Recent TSE Emails

Join us our for our Friday Night Kabbalat Shabbat Service at 6:30pm this week and Havdalah Service this on Saturday at 7:30PM

All services are streamed on
the  Temple Website,  
Facebook, and   YouTube

All services are streamed.

This week's Friday night service is also live in the parking lot. Bring lawn chairs or stay in your car.

Check out our joint page about the joining of Temple Rodeph Torah and Temple Shaari Emeth.

Join us for one of our Town Hall Meetings

Sunday 5/2 at 8:15PM
Wed 5/5 at noon
Tuesday 5/11 at 8:30PM

Click here to attend any of the
Town Hall meetings listed above.


Password: TSE

Dear Friends,
 
We have exciting news to share about Temple Shaari Emeth (TSE).  Temple Rodeph Torah (TRT), the Reform synagogue located in Marlboro, has agreed to integrate their membership and operation into TSE.
 
Following the retirement of their long-term Rabbi, TRT decided that given the current demographics in our communities and the challenges facing smaller Temples, they would sell their building and join with another congregation.  While they initially considered joining with another Temple in the community, we learned that our congregations share many of the same values and that both would benefit by having TRT members join as part of the TSE family.
 
TSE and TRT have much in common. We share a hearty embrace of creative and musical worship, a strong commitment to social justice, and a passion for lifelong learning.  We use the same prayer book, have similar worship styles, and support a strong commitment for the Jewish education of our children. Also, it makes practical and financial sense for TRT to join with us, given our location and sound fiscal health.  TRT will bring the proceeds from the sale of the TRT building to TSE, which will help to guarantee a healthy future of our joined community.

TRT approached our leaders a couple of months ago to discuss this wonderful opportunity, and since then we have been working with TRT to create a plan to care for the needs of TRT’s members during this interim period and beyond. After approval by the TSE Board of Trustees, we began working on a Letter of Intent (LOI) together with TRT.  It is a pre-Ketubah of sorts which enumerates many, but not all, of the details of a more formal future agreement.  A nearly finished version is available for your inspection by request to president@shaariemeth.org . Some key points are listed below our signatures.

As you can imagine, there is much work ahead and there will be opportunities to participate in the process.  After meeting and working with the leadership of TRT, we truly believe that Temple Shaari Emeth and Temple Rodeph Torah will make beautiful music together. I hope that you will join us in welcoming the TRT members into the TSE family.
 
We know that this news may be surprising and we want to offer opportunities to answer any questions you may have. We will be conducting multiple Town Hall sessions, designed to allow members with different schedules to attend:  Sunday 5/2 at 8:15PM, Thursday 5/6 at noon, Tuesday 5/11 at 8:30PM.  We will also be holding a Congregational Meeting to approve the integration of TRT with TSE, on Wednesday 5/12 at 7:30PM.  See additional information below.
 
Warmly,
  
Fabian Burstyn, President                         Rabbi Melinda Panken

Click here to attend any of the
Town Hall meetings listed above.


Password: TSE

Decision-making process steps

1. The Letter of Intent has been approved by the Boards of Trustees of each Temple.
2. You are invited to town hall meetings to learn more about the possibility ahead.
3. You will have an opportunity to vote to approve pursuing integration negotiations.
4. Negotiations will take place and a term sheet for a merger plan will be created, which will require Board of Trustees approval.

Here are a few key points we’ve been working
on with our partners at TRT

• Rabbi Panken and Cantor Wally will, of course, remain as the clergy of TSE.  All existing staff will remain in their positions at TSE.
• TSE will cover TRT’s Clergy, educational, and operating needs until the integration is final. TRT will pay TSE the cost of this support during this interim time period.
• It is recognized that the sacred objects/art/recognition boards of both Temples will be honored in the integrated synagogue.
• TRT Religious School and B’nai Mitzvah students, K-12, will be integrated into TSE’s Religious School.
• TRT’s existing employment contracts will be honored.
• TRT members will be offered an incentive for a short period of time to remain as members of TSE; a typical practice in communities that integrate.
  

Join us our for our Friday Night Shabbat Service at 7:30pm this week and Havdalah Service this on Saturday at 7:30PM

All services are streamed on
the  Temple Website,  
Facebook, and   YouTube

All services are streamed.

Two Drive-In Services in a Row!

