In This Issue:
- DECEMBER MEMBERSHIP MEETING JUDAICA SHOW AND TELL
- DECEMBER CHANUKAH MEN’S ONLY HANGOUT
- MoTAS TRADITIONAL JEWISH “CHRISTMAS”
- TAS TZEDAKAH APPEAL
- SPORTS SQUARES UPDATES
- JANUARY PLANNING
- IN CLOSING
1. DECEMBER MEMBERSHIP MEETING JUDAICA SHOW AND TELL
Start planning now for our Sunday, December 14 membership meeting, which will feature a Judaica show and tell. Every temple member I visit has a lovely Judaica collection. This is your opportunity to tell the story behind one or two pieces: where did you get it, and why is it meaningful to you. By sharing our stories, we learn more about each other and deepen our relationships. The meeting starts at 8:45 AM with our traditional breakfast.
2. DECEMBER CHANUKAH MEN’S ONLY HANGOUT
On Sunday, December 21, 2014 at 6:00 PM the Men of TAS will be holding our December Mens Only Hangout and Discussion. This month we’ll be celebrating Chanukah with greasy foods — latkes, fried (and baked) chicken, and sufganyiot. Come join us, light some candles, eat some food. We’ll sit. We’ll schmooze… and who knows, we might even discuss a Chanukah-related topic. RSVP online at http://www.eventbee.com/event?eid=195123093 or on the sign-up sheet at the December meeting. The cost will be $10 at the door, and space will be limited.
3. MoTAS TRADITIONAL JEWISH “CHRISTMAS”
I don’t know what you do on Christmas, but what I do is go out for a movie and Chinese food. Last year, after our movie, we met up with two other MoTAS members for dinner. That was so much fun we’re exploring making it an optional MoTAS activity. If this is your tradition, we’d love you to join us. We’re in the process of picking a few potential movies (take a look at http://www.movieinsider.com/movies/december/2014/ and send me your ideas). We’ll settle on a few that are all at the same multiplex (either Pacific Northridge, Pacific Winnetka, or in Woodland Hills) around the same time, and then meet up after the movie. Depending on the size of the group, we’ll then either go out to a restaurant where we’ve made a reservation or bring in Chinese to a member’s home. If we go the latter route, we’ll distribute the menu ahead of time so we can pre-order, and pre-determine the amount per person. Note that this is a family event, not men-only. If you’re interested, please RSVP at the December MoTAS meeting or online at http://www.eventbee.com/event?eid=185523194. We’re setting a hard deadline of December 15 so we can make any necessary reservations.
4. TAS TZEDAKAH APPEAL
Hopefully by now you’re received the letter from the congregation encouraging you to contribute to the Temple’s end-of-year Tzedakah appeal. The MoTAS leadership encourages you to do so — if you haven’t figured it out by now, we believe that TAS is a cause worth supporting. The Temple survives on your donations, and every dollar is important. Make a year end donation, and remember that it is tax-deductable.
P.S.: If you have a little left over after making that donation, consider getting a jump on your annual support of MoTAS. As you may recall, two years ago MoTAS got rid of dues — every man at TAS is a member of MoTAS. To make this model work, we’re building a relationship with you, and hope you want to provide financial support to maintain that relationship. We’ll be sending out a letter after the beginning of the year, but if you want to get your donation in during this tax year, just visit our website at www.tasnorthridge-motas.org and select “Support Us” from the right-hand column.
5. SPORTS SQUARES UPDATES
The following are results for Week 13 of the Fall 2014 MoTAS Football Squares. As always, results are also posted at http://squares.tasnorthridge-motas.org/:
- Week Thirteen(Miami at NY Jets): Q1: Sisterhood; Q2: Joe Sculler; Q3: Julie Whiteman; Final: Julie Whiteman.
Our treasurer will be issuing checks for Week 13 on Thursday. If you wish to donate your winnings back to MoTAS, please contact Roger at treasurer@tasnorthridge-motas.org before then. Once issued, the checks are printed and mailed by Chase, so please do not discard the envelopes as junk mail.
Superbowl Squares Registration is now open! You can register and pay online at http://motascybermaven.eventbee.com/event?eid=194021395, or find the paper registration form, together with the official rules, at http://squares.tasnorthridge-motas.org/.
Football Squares Grants are now open. Temple organizations — do you have a financial need for which MoTAS can help? If you do, please fill out our grant request form at http://grants.tasnorthridge-motas.org and return it to grants@tasnorthridge-motas.org. These grants will be funded from the proceeds of the Fall Football Squares programs; grants will also be considered for Golf Tournament proceeds once those are determined. The requests must be for specific items or programs, and are due by December 20. They will be prioritized by need and ability to fund, and will tentatively be announced at the January MoTAS meeting (where our speaker will be Mitch Englander).
6. JANUARY PLANNING
If you haven’t figured it out by now, MoTAS is using a two-month lookahead window. As we are just starting Dember, here’s a “heads up” for our January activities:
- January Speaker: Mitch Englander. Mark your calendars for Sunday, January 11 at 830am. That day, the speaker at our membership meeting will be Mitch Englander, a member of the Los Angeles City Council. This is your opportunity to learn what is happening with our city, and to ask those questions you have for the city. For this meeting, we’ll be in the Social Hall.
- MoTAS Shabbat. The annual MoTAS Shabbat is scheduled for Friday, January 23. This Shabbat celebrates MoTAS and our contributions to the congregations. We invite you to join us; we also invite you to “bring a friend” to learn about MoTAS. At this meeting we’ll be announcing our “Man of the Year” selection. This is always a very moving evening. It is unknown yet whether there will be a community dinner beforehand.
7. IN CLOSING
Executive Board Meeting Reminder. The start of December brings another Executive Board meeting, which is always the Monday before the Membership Meeting (in this case, December 8), at 8pm Pacific, by teleconference. Information on the meeting, as well as links to past minutes, the agenda, and other materials, is posted at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/resources/motas-administration/. If you are planning on dialing in, please let me (faigin@cahighways.org) know so I can make sure any background material is distributed to you.
As always, remember that the Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom is *your* organization. Keep up to date on our activities at http://www.tasnorthridge-motas.org/ and participate. We want to serve all the men of Temple Ahavat Shalom and welcome new participants from the TAS membership. Join our Facebook group and “follow” our website. Come be part of the Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom!
Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom 