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Adath Israel Tradition

Serving the Adath Israel Chavurah since 1904

Newtown, Monroe, Bethel, Brookfield, Southbury, Trumbull, Oxford, Danbury

(The Little Synagogue that Could: First building: 1919, First rabbi: 1923) Ritual: Conservative Social: Progressive Oneg Shabbats: Priceless

December 23 Kislev - 23 Tevet 2018 5779

In This Issue

Announcements 1 The Nezvesky School 5, 6 In Memoriam

Contact Information 10

From the Rabbi’s Study

President’s Message 2 KOSHER CREATIONS 7

Donations, Thank You’s

Hosting an Oneg / Kiddush 11

Looking for Stories & Photos 2 Activities, Clubs and Committees 8 December Calendar 12

From the Ritual Committee 3, 4 Community Programs & Events 9

“Shabbat Before Bedtime” For young families

Friday DECEMBER 7 at 6:00 pm

HAPPY HANUKKAH Hanukkah begins on Sunday evening, December 2

Community Menorah Lighting

Tuesday December 4th at 6pm

More information on page 3

The Adath Israel gift shop will be open on:

Sunday, December 2nd

From 9:30 - 12 noon

(or by appointment: giftshop@congadathisrael.org)

Many candles, menorahs, and gift items to choose from.

Do You Have a Story to Tell? See page 2 for more information

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From the Rabbi’s Study

I would like to wish everyone a

warm and happy Hanukkah.

May the lights of the holiday

give us all warmth and comfort

through the coming winter.

~ Rabbi Barukh Schectman

President’s Message

Dear Congregants,

It is my hope that your Thanksgiving was filled with joy, friendship and many family members and friends to share the bounties that God has given us. Florence and I enjoyed the camaraderie of our chil-dren, grandchildren and friends. It was through their encouragement and support that I entered the Southbury 5K Turkey Trot and completed the 3.2 miles that morning. Looking forward to next year (maybe). The month of November brought us together for two special Shabbat services. On November 16th we joined Bob Goldstein, our Shem Tov award recipient, as we welcomed a new week. Bob told us how much he enjoyed the opportunity to be part of our family and working to help us meet our obligations to our Jewish community. The Shem Tov Committee put together a very nice oneg and all enjoyed our time to-gether. The prior week we gathered together to recognize the congregants of our Jewish community who are Veterans. Rabbi Schectman spoke eloquently and added additional prayers honoring all veterans who served our country with distention and dedication. Our guest speaker, Dr. Daniel Federman, spoke of how he found himself wanting to serve our country. He said he saw that working with our veterans at the VA hospital was most satisfying and realized early in his career that he would make it his life work. His short vignettes of the stories told to him by some of his patients were humorous and poignant. It was a won-derful evening with a fine oneg thanks to the Federman, Littlefield and Smith families. I am now looking forward to joining all on December fourth for our second annual Menorah lighting in celebration of Chanukah. It will take place in front of our synagogue at 6PM. Come join us as we celebrate the re-dedication of the temple with wonderful latkes and sweets for all to enjoy. Wishing all a Happy Chanukah and to our interfaith families, a Merry Christmas. With Blessings of Shalom, Bob & Florence Rubinstein

Do You Have a Story to Tell?

As we prepare for Adath Israel’s 100-year birthday celebration, we are gathering tidbits of information to help tell the story of our congregation.

If you have any stories or photos that you would like to share from your years or your ancestors’ years and experiences at Adath Israel we’d love to hear from you!

Our current written history with photos can be found on our website: https://www.congadathisrael.org/about-us/history/

Information on any decade would be most appreciated! Please contact Susan at office@congadathisrel.org

Thank you!

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From The Ritual Committee

Interfaith Memorial Service on the Sixth Anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Friday December 14 marks the sixth anniversary of the tragic shooting in a Newtown elementary

school that left twenty children and six educators dead, and our town reeling in shock and horror.

We will be holding our annual memorial service that day, during our Friday evening Shabbat service.

This will be an interfaith gathering this year, with participation from several local clergy from differ-

ent denominations. It is open to the public, as are all of our services. Join us as we come together as

a community to mourn the terrible loss and to remember this day that forever changed us. The

chanting of El Malei (the Mourner’s Prayer) and other memorial readings will be part of this service.

