from the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

From the desk of …                    

 Rabbi Barry Schwartz

    

A TRIBUTE TO OUR PRESIDENT
 

…to the president of our Congregation, that is

As Lance Strate steps down from the helm, our thanks are due.

I will leave it to future historians to assess his legacy, but allow me to point out that Lance:

• Served three terms (six years) as our president
• He did so while maintaining a demanding academic career
• He did so while meeting demanding family responsibilities
• He gave witty weekly greetings and announcements
• He wrote wise and wonderful bimonthly bulletin columns
• He enhanced our community profile with articles in the Jewish Standard
• He ran our blog spot
• He coordinated our poetry garden meetings
• He wrote four Purim spiels
• He brought many an intriguing speaker (and a musical ensemble) to our Congregation
• He read Torah each Rosh Hashanah
• He offered a passionate High Holy day appeal

With all due deference to Sir (and later Saint) Thomas More, Lance was our “man for all seasons”. One did not have to agree with all of his views or methods to respect his dedication and learning. How many other congregations have a president who rolled up his sleeves to do all the committee and board work that is required, while writing blogs, columns, poems, spiels and appeals (not to mention several books in his own field of media ecology)?

I am very fortunate to have worked with Lance for the entirety of his term, and look forward to benefiting from his continued involvement as an “elder statesman” as we near (as Lance was fond of reminding us) our “sesquicentennial” (otherwise referred to as 150th anniversary) just three years from now.

Our heartfelt thanks must also go out to Barbara, Ben and Sarah for allowing Lance to dedicate such time and effort to our congregation.

And to Lance we say, hazak v’amatz—be strong, and may you go from strength to strength.

Social Action Spring

From the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:


 

A Report from Annette DeMarco
Social Action Committee Chairperson




 


Hello All!

The number of the moment is 183! That is how many items of soup we collected and donated to the Center for Food Action… and during one very, very cold winter! Thank you to all who took part in our "Souper Bowl"!

We are now working with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey as this organization sponsors its March Mega Food Drive. Please bring non-perishable foods to the vestry room between now and March 19, and place in our Community Purim Baskets. Donations will be brought to the JFNNJ office and from there distributed to local food pantries.

Another chance to help: On Sunday, March 25th, families are being asked to help sort the food collected as well as pack week-end snack packs for children in need. Please go to www.jfnnj.org/fooddrive to register and to find a list of most needed food items. There are no age limitations to participate!

Save the Date: Sunday, May 6

For the third year, our congregation will be part of Family Promise Hike or Bike in Ridgewood. This event raises money for homeless, working families with children. Participants can choose to hike (walk through town) or bike for three miles, or bike for 15 miles. There are lots of family activities plus refreshments. Stay tuned for more information!

Social Action Committee Meeting: Thursday March 15 from 6:30-7:30 PM. New Members Welcome! I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to those who answered our call to support March for Our Lives by making a donation or purchasing merchandise. Marchforourlives.com

L’Shalom,
Annette 
acheryl21 at gmail.com

Spring 2018 Religious School News

From the pages of Kadima, the Newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

Religious School News 

     from


Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Religious School Director

The joy and silliness of Purim having just ended, we now look ahead to Passover at the end of this month. As in previous years we will be putting together a school Passover Seder program with student contributions of music, skits and presentations. We need help from parents with food, setup and cleanup—please check out the Parent Volunteer link and sign up if you can help:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0845a9 aa2caafe3-class

The next Family Service on March 23 will be led by our youngest students from Grade 1-2- 3. Come on out and support them as they lead us in songs and prayers, and provide us with their take on the 10 Plagues!

The April 27 Family Service in celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday will include contributions from each class, as they share sets of 7 facts (one for each decade!) on different aspects of Israel’s life and history. This promises to be an inspiring and enjoyable celebration.

But wait, there’s more! Jordana Marcus is celebrating becoming Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, March 10th. B’nei mitzvah services at Adas Emuno are open to everyone. Our students work hard and we are so proud of them—go Jordana!

Please make a note of these upcoming dates in March and April for our students & families!

