Rabbi Schwartz's Sermon for Rosh Hashanah Morning 5779

SO I WILL PLANT FOR MY CHILDREN

ROSH HASHANAH 5779

RABBI BARRY L. SCHWARTZ

The year was 1871. Ulysses S. Grant was president. The Civil War had ended just 5 years before. The great Chicago Fire killed 300 and left 100,000 homeless. The first major league baseball game was played on May 4th and the first home run was hit on May 8th. Across the pond, Queen Victoria ruled England. Lord Stanley located a missing explorer in Africa and greeted him with the words, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume."

In Hoboken, a group of German Jews founded a congregation that they called Adas Emuno—the assembly of the faithful. Twelve years later, in 1883, they built a synagogue; a Gothic Revival building that still stands today and which the Hoboken Evening News called "a credit to the city". We have a yad, a Torah pointer, from that dedication that is kept right behind me in our Ark; and we still read from the Torah with the help of this 135-year-old yad. 

While most of our congregational records have been lost over the decades, the original minutes from our first years survive. They were hand written in German, in an old style few people can read today. But one person who can is our very own Kurt Roberg, whom many of you know. Kurt, a refugee from Nazi Germany, with a remarkable story that he has written a book about—and possibly our most senior member at age 94—has been reading and transcribing those minutes.

At the first Annual Meeting of the congregation on Sunday, Oct. 20, 1872, the president praised the generosity of the members in acquiring a Torah and other sacred objects, of raising some $1385 against total expenses of $1088 for a cash-on-hand balance of $297. Two weddings were held that year, and two b’nai mitzvah. Two funerals were also held that year, the latter writes the president "for my little son." The president concludes his address to the congregation at the first annual meeting by saying, "I have now given you an overview of everything that concerns our congregation, and even though there are some things that we still wish to accomplish, we may be proud of the advances we made in one year. Don’t hesitate to sacrifice whether time or money to complete the task we have begun."

By the 1890s the congregation had tripled to a hundred families. The flourishing community included a religious school, a choir, and a benevolent association to aid the poor called the Hebrew Ladies’ Aid Society. At the turn of the century a Hanukkah menorah was dedicated to the congregation on December 13, 1900. Our 118 year old menorah is right here and we still light it every year.

On May 27, 1917, a teen named Esther Cohn was confirmed at the Temple. She must have misplaced her Confirmation Certificate because I found it behind some books in our vestry room a few years ago. It was signed by the rabbi, Moses Eckstein. and by the president, Samuel Neuberger. Evidently, each student picked a "motto" for their certificate. Esther chose a verse from the 23rd Psalm, "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." A hundred years later we still have a Confirmation Class, and each year I ask my students to pick a verse for their Confirmation essay.

Records grow scant as the 20th century progressed. We do know that in 1919 dues were set at $30 a year. They rose to $45 by 1924. But High Holy Day seats were extra, and the ones closest to the bimah cost another $15. We no longer sell seats. On October 4th, 1951, Milton Neuman, who was chair of the Eightieth Anniversary Committee of the congregation, received a congratulatory letter from President Harry Truman. I have a copy of that letter here. It reads, "Dear Mr. Neuman…." Milton Neuman’s nephew, Michael Levy, is an active third generation member of the congregation. His parents and grandparents were members, and two of his grandchildren became b’nai mitzvah here.

Every time we enter this synagogue, which became our home only after a century in Hoboken, we are reminded of our origins. We pass the dedication plaque at our entrance to the left most often without noticing it. Then we enter the sanctuary and see the memorial plaques from our original building. The names of our predecessors and their loved ones are not forgotten.

We are now just three years away from what our past president, Lance Strate, reminds us is our sesquicentennial. We will soon need to think about what kind of birthday party we will throw for our 150th . But I am not a party planner; I’ll leave that to others. However, I do want to weigh in with a suggestion, a big one, for our coming milestone.

Let me introduce this suggestion with a treasured story from our tradition. The Talmud records the life of an unusual and remarkable sage in ancient Israel named Honi the Circle Maker. Nobody knows why he received that name, but he is said to have gone around the land of Israel planting carob trees, a Jewish Johnny Appleseed, if you will. When asked why he took upon himself such an adventure, Honi responded that one day when he was still a young man he saw an old man planting a carob tree. Honi said, "Old man, why are you planting that tree. Don’t you know that it takes a carob tree seventy years to bear fruit?" The man paused, looked up at him, and said, "Just as my ancestors planted for me, so I will plant for my children."

That piece of wisdom changed Honi’s life. And it just might change ours. If we embrace the realization that we are not here solely for ourselves; if we stand in gratitude for what those before us have done for us and decide to pay it forward to the next generation.

When the founders first established this congregation in Hoboken, they were thinking about the next generation of Jewish life beyond New York. They were thinking about their children who would grow up in the new world, and speak English. They were thinking about the next generation when they established a religious school and and a youth group.

When the leaders of Adas Emuno made the difficult decision to move to Leonia, they were thinking about the next generation as well. They were thinking about how Jewish life was now growing beyond the first tier suburbs to the promising frontier of Bergen County. They knew that Congregation Adas Emuno was never big or rich and might not survive the move. But they also knew that Adas Emuno was a dedicated and down-to-earth assembly of the faithful. I call us "the little engine that could." We keep chugging along, even as larger congregations have come and gone.

So what does it mean for us to now think about our next generation? Let’s be honest. Our numbers are diminishing. The demographic tide in our little corner of the world is turning against us. Leonia is a community in transition. The largest group of students in our school district is Asian American. Jewish Americans are now statistically negligible. In this regard we are following in the footsteps of our neighbor Palisades Park and other nearby communities. It has been almost a decade since the only other synagogue in our community, Congregation Sons of Israel, closed its doors. To keep our doors open we will need help.

We are certainly grateful for young families that have recently joined our ranks, primarily from Fort Lee and Weehawken. They have sought out a progressive, inclusive Reform Jewish community. They have sought out a congregation that welcomes interfaith households and blended families. They have sought out a congregation that is haimish and humble. That is who we are. We still have a place; we still serve a need; we still fulfill our mission. 

But with diminished numbers, beyond a vigorous outreach effort, we will need another kind of help as well. Declines in membership means we will be even more dependent on non-dues income to stay afloat. Our congregation has always done a relatively good job of living within our means; compared to other places our expenses are very low. Up until now we have largely avoided ruinous deficits without the benefit of appreciable reserves. Up until now.

