Your Weekly News and Updates
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A Message from Randy Brett
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I am happy to announce that Rabbi Bob Freedman has agreed to assist The Jewish Center as our part-time, interim Rabbi. Working with Cantor Warschauer and Sharon Diamondstein, Rabbi Freedman will help prepare our b'nai mitzvah candidates, review their d'var torah, and officiate at their b'nai mitzvah. Among other duties, Rabbi Freedman will also act our halachic reference/authority, lead regular Shabbat, Passover, and Shavuot services, be available for funerals and other life cycle occasions, and represent the congregation at community events.
Rabbi Freedman is a long time member of The Jewish Center. For several years, he was our Cantor and since his ordination as Rabbi, has worked with both our synagogue and others in rabbinic and cantorial roles. As we form our plans and begin the search for a new Rabbi, I am comforted by the knowledge that Rabbi Freedman will be our rabbinic authority.
Please join me in welcoming Rabbi Freedman to this new role with The Jewish Center. Following are his initial remarks as we begin our first Shabbat under his rabbinic leadership.
Randy Brett
President
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Many years ago I began the practice that when I start a Shabbes evening service or sit down to Shabbes dinner I review the week that just ended. I invite myself and those who are with me to bring to mind those things that we’d like to let go of, so they don’t intrude on Sabbath rest. Then I invite us to bring to mind particularly moving events that we don’t want to put aside. I say, we’ll savor them and maybe offer them up to God during Sabbath prayer.
That practice is going to serve me well this coming Shabbes eve.
You’ll see a notice from President Randy Brett telling you that as of January 8 I’ve joined the Jewish Center as part-time interim rabbi. That I’m doing this because Rabbi Adam Feldman of blessed memory is no longer with us, is soul-shaking. I’m glad that I can be of service to this community of which I have been a member for much of the last thirty-seven years. At the same time I’m grieving the loss that makes my service necessary.
I will not be his replacement. His are a very big pair of shoes to fill. We were colleagues, yet I had no idea of how many, many different networks he moved in, or how many, many people and projects he kept track of. He was remarkable, able to perform an enormous number of rabbinic activities with energy, excitement, good humor, efficiency, and a wealth of
sekhel, good common sense.
One major task for me in service to this congregation over the coming months is to simply help you mourn your rabbi, to honor his memory by taking what he taught about being a congregation of committed Jews and weaving it ever more tightly into your soul. You’ll help me do that for myself.
So as I welcome Shabbes on Friday night I’ll think about being called by this congregation as one of those things that happened during the week to which I want to hold tightly. May the words of my mouth, the meditations of my heart, and the actions of my hands be acceptable to you and to God.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Bob Freedman
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Live Stream
If you are not able to join us for Shabbat or Holiday services,
Funeral Service Recording - For those who were unable to attend Rabbi Feldman's funeral, please
CLICK HERE
to view the LiveStream recording.
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Honor Rabbi Feldman’s Memory
Through the Communal Study of Mishnah
Our sages teach us that learning
Mishnayot
(
Mishnah
) is a powerful means to elevate the soul of the departed. Two of Rabbi Adam Feldman’s colleagues, Rabbi Adam Wohlberg (
awohlberg@tsinai.com
) and Rabbi David Ackerman (
rabbidavid@bethamisrael.org
), have organized an effort to honor his memory through a communal effort to complete the study of the Mishnah by the end of this month (his
shloshim
, or 30 days following his passing).
You can join this effort by signing up for a
masechet
(tractate)
here:
If you need access to Mishnah texts, you can access them online (in both Hebrew and English) here:
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Adam Scheer,
adamscheer@gmail.com
or the organizers. Feel free to pass this on to anyone you think would wish to participate.
"When you look at the sign-up sheet, you will notice that there has already been considerable interest. Please do not hesitate to add your name to a slot that may already seem filled. It would be a wonderful tribute to have more than one person study a particular
masechet
."
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The Annual Fund is essential to the operations of
The Jewish Center, representing nearly 15% of our annual budget to support programs and services.
Or mail in your check payable to
The Jewish Center.
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Friday, January 10 - Candle Lighting is at 4:33pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Katan: 5:45pm - Youth Lounge
Zamru Kabbalat Shabbat Service and Potluck Dinner: 6:15pm - Social Hall
Kabbalat Shabbat Service: 6:30pm - Beit Midrash
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Saturday, January 11 - Parashat
Va-Y'Hi
Bible BaBoker: 8:45am - Adult Library
Shabbat Morning Services / Bat Mitzvah of Joelle Vermut: 9:30am - Sanctuary
Religious School: 9:30am - Beit Midrash
Havurah Minyan - Worship Service: 10am - Adult Library
Shabbat Katan: 11am - Youth Lounge
Havdalah Event (Ganon, Gan Katan, Gan, Alef, and Bet): 5pm - Social Hall and Sanctuary
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Todah Rabah To
Nicole and Michael Vermut for sponsoring the Kiddush Luncheon in honor of their daughter Joelle being called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzcah.