Saturday, March 10 
10:00 AM–Bat Mitzvah of Jordana Marcus

Sunday, March 11
Confirmation Class followed by Youth Group activity

Friday, March 23 
7:30 PM—Shabbat Family Service featuring Grades 1-2-3

Sunday, March 25— Religious School Passover Seder

Sunday, April 1 No School

Friday, April 27 
7:30 PM—Shabbat Family Service in celebration of Israel’s 70th Birthday

Sunday, April 8
10:30-12 Confirmation Class with Guest Author Joan Arnay Halperin who will discuss her book, My Sister’s Eyes: A Family Chronicle of Rescue and Loss During World War II. Open to the Congregation.


 School Sundays at 9:15 AM Mommy/Daddy ‘n Me!

Religious School at the Start of 2018

From the pages of Kadima, the Newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

Religious School News 

     from


Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Religious School Director

Happy 2018… a new (secular) year begins! As of January 7th the Religious School will be back in session and in full swing. With lively discussion, through music and prayer and creative projects, our students share in the opportunity of being together with other Jewish students every week, to learn and celebrate our values and traditions.

Please note that our weekly Tefilah—the school-wide Sunday morning prayer service—is open to all ages, whether or not you are part of the school. Feel free to drop by on Sundays between 9:00 and 9:40 and join in the participatory experience of prayer, song and learning.

A new program has begun for tots and toddlers from ages 1½ to 4 and their parents. Organized by Jody Pugach, with able assistance from Kerri Klein, and led by teacher Reina Stern, there have been two sessions so far and we look forward to seeing this program continue and grow. Families need not be members of Adas Emuno, so please help us spread the word!

At the opening of our December Shabbat Family Service, the Grade 5-6 class sang the song “Bring in the Light” in two-part harmony, as we lit the Chanukah and Shabbat candles. It was a beautiful, inspiring moment.

As we head through the winter and beyond, may we shine the light that is within each of us.

Please make a note of these upcoming dates in January and February for our students & families!

*Sundays, January 14 and February 11 
Confirmation Class 
Youth Group

*Friday, January 26 
7:30 PM—Shabbat Family Service led by Grade 4

*Friday, February 23 
7:30 PM—Shabbat Family Service with special oneg!

*Sunday, February 18—No School

AND SAVE THE DATE!  
*Thursday, March 1 
6 PM Pizza Dinner 
7 PM Purim Service & Spiel 

 *Sunday, March 4 
School Purim Carnival

A Spiel in September

As we prepare for our autumal holiday season, we can take a moment to look back at this past spring's Purim spiel, performed on March 11, 2017.

The title of this year's Purim spiel is The Festival of Lots, and it is an original work. Any other congregations or Jewish groups out there who are interested in using it for their next Purim celebration, you can contact us via email: adasemuno at gmail.com.

The video recording is available on YouTube and right here on our congregational blog. Be warned that this is not a professionally produced video, just raw footage, with concomitant technical difficulties. And this is strictly an amateur performance, but we hope you'll agree it's one that has a lot of heart and soul.





Our last two Purims spiels can also be screened here on our blog, via the following posts from days gone by: A Purim Spiel Before Hanukkah (for last year's performance of Shalom Shushan), and A Summer Purim Spiel and A Winter Purim Spiel (for the two performances of The Schnook of Esther).  

The scripts of these two are available online for all to read via the following link: Shalom Shushan and The Schnook of Esther. Congregations and other groups can read it first, and are on the honor system regarding donations to our social action fund if they decide to use it. The script for The Festival of Lots will be made available online in the near future.

 From the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

A Message From Our President

Dr. Lance Strate

The State of the Congregation

For the past four years, I have begun by stating that the state of our congregation is strong, and I want to begin again by saying that we remain strong as a congregation, despite the challenges that we face.

