by Grace Yagel)

The Jewish violinist who saved Carnegie Hall from the brink of destruction


(New York Jewish Week) — Violinist Isaac Stern made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1943, but it would hardly be his last performance at the famed concert venue: He performed there more than 200 times between then and his death in 2001 at the age of 81. Carnegie Hall was “part of his DNA,” his daughter, Rabbi Shira Stern, told the New York Jewish Week.


Click here to read the article in its entirety!

At Trans-Pecos, a venue in Ridgewood, Queens, music fans gathered for a "Jewish techno" rave known as Kleztronica on July 20, 2023.

Crop tops, kippahs and klezmer: A ‘Jewish rave’ scene takes hold in NYC


(JTA) — On a recent Thursday in Ridgewood, the Queens neighborhood that straddles the border of uber-hip Bushwick, Brooklyn, a crowd of music fans filled the room at Trans-Pecos, an all-ages music and events venue. It’s a scene that’s pretty familiar to anyone who’s been to an outer-borough club in recent years. The event was celebrating the unique intersection of klezmer music and rave culture. The room was packed with Jewish ravers, for the third New York installment of “Kleztronica,” a burgeoning Jewish music scene that’s becoming a “movement,” according to its 22-year-old creator, Upper West Side native Kaia Berman-Peters...


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

New York Nosh

Kosher restaurateur Naftali Abenaim at his newest establishment, Mocha Burger Lux in Midtown. (David Beyda)

How a small challah-baking business is building Jewish community in Astoria, Queens


(New York Jewish Week) — Cody Butler was 25 years old when he first tasted challah, the braided bread traditionally eaten by Jews on the Sabbath. As an Irish Catholic growing up in Astoria, Queens, he had had his fair share of bagels. But challah? Never.



Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Jewish Roots

Is there a genetic marker for kohanim, priests? Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from Khazars? Why is there such a close genetic connection between Samaritans and Jews, especially kohanim?

A look at what genetic testing can tell us about Jews.


(TheTorah.com) — In premodern times, the question of where Jews come from had an obvious answer: The Bible tells the story of Israel’s origins beginning with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, moving on to Moses and the exodus from Egypt, and continuing on the conquest of Canaan, the judges, the monarchy, the exile, and so on. Modern scholars have come to challenge that narrative, however, just as scientists began to challenge the creation story in Genesis, looking beyond the biblical account for an explanation for how the Jews came to be...


Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Did You Know?

Don't read about wisdom in a book. Find an expert and watch how he works.

48 Ways of Wisdom


  1. Be aware of every moment.
  2. Listen effectively.
  3. Say it out loud.
  4. Introduce yourself to yourself.
  5. The power of awe.


And 43 more...


Click here to read the insightful Aish.com article in its entirety.


Do you have any trivia or interesting facts that you would like to share for the newsletter? Please contact Lisa at assistant@fjmc.org

Please check out our website for the latest news around the region,

the exciting club programs and more.


New York Metro Region Newsletter edited by Lisa Pollack.

Subscribe to the newsletter!

www.newyorkmetrofjmc.org

newyorkmetroregionfjmc@gmail.com

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