Presidents' Report - December 2018
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The Tree of Life massacre was horrific and painful. As a result, EBJC reluctantly has made additional security enhancements and sped up some of the features already in progress, like locking down the doors when we are inside. We joined together as a community, East Brunswick and Old Bridge, Jews and non-Jews alike, to stand in solidarity. This coincided with our Artist-in-Residence week with Mordechai Rosenstein. He created a beautiful piece of artwork in commemoration of the attack and as a shared expression of the solidarity of all the East Brunswick and Old Bridge Jewish organizations. This work of art will be presented to the Tree of Life community soon. Thank you, Rabbi Pivo, for coordinating the community gathering and to Mordechai Rosenstein for being with us and easing the pain by bringing us together. We are not alone and as Jews we will be united against hate in all its horrible forms.
We have been focusing all our efforts on security. Your board has voted to have armed guards stationed in front of the entrance way/s when we are congregated. Additionally, all doors will be locked when we are inside and when the children are present. This means we will speed up the implementation of the plan that was already in place to have every member, teacher and parent have their own biometric access to the building. Additionally, we are holding active shooter response training from the EB Police Department. Thank you to our amazing volunteer, Steve Zeidwerg.
We are moving full speed ahead on the Pavilion project. The Board of Directors has authorized the opening of a restricted bank account. This means monies dedicated by donor to this project will never be co-mingled with operating expenses or any other project. The administrator of this account, i.e. the person to assure the financial rules are followed, is Hayley Migdal. Any check received for any purpose, from now on will have a clear designation of the funds, whether as dues, as participation in event, a donation to Rabbi or Cantor discretionary accounts or to the Pavilion project. This is also a requirement of the outsourced bookkeeping services we have engaged, Kesef Accounting Service (http://kesefaccountingservice.com/about-us/).
Additionally, we have engaged the database company, ShulCloud (https://www.shulcloud.com/). It’s a cloud-based database for accounts receivables, web site, smart scheduling and events, membership and donation tracking, member communication, and online portal. Watch for an email requesting each member unit to set up their own user access and verify and enter valuable data, such as emergency contact and Jewish names.
Your board and EBJC staff are hard at work all the time. Please be understanding and forgiving of mistakes and differences of opinion. Deena remembers growing up in Israel within the Orthodox public school system and being admonished as a Conservative Jew by her fellow Grammer School classmates, because they didn't agree or respect other ways. Let's be better than that. Let's always assume the best in people; ואהבת לרעך כמוך
(V'ahavta l'reacha kamocha) love your friend as yourself.
Deena Oren
Eric Pelofsky
Co-Presidents
Thu, March 28 2024
18 Adar II 5784
EBJC Gala !
May 5 - Gala honoring Dr. Bob and Liz Salston and Hollie Cerame - Fun-filled event featuring "a day at the races" with Bob Scott. Put on your best Kentucky Derby hat and ascot, and join us for a wonderful event! REGISTER HERE
5784 Passover Wine Sale
An extensive wine list is now available. To see the list and learn how to place your order, CLICK HERE .
Pickleball Tournament 2 -
March 31, 2024 - 10am -2pm. Doubles play, random pairing. CLICK HERE to register. 24 player limit!
Community Bingo
April 4 - 6:30 pm. Location: B'nai Shalom Temple. Fern Road
CLICK HERE to volunteer to help.
Tot Shabbat Dinner
Friday, April 5 Tot Shabbat 6:00 pm. Kid-friendly service and dinner. CLICK HERE for more info and to sign up.
Parshat HaShavua Class
Friday, April 12 11 am - ZOOM. Join Rabbi Brandspiegel as he journeys through the monthly parshiot. JOIN HERE
Sisterhood Torah Fund Event
April 12 - 6:00 p.m. Service, Shabbat Dinner and Oneg, at which we continue to raise critical funds for JTS. For more information and to register, CLICK HERE .
Tricky Tray
Sunday, April 14 at 2:00 p.m. - hundreds of great prizes, bundles available, 5050/ birthday board and a grand prize worth over $5,000! CLICK HERE for registration and more information
Lunch and Learn
Wed, April 17 @11:30-ZOOM. Join Rabbi Brandspiegel as he discusses topics dealing with current Jewish events.
Hazak
Thurs, April 18 @ 12:00 p.m. Folk musician James G. - Carol King, James Taylor, Joan Baez, Carpenters, Carly Simon! CLICK HERE to sign up.
Hike 6.0
Sunday, April 28 2 p.m. Men's Club will be sponsoring another in its series of hikes in Ireland Brook County Park. For more information and to register, CLICK HERE.
Yom Hashoah 2024
Thurs, May 2 @ 8:30 p.m. Sheila Pallay recounts her experiences with all of the Torah's saved from Czech Republic's synagogues. CLICK HERE to register.
Go Karts!
Thursday, May 23 7 p.m. Our regional Men's Club is sponsoring Go Karts, at the world's largest bi-level track, on Route 1 in Edison. For more information, and to register, CLICK HERE.
Sisterhood Book Discussion
Thursday, May 23 @ 7:30 p.m."Hope" - Andrew Ridker. CLICK HERE for more information and to register.