There will also be a reading of the names of all who lost their lives that day. This will include the

name of Noah Pozner. Noah, one of the 20 children who died in the shooting, was the son of past

congregants. His name is engraved on a Brass memorial board in our sanctuary. We will all rise as a

community and recite the Mourners Kaddish together. Following the service, stay for a Kiddush

Oneg spread, generously hosted by congregants Miri and Boris Goldman.

This service will begin at 7:00 PM.

Community Menorah Lighting

Chanukah is almost here!! It begins early

this year, at the beginning of December.

On the third night of Chanukah, Tuesday

December 4, at 6 pm, we will join together

outside in front of our synagogue to light a

large menorah. We will sing the traditional

Chanukah blessings and songs and share

chocolate gelt. Hope you’ll join us. After-

wards, come in to the warmth of our build-

ing for a latke, a jelly doughnut and some

hot cider. Spread the word—this is a pub-

lic event. All are welcome. Bring your

friends to this celebration.

Chanukah’s ancient story is one of a small

band of people, the Maccabees, who rose

up against religious and cultural oppres-

sion by reclaiming their destroyed temple.

When we light the candles this year, let us

also keep in mind this theme of shining

our light to rout out religious and cultural

oppression for all people.

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Support Congregation Adath Israel by starting your shopping at:

http://smile.amazon.com/ch/06-1365965

Have an opinion? Like to write? Newsletter contributions are always welcome…

Have family or student news you would like to share? Contact: newsletter@congadathisrael.org

Newsletter article submittal deadline is the 23rd of each month.

ADULT EDUCATION

Adult education is a perk of membership at Adath Israel and we encourage all members to take ad-vantage of it. Rabbi Schectman is a scholarly and patient teacher on all aspects of Jewish life, ethics, history and Torah, Hebrew literacy and fluency and liturgy. For many of us, our formal Jewish edu-cation ended at age 13, or perhaps a few years later. We’ve never had the opportunity since then, to bring an adult perspective to these important subjects. Often our Judaism is part of our identity without us really knowing what it means. It’s not too late to remedy that! Adult education is also a way to get to know a small group of other congregants better, helping to build a sense of communi-ty. Our Adult Education classes are available to members, prospective members and non-members. Contact Katherine Kohrman at ritual@congadathisrael.org if you would like to join a class or you would like more information.

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THE NEZVESKY SCHOOL

On November 18, the 4th Graders received their books for the advanced studies they are about to undertake. Rabbi Schectman held a Shacharit service that Sunday morning with participation by all the classes. In December we have our Chanukah celebration scheduled for the 7th Day. The 4th grad-ers will be doing a short Chanukah skit and we will have our traditional Chanukiyah contest as well. The School Schedule for Sunday December 9th will be:

• Regular Classes: 9:30 – 10:30

• Chanukah Story in the Sanctuary: 10:30 – 10:45 Parents are welcome – Pre-school playgroup families are also invited to the festivities.

• Chanukah music and song: 10:45 – 11:00 Meyer Glaser will lead the group in several Chanukah songs.

• Chanukiyah Contest: 11:00 – 11:15 The Chanukiyah Contest Entries will be voted upon and winners of the Chanukiyah contest will be announced. All participating Chanukiyot will be getting an award certificate. The contest will be followed by a candle lighting for the 7th day of Chanukah.

• Festive Snack in the social hall: 11:15 – 11:45 The students will enjoy a snack of Potato Latkes, Applesauce, Jelly Doughnuts and Juice. If your child has any allergies to these foods, please remind their teacher in the morning and send them in with something they can enjoy at snack time.

The Chanukiyah Contest rules are:

1) The Chanukiyah must work (can't be flammable and must be able to hold the candles or oil)

2) The Chanukiyah must be kosher: The shammas must be either in the middle or entirely to one side. The other candle holders must all be significantly lower than the shammas.

3) The Chanukiyah should be big enough to be seen from the bimah.

Inclement Weather

Unfortunately, this is also the season of inclement weather. As a reminder, our policy for closing is that we will typically follow the lead of the Newtown Schools--so if they close or have an early dismissal, we will cancel Hebrew School as well. In any case we will send an an-nouncement via e-mail, post on our website, and on the three television stations: WTNH (News Channel 8), WVIT (NBC Channel 6) and WFSB (CBS Channel 3).

On Sundays though, we will just determine it based on conditions and announce it same as above . David Smith, Education Chair educationchair@congadathisrael.org 203-770-1685

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Free Jewish themed books and music CD’s for children ages 6 months through 8 years.

Sign up at: PJLibrary@jfed.net

Sunday November 18

The 4th graders received their own children’s bible and all the classes participated

in parts of the Shacharit morning service held during Sunday school.