The source of our strength is in our people: our members, our clergy, our leadership. And so I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a group of dedicated, hardworking, and talented individuals. I want to thank our officers, Vice-President Elka Oliver, Financial Secretary Mark Rosenberg, Treasurer Marilyn Katz, and Recording Secretary Susan Grey, for all that they have done for Adas Emuno, and will continue to do for our shul in the future. I also want to thank the other members of our Board of Trustees, Carol Bodian, Annette DeMarco, Michael Fishbein, Judith Fisher, Jody Pogach, Michael Raskin, Norman Rosen, Lauren Rowland, Ronald Waxman, Doris White, Sandra Zornek, and of course our past president, Virginia Gitter. Our board has never shirked its duties or ignored its fiduciary responsibilities to our congregation (the commitment reflected in the late hour that our meetings often run to), and I believe we can all be grateful that there is so much potential for future leadership represented on our board.

While I will not go over every committee and name all of the chairs and volunteers who make things happen, instead I will say that you all are the lifeblood of this congregation, and your contributions are recognized, understood, and treasured.

We continue to be blessed by a dream team of clergy, and I simply cannot say enough about Rabbi Schwartz and Cantor Horowitz. But I will say that our rabbi is a true scholar and teacher, whether he is standing on the pulpit, speaking to individuals in the social hall, teaching Torah Study, adult education or confirmation class, or setting an example by his own efforts at social action. He is our spiritual leader, our role model and guide, and we are so fortunate to have him, and his wife Debby, as part of the Adas Emuno family.

Cantor Horowitz performs her dual role as cantor and religious school director with grace, inspiration, and authority. The beautiful and moving music she brings to our services is echoed by the music that can be heard on Sundays in the voices of our students and teachers engaged in Jewish learning and education. For this reason, I am very pleased to report to the congregation that Cantor Horowitz has signed another two-year contract, so that she will continue on as our Cantor-Educator for the near future. This represents the longest period of continuity regarding our temple’s clergy for many years, certainly longer than I can remember, and I believe we can take pride in this achievement and be thankful for such good fortune.

In support of the Cantor and our services, as well as other activities we take part in, such as musical performances, talent shows, and Purim spiels, we have recently made a major improvement by replacing our old, cobbled-together, secondhand sound system, which was failing, with a new one. It is one that will continue to serve our congregation (which I do not hesitate to characterize as musical and discerning) for many years to come. I want to express our sincere gratitude to Kurt Roberg for his generation donation that enabled us to purchase this new system. A special thanks also to Elka Oliver for spearheading the mission. And on the subject of the Purim spiel, I just want to say that it is such an honor and pleasure for me to be able to help make that one of our many special events and observances.

This past year has been in many ways a quiet year for our congregation, but it also has been one in which we have made our voices heard, becoming political collectively as so many of us have become individually of late. This includes Rabbi Schwartz’s efforts, endorsed by the board, to have Leonia declared a sanctuary city, and our letter of protest to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the status of egalitarian worship at the Western Wall. The significance of these efforts lies not in the fact that they did not achieve their stated goals, but in the ways in which we, as a congregation, have become engaged with our community, our nation, and our people.

Our sesquicentennial is just four years away now, and it is imperative that we think about the future, to plan a celebration, but also to insure that our congregation survives for another 150 years. Our greatest challenges remain above all, membership, as our numbers have declined, and the demographics of the area do not work in our favor. We need to put more effort into trying to recruit new members, especially families with school age children, as our religious school enrollments have also gone down. On the bright side, Rabbi Schwartz has spearheaded an effort to establish a temple youth group, and this will serve not only our teens, but our efforts to be more attractive to potential members. But we need everyone working together to keep our little shul on the hill going strong. Financially, we are healthy for the short term, but in the long run we need members to keep us healthy.

We have our work cut out for us, but I think we all know that there is something special about our congregation, something worth working for, and something that makes it very rewarding to do so. I want to call on all of our membership to come to our aid in the coming year, and beyond, to do whatever you can, to go above and beyond, to support our shul, through donations, and through your thoughts and time and participation as congregants, volunteers, and Adas Emuno ambassadors. Our congregation is strong, and with your help, with all of us working together, we will continue to go from strength to strength. Thank you.

June 15, 2017

Rabbi Schwartz's Report at our Annual Congregational Meeting

Delivered at our annual congregational meeting on June 22nd:

Rabbi's Report for the Year 5777

Each year I submit brief remarks based on the three basic functions of the synagogue as reflected in its Hebrew names: Beit Tefilah (House of Prayer), Beit Midrash (House of Study) and Beit K’nesset (House of Gathering).

