In This Issue:

1. MOTAS SHABBAT – FR 1/31 **NEW DATE**
2. MAN OF THE YEAR DINNER – SA 3/8 – REGISTER BY 2/28
3. SISTERHOOD/MOTAS TRIVIA NIGHT – THU 1/30
4. FEBRUARY MOTAS MEMBERSHIP MEETING – SU 2/9
5. DINING OUT AT RED ROBIN – TU 2/18
6. POKER TOURNAMENT – SUN 3/9
7. SUPERBOWL SQUARES SALES NOW OPEN
8. MOTAS/MOTBH SEDER: CHAROSIS/GEFILTE FISH COOK OFF – SU 3/30
9. JANUARY MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
10. IN CLOSING

(* indicates updated items)

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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 SHABBAT – FR 1/31 **NEW DATE**

Update: Our planned MoTAS Shabbat for 1/10 was delayed due to the Eaton and Palisades fires, but we have a NEW DATE: Friday, 1/31.

As you are aware, every year MoTAS has an opportunity to lead the congregation in prayer.  We also give the temple our unofficial “State of MoTAS” address, and announce our Man of the Year.  In past years, interested men were able to participate in the service, by reading sections in English, prayers in Hebrew, singing in our “choir,” or making brief reflections on their experiences with MoTAS.

This year, our service will be held on Friday, January 31, 2025, 7:00 PM. Although it will be streaming, it will NOT be on Zoom. You must be present to participate.

2. MAN OF THE YEAR DINNER – SA 3/8 – REGISTER BY 2/28

Mr. T. B. Announced will be honored at the January MoTAS Shabbat as our 2025 Man of the Year. 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 8, 2025 at Temple Beth Tikvah in Fullerton. The cost of the dinner is $50 if you are paying by cash or check; $50 plus TicketLeap fees if you are paying by credit card. You can RSVP or pay online at https://tasmotas.ticketleap.com/25-03-mrj-man-of-the-year-dinner/. RSVPS are due by February 28, 2025 at 6:00PM.

3. SISTERHOOD/MOTAS TRIVIA NIGHT – THU 1/30

Sisterhood’s January meeting will be a fun TRIVIA NIGHT!  They are doing this event together with MoTAS, so bring your spouse, your significant other, and/or your kids!  The fun takes place on Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 7pm in the TAS Social Hall.  This is not Sisterhood’s regular night, so mark your calendar!

Please RSVP to RSVP@tassisterhood.org by Monday, January 27.  In fact, why don’t you RSVP today while you are thinking about it?  You can always change your RSVP if something comes up.

4. FEBRUARY MOTAS MEMBERSHIP MEETING – SU 2/9

Our February Membership meeting will be Sunday, 2/9, at 9:00am. A full breakfast, including bagels, lox, and eggs, will be available starting at 8:45am. Join us for our usual business review, and learn what is happening with the temple. Our speaker will be Scott Yollis, who will discuss the Second Amendment and historical aspects of gun control.

5. DINING OUT AT RED ROBIN – TU 2/18

Would you like an easy way to help MoTAS financially? How about taking your family to lunch or dinner. The MoTAS “Dining Does Good” allows you to go out to lunch or 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 18, 2025  at Red Robin, 9301 Tampa Ave, Northridge, CA 91324. Just present the flyer or mention the fundraiser when you order or pick up your take out order in person. You can even order online: (1) Start your order at order.redrobin.com and select the Northridge location. (2) In the menu, go to the category labeled “Fundraisers (To-Go Only)” and click on that item. (3) Click the “add” button, and then “add to bag.” (4) Add your meal items and check out. (5) Arrive at Red Robin, come in, say hi, grab your food and be on your way! If your location has curbside pick-up, they can bring it to your car too!

How do you get a flyer? You can find a flyer for the event at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/dining/ (click on the image of the flyer) or download PDF from our Box account . Once you are at the Box version of the flyer: [NOTE: WE ARE WORKING TO SIMPLIFY THIS PROCESS — HOPEFULLY, NEXT WEEK]

• 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.