Congregation Adas Emuno needs and deserves a Heritage Fund. Living on the frontier of sweeping changes to Jewish life, it is now time to think about how we will secure the next generation of Jewish life given the realities of our future.

With the approval and support of our Board of Trustees, I am calling upon our congregation to formally establish a $150,000 Campaign for our 150th anniversary. By synagogue standards that is a modest goal that befits a small congregation. We hope it is more than attainable. Over the coming year we will speak to you about two ways you can make a pledge to our 150th Anniversary Fund. The first is an outright contribution, over a maximum of three years. For some of our older individuals, required minimum distributions from IRA accounts might be the ideal way to do this. For others it might be a charitable trust, appreciated securities, or an old-fashioned check. The other way of pledging is through a bequest. How fitting to remember our synagogue in our estate planning.

Mark Rosenberg and I are co-chairing this campaign. As Harry Truman said, "the buck stops with us." Or you might say, "the buck starts with us." Mark and Michelle have pledged $10,000 to this campaign. Debby and I are doing the same. We hope that above and beyond your support of this synagogue through dues, above and beyond your support of this synagogue through our annual appeal and other fundraisers, you will consider a generous contribution or bequest to Adas Emuno’s 150th Anniversary Fund. It will not be used for our operating budget at all, but as I mentioned, for the building of our reserves to be tapped only by decision of the full board.

And we will not be launching another heritage campaign like this for at least fifty years, until our bicentennial, in 2071.

Permit me to conclude with an understandable question. It is natural to ask: Why should I contribute to this synagogue campaign if I myself may not be here? Why plant this tree if I may not eat of its fruits? Long ago a sage in ancient Israel heard an answer that changed his life. Long ago a group of German Jewish immigrants thought about the next generation in America, their new promised land.

“Just as my ancestors planted for me, so I will plant for my children.”

So may it be.

 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 five years, I have been able to begin my report by saying that the state of our congregation is strong, and I see no reason for departing from that tradition this time. It is true that we will have to face many challenges in the years to come, and that there will be difficulties and problems that we have not anticipated and cannot anticipate. That is the way of the world, the future is always uncertain, to some degree. But we can prepare for whatever is to come by doing all that is in our power to be the best version of ourselves, the best Adas Emuno that we can be. And to acknowledge and address those challenges that we do recognize. With this in mind, I will say to you this one last time, the state of our congregation is strong.

In politics, it is of course customary for office holders to take credit of all the good that occurs, and pass the blame for the bad off to others. But our congregational leadership has never been very political, and I want to state, for the record, that when I took on the role of president six years ago, I was very lucky. I was lucky because a period of deep financial distress had just ended, through a series of significant donations. I was also lucky to be able to work together with a group of trustees and officers who were willing to roll their sleeves up and put in the effort needed to keep our congregation running smoothly. And who were willing to put on their thinking caps, or I should say their thinking kippahs, and work out effective and creative solutions to the problems we faced, and come up with new ways to improve our shul and our school. And I was very lucky as well because the previous year Rabbi Schwartz became our spiritual leader; it has been a great gift to our congregation to have him join us, and it has been a great gift to me personally to have the privilege of working with him.

Rabbi Schwartz is a true inheritor and embodiment of the prophetic tradition that is central to Reform Judaism, as a voice for social justice and a champion of ethical conduct, as a teacher and educator of great intellectual acumen, as an individual of deep and abiding spirituality, and as an advisor, counselor, and caretaker in every sense of the word. Thank you, Barry, for all that you have given to us over the years. And let me add a word of thanks for the added bonus of our rebbetzin, Debbie Schwartz, who has also contributed to our congregation in many significant ways.

During my first two-year term as president, in contrast to the situation with our rabbi, things were a bit more problematic when it came to the roles of cantor, and religious school director. All that changed when we hired Cantor Horowitz. Those of us who attend Friday night services enjoy singing along with Sandy, to melodies we know so well, and to all of the new ones that she has taught us. And all of us who come for the High Holy Days know that she is truly a sweet singer of Israel. When Cantor Horowitz joined us, it was to fill the duel role of clergy and religious school director, otherwise known as Cantor-Educator. Four years ago, it was an experiment, and we were unsure as to how it would work out. It didn't take long to learn that this experiment was indeed a success, and Cantor Horowitz has done an outstanding job with our Adas Emuno School. Thank you, Sandy, it has been a great pleasure and a privilege to work with you these past four years.

I have dubbed Rabbi Schwartz and Cantor Horowitz our dream team, and these past four years our congregation has known a stability that we have not enjoyed for much of our recent history. And I am pleased to report that we can expect that stability to continue for this coming year, and hopefully, for many more years to come.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my fellow officers for all of their hard work over the past two years, thank you to Vice-President Elka Oliver, Financial Secretary Mark Rosenberg, Treasurer Marilyn Katz, and Recording Secretary Susan Gray. I also want to express my gratitude to Michael Fishbein for his work as chair of the Building and Grounds Committee, and also for his willingness to step up and take over the leadership of our congregation for at least a year, and work together with Elka Oliver as we move forward. Virginia Gitter also deserves special recognition for all of the many roles that she plays for our congregation, as a past president and current trustee, as chair of the ritual committee, publicity committee, editor of our newsletter, Kadima, and so much more; it is hard to imagine what Adas Emuno will be like without her, after she leaves for the west coast in the fall, but she has set an example and provided us with a model of service and commitment that we all need to emulate. Thank you, Virginia.

Six years ago, Adas Emuno was not very much engaged in social action, but that soon changed when we formed our Social Action Committee, and Annette DeMarco took over as chair; under her leadership, social action has become a significant component of our congregation's activities. I want to also acknowledge our other committee chairs, Susan Grey, chair of our Fundraising Committee; Elka Oliver, chair of the Music Committee; Jody Pugach, co-chair of the Cemetery and Religious School Committees; Michael Raskin, co-chair of the By-Laws and Religious School Committees; Norm Rosen, co-chair of the Cemetery and By-Laws Committee; Mark Rosenberg, chair of the Financial Committee and co-chair of the Membership and Internet Committees; Lauren Rowland, co-chair of the Membership Committee; and Ron Waxman, chair of the Adult Education Committee and co-chair of the Internet Committee. And I want to thank everyone else who has chaired our committees during my three terms, and everyone who has volunteered as members of our committees over the past six years.

I also want to express my gratitude to everyone who has served as a trustee during my time as president. It was especially during those first few years that our meeting lasted many hours as we worked diligently on behalf of our congregation, and I am grateful to all concerned for your patience, and for all that we have accomplished together during this time.

