Category Archives: People of Shomrei

Bat Mitzvah L’dor Vador (from Generation to Generation)

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Last week, synagogues across America marked the 100-year anniversary of the first official bat mitzvah. The ceremony occurred on March 18, 1922 and was created by Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, to welcome his12-year-old daughter, Ruth, into the family of Jewish adults. While that sounds like a long history, it pales alongside the roughly 1,000-year longevity of the bar mitzvah. Moreover, it took almost 60 years for the bat mitzvah ceremony to attain equal stature with the bar mitzvah at synagogues in the U.S.

To explore this evolution — and what it says about the role of women and girls in Judaism — assistant JLC education director Lily Lucey invited Shomrei women of several generations on Sunday, March 19 to recount for the b’nai mitzvah classes what the bat mitzvah represented when they were 12 or 13. Continue reading →

In Praise of Jim Nagel

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The  Kiddish Committee is saddened by the loss of our faithful volunteer, Jim -familiarly called Jimmy- Nagel.

One Friday morning several years ago, Jim just showed up and continued to show up almost every week until we had to shut down kiddush  because of COVID.

Jim was a whiz in the kitchen and would do anything asked of him, even run errands. As Karen Altman, one of the kiddush volunteers said : Jimmy was such a lovely person- so genuine and warm.

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Eulogy for Noa Freudberg

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Freudberg_Noel

El Malei Rachamim

My dear friend Noa Freudberg, Noel bat Joseph, tragically died on September 30, 2021. We met in Torah study class at Shomrei Emunah, and she became the God-given sister I never had.

A licensed social worker, Noa made many contributions to society, to her patients and to the many people whose lives she touched and saved. She was   bright, talented  kind and compassionate.  She  was Educated at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, Noa had great analytical skills and social justice values. She worked at University Hospital in Newark as a medical social worker. She was also in private practice for many years. Many psychiatrists would refer patients to Noa because of her skill, kindness and empathy.

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Welcome Ehud Klinger, Synagogue Operations Director

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Join us in welcoming Ehud Klinger!  Ehud will serve as Shomrei’s Synagogue Operations Director. He will be in charge of all day-to-day operations and administration.

With a background in political science Ehud has extensive experience in the field of operations. Born in Israel, Ehud also lived in New York and Japan before settling in New Jersey. Ehud has served the Jewish world as a tour educator, teacher and member of various congregations before arriving in South Orange. Most recently he has been planning educational expeditions to the Jewish destinations. Married with 2 young children Ehud loves exploring new places and spending time with friends and family.

Contact:
Ehud Klinger
(973) 746-5031 x101
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Welcome to the Board of Trustees, 2021

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Yasher koach to the 2020-21 Board of Trustees.  Special thanks to outgoing board members Dawn Berman, Marc Chalom, Shana Rubin and Allison Task.

Welcome to new board members Adam Dembrow, Lynne Rubin, Sarita Eisenberg and Michael Sag:

Adam DembrowAdam Dembrow, Trustee (term expiring 2022)

My wife Sarah and I, and our kids Lily (11) and Eitan (8), just passed our fourth anniversary of living in Montclair, and we’ve been part of the Shomrei community since we moved here.  I have particularly been enjoying the group study sessions led by Rabbi Greenstein of Pirkei Avot and the Zohar.  I’m excited to join the Board of Trustees and am looking forward to working with the community that I’ve found so welcoming. Continue reading →

Memories of Jerry Weiss

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Jerry Weiss cropped 2I got to know Jerry well quite a few years ago when we were both appointed to a Shomrei committee no one wanted to serve on. Suffice it to say our assignment was unenviable and none of us wished to be there, least of all Jerry. But he graciously agreed to be co-chair, and he and Helen hosted our many meetings in their lovely home. Week after week, he held us together and steered us toward a conclusion with kindness and above all care for the future of Shomrei. I don’t think it was a coincidence that we all became good friends and remained so. Continue reading →

JLC Prayer for Our Country

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Stuart Green and Jennifer Moses fly the colors on inauguration

Stuart Green and Jennifer Moses fly the colors on inauguration day.

Each week during JLC our students begin with community time led by Morah Lily. This week on Wednesday, following a historic inauguration we asked our JLC students to look towards the future and help create a prayer for our country. These are their beautiful worlds full of hope and light. Continue reading →

Meet the New Members of the Board of Trustees

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Yasher koach to the 2019-20 Board of Trustees.  Special thanks to outgoing board members  Fern Heinig & Lynne Kurzweil.  Replacing them are Audrey Levitin and Romy Rost.

image001Romy Rost, Trustee (term expiring 2023)

I’m truly excited to join the Board and work together to continue to grow our Jewish community at Shomrei. Seeing my daughter’s joy being in the preschool here has inspired me to get more involved and hopefully bring skills and experience that will help Shomrei flourish, especially in these unique times. Our youngest daughter will soon join the preschool and I have no doubt that together they will discover their Jewish identity in this very nurturing environment. As a career and leadership coach, I love the practice of personal development and therefore am always encouraging myself and others to strive for ‘better’! I look forward to doing that with all of you, too.

DSC_0572-Edit-3Audrey Levitin, Trustee (term expiring 2022) & Co-Chairperson, Social Action Committee

I am so happy to be a Trustee on Shomrei’s board and look forward to serving the community in this new way. I love all things Shomrei.  I come to services regularly, participate in Torah Study and one of my favorite things in life is to be with the community and enjoy kiddush on Shabbat. (A shout-out to Aileen and Beryl.)  I am also the Co-Chair of the Social Action Committee with Sarita Eisenberg.  My husband Nick is a past President and my children Josh and Nina are part of the Shomrei family. Shomrei is quite simply my home away from home.

Tributes to Vivien Lichter

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VivOn Sunday, April 19,  there was a touching memorial for Vivien Lichter. Many of the speakers at the service were Shomrei people – Rabbi Greenstein, Toby Stein, Aileen Grossberg, Dale Russakoff and me [Shirley Grill] – and our stories were about Viv and Shomrei…It felt like a story of Shomrei as well as Vivien.

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