Anshei Masorti Tzafon

2012-01-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

In the past three weeks, attacks have been made on three synagogues in Bergen County. This past weekend, the issue mushroomed into something different. It is relevant to our Conservative community, to the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ (JFNNJ, a UJC community) and to the broader Jewish community in the northern half of our state.

On Friday January 6, the Jewish Standard published an editorial about community meetings over the three attacks. The editorial concerned the involvement (or lack thereof) of the Orthodox community in response to these attacks, which have been aimed at three different streams of Judaism, whether by intent or just happenstance (Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox).

The Standard has now been severely criticized by the Orthodox community. A letter writing campaign against the Standard has been organized. Apologies have been demanded. One has already appeared on the Standard's website at:

http://www.jstandard.com/content/opinion/C8

While we do not have all the facts, here is what is known.

(1) After it was attacked, the synagogue in Hackensack (Temple Beth El) got advance publicity out about its community interfaith gathering. According to the Rabbinic Council of Bergen County (RCBC), they did not know about the gathering - and therefore, no representative of RCBC or their community attended the event.

(2) The rabbinic community in the JFNNJ area is divided. Rabbi Randall Mark (Shomrei Torah - Wayne) is President of the North Jersey Board of Rabbis, NJBOR - which is an organization of "pluralistic" clergy leaders in this area. The NJBOR and RCBC are mutually exclusive.

(3) Congregation Beth El was the place where Eric Weis' aunt, Alice Kunstler (z"l) celebrated her 100th birthday, at the same time that Beth El celebrated its 100th anniversary. That was four years ago. It is a nice place. It is Conservative. It is part of our mishpucha. It needs our support.

(4) Rabbis from our pluralistic stream know about the attack on the Orthodox shul (K'hal Adath Jeshurun - Paramus) and have agreed to participate in a meeting on Thursday. They have no hesitancy in objecting to - and acting on - what is obviously another anti-Semitic incident.

If you are a member of a Conservative congregation here in NJ, we ask you to do three things:

(A) Research the matter directly. Draw your own conclusions.

(B) If you agree that the Standard editorial is on target, spread the word about what has happened.

At a time when three synagogues in New Jersey have been recently attacked, all of us should find great discomfort in seeing Jews argue among themselves. Two of the three attacks were made on non-Orthodox synagogues.

The Jewish Standard is under fire for its stance against dis-unity. The truth may be painful, but it in the end, it will set us free. The Standard and its editorial board deserve our support.

Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey

50 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, New Jersey 07652
201-820-3900
Jason Shames x.210
Direct: 201-820-3910
Chief Executive Officer
Executive Vice President
JasonS@jfnnj.org

The Jewish Standard
New Jersey / Rockland Jewish Media Group
1086 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone (201) 837-8818
Fax (201) 833-4959

jstandardletters@gmail.com

Glatt Kosher and "La Vache Qui Rit"

2012-01-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

Recently, an advertisement for glatt kosher meat products appeared in The Jewish Standard, a newspaper which serves the Jewish communities in parts of Bergen, Passaic and Union Counties here in the northern tip of New Jersey. It's a prime market, if you want to reach a large Jewish readership.

The Standard caters to a diverse Jewish audience. Some of its readers observe the laws of kashrut, many don't and still others adhere to the laws of glatt kashrut that are enumerated in the books of the Sanhedrin. NOT! Without going into the gantze megillah, the word glatt has been extended from its original narrow meaning to include dairy products, food preparation and delivery - generally implying a higher standard of religious observance.

Our religion also demands compassion, chesed and gemilut hasadim (acts of loving kindness). And that's why the ad caught my attention. I had a beef with a cartoon which features an upside down cow with a smile on its face. The cow's position is reminiscent of the way in which these animals are slaughtered - hanging from their legs, so as to allow blood to drain quickly. This is supposed to be the most humane way to slaughter cows. Perhaps. Agriprocessors may now be old news, but the idea of Hecksher Tzedek, a moral kind of kashrut, should not be.