Photos by Leslie Murray

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KOSHER CREATIONS

We hope you will enjoy trying out these tasty treats each month. Bonnie Goldstein will be collecting and compiling the recipes for the newsletter. If you would like to contribute a favorite recipe for this section, please email it to her at bhgoldstein1836@gmail.com. If you have a photo of your dish to include with the recipe, send that too! Recipes must follow Kosher guidelines. The following recipes were submitted by Susan Littlefield.

Asian Broccoli Slaw

1 package shredded cabbage (I use broccoli slaw) Sauté in a little oil: ½ cup sliced almonds 1 package chicken ramen noodles, broken into pieces Mix dressing: ½ cup oil (I put 1 tbsp. sesame oil in 1st then the oil) ¼ cup sugar 6 tbsp. white vinegar 1 tbsp. soy sauce 1 seasoning packet from the noodles 2-3 sliced scallions Put the slaw and scallions in a bowl and add in almonds and noodles. Mix in dressing to taste. For one package of slaw, I use about ½ of the dressing.

Linguine with Chicken and Peanut Sauce

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts 1 tbsp. cooking oil 1 14 ½ oz. can chicken broth 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp. soy sauce 1 tsp. grated gingerroot 2 tbsp. dry white wine or water 1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings 1 tbsp. cornstarch 8 oz. linguine, cooked and drained 1/8-1/4 tsp. ground red pepper 2 green onions (scallions), sliced ½ cup peanut butter

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces; set aside. For the sauce, in a medium bowl stir together the chicken broth, soy sauce, wine, cornstarch, and red pepper. Blend in the peanut butter. Set aside. Preheat large skillet or wok over high heat. Add oil. Stir-fry garlic and ginger root about 15 sec. Add onion and stir fry until tender-crisp. Re-move vegetables. Add ½ of the chicken and stir-fry until done. Remove chicken and repeat with remaining chick-en. Return all chicken to the skillet and push from the center of the pan. Stir in sauce in the center. Cook until thick and bubbly. Cook 2 minutes more. Return vegetables to the skillet, stir to coat with sauce. Heat through. Serve over hot linguine and top with green onions.

Chocolate Berry Pie

1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup margarine, melted 1 8.oz pkg. cream cheese, softened ¼ cup brown sugar, packed ½ tsp. vanilla 1 6 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate pieces 1 cup whipping cream, whipped 2 Tblsp. Margarine, melted Whole (or sliced in half) strawberries

Combine crumbs, sugar, and margarine. Press onto bottom and sides of a 9 in. pie plate. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 min., cool.

Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla mixing until blended. Blend in ½ cup chocolate pieces, melted. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into the crust. Chill several hours or overnight.

Combine remaining chocolate pieces and margarine; stir over low heat until smooth. Arrange strawberries on top of pie. Drizzle with the choco-late mixture. Chill

I cut the strawberries in ½ to decorate. You can also buy a ready-made graham cracker crust. Any leftover melted chocolate for the drizzle, use to make chocolate dipped strawberries. I found that 1/3 cup of choco-late chips melted is all you need to drizzle.

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ACTIVITIES, CLUBS & COMMITTEES

SISTERHOOD

Next meeting

Thursday, December 20th

at 7:00 PM

Contact Bonnie Goldstein at: sisterhood@congadathisrael.org

The next meeting of the Adath Israel book club will be on Monday January 7 at 7:30 PM at the home of Amy Greenfield. The current book we are reading is:

AMERICANAH By Chimananda Ngozi Adichie

The second meeting will be on Monday February 18 at 7:30 PM at the home of Lynn Wiener. That book is:

UNSHELTERED By Barbara Kingsolver

We invite all members to join our club. We choose a variety of genres of literature to discuss. Even if you haven’t read the book, consider joining us and help-ing to choose our next book. We usually meet bi-monthly. If interested, please email Amy Greenfield at bookclub@congadathisrael.org.

Adath Israel Women’s Book Club

MAH JONG MADNESS

7:00 PM at Adath Israel

For both experienced and beginner players

mahjong@congadathisrael.org

Israeli Folk Dancing

Join us on Tuesday December 11

at 7:30 PM

In the Social Hall. Wear comfortable shoes.

Good aerobic workout!

JOIN MEN’S CLUB

TODAY!

