Men's Club T Shirt
Men's Club Shofar Article - March 2021
Purim is here! The Purim Megillah reading and our annual Purim Carnival last year were the last TBA events prior to the pandemic shutdown. Unfortunately, we will not be able to have the carnival this year, but we will still be able to enjoy Rabbi Malik leading the Megillah reading on both Erev Purim and Purim morning. Some of us will attend in person, and most will watch via our TBA streaming service. I am confident that both will be meaningful and fun. It amazes me that with all the challenges these past 12 months have brought, how well our TBA community has adjusted. When weather allowed, we had outdoor services. We have had indoor services with limited attendance and social distancing. We have celebrated b’nai mitzvot. Last month, Janice and I enjoyed TBA’s virtual Tu B’Shevat seder. Our committees and leadership have been virtually active with meetings and events. And our Men’s Club has been very engaged. In January, we hosted our first TBA Trivia night (virtually), attended by more than 30 people. Prizes were awarded to our 3 top trivia masters. It was so much fun and we received such wonderful feedback that we are looking to plan another trivia night in the near future. In February, Rabbi Malik led services during our virtual World Wide Wrap. Our club has again donated Yellow Candles that are in your TBA Purim baskets this year for commemorating Yom Hashoah (evening of April 8th this year). Please note that all Yellow candle donations you make go directly to CHHANGE (Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education at Brookdale). During the month of March, the Men’s Club and the Sisterhood are co-sponsoring TWO FREE LIVE VIRTUAL ISRAEL TOURS. Pre-registration is required to obtain the zoom link. Please look for flyers in your email for registration links. The tours include: Sunday March 7th at 12:30 PM - Our tour guide, Moshe Gold, will walk us through the markets and alleyways of the Old City of Jerusalem. We will visit the Temple Mount, the Ramparts, the City of David, and more! Sunday, March 21st at 12:30 PM – Our tour guide, Anat Harrel, will take us to the northern borders of Israel. We will visit the villages/communities of the Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights, and meet the people who live there. While these tours are free, we do ask to please sponsor the event if you can. There are two levels of sponsorships : Silver at $36, and Gold at $54. Please make all checks payable to TBA Men’s Club and send them to the temple. Our club is also working on a fun, interactive, and competitive virtual fund raiser for the end of the year when the weather gets warmer. Please be on the lookout for more information in the coming months. On Friday night, June 4th (rain date is Friday June 11th), we will be hosting a Men’s Club “Shabbat Under the Stars,” on the outside grounds of our temple. All appropriate Covid-19 protocols will be maintained. Please watch for further announcements of time. If you are a paid up member of Men’s Club and want to participate in the service, please contact Rick Robinson (metsfan63@gmail.com). Please also remember our “Wine on the Vine” program.
Men's Club Shofar Article - February 2021
As I reflect on the first half of my first year as Men’s Club president, I realize how proud I am of our Temple and especially of our Men’s Club. The pandemic has definitely presented challenges, but we as a community have met them head on. And I am happy to say that our Men’s Club has played a significant role. We had wonderful and inspiring High Holiday services a few months ago; we were the only shul in our area that allowed all our congregants to participate in a safe and comfortable way to each of us. While we had to modify how we observed the holiday, we did celebrate Sukkot in the Sukkah. And we honored two wonderful people, Alan and Ann Gabel, on Simchat Torah. Over the last six months we have enjoyed sharing in simchot, and have supported those grieving or commemorating yahrzeits. A large thank you goes to both Rabbi and Adi for their tire-less efforts. Thank you to our Scenario, CCOTF, and Security & Safety committees for making the onsite ser-vices possible. Many of our Men’s Club members serve on these committees, and I personally am proud to be on two of them. Our Club has been there both in service and financially to support our temple’s COVID-19 efforts. In addition to our religious services, our Men’s Club has been instrumental in bringing many virtual pro-grams to TBA, including our multi-temple Cantorial Concert, the Antisemitism Program, co-sponsoring a Virtual Historical Visit through New York City, and most recently our TBA Trivia Night, to name a few. We are currently working on plans for a Virtual World Wide Wrap on Super Bowl Sunday, a possible Virtual Israel Tour, and other events for the second half of our fiscal year. We have brought to TBA a new way to honor someone’s memory, or to celebrate a simcha or achievement through our participation in the “Wine on the Vine” program. The recipient gets a beautiful certificate, and you are helping Israel in addition to supporting our club. While the past 6 months have presented many challenges, and the next few months will as well, I urge everyone to keep rising to the challenge, and focusing on the positives in our lives and in our TBA community. Please join our virtual programs, and when possible again, our on-site programs. Feel free to contact me or anyone from the Men’s Club Board if would like information on becoming more involved, or have any questions about the Men’s Club. We always welcome new ideas. As a reminder, we still have some TBA Men’s Club T-Shirts left. You can find the order form in the mid-month mailings and in this Shofar. Hurry and get yours. Stay safe and healthy! I look forward to seeing you shortly online and hopefully in person.
Men's Club Shofar Article - January 2021
This past month our Men’s Club took part in the NJ Federation of Men’s Clubs annual Man of the Year/Youth of the Year Program. I was honored to be chosen by the Men’s Club board to be this year’s Man of the Year, and thrilled to share this honor with our Youth of the Year, Abi Cohen. This year’s program was virtual. The Federation did a wonderful job with the presentation. The recording can be found at https://www.facebook.com/michael.keats.509/videos/10218326181006717. Thank you to everyone who attended the event. A special thank you to all that made donations in honor of Abi and myself, and who took out ads in the MOY/YOY journal. Please let me know if you would like a PDF copy of the journal.
On January 18th, we will be hosting a TBA Trivia Night. This will be a free event with gift card prizes to the top 3 trivia masters. Registration will be required. A flyer will be emailed to the congregation. Please sign up as soon as you can to ensure you receive the Zoom information.
Please remember the “Wine on the Vine” pro-gram if you are looking for a great way to celebrate a sim-cha, honor someone special, or honor someone’s memory. Each vine costs $18 and the recipient is emailed a PDF version of a beautiful certificate ($5 extra for a hard copy to be mailed). Orders can be made directly from the website https://fjmc.wineonthevine.org/product/plant-vines-in-israel, or you can email me at smarbital@gmail.com for an order form.
As a reminder we are selling TBA Men’s Club T-Shirts for only $18 per shirt. We have most sizes (M, L, XL, XXL) in stock, and we can order more if needed. This is a great way to support the Men’s Club and show your pride in the TBA Men’s Club.
Have a wonderful and safe secular New Year! As always, please feel free to contact me or any-one from the Men’s Club Board if you have any questions, feedback or ideas for events. Also, please feel free to contact me if you want to get involved with our wonderful club.
Seth Arbital, Men’s Club President
Men's Club Update - December 2020
- We funded the initial Covid-19 supplies to TBA
- We helped fund the Rosh Hashanah gift bag
- We built and dismantled the TBA Sukkah
- We have supported our Religious School holiday programs
- We initiated and led, for the first time in our Jewish Community, a multiple temple Men's Club committee that allowed us to bring to our community a Virtual Cantorial Concert, and a virtual Antisemitism program.
- We have cosponsored/co-hosted several virtual programs with Sisterhood
Mon, April 19 2021
7 Iyyar 5781
Synagogue Links