Beit Tefilah: Our High Holiday services were full and joyful; the same can be said for our holiday celebrations, especially Hanukkah, Purim and the Pesach congregational Seder. The exception is Simchat Torah, which would benefit from some creative rethinking. I want to once again applaud the parents and students of our school who have made monthly Family Services so invigorating.

Beit Midrash: Our year-long study of the history of Reform Judaism was one of our best Torah study experiences to date. I am grateful for the remarkably strong support given Torah study week-in, week-out, and the vibrant discussion that takes place on a consistent basis. Our religious school, though diminished in numbers, concluded another excellent year, under the able leadership of the Cantor, the faculty, and the education committee. A new youth group was successfully launched in connection with a revised Confirmation program. Special thanks to our youth advisors Sabina Albrech and Samantha Rosenbloom, and to our b’nai mitzvah coordinator Marilyn Katz. Despite these positive developments, it is clear that we will have to grapple in the coming year with the consequences of our declining demographics.

Beit K’nesset: I am especially proud of our interfaith and social justice work this year, including hosting the Leonia Community Thanksgiving Service, our Community Interfaith Sanctuary City Resolution, Western Wall Resolution, and Mitzvah Mall program. Two greatly generous contributions to the synagogue will permit a new enhanced sound system, special youth programming, and other good works granted by the rabbi’s discretionary fund. I conclude, as always, with my sincere gratitude to the Temple Board, to the Cantor, and to our “family of families” for all you do to sustain our “assembly of the faithful” from year to year.

Bonds of Faith

Congregation Adas Emuno has certainly been in the news quite a lot recently, and while much of it has involved the controversial resolution to declare Leonia a sanctuary city, Bergen County's monthly 201 Magazine ran a feature about our shul's history in their March issue. Here's how it looked:

And let's take a closer look at those photos:

The color photo is of last year's spiel, and this came out just in time for Purim, which we just celebrated on Saturday evening and Sunday morning! 

We are most certainly the little shul that could!

Purim Tonight!

Join Us on Saturday for Our Purim Service and Spiel

Come celebrate Purim at Adas Emuno with singing, reading from the Megillah, and a world premier performance of this year's original Purim Spiel, "The Festival of Lots," written by Lance Strate.

A cast of characters features Ahashverosh as the king who gets no respect, Vashti as the queen who would rather be a star, Haman as the villain we love to boo, Mordecai as our favorite good guy, and Dr. Esther as the shrink who cures the kingdom's ills. With special guest star Judah Maccabee, and introducing Purim Person, the spirit of the holiday.

With song parodies of Time Warp, Mack the Knife, Beat It, Achy Breaky Heart, Suffragette City, I Gotta Be Me, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, Hello by Adele, 1999 by Prince and many other crowd favorites, this spiel will entertain revelers young and old alike.

There'll be pizza at 5:30, and our Purim service will begin at 6:30, with singing and a reading from the Megillah, immediately followed by the spiel. Hammantaschen and other refreshments will be served following the spiel. Open to the community!

Spring into Social Action

From the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:


 

A Report from Annette DeMarco
Social Action Committee Chairperson




 


Hello to All!

Team A.E. 101 and Team Hunger 0!  That was the final score for our "Souper Bowl ll".  Thank you so very much to everyone who donated soup items.  This is definitely the time of year to eat soup and 101 cans, cartons, etc. of this comfort food went a long way to warm up and fill up some hungry folks. 


Happening now: our Adas Emuno community, giant-sized Shaloch Manot Basket Food Collection!  The basket area, in the vestry, will be adorned with fun, bright, Purim decorations, so it can't be missed!  Any food collected through March will be donated to the Jewish Federation's March Food Drive (if it is held this year) or to the Center for Food Action in Englewood.  Coming for the Purim Spiel?  That would be a great time to bring a food item for each person in your party… just a thought!

Ever wonder what to do with your extra, kosher for Passover, non perishable foods left after the holiday ends?  Well, here's the solution!  Bring them to the vestry room in the temple by the end of April and they will be given to Helping Hands, located in Teaneck. 

