In This Issue:
- JUNE SHABBABQUE – FR JUN 12
- DINING OUT – MARIA’S ITALIAN – TU JUL 7
- BUILDING A GROWING AND THRIVING COMMUNITY
- 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. During the summer, when there are not a lot of events, the weekly will appear … less than weekly. If you know of someone who should be getting the weekly, or if you had this forwarded this to you and you want to get on our sublist, please drop a note to cybermaven@tasnorthridge-motas.org and we’ll add you.
1. JUNE SHABBABQUE – FR JUN 12
It’s back. MoTAS’s Famous Shabbabaque (or, as Larry the Elder spells it, Shababbaque) on Friday, June 12, 2026. 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. Shabbabaque starts with a service in the sanctuary at 6:00pm, followed at 7:00pm 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 dessert. Although the deadline for signups has passed and shopping will have occurred by the time you read this, we are still taking LATE signups. To sign up, visit https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/shabbabaque/, or you can go to the Ticketleap directly at https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/tasnorthridge-motas/26-06-shabbabaque. At the last meeting, the MoTAS membership voted to make the event free for all attendees.
Our grid mavens have informed us that this will be your first official chance to purchase Football Squares for the 2026 Monday Night Football season. You can do so online at https://wp.tasnorthridge-motas.org/activities/sports-squares/.
2. DINING OUT – MARIA’S ITALIAN KITCHEN – TU JUL 7
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 Next Dining Does Good” will be Tuesday, July 7 at Maria’s Italian Kitchen, 9161 Reseda Blvd., Northridge CA, 91324, (818) 341-5114.
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 Google Drive (updated link). From there, just click on the printer icon to print, or the three dots to download.
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. BUILDING A GROWING AND THRIVING COMMUNITY
The following is something that a friend of your humble Weekly editor posted on Facebook. Although it was written for his dance community, it really applies well to MoTAS and other volunteer activities at TAS. Read it. Take the words to heart. Encourage new folks (and younger folks) to get involved with MoTAS; that is how we ensure this organization will survive and thrive. I’ve done a little bit of editing where it was dance-heavy; where I didn’t, read “dance” as “get involved”
If you have a community or activity that you want to grow and thrive, there are things you can do. TL;DR: Help those all of the way from the top to the bottom, and work towards building community both at and outside of the “official events”.
Look around, what is the median age of the participants? Unless it’s something like the Red Hat Society, if the median age is already getting mail from AARP, you might have a problem.
What is the distribution of years of experience? If it is heavily weighted towards the upper end, rather than fairly linear, then at some point in the future, when life happens (or for that matter death) and those people stop coming, then you’re going to have a problem.
Look at who is doing the work. If it is only a couple of people putting in the majority of effort, then when they can, or will, no longer do it, everything could go away.
If you want your community to not just survive, but grow and thrive, you need to nurture those both at the top and the bottom.
If you are one of the primary instigators, you need to make it easy for others to help you so that you don’t burn out, and when the time comes that you can’t make things happen, there are already people to pick up the baton and carry on. For everyone else, note how much work is being done by how few people (often just one or two). At the very least let them know that you appreciate it. Better yet, let them know that you’re there to support them, and be honest about what sort of commitment you can make, whether it’s 15 minutes before or after an event, helping organize carpools, or whatever.
Over the years, I’ve observed that the strongest communities don’t just go to the events. A tremendous amount of community building happens by going out to dinner, or having a potluck, and many of the best activities I’ve had have been at house parties. Meet up for dinner before an event, or go out for a snack after a meeting and you don’t even have to clean up. Do make sure that everybody understands how just having a $7 slice of pie and a $3 drink ends up being at least $13 with tax and tip. So often people fail at mathing and someone ends up covering their bill.
For a community to grow and thrive, you also need to bring in new people, and for them to stick around. Yes, I know that it’s so much more fun to “dance” with the rock stars, but every rock star was once a beginner, often an awkward beginner. When you’re at an event look for the new faces and ask them to “dance”. Also try to interact with the “up and coming” attentees. The way that you get great members is by helping novice attendees became part of the family. You also don’t have to be a rockstar to be good at interacting with beginners. You could easily just volunteer for an event that interests you, and then share that enthusiasm. This make you get to know everyone else better.
It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of new people, if they don’t stay around. Make sure that everyone feels welcome, and that nobody spends all night sitting alone and ignored, that person isn’t likely to stick around and become a foundational part of the community.
It should be obvious, but in order to get new people in the community, someone has to bring them in. When you meet someone who might be a kindred spirit, recruit them.
Go to events, even or especially, those that are below your level. I know a lot of semi-regular members who don’t feel that they gain any benefit from going to monthly meetings. Everybody benefits from interacting with other members and learning things. Also, it is an investment in your community. New members and visitors can learn a lot more quickly by working with someone who already has some experience. That is how they more quickly become intermediate. But remember, the group already has an leader. Let them lead, don’t lecture, and if there is an issue don’t lecture the other members, ask the leader “We’re having difficulty with this …” you might be surprised how much of a contribution that you are having the the difficulty.
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 