In This Issue:
- MOTAS DINING OUT AT PIZZA REV – WED FEB 21
- SUPPORT ROGER LOWE, OUR MAN OF THE YEAR, ON SAT MAR 10 (RSVP DEADLINE 2/27)
- SISTERHOOD MEETING ON GENDER IDENTITY – TUE FEB 20
- PURIM CARNIVAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – SUN MAR 4
- BREAKFAST CREW VOLUNTEER CALL
- FEBRUARY MEMBERSHIP MEETING SUMMARY
- PSST. FLY LIKE AN EAGLE, BUT LAND IN A NET
- IN CLOSING
1. MOTAS DINING OUT AT PIZZA REV – WED FEB 21
The MoTAS “Dining Does Good” have returned, and this year they support MoTAS 100%! Our February “Dining Does Good” will be Wednesday, February 21 at PizzaRev in Northridge (on Reseda below Plummer). You can find a flyer for the event at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/dining/. We really encourage you to come and support these events: we raise a little extra funds for our work, but more importantly, we come together and break bread as a Temple family on a regular basis. It is a real joy to walk into a neighborhood restaurant and see your Temple friends, to sit down and share a table and talk. This is the heart and goal of MoTAS: Building Relationships.
2. SUPPORT ROGER LOWE, OUR MAN OF THE YEAR, ON SAT MAR 10 (RSVP DEADLINE 2/27)
At the MoTAS Shabbat on January 5th, Roger Lowe was announced as the MoTAS Man of the Year. The MRJ Man of the Year Dinner, where our honoree will be feted, together with the honorees from other MRJ congregations from the MRJ Pacific Southwest region, is Saturday, March 10, 2018 at Temple Beth Tikvah in Fullerton. . The cost of the dinner is $40, and you can RSVP now by clicking here. RSVPS are due by Saturday, February 27.
3. SISTERHOOD MEETING ON GENDER IDENTITY – TUE FEB 20
Note: Sisterhood sent out this announcement, and as it is open to all, and this is an issue that concerns all parents, we’re sharing the information:
Have you heard that at camps, clubs, and colleges, Gen Z is including “what pronouns do you use?” as one of their introductory questions? Do you wonder what it means to be gender-fluid? If you think identifying as non-binary is “just the newest fad”, did you know that one survey found that half the millennials surveyed agree that gender isn’t limited to male and female. Our world is changing with regard to gender identity, and it is hard to keep up.
To help all of us wrap our heads around the phenomenon, Sisterhood has invited a panel of youth and adults to help us to understand the principles, the language, and the Jewish history behind gender identity. This is a joint program with TAS High, Adult Education and Sisterhood and is open (free) to everyone: teens, parents, siblings, friends, Temple members, non-members too.
Join us on Tuesday, Feb 20 at 7PM and expand your horizons. Learn how the world and our youth are changing with respect to gender. The purpose of this event is to educate us, parents, teens, and all interested individuals on the topic, to give everyone a chance to ask questions, and to give our youth a voice on a topic that is important to them. We hope you will come, listen and learn.
4. PURIM CARNIVAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – SUN MAR 4
This year’s Purim Carnival is being held at TAS in combination with Temple Ramat Zion. MoTAS has been a strong supporter of the Purim Carnival for more than 30 years, preparing and serving food to carnival attendees. This year we will be sharing that effort with the Men’s Club of TRZ. MoTAS will need 3-4 guys to help shop for some of the food on the Thursday or Friday before the event and 12 or more guys to help prepare and serve the food on Sunday. Please call Howard Miller (818) 993-0796 or RSVP at https://motascybermaven.eventbee.com/event?eid=163569512 if you can help. Let’s make this a solid effort from MoTAS.
5. BREAKFAST CREW VOLUNTEER CALL
Do you enjoy the breakfast at our monthly meetings? We all do, but sometimes due our busy schedules, someone from the preparation crew cannot be there. Don’t you want to help and part of our substitutes list?
The tasks that four people currently perform include.
- Shopping for the food and preparing some of it.
- Purchases and picks up the bagels from Western Bagel.
- Cook the eggs.
- Making the coffee
The group works at setting up the food service and afterwards the cleanup. We are looking for some good men who can step in when one of the regular crew cannot make it.