New Event for our Congregation: Family Promise, the organization in Bergen County that shelters and supports homeless, working families with children, will be holding their annual "Hike or Bike" event on Sunday, May 5th, in Ridgewood.  Three of us from the temple took part in this program last year. It was great fun for a great cause and the people in charge could not have been more helpful, caring or grateful. So, we decided to try it as a temple event for this year. The "hike" goes for 3 miles (think "walk through the neighborhood"!) and the "bike" is 15 miles, with at least part of it along a bike path.  There is also a "hike or trike" for little ones under age 5, plus food, music, games, etc. for all. Please save the date, and look for details to come, including how to register, fees (this money is used for the many programs/assistance offered by Family Promise) and times of the events.  It's a wonderful way to spend a day with family, friends and fellow congregants.

  Our next Social Action Committee meeting will be on Wednesday, March 15 at 7:30 PM in the Social Hall. All are welcome to join us to bring ideas for future programs and input on our current projects. A happy and healthy new year to all! 

Annette – acheryl21 at gmail.com

Religious School News: Purim & Passover

From the pages of Kadima, the Newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:

Religious School News 

     from


Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Religious School Director

There is a fun song we teach at this time of year, called “Mishenichnas Adar”⏤it celebrates the Hebrew month of Adar, the month of Purim. The words of the song mean, “When Adar arrives, our joy increases!”

To quote another song, “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles: “Little darlin’, it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter.” Indeed, it has. So Purim comes just in time to lift our spirits, as the Religious School gets ready to celebrate this holiday in style on March 12th. There wll be costumes and songs, a skit and⏤thanks to the efforts of some of our parents⏤the Purim Carnival is back! We hope to see you as well on Saturday evening, March 11th, to watch adults acting silly in this year’s Purim shpiel, “The Festival of Lots”! We look forward to having some of your children take part that evening, by lending their singing voices.

Next month our joy increases further with the celebration of Passover. For our annual school Passover program, each grade contributes a song or presentation regarding one aspect of the Passover holiday. We could use more help providing food and setting up, so if you are available please sign up!

In other news, our monthly Youth Group program for post b’nei-mitzvah students is off to a great start. Thank you to Rabbi Schwartz, Jody Priblo, Sabina Albirt and Samantha Rosenbloom for their capable leadership! It’s never too late to join the fun, teens can sign up anytime.

Family Services featuring Grades 2-3 and K-1 are coming up this month and next. Check out the dates below, and mark your calendars⏤it means so much to have students supporting each other at these services. Let’s share the joy!



DATES TO REMEMBER:

Thursday, January 12
7:30 PM School Committee Meeting

Friday, January 20
7:30 PM Shabbat Family Service led by the Fourth Grade

Saturday March 11
10:00 AM Bar Mitzvah of Joshua Gereb

Saturday March 11
5:30 PM Pizza + 6:30 PM Purim Service & Shpiel

Sunday March 12
School Purim Celebration; Carnival begins 11:30

Friday March 24
7:30 PM Shabbat Family Service⏤Grade 2-3 students

Saturday March 25
10:00 AM Bat Mitzvah of Haley Aleksic

Sunday April 9
School Passover Program

Tuesday April 11
Adas Emuno Community Passover Seder

Sunday April 15
No Religious School⏤Spring Break

Friday April 28
7:30 PM Shabbat Family Service⏤Grade K-1 students

Confirmation Class and Youth Group meetings: March 26 & April 23

A Season of Scenarios

Once again we would like to share, here on our congregational blog, the latest Jewish Standard op-ed from Adas Emuno president Lance Strate, entitled, A Season of Scenarios. This piece was published in the February 24th issue and online on his blog for the Standard's Times of Israel site. As Purim is almost upon us, it is especially timely:

Judging by the topsy-turvy nature of the Trump administration’s first few weeks in office, you’d think that Purim has come early this year. Except for the fact that the story of Purim is something of a farce, albeit one that involves narrowly avoiding a tragedy, while the Trump presidency, many of us fear, is a farce that may, or will, or already has become a tragedy the likes of which even Shakespeare could not have imagined.