Friday, April 30th Lag Ba'Omer Service
to honor our teachers

Friday, May 7th Senior Youth Group Service

Watch from your car or bring a lawn chair, or watch the livestream from anywhere!

Upcoming Lifelong Learning Opportunity
Combatting Anti-Semitism & Enhancing Security: An overview of Jewish Federation's Community-wide Efforts

Sunday, May 2, 2021 • 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Click here for more information and to register

Freehold Area Open Door 

Drivers  are needed to pick up food/produce/bread at various markets in the immediate area.  Time would be approx 1 hour once a week in the AM. An SUV/Minivan or Station Wagon would be helpful.

Contact Rich Cobin at 732 462 9006 or   crashcobin@yahoo.com

Please enjoy this never seen behind-the-scenes look at the making of Temple Shaari Emeth's 2021 Purim Shpiel - including hilarious outtakes, deleted scenes and general mayhem. Includes the short subject "Kitty Hasselblad's Complaint." An angry drone. A helpful 10-year-old Best Boy. Enjoy!

We thank Glenn Cohen, the Executive Producer and Director of TSE's 2021 Purim Shpiel and "Behind the Scenes".  We also thank Cantor Wally and all of the talented people that took part in the effort. A special thank you to Kitty Hasselblad.

Yizkor Service
Saturday, April 3rd at 10:00am

Join us our for our Friday Night Kabbalat Shabbat Service at 6:30pm and Havdalah Service this on Saturday at 7:30PM

All services are streamed on
the Temple Website,  
Facebook, and  YouTube

Coming up in April

Who Will Write Our History
Sunday, April 4 at 1:00 PM 

Who Will Write Our History recounts the work of Emanuel Ringelblum and his resistance to Nazi oppression. In the Warsaw Ghetto of 1940, Ringelblum established Oyneg Shabes, a clandestine organization chartered to document all facets of Jewish life under Hitler and to preserve a historical record. 

Click for more info and to register

Yom Ha'atzmaut Across America
Sunday, April 11 
2:00 PM

Join us for this special concert that we are sponsoring along with communities from throughout North America.
 
Login information for the concert will be emailed shortly before the concert (as soon as we have it available)

A Conversation with NJ State Senator Samuel Thompson from District 12
Sunday, April 11  4:00 PM

Sponsored by Temple Shaari Emeth and RAC-NJ.


Click for more information and to register

May God console those who mourn in Zion, Jerusalem and throughout the world

Join us our for our Friday Night and Havdalah Services this Friday and Saturday at 7:30PM

All services are streamed on
the Temple Website,  
Facebook, and  YouTube

Coming up in April

Who Will Write Our History
Sunday, April 4 at 1:00 PM 

Who Will Write Our History recounts the work of Emanuel Ringelblum and his resistance to Nazi oppression. In the Warsaw Ghetto of 1940, Ringelblum established Oyneg Shabes, a clandestine organization chartered to document all facets of Jewish life under Hitler and to preserve a historical record. 

Click for more info and to register

Yom Ha'atzmaut Across America
Sunday, April 11 
2:00 PM

Join us for this special concert that we are sponsoring along with communities from throughout North America.
 
Login information for the concert will be emailed shortly before the concert (as soon as we have it available)

A Conversation with NJ State Senator Samuel Thompson from District 12
Sunday, April 11  4:00 PM

Sponsored by Temple Shaari Emeth and RAC-NJ.


Click for more information and to register

Start listening to Passover Music Now!

www.shaariemeth.org/spotify

Activities for Sunday

Men's Club: Monmouth Battlefield Walking Tour
Sunday, March 7  1:30pm

Click here for more info
and to register

Fanny Brice and her Relevance to Jewish Identity, Culture & Religion
Sunday, March 7  11:00am

Click here for more info​​​​​​​ and to register

Welcoming the LGBTQ+ in Our Faith Community
Wednesday, March 10  7:00pm

Click here for more info and to register

Dear Congregant:

During the coming weeks, the Nominating Committee will be meeting to propose a slate of Officers and Trustees to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Temple.

We encourage any Temple members with the desire to help make plans and decisions that affect the continued growth and success of our Temple to submit a brief resume, letter of intent or contact any member of the committee. Please have your resume addressed to the attention of the Nominating Committee and in the Temple office by March 1, 2021.  All information will be held in strict confidence.

