In This Issue:
- COME AND GET IT! YELLOW CANDLES! MOTAS/MENS CLUB ITEMS!
- MOTAS SEDER – SUNDAY APRIL 17
- PROPOSED SLATE FOR 2016-2017 MOTAS BOARD
- 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. COME AND GET IT! YELLOW CANDLES! MOTAS/MENS CLUB ITEMS!
Yellow Candles
At our meeting Sunday, MoTAS boxed our traditional Yom HaShoah Candle mailing. However, we’re not mailing them this year. The TAS Religious School will be distributing 260 of the candles to the religious school students together with an explanation of what they are for. The remainder will be available for pickup from the TAS front office, at TAS events, at the MoTAS Seder, and from MoTAS members near you. 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 , and as we are losing the generation of Holocaust survivors. We encourage you to pick up a candle, and remember to light it on Yom HaShoah, which starts the evening of Wednesday, May 4th. 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.
MoTAS/Mens Club Items
While cleaning the Mens Club 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 MoTAS Seder and at MoTAS events; or you can contact an officer and we’ll arrange to get you what you want:
- 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.
2. MRJ / FJMC NEWS
MRJ Biennial
Don’t miss out on your opportunity to represent your brotherhood or men’s club at the MRJ convention in New Orleans at the end of June. Each club has a vote on our direction. Get the opportunity to interact with men from around the country. Exchange ideas and get suggestions to help your club be better than ever. Go to www.menrj.org for all the details, including the agenda, registration information for both the hotel and the event. If you have questions, please contact Brian Hatkoff.
FJMC Retreat
The Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, our Conservative, brothers are having a retreat next month. We have been invited to participate with them. It is local and an excellent opportunity to meet other Jewish men who share our values. They are ready to accept reservations for the Western Region FJMC 2016 Retreat at Shalom Institute Camp and Conference Center in Malibu, CA on the weekend of May 20-22, 2016. On the Western Region FJMC website there is a web page devoted to the 2016 retreat. In addition to information about the retreat on the page itself, there are links to the 2016 Retreat Flier and the 2016 Retreat Registration Form. The web page will be updated as more information is available, such as special guests and a list of what to bring to the retreat.
3. PROPOSED SLATE FOR 2016-2017 MOTAS BOARD
At the Sunday, April 10, MoTAS Meeting, the Nominating Commitee announced the proposed slate of officers for the 2016-2017 MOTAS Board:
- President: Frank Soronow
- Vice President: Bill Shapiro
- Vice President: Larry Hoffman
- Secretary: Hal Bass
- Treasurer: Roger Lowe
The MoTAS Bylaws establish a two-year term limit for vice-presidents and presidents. Dave Friedman and Daniel Faigin have both reached the end of their two year terms. Daniel will remain on the Executive Board as the Immediate Past President.
Elections will be held at the May meeting. If you would like to contest an office (which the current candidates would love), please let Daniel know at faigin@cahighways.org.
4. CALL TO ACTION: THE KITCHEN CHALLENGE IS NOT OVER YET
For the last 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 