REVISED

Fixed Zoom links for:

Saturday: Marlee Schindler Bat Mitzvah Service

Sunday: Kup O' Joe

Mitzvah Day

Thank You!

Dear Members of Or Chadash,

As Rabbi Forman shared in his Mitzvah Day opening remarks, social justice is about the world as it could be: advocating for change to address the systemic root cause of hunger, homelessness, poverty, etc. Social action deals with the world as it is: short-term assistance of feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, comforting the sick, helping the needy. Sunday, at Or Chadash, we spent the morning repairing the world through social action.  

Special thanks to our introductory speakers Meghan Moore (Harvest Family Success Center), Jen Guido (SAFE in Hunterdon), Sandra Gong (The Friends of the Hunterdon County Library), Scott Breslow (Deputy Chief, Township of Union), and Cindy Stoter (Presidential Volunteer Service Award.) Hats off to our 2022 award winners Dylan Berg, Izzie Hodkinson, Shayna Kantor, Harrison Langer, Kate MacIsaac and Samantha Orr.  

We thank all of you who have become pen pals to our community members, dropped off items for the food pantry, created blessing bags, contributed generous amounts of time, money, gift cards and plain old elbow grease:

• Together we made 200 bags of trail mix and six no bake lasagnas for the clients of Family Harvest Success Center.
• We prepared one dozen lemon sugar scrubs for the clients of SAFE in Hunterdon, reorganized our kitchen space and prepped the table scape and fun activities for an upcoming Bat Mitzvah celebration.
• Plates of elaborately decorated cookies with notes of appreciation were delivered to the Hunterdon Emergency Management Office and police in over a dozen of our Hunterdon (and Somerset) municipalities.
• The property looks amazing thanks to the weed whackers and hedge trimmers and daffodil green organizers.
• As soon as we complete The Sticker Project (extra credit if you can you guess the image) we will donate it to the library.

We hope you enjoy these photos of a spectacular Or Chadash day - see the Or Chadash Events section below.  

Thank you. 

Betsy Zalaznick

Quick Links:

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Shabbat Services with Rabbi Forman and Cantor Kathy Gohr with Special Guest Boris Fishman

On this Sabbath, join us exactly as you feel most comfortable on Zoom. A few things to note about our service:

• For those on Zoom, feel free to light your own Shabbat candles, share in drinking the wine/juice from your own Kiddush cups and taste the sweetness of challah at your house.
• Please email Rabbi Forman (josephforman@gmail.com) no later than 5:00 PM on Friday with the names you would like him to read during the Mi Shebeirach.
• If you need support or assistance using Zoom, please reach out to Rabbi Forman or Betsy no later than 3:00 PM on Friday.
• The link for Friday Night Services can always be found on our OC website Homepage.

I hope each of you is well. We look forward to sharing Shabbat with our Or Chadash community no matter how you attend.

Yahrzeits to be observed:

Charlotte Werstein

Bernie Matkov

Larry Seligman

Joseph Hillman

Novelist and journalist Boris Fishman, who taught a very successful literature class ("Meaning, Morality, and the Occasional Mensch") to the congregation in 2020, will join our Shabbat services on Friday, May 20th, to talk about the war in Ukraine, both as someone from the region who has traveled in and reported from Ukraine and Russia, and as a journalist working on a magazine piece about the conflict. For more information about Boris's books, teaching, and journalism, please see www.borisfishman.com.

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Shabbat Afternoon Service and Bat Mitzvah of Marlee Schindler

We are delighted to announce that on Saturday, May 21, 2022 (20 Iyar 5782), Marlee Schindler will be called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah. Her parashat is Bechukotai from the end of Leviticus.

Marlee is a 7th grade student at the Brookside School in Allendale. Her family joined Temple Or Chadash in 2015 where her older brother, Elijah, also made his Bar Mitzvah in 2019. Their loving mother is the late Rebecca Schindler who was a proud member of Or Chadash and the Sisterhood.

In her free time, Marlee’s talents and enjoyment take on many forms of art including painting, drawing, dancing, listening to music, playing music on the piano and ukulele, and singing in the school choir.

Marlee would like to express her gratitude to Rabbi Forman, Cantor Kathy, Betsy Zalaznick, her Hebrew school teachers, and the Or Chadash community for all of their encouragement, support, and training to prepare her for this momentous life event.

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Kup O' Joe: Adult Education

In person at Or Chadash and on Zoom.

Special guests from the Jewish Federation will provide an update on Ukraine from their recent trip to Poland.

Celebrate Shabbat at Home with Family and Friends

Yahrzeits to be observed:

Anna Wolf

Robert Gorin

Leo Heller

Sunny Garfield

Richard Jost

Celia Zalaznick

Mildred Albert

Beatrice Heller

Morty Lehrer

Richard Levy

Bernard Sigel

Sheldon Connor

Isidore Wolf

Bessie Sinoway

Yahrzeits to be observed:

Louise Theile

Arthur Horowitz

Sylvia Horowitz

Lillian Magid

Ann Gorin

Isidor Soodik

Residential households are now eligible for another order of free at-home tests.

Place your order on the USPS website here:

WHAT: Talking to Young Children About Race

DATE: May 18

TIME: 8:00 PM

PRICE: Free - plus free book when you register!

President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA)

Mazel Tov to our 2022 Or Chadash PVSA Recipients!!

Congratulations to Dylan Berg, Izzie Hodkinson, Shayna Kantor (not pictured above), Harrison Langer, Samantha Orr and Kate MacIsaac, six Or Chadash student volunteers, who were recognized at Mitzvah Day with the 2022 President's Volunteer Service Award for their completed service hours from March 1, 2021 - February 28, 2022. Their initiative to volunteer and their dedication to service in the community has earned them each this well deserved award! Mazel Tov for a job well done - we are so proud of you!!

Did you know that Or Chadash is a certifying organization of the President's Volunteer Service Award? The PVSA recognizes U.S. citizens who have achieved the required number of hours of service over a 12-month time period. The awards are offered in multiple levels and include bronze, silver, and gold, based on the number of service hours completed and the age of the volunteer. Visit 

www.presidentialserviceawards.gov for additional information about the program.

Adults and students can have qualifying hours in several ways, and note this change from previous years: Or Chadash can be the recipient of the volunteer service, a facilitator of the service, and now hours from other organizations can be included in the total hours a person has volunteered. Those hours from other organizations must be verified, and signed off by the facilitator of those organizations. As in the past, all service must be unpaid, volunteer, and take place within the one year period specified. 

PLEASE NOTE: The most recent qualifying period ran from March 1, 2022 - February 28, 2023. Required documentation of hours will need to be submitted to Cindy Stoter at the end of the qualifying time period, so keep track of your hours.

Please reach out to Cindy at chstoter@comcast.net if you are interested in applying for this award, and she will explain exactly what hours can be included and how to document them!