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Yasher Koach to those reading Torah and Haftarah this Shabbat
Samantha Samuels
Jenna Cantor
Robbie Samuels
Bryan Mackie
Jordyn Vermut
Michael Vermut
Joelle Vermut
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Sunday, January 12
Morning Minyan: 9:00am - Beit Midrash
Bagels and Brachot: 9am - Adult Library
Religious School: 9:00am
Adult Hebrew - Edna Bryn-Noiman: 9am-12pm - Downstairs Conference Room
Haverim Youth Group - Intergenerational Challah Bake with Greenwood House: 2pm (dropoff and pickup at Greenwood House)
Arts & Culture Film Series -
A Gentleman Before God - Rabbi Wolff
: 4pm - Social Hall
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Monday, January 13
The Jewish Center's offices are closed.
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Tuesday, January 14
Religious School: 4pm
EC Meeting: 7:30pm - Adult Library
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Wednesday, January 15
Morning Minyan: 7am - Beit Midrash
Adult Ed/Talmud Study Group: 12:15pm - Adult Library
Adult Ed/Yiddish Reading Group: 1:30pm - Adult Library
#Sulam - 6pm
Adult Ed/"From Golden Age to Expulsion: The Transformations of Sephardic Culture" - Prof. Benjamin Gampel: 8pm - Adult Library
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Thursday, January 16
Nosh and Drosh - guest facilitator is Gila Levin: 9:30am - Bon Appetit in the Princeton Shopping Center
LaShir Reharsal: 7:30pm - Beit Midrash
Religious Affairs Committee Meeting: 7:30pm - Youth Lounge
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Friday, January 17 - Candle Lighting is at 4:43pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Service - 6:30pm - Beit Midrash
Potluck Dinner following the service - Hang Out with Cantor Jeff
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KABBALAT SHABBAT KATAN
FRIDAY, JANUARY 10 at 5:45
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Bagels and B'rachot
For more information contact Sharon Diamondstein in TJC Religious School office at 609-921-0100 x 220 or sdiamondstein@thejewishcenter.org
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Is there a blessing for that?
In Judaism, the answer is yes!
Learn with Sharon Diamondstein about Judaism's concepts of gratitude and blessings, plus holidays, rituals, and traditions.
Sundays:
January 12 - Blessing of Lifecycle Events
February 9 - Blessing of Purim
9am in the Adult Library
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Documentary:
A Gentleman Before God - Rabbi Wolff
"A man full of wit and wisdom - one can only hope to be so young in old age!"
Rabbi Wolff
is the charming portrait of a fascinating character, a deeply religious man who, blessed with a tremendous
joie de vivre
, defies all conventions. More than that, it gives insight into the world of Judaism and introduces us to a uniquely German biography.
$8 for TJC Members and $12 for Non-Members
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Schedule follows the Religious School Sunday calendar.
For future placement and further information, contact Edna Bryn-Noiman at
edna.bryn@gmail.com.
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ADULT HEBREW CLASSES
Classes for the new semester will begin Sunday, January 12.
Beginning Hebrew: 11am - 12pm
Intermediate Hebrew: 9am - 10am
Advanced Hebrew: 10am - 11am
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Saturday, Jan. 11 * 8:45am
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Bible BaBoker
is a Torah study group. Participants meet each Shabbat morning from 8:45 to 10:00am to study a section of the week’s Parsha
.
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Talmud Study Group
Wednesday, Jan.15 * 12:15pm
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Close reading and analysis of selected passages and
sugiyot in the Babylonian Talmud
and related texts. Previous familiarity with Talmud study is recommended. For more information, contact Neil Litt (neillitt@outlook.com). Donations to TJC are requested from non-members.
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Yiddish Reading Group
Wednesday, Jan. 15 * 1:30pm
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Yiddish is alive and well. Join this class in reading Yiddish literature aloud. For more information, contact Ziona Silverman at 732-329-1069.
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Havurah Minyan
Saturday, Jan. 25 * 10am
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The Havurah Minyan meets twice a month from 10-12 and then joins the rest of the congregation for Kiddush lunch.On the 2nd Shabbat of each month is a "worship service" and on the 4th Shabbat is a "study service."
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Saturdays * 10:15am - will resume in the New Year.
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A lay-led, all-ages, youth-friendly, davening-focused service that is simultaneously serious and relaxed, formal and informal. The name is intended to suggest service is "by us" - and "us" is diverse.
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Thursdays, 9:30-
11am
Drop in for a morning of schmoozing, discussing, connecting.
Questions? Contact the "Nosh & Drosh" Co-chairs: Lauren Neufeld, 908-216-1412, laurenhneufeld@gmail.com or Cynthia Neufeld, 908-359-8440, cneufeld1@comcast.net.
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Meet at Bon Appetit in the
Princeton Shopping Center
January 16
February 20
March 19
April 23
May 21
June 18
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Tuesday, Jan. 21 * 7:30pm
Marie Benedict,
The Only Woman in the Room
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Future dates:
2/18 - Jennifer Weiner,
Mrs. Everything
3/17 - Dara Horn,
A Guide for the Perplexed
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led by Ruth Goldston
Saturday, Feb, 1 * 4pm
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Savor your prayer experience using mindfulness meditation techniques to focus on words, texts, and ideas associated with the Shabbat afternoon or weekday service.
