Men's Club Events & News

During the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic, while challenging, did not stop the TBA Men's Club from thriving.  It took some out-of-the box thinking, but we were able to utilize technology to bring to our community some amazing programs that have been recognized by the international Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs (FJMC).  

I cannot believe summer is here already. Soon we will start preparing for High Holidays. This month ends my first year as TBA Men’s Club President. It went by fast, but I cannot believe what we have accomplished. I did not anticipate this type of year, when I thought about my tenure as the Men’s Club President. However, I could not be happier and more proud of our Men’s Club. We have a dedicated group of men who consistently come through. We thought out of the box, and thrived. While we were not able to have our standard Sunday morning breakfast programs, we brought engag-ing speakers virtually to TBA. We led the efforts for the first multi-temple Men’s Club program in our area’s his-tory with an uplifting Cantorial concert, followed by a unique program on antisemitism. We were instrumental, both financially and with volunteerism, in helping TBA bring outdoor and indoor Shabbat and High Holiday ser-vices to our congregation. We were one of the major do-nors for the new Sukkah canvas, and our Sukkah squad came together to ensure we had a Sukkah this year. And most of all, we found innovative ways to stay connected, and support each other in good and bad times. We are thrilled to start off this month hosting our annual Men’s Club Shabbat on Friday, June 4th. This year, we are doing a “Shabbat Under the Stars,” celebrat-ing our ability to once again come together in person to welcome Shabbat. And we are hopeful that we will soon be able to bring back our annual Dinner Show and the Sisterhood/Men’s Club Pancake Breakfast. Please moni-tor your email closely for future announcements about these and other programs. And as we do a “reboot” of TBA and start com-ing back to shul on a regular basis, we have another new beginning - our new religious leader, Rabbi Edelstein starts his tenure with us. I am personally looking forward to working as a member of the Welcome Committee, and am excited to have our new Rabbi as an active member of our Men’s Club. We will be purchasing a Wine on the Vine to welcome Rabbi Edelstein and his wife Audrey to our Temple. If you would like to purchase a vine for Rabbi Edelstein, for a celebration, or for an honor of a loved one’s memory, please let me know. Your $18 will help Israel’s wine industry and Israeli charities, in addition to supporting our club. And the family or person honored will receive a beautiful certificate (PDF included or a physical certificate mailed for a small processing fee). And if you have not already done so, please re-member to purchase your Men’s Club pride T-shirt - available for $18 per shirt. We have sizes Medium through XXL. To order please contact Rick Robinson (metsfan63@gmail.com). Your shirts will be hand deliv-ered to your home.

As we start April, we are in the midst of Passover. I want to wish everyone a Zissen Pesach. I hope you were able to join friends and family either in person or remotely at a cele-bratory Seder. As a child, I remember Passover as being my favorite holiday. From the time I was 11 years old, my parents allowed me to lead the Seder. I would make special gifts for all our guests. And some of my favorite memories are my father and the family doing his rendition of Chad Gad Yah with all the different voices. We would all end up laughing and enjoy-ing being with each other. Last month we celebrated Purim, and the Men’s Club donated Yellow Candles that were included in everyone’s Pu-rim Basket. Thank you to all who donated towards the Yellow Candles this year. We raised over $300 that will be 100% do-nated to CHHANGE (Center for Holocaust, Human Rights & Genocide Education at Brookdale). Last month we were also very fortunate to co-sponsor two virtual tours of Israel; one of the Holy City, and one of the Northern Borders. We had over 60 people attending each tour, and the feedback received was wonderful. I want to give a spe-cial thank you to both Ken Philmus and Karen Pollock for or-ganizing these tours, to Matthew Kaufman for his help with Zoom, and to all our sponsors:  Gold Sponsors: Seth & Janice Arbital, Sandy Finkelstein and Jay Turoff, Gary & Jill Fishman, Alan & Ann Gabel, Ken & Irma Philmus, Karen Pollock, Rick & Allison Rob-inson, Steve & Anne Schuman, Ivan & Carol Sokoloff,David & Monica Young, and Marvin & Ellen Winston  Silver Sponsors: Leroy & Risa Doris, Bettyann Honig, Edie Jacobs, Ruth Lipman, and Paula Pollack We look forward to working with Sisterhood and other temple arms, co-sponsoring events in the future. Upcoming Programs  On Wednesday evening, April 21st, we will be hosting a zoom presentation about the Yom Kippur War of Octo-ber 1973, where Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on two fronts. This war was pivotal in US-Israel relations The conflict resolution had a significant impact on Arab-Israeli relations, and ultimately led to permanent peace between Egypt and Israel. Our speaker is Itzhak Brook, MD, MSc from the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. (https://embassies.gov.il/chicago/Speakers/Illinois/Pages/Itzhak-Brook.aspx). Please keep a lookout for email an-nouncements with further details and zoom registration information.  Men’s Club will be hosting a “KabbalatShabbat Under the Stars” on Friday, June 4th. This will be an outdoor ser-vice with appropriate Covid-19 Protocols (masks, social distancing, preregistration, etc.). Registration is currently open on Shul Cloud. If you are a Men’s Club member and would like to lead a prayer or reading, please notify Rick Robinson at metsfan63@gmail.com.  Our club is also working on a fun, interactive, and compet-itive scavenger hunt. We are targeting this program for the summer. Please keep your eyes peeled for detailed an-nouncements.

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.

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