Contact Steve Vine

brotherhood@congadathisrael.org

Caring Committee Update

The Community Care and Share committee re-

cently met. We planted eleven trees in Israel in

memory of the eleven who died at The Tree of

Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. We were over-

whelmed with the generosity of the congrega-

tion during the High Holy Days to our local food

pantries. We received enough donations to do-

nate to both Monroe and Newtown. We received

a thank you note from the Monroe food pantry.

We would like to make this an annual event. Our

committee will contribute to the 100-year cele-

bration. Our best wishes to everyone a joyous

Hanukkah and a wonderful New Year. We would

like to remind the congregation to let us know if

anyone has any life cycle events and achieve-

ments or would benefit from our committee in

any way. Please contact Sue Morse at

caring@congadathisrael.org.

~ Susan Littlefield, Secretary

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COMMUNITY PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Please join the Jewish Genealogical Society of Con-necticut on Sunday, December 16, 2018, at 1:30 pm when Alan Shucat presents "History of Jewish Migration, the Diaspora, and Changing National Borders." The presentation will be held at Temple Sinai, 41 West Hartford Rd, Newington, CT. Alan Shuchat is a retired professor of mathematics at Wellesley College. He has researched his fami-ly’s history for several decades and traced branch-es back to around 1800. The program is free and open to the public. For additional information, visit www.jgsct.org.

THE JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF CONNECTICUT

Check out Adath Israel’s Menorah Display at the

Cyrenius H. Booth Library in Newtown, decorated by

Sisterhood's Bonnie Goldstein and Mardi Smith. The

library will display the Menorah's through the holidays.

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… and let us not forget

IN MEMORIAM Yahrzeits: December 2018

BRONZE MEMORIAL NAMEPLATE

If you wish to install a memorial nameplate in the sanctuary,

please contact Susan Rubin at 203-426-5188

or by email office@congadathisrael.org

CEMETERY PLOTS AVAILABLE

Adath Israel Cemetery (a division of B’nai Israel Cemetery)

472 Moose Hill Road, Monroe, CT

Information packets are available. Please contact Susan Rubin at

office@congadathisrael.org or call 203-426-5188.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Office Phone: 203-426-5188

Rabbi Barukh Schectman rabbi@congadathisrael.org

Administrator: Susan Rubin office@congadathisrael.org

2018 – 2019 Officers of the Board

President: Bob Rubinstein president@congadathisrael.org

Vice - President: Amy Greenfield Vice - President: Susan Littlefield

vicepresident@congadathisrael.org

Treasurer: Dan Greenberg treasurer@congadathisrael.org

Secretary: Jim Arena secretary@congadathisrael.org

Member at Large: Ben Glazer Member at Large: Darryl Newman

Member at Large: Jessica Sachs atlarge@congadathisrael.org

2018 – 2019 Committee Chairpersons

Birthday Books: Mardi Smith

Education Chairperson: David Smith educationchair@congadathisrael.org

School Parent Coordinator: Gabrielle Joshpe parentcoordinator@congadathisrael.org

