Shul News & Notes
Enthusiastic Audiences Zoom In For ‘Lunch and Learn’
We knew we had a good thing going when shul members zoomed in on April 20 with a big turnout for our first Lunch and Learn session with Ron Rothman talking about his grandfather’s friendship with Albert Einstein. (Yes, that Albert Einstein.) Sara Bloom offered a session on memoir writing, which was followed by our third Lunch and Learn session with Marian Friedmann, an inveterate gardener. Susan Rosenstreich came next, talking about body language and how actions sometimes can speak as loud as words. Chef Deborah Pittorino delighted the zoom at noon group with a cooking demonstration. Gnocchi anyone? And rounding out the month, we invited Cantor Melissa Berman to lead us in songs of celebration for Memorial Day Monday. Each week, Rabbi Gadi filled the Thursday slot with probing questions about Judaism. What have we cooked up for June? Zoom at noon every Monday and Thursday and find out. Sometimes it’s chitchat; sometimes shul folks or guests offer particular expertise for all of us to learn while we lunch. There’s always discussion, Q&A, and more chitchat. It’s instructive, it’s entertaining, it’s fun.
To Zoom at noon for Lunch and Learn, visit www.tiferethisraelgreenport.org, click on “Go to meeting/services,” follow the prompts, and enter the password (you know it from the services and previous events). Come learn. Bring lunch.
Nominating Committee Announces Slate Of Officers And Directors
The Nominating Committee has announced the slate of officers and directors for the 2020-21 term, as follows:
President: Judith Weiner
Vice President: Sara Bloom
Treasurer: Alan Garmise
Financial Secretary: Susan Rosenstreich
Corresponding Secretary: Elaine Goldman
Recording Secretary: Joanna Paulsen
Members at Large: Hedvah Campeas Cohen; Miriam Gabriel; Madelyn Rothman
Also serving on the board
Sisterhood Representative: Adrianne Greenberg
Men’s Club Representative: Z. Micah Kaplan, MD
The election will be held at the annual meeting on June 21, via Zoom. All congregants are invited to attend the June Congregation meetings to show support for the new officers and directors. To access Zoom, visit the shul’s Website (www.tiferethisraelgreenport.org), follow the prompts, and type in the meeting code: 955110.
The members of the Nominating Committee are Phil Goldman, chair; Sara Bloom, Tom Byrne, Roberta Garris, and Susan Rosenstreich.
Ad sales for the Virtual Journal
You’re also invited to be part of another great new venture — our 2020 Virtual Journal. With your messages of good wishes and good will in the Virtual Journal, you proclaim loudly that you are here for our synagogue, you are here for our shul family, and you are here for our future together.
Your ad in the Virtual Journal can deliver your messages to a greater audience than ever before — congratulations to our synagogue on its 119th year, and thanks to Susan Rosenstreich, our synagogue’s Virtual Journal honoree, for the outstanding job she has done to shepherd our shul through these difficult times.
The Virtual Journal will be on our website 24/7 for an entire year, and also on Facebook and Instagram. This broad exposure raises the shul’s visibility, raises respect for this initiative in our community, and raises the dollars from members and vendors that we need to bridge a $60,000 gap in our annual budget.
Watch your email and text messages for more information about this important opportunity. Support our shul with your messages, and be a part of this breakthrough happening.
Member sales will be open from June 11 through July 15. We will go live online in August.
Kickoff party for the Virtual Silent Auction
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic that has shuttered our shul and driven us to virtual events, our Silent Auction is moving to an online version. To kick off the event, the organizers of the Virtual Silent Auction have planned a virtual opening party to show off all the items and services they’ve been gathering. Right from the easy chair in your living room — or your deck or patio or even poolside in your backyard — you can raise a glass of wine or a fizzy soft drink, munch on cheese and crackers or whatever hors d’oeuvres are stored in your fridge, and peruse all the offerings that make this Silent Auction different (virtual) and irresistible (fun).
The party starts on Tuesday, May 26, at 5 p.m. It’s easy to get there: visit www.tiferethisraelgreenport.org and click on “join a meeting online.” Follow the prompts, and type in the code: 955110. And you’re there, hobnobbing with shul members and fellow shoppers. Questions? Call Madelyn at (631) 559-2816.
Lunch and Learn with Melissa Berman
‘Lunch and Learn’ couldn’t wait another day to tell you about an extraordinary treat we have programmed for Memorial Day. Plan to Zoom at noon this coming Monday, May 25, for a holiday sing-along, led by Melissa Berman, whose sweet and enchanting voice is familiar to Shul Schmooze readers who have enjoyed her “Quarentunes” videos. Melissa will lead us in “Songs of Celebration” as we pay tribute to our nation and its proud history.
Melissa Berman serves as cantor at New York City’s West End Synagogue, where she enriches her congregation with joyous song, blending the best of Jewish tradition with modern sensitivity. She earned a bachelor’s in music from Duke University and master’s degrees in sacred music and Jewish education from JTS. Before returning to New York, she was cantor at Congregation Or Tzion in Scottsdale, AZ, and for three years at the United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong.
Please plan to join Lunch and Learn on this Memorial Day to welcome Cantor Melissa Berman and to sing together the songs that elevate the spirit.
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