Like all of you, our hearts are broken following the horrendous death of innocent children at an elementary school in Uvalde Texas, which follows two mass shootings last week at a supermarket in Buffalo and a church in Laguna Woods California. Thoughts and prayers are not enough. We need to act. Taking action is the only thing that will change what is happening. Here are some suggestions for appropriate actions you can consider taking. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Audrey Levitin
Taking Action Against Climate Change
At this past Sunday’s Mitzvah Day event, Shomrei members took part in an educational program delivered by David Korfhage, President of Montclair Climate Action. David began the presentation by asking us, “What comes to mind when you think about climate change?” These were our responses, “Guilty” “Scared” “Confused” “Helpless”: “Paralyzed.”
“So there’s a lot of anxiety” he responded. “And the antidote to anxiety is to take action – to channel fear and anxiety into action, even if you don’t know what the results are going to be.” Continue reading
Happy Birthday Kiddush
The building was teeming with people this past Shabbat with JLC, the Henei Mah Tov service, Tot Shabbat, and the regular service in the sanctuary. The social hall was party-like with birthday balloons and colorful tableware.
What a pleasure to have so many young kids and their parents sharing the space and a very special kiddush lunch.
That first double digit birthday is a big deal for any kid. We were able to be a part of Brian Singh’s entry into “tweenhood.” Continue reading
Shabbat In A Time of Division
When the pandemic began, I missed the office, I missed restaurants, I missed travel, but most of all I missed synagogue on Shabbat. There is something deeply comforting about seeing the same people at the same time, in the same place, in the same seats each week. I especially love being at synagogue on a snowy winter day. During kiddish I would sit with members of our congregation, and watch snow fall through the large widows in our social hall while eating bagels and lox, salad, and cookies. It is an “all is right with the world” experience. Continue reading
Welcome to the Board of Trustees, 2021
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 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
Meet the New Members of the Board of Trustees
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.
Romy 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.
Audrey 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.
2020 Annual Meeting Report
The 2020 Annual Meeting of Congregation Shomrei Emunah occurred on Monday, June 22, 2020. Members voted on a number of items including the budget and election of new members of the Board of Trustees.
Results of the meeting:
- 2019 annual meeting minutes were approved as submitted.
- Audrey Levitin and Romy Rost were elected to the Board of Trustees and Miriam Haimes was elected as President.
- Special thanks to outgoing board members Fern Heinig & Lynne Kurzweil.
- The 2020-21 budget was approved as submitted.
2020 Shomrei Annual Meeting Package which includes reports from outgoing President Sara Ann Erichson and Director of Education, Heather Brown.
Building a Social Action Network at Shomrei
Dear Friends,
Shomrei has a long history of social action that involves providing services to those in need. Our new Social Action Committee aims to expand Shomrei’s involvement in social action to include advocacy.
The focus will be on issues that affect our local community and state, starting with immigration. To that end, we made a proposal to the Board of Trustees to join the Montclair Sanctuary Alliance. That proposal was passed on December 9th.
Our next step is to create a Social Action Network. This is an email list that we will use to keep you apprised about efforts at Shomrei and in the larger community and about opportunities to be involved. Much like the Mensch Squad email that posts opportunities for helping fellow Shomrei members, the Social Action Network email list will post opportunities to participate in advocacy efforts – for instance, by contacting elected officials and by showing up at rallies and Freeholders meetings. To join, go to: http://shomrei.org/list to join the list
We also need to form a steering committee to map out our goals and plan for educational programs. Steering committee members would be asked to attend regular meetings and to be personally active in some area of work on a consistent basis.
For more information, please contact Sarita Eisenberg or Audrey Levitin.
We look forward to joining with you in this endeavor.
Sarita & Audrey,
Co-chairpersons, Shomrei Social Action Committee
Social Action Committee Info
Shomrei Social Action Committee
The Social Action Committee, co-chaired by Sarita Eisenberg and Audrey Levitin, seeks to apply a Jewish understanding of “repairing the world” to issues of our time. As we remember from the wisdom of previous generations of Jews: “It is not our responsibility to finish the work of perfecting the world, but we are not free to desist from it either.” The committee seeks to help the congregation at large engage with our broken world by finding and recognizing issues and recommending specific actions we can take.
for more info contact:
Sarita Eisenberg or
Audrey Levitin
Selichot Program: The Exoneration of Huwe Burton, Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 8:30pm, Free
Selichot Program
In the spirit of forgiveness and renewal, the speaker for Shomrei’s Selichot program is Huwe Burton, who was exonerated in the Bronx 30 years after he was wrongfully convicted of his mother’s murder. Huwe’s conviction was overturned after the Bronx Conviction Integrity Unit determined that Huwe gave a false confession that was the product of psychologically coercive techniques used by detectives. Additionally, the same detectives who elicited Huwe’s false confession also obtained false confessions from two other individuals three months earlier. The reinvestigation also uncovered new evidence that strongly pointed toward an alternative suspect. Today Huwe is rebuilding his life and is dedicated to helping others who have experienced grave injustice.