The Committee’s recommendations for nominations will be presented to the current Board of Trustees on March 7, 2021, and will be announced at the Congregation meeting on March 21, 2021. The election will be held at the Congregation meeting on April 25, 2021.

Nominations from the floor may also be made at the March Congregation meeting for any position.  This is the only time floor nominations can be offered. All nominees will be asked to submit a brief biographical statement for distribution to the Congregation prior to the April Congregation meeting.
The positions to be filled for the 2021-2022 Temple year are President, First, Second, Third, and Fourth Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and seven seats on the Board of Trustees.

Please see below for an excerpt from the Temple Policy Book detailing the responsibilities of Board Members. Please feel free to contact any member of this committee with any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have.

The Committee Members are:

Fabian Burstyn, Chairperson
Howard Berson
Evan Breslow 
Gloria Nilsen
Steven Shaw

For the Nominating Committee,
Fabian Burstyn

DUTIES OF BOARD MEMBERS
The following are excerpts from a letter, created by the Nominating Committee, that outline some of the responsibilities of Board members. This letter was approved by the Board of Trustees on February 23, 1997:

Attendance and participation at Board Meetings
Meetings are held monthly, except in July and August, on a Sunday or Thursday evening in the Temple beginning at 7:30 and usually ending around 10:30. The office of any Trustee who is absent from three (3) successive regular meetings of the Board may be declared vacant by the Board.

Committee Involvement
Board members will chair at least one committee and should attend the meetings of other committees.

Shabbat Usher
Board members are expected to usher during one or more Friday night Shabbat Services during the year. This serves as an excellent opportunity to help the Congregation and display your leadership position.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Representative
As a representative of the Board of Trustees, you will make a presentation to our Bar/Bat Mitzvah children at two services during the year.

Attend Services Regularly
As a leader of the Congregation, you should make every effort to attend Shabbat Services regularly, at least monthly.

Attend Temple Functions
Again, as a leader of the Temple, you are expected to support and attend as many functions as your schedule will allow. Your membership in and support of the auxiliaries of our Temple, including Sisterhood, Men's Club, and Youth, is vital.

Support our Fundraising Programs
Your financial support for these programs, consistent with your ability to provide such, is expected and appreciated.

URJ
The Union for Reform Judaism. You should make every effort to attend local Key Leadership Workshops, as well as Regional and National URJ Conventions. These conventions provide an excellent opportunity to learn about Temple life, and to meet Jewish leaders of other Congregations within the Reform Movement.

And if Elected as an Officer
Monthly meetings for Officers are usually held on a Thursday evening, 10 days prior to the upcoming Board meeting. They begin at 7:30 and may last beyond 11:00.

Remember to Register for these Upcoming Programs

Fanny Brice and her Relevance to Jewish Identity, Culture & Religion: Sunday, March 7 11:00am-12:30pm

Delve deep into Legendary Jewish Icon Fanny Brice’s life with Fanny Brice go-to gal and expert Kimberly Faye Greenberg. She will share fun Fanny Brice stories and anecdotes as well as songs in a lecture performance along with Q&A.

Register now

Kimberly Faye Greenberg is the first and only actor to play leading roles in two Off-Broadway musicals at the same time. In addition, Kimberly’s numerous portrayals of Fanny Brice (Four shows and two CDs) have been critically acclaimed by the New York Times, Huffington Post, and Associated Press. In addition, Kimberly has numerous other theater and TV/Film credits.

Rabbi Panken's Jewish Interest Book Club:Kaddish.com by Nathan Englander Wednesday, March 24 8:00pm

Register now

When his father dies, it falls to Larry—the secular son in a family of Orthodox Brooklyn Jews—to recite the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, every day for eleven months. But to the horror and dismay of his sister, Larry refuses, imperiling the fate of his father’s soul. To appease her, he hires a stranger through a website called kaddish.com to say the prayer instead—a decision that will have profound, and very personal, repercussions. Irreverent, hilarious, and wholly irresistible, Nathan Englander’s tale of a son who makes a diabolical compromise brilliantly captures the tensions between tradition and modernity.

