Shul News & Notes
Oneg Shabbat Get-Togethers Are Finally Returning; Volunteers Anyone?
Ah, remember the refreshments and socializing of yore — before COVID and before security threats kept the shul closed and locked, and before Shabbat services were offered online-only? So nice, so pleasant, so agreeable. With an A for effort, the shul has tried to re-create that amiability with a plate of cookies in the sanctuary. Alas, not the same thing…
Well, that all changed on Friday, May 26, when shul member Nancy Torchio sponsored an Oneg Shabbat to honor her father, Charles Bogen, on his first yahrzeit. We had cake and fruit and candy and nuts, and it wasn’t hard to do, Nancy told the Board of Directors at the June 11 meeting, calling for others in the shul family to sponsor onegs for “whatever reason,” she said — to honor occasions or people special to the hosts, or just because… In a heartbeat, right there at the meeting, board member Suri Lan Brown stepped up and volunteered to sponsor and prepare an oneg on Friday, June 30.
What we decided…
So, stepping ahead lightly, we’ve decided to celebrate the first Friday of every month with an Oneg Shabbat following the evening service. So please plan on participating in-person on Friday, June 30, with Suri as our host (yes, we know, a day ahead), and again on Friday, August 4, with an oneg sponsored by Elaine Goldman, who volunteered a few days after the board meeting. Reminders will appear on the first Friday Shabbat Shalom messages.
Shofar readers: Maybe it’s your turn to help us return to the days of noshing and socializing after Shabbat services. To volunteer, please call the shul at 631-477-0232 or email ctigreenport@gmail.com with a message for Adrianne Greenberg, indicating which First Friday you will host. Many thanks.
The Book Circle Delves Into The Past To Connect With The Present
The shul’s Book Circle group has chosen to delve into the pages of Hugo Hamilton’s book, The Pages, for the July selection, to be discussed at the meeting on Thursday, July 27, at 3:30 p.m., in the shul’s community room.
The deckle edges of the novel itself suggest the way into the past — Germany under the Nazi regime — with clues from that history leading to a present day mystery. It is a sweeping narrative of survival, chance, and the joys and struggles of love played against a backdrop of censorship, oppression and violence. It’s a smashingly good story, critics rave, that brings a new audience to an acclaimed writer.
The Book Circle meets monthly to discuss books by Jewish writers and/or topics of Jewish interest. For more information, email ctigreenport@gmail.com with a message for Susan Rosenstreich, leader of the group.
GHS Students Pen Thank-You Letters For Sponsoring Museum Trip
A stack of thank-you letters from Greenport High School students arrived at the shul recently. The students had visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City as the culmination of their social studies unit on the Holocaust, and donations to our shul’s Yellow Candle Project had largely financed the cost of the buses to transport 80 students to the museum.
Four of the students Zoomed into a Shabbat service in May and talked about the Holocaust learning unit as a “profound experience.” The thank-you letters from many more of the museum visitors confirm that the Holocaust study was for many of the students a personal journey as well as a history lesson.
Excerpts from letters to shul member Charles Simon, Rabbi Gadi, and the Congregation:
- The artifacts showcased were a grim reminder of the victims. Vinn
- It is important to remember those who suffered. Jhalia
- The trip was moving and powerful, and something I could never forget. Jayda
- This experience will be with me forever. John
- You allowed us to understand the depth of this event. Nyah
- It was an honor to meet a Holocaust survivor. Luis
- I was moved by everything in the museum. It really changed my life. Jaclyn
- I learned so much about the Jewish heritage. Aly
- Speaking to a survivor made me think that these terrible things didn’t happen so long ago. John
- Thank you for information about the hardships the Nazi prisoners had experienced. Angelina
- Being able to see the artifacts, we got a better understanding of the tragedy. Jenna and Maddie
- I hope nobody has to suffer as they had to suffer. Jaquelin
- I would encourage other young people to visit because it was an amazing experience. Mildred
Judaism And Art Group Launches Studio Tours Of Member Artists
Visit The Studio Of Judith K. Weiner on Sunday, July 23, from 2-5 p.m.
The Judaism and Art Group, sponsors of the Art Show currently mounted in the shul’s community room, is offering the Congregation opportunities to see the studios where member artists create their work. Coming up on Sunday afternoon, July 23, from 2 to 5, is an intimate tour of the setting that inspires the abstract concepts of shul member Judith K. Weiner. Visitors will view an historical evolution of the artist’s work from the paintings and drawings of the 1960s, through ceramic sculpture constructions, to current works in progress.
Trained as a painter and sculptor at MOMA, the Art Students League, Boston University’s School of Fine and Applied Arts, New York University, and the New York Institute of Technology, Judith builds her images sequentially, working in two- and three-dimensional multiples. A selection of her work can be seen on Instagram @judithkaufmanweiner and at jkweiner.com
The artist, whose oeuvre includes painting, drawing, sculpture and experimental studies in new materials, was recently featured on the Instagram account of Long Island’s Heckscher Museum. She has been featured and is represented by the Ilon Art Gallery in historic Harlem, shown at VSOP, and is preparing a solo show in Locust Valley, NY.
The initial J&A Studio Tour invited members-only to view Saul Rosenstreich’s work, which was displayed throughout the artist’s home. Visitors found the art mounted in-place offered a progression of ideas from early studies to more complex renderings that revealed the artist’s creative process.
The event at Judith K. Weiner’s studio invites the congregation to enjoy the immersive experience with a wine and cheese reception.
June 2023 At The Shul: A Photo Montage
The Little Engine That Could
We’re all familiar with the popular children’s story about the little engine that was able to do more than expected. Over here at Shofar headquarters, we’ve heard that phrase applied to our shul — that one and also the one that says “small, but mighty.” There might be something to the perception that small means diminished expectations, but as the photos on this page illustrate (as well as those sprinkled throughout this issue), the goings-on at our shul and beyond — just in the past month — disprove those ideas.
Rabbi Gadi and Ellen Buchbinder at the 75th anniversary Israel Day Parade in New York City.
Judith Weiner surrenders her key to the building to incoming president Sara Bloom.
The “Joyfully Jewish” summer program will be held in this welcoming space for young people that was arranged and accoutered by Rabbi Gadi and program teacher Dawn Teyuca and her son, Isaac.
Photos by Rabbi Gadi and SMBloom
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