Author Archives: Merrill Silver

Wednesday Night Minyan

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Shana Tova! I hope you are greeting 5782 with a resounding “Hineni!”- here I am, ready to take on the New Year with enthusiasm and commitment.

In that spirit, I am writing about the future of the Wednesday Night Minyan. Because of my pandemic work schedule, (teaching on Zoom Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday from 7:30-9:30 PM) I am no longer available to lead the Wednesday night minyan. (Even if we changed Wednesday to another night of the week, all this Zoom time would not be good for my mental health!)  Continue reading →

Monthly Wednesday Night Minyan on Summer Hiatus

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Our monthly Wednesday evening minyan wrapped up another successful year.  That’s 13 years –  not bad for a minyan that was supposed to last only one month. We will take a summer break and resume in some form after the High Holidays.

It was quite a year: a Presidential election, a pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, an insurrection on our Capitol where we added the Prayer for Our Country to our regular evening service and a war in Israel. More than ever, we needed to be together and to feel a sense of community.   The Zoom minyan gave us that opportunity.

Thanks to all the participants who made the virtual minyan possible. Special thanks to Rabbi Greenstein, Lisa Z., Geoff, Michael Finck, John Lasiter and Andy Silver for their hard work, often behind the scenes.

Musicians Wanted for Our Zoom Simchat Torah Celebration

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I know we have not fasted yet, nor have we built our Sukkot. But we can definitely use some extra joy these days so why not fast forward to Simchat Torah?

This year Shomrei will be celebrating the holiday virtually on Sunday, October 11 at 7:30 PM. As we mark the completion AND the beginning of reading the Torah, we would like to fill the occasion with live music.

Continue reading →

The Little Minyan That Could

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minyan_at_homeOur monthly Wednesday night minyan will resume on October 14, 2020. Thereafter, it will be on the first Wednesday of the month. This year, however, we are making one change. Like everything else during the pandemic, we will be Zooming “Maariv” into your homes.

For those of you who are new to Shomrei, or have never attended this casual, ½ hour evening service, Andy and I welcome and encourage you to join us.  And for those of us who have been physically attending this service in our living room, on the deck, or in our Sukkah for the past 12 years, thank you for keeping this intimate service flourishing. Continue reading →

Hanukkah Simcha Band

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Shomrei Emunah was bursting with happiness and fun as we welcomed Hanukkah a little early this year. The Hanukkah Band, performing for the 9th year in a row, outdid itself. So many musicians ages 7-75+ and such good music! Not only are we multi-generational, but we had two families of musicians that were multi-generational. French horn player (and
shofar blower extraorinaire) Elana was joined by her son, Natan on violin. Merrill’s son, Dan, came from NYC to play tenor sax with his mother at the piano.

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The Wednesday Night Monthly Minyan??

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Andy and I would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has supported THE LITTLE MINYAN THAT COULD all year, and in years past.?? We all lead such busy and complicated lives, but when we make the effort to support someone saying Kaddish, or to simply support our community, our lives are elevated just a little bit. I know the word “mitzvah” means a  commandment; I’d like to suggest we add a feeling of elevation or being uplifted to the definition.

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Purim Celebration at Shomrei

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My favorite Jewish holiday is Sukkot. Or is it Passover? After
celebrating Purim tonight with our Shomrei community, my new favorite
holiday has to be Purim.  The spirit, the crowd, the young people, the
not-so-young people, Lily leading us with such “ruach” and teaching us
new melodies, Lily directing the JLC acting troupe with her original
shpiel, Debra Caplan accompanying these incredibly talented singers and
actors at the piano, the overflowing bags of Mishloach Manot, and of
course, the 9th Annual Purim Simcha Band all contributed to a most
joyous Purim. Continue reading →

The Simcha Band is Gearing Up for Purim

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If you play an instrument, join the Simcha Band! We’re always looking for new members to join our troupe!  All ages welcome!

The 6th annual Purim Band will perform on Wednesday evening, March 20 during the Megillah reading and evening service. We hope you can participate as every musician is special to us. Although we’ve been playing the same repertoire (more or less) these past few years, we still need to rehearse. Also, when newcomers join us, they need some practice time with the band. Continue reading →

Big in Sound and Joy – The Simcha Band!

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We may have been small in number but we were big in sound and joy. Just ask the audience who sang, danced and clapped to the rhythm of all the melodies.

Special thanks to Conductor Mark Weinstein, and band members: Elliot Lasiter, Jerilyn Margulies, Mike Tizhgarten, Howie Erichson, Andy Silikovitz, and Merrill Silver. Joining the band for the first time were Collin Brooks and Nathan Pendola.  We look forward to watching Collin (electric guitar) and Nathan (drums) grow up with the band.  We welcome and thank Dan Silver who came from NYC to make music with us.

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