One of the first tasks we took on six years ago was to review and revise our by-laws, an effort then led by Fred Friedman and Norm Rosen. When you think about the importance of the Constitution to our nation, the same is true for the by-laws for any organization, including out congregation. A healthy organization will undertake such reviews every few years to determine whether they are being followed, and if not, whether to change the practices or to change the by-laws themselves. For this reason, we conducted a second review this past year, with the aim of clearing up some ambiguities regarding membership. The result is the proposed changes, approved by the board, that reduces our membership categories down to two, full members who have voting privileges, and affiliate members who do not. In part, this was to clarify the change made previously regarding voting rights of spouses. In part as well, it removes the financial category of membership unit from our by-laws, reinforcing the board's ability to set the structure for dues and fees. This was a result of the realization that the assumptions underlying membership units were outdated, for example the assumption that single parent families always are subject to financial hardship in comparison to two-parent families. These changes to the by-laws, if approved, will have no bearing on the dues structure as it exists at present, but it will be a topic that the board can review and revise in the coming year.

Over the past six years, Adas Emuno has been able to organize many interesting and entertaining events as part of our adult education efforts, musical programming, and more. For this past year, I would personally like to thank my friend Moshe Botwanick, aka Marc Salem, for providing us with a mind-blowing exhibition of mentalism, a performance that once graced Broadway and other major venues. And I want to thank all of the performers and musicians who helped to bring my fourth Purim spiel to life this past March, and it is with great pride that I want to acknowledge the inspired directing on the part of my son, Benjamin Strate, for the second year in a row.

Six years ago, one thing that kept coming up over and over again was the fact that many people in the area simply were not aware that there was a Congregation Adas Emuno. Over the past six years, that has changed dramatically, through efforts great and small, such as creating our logo and improving our outdoor signage, as well as obtaining significantly more publicity in the local press, especially the Jewish Standard. I can't remember the last time I heard someone say, I never knew you were here! Awareness does not always lead to action, but it is a step in the right direction.

During my time as president, we changed our database provider and website host, and our website was revised. We are presently considering further changes, and we especially need to create a more dynamic website than the one we have now. This is a task that should be completed in the coming year. As for our congregational blog, I have been working on it for a decade, and it has enhanced our online presence. I have in the past asked for others to contribute, and I think it is time for us to consider the future of the blog, and for others to take over our social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like. Moreover, over the past six years I have noted that organizations much larger than our congregation have long switched over to digital newsletters delivered by email and archived online. This would save a significant amount of money spent on photocopying and postage, and electronic documents allow for color images, better overall quality, and even the inclusion of video and links. Indeed, many other mailings could be accomplished electronically as well. Not all, of course, but most. It is my opinion that such a move is long past due, and that this is something that needs to be considered in the coming months.

Fundraising efforts are absolutely necessary for us, as membership dues, fees, and tuition does not cover our expenses, and it has often been said that we simply do not ask often enough. I want to applaud Susan Grey and the members of the Fundraising Committee for their efforts this year, including the marvelous Modiani Kitchen fundraiser this past October. We have added innovations like the Passover Appeal to supplement our Yom Kippur Appeal, and experiments like the envelope board, and I am gratified to witness the resurrection of an idea I introduced back when I started out as president, the sesquicentennial fundraiser, looking to raise $150,000 for our 150th anniversary.

And yes, it is now just three years to go until we reach our sesquicentennial year, 2021. I regret that all of the more immediate matters that we had to deal with kept us from starting to plan for our 150th anniversary, but now it is time to do so, to celebrate ourselves, the long term survival of our shul, and in doing so generate more recognition, publicity, and good will for our congregation.

In looking to the future, we have to consider the challenges that lie ahead. Some of them are financial. As I mentioned, we have been lucky, but depending on luck alone is a gamble, one that sooner or later you will lose. We are secure for the short term, but we are not always making ends meet, and that is not sustainable in the long run. We will have to confront this issue in the coming months and years.

Memberships and religious school enrollments have been declining over the years, a trend that is in no way unique to our congregation. We have been in a better position to weather the decline than other temples, due to our significantly lower overhead, and I hope as well due to the efforts we have made to raise our profile. But the fact remains that our numbers are going down. As I have said before, Congregation Adas Emuno does not have members. Congregation Adas Emuno is its members. Efforts at publicity help, but there is no substitute for social networks and word of mouth. I have called upon each and every one of us to be Adas Emuno ambassadors, and for all of us to do what we can. But we also cannot ignore the demographic realities.

As we continue to deal with these realities in the future, I think it is essential to avoid any form of parochialism in our outlook. Our members come from all over this part of Bergen County, and we have to keep that in mind. Our congregation is our community; it is not a matter of geography, but of a much more ancient and powerful form of affiliation. And we have to continue to keep an open mind and an eye out for opportunities for collaboration with other synagogues, including the possibility of sharing facilities with a conservative congregation. We also have to consider the possibility of either a merger or a move at some point in the future; after all, this is a congregation that started out in Hoboken. However the possibilities present themselves and the plans evolve, we have to proceed based on facts and objective assessments of our situation, but also with optimism, confidence in ourselves, and a sense of mission. This also means that practical concerns must be balanced with a clear and comprehensive adherence to Jewish ethics. As Hillel said, if I am not for myself, who am I? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?

Our congregation is strong, but it is not invulnerable. The strength of our congregation lies with its people, its clergy, its leadership, and its members. We live in challenging times in so many ways, locally, nationally, and globally, and we need to work together to meet those challenges, so that our congregation can continue to survive, and thrive.

Serving as the president of our adas emuno, our assembly of the faithful has been an honor and privilege, and I thank you for allowing me to do so. My time as president comes to an end as of July 1st, but not my service to the congregation. In accordance with our by-laws, having served at least one full term as president, I will automatically continue to serve another two-year term on the board as an officer, as Immediate Past President. I promise to try to help as much as I am able, and to be available for advice and consultation, but not to nudge or kibbutz (or not too much). I want to wish my fellow officers and trustees all of the best for the coming year. And may Congregation Adas Emuno continue to go from strength to strength to strength, as we look beyond our sesquicentennial, to our bicentennial celebration in the year 2071.

Lance Strate's Yom Kippur Appeal 5778

Shana Tova! And Shabbat Shalom!