6. POKER TOURNAMENT – SUN 3/9

If you are a poker brat, a poker bum, or are simply a recreational poker player who would like to try your hand at a real Texas Hold-em tournament, join the Men of Temple Ahavat Shalom on Sunday, March 9, 2025 for our annual Poker Tournament. The proceeds support the activities of MoTAS, which in turn benefit our temple and religious school. MoTAS has used the proceeds from previous efforts to donate the following for the temple: (*) New microphones that have transformed the sound from the bimah; (*) An updated main office kitchenette; (*) Light fixtures for the Sanctuary bathrooms; (*) Lighting and electrical updates to the Social Hall kitchen; (*) A new water heater for our Social Hall kitchen

Help MoTAS achieve our 2024-25 goals by participating as a Player or Sponsor.  Register to play for just $95, less than half the cost of any other charity tournament in Los Angeles. Please invite all of your poker playing friends and family to join us in benefiting the temple and religious school. The address is 18200 Rinaldi Place. Please arrive at 3:30pm to register. Bring your dark glasses and lucky hat if you like. We also offer a bounty of an additional $100 in playing chips if past players bring a new player to our tournament. Become a Sponsor with one of our available sponsorships:

For more details, visit our Poker Website, http://poker.tasnorthridge-motas.org/ ⇒  https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/poker/, where you can learn about prices and sponsorship levels. Please sign-up in advance online or send a check made out to TAS with a hard copy of the registration form to Howard Miller at 9656 Geyser Ave, Northridge CA 91324.

We’re also looking for donations for the raffle and silent auction at the tournament, Contact Howard at hmiller12@socal.rr.com if you have something to donate.

7. SUPERBOWL SQUARES SALES NOW OPEN

The Monday Night Football season is now over, and now is the time to buy a Superbowl Square. The cost is only $36 per square, and you can help Temple Ahavat Shalom while potentially rewarding yourself. On-line registrations now have a small handling fee from TicketLeap that we used to absorb — this allows reduces the cost to MoTAS and allows us to do more for TAS. Payouts are $330 for each quarter, and $650 for the final score. A full board of 91 squares pays out $1640 to players, and $1636  to MoTAS. You can find the rules of the game, register and pay online, or find a form that you can print and mail in, at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/sports-squares/. Squares must be purchased by the Wednesday, February 5, 2025 before the Super Bowl.

8. MOTAS/MOTBH SEDER: CHAROSIS/GEFILTE FISH COOK OFF – SU 3/30

Planning is in progress for the joint Men of TAS/Men of TBH Seder on Sunday, 3/30/2025, which MoTAS will be hosting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. We’re planning on bringing in a middle-eastern dinner, and we’re hoping the men of TAS will help with most of the ritual items, bringing in things like parsley, hard boiled eggs, and such. One thing we would like to do (and we’ll be announcing this to Beth Hillel) is have a Pesach Cook Off with two traditional items: Charosis and Gefilte Fish. We’ll have a sign-up form available soon. For now, start dusting off your recipes. If you would like to volunteer to help on this, please contact the event coordinator at faigin@cahighways.org.

9. JANUARY MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES

Date: Sunday, January 12, 2025, at TAS

Presiding: President Larry Hoffman

Members Present: Larry Hoffman (President), Hal Bass (Secretary), Les Birken, Joe Blachman, Daniel Faigin, Scott Gore (VP), Brian Hatkoff, Al Lapides, Brad Lebowsky, Gordon Lester, Bob Levine, Roger Lowe (Treasurer), Barry Mann, Howard Miller, Chuck Mondrus, Jeff Neiman, Larry Pfefer (Immediate Past President), Russ Rapoport, Howard Schnee, Bill Shapiro, Mike Skor, Ben Tenn, Mike Thornhill, Scott Yollis (VP)

Guests: Rabbi Becky Hoffman, Robyn Blachman

Coffee & Breakfast: Bob Levine, Roger Lowe, Mike Thornhill, Scott Yollis

Question of the Day: How are you, considering the wildfires in L.A.?

