In This Issue:
- YOM-HASHOAH CANDLE PACKING – SUNDAY APRIL 10
- MOTAS SEDER – SUNDAY APRIL 17
- COMING OUT OF THE (OLD) MOTAS CLOSET
- CALL TO ACTION: THE KITCHEN CHALLENGE IS NOT OVER YET
- CALL TO ACTION: HELP MOTAS DO ALL WE DO — MOTAS ANNUAL APPEAL
- UPCOMING EVENTS: 2016 GOLF TOURNAMENT PLANNING BEGINS…
- UPCOMING EVENTS: JETHAWKS BASEBALL – FAMILY EVENT – SATURDAY MAY 28
- IN CLOSING
1. YOM-HASHOAH CANDLE PACKING – SUNDAY APRIL 10
Join us at our April Membership meeting on Sunday, April 10, where we will assemble the Yom HaShoah candle packages. The Yom HaShoah Yellow Candle program was started by the Federation of Jewish Mens Club (FJMC) in remembrance of Yom HaShoah. We provide candles to the congregation to encourage congregants to remember the Shoah and visibly demonstrate that we will never forget what unbridled antisemitism can bring. This is especially important now, as we are seeing an increasing in antisemetic violence both in Europe and in the US (witness the recent incidents up at UC Davis and in Copenhagen), and as we are losing the generation of Holocaust survivors. As always, we’ll start with our MoTAS breakfast at 8:45 AM, followed by an activity review at 9:00 AM and candle assembly around 9:30 AM. For more information on the program, visit https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/yom-hashoah-candles/. When you receive your Yellow Candle, we encourage you to contribute to MoTAS to support this program, and to light your candle on Yom HaShoah, which starts the evening of Wednesday, May 4th.
Please note: We will not be mailing the Yellow Candles this year. Instead, candles will be delivered through the religious school, permitting them to incorporate the remembrance into the education program. Candles will also be available at all Temple events after April 10, as well as available at the TAS Front Office. If you are unable to get to TAS and you desire a candle, simply email president@tasnorthridge-motas.org or contact Daniel at (818) 438-5781, and we will arrange to get a candle delivered to you.
Looking ahead, our May meeting on May 1st will feature Dave Friedman talking about his recent visit to Panama. The topic will be how individuals and the US can make a big difference.
2. MOTAS SEDER – SUNDAY APRIL 17
On Sunday, April 17, you are invited to join the Men of TAS at our annual Mens Seder. This special service and dinner, modeled after the traditional Passover Seder, provides a comfortable and ‘safe’ space for the men of TAS to explore and celebrate what it means to be a contemporary Jewish man. The text of our special haggadah, developed by MRJ and available at http://www.menrj.org/mrj-mens-seder, explores issues that pertain specifically to men; the service and dinner provides a place to take those issues, share them, discuss them, and wrestle with them.
PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO ATTEND, WE NEED YOUR RSVP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. To RSVP (and pay in advance), visit http://seder.tasnorthridge-motas.org/. RSVPs are due by noon, April 11.
Our Mens Passover Dinner will consists of traditional Passover foods — water, wine, homemade charoset, and more (maybe even gefilte fish) — as well as barbeque chicken and tri-tip (for what man doesn’t love barbeque).
The cost for the meal and the service is $20. The schedule is as follows:
- 5:30pm: Sign in and snacks
- 6:00pm: Service and dinner
3. COMING OUT OF THE (OLD) MOTAS CLOSET
On Sunday, April 3, MoTAS moved from the previous small closet behind the kitchen door in the social hall to the larger closet next to it. Over the course of 5-6 hours, a team of Jews with Tools constructed NFS industrial wire shelving; cleaned, swept, and mopped both the old and new closets; moved everything over to the new closet; installed new locksets on both closets; and installed hardware to make keeping the swing doors open easier. We also enjoyed bagels, cream cheese, and pizza (courtesy of Frank) — for MoTAS travels on its stomach. Thank you to Aaron Solomon and the leadership of the congregation for supporting us in this move. Thank you to all the volunteers who showed up to make this a fun and productive morning: Roger Lowe, Frank Soronow, Scott Yollis, Bill Shapiro, Daniel Faigin, Joel Lowell, Bob Levine, Kathy Pullman, Larry Hoffman, Dave Freidman, and Alia Yollis.
While cleaning the closet, we discovered quite a stash of Mens Club and MoTAS items. Yes, I said Mens Club — because whatever the term, we’re a group of brothers working together for our Temple family. These items will be available for purchase at the Sunday April 10 meeting (and we should be able to take credit cards):
- Light Blue Men’s Club T-Shirts (L, XL) – $10
- Medium Blue Men’s Club T-Shirt (1, L) – $10
- Dark Blue Men’s Club T-Shirts (L, XL) – $10
- Cobalt Blue Polo-Shirt (no pocket) with MoTAS on sleeve (L, XL) – $10
- MoTAS Aluminum Water Bottles – $10
- Knit African kippot (no logo) – $18
- Embroidered turquoise and gold kippot – $5
The knit African kippot are very nice — they stretch to be able to fit your head without having to use clips. They came to MoTAS via Barry Krowne’s daughter who was in Africa near the tribe that made them. Barry brought them back with him from one of his trips there. Some time later, Steven Zonis noticed that the Rabbi of that congregation (who just got elected as the first Jewish member of the Ugandan Parliament) was going to do a tour of the US, and suggested we invite him here. After a very long to-do regarding pricing, arrangements were made, and he visited us for weekend-in-residence.
