In This Issue:
- MOTAS POKER TOURNAMENT – SUN 2/19
- DINING DOES GOOD @ LULU’S – TUE 2/28
- MOTAS MAN OF THE YEAR / MRJ REGIONAL MOY DINNER SAT 3/18
- MOTAS ANNUAL APPEAL TIME
- MRJ CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION – JUN 23-25
- FEBRUARY MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
- IN CLOSING
From the Editor: The goal of the Weekly is to get MoTAS members the information they need on upcoming activities, and then get out of the way. If you have any information on MoTAS activities you need to get out to the membership, please contact the Weekly Editor at cybermaven@tasnorthridge-motas.org.
1. MOTAS POKER TOURNAMENT – SUN 2/19
MoTAS’ Annual Poker Tournament 2023 is February 19, 2023. Open to all, we are planning for a great, fun filled evening. GREAT Prizes – Raffles – 50/50 and Highest Hand of the Night. Space will be limited – Online Registration is open at poker.tasnorthridge-motas.org. Spread the word and encourage everyone you know to sign up.
- Date: Sunday, February 19, 2023
- Time: 4pm – Registration, 5pm – Start of Play
- Valuable prizes for the nine players at the final table.
- $40 Rebuys
- Your $90 donation includes $1,000 in playing chips, light dinner and one drink, and 5 raffle tickets
- Raffle Table
- 50/50 Drawing
- Silent Auction table
- Must be 18 years or older to participate in the Poker Tournament
- $100 bonus chip for new player registered by a returning player. This will put you 10% ahead of other players when you hear “Shuffle up and deal!”
Varying levels of sponsorship are also available. We also need donations for the Silent Auction Table. If you have any questions, contact hmiller12@socal.rr.com
Volunteers will be needed to help. Sign up at https://volunteersignup.org/XBD3M .
2. DINING DOES GOOD @ LULU’S – TUE 2/28
“Dining Does Good” has returned. Things have gotten more complicated since the pandemic with all the delivery apps and such, so this is DINE IN or PICK UP only. Let’s support MoTAS, and all show our smiling faces at Lulu’s in Van Nuys on Tuesday, February 28.
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 28 at Lulu’s Restaurant at 16900 Roscoe Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, (818) 873-6942. You can find a flyer for the event at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/dining/ or download it directly from our Box account .
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.
3. MOTAS MAN OF THE YEAR / MRJ REGIONAL MOY DINNER SAT 3/18
Bill Shapiro was honored at the January MoTAS Shabbat as our 2023 Man of the Year. A very deserving member, Bill has always been there when we needed him, flipping pancakes and volunteering at events. We just honored Bill, together with our 2020 honoree Les Birken, our 2021 honoree Hal Bass, and our 2022 honoree Mike Rayfield, at a TAS-level dinner at Olive Garden. Now’s the time we’re taking it regional.
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 18, 2023 at Temple Beth David in Westminster. The cost of the dinner is $40 if you are paying by cash or check; $40 plus TicketLeap fees if you are paying by credit card. You can RSVP or pay online at https://tasmotas.ticketleap.com/23-03-mrj-man-of-the-year-dinner/. RSVPS are due by March 9, 2023 at Noon.
4. MOTAS ANNUAL APPEAL TIME
The MoTAS Shabbat marks the start of our annual appeal. MoTAS does not collect membership dues — we depend on contributions from our membership to do what we do, and to help Temple Ahavat Shalom. We’re still working on writing the letter and getting out the mailing, but you can donate now. To contribute online or to print a donation form, just visit support.tasnorthridge-motas.org.
5. MRJ CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION – JUN 23-25
MRJ is celebrating its 100th birthday at a special convention and conclave the weekend of June 23-25, 2023 at Temple Beth El in Providence RI and at the Graduate Providence. Some highlights of the event:
- Our guest of honor and keynote speaker Shabbat evening, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism.
