photo by Nick Levitin
Andy and I were on vacation in Portugal when we received the sad e-mail about Josie’s death; we missed the funeral. We returned home with Covid; we missed the Shiva.
So how can we pay our respects? We can share a few memories. It occurred to me that other congregants might also like to share some thoughts about Josie. After all, she was such an integral part of the Shomrei community. Continue reading
In 1987, Linda and Yechiel, and 3 little boys under 5 years old, followed the Silver family out to Montclair, a year after we had moved here. We had been acquaintances from our Brooklyn synagogue and had mutual friends, but we, ourselves, were never really friends.
Of course, that quickly changed once the Ariel/Felders arrived. The “acquaintance” evolved into friendship, the friendship often felt like family. Continue reading
Can you match the SOUPERSPREADER with the delicious soup he/she/they made? Continue reading
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
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.
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.
Our 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
It is always a pleasure to thank the Purim Band for its contribution to our community celebration. So a huge heartfelt “Yasher Koach” to:
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.
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.