An image of a laughing cow, "La Vache Qui Rit", may be appropriate for the dairy industry. Milking cows probably does not cause pain. But in the context of fleischig dining, I cannot stomach the idea of a cow smiling as it loses its life so that humans may eat.

If that's how glatt kosher is portrayed these days, this omnivore may be driven closer to adopting the practice of herbivores. I can get my protein in other ways.

Let's hope that this roast delivers a message to the advertiser and their customers. A cartoon can make a powerful statement. If they wanted a ribbing, they got it. I won't be buying their products. Perhaps someone will make a change in their advertising, so that it becomes consonant with the Hecksher Tzedek.

B'tayavon!

The Folly of the Righteous Hochems

2012-01-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

An article recently appeared in Tablet Magazine, a nationally published Jewish e-zine. It was about tzedukah in Passaic New Jersey, of all places. It seems that beggars know a good place when they see one. The pickings are good in Passaic.

The author, Simon Feuerman, described the phenomenon of regular and frequent beggars who show up to receive tzedukah at his Passaic synagogue. One of them, a seventh-generation Yerushalmi with the "visage of a holy man", said that he would be horrified to take money from someone who was not observant. When asked about his children's future, he answered, "Ze lo bishvilanu la'avod" - "It is not for us to work".

My grandfather, Amram Yishai ben Reb Asher (z"l) spent most of his adult life in Passaic. So did his machatenum. So did his children. They were part of the wave of Jewish immigrants from Hungary who invaded the banks of the Passaic River in the late nineteenth century.

For over a century, they worked and built families and lives. They established a thriving community with many shuls. They supported their Rebbes, a few wonderful souls who ministered to the community and lived on only God knows what. Reb Asher Kollner and his descendants continued to tend to their flock, even into the 1970s.

These people, the original Jews of Passaic, would laugh and cry at today's world of beis midrash, the Yerushalmi and all those who depend on charity - the beggars. The Jews who fled to these shores from the shtetls of Europe were both observant and hard working. They built the Jewish world we know today here in the American Diaspora. They worked, they prayed and they gave tzedukah. Their shuls were Orthodox. I can still remember sitting in the gallery upstairs as a very small child, with my grandmother.

Today's Passaic Jewish world, one characterized as "frum" with Talmud Torah beis midrash and a hochem on every corner, is also now apparently filled with beggars who believe that religion and study exclude work and that tzedukah should come only from the observant. This is a Jewish world turned upside down. The sages worked. So should these modern Jews. And to refuse tzedukah because the giver is not observant (enough) - to obstruct the mitzvot of tzedukah - is this not antithetical Jewish thought? What has all this learning gained?

If this is Orthodoxy, and if work is "not for us", then in 100 years will Passaic have a Jewish community at all? Or will the flame die because the Orthodox have lost sight of our true tradition? Someone, please, remind these Orthodox that the world stands on three pillars. Those who rely only on one pillar are bound to topple.

We are supposed to emulate God's attributes. Last time I checked, He labored for six days to create the world. And, I can well remember, so too did my grandfather in his world.

LBJ All The Way - A Righteous Gentile

2011-08-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

The year was 1964. I can remember proudly supporting the LBJ/HHH ticket (I still have an old button hanging around somewhere with those initials on it). Seven years later, I was meeting with Edmund Muskie, a man who fit the same mold and unsuccessfully ran for President in 1972. He was derailed by Nixon's Dirty Tricks campaign, which was designed to eliminate the Democrat Party front runners. George McGovern became the Democrat Presidential candidate that year, and of course Nixon won the election by a landslide. Despite all of these differences, it seems to me that all of these people would be aghast at what has become of Washington political theater these days. Politics ain't what it used to be. And here is some more info about Lyndon Johnson. He was honored in 2009 by the Jerusalem Conference. Here's an article published in the Jerusalem Post in September 2008. It's not fresh news, but it is good history to remember.