Who Will Write Our History:
Sunday, April 4 1:00pm-2:30pm

Who Will Write Our History recounts the work of Emanuel Ringelblum and his resistance to Nazi oppression. In the Warsaw Ghetto of 1940, Ringelblum established Oyneg Shabes, a clandestine organization chartered to document all facets of Jewish life under Hitler and to preserve a historical record. Though decimated by murders and deportations, the group persevered in its work into the spring of 1943. Before Ringelblum and his family perished in March 1944, he and his associates managed to hide thousands of documents in milk cans and tin boxes, which they buried beneath buildings not long before the ghetto was burned, ensuring that the voice and culture of a doomed people would outlast the efforts of their enemies to silence them.

Register now

Samuel Kassow is the Charles Northam Professor of History at Trinity College and author of "Who Will Write Our History: Emanuel Ringelblum, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the Oyneg Shabes Archives”. He served as a consultant for the documentary film version of “Who Will Write Our History,” directed by Roberta Grossman with Nancy Spielberg as executive producer. He was born in a Displaced Persons Camp in Germany to two Holocaust survivors. As a child of survivors, Kassow’s first language was Yiddish and he was very much affected by his background. He developed an interest in Jewish history at a young age. After graduating from college in 1966, he took a Fulbright Scholarship in England at the London School of Economics and studied at Oxford until eventually deciding to get his PhD in history at Princeton. In 1972, he went back to Trinity as a professor, where he has been teaching ever since. Kassow’s first 15 years of teaching had very little to do with Jewish history and more to do with Russia, but after his parents died, things changed. He said, “I realized so many survivors were dying off; the day would come when no one would really care or understand what happened, so I decided I would write about the Holocaust.”

Purim Blessing Bags
Help the Homeless in Monmouth County
Saturday, February 20th

Each year, Temple Shaari Emeth’s College Youth Committee works diligently to keep your college-age children connected to our community. We send Judaica gifts, Temple mail, interesting articles, and more throughout the year, to remind them of their family back home.

Please register your college-age students
​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​(under 23 years of age) TODAY!

Please update information you previously submitted. 

Given this year's unique challenges that college students are dealing with, please include information in the comments section of the form about school vacation dates and extended periods at home. 

Please contact  Anisha Gizersky  with questions
or to volunteer with the committee.

A new registration is needed, even if you signed up last year.
Please submit a form for each child.  Thank you.

Believe it or not, Temple Shaari Emeth is gearing up to celebrate Purim. You can help make the holiday sweet by sending PURIMGRAMS to others. At this time, when so many people feel so isolated, sending a PURIMGRAM to a friend, family member, or neighbor is a sweet way to show you care.

Proceeds from each PURIMGRAM help fund the Toby and Seth Hanover Youth Scholarship Fund, which provides over $10,000 of scholarship each year to support sending our children to Jewish camps and educational programs. The importance of Jewish summer experiences in developing strong Jewish identities as adults is well-documented and a goal of the synagogue. We also help our students make lasting memories and friends. What a deal! By sending chocolate you can help give a child the summer experience of a lifetime!

You can send a chocolate bar to members of the TSE community:  For an initial $18 donation you can send up to 6 PURIMGRAMS, with each additional PURIMGRAM  costing only $2. In addition to the PURIMGRAM, recipients will receive a letter explaining that a gift was made to the Seth and Toby Hanover Youth Scholarship Fund with a list of all the people who sent it to them.  In addition to sending a PURIMGRAM to an individual, you can chose to do on or more of the following:

$36 – Send a PURIMGRAM to all Clergy & Administrative staff

$36 – Send a PURIMGRAM to all ELC teachers and staff

$36 – Send a PURIMGRAM to all Religious School teachers and staff

$36 – Send a PURIMGRAM to all TSE Board of Trustee members

$180 – Send a PURIMGRAM to the entire congregation

Finally, you can also chose to send a PURIMGRAM to everyone who sends one to you (and be billed by the synagogue) or pay how you paid for your initial order.

Even more exciting, three chocolate bars will include a golden ticket, which can be traded in for a $50 Amazon gift card.

Orders are due no later than February 5, 2021. PURIMGRAMS will be delivered to recipients the week of February 21. Those who live out of the area will receive their PURIMGRAM in the mail.

Thank you for helping to give our children the gift of Jewish Camp!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Temple office or respond to this email..

Happy Purim,

Naomi Bressler
Chair of the Seth and Toby Hanover Youth Scholarship Committee