In This Issue:
- DINING OUT – LEMON ZEST – TU OCT 20
- SAYVA SYMPOSIUM – SU OCT 18
- CHANUKAH BOUTIQUE – SU OCT 25
- MOTAS SEDER – HEADS UP
- OCTOBER MEETING MINUTES
- 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. DINING OUT – LEMON ZEST – TU OCT 20
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 October Dining Does Good” will be Tuesday, October 20 at Lemon Zest Northridge, 9610 Reseda Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324, (818) 818-6164.
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 . 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.
2. SAYVA SYMPOSIUM – SU OCT 18
Temple Ahavat Shalom is hosting the Sayva Symposium on Sunday, October 18 from 2:00-5:00 pm. Sayva is a collaborative initiative focused on community engagement, positive aging, and wisdom. Every organization involved with Sayva has a speaker speaking at the Symposium.
TAS’s wonderful speaker, Tyree Wieder, will be speaking at the Symposium! Attendees can sign-up to hear various speakers. Please click on the following link https://sayva.us/sayva-symposium-2026/ for more details and to sign-up. The Sayva Symposium promises to be a very enlightening and enriching experience.
3. CHANUKAH BOUTIQUE – SU OCT 25
The annual Sisterhood Holiday Boutique is scheduled for Sunday, October 25 from 10am to 3pm. Typically, the Men of TAS helps with the food service. The current plan is that we will be picking up individually wrapped sandwiches and condiments, and providing bagged chips, canned or bottled drinks. We will need people to help pickup (and possibly pre-package) the food. We will need folks to sell and deliver the food. We will need folks to help clean up. If you will be able to help us at this event, please contact Larry Hoffman at larrynhoffman18@gmail.com or sign up at https://volunteersignup.org/HCC8D .
In particular, we’re looking for volunteers to help inventory and shop. We could also use a volunteer to order and pick up from Subway
4. MOTAS SEDER – HEADS UP
Yes, I know we’re way early on this. The Joint MoTAS/MoTBH Seder (which will be hosted by MoTAS at Temple Ahavat Shalom) is scheduled for Sunday, April 11, 2027. Daniel Faigin, who coordinates the event, just learned that the California Science and Engineering Fair will that day at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks. As he normally chairs the Jr. Mathematics panel, this means he will be out in Thousand Oaks until around 2:30pm. PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW. Given that he’ll be arriving at TAS closer to the event, he’s going to need helpers to assist with setting up the tables, and preparing ritual foods (charosis, eggs, etc). He’ll coordinate the meal and delivery thereof, but we’ll still need to set things up.
With everyone’s help, both events (CSEF and the MoTAS Seder) should run smoothly. But Daniel believes that advance notice and planning always helps. (and a PS: we’re always looking for CSEF judges).
5. OCTOBER MEETING MINUTES
Date: Sunday, October 11, 2026, at TAS
Presiding: VP Bill Shapiro for President Howard Schnee (who is out of town)
Members Present: Hal Bass (Secretary), Daniel Faigin, Brian Hatkoff, Larry Hoffman (Immediate Past President), Bob Levine, Joel Lowell, Barry Mann, Jeff Newman, Larry Pfefer (Treasurer), Russ Rapoport, Bill Shapiro (VP), Bernie Singer, Ben Tenn, Mark Tilles, Scott Yollis (VP)
Guests: Steve Zonis, Jackie Zev
Breakfast: Scott Yollis, Mark Tilles, Bob Levine, Larry Hoffman
Question of the Day: What are your plans for Indigenous People’s Day on October 12?
President’s Report:
- Lemon Zest in Northridge will be our next Dining Does Good opportunity on Tuesday, October 20. Print the flyer available in The Weekly, which comes by email every Wednesday, and present it to your server. If you’re aware of other establishments that would offer good venues for this fundraiser, let Dining Does Good coordinator Barry Mann know.
- Bob Levine will update MoTAS about the Sports Squares program at our November 8 meeting.
New Business:
- Bill Shapiro and Scott Yollis are chefs for Sisterhood’s Hand & Foot Fundraiser, Saturday, October 17, at 5 pm. $36 for dinner, snacks and dessert. No previous experience necessary, instructions provided. Details on the Sisterhood website.
- A Sayva Symposium entitled Living Jewishly and featuring speakers from Reform and Conservative congregations in the San Fernando Valley, including our own Tyree Wieder, will be held at TAS from 2-5 pm, Sunday, October 18. Sayva is a collaborative initiative for older Jewish adults in the San Fernando Valley
- The Sisterhood Hanukkah Boutique is scheduled for Sunday, October 25. A sign-up sheet for MoTAS volunteers was circulated.
- Daniel Faigin announced that his daughter, Dr. Erin Faigin of Washington University in St. Louis, will appear by Zoom for a presentation entitled, “The Jewish Body and The Valley Girl, 1982-Now,” Sunday afternoon, October 25. Contact Daniel for the Zoom link.
- Songwriter and record producer Steve Barri will be featured at a joint MoTAS-Sisterhood presentation on Sunday, November 8. Among the many songs Steve has written is “Secret Agent Man” recorded by Johnny Rivers and Jan & Dan.
- The annual Veterans Shabbat is scheduled for Friday evening, November 13. If you are currently serving or were on active duty or in the reserves, notify Hal Bass at halbass414@gmail.com. Include your military branch, highest rank and years of service.
- The MRJ Men of the Year Dinner will be held at Temple Adat Shalom in Poway, Saturday evening, March 20, 2027.
- The Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament will take place Sunday, March 21, 2027.
Educational Program: Steve Zonis discussed therapy dogs. Steve and his wife have two therapy dogs, Ella, 9 yo, and Rudy, 7 yo, who’ve both achieved the American Kennel Club’s highest rating. Steve explained that it takes 3-6 months to train a therapy dog and only a minority of dogs can be trained for this task. In L.A., there are about 50 therapy dogs like Ella and Rudy for service in hospitals, schools and colleges, for visiting residents at places such as the Jewish Home for the Aged, during local or national disasters, and for assisting the FBI, Homeland Security, and the LAPD and Sheriff’s Department.
Next Meeting: The next General Membership Meeting will take place Sunday, November 8, 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!