Every year we ask someone different to deliver the Yom Kippur Appeal. That's because we don't want to bore you. And it's because different members of the congregation have different experiences of Jewish life. Different memories that they can draw upon. Different relationships to our synagogue. And different reasons that they can give in asking for your support.

So why is this year different from all other years? Because this year is my last year as president of our congregation. I've been president of our congregation for a long time now. In fact, I'm in the second year of my third two-year term, and if you do the math, that means that I'm in my sixth year as president. I was a young man when I started out! Now I'm old.

But I want to make it clear that I still love Adas Emuno, and I will continue to serve our synagogue. And sure, I could continue for another two years. And another two years after that. And another two after that. But we all know that it can't go on forever. And it's healthy to have new blood. Because that brings with it new ideas, new approaches, new ways of thinking and doing, new styles and skills and competencies. It's a process of renewal. And I am very pleased that we now have several officers who are able to step into the leadership position at our shul.

So why is this appeal different from all other appeals? Because it's my last year as president, they thought you might be a little bit more willing than usual to listen to me. I'm not sure that's true, but maybe there are other reasons why this year is different.

For example, there's the recent resurgence of anti-Semitism here in the US. I'm sure you all saw the footage of the neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville this summer. I don't know about you, but their chanting sent a chill down my spine: "Jews will not replace us!" It should serve as a warning against complacency and complete assimilation. Some of us may forget who we are, but they will not. And our position here in America may not be as precarious as a fiddler on the roof, but neither is it as secure as a bass drummer in the basement. Benjamin Franklin's words have some resonance with our own situation: "We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately." And how can we all hang together unless we have a place, like this one, where we can all hang out?

This has special meaning for me because both of my parents were Holocaust survivors. My mother lost one of her sisters, she was married, had a little baby boy, they moved to another town before the Nazis came, and my mother never heard from them again. In the immediate aftermath of the war, my mother witnessed her mother die as a consequence of the war. The Holocaust was a fire that continued to smolder even after Germany surrendered. And even today, the smell of that smoke still lingers.

My parents met in Paris, after the war, as refugees, and were married there. They couldn't come to America because of restrictions on immigration, a problem familiar to us today, so they went to Australia and lived there for three years, until the rules changed, and then they came to New York. I was born soon after. By that time, I was a last minute idea.

I grew up in Kew Gardens, Queens, a Jewish neighborhood, full of immigrants, some survivors like my parents, some refugees who escaped before the war broke out, some who arrived earlier in the century. And some who were just running away from Brooklyn.

But between neighbors, family, and friends, I grew up in a Holocaust survivor milieu. Some, like my uncle, had the numbers tattooed on their arms. Some didn't. Some were in concentration camps, others ghettoes, others different situations. Some were deeply troubled, bursting into tears without warning, suffering nervous breakdowns, talking to themselves out loud about gas chambers and crematoriums. Some had to be taken away, committed. Others lived among us. I remember this. Most of all, I remember the nerves. Always the nerves. Today we call it PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder. Me and my friends, we just called it freaking out. I know it affected me, I had to learn to be calm in the midst of these emotional storms. I've read that the effects persist through many generations, and that troubles me.

But growing up in a Jewish neighborhood, I never experienced anti-Semitism directly while I was in elementary school. I grew up feeling safe and secure, confident and proud of my heritage. And for that reason, my reaction to the neo-Nazi footage was mixed. Part of me couldn't help but see them as almost comical, as buffoons, palookas. And I couldn't help but think, why in the world would we want to replace the likes of you? But clowns can be quite scary, as you may know, at least from Stephen King and American Horror Story, if not from personal experience. And a sadder response that came to mind was, how can we possibly replace you? There are so few of us left? So few of us. So very few.

My father never finished high school back in the old country, and as an immigrant here, he worked in an automobile body shop. My mother was a homemaker, as was the norm at that time. So we didn't have much money when I was growing up, and when I asked my parents to buy me a toy or game that I saw on TV, the answer was usually no. But I never felt deprived. And whenever I asked my parents to buy me a book, the answer was always yes. For books, always yes. We had some differences of opinion on whether comic books counted, but there was room for negotiation. Books, school, education, those were the values that were instilled in me from an early age. Jewish values. Not unique to us as Jews, but central to our culture. Read, study, learn, think, use your head, and hopefully, make something of yourself.

And we joined a nearby synagogue, Temple Isaiah in Forest Hills. My parents were not especially observant. Like some of you, they were more of the once-a-year-on-Rosh-Hashanah-and-Yom-Kippur kind of Jews. They never heard of Reform Judaism before, but the flexibility and meaningfulness of the services appealed to them. So did the friendliness, the socializing. We didn't have much money, but membership was a priority, and so was sending me to religious school there.

I loved religious school, especially the Judaica, the stories, the history, the ethics. I drank it all up. And because we were Reform, I was never told what to believe. We weren't told, here are the answers and you better learn them. We were told, here are the questions, let's all try to answer them for ourselves.

I loved religious school and I loved the services. And those feelings and experiences gave me vital resources to draw on, to call upon, when I was nine years old and my father died.

If you want to know what is really important, think about where we turn to when dealing with a death in the family, with grief and mourning. You can't find it on Facebook or HBO, or through sports or games. It's only here, in our house of worship. And it is the same source that we turn to, the only source that there is that can consecrate our life-affirming moments, marriage, and the miracle of the birth of a child.

I didn't understand it at the time, but our temple made accommodations for my mother, as a widow, so that we could remain members and I could continue to attend religious school. I had my bar mitzvah. The temple gave me a scholarship so I could go to Jewish summer camp. I went on to my Confirmation, and became active in temple youth group. Then I went away to college, and my strong sense of connection to Judaism faded a little, and after college a little more. I became a once-a-year-on-Rosh-Hashanah-and-Yom-Kippur kind of Jew, along with lighting candles on Hanukkah, the Passover Seder and not eating bread. And the culture was still very much a part of me.

And the pride.

And the friendships.

And the questions, the searching. And I do believe in something, I'm not sure what, but something greater than ourselves. Something beyond the physical world, beyond what science can tell us. And there is something else I believe in: Our people. I believe in the genius of our people, not that we are inherently better than everyone else, but that we have a unique history and tradition, a culture and religion that calls upon us to be our best possible selves. I believe that, as a people, we have been guided by something greater than ourselves, but only when we listen to that still, small voice. I believe that we have a responsibility to be, in the words of Isaiah, "a light unto the nations". But to do so, we have to follow the words of Peter Yarrow: "don't let the light go out".

