In This Issue:
- BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR MOTAS WHENEVER YOU CAN
- FRI JUN 15 – SIGN UP FOR SHABBABAQUE / VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
- TUE JUN 19 – DINING OUT AT MARIAS ITALIAN
- SUMMER PLANNING
- JUNE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
- IN CLOSING
1. BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR MOTAS WHENEVER YOU CAN
Do you know the best way to get someone involved with the Men of TAS? It isn’t meeting topics, or free food. It is YOU, our active members. By your going up to a man you don’t know at a TAS activity, introducing yourself, and talking about the Men of TAS and what we do, you have the ability to create a new active member. This is even more vital right now as we’re rebuilding the congregation with a new energy.
This week is the perfect opportunity: We have the “Meet and Greet” with Rabbi Kalfus on Wednesday 6/6, and the Congregational Meeting on Sunday 6/10. We need you to be a MoTAS Ambassador, spreading the word and invite the men of the congregation — especially the younger men — to get involved. Point out that involvement with the Men of TAS is a great way to get to know all the men in the congregation, not just the ones in the school. Point out that involvement is a way to give back to the congregation — not only financially, but by helping at events, repairing and rebuilding the TAS campus, and by strengthening the relationships between the members of the congregation, building bonds between long time and newer members.
It all depends on you. You can make the Men of TAS an even more vital part of the congregation.
2. FRI JUN 15 – SIGN UP FOR SHABBABAQUE / VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Shabbabaque — our first summer Shabbat Bar-B-Que — is only a few weeks away on Friday, June 15th, and we need more folks to signup. Members of TAS will be at Wednesday’s Meet and Greet and the Sunday’s Congregational Meeting with sheets for folks to sign up for the dinner. You can simply RSVP, or you can pay at the meeting (we’ll have our Square reader with us). If you’re a dad in the TAS youth education programs — Religious School, ECEC, or the Infant and Toddler Center, remember that with one paid registration, the entire family can come.
Shabbabaque starts with an outdoor service in the TAS amphitheatre at 6:15pm, featuring music from our rockin’ TAS House Band. This is followed at 7:15pm by a delicious barbeque dinner. Meat items will include turkey burgers, beef burgers, and hot dogs. Vegetarian items will include vegetarian patties, broccoli roasted with garlic, and baked potatoes. Afterwards, there will be a wonderful Sisterhood oneg. The full menu is on the Shabbabaque event page. Our goal is for everyone to be happy. If you have special dietary needs, please contact us at the email address below.
Here are the details
- Date: Friday, June 15, 2018
- 6:15 PM Service
- 7:15 PM Shabbabeque Dinner followed by a Song Session
- Cost: $11 Adults / $7 Children (+$5 for registrations after Weds., 6/13 at noon). For religious school, ECEC, and ITC families, the family comes free with one adult registration.
- How to Register:
- In Person: You can register at the Wednesday “Meet and Greet” and the Sunday Congregational Meeting, and even pay by credit card.
- Online Registrations and Payments: Visit http://shab-bbq.tasnorthridge-motas.org/ to register. You may pay by credit card, or mail your check in advance or bring it to the event. You may also pay by credit card at the event.
- Telephone Registrations. You may register by calling the Temple Office at (818) 360-2258, or emailing shab-bbq@tasnorthridge-motas.org. Note that registrations received after Weds 6/13 at 6PM are an additional $5.
- Questions? Contact shab-bbq@tasnorthridge-motas.org
Reservation for this event by June 13th is strongly encouraged; an extremely-limited number of late-registration tickets are available at the door.
To volunteer to help at the event, visit https://motascybermaven.eventbee.com/event?eid=137363703.
3. TUE JUN 19 – DINING OUT AT MARIAS ITALIAN
Would you like an easy way to help MoTAS financially? How about taking your family to dinner. The MoTAS “Dining Does Good” allows you to go out to dinner, and have the restaurant donate a portion of your check support the Men of TAS. Our June “Dining Does Good” will be Tuesday, June 19, at Maria’s Italian in Northridge. 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.