- Special morning session – Indigenous People/Native Lands. The lands where Temple Beth-El sits as once the lands of the Masswascut—The Land between the two rivers, and the territory of the Meschanticut, which are the ancestral homelands of the Narragansettt, Pokanoket and Nipmuc peoples.
- There will be a special program on Implicit bias, which refers to attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner without awareness, intention, or control.
- MRJ Award Ceremony. Awards range from “service to the Temple community” to “intergenerational” and “adult Jewish Education. To apply, click here.
To register for the event, click here. To register for the hotel, click here.
6. FEBRUARY MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
Date: Sunday, February 12, 2023, at TAS
Presiding: President Larry Pfefer
Members Present: Larry Pfefer (President), Hal Bass (Secretary), Les Birken, Daniel Faigin, Ken Feldman, Larry Hoffman (VP), Bob Levine, Roger Lowe (Treasurer), Joel Lowell, Barry Mann, Howard Miller (Past President), Mark Moskowitz, Jeff Neiman, Russ Rapoport, Bill Shapiro, Mike Thornhill, Brandon Williams, Scott Yollis, Terry Zonnis
Coffee & Breakfast: Bob Levine, Roger Lowe, Mike Thornhill, Scott Yollis
Question of the Day: Who will win the 57th Superbowl game? Six men chose the Kansas City Chiefs and five favored the Philadelphia Eagles. Eight others abstained.
President’s Report:
Thirty-six people attended the dinner to honor MoTAS Men of the Year for 2020-2023 at the Olive Garden in Northridge on January 29.
Mitzvah Day on February 5 was a great success.
The MoTAS Annual Appeal is now accepting contributions. Donations of at least $l00 will be listed on the MoTAS Wall of Honor.
Access control will go into effect within the next several weeks.
A 55” flat screen TV has been installed in the Youth Lounge.
Roger Lowe’s Treasurer’s Report as of 2/8/2023
- (See emailed report)
New Business:
From Dining Does Good ambassador Barry Mann. Would you like an effective way to support MoTAS financially? How about taking your family to dinner? Dining Does Good allows you to go out to dinner and have the restaurant donate a portion of your check to support the Men of TAS. Dining Does Good will be Tuesday, February 28 at Lulu’s Restaurant, 16900 Roscoe Blvd, Van Nuys CA 91406, (818) 873-6942. Dine in or take out. Find a flyer for the event at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/dining/ or download it directly from our Box account. Be sure to print the flyer and bring it with you to Lulu’s.
Bob Levine said MoTAS will soon begin accepting Sports Squares contributions for the Sweet 16 college men’s basketball tournament. And for the first time, Sports Squares are under consideration for the NBA playoffs.
A nominating committee for 2023-4 MoTAS officers (President, two VPs, Secretary, Treasurer) has been organized. Howard Miller will chair the group, with Joel Lowell and Mike Thornhill as members.
Per MRJ National VP Brian Hatkoff, a dinner to honor Men of the Year from Reform congregations throughout Southern California will take place at Temple Beth David of Westminster, Saturday evening, March 18.
Men of Reform Judaism’s 2023 National Meeting: Plans are shaping up for an exciting and spiritually uplifting gathering in Providence, RI, from Thursday, June 22 till noon Sunday, June 25. Guest speakers will include Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, one of the leaders of the House Democratic Caucus and member of a Reform congregation in Providence. Contact Brian Hatkoff for details.
Adjournment and Next MoTAS Meeting: The next MoTAS membership meeting will take place at the temple, Sunday, March 19, 2023, at 9 am. To attend in person, everyone must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and boosted. The main order of business will be preparation of Yom HaShoah candles for mailing to congregational households. Yom HaShoah begins at sunset on Monday, April 17 and ends the following evening.
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. Join the MoTAS Google Group at https://groups.google.com/g/tas-motas (you may need to be logged into your Google account, if you have one). Come be part of the Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom!
Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom 