Lots of News | Corrections | JTS Trip | Family Table | Retreat | Mitzvah Day | Laymen’s Institute | Meah 2004-6 | TA Israel Trip | USCJ eNews | In the Community | Koach Israel Free Trip | Trivia | QuickLinks

Last night we sent you information on upcoming events and activities at the Temple in the near future. Tonight we cover events and activities in the not so near future that you should put on your calendars, as well as lots of goings-on in the community.

To set the record straight:

The name of Marilyn and Richie Tannenbaum’s granddaughter is Ella Morgan Tannenbaum (not Ellen, as we reported last night).

The deadline for sending greetings and Passover packages to students who are away from home is March 26, not March 17.  Please send/email: student’s name, mailing address, college, graduation year to holidaypackages@comcast.net.

Join Rabbi Perkins and a limited number of congregants (the luxury tour bus holds 40 people) for a full-day trip to the Big Apple. We will leave early in the morning and return late in the evening. We’ll visit the Jewish Museum and the Jewish Theological Seminary, including the Rare Books room at the JTS Library, which alone is worth the trip. The low cost of $100 covers transportation, all fod, and museum passes. Our theme for the day will be “Jewish Life in the Medieval Islamic World.” Check the Web site for full details. For more info, email David Lintz.

Temple Aliyah has the responsibility for delivering food to Family Table recipients on Sunday, April 25. Family Table is the Greater Boston Jewish community’s food pantry located in the basement of Kehillath Israel on Harvard Street in Brookline. We need 10-12 drivers/families from Temple Aliyah to prepare bags of groceries and deliver them to Family Table recipients. The commitment is approximately 2-3 hours, beginning at 12:30 or 1 p.m. Delivering food for Family Table is a great experience for adults and for families with children of almost any age. We need your help! If you are interested in reserving a space, or if you have questions, please contact Peter Krupp at pkrupp@rcn.com or 781-449-9672.

Planning for the sixth annual TA Family Retreat is under way, and now is the time to start making plans. This is a great event for families young and old. If you’ve been, you know how great it is, and if you haven’t, you owe it to yourself to come to this great getaway. The early reservers get the best rooms, so register now.

Please save the date for this year’s Mitzvah Day, which will be held on Sunday, June 13.  On this Mitzvah Day, the entire Temple community will come together to participate in a wide variety of social action projects. Whether it is cooking food for a homeless shelter, cleaning up the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, making dolls for sick kids, or planting gardens at group homes in Needham, there will be projects appropriate for almost all ages. Click here for more details. Anyone interested in helping to plan or organize Mitzvah Day, please contact Peter Krupp.

The 58th annual Layman’s Institute will take place June 17-20, 2004 at Camp Ramah in Palmer, MA. This program brings men from all over New England for a long weekend of comeraderie, study, and fun. You return home on Sunday in time to join your family for Fathers’ Day. Featured speakers are Rabbi Jeff Segelman and Dr. Neil Gillman. Lot more info can be found here, as well as on the Institue’s tongue-in-cheek web site, or email Men’s Club Pres Steve Baum.

Registration is beginning for the next two-year cycle for Meah, the program of Adult Education covering over 100 hours of study. This regional program with a “branch” here in Needham run jointly at Temple Aliyah and Temple Beth Shalom, will begin its fourth cycle this fall. Those who have already taken the course have raved about the teachers, the texts, and the intellectually charged atmosphere. For further information, contact Terri, or you can get the application form online (pdf file).

Looking for plans for next winter vacation? Plan to join the second TA Israel trip! Designed for individuals and families of all ages, this trip will provide a great community experience as well as an opportunity to support the Jewish State. Rabbi Perkins will lead the group. Those who went the last time, in February, 2000, had the times of their lives. If you are interested in going, please contact Lesli Reich.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has a web site rich in materials for study and resources for synagogue programming and development. The USCJ is pleased to unveil the first edition of eNEWS: The United Synagogue Electronic Bulletin. This new resource—part of our ongoing effort to keep members informed—will provide easy-to-read monthly updates on USCJ activities and programs, innovative synagogue programs, and more. Visit www.uscj.org/enews or contact info@uscj.org to receive a copy by email each month.

Lots going on:

The May 2003 Needham Town Meeting unanimously approved the establishment of a senior property tax relief fund. In an effort to support this fund, along with your auto excise tax bill sent on February 24, 2004, is an extra envelope ear-marked for elderly tax relief. If you live in Needham, please help our aging citizens cope with the rising cost of real estate taxes and remain in their hometown by donating to this fund. For more info, contact Irwin Silverstein.