4. SUMMER PLANNING
As you’ll read in the next item, at our June meeting we discussed ways to get more men involved with the Men of TAS, especially the younger men with dads. We have two potential opportunities during the summer, as we don’t use our Second Sunday slots for meetings. A number of ideas were discussed, from a family picnic, to temple work days, to family outings. All we need is someone to champion and lead the activity. If you would be interesting in helping to run such an activity, contact your humble Weekly editor, faigin@cahighways.org, and I’ll get the information to the correct MoTAS Officer.
Additionally, “watch this space” for announcements of upcoming events, such as our Pancake Breakfast at the start of religious school, our Sukkah Construction, and our forthcoming Poker Tournament.
5. JUNE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
Date: Sunday, June 3, 2018
Present: Frank Soronow (President), Hal Bass (Secretary), Steve Berkowitz, Les Birken, Yale Doberne, Daniel Faigin (Past President), Roger Lowe (Treasurer), Larry Pfefer, Russ Rapoport, Mike Rayfield, Bill Shapiro (VP), Wil Simpson, Bernie Singer, Robert Spier, Alan Stepakoff, Sandy Stern, Mike Thornhill, Scott Yollis.
D’var Torah: Frank directed his remarks to this week’s Torah portion, which describes the 12 scouts, one from each tribe, sent by Moses to prepare for the Jews to enter the Land of Israel after 40 years in the desert. Ten of the scouts expressed deep reservations about the effort, while two, Joshua and Caleb, wished to proceed. There are numerous interpretations of this behavior, but in the end Joshua and Caleb prevailed and a new generation arrived in the Promised Land, after God had decreed that entry would be delayed 40 years, during which time the previous generation of Jews will die out in the desert.
Treasurer’s Report: Cash balance includes $6,044.70 available for grants from 2016-17 sports squares sales of $108.95, $3,000 from the 2017 sale of football squares, $1,170 from 2018 Super Bowl squares, $1,365.75 from 2018 basketball squares, and $400 donated directly for sports squares grant money.
- Receipts: 2018 fundraising appeal thus far has netted $3,550, and the Pride Campaign for temple beautification brought in $443. Net proceeds from the sale of Yom HaShoah candles were $396.01.
- Expenses: $148.30 for TAS High School graduates Seder Plates. $900 for TAS Gala ad. $250 for one-half seat at the Gala poker table shared with Sisterhood. $5,000 annual commitment to TAS. $200 deposit for MoTAS Poker Tournament on October 21.
TAS Gala Saturday, June 9: MoTAS members are encouraged to attend this year’s Gala & Casino Night, which will be held at the temple. Tyree & Les Wieder and Cantor Ken Cohen are the honorees. MoTAS has purchased a full-page ad. [Ed: Additionally: We are co-sponsoring a Poker Seat with Sisterhood, and our incoming President, Howard Miller, will be the champion for both groups. Wish him luck!]
Annual Congregational Meeting will take place Sunday, June 10, at 9 am. A check to cover our annual temple commitment will be submitted in time for the congregational meeting.
Shabbabaque Dinner Friday, June 15: A signup sheet for volunteers to assist with food preparation and serving was provided. Services will be held at 6:15 pm, to be followed by the Shabbabaque dinner at 7:15. Daniel Faigin proposed that a separate blast email publicizing the Shabbabaque be sent to congregants.
Poker Tournament: The MoTAS Poker Tournament will take place on Sunday, October 21. Even for members who don’t play poker, volunteers will be needed for food service and clean-up. MoTAS
Membership Ideas: Daniel Faigin led a discussion about increasing the attendance at our monthly meetings. Several proposals were generated: MoTAS poster and representatives at the introductory meeting with Rabbi Arturo Kalfus on Wednesday, June 6, and at the Annual Congregational Meeting on June 10; family picnics or a Sunday afternoon movie for children at the temple, with an ice-cream social following the movie; pancake breakfast sponsored by MoTAS on the first Sunday of the school year in September; co-sponsor two or three events during the year with the Sisterhood.
Next MoTAS Meeting: Sunday, September 9, 2018, at 8:45 am.
Respectfully submitted,
Hal Bass, Secretary
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 