Shul News & Notes
Book Circle To Discuss Award-Winning Memoir/Detective Story
The next meeting of the Book Circle will be held on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 2 PM, on Zoom. The selection for the month is The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, by Edmund de Waal.
When the writer, a world-famous ceramicist, inherited a collection of 264 tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called Netsuke, he wanted to know who had touched and held them, and how the collection had managed to survive. And so begins this moving memoir and detective story as de Waal discovers the story of the netsuke and also his family. Winner of the Costa Book Award for biography, and a Galaxy National Book Award.
The Book Circle meets each month to explore books on Jewish themes and Jewish writers. For more information, call the shul at 631-477-0232 and leave a message for Susan Rosenstreich, coordinator of the group.
Amazon Smile: Hey, It Really Works! We Got A Check.
We’ve all heard of Amazon.com, and probably most of us, at one time or another, have shopped its thousands of products and connected with the conglomerate’s many hundreds of affiliate members. But buried inside all those big numbers is a small idea that can make a difference — yes, a little difference — but remember: Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.
Here’s how it works: Congregation Tifereth Israel is registered as a charity with an Amazon program called AmazonSmile, meaning that Amazon will donate 0.5% (half a percent) of the price of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice. If you would like to select our shul as your charity of choice (and we certainly hope you will), the shul will benefit — by a little bit — from your purchase. The Shofar is not recommending that you to shop at Amazon, but should you choose to do so, and should you choose our shul as a charity within the AmazonSmile program, your purchase could be one of those little acorns from which mighty oaks grow. It really works. Shul treasurer Alan Garmise said we received our first check.
All you have to do is log on to AmazonSmile.com instead of plain old Amazon.com and shop as usual. Every few months, our shul will receive a check for a half-a-percent of every purchase made by every member who chose our shul as the receiving charity. Shop, shop away.
The AmazonSmile program was suggested by Adrianne Greenberg and put into operation by the shul’s Fundraising Committee, which thanks readers for considering this opportunity to help our shul at no additional cost to them.
Lunch And Learn: Crossword Puzzles Constructing/Solving
Monday, Feb. 1
It’s February, the dead of winter in a pandemic. Time for some fun! Join Lunch and Learn for a lively session about crossword puzzles. What is it about these brain-twisters that captivate constructors and solvers around the world? We’ll ask Simeon Seigel, who challenges Lunch and Learners to solve one of his mindboggling constructions. [The attached appeared in the New York Times last September.] “It’s sneaky,” Simeon admits conspiratorially, but all will be revealed on Monday. Be sure to Zoom at noon. When not constructing puzzles, Simeon Seigel, son of shul member Carol Seigel, is a partner at The Turett Collaborative, an architecture and interior design firm in Manhattan.
Thursday, Feb. 4
Join Lunch and Learn today when Rabbi Gadi continues his Jewish history series with the rise of Jewish sects under the social and political influence of Roman rule. Emerging in this week’s talk are the early Christians. Be sure to Zoom at noon today for the origins of the Judeo-Christian alliance.
Join Francis DuBois when he interviews Elizabeth and Alexandra Bellak who will present ” The Journal of Renia Spiegel”
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Lunch and Learn: Jewish Education in America
Monday, Jan. 25
We are privileged to welcome to Lunch and Learn today shul member Carol K. Ingall, the Dr. Bernard Heller Professor Emerita of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. A speaker known for her warm and engaging personality as well as her expertise in the field of American Jewish education, Dr. Ingall will talk about two women who helped shape the arc of Jewish education in this country. How Dr. Ingall gravitated to this field is as fascinating a story as the women she will introduce to Lunch and Learners.
Zoom at noon for a personal perspective on Jewish education then and now.
Thursday, Jan. 28
Join Lunch and Learn today as we celebrate nature and the holiday of Tu B’Shevat with a seder, led by Rabbi Gadi. As part of the seder, dried fruits and nuts are featured, also the seven species widespread in Israel: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. With songs, prayers, fruits and wine, we will learn the significance of this joyous holiday by appreciating the bounty of this world, and all the ways that trees provide us with food, shelter, beauty and valuable life lessons. Zoom at noon for this special Lunch and Learn.
[Rabbi Gadi’s Jewish history series will continue next Thursday, Feb. 4, at noon.]
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