In This Issue:

1. FEB DINING OUT – TUE FEB 25 AT CHI CHIS PIZZA
2. TWO WEEKS LEFT TO SIGN UP FOR THE DINNER HONORING LES BIRKEN (MAN OF THE YEAR)
3. PAINTING THE GATES – SUN MAR 1
4. NCAA SQUARES ON SALE
5. MOTAS ANNUAL APPEAL
6. LUNCH AND LEARN: VOTING: HOW, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHAT – THU FEB 13
7. SHORT BITS AND SAVE THE DATES: UPCOMING MEETINGS, PURIM, AND MOTAS/SISTERHOOD SEDERS
8. IN CLOSING

Note:The minutes from the February meeting will be in the next MoTAS Weekly

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1. FEB DINING OUT – TUE FEB 25 AT CHI CHIS PIZZA

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 February Dining Does Good” will be Tuesday, February 25 at Chi Chi’s Pizza at 9080 Tampa Ave, Northridge, CA 91324, (818) 993-9911. 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.

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2. TWO WEEKS LEFT TO SIGN UP FOR THE DINNER HONORING LES BIRKEN (MAN OF THE YEAR)

Les Birken was honored at the January MoTAS Shabbat as our 2020 Man of the Year. A very deserving member, Les has been a part of TAS and MoTAS for over 30 years. As Howard Miller stated, Les is “always the first to offer to support MoTAS programs and among the last to leave”. He has never turned down a request to help. Many of his contributions can be found in our Social Hall kitchen and the temple archive room. Also, you will often find Les on the Bimah during Shabbat services providing musical accompaniment on the banjo or guitar. He leads by example and is one of our most dependable members.

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 14, 2020 at Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Ana. The cost of the dinner is $40 if you are paying by cash or check; $42 plus TicketLeap fees if you are paying by credit card. You can RSVP or pay online at https://tasmotas.ticketleap.com/20-03-moy-dinner/. RSVPS are due by Friday, February 28.

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3. PAINTING THE GATES – SUN MAR 1

TAS PRIDE – Help us repaint the parking lot gates: Sunday March 1. Note that this is a date change from what was in the appeal letter.

Each year MoTAS promotes and supports our TAS Pride temple beautification efforts. This year we will be cleaning and repainting the wrought iron security fencing for the main parking lot gates and surrounding area. If you would like to help, join us at 1pm on Sunday March 1. No provisions needed except clothing you won’t mind turning black; although, work gloves would be smart. If you would like to help, contact Howard Miller at (818) 903-9656. If you would like to help prepare the fencing for painting a few days before, please let Howard know.

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4. NCAA SQUARES ON SALE

Now that football season is officially over, it’s time for basketball and the craziness known as the Final Four, in early April. Once again, MoTAS is happy to offer you the opportunity to help raise some needed funds for special TAS projects, and maybe you’ll earn some $$ along the way. You are receiving this email because you so generously supported our Sports Squares program sometime in the last year, and we want you to have first opportunity to play now. To get all the information (and in some cases, more than you could ever want), go to http://squares.tasnorthridge-motas.org/ where you’ll find the instructions, a sign-up form you can print, and a link if you wish to order your spaces online.

To summarize: each name on the board can have up to 3 spaces. The squares are priced at $36 each. The game is for both the men’s and women’s tournament (semifinal two games each, and final games), so there are 12 opportunities to be a winner, since there is a winner at the half and final score. If the board is fully subscribed at all 100 spaces, the payout is $150 per win. Once again, we’ll use our “tie-breaker” method to determine a winner if a winning square is unsold (If there are unsold squares, the payouts will be adjusted.) The tie-breaker is your prediction of the total number of points both teams will score in any game, for example, if you think the final score will be 82-61, your number = 143. Here’s a hint for those who are unfamiliar (or don’t really care….): the average score for the men’s tournament for the last two years was 147, and the average score for the women’s tournament was 134. You get only one tie-breaker per person, so choose wisely.

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5. MOTAS ANNUAL APPEAL

By now, you should have received our annual appeal letter. MoTAS does not collect membership dues — we depend on contributions from our membership to do what we do, and to help Temple Ahavat Shalom. To contribute online or to print a donation form, just visit support.tasnorthridge-motas.org.