- Eric Weis, NNJR Honorary President

A few months ago, the Associated Press reported that newly released tapes from US president Lyndon Johnson's White House office showed LBJ's "personal and often emotional connection to Israel.” The news agency pointed out that during the Johnson presidency (1963-1969), "the United States became Israel’s chief diplomatic ally and primary arms supplier."

But the news report does little to reveal the full historical extent of Johnson's actions on behalf of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

Most students of the Arab-Israeli conflict can identify Johnson as the president during the 1967 war. But few know about LBJ's actions to rescue hundreds of endangered Jews during the Holocaust - actions that could have thrown him out of Congress and into jail. Indeed, the title of "Righteous Gentile" is certainly appropriate in the case of the Texan, whose centennial year is being commemorated this year.

Appropriately enough, the annual Jerusalem Conference announced this week that it will honor Johnson.

Historians have revealed that Johnson, while serving as a young congressman in 1938 and 1939, arranged for visas to be supplied to Jews in Warsaw, and oversaw the apparently illegal immigration of hundreds of Jews through the port of Galveston, Texas....

A key resource for uncovering LBJ's pro-Jewish activity is the unpublished 1989 doctoral thesis by University of Texas student Louis Gomolak, "Prologue: LBJ's Foreign Affairs Background, 1908-1948.” Johnson's activities were confirmed by other historians in interviews with his wife, family members and political associates.

Research into Johnson's personal history indicates that he inherited his concern for the Jewish people from his family. His aunt Jessie Johnson Hatcher, a major influence on LBJ, was a member of the Zionist Organization of America. According to Gomolak, Aunt Jessie had nurtured LBJ's commitment to befriending Jews for 50 years. As young boy, Lyndon watched his politically active grandfather "Big Sam" and father "Little Sam" seek clemency for Leo Frank, the Jewish victim of a blood libel in Atlanta

Frank was lynched by a mob in 1915, and the Ku Klux Klan inTexas threatened to kill the Johnsons. The Johnsons later told friends that Lyndon's family hid in their cellar while his father and uncles stood guard with shotguns on their porch in case of KKK attacks. Johnson's speech writer later stated, "Johnson often cited Leo Frank's lynching as the source of his opposition to both anti-Semitism and isolationism."

Already in 1934 - four years before Chamberlain's Munich sellout to Hitler - Johnson was keenly alert to the dangers of Nazism and presented a book of essays, 'Nazism: An Assault on Civilization', to the 21-year-old woman he was courting, Claudia Taylor - later known as "Lady Bird" Johnson. It was an incredible engagement present.

Five days after taking office in 1937, LBJ broke with the "Dixiecrats" and supported an immigration bill that would naturalize illegal aliens, mostly Jews from Lithuania andPoland. In 1938, Johnson was told of a young Austrian Jewish musician who was about to be deported from the United States. With an element of subterfuge, LBJ sent him to the US Consulate in Havana to obtain a residency permit. Erich Leinsdorf, the world famous musician and conductor, credited LBJ for saving his live.

That same year, LBJ warned Jewish friend, Jim Novy, that European Jews faced annihilation. "Get as many Jewish people as possible out of Germany and Poland," were Johnson's instructions. Somehow, Johnson provided him with a pile of signed immigration papers that were used to get 42 Jews out of Warsaw.

But that wasn't enough. According to historian James M. Smallwood, Congressman Johnson used legal and sometimes illegal methods to smuggle "hundreds of Jews into Texas, using Galveston as the entry port. Enough money could buy false passports and fake visas in Cuba, Mexico and other Latin American countries. Johnson smuggled boatloads and planeloads of Jews into Texas. He hid them in the Texas National Youth Administration. Johnson saved at least four or five hundred Jews, possibly more."