I married a Jersey girl, crossed the Hudson River to live in Bergen County, we had two children. And we tried a few other congregations before we found a home here at Adas Emuno, a warm, welcoming, and nurturing environment.

And it hasn't been easy for us. Not long after we joined, my daughter was diagnosed with autism. I won't try to convey to you what life has been like under these circumstances, it's really not possible. But as all-consuming as it has been, dealing with my daughter's disability, it was still important to maintain our membership here, to send my son to religious school, to have his bar mitzvah and confirmation, and to give my daughter a sense of connection to Jewish life, including a special needs bat mitzvah. Among the many hardships that we faced have been financial ones, and I will confess to you that we have had to ask for accommodations ourselves. And I want to express our gratitude, on behalf of all those who suffer financial hardships, for the fact that ours is a congregation that will not turn away anyone in need. That only asks you to give what you can, however much you can, whenever you can. And if you can, to give as much as you can, because we're all in this together, our community, our congregation.

We are now four years away from our sesquicentennial, our 150th anniversary. And barring some unforeseen major disaster, we will be celebrating that auspicious occasion together, God-willing each and every one of us. But after that, will we survive for another 150 years?

We don't know what the future holds, but we can take action in the present to maintain and sustain our congregation, as a legacy and gift for the generations yet to come. And maybe I'm a bit biased, but I think our congregation is different from all other congregations, special in certain ways that are not always easy to explain, in some ways maybe even a little bit blessed. I think ours is the little shul that could, and maybe that's just because we think we can, we think we can, we think we can. But we do.

So my appeal to you is not so different after all, because I ask the same of you that we always ask. To give, if you can, to give what you can, when you can, as much as you can, to give, generously. To help us make ends meet, to help insure our survival, to keep our congregation going for many years to come.

And my appeal to you is a call to service, to join together in the work of running this congregation. We are a do-it-yourself congregation, and I ask you to give of your time and effort, whatever you can, whenever you can, as much as you can, to volunteer and help out, to serve on committees, to consider serving on our Board of Trustees. And I think that somewhere out there, sitting among you, are the future presidents of Adas Emuno.

And my appeal to you is to be Adas Emuno ambassadors, to help us bring in new members, new families, because first and foremost, Adas Emuno is us, a congregation, a community, not buildings, but people. Talk us up, show your pride in Adas Emuno, let others know about this warm and welcoming, one of a kind community. Help us engage in our ongoing process of renewal.

We are part of a tradition that goes back 4,000 years. And how can we not be filled with awe and reverence for our amazing history, for our survival against all odds, and for all that we have given to the world. As Reform Jews, we are part of a movement that is over 200 years old.

And how can we not be filled with gratitude and respect for an approach to Jewish life that emphasizes progress and evolution, flexibility within continuity, and the prophetic vision of social justice, to be that light unto the nations, to engage in tikkun olam, to heal our poor, broken world?

And we are part of a congregation that is almost 150 years old, and how can we not be filled with humility and happiness for being a part of this adas emuno, this assembly of the faithful? And how can we not dedicate ourselves to keeping the faith, and keeping faith with the future?

When I heard them chanting, "Jews will not replace us", I had another thought as well. I thought, but who will replace us? Who will replace us Jews, when we're gone. Over in Poland, where a once great Jewish community is no more, the Poles are trying to recreate the Jewish heritage of that country, lost through the Holocaust, by dressing up like Orthodox Jews and holding mock Jewish weddings and ceremonies. They're not trying to make fun of us, it's just a kind of historical recreation. Is that where we're headed?

We see and hear of so many Americans who are not Jewish, but have a Jewish parent, or grandparent, or ancestor. They recall a connection, but Judaism and Jewish life for them is nothing more than a memory. We have to be more than that. To be more than just a memory, we must instead be the ones who remember. We are called upon to remember, to actively remember instead of passively becoming a memory. To remember who we are, what we are.

And we can only remember together, collectively, through our houses of worship, our synagogues and religious schools, remembering together, remembering from one generation to the next. Who will replace us? No one else will. It's all up to us.

So this is my appeal to you, my call to you, in my final year as president. Do all that you can to support our synagogue and our tradition. Not only to defy those who wanted to wipe us from the face of the earth.

Do it because it matters, because in the long run it matters more than most of what we think is important in everyday life.

Do it for all those who came before us, who kept the faith so that we could have this gift of Jewish life, this gift that we call Adas Emuno.

But more than anything else, do it for all those who will come after us, whose lives will be so much the poorer if we have not preserved and sustained our tradition, and movement, and congregation.

My friends and fellow congregants, it's all up to you. My final appeal to you is, don't let the light go out!

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

A Message From Our President

Dr. Lance Strate

Buildings and Grounds

As a religious tradition, Judaism emphasizes the importance of spiritual communion and transcendence. Unlike many other religions, however, for the most part we do not advocate complete separation from the material world. Jewish teachings generally do not focus on the nature of the divine or the hereafter, or on trying to know the unknowable, but rather ask us to direct our attention to the world we inhabit and the question of how we should live in our lives, on the practical concerns of education, ethics and social justice.

In other words, we are asked and tasked to remain well grounded, even as we acknowledge the presence of something greater than ourselves, and aspire to the heights of religious experience. We enter the sacred space of our sanctuary, and observe the sacred time of the high holy days, festivals, holidays, and Shabbat, only to return to the profane space and time of our everyday lives. As others have pointed out, the Fourth Commandment not only directs us to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," but goes on to instruct us that "six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Adonai your God." We are commanded both to observe the Sabbath and also to fulfill our earthly responsibilities and get our work done.

With this in mind, I would like to point out that our labor, as a congregation, includes the maintenance and repair of our buildings and grounds. This includes our sanctuary and social hall, our religious school building, the rabbi's residence next to our religious school, the garden area alongside and behind the religious school, and our front lawn, driveways, and sidewalks. We are fortunate indeed that our congregation owns these properties outright, with no mortgage or liens against them, and to have our Buildings and Grounds Committee ably chaired by Michael Fishbein for many years.

The tasks that fall under the heading of buildings and grounds are familiar and numerous, and as profane as they come, whether it's taking out the garbage, cleaning bathrooms, changing light bulbs, shoveling snow, mowing the grass, fixing and maintaining heating and air conditioning, painting, replacing worn carpeting, fixing and replacing school equipment, and so on, and so on, and so on. I think we all pretty much know what it's like, after all.

