Remembrances of Dr. Michael Kogan

Posted on Tue, Apr 16, 2024 by Rosemary Steinbaum

Michael Kogan passed away on April 6th at age 81. He was living in Charleston South Carolina, to him The Holy City, in his retirement. He was for forty-one years professor of Philosophy and Religion at Montclair State and an expert in fields of Jewish-Christian theology and dialogue, Existentialism, and Old and New Testaments.

Michael was a member of Congregation Shomrei Emunah for forty years. He served two terms as president; founded and taught in the Adult Education program; spearheaded the Scholar-In-Residence program; sponsored and preached at the congregation’s annual July 4th service and celebration; and served as a Torah and Haftorah reader. Michael was a major financial supporter of the synagogue. Continue reading →

Gratitude

Posted on Thu, Jan 18, 2018 by John Lasiter

We owe a lot of people our thanks! It’s literally been a flurry of activity at Shomrei since the pipe burst and the flood ensued. Once the initial crisis is over, the hard work begins — the restoration. So many volunteers and staff have stepped-up to meet this crisis on our behalf, it’s a good time to recognize some of them and express our gratitude! Continue reading →

Guys and Graggers! – Purim Shpiel, 2016

Posted on Thu, Mar 10, 2016 by Lisa Pendola

Come see “Guys and Graggers” during the Megillah-reading service on Erev Purim, Wednesday, March 23rd.

Based on the hit show “Guys and Dolls”, this shpiel was adapted for Purim by Craig Eichner, produced and edited by Lisa Pendola, and directed by Jennifer Moss. Continue reading →

The Windy Gragger: Purim Shpiel

Posted on Thu, Feb 26, 2015 by Craig Eichner

It’s the Jazz Age of Shushan, when a king throws an endless party, a queen refuses a royal summons, an evil vizier hatches a nefarious plot, our hero and heroine struggle to save their people — and everyone wants to make the front page news! “The Windy Gragger” has all this and more (well, not much more). Set to the music of the Broadway show “Chicago,” this is the Purim story like you’ve never heard it before (unless you’ve seen the rehearsals, in which case you’ve sort of heard it before). Come see the one and only performance of “The Windy Gragger” on Purim evening, March 4, 2015. The Windy Gragger will star (in alphabetical order): Craig Eichner, Yechiel Felder, Talia Fellus, Martin Hochbaum, Ann Lippel, Carney Mimms, Jennifer Moss, Lisa Pendola, Andy Silikovitz.

Here’s a complete Purim Schedule of Events and Services

Craig Eichner: “Beach Blanket Esther”

Posted on Mon, Mar 3, 2014 by Jennifer Moss

Craig Eichner

Jennifer Moss: Tell me something about how you came to write Purim Spiels. Do you have a special love for parodies?

Craig Eichner: Absolutely. I grew up on Mad Magazine, where they were always parodying movies. And one of my biggest musical influences was Allan Sherman. We had all his records at home.

JM: Allan Sherman—I love him! (Craig and I both broke off the interview at this point to sing a rendition of Shake Hands with Your Uncle Max, Sherman’s parody of Dear Old Donegal.)

Continue reading →

I Surrender

Posted on Wed, Jan 15, 2014 by Jennifer Moss

I’d like to address a nasty rumor: that I’m plotting to replace the dead-tree version of our synagogue newsletter with this new-fangled site.

That rumor—well, okay. It’s true. Heck, I even rubbed my hands together and cackled with glee as I made my plans. But then I discovered that the forces in favor of continuing the paper version of KE (despite all those poor, dead trees) are so strong that I have no hope of overcoming them. So fear not! I’m surrendering without a fight.