In This Issue:

1. A FINAL NOTE OF THANKS
2. SUKKAH BUILDING – SAVE THE DATE – SUN SEP 19
3. SHARE YOUR SIMCHAS
4. PAYING MOTAS VIA ZELLE
5. IN CLOSING

---

Note: During the summer, the Weekly may skip the occasional week as things are quieter.

1. A FINAL NOTE OF THANKS

First of all, I hope this note is finding you and your families in good health. I also want to wish each of you a very healthy and happy coming High Holidays.

I have planned on writing this note for some time once my third year as President ended.  I will admit that I put off writing it for a while but something has come up that reminded me it was time to send it out.  Many of you may have noted the passing of Leland “Lee” Baum. We have not seen Lee for a few years; even pre-COVID he was becoming more frail and had stopped driving.  Lee might have been considered the epitome of a Man of TAS.  He belonged to our group for its friendship, honest conversations, comradery and our dedication to TAS.  He attended our meetings regularly. Whenever there was an event, Lee would be there to help out.  Never a leader but always a quiet example of a gentleman. Lee was remembered last Sunday at a memorial service at TAS.

As I reflect on the last three years, I realize how much enjoyment I have had being a part of MoTAS and with being associated with such a fine group of friends.  My leadership team of Larry Pfefer, Russ Rapoport, Roger Lowe, Hal Bass, past president Daniel Faigin and my counselors Bob Levine and Brian Hatkoff helped make MoTAS a well-oiled machine. I thank them for their assistance and friendship.  Our incoming president, Larry, is well prepared to take the helm and continue our success.  I know that our incoming Vice Presidents, Scott Gore and Edward Lapporte, will be ready to help out and bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm.  Join me in wishing all of them the best of luck in the coming year!

2020-21 was a very different year for The Men of TAS.  We were only been able to meet online and could not carry out many of the activities for which we are normally depended upon.  We missed our Shabbabaque, building the Sukkah, helping Sisterhood with their boutique, holding our annual poker tournament fundraiser, etc.  Even so, our monthly meeting attendance has shown the continued comradery of our bunch.  We have met every financial obligation to the temple and our religious school communities.

I am most proud that MoTAS used a portion of our Sports Squares proceeds to benefit a dozen families who lost work due to the pandemic and were in dire financial need.  If helping members in need is not helping TAS, I don’t know what else would be.  I do know that, based on the publication of our efforts, a number of other families independently followed suit to support those families. In addition, MoTAS paid for the complete provision and integration of the Temple’s new WiFi system.  I did have to promise Rabbi Becky that you guys would limit your checking of Dodger scores during Shabbat services. MoTAS also paid for part of the painting of the Social Hall kitchen. Thanks to all of you for helping make our Sports Squares and annual appeal successful.  And especially, thanks to Bob Levine and our Gridmaven, Kathy Pullman, for administrating our Sports Squares program.

A special thanks also to Daniel Faigin, our Master of Publicity and digital media.  He does so much behind the scenes to benefit our group and our activities.

Lastly, I would like to thank our major benefactors who have been strong champions of MoTAS. The Krowne, Miles, Friedman, Handler, Silverstein, Kantor, Lucks and Hilecher families have been significant MoTAS contributors for 20 years to ensure our big fundraising activities are successful. And just as importantly, thanks to all the active members of MOTAS who personally donate to our fundraising events.

Wishing all of you the best,

Howard Miller
Past President
The Men of TAS

2.  SUKKAH BUILDING – SAVE THE DATE – SUN SEP 19

JEWISH MEN WITH TOOLS (MoTAS) are tentatively scheduled to build our temple Sukkah on Sunday September 19 at 9am, after a brief status update. This easy job can be completed in about an hour. Please come with gloves, Allen wrenches, and friends. Please let Howard (president@tasnorthridge-motas.org) know if YOU can shop for chicken wire and phone ties. AND, as Valley Crest is not offering palm fronds, please let us know if you know where we can get them. If YOU have a truck available to pick up the palm fronds, we would appreciate that also. We will have bagels and drinks. Please let us know if you can be there to help out!

3. SHARE YOUR SIMCHAS

If you have a Simcha you want to share, click here for the link to submit your Simcha. Submissions will be due no later than the last day of the month prior to the month of publication. We are now taking July submissions to be listed in August 2021. For more details or questions contact Bob Levine. If you are interested in making a donation to TAS in honor of your Simcha, click here. A donation is not required to submit your Simcha.

4.  PAYING MOTAS VIA ZELLE

Did you know you can pay MoTAS via EFT. If your bank is connected to Zelle (or you have the Zelle) app, you can add MoTAS to your list of Zelle recipients: Name of Business: Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom, Email: treasurer@tasnorthridge-motas.org . If you aren’t connected to Zelle, you can go to https://www.zellepay.com/get-started and see if your bank or credit union is on the list; if not, you can still connect via the Zelle app (download at https://www.zellepay.com/go/zelle ).

Note that you can also pay MoTAS via Venmo to the same email address treasurer@tasnorthridge-motas.org . Just make sure to indicate the payment is person to person, not for goods or services, so that we don’t incur a fee. Paypal is more likely to charge a fee; however, if you do a person to person transfer to onlinesales@tasnorthridge-motas.org from a bank account, there isn’t a fee. If you indicate it is for goods or services, or if you use a credit card, there is a fee.

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!