Lastly, if you want items with the new logo, you can order them from our Cafe Press store at http://www.cafepress.com/motasshop.
4. CALL TO ACTION: THE KITCHEN CHALLENGE IS NOT OVER YET
For the two months, you’ve been hearing about the MoTAS Kitchen Challenge — MoTAS’ effort to raise fund to repair and improve the Social Hall Kitchen. There was a lot of work to be done: replacing refrigerators, improving the make up air, addressing fire suppression and safety, repairing ovens and freezers, and much more. We’ve made significant progress: MoTAS has funded a new refrigerator, and we’re still awaiting bids on the make-up air, cleaning the oven vent hood, and getting better fire suppression. We want to do so much more. The campaign does not end until the end of April. So, please, if you can, contribute to the MoTAS Kitchen Appeal. Anything you donate will help us help TAS improve the kitchen. As with the Annual Appeal, online and printable donation forms are at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/about/support-motas/2016-kitchen-challenge/ (or just go to http://support.tasnorthridge-motas.org/ and click on the Kitchen Challenge), and donations of $100 or more will be acknowledged on our Wall of Honor. We thank you in advance for your support.
5. CALL TO ACTION: HELP MOTAS DO ALL WE DO — MOTAS ANNUAL APPEAL
Unlike many other mens clubs and brotherhoods, MoTAS has no dues. As a male member of Temple Ahavat Shalom, you are automatically a member of the Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom (MoTAS)? In 2012, MoTAS moved to an inclusive model where every man in TAS is part of the Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom. Since we have no dues, every year MoTAS asks you to support our work financially.
MoTAS strives to encourage the men of TAS to be leaders. Leadership comes in many ways, one of which is visible participation and support. MoTAS is stronger when it is supported by all the men of TAS. Wouldn’t it be great if we could say that every man in the congregation has supported us? The amount you contribute is up to you-large or small. Select a meaningful amount that is comfortable and reflects the value of the MoTAS relationship to you. We recognize contributions of $100 or more on our wall of honor at http://wallofhonor.tasnorthridge-motas.org .
So where do the funds raised by MoTAS during this appeal go? Here’s a sample of what they (and the funds raised by the Golf Tournament) support:
- Expenses for MoTAS activities not covered by donations or activity fees. This would cover breakfasts at meetings, expenses for the Sports Squares programs, and similar expenses.
- Expenses for specific TAS needs that were not part of the TAS budget. The Kitchen Challenge is an example of that: the funds for the challenge were raised in past appeals.
- Support for TAS students through Bar/Bat Mitzvah gifts, camperships, and other funding.
- The MoTAS contribution to the Temple’s general fund, either at the annual meeting or through sponsorship of events.
- MoTAS contributions to the regional Men of Reform Judaism and the charitable activities it supports, such as Reform on Campus.
You, the men of TAS, are the ones that make the above possible through your contributions during this appeal. Contribute online by visiting http://support.tasnorthridge-motas.org/: you can either pay online, or print a form and mail it in. Note that MoTAS receives no financial support from the TAS budget; our funds are separate.
6. UPCOMING EVENTS: 2016 GOLF TOURNAMENT PLANNING BEGINS…
Plans are firming out for the 2016 MoTAS Golf Tournament, which will be held Monday, September 19 at the beautiful Calabasas Country Club. MoTAS is looking for members to join our Golf Tournament committee. This is the group that plans the tournament, and helps bring in sponsors and advertising. If you would be interested, contact Barry Mann at andybarry80@yahoo.com.
Note: If you are interested in registering for the tournament, being a sponsor, advertising in the program, or making a donation to our auction, please see our Golf Tournament page — newly updated for 2016 — at http://golf.tasnorthridge-motas.org/
7. UPCOMING EVENTS: JETHAWKS BASEBALL – FAMILY EVENT – SATURDAY MAY 28
Registration is now open for our Jethawks Baseball Family Event on Saturday, May 28th — visit http://jethawks.tasnorthridge-motas.org to register. This will be an outing to “The Hanger” in Lancaster (about a hour drive from TAS) on a Saturday evening to see the Jethawks play. The cost will be $9 per person (with a slight convenience charge for online credit-card registrations). If you haven’t been to a minor-league baseball game, they are an order of magnitude more fun than an outing to the Dodgers. The stadium is small, the food is inexpensive, and the goal is just to have a great time. The Jethawks (http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t491) are the minor-league team for the Houston Astros. The game is an evening game (so we’re not sitting in the hot Lancaster sun), allowing us to arrive at the stadium around 530pm, watch the game, and be home between 10-11 (the game should end around 9pm). It is also after religious school is over for the year, so we encourage you to bring your kids and grandkids. The more the merrier.
Registration information may be found at jethawks.tasnorthridge-motas.org.
IN CLOSING
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. Sign up for our action alert list at http://tinyurl.com/motas-action-alert. 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 