Caring Committee: Susan Morse caring@congadathisrael.org

Fundraising: available fundraising@congadathisrael.org

Honorarium: Susan Rubin office@congadathisrael.org

House: Mark Silverman house@congadathisrael.org

Membership: Leah Newman membership@congadathisrael.org

Men’s Club: Steve Vine brotherhood@congadathisrael.org

Newsletter: Susan Rubin newsletter@congadathisrael.org

Programs: available programs@congadathisrael.org

Publicity: Karen Klein publicity@congadathisrael.org

Ritual: Katherine Kohrman ritual@congadathisrael.org

Safety: David Wiener safetycommittee@congadathisrael.org

Sisterhood: Bonnie Goldstein sisterhood@congadathisrael.org

2 Dec 24 Kislev Joseph Levy, Father of Rosalind Berger

4 Dec 26 Kislev Agathe Glaser, Mother of Meyer Glaser

6 Dec 28 Kislev William Getman, Grandfather of Jodi Bialik

8 Dec 30 Kislev Albert Chiprut, Uncle of Jack Nahmias

11 Dec 3 Tevet Lillian Gruber, Mother of Arthur Gruber

14 Dec 6 Tevet Louis Lifshey, Grandfather of Joanna Rosen

15 Dec 7 Tevet Marvin Bamberg, Father of Steve Bamberg

16 Dec 8 Tevet Joseph Baulsir, Father of Edmund Baulsir

16 Dec 8 Tevet Ina Leona Cohn Abo, Grandmother of Jodi Markowsky

16 Dec 8 Tevet Devira Brown, Grandmother of David Rosen

19 Dec 11 Tevet Ruth Hillman, Mother of Bill Hillman

21 Dec 13 Tevet Helen Blau, Mother of Alan Blau

22 Dec 14 Tevet Esther Slomka, Mother of Jay Slomka

30 Dec 22 Tevet Ruth Hesselson, Grandmother of Jodi Bialik

30 Dec 22 Tevet Thelma Cohen, Mother of Karen Klein

31 Dec 23 Tevet Isadore Blau, Father of Alan Blau

31 Dec 23 Tevet Pauline Weiss, Mother of Florence Rubinstein

9 Dec 1 Tevet Noah Samuel Pozner

10 Dec 2 Tevet Jayson Rome

10 Dec 2 Tevet Yetta Nezvesky

13 Dec 5 Tevet Jacob Moses Block

14 Dec 6 Tevet Morris Torow

18 Dec 10 Tevet Janice Aronowitz

19 Dec 11 Tevet David Kaufman

19 Dec 11 Tevet Hannah Frankel

20 Dec 12 Tevet Ida Stoller Terry

23 Dec 15 Tevet Elizabeth Stoller

24 Dec 16 Tevet Harry Gussman

25 Dec 17 Tevet Leah Tabackman

26 Dec 18 Tevet Jack Krinick

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DONATIONS

We gratefully acknowledge the following contributions to temple funds:

General Fund The Rubenstein-Brault families in memory of David's dad, Solomon Rubenstein Carole Hoffman in memory of Sylvia Kirschblum Gilbert Mayor & Jacquelin Holubka in memory of Sarah Sylvia Kirschblum Shelley & Dante Salamon in memory of Aunt Sylvia Kirschblum Sue & Mike Morabito in memory of Sylvia Kirschblum Joy & Walter Kopesky in memory of Sylvia Kirschblum & in friendship to the Newmans

Education Fund Debra & Steven Daren in memory of Sylvia Kirschblum

Caring Community Fund Joan & Dan Lucia in memory of the victims of Tree of Life Synagogue Mark Rebb in memory of his father, George Rebb Susan Morse in memory of her brother, Bob Zank Susan Morse in memory of Neil's father, Martin Morse Joyce & Wallace Kirschner in memory of Aunt Sylvia Kirschblum Dr. Alan & Eva Rogoff in memory of Aunt Sylvia Kirschblum

HOST

AN ONEG

OR KIDDUSH

Hosting a Friday Oneg or Saturday Kid-dush is performing a Mitzvah for our community. After services is a time when we have a chance to slow down and catch up on the weekly events with our fellow congregants.

It’s not only a Mitzvah, but a way for you to celebrate an event in your fami-ly and share the good news with our congregation. Many people host to commemorate birthdays, anniver-saries, engagements, awards, gradua-tions, victories and other happy occa-sions. You may also host in memory of a loved one. Of course, you don’t need a reason to host and you may also buddy up and host with a friend.

If you wish to participate in this Mitz-vah or for more information, please e-mail the office at: office@congadathisrael.org

Friday Oneg Dates Available

Dec 7, 28 Jan 4, 11, 18; Feb 1, 8, 15, 22

Mar 8, 15, 22, 29; Apr 5, 12, 19, 26 May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Jun 7, 14, 21, 28

Saturday Kiddush Dates Available

Dec 1, Jan 19, Feb 23 Apr 27, May 11, Jun 22

Celebrate a special day with us!

Honor a special milestone: achievement, birthday, graduation

or anniversary.

Sponsor an Oneg or Kiddush this year.

Reserve your date now!

THANK YOU

TO OUR NOVEMBER ONEG & KIDDUSH SPONSORS

Saturday Nov 3 — Miri & Boris Goldman

Friday Nov 9 — The Federman, Littlefield and Smith

Families in honor of our Veterans

Friday Nov 16 — The Shem Tov Committee in honor of

this year’s recipient, Bob Goldstein

“LEAVE YOUR LEGACY ON THE TREE OF LIFE”

A great way to honor past and present family members and friends

Large Leaf—$1800. each; Small Leaf—$180. each

Order forms available at the Synagogue or by emailing: office@congadathisrael.org

ADVERTISING IN THE NEWSLETTER

Business card : $10 mo. / $90 yr.

1/4 page: $15 mo. / $135 yr.

1/2 page: $25 mo. / $225 yr.

Full page: $45 mo. / $405 yr.

Email: newsletter@congadathisrael.org

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