It's not the sort of stuff we associate with a house of worship, and it's not the sort of stuff we like to think about anyway, but it's an important part of our earthly responsibilities, it's work that has to get done if we want to have a sanctuary, social hall, and school. And I think we all know that the costs associated with this sort of maintenance have only gone up over the years.

At our April Board of Trustees meeting, we took a long hard look at our revenues and expenses, and our membership dues, religious school tuition, and b'nai mitzvah fees. And we also looked at the building maintenance fee we ask all of our members to contribute to. And the funny thing is, no one could remember when it was last adjusted. Was it a decade ago? More? No one knew, but in the end, it didn't really matter. A long time ago the fee was set at $200, and it might as well have been a galaxy far, far away, given how much has changed since then.

I want to be honest with you. No one on the board wants to raise any of our dues or fees, we agonize over the issue, and over our fiduciary responsibility to our temple. The truth is that we are running at a deficit, and we need to increase our revenue to reduce the degree to which we are in the red. For this reason, the board voted to raise the building maintenance fee to $350, while agreeing not to raise membership dues, religious school tuition, and b'nai mitzvah fees. As this is the first time this fee has been raised in many, many years, we hope that you will understand and support this decision.

Our buildings and grounds are not our congregation. Our congregation consists of you and me, of us, together. But our buildings and grounds make most of what we do as a congregation possible. They are our common inheritance as a congregation, and our common responsibility, and it is incumbent on us to take proper care of our properties, so that we can pass them on to future generations.

I end this message with a further plea for donations above and beyond our dues and fees, because membership, tuition, and the like do not cover all our expenses. If you can afford to give something extra, please consider supporting our little shul on the hill, so that we can continue to be the little shul that could.

What’s New at Adas Emuno Religious School?

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

Religious School News 

     from


Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Religious School Director

So what’s new at Adas Emuno Religious School?

First and foremost, this fall we welcome three new students to the Adas Emuno Religious School family: Naomi Slater is our newest Kindergarten student; Vera Lin-Alter is in first grade, and Shane Feinstein has joined the second grade. We’re so happy to have you with us!

This year I began implementing a series of regular emails to the school families, so that almost every week you can learn something about what is going on at the school—whether it relates to school activities, to our various social action efforts, or as a way of asking for your help with a particular effort or project.

Another new effort is taking place in the classrooms. This year, each grade will be helping to lead a special holiday program. For Sukkot, our fifth graders worked with both their Hebrew and Judaics teachers as they prepared a presentation for the other grades: they built model sukkahs, learned the special Sukkot blessings as well as how to shake the lulav, and prepared trivia questions relating to the holiday. Then on the Sunday of Sukkot they visited each of the other classrooms and shared what they had learned. A good time was had by all! Next up: the seventh grade will be learning and then teaching about Thanksgiving as it relates to the Jewish concept of gratitude, and our K-1 class will help lead the upcoming school Chanukah program.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Thursday, November 10
7:30 PM School Committee Meeting

Friday, November 18
7:30PM Shabbat Family Service led by Sixth Grade

Sunday, November 27
No School–Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, December 1
7:30 PM B’nai Mitzvah Parent Meeting

Saturday, December 3
7:00 PM Talent Show!

Thursday, December 8
7:30 PM School Committee Meeting

Sunday, December 11
“Mitzvah Mall”

Friday, December 16
Shabbat Family Service led by the Fifth Grade

Saturday, December 24
7:00 PM Community Menorah Lighting and Chanukah Party at Adas Emuno

Sunday, December 25
No School–Winter Recess

Confirmation Class meetings: November 13, 20, December 4, 11

The State of the Congregation

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

A Message From Our President

Dr. Lance Strate

The State of the Congregation

President's Report Delivered at the 

Annual Congregational Meeting 

June 16, 2016

The State of the Congregation

Having reported on the state of the congregation to the membership three times already, I feel like something of a broken record in saying for a fourth time that the state of our congregation is strong. But this fourth time around, I have no reason to break with tradition, even if it is a tradition of my own making. So I am happy to report to you that as of June 2016, the state of our congregation remains strong.

At the same time, I cannot help but begin by noting that our strength is diminished by the loss of our former Trustee Fred Friedman less than a week ago. I know that if he were still alive, he would be here with us tonight, and would undoubtedly have something to say during this congregational meeting. He would have questions to ask, observations to share, advice to give, and criticisms to make us just a little bit uncomfortable, and keep us on our toes. Fred was more than a good congregant, more than a good board member, more than a good committee chair—Fred was a good citizen. We don't often talk about citizenship in the context of our shul. It's a concept that we associate with secular society. But a synagogue is not only a house of worship, and more than a house of study—it is also a house of gathering, a house of assembly, a beit knesset. And Adas Emuno, our assembly of the faithful, is not only a congregation, it is an organization and a community. And wouldn't we all think and act a bit differently if, instead of talking about membership, we talked about citizenship?

You might say that the difference between members and citizens is that members are asked to pay dues. But citizens are asked to pay taxes, and before the modern idea of dues-paying members, ancient Jewish tradition required us to give a portion of our income (or agricultural produce) to the Temple in Jerusalem and the priesthood, and then to the synagogue and congregation. The practice was adopted by Christians and Moslems, and in English is known as tithing (meaning giving ten percent of your income). And I am not recommending we return to that system, but I am saying that, as citizens of Adas Emuno, we are obligated to support our shul, in part materially, through dues and donations, and also through participation and service, just as citizens of a nation are called upon to serve their country. It is very easy for us, given the kind of culture we inhabit, to think of ourselves as consumers, reducing Adas Emuno to the level of products and services that we purchase. But we ought to think of ourselves as citizens, with rights, and with responsibilities as well.

I like to think that Fred Friedman is looking down on us right now, and smiling and nodding. He understood, as much as any one of us, the value, , and necessity of service. He understood the importance of standing up for our congregation, helping to bear its weight on his shoulders, and helping to carry it forward into a future that he will not see, knowing that others had done the same for his own benefit. I am truly grateful that our congregation was able to honor Fred a little over a year ago, at Friday night Shabbat, because honor is the only coin in which service can truly be rewarded. And we can continue to honor Fred Friedman by thinking about our own, individual congregational membership as citizenship. And as Fred's service extended beyond our congregation, and Adas Emuno is a part of the larger Jewish community, I would like to propose a further honor in his memory, that we institute a Fred Friedman Award for Jewish Citizenship, to be presented annually for outstanding service to the Jewish community. I welcome your feedback during our congregational meeting, and will ask our trustees to approve the proposal at the board meeting to follow.