Before looking ahead to what may come to pass, let me begin by noting that as far back as the autumn of 2015 I started saying that Trump was going to be our next president. This was not an act of prophecy, I hasten to add, but rather an exercise in the sort of futurism that Alvin Toffler made popular with the publication of Future Shock back in 1970. What this requires is a careful review of history and attention to patterns and trends of the past.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡  ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡

In this instance, I noticed the parallels between the reality-TV-star-turned-candidate and our first (and so far only) movie star president, Ronald Reagan. As different as their demeanors and even their messages may have been, both were masters of the electronic media. For Reagan it was radio and television; for Trump it is TV and Twitter. And both exhibited that Teflon quality, whereby scandals and accusations that would sink anyone else’s political career seemed to bounce right off them. I was sure enough of the outcome that I bet a colleague $100 that Trump would be our next president, and did so at a time when it didn’t even seem likely that he would gain the Republican nomination.

When I was making my prediction, some thought it meant that I wanted Trump to win. I most certainly did not. For me, the point was to analyze the facts objectively and draw a logical conclusion. I stress this because now I want to make it clear that what I think may come next is based on the same kind of analysis. I am not absolutely certain about this, but I do believe there is a better than average, maybe even a good chance, that Trump will not finish his term.

I want to emphasize that I am not predicting that this will happen. I simply am noting that there are four distinct ways in which Donald Trump could be the first president since Nixon to serve less than the full four years to which he was elected.

The first possibility, and the one on everyone’s minds, is impeachment. It is nothing short of astounding that the possibility was being discussed even before the election took place. I won’t bother to list the many reasons why the House of Representatives might vote to bring articles of impeachment against Trump, and a trial leading to conviction and removal from office might take place in the Senate. I only want to note that the possibility exists now, even with Republican majorities in both chambers, and would become even more likely if midterm elections gave the Democrats full control of Congress.

A second possibility is resignation. Recall that Nixon was the last (and only) president to resign, and he did so to avoid impeachment. Trump might follow the same course if impeachment seems likely, or he faces some other legal action regarding his finances. And while many believe he has the kind of personality that would lead him to hold on and fight, everything about him as a politician has been characterized as unprecedented, so is it really unimaginable that he might decide that being president isn’t worth it to him, that walking out would be just like declaring a bankruptcy, and that he could do so while pinning the blame on the media, his political opponents, and anyone else he deems an enemy?

A third possibility is based on the fact that at the age of 70, he is the oldest person to move into the Oval Office, which means that his future life expectancy is limited. It follows that there is a chance he might die in office, or be otherwise unable to fulfill his responsibilities due to medical disability. Despite claims of good health, little about his medical history has been released to the public. Even if he has no pre-existing conditions, there is no getting around the fact that he was born in 1946; as any insurance agency would explain, it’s all a matter of statistical probabilities. (I’m not including the possibility of incapacity due to psychological issues here, because all but the most extreme forms of mental incapacity are difficult to prove.)

No doubt, even if it was clear that disability or death were due to natural causes, conspiracy theories about assassination attempts would abound. And given the friction that seems to exist between Trump and the intelligence community, the possibility of some form of poisoning, a time-honored staple for monarchies, dictatorships, and film and TV melodramas, undoubtedly would come to mind. The more straightforward forms of assassination would also constitute a fourth possibility. The last president to get shot was Reagan, a little more than two months into his first term. Gerald Ford was the victim of two assassination attempts; both times the shooters missed.

It would be only natural to assume that any attempt on Trump’s life would come from someone on the left, or perhaps an angry Muslim or Mexican. But I think it might well come from one of those alt-right types or Second Amendment people that Trump has been courting throughout his campaign and first weeks in office. If he doesn’t come through on the promises he made to them, or that they think he made to them, we can only imagine the kind of anger that a sense of betrayal would produce in extremists of that sort. As the prophet Hosea observed, “they that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.”

I want to stress that I am not wishing for any of these outcomes, and certainly not advocating for them. Any one of them would constitute a national trauma, and leave the United States even more divided into hostile camps than ever before. And after all, wouldn’t it be better still if Mr. Trump had a change of heart, and mind, and became the kind of president we all would hope for?