For more information contact Roger Lowe at Roger_J_Lowe@sbcglobal.net or RSVP at https://motascybermaven.eventbee.com/event?eid=193169613. Come and support our continued breakfast tradition.
6. FEBRUARY MEMBERSHIP MEETING SUMMARY
Date: Sunday, February 11, 2018
Present: Frank Soronow (President), Hal Bass, Lee Baum, William Bigelson, Les Birken, Bob Brostoff, Don Edlin, Daniel Faigin, David Friedman, Dorothy Hoffman, Larry Hoffman, Mel Janis, Ed Lapporte, Bob Levine, Roger Lowe (Treasurer), Fabian Malinovitz, Howard Miller, Russ Rapoport, Mike Rayfield, Howard Schnee, Bill Shapiro, Sandy Stern, Scott Yollis, Jackie Zev
D’var Torah: Frank Soronow gave the D’var Torah. He based his remarks on the sermon by our guest rabbi on February 9, Avivah Erlick, and lessons shared by a candidate for the interim rabbi’s position on February 6, Douglas Kohn.
Treasurer’s Report: Checking account balance as of 02/10/2018 was [see the posted minutes], which includes $4,992.27 for grants from last year’s sports squares of $622.27, $3,000 from this year’s sale of football squares, $970 from the sale of Super Bowl squares, and $400 donated directly for sports squares grant money. Another $125 owed for Super Bowl squares will be added to the grant money once it is received. The Tu B’Shevat Seder netted $20 and Dining for Dollars at Chi’s Chinese Restaurant brought in $200. MoTAS has an annual commitment of $500 for the L’Taken trip by our older students to Washington, DC, and $1,500 for the Avodah program.
More Children & Adolescents at Services: Ed Lapporte and Don Edlin brought up the issue of having more children and adolescents in attendance at Friday night services. This generated a healthy discussion. Ideas presented included honoring members of a different religious school class each month, encouraging students to attend services during Saturday b’nai mitzvot, and offering Israeli dancing and/or soccer during the Oneg Shabbat.
Man of the Year Dinner: Roger Lowe, MoTAS Man of the Year, will be honored at a dinner to be held at Temple Beth Tikvah in Fullerton by the Southern California region of Men of Reform Judaism on Saturday evening, March 10.
Purim Carnival: The annual Purim Carnival, a joint activity of TAS and Temple Ramat Zion, will take place on Sunday, March 4, at TAS. Volunteers are needed, for which a sign-up sheet was passed around. MoTAS will supply the beverages and Ramat Zion, the food.
New Tax Law: MoTAS members and CPAs William Bigelson and Bob Levine discussed the new tax law and compared some of the changes between 2017 and 2018. They presented 5 examples for single or married individuals and an example for those with business income. For 2018 taxes, to be filed in 2019, individual rates will range from 10-37%; the child tax credit will increase to $2,000 (up to $1,400 refundable); the standard deduction for joint filers rises from $12,700 to $24,000, for heads-of-household from $9,350 to $18,000, and for single filers from $6,350 to $12,000; corporate rate reduced from 35% to a 21% flat rate; pass-through income, which was taxed at individual rates, now has a 20% deduction; the individual exemption for the alternative minimum tax has been increased and the corporate AMT repealed; the $4,050 personal exemption has been repealed; state and local taxes went from unlimited deductions to a maximum of $10,000, but there still is no limit on charitable deductions; and mortgage interest on new loans now has a $750,000 limit.
Next Meeting: Sunday, March 11, 2018, at 8:45 am. [This will be our Yellow Candle packing meeting.]
7. PSST. FLY LIKE AN EAGLE, BUT LAND IN A NET
A week ago Sunday was the Super Bowl (or the Superb Owl, depending on your spacing). Congratulations to all of our Super Bowl Squares winners, and more importantly, thank you to all the players for giving us a full board. This is a win for both the winners, and for our congregation.
A little birdie tells me that the website for NCAA Squares is actually live, at the usual place: http://squares.tasnorthridge-motas.org/. Eventbee fees have gone up for tickets that ask additional questions, so we’ve opted to start adding that nominal amount for squares purchased online. But fear not: you can avoid the fee by printing out the form and paying by check, coordinating payment via Zelle or Venmo (or contact us for Paypal), or even paying offline via Credit Card. You can get a copy of the form off the Squares website.
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 