While I'm on the subject of our Board of Trustees, I want to acknowledge that one of the main reasons why the state of our congregation is strong is our board, our officers and trustees, whose dedication, hard work, and talent is truly extraordinary. As a small shul that has no support staff, no office manager, no executive director, no administrative assistant, our board is a working board, and our officers and trustees step up time and time again, and I want to say thank you to each and every one of them. As some of you know, over the course of the last four months of 2015, I spent most of my time down in Philadelphia as a visiting professor at Villanova University, and this meant that the board had to carry on to a large extent with an absentee president. I want to make it clear that I was under no illusions that I am in any way indispensible. I know, perhaps better than anyone, how much harder other members of the board work than I do. I'm often in the role of that guy who says, "I'll just supervise," or "you have my moral support." So I had no concern about the board functioning without me, but I do want to express my gratitude to each and every one of our officers and trustees: our past president Virginia Gitter, our Vice-President Elka Oliver, our Financial Secretary Mark Rosenberg, our Treasurer Michael Fishbein, our Recording Secretary Marilyn Katz, and our Trustees, Annette DeMarco, Susan Gray, Jody Pugach, Michael Raskin, Norman Rosen, Lauren Rowland, Doris White, Sandy Zornek, and our recent addition to the board, Ronald Waxman.

It has been a great honor for me to serve as president of Congregation Adas Emuno these past four years, and an even greater honor to be asked to serve another two-year term. I have accepted the nomination because I am told that I am still needed, and I believe I am still capable of serving in that capacity. To be honest, part of me would be happy to serve for much longer, because I love this congregation and want to do everything in my power to keep it strong. But for that reason, I also know that it would be much healthier for Adas Emuno to have new leadership, which is why I believe that this should be my last term in that office.

I want to express my appreciation to Elka Oliver for her contributions as Vice-President, and Mark Rosenberg for all that he does as Financial Secretary, and thank them both for being willing to continue on for another two-year term. I especially want to acknowledge Michael Fishbein for his double duty as Treasurer and chair of our Buildings and Grounds Committee. Michael is stepping down as Treasurer, so I want to thank him for his years of service in that capacity, and thank him as well for being willing to remain on the board as a Trustee. I also want to acknowledge Carol Bodian for volunteering to serve as a Trustee. Marilyn Katz is completing her two-year term as Recording Secretary, and is now ready to take on the office of Treasurer, so I want to thank her as well, and to thank Susan Grey, who is willing to take over the role of Recording Secretary.

In the case of small organizations such as ourselves, it becomes easy to rely on having the same individuals fulfill the same roles for year after year after year, and then react with panic when they are suddenly unable or unwilling to continue. So changing officers and committee chairs is good for our congregation, it is good preparation for moving up in the chain of command, and I believe that we have grown stronger over the past four years regarding the future of our congregational leadership. I also note that our new by-laws allow for 18 board members, we have been gradually increasing the size of the board, and our now just one shy of our goal of יח (chai). There is room for one more on the board, and room for many more on our committees. And let me express my gratitude to our committee chairs for their hard work, to Virginia Gitter for the Ritual Committee and the Publicity Committee, and in regrards to our publicity and overall public image, to Lauren Rowland for her graphic design work; to Annette DeMarco for the Social Action Committee; to Elka Oliver and Michael Raskin for the Religious School Committee; to Michael Raskin again for the Membership Committee; to Norman Rosen and Jody Pugach for the Adult Education Committee; to Norman Rosen and Judith Fisher for the Cemetery Committee; and to Michael Fishbein again for the Buildings and Grounds Committee, with an added thanks to Fred Cohen and Rabbi Schwartz for their continual work on our wonderful garden; and to Michael Rask for taking change of snow removal, and relations with Leonia's law enforcement and local government officials.

I also want to say thank you to Sandy Zornick for chairing the Internet Committee, and for finally getting us integrated with ShulCloud, both the membership database and the website, as well as the new email distribution system. This has taken a long time to implement, but now that it is finally in place, we can truly say that we are a 21st century shul.

We also have a fundraising committee, chaired by Susan Gray and Sandy Zornick, and last fall the Treats and Treasures fundraiser hosted by Modiani Kitchens in Englewood was an enormous success. Special thanks go to Richard Alicchio for taking the lead in proposing the fundraiser, and insuring that it was a success, as well as for all of his help the whole year round in securing donations from local merchants for our events. Thank you as well to the core committee that made Treats and Treasures a success, Virginia Gitter, Annette DeMarco, Jody Pugach, Sandy Zornek, Doris White, and Marilyn Katz. Finally, let me express my gratitude to Virginia Gitter one more time, for chairing the nominating committee in her capacity as the only past president active on the board, and thank you to the committee members, Annette DeMarco, Kim Merlino, Michael Raskin, and Beth Ziff.

The past three times I have reported on the state of the congregation, I have always begun with our clergy, and I hope that Rabbi Schwartz and Cantor Horowitz do not feel slighted that I decided to mix things up this year. My esteem for both of them knows no bounds. We are so very fortunate to have the spiritual, intellectual, musical, and educational guidance of these two gifted and godly individuals. I am not only so very grateful to serve as president of a congregation that boasts of this dream team, but I am particularly thankful that this past year was the first of my presidency in which I did not have to concern myself with either a search for a new cantor or religious school director, or a new contract for either of our clergy. The stability that we now enjoy has been elusive for many years, and this is another sign of our strength as a congregation.

I know we are all very grateful for our Rabbi, Barry Schwartz, for his extraordinary spiritual leadership, for the quality of education he provides for our children and our adults, for the high level of discourse he brings to every D'var Torah he delivers and every Torah study session he leads, for his deep dedication to social justice, for his devotion as a caretaker in a manner above and beyond the call of duty, for his compassion and concern as an advisor and counselor… And for his wife Debbie, who adds so much spirit and thoughtfulness to our congregation.

And I know we are all grateful to Cantor Horowitz for bringing so much joy and light to each and every service that she graces with her voice, and her presence. We are a musical congregation, with an ear for talent, and it is delight to have a sweet singer of Israel of such outstanding ability. And we are equally grateful for her caring, understanding, and acumen as our Religious School Director. Our children have never been in better hands. And I also should acknowledge our wonderful teachers, our ever-helpful madrachim, and our ever-present parent volunteers.