During World War II Johnson joined Novy at a small Austin gathering to sell $65,000 in war bonds. According to Gomolak, Novy and Johnson then raised a very "substantial sum for arms for Jewish underground fighters in Palestine." One source cited by the historian reports that "Novy and Johnson had been secretly shipping heavy crates labeled 'Texas Grapefruit' - but containing arms - to Jewish underground 'freedom fighters' in Palestine."

On June 4, 1945, Johnson visited Dachau. According to Smallwood, Lady Bird later recalled that when her husband returned home, "he was still shaken, stunned, terrorized, and bursting with an overpowering revulsion and incredulous horror at what he had seen."

A decade later while serving in the Senate, Johnson blocked the Eisenhower administration's attempts to apply sanctions against Israel following the 1956 Sinai Campaign. "The indefatigable Johnson had never ceased pressure on the administration," wrote I.L. "Si" Kenen, the head of AIPAC at the time.

As Senate majority leader, Johnson consistently blocked the anti-Israel initiatives of his fellow Democrat, William Fulbright, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Among Johnson's closest advisers during this period were several strong pro-Israel advocates, including Benjamin Cohen (who 30 years earlier was the liaison between Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis and Chaim Weizmann) and Abe Fortas, the legendary Washington "insider."

Johnson's concern for the Jewish people continued through his presidency. Soon after taking office in the aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963, Johnson told an Israeli diplomat, "You have lost a very great friend, but you have found a better one."

Just one month after succeeding Kennedy, LBJ attended the December 1963 dedication of the Agudas Achim Synagogue in Austin. Novy opened the ceremony by saying to Johnson, "We can't thank him enough for all those Jews he got out of Germany during the days of Hitler."

Lady Bird would later describe the day, according to Gomolak: "Person after person plucked at my sleeve and said, 'I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him. He helped me get out.'" Lady Bird elaborated, "Jews had been woven into the warp and woof of all [Lyndon's] years."

The prelude to the 1967 war was a terrifying period for Israel, with the US State Department led by the historically unfriendly Dean Rusk urging an evenhanded policy despite Arab threats and acts of aggression. Johnson held no such illusions. After the war he placed the blame firmly on Egypt: "If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other, it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision [by Egypt that the Strait of Tiran would be closed to Israeli ships and Israeli-bound cargo]."

Kennedy was the first president to approve the sale of defensive US weapons to Israel, specifically Hawk anti-aircraft missiles. But Johnson approved tanks and fighter jets, all vital after the 1967 war when France imposed a freeze on sales to Israel. Yehuda Avner recently described on these pages prime minister Levi Eshkol's successful appeal for these weapons on a visit to the LBJ ranch.

Israel won the 1967 war, and Johnson worked to make sure it also won the peace. "I sure as hell want to be careful and not run out on little Israel," Johnson said in a March 1968 conversation with his ambassador to the United Nations, Arthur Goldberg, according to White House tapes recently released.

Soon after the 1967 war, Soviet premier Aleksei Kosygin asked Johnson at the Glassboro Summit why the US supported Israel when there were 80 million Arabs and only three million Israelis. "Because it is a right thing to do," responded the straight-shooting Texan.

The crafting of UN Resolution 242 in November 1967 was done under Johnson's scrutiny. The call for "secure and recognized boundaries" was critical. The American and British drafters of the resolution opposed Israel returning all the territories captured in the war. In September 1968, Johnson explained, "We are not the ones to say where other nations should draw lines between them that will assure each the greatest security. It is clear, however, that a return to the situation of 4 June 1967 will not bring peace. There must be secure and there must be recognized borders. Some such lines must be agreed to by the neighbors involved."

Goldberg later noted, "Resolution 242 in no way refers to Jerusalem, and this omission was deliberate." This historic diplomacy was conducted under Johnson's stewardship, as Goldberg related in oral history to the Johnson Library. "I must say for Johnson," Goldberg stated. "He gave me great personal support."

