In This Issue:

1. FOOTBALL SQUARES ARE NOW ON SALE
2. DINING OUT AT CHI’S – WED JUL 10*
3. JUNE 2024 MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
4. IN CLOSING

(* indicates updated items)

---

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. We are now in our summer hiatus, so the weekly will be every 2-3, depending on upcoming events.

1. FOOTBALL SQUARES ARE NOW ON SALE

Please join MoTAS in our very popular fun-raiser, now in its 13th year.  It is a very important program, which raises funds for temple projects that are not able to be done because of budget limitations.  Much of the money is used primarily for education projects.

You don’t need to know anything about football, or even like football.  It’s all about helping TAS. For one entry, you participate in the entire season!

The rules are the same as last year. The entry fee remains $50 per square. If you wish to pay by check, please mail it directly to:

Men of TAS
c/o Temple Ahavat Shalom
18200 Rinaldi Place
Northridge CA 91326
(Mark “Football Squares” on the envelope.)

Please also send an email to Bob with your name(s) and # of squares you wish, so he can place you on the grid board (limit 2 per individual or 4 for couple). For more information and to sign up, go to squares.tasnorthridge-motas.org or email Bob Levine, tasboblevine@gmail.com

2. DINING OUT AT CHI’S – WED JUL 10

“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 Chi’s in Northridge on Wednesday, July 10.

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 July Dining Does Good” will be Wednesday, July 10  at Chi’s Chinese, 9635 Reseda Blvd. Northridge, CA 91324,  (818) 886-6928, chis_chinese@verizon.net. You can find a flyer for the event at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/dining/ or download it directly from our Box account. Once you are at the Box version of the flyer:

• If you are on a PC or Mac using a browser: (1) click on the white DOWNLOAD button; (2) there will be a pop-up about logging in to do more — ignore that – just close the popup box; (3) You will be prompted on where to save the download, or it will go into the downloads directory; (4) when the download is complete, open the PDF and print it. DO NOT right click and attempt to print from the Box page.
• If you using a browser on an Android phone: This takes you directly to the PDF. You can download or print from there.
• If you are using some other method, please send it to me and I’ll include it on this list.
• If you can’t figure this out at all: Drop me an email at cybermaven@tasnorthridge-motas.org , and I’ll send you the PDF as an attachment.

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. JUNE 2024 MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES

Date: Sunday, June 2, 2024, at TAS and by Zoom

Question of the Day: What’s in the background of your Zoom call?

Presiding: President Larry Hoffman

Members Present: Larry Hoffman (President), Hal Bass (Secretary), Les Birken, Daniel Faigin, Scott Gore (VP), Gordon Lester, Bob Levine, Roger Lowe (Treasurer), Joel Lowell, Barry Mann, Howard Miller, Larry Pfefer (Immediate Past President), Stephen Platt, Howard Schnee, Bill Shapiro, Bernie Singer, Scott Yollis (VP)

Members Attending Remotely: Hal Bass (Secretary), Mike Thornhill

Guest: Karen Davis

Remote Guests: Andi Mann, Debbie Thornhill

Coffee & Breakfast:  Roger Lowe, Scott Yollis  

Question of the Day: What are you looking forward to?

President’s Report:

• Per Bob Levine, 2024-25 Football Squares can be purchased for $50 each (maximum of four squares per family) via Zelle, check or credit card.   
• Dining Is Good at Caruso’s on May 29 was well attended.
• The May 31 Shabbabaque proved to be immensely popular, and volunteers who set up tables, prepared and served the food, and cleaned up were gratefully acknowledged.
• The annual congregational meeting will take place Sunday, June 9, at 9 am, in person only and not remotely.  

Roger Lowe’s Treasurer’s Report as of 06/02/2024

• (see emailed version)

New Business: A motion was made by Barry Mann and seconded by Bernie Singer to add an additional $1,000 to the MoTAS contribution to TAS. This will be in the form of a separate check. The motion carried.

Educational Presentation: Erin Faigin is a doctoral candidate in History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She did a presentation via Zoom on Valley Girls, or to be more precise, “Postwar Jewish Suburbanization Through the Lens of the Jewish American Princess and Valley Girl.” Erin’s talk was an update to a presentation she gave to the American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati in March 2023.  

Valley girls are also called Jewish American princesses, or JAPs. The term was popularized by the non-Jewish musicians Frank and Moon Zappa in 1982. A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class White young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, from the commuter communities of the San Fernando Valley.

In subsequent years, the term has been broadly applied to any American woman who epitomized frivolity, ditziness, airheadedness, or who prioritizes superficial concerns such as personal appearance, physical attractiveness, and excessive materialism over intellectual or personal accomplishment. Monica Lewinsky is perhaps the best known example of someone who fits the stereotype.  

Erin’s presentation was highly informative and well received.

Next MoTAS General Membership Meeting: Sunday, Sep 8, 2024, 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. 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!