One minor initiative that I want to mention at this point is the need for a new sound system for our sanctuary. Our present system is old, does not work all that well, and is simply not adequate for our current needs. We need to replace it before the High Holy Days, and we have time to do so, since they do not begin until October this year.

I have been saying that the state of our congregation is strong, and I stand behind that assessment, but I also acknowledge that we face some serious challenges. They are the same challenges I outlined last year, challenges involving membership and finances. Our membership has been declining slightly, and given that Adas Emuno is its membership, its citizens, that is cause for concern. We have lost some of our senior citizens, and while they are being replaced, in large part due to the fact that some of us are inexorably moving into that category, we need to find ways to attract more members of all age groups. If we could increase our size by just 20 or so families, we would be just fine. Membership is closely related to religious school enrollments, and here too we need to get the word out about the wonderful religious education that we offer, and the warm and welcoming congregation that we are.

As for our finances, they are directly related to our membership. The good news is that we are in good shape for the immediate future. The concern is that our expenses exceed our income, meaning that we are eating into our reserves. We have time to address this problem, but it will require doing better in regard to both membership and fundraising. We have made good progress on fundraising this past year, and we need to build on that success to insure the sustainability of our congregation for the future. Clearly, we need everyone working together on all of these concerns, helping to find ways to attract and retain new members, getting the word out about all that our religious school and our synagogue has to offer, working together on fundraising activities and finding ways to increase our donations above and beyond the basic dues and tuition that we ask for. We need our membership to respond with citizenship, and help us to answer these challenges in the coming years.

Congregation Adas Emuno was founded on October 22, 1871, and our little shul on the hill has kept going and going, all the while maintaining our small, intimate, haymishe community. That is because, despite all odds, we are a strong congregation, one that is blessed by the spirit, the ruach, of its members past, present, and future, and by something greater than ourselves. We are now a little more than five years away from our sesquicentennial, our 150th anniversary. It is time for us to begin planning for the celebration—and we really want it to be a great one, don’t we? And while we prepare to celebrate our 150 years, let's also do what needs to be done, to insure that Congregation Adas Emuno will be still growing strong for 150 years more. May it be God's will that it be so.

November Religious School News

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

Religious School News 

     from


Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Religious School Director

As I write this, we just had our highly successful religious school fundraiser, “Treats and Treasures”—there was wonderful food and wine, a photo booth, cooking demo by Gibson Borelli, and many terrific gifts to bid on. But most of all was the atmosphere of camaraderie and enjoyment from the crowd of Adas Emuno members and friends, including religious school families as well as invited guests. This is what community is all about. Thank you to everyone who was involved in planning this terrific event!

In the meantime, religious school life is thriving. The first Tot Mitzvah program with Doris White was a great success. This year we have eight madrichim to assist the teachers in the classroom. Last month the Seventh Grade class helped to lead our first Family Service of the year, as they led prayers and spoke about endangered species as a reflection on the Noah story. With the new Family Service attendance policy in place, we were thrilled to see so many families of other grades in attendance! It made for a lively evening, followed the next morning by the Bar Mitzvah service of Cole Rosenthal—mazel tov Cole! We are all proud of you. Meanwhile, Confirmation class is also in full swing, as Rabbi Schwartz leads the class in ethics-related discussions of contemporary issues.

The school functions in large part due to the tireless efforts of our Religious School Committee, co-led by Elka Oliver and Michael Raskin with members Susan Grey, Marilyn Katz, Jody Priblo and Sandy Zornek. They handle a wide range of school-related matters from policy and planning to the most mundane and necessary tasks, including organizing parent volunteers and making sure there are snacks for the students each week. I could not do what I do without their help, advice and encouragement.

Dates to remember for November and December:

Saturday, November 7
Bar Mitzvah of Emery Jacobowitz

Friday, November 13
Family Service featuring the Sixth Grade

Sunday, November 29
NO SCHOOL—Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, December 10
7:30 PM—School Committee Meeting

Thursday, December 3
7:30 PM—New B’nai Mitzvah Parent Meeting For Sixth Grade Parents

Friday, December 11
Family Service featuring the Fifth Grade

Saturday, December 12
7:00 PM—Community Outdoor Menorah Lighting and Chanukah Party in the Social Hall

Sunday, December 27
NO SCHOOL—Winter Break

Confirmation Class: Nov. 1, 8; Dec. 6, 20 

Tot Mitzvah: November 8 & December 6

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

“Treats & Treasures” A Great Success! 

Our fall fundraiser to benefit the Religious School was attended by close to 100 people... it was all we hoped it would be.... and more! With the help of a hard-working core committee (Richard Alicchio, Virginia Gitter, Annette DeMarco, Jody Pugach, Sandy Zornek, Doris White, and Marilyn Katz), October 29th turned out to be a magical evening indeed! 

An extra thank you to Richard for proposing the idea in the first place and for his amazing efforts in spearheading the donations drive! The numbers are still being counted, but we are estimating that we raised close to $6000 for our Religious School!

We are most grateful to Modiani Kitchens in Englewood for donating their beautiful space for this event.

The wonderful array of silent auction items added greatly to the excitement of the evening. Congrats to all of our “winners” who left with some amazing goodies! And thank you to our members who donated goods and services and solicited donations from local vendors.

A delicious assortment of food was enjoyed by all (thank you to all who donated food and desserts and to Samantha Rosenbloom for her help at the food and beverage counter)... but of course the line really started at the working kitchen, where our own celebrity chef Gibson Borelli kept busy cooking up some mouth-watering chicken tacos. Thank you to Gibby for sharing his culinary talents with us... and to his family who donated the food and made sure he got there with all of his ingredients and equipment!

Scott Lawrence was a very popular guy as he presided over the wine & cheese pairings bar! A huge thank you to Scott for his generous donation of wines and to Zabars for the wonderful cheese selection! And to Susan Grey for all her help setting up and keeping things moving!

Thank you to Vince Priblo for donating and running the Pop-Up Photo Booth; to our in-house graphic designers, Michael Scowden and Lauren Rowland for creating the publicity materials and bid sheets; and to Cheryl Alicchio, Fanny Fishbein and others who helped set up and clean up! 

And what would an evening like this be without the presence of Earle Ziff, our master of ceremonies. Thank you Earle for doing what you do best! 

We are grateful to all who supported this event, both from within the Congregation and the community. Thank you to our School Director, Cantor Sandy Horowitz and to our school committee, Elka, Michael, Jody and Susan, for reaching out to our families, and to our board members who made calls and spread the word! Kudos to all!