Robert David Johnson, a professor of history at Brooklyn College, recently wrote in The New York Sun, Johnson's policies stemmed more from personal concerns - his friendship with leading Zionists, his belief that America had a moral obligation to bolster Israeli security and his conception of Israel as a frontier land much like his home state of Texas. His personal concerns led him to intervene when he felt that the State or Defense departments had insufficiently appreciated Israel’s diplomatic or military needs."

President Johnson firmly pointed American policy in a pro-Israel direction. In a historical context, the American emergency airlift to Israel in 1973, the constant diplomatic support, the economic and military assistance and the strategic bonds between the two countries can all be credited to the seeds planted by LBJ.

FJMC and the Mists of Brigadoon

2011-07-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

It is early Monday morning July 18. The moon is high and bright in the pre-dawn sky. This must be near the mid-lunar month, 15 Tammuz. I cannot tell, because there is no calendar at hand and I am in between time zones.

The only thing I know is that the moon is glowing and nearly full. So is my heart.

I have just emerged from two cocoons. One was the space of Shabbat. The other was the space of Jewish manhood. One week ago, I entered the world of FJMC Convention. It was my sixth time at the biennial gathering of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs.

Over the years, many have asked what this is all about. First timers often make remarks about bottling up the experience and taking it back home. Most men say that once they attend, they will always come back. Some have been at this for over 50 years.

I have said before that FJMC Convention is the next best thing to being in Israel. This time, I can answer that it is the state of being at one with halev yehudit, the Jewish heart. It is the embodiment the words of Shema, “Ashrei ish sheyishma l’mitzvotecha” – happy is the man who listens to/fulfills the commandments”.

Like the mythical Scottish hamlet Brigadoon, FJMC Convention-world sleeps and is hidden most of the time. It awakens only once every two years. People can enter it only during these brief periods. The rest of the time, one simply longs to return.

The ache of missing this camaraderie of brotherhood comes and goes. Each time one leaves the village, the afterglow is strong. Those who are fortunate enough to have visited, radiate the glory of God’s light. They are the rays of “Or l’goyim”, the light unto the nations.

The space of Shabbat comes once a week. Some are able to experience it in the world outside “FJMC Brigadoon”. When entering the village created by FJMC Convention, the beauty and majesty of Shabbat are revealed in a way that deeply touches the Jewish soul. Entering and keeping Shabbat every week is enhanced by the memories of what happens when the beauty of Brigadoon is revealed.

Gillian Kaplin, President of Masorti Europe, was with FJMC as we gathered in Costa Mesa California over the past five days. She addressed the crowd on Friday night, looked around and proclaimed, “I’ve been to many conferences all over the world, but THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT”.

She said that after experiencing our unbridled ruach of Kabbalat Shabbat, the joy of welcoming Shabbat among hundreds of men and their spouses. She said that after being in the midst of an international gathering of passionate Jewish people, who have all come on separate journeys to this place of deep belief and commitment. She said this after seeing the incredible variety of programs which emerge from the army of FJMC volunteers. She said this in the midst of the Shabbat which we are commanded to feel, to live and to know. This time, this place, this Shabbat was the essence of kadosh, differentness.

Aside from Shabbat, FJMC’s gathering exposed a plethora of programming and speakers from all over the world to a global Jewish audience. From India to South America, men came from far and wide. We return to our communities enriched with ideas and ruach.

In 730 days, the next Convention will emerge from the mist. Another 26 moons will pass before the gates open again. What shall we do in the meantime? The answer is simple.

The rays of FJMC light are reflected by the men of FJMC, the lenses through which this light passes. We focus the light and spread the mitzvot contained in FJMC programs. We will serve as deugmot, examples, in our communities. We will be mentschen. We will involve other Jewish men in Jewish life. And we will count the days, so we can attain a heart of wisdom until the mists disperse and the gates open again.

The tzipporot, birds, of the real world are singing songs on this new Monday morning. It is good to welcome another shachar, another dawn with the beauty of God’s never-ending creation. Ashrei ish she-gara l’olam FJMC. Happy is the man who lives in FJMC.

