In This Issue:
- DINING DOES GOOD – TUE 4/25 AT ROSIE’S BBQ NORTHRIDGE
- MOTAS ANNUAL APPEAL TIME
- WELCOME TO OUR 2023-2024 LEADERSHIP TEAM
- BYLAWS CHANGE NOTICE
- SHABBABAQUE IS COMING – FRI JUN 9
- MRJ CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION – JUN 23-25
- APRIL 2023 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. DINING DOES GOOD – TUE 4/25 AT ROSIE’S BBQ NORTHRIDGE
“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 Rosie’s BBQ in Northridge on Tuesday, April 25.
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 April Dining Does Good” will be Tuesday, April 25 at Rosie’s BBQ at 8930 Corbin Ave, Northridge CA 91324, (818) 349-3055. 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.
2. MOTAS ANNUAL APPEAL TIME
The MoTAS Annual Appeal runs until the end of May, and due to our late start, donations have been slow. Please help MoTAS do what we do by making your annual appeal contribution. Donating to MoTAS (MoTAS does not collect membership dues) enables us to underwrite our activities, support Temple Ahavat Shalom for unbudgeted activities and emergencies, and participate in the life of the temple by donating to the gala, the Cantors Concert, and “Counting Us In” at the annual meeting. To contribute online or to print a donation form, just visit support.tasnorthridge-motas.org.
3. WELCOME TO OUR 2023-2024 LEADERSHIP TEAM
At our April Membership meeting, elections were held, and I’m pleased to present to you our 2023-2024 leadership team, who take office July 1, 2023:
- President: Larry Hoffman
- Vice President: Scott Yollis
- Treasurer: Roger Lowe
- Secretary: Hal Bass
- Immediate Past President: Larry Pfefer
Continuing as advisors or activity chairs will be:
- Past President’s Council: Larry Pfefer, Howard Miller, Daniel Faigin, Bob Levine
- Weekly Editor/Cybermaven: Daniel Faigin
- Poker Tournament Chair: Howard Miller
- Dining Does Good Coordinator: Barry Mann
- Sports Squares: Bob Levine and Kathy Pullman
One Vice President slot is still open. To volunteer, please contact Larry Hoffman at larrynhoffman18@gmail.com.
4. BYLAWS CHANGE NOTICE
Persuant to our bylaws, notice is hereby given that we will be voting on a Bylaws change at our May Membership meeting, the Sunday after Mother’s Day. The proposal is to change the terms for Vice President from a maximum of two consecutive one-year terms to FOUR consecutive one-year terms. The proposal will be voted on at the May 21 membership meeting.
5. SHABBABAQUE IS COMING – FRI JUN 9
It’s back. MoTAS’s Famous Shabbabaque (or, as Larry the Elder spells it, Sha-Bar-BBQ) on Friday, June 9, 2023. Whatever the spelling, Shabbabque, Shabbaque, or Sha-Bar-BBQ (think of it like Chanukah, or is that Hanukkah), it is a MoTAS tradition to usher in summer. Before we go into the details of the event, WE WILL NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE THE MAGIC HAPPEN. We need you to go to https://volunteersignup.org/MBXCD and sign up to help. You can sign up with multiple duties. We need people to shop, prep, cook, setup, serve, take tickets, and cleanup.We can’t do it without you. So again: Volunteer to help at https://volunteersignup.org/MBXCD .
Hopefully, by the beginning of May, we will have the menu and logistics in place. Last year, the service was in the sanctuary, and we didn’t have the TAS House Band. Shabbabaque started with a service in the sanctuary at 6:30pm, followed at 7:45pm by a delicious barbeque dinner. Last year’s menu included turkey burgers, beef burgers, and hot dogs. Vegetarian items included vegetarian patties, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, watermelon, and ice cream.
Details on signing up for the event will be in the weekly starting in May.
6. 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.
7. APRIL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
Date: Sunday, April 16, 2023, TAS
Presiding: President Larry Pfefer
Members Present: Larry Pfefer (President), Hal Bass (Secretary), Daniel Faigin, Scott Gore (VP), Brian Hatkoff, Larry Hoffman (VP), Gordon Lester, Bob Levine, Joel Lowell, Howard Miller (Past President), Jeff Neiman, Bill Shapiro, Bernie Singer, Scott Yollis, Terry Zonnis
Coffee & Breakfast (including bagels, scrambled eggs and matzo brei): Bob Levine, Bill Shapiro, Scott Yollis
Question of the Day: How was this year’s Seder experience for you and your family?
President’s Report:
The MoTAS Annual Appeal is now accepting contributions. Donations of at least $l00 will be listed on the MoTAS Wall of Honor.
The bottle filler in the foyer will be delivered shortly.
The access control system has 136 registrants.
The regional Man of the Year Dinner was held March 18 at Temple Beth David in Westminster. Bill Shapiro was our MoTAS honoree. In attendance were Bill & Mieko Shapiro, Brian & Cheryl Hatkoff, Howard & Laraine Miller, Larry & Nancy Pfefer, Roger Lowe, Daniel Faigin.
Roger Lowe’s Treasurer’s Report as of 4/9/2023
- (see emailed report for specifics)
New Business:
From Dining Does Good ambassador Barry Mann. Dining Does Good encourages folks to go out to dinner and have the restaurant donate a portion of their check to support the Men of TAS. Dining Does Good this month will be Tuesday, April 25, at Rosie’s in Northridge. 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 Rosie’s.
The nominating committee for 2023-4 MoTAS officers (President, two VPs, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past President) issued its report. Howard Miller chaired the group, with Joel Lowell and Mike Thornhill as members. Nominees are Larry Hoffman, President; Scott Yollis, Vice President; One Open Seat for Vice President; Treasurer, Roger Lowe; Secretary, Hal Bass; Immediate Past President, Larry Pfefer. A motion was made to elect this slate of officers, and it passed unanimously.
Change to Bylaws re Vice Presidential Terms: Howard Miller introduced, and Brian Hatkoff seconded, a motion to change Section 7, Article 4.7.1, a & b of the MoTAS bylaws with respect to vice presidential terms. Each of the two vice presidents may henceforth be elected and reelected for up to four consecutive one-year terms. The proposal will be voted on at the May 21 membership meeting.
Landscape Improvements: Howard and Larry presented a proposal for landscaping enhancements to the planters in front of the rabbi’s office to the west of the sanctuary-social hall complex. A DWP landscape architect engaged by Howard has suggested drought- and heat-tolerant plants. Decomposed granite pathways and new irrigation lines will be installed. Howard and Larry will work with the Beautification Committee headed by Phyllis Bass to bring the project along. Estimated cost is $12,000-$15,000.
Congregational meeting Sunday morning, June 4.
The MoTAS Shabbabeque will take place Friday, June 9.
Annual Gala Saturday evening, June 10.
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. Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs will be the keynote speaker. Contact Brian Hatkoff for details.
Adjournment and Next MoTAS Meeting: The next MoTAS membership meeting will take place at the temple, Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 9 am. To attend in person, everyone must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and boosted.
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 