For this reason, let me outline a fifth scenario, and let’s call it a Purim scenario, with Trump in the role of the foolish king, Ahashverosh. We have some good candidates for the part of Haman in his administration, most notably in his senior counselor, Steve Bannon. Melania Trump has pulled a Vashti by not joining her husband at the White House. To select a replacement, Ahashverosh held what is sometimes considered the very first beauty pageant—Trump has had a long history with such events— but if anyone can play the role of Esther in this scenario, it would be his daughter Ivanka, a Jew by choice, who has been acting as a de facto first lady. Trump actually has said that he would want to date Ivanka if she wasn’t his daughter, and some find these and other comments he’s made about her creepy, but then again the traditional Purim story does not quite fit modern standards of propriety when it comes to attitudes toward women.

The important point is that Ivanka is known to be a moderating, even progressive influence on her father, and she is in the perfect position to play the role of savior in the manner of Queen Esther. All we need now is a Mordecai to help to motivate her. With Purim almost upon us, hope (and hopefully humor) springs eternal.

A Purim Spiel Before Hanukkah

With hopes of warming your heart during these cold days of winter, and looking forward to springtime, we are pleased to share with you this recording of this year's Purim spiel performance, held on March 23, 2016. 

The title of this year's Purim spiel is Shalom Shushan, and it is an original work. Any other congregations or Jewish groups out there who are interested in using it for their next Purim celebration, you can contact us via email: adasemuno at gmail.com.

The script is available online for all to read via the following link: Shalom Shushan. Last year's script is also available online: The Schnook of Esther. Congregations and other groups can read it first, and are on the honor system regarding donations to our social action fund if they decide to use it.

As for the video recording, it is available on YouTube, and right here on the official blog of Congregation Adas Emuno:





This is raw footage, not a professional production, and there are some technical difficulties, and admittedly the players ought not to quit their day jobs. But it is a lot of fun to watch, and it's clear that it was a lot of fun to put on. And in case you missed them, or want to watch them again, here are two performances of last year's Purim spiel: A Summer Purim Spiel and A Winter Purim Spiel.   

Social Action Spring and Summer

From the pages of Kadima, the newsletter of Congregation Adas Emuno:


 

A Report from Annette DeMarco
Social Action Committee Chairperson




 


Through May 22: we are collecting "left over", unopened, non-perishable, kosher for Passover foods to be given to Helping Hands Food Pantry in Teaneck. Please leave donations in the basket in the vestry.

June, July, August: Child-friendly food collection for the summer months when students are not in school to receive breakfasts or lunches. Please leave in the vestry room of the temple.

Last but not least! A special thank you to all who donated to our Community Purim Basket Food Drive! Over seven full bags of food were delivered from Adas Emuno to the office of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey as part of their Mega Food Drive. Good for us!

Sunday, May 15
Blood Drive in the Social Hall from 10 AM to 2:30 PM.
Must be 16 or over to participate and accompanied by parent or guardian if under age 18. Photo ID required.
Remember to eat and drink before participating.
Walk-ins welcomed or you may pre-register at leoniablooddrive at gmail.com
Coordinated by Emma Schuller

Another collection! Spring and summer clothing in good condition. Please leave in the back of the social hall. This drive runs through the end of May. Donations go to the Council of Jewish Women's thrift shop in Bergenfield.


****NEW PROGRAM****

Sunday, May 22
Pre-Memorial Day Event
We will be going to Mount Moriah Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Fairview on Fairview Avenue (better known as Dan Kelly's Hill in days gone by) to place American flags on the graves of service men and women. We will not only provide the flags but will also provide a pizza lunch, in the social hall, beforehand, for anyone going. IMPORTANT: Any student attending must have parents with them at the luncheon as well as at the cemetery. The schedule is as follows:
 
12:00 noon: Pizza lunch in the social hall, directly following religious school dismissal
12:30-12:45: Leave for cemetery
1:00-1:15: Arrive at cemetery

Please email me at acheryl21 at gmail.com by Tuesday, May 17th if you plan on joining us for the luncheon and trip, or just the trip. Thank you!

Regards to all,

Annette ­ Social Action Committee Chairperson

acheryl21 at gmail.com