NNJR Meets A Devil

2009-01-08T08:15:00.001-08:00

Sunday January 4th. A cool, sunny day in Newark, New Jersey. The Northern NJ Region's 2nd Annual Hockey Night Out was in the offing.

NNJR's advance guard established a front line at the entrance to the Rock, on Lafayette Street. After obtaining security clearance, our vanguard penetrated the depths of tunnels under the Rock, and emerged at ice level near the underground bunker where two Zambonis are kept. We waited.

And then Devil #9 emerged...none other than Zach Parise, leading Devils goal scorer (22 this year)! After just four years in the league, Zach has just been named to the NHL Eastern Conference All-Star team! He is following right in the footsteps of his famous NHLer dad, JP Parise.

Here is our group, shown with Zach. From left to right, Joe "J_Devil" Wechsler (from Temple Israel, Ridgewood), Zach, Sarah Weis (from Shomrei Torah, Wayne) and David Geller (from Neve Shalom, Metuchen).

The event's two organizers, "J_Devil" Wechsler and "Ogie Oglethorpe", were on hand to make sure that all details were covered. With the photo shoot done, the group went upstairs through more security, greeted some of our attendees at the Box Office and then moved upstairs to camp out overlooking the ice. Soon, the Rock started to fill up and our phones started buzzing. Before long, 131 of us were on hand to enjoy a thrilling contest against the Ottawa Senators. The Devils trailed into the third period, finally tied it up and sent the game to overtime.

If you don't know how it ended - stay tuned for another post to the blog. And make sure to be part of the fun next year, when NNJR holds its Third Annual Hockey Night Out.

One Brother Helping Another

2008-11-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

From time to time, we all need to consult a professional or buy some major item. I'd like to propose that we allow our members to place business card listings on the NNJR website, so that perhaps we can make use of our FJMC brothers.

Please give some thought to this and join in the discussions

Job Listings

2008-11-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

In this economy, all of us know of some people who may have suffered a job loss. Occasionally, those in the region might be in need of hiring someone, and I'd like to discuss whether it makes sense for us to create some kind of job board, resume board, or the like.

Please give some thought to this and join in the discussions.

Texas Hold 'Em Regional Tournament

2008-11-18T13:08:00.001-08:00

GOT A GOOD POKER FACE?

NNJR REGION

TEXAS HOLD’EM

TOURNAMENT

PRELIMINARY ROUNDS...Feb - March 2009

DISTRICT FINALS...March - April 2009

REGION FINAL...Sunday May 3, 2009

Lighting the Way - Shabbat Eco Candles

2008-09-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Every Friday night, my family ushers in Shabbat with the lighting ("lichtbentschen") of candles. Jews have been doing this for millenia. In some times of persecution, candles were lit in secret, for fear of being found out. The "Conversos" of southwest and central America (the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico) lit candles and some did not know why, after so many lost generations, they were following this practice on Friday evenings.

We are all familiar with the Shabbat candle, mounted in pairs in family heirloom candle holders. But did you ever think about the environmental impact of lighting these candles? They are made from paraffin and that comes from oil. Most paraffin oil comes out of the ground and we all know where that comes from. Is there a way to observe this mitzvah without burning oil which might be imported?

The answer is yes. Soy can be used to make candles. Soybeans are grown in America. And the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs has commissioned the creation of new Shabbat Eco-Candles.

Contact your local synagogue or its Men's Club for more information. Or check out the information at our own website: http:// www.nnjr.org

Thanks and enjoy the soy! Lo shemen achshav!

Eric Weis
Regional President,
Northern NJ Region
Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs

January News - Devils, Giants and NNJR All Win Big!

2008-01-21T07:58:00.000-08:00

Sunday January 20. Truly a "red letter day" for Northern New Jersey in so many respects.