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6. LUNCH AND LEARN: VOTING: HOW, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHAT – THU FEB 13

On Thursday, February 13 at 12PM, the Kesher Committee will be hosting the next installment in its “Lunch and Learn” series. These sessions mix informed speakers with lively discussions. They are held in the Temple Social Hall. Bring your own lunch or call Maureen (818) 772-6627 before February 13 to order a $12 box lunch for you from Corner Bakery (see menu below). Pay for your lunch (Cash Only) on the day of the Lunch and Learn.

The topic of this “Lunch and Learn” is “Voting: How, When, Where, and What”. Fran Lapides, informed League of Women Voter and esteemed Temple member will:

1. Talk about new voting procedures.
2. Highlight three upcoming ballot measures (1 state and 2 county).
3. Explain the 2020 Census and its implications for California.

The sandwiches available are as follows. They are also available as a box lunch, which comes filled with a specialty sandwich, bakery chips, fresh seasonal fruit and a freshly baked cookie. Box lunches are 1,070-1,230 cal/box. Calorie counts reflect individual half sandwich portions.

• UPTOWN TURKEY AVOCADO (290 cal) Smoked turkey, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce and mayo.
• TURKEY SWISS (220 cal) Smoked turkey, Swiss, green leaf lettuce, sliced tomatoes and stone ground mustard.
• CHICKEN PESTO (Contains nuts) (380 cal) Sliced chicken, fresh arugula and plum tomatoes with our sweet and spicy house vinaigrette and pesto mayo
• TOMATO MOZZARELLA (380 cal) Fresh mozzarella, plum tomatoes, sweet roasted red peppers, fresh basil and arugula drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette.
• CHICKEN SALAD (290 cal) Chicken, crisp green apples, currants, red onions, celery, mayo and toasted almonds with lettuce and tomatoes.
• ALBACORE TUNA SALAD (300 cal) Our classic tuna salad topped with leaf lettuce and tomatoes.
• STEAK & ARUGULA SANDWICH (590 CAL) Shaved prime rib, Swiss cheese, tomato, pickled onion, arugula, horseradish mustard, harvest toast.
• MOM’S GRILLED CHICKEN (330 cal) Sliced chicken with provolone, leaf lettuce and sliced plum tomatoes.
• MOM’S TURKEY (360 cal) Smoked turkey breast with Swiss, green leaf lettuce and sliced plum tomatoes.

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7. SHORT BITS AND SAVE THE DATES: UPCOMING MEETINGS, PURIM, AND MOTAS/SISTERHOOD SEDERS

Mark your calendar now for the following activities taking place in March:

• Purim Carnival/March Membership Meeting. The annual Purim Carnival will take place at TAS on Sunday, March 8. MoTAS will be providing the food. Children will eat for free, while adults will be charged $5 for food. We’re still working out the menu, and whether we’ll be cooking burgers and hot dogs, or bringing in food as we do at the Chanukkah Boutique. Volunteers are needed for the event. Additionally, we will be holding a brief business meeting before we start food preparation at our usual time (as the Purim Carnival is on our normal meeting date).
• MoTAS/TBH Brotherhood Seder. Sunday, March 29 will be our annual Joint Brotherhood Seder with Temple Beth Hillel. This year, we’re growing as Temple Judea’s Brotherhood will be joining us as well. The Seder will be at 5:00 PM at Temple Beth Hillel. Details are being finalized; watch the Weekly for the signup information when it is available. But reserve the date on your calendar now.
• Sisterhood Seder Volunteers. The TAS Sisterhood Seder will be Thursday, April 2: Eight MoTAS members will be needed for 60-90 minutes that evening to assist with the Seder. If you are able to help, please contact Howard at president@tasnorthridge-motas.org.
• Men’s Only Discussion Group. The Men’s Only Discussion Group is returning. Mark your calendars for Sunday, April 19 at a location to be provided when you sign up. Men’s Only Discussion groups provide a forum for discussing men’s issues in an environment where what is said in the room, stays in the room. There will be dinner.

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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!

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