President’s Report:

• Larry H thanked Howard Miller for his work on the landscaping and Bob Levine for his work on Sports Squares to raise funds for the landscaping.
• Larry H thanked Chuck Mondrus for arranging the Chinese dinner on December 25th. It was one of the most enjoyable Chinese dinners MoTAS has ever had.
• The MoTAS Shabbat has been rescheduled to a date yet to be announced. [As of 1/14, the MoTAS Shabbat has been scheduled for Friday 1/31]. Plan to attend, as it is at this service that our Man of the Year will be introduced.
• Dining Does Good coordinator Barry Mann announced a new venue for January 2025 at Lemon Zest, 9610 Reseda Blvd in Northridge, on Monday the 13th. On February 18, the Red Robin in Northridge will be on the menu for Dining Does Good.
• Per Bob Levine & Kathy Pullman, Super Bowl Squares are now on sale. Priced at just $36 per square, you can help support TAS while potentially rewarding yourself. Online registration now includes a small handling fee from TicketLeap that MoTAS used to absorb−this reduces the cost to MoTAS and allows us to do more for TAS. Payouts are $330 per quarter and $650 for the final score. You can find rules of the game, a convenient way to register and pay online, or a form that you can print out yourself and mail in at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/sports-squares/. Squares must be purchased by Wednesday, February 5, before Super Bowl LIX at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, February 9.
• We did not have a deficit on breakfast last month. The difference was a higher meeting attendance. So please keep coming back.
• Brian Hatkoff noted that the MRJ is planning a regional retreat in Running Springs, near Lake Arrowhead. Tentative dates are June 6-8, 2025. The fee is $360 per person.

Roger Lowe’s Treasurer’s Report as of 01/09/2025:

• (emailed report only)

New Business:

• There will be a joint Trivia Night with the Sisterhood on Thursday, January 30. MoTAS has agreed to share security costs with the Sisterhood. This event should be lots of fun. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
• TAS Shabbaton Retreat – Friday, January 31 to Saturday, February 1. [As of 1/14, the Shabbaton has been postponed.] Join the TAS community for a Shabbat retreat at beautiful Camp Alonim in Simi Valley. Click here for details and pricing.
• The regional 2025 Men of the Year awards dinner will be held Saturday evening, March 8, at Temple Beth Tikvah in Fullerton.
• On Sunday, March 9, the MoTAS general membership meeting will be abbreviated so members and other congregants can watch a film about racial discrimination based on the best-selling book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson.
• The Poker Tournament is on March 9th. We need players, donations and volunteers. Online sign-ups are open.
• L’Dough V’Dough, a joint activity of MoTAS and the Sisterhood, on Sunday, March 16, will feature a speaker from the Museum of Tolerance plus challah baking.
• The TAS-Beth Hillel Men’s Passover Seder will be held at TAS Sunday, March 30. Daniel Faigin is looking for suggestions from where to order food for the Seder.
• Our annual Shabbabaque will take place Friday evening, June 13.
• The MoTAS contribution in support of camperships is to be decided.

Educational Presentation: Rabbi Becky Hoffman’s topic was entitled “Who Is a Jew? Over 40 Years in The Making.” In 1983, the Reform Movement under its president, Rabbi Alexander Schindler, adopted a resolution that the child of either a Jewish mother or Jewish father is Jewish. It seems so straightforward, but there was much to consider in arriving at the new protocol. Rabbi Becky explored this momentous decision, its roots in the legal tradition, and its implications for modern Judaism.

The next General Membership Meeting will take place Sunday, February 9, 2025, at 8:45 am. Scott Yollis will discuss the Second Amendment and historical aspects of gun control.

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!