The first Regional Hockey Night Out event was a great success. Over 150 of us braved the cold and came down to Newark's new Prudential Center ("The Rock") to see the Devils take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The home team won, 3-2, before an arena crowd of 15,291 in attendance. The win propelled the Devils back into a first place tie in the NHL Atlantic Division.

Then there was this other team that still plays in the Meadowlands at Giants Stadium. In something like Arctic conditions, the New JERSEY Giants...well, there is no need to cover that here except to say that New Jersey breeds champions. During the hockey game, we were able to watch both contests on two TV screens just outside our seating sections.

After the hockey game, the NFL Giants-Packers playoff game was shown on the 30' screen above the arena's center ice. We stayed until halftime when the game was still up for grabs (Green Bay ahead, 10-6). The Fire and Ice bars stayed open. By the time I got home, the best part of the game was still on! The best of both worlds, a hockey game and football playoff all in one day.

But the real reason for January 20th being a red letter day for the Northern New Jersey Region of FJMC goes beyond sports. It has to do with words like bashert and ruach. Here are some personal stories from the day which go to show how powerful dwelling together in unity can be.

(1) The Region had a picture taken at ice level with Devils player Mike Rupp (a member of the 2003 Stanley Cup winning team). Four clubs were represented in the photo, including Neve Shalom of Metuchen, Temple Israel Brandeis Men's Club of Ridgewood, B'nai Jeshurun of Staten Island and Shomrei Torah of Wayne. The picture will be made available to us soon. Mike also was nice enough to stop and sign autographs. We are not sure, but it also looked like Joe Wechsler of Ridgewood (also known as the NNJR Yellow Candle Chairman and our most devout Devils fan) tried to jump on the Zamboni for a free ride. GO JOE!

(2) We conducted a lower level seating raffle for the January 20th game. The two winners came from Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston and Congregation B'nai Israel in Tom's River. When both "separate" winners got down to their seats, they discovered to their mutual amazement that they were cousins! Neither had known that the others were coming to the game, not to mention that they would both win great tickets to see the game up close.

(3) An attendee from Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim in Cranford noticed a name on our email distribution list. He had known a childhood friend by the same name in Linden. The other guy, our Club President from Fair Lawn Jewish Center met the Cranford attendee. You guessed it, childhood friends were re-united at a regional program!

(4) The second hockey game raffle (February 13 vs the Ottawa Senators) was won by the Honorary Past MC President of Beth El Synagogue in East Windsor. He brought his family to the game. Seeing the happy faces among his kids was tremendous. In fact, East Windsor had a fantastic turnout at the game - 24 attendees. Many of our southern clubs were able to come by train. Had this been a Meadowlands event, would FIVE of our southern clubs have come up?

What else to describe about this day? There was the FJMC name up in huge letters at center ice, on the scoreboard. Not only did the Devils publicize FJMC, but also our individual synagogues were listed. There were SO MANY comments about, "Hey, when are we going to do this again?" You know that a program is working when everybody wants more. Stay tuned.

Thanks go to a number of guys in the region who really made this work. Stu Kaplan, David Landsberg, Joe Wechsler, Harold Geller, Steve Ginsberg, Rob Blitzer, Steve Ginsberg, Peter Gotlieb, Joel Kurtz, Jeremy Saferstein, Brian Frisch. Thanks also are due to the Devils, in particular Christine Myers, their Group Sales Manager, for her terrific assistance at making our event so enjoyable.

Finally, I want to focus on one word. Yachad - togetherness. This event, like our Man of the Year Dinner, our Shabbat Retreat and FJMC Convention show that clubs get more out of Jewish life by working together. That is what our region is all about. You want more? Post to this blog and let's work on doing more together. Just like a catchphrase from FJMC...

"WORKING TOGETHER, WE CAN DO SO MUCH MORE!"

Kol Tuv

- Eric Weis
Member of International Kiddush Club
Founder of NNJ Regional Hockey Nuts
Friend of 1st of 5ths (GO TORONTO ARGONAUTS)