Needham is no place for hate. Join the Needham’s human rights committee in celebrating diversity this month! The ADL is co-sponsoring this ongoing month-long event. Upcoming programs include:
• March 21, 3:00—Christ Episcopal Church: Needham Interfaith Chorale Concert singing International Sacred Choral Music from Around the World. Admission $10 at the door.
• March 23, 7-9 pm—Needham High School Auditorium: Lecture: Professor Janet Helms, Director of the Race-Culture Institute, Boston College, on “Cultural Identity”
• March 25, 7:30-9 pm—Needham Public Library: Presentation by Gail Hedges, MA, on “Multicultural Children’s Literature Workshop”
• March 27, 2-4:30—Congregational Church of Needham UCC: Sol y Canto, Latin American Quintet Family Music, to benefit the Guatemalan Scholarship Fund. Admission $15 adults/$10 children (with Silent Auction 1 pm)
• March 28, 2-4—Needham High School Auditorium and Cafeteria: Needham Resident Kurt Munstedt, Violin Soloist, with the Longy School of Music Junior Young Performers Orchestra. World Food Fair.

The Klezmatics will perform in a Family Concert Sunday, March 21, at 1pm and again at 3pm, at the Leventhal Sidman Jewish Community Center, 333 Nahanton Street, Newton. The world famous superstars of Klezmer music present a special family concert. Performing foot stomping Klezmer and Yiddish rock’n roll that will delight the entire family, The Klezmatics’ music has uplifted audiences around the world. The band has reached millions with performances on Late Night with David Letterman and A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Don’t miss the chance to see the world’s most popular Klezmer band in this rousing musical celebration. Special offer for Temple Aliyah members: identify yourself as a school parent and receive the $10 JCC member price. Call the Box Office at 617-965-5226.

“Eating Well in a Fast-Lane World: How to Fit Good Food into Busy Families’ Lives”—Mollie Katzen, renowned author of best-selling vegetarian cookbooks such as The Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, will speak at Gann Academy–The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston, 333 Forest Street, Waltham, on Sunday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free. For further information and directions visit www.gannacademy.org, call Cindy at 781-642-6800, or email crubin@gannacademy.org.

JCDS, Boston's Community Day School, is co-sponsoring the last evening in the Anti-Defamation League’s four-part Adult Education series on Sources of Justice: Jewish Teachings on Co-Existence in a time of Turmoil. The program will take place at JCDS on Thursday evening, March 25 from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Rabbi Samuel Chiel will lead the discussion on “Responsibility and Community: When Is There Moral Culpability For The Wrongdoing Of Others?” The series is free and open to the community. RSVP to Abigail Leibel, at JCDS, 617-972-1733 x213 or abigaill@jcdsboston.org.

On March 25, at 7:30 pm, the entire Boston area Jewish community is invited to a town hall-style event, sponsored by the Jewish Ccommunity Relations Council. The program will consist of an analysis of peace plans and open community discussion. Yohanan Plesner will be our key speaker, and Nancy Kaufman, Barry Shrage, and Larry Lowenthal will facilitate the open community discussion to follow. This is an opportunity not to be missed, and open to everyone. Please make every effort to join us. More details are at the JCRC web site.

“And Then They Came For Me: Remembering The World of Anne Frank” will be performed by the Jewish Theater of New England at the JCC. Public performances are on Saturday, March 27 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, March 28 at 10am and 2pm. This program, recommended for ages 5th grade through adult, is a riveting multimedia event about the hidden children of the Holocaust. Videotaped interviews with two Holocaust survivors and friends of Anne Frank, Ed Silverberg and Eva Schloss, are interwoven with live dramatic action to recreate the World War II experience of families in hiding and in concentration camps. Tickets are $10 per student; to make your reservation or for more information please call Susan Tovsky at 617-558 -6486 or email stovsky@jccgb.org.

KOACH, in conjunction with Hillel: the Foundation for Jewish Life on Campus, invites post-high school Jewish students ages 18-26 who have never been to Israel on an organized peer trip to participate in the Spring 2004 KOACH/Hillel Birthright Israel program.
• 10-days of travel, study, and fun
• Walk in the footsteps of our ancestors
• See Israel through the eyes of the Conservative Movement
Plans are for a late May/ early June departure date. For more information, or to register online, go to www.koach.org or contact Leemor Dotan, 847-714-9130.

Only a handful of people submitted answers to this week’s question, and no one won! So....we’ll give you another chance. C’mon, this one should be easy! (Hint: think about a celebration here not so long ago.)

The: Cantor Gelman first davened at Temple Aliyah on a holiday: which one?

Click here to answer and for complete contest rules.

Make a Donation - Buy Scrip - List an event - Change your subscription - Feedback - Home page - Calendar - Religious School - Calendar - Temple Directory - Sermons - Email archive - Trivia