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Bagels and
B'rachot
For more information contact Sharon Diamondstein in the TJC Religious School office at
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Is there a blessing for that?
In Judaism, the answer is yes!
Learn with Sharon Diamondstein about Judaism's concepts of gratitude and blessings, plus holidays, rituals, and traditions.
Sundays:
January 12 - Blessing of Lifecycle Events
February 9 - Blessing of Purim
9am in the Adult Library
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ADULT EDUCATION
FROM GOLDEN AGE TO EXPLUSION:
THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF SEPHARDIC CULTURE
with
Professor Benjamin Gampel
The Jewish Theological Seminary
A three-session mini series
WEDNESDAYS, JANUARY 8, 15, & 22
$54 for Members; $95 for Non-Members
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BABKA MAKING
Demonstration and Tasting wtih Jen Carson, owner of Lillipies
Monday, January 27
4-6pm at Lillipies, Princeton Shopping Center
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Jen Carson will open her bakery to us and show us how she creates her delicious cinnamon and chocolate babkas. Registration fee includes a babka already baked and a prepared babka that you can bake at home. SPACE IS LIMITED.
OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY
$18 TJC MEMBERS
$25 NON-MEMBERS
Call the synagogue office to register and pay by credit card or mail in your check payable to The Jewish Center.
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JEWISH CENTER WOMEN
MAH JONGG
Come join OLD and NEW friends for a fun evening of Mah Jongg at TJC. No experience necessary.
If needed, cards will be available for purchase for $9.
February 6
7-9pm
Please RSVP to Judy Kutin
mrskutin@gmail.com
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Explore the weekly Torah Portion with Sharon Diamondstein on Fridays:
February 7, March 6, April 3, May 1 and June 5.
9:30 - 10:30am
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A History of Roosevelt, New Jersey
Join us for a private docent-led tour of the Roosevelt exhibit
Sunday, February 23
12:30-2pm or 2-3:30pm
Open to the Community
Admission to Morven: $10, $8 for seniors and students
55 Stockton Street, Princeton
For more information, please call the TJC office at (609)921-0100 or info@thejewishcenter.org
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"400 MILES TO FREEDOM"
Save the date for a fascinating documentary and speaker. Director Avishai Mekonen will join us and talk about fleeing his home in Africa, his journey to Israel and then to the United States. This life-defining event launches an inquiry into identity, leading him to African, Asian and Latino Jews in Israel and the U.S.
Sunday, March 1 * 2-4pm
Open to the Community: $12 for TJC members and $18 for non-members
For more information, please contact the TJC office at (609) 921-0100 or infor@thejewishcenter.org
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"The Contemporary Passover Haggadah" with Rabbi Vanessa Ochs,PH.D.
Thursday, March 12 * 7:30pm
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Rabbi Vanessa Ochs, author of the newly -published
The Haggadah:
A Biography (Princeton University Press), will explore Haggadot that were created on the kibbutz, those reflecting the Holocaust, feminist and LGBTQ-themed Haggadot, and even one inspired by "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," have become the centerpieces of our Passover Seder. Ochs shows how this enduring work of liturgy that once served to transmit Jewish identity in Jewish settings continues to be reinterpreted and revised again and again to transmit the message of freedom.
OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY
TJC MEMBERS - INCLUDED IN MEMBERSHIP
$20 FOR NON-MEMBERS
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The Adult Education Committee proudly presents World-Renowned Scholar
Professor Robert Alter
Speaking on
"The Challenge of Translating the Bible"
Thursday, March 26 * 7:30pm
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.The Hebrew Bible conveys its sundry visions of God, humankind, history, morality, covenant, and much else through a subtle and often complex literary vehicle, both in the prose narratives and in the poetry. Previous translations have not done much justice to this vehicle. What Professor Alter attempted to do is to represent as much as is feasible in English the rhythms, the word play and sound play, the expressive use of syntax, and the strategic word choices of the Hebrew, honoring the formal conventions of the narrative and of the poems.
OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY
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#Sulam, Our Hebrew High School Program
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What is Amazonsmile?
You shop. Amazon gives.
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Casseroles for TASK
Please support the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
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You can support TASK by preparing a vegetarian/fish/dairy casserole and dropping it off at The Jewish Center.
Your contribution of a casserole will make a difference in someone's life.
For questions please contact
or
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The Jewish Center is committed to providing a warm, welcoming, and safe Shabbat experience for our congregants and guests. Please sign up to be a Shabbat greeter. Responsibilities include welcoming people to services while monitoring who is entering the building. There are two shifts each Shabbat, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and then from 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. We need two people per shift, one for the main entrance and one for the for the parking-lot entrance.
Please contact Beatrice Bloom at (609) 577-2989 if you can volunteer.
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