Sunday, November 18
Annual Meeting 10 a.m.
Thursday, November 22
Happy Thanksgiving!
Office closed
Friday, November 23
Office closed
Shabbat Evening Tefillah 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 24
Torah Study 8:45 a.m.
Shabbat Morning Prayers 10:00 a.m.
Sunday, November 18th at 10:00 a.m.
Election of officers will be held at the meeting as well as a recap of prior year activities
The Long Range Planning Committee is looking for your opinion on programs, services and other changes you’d like to see at the UJC. This year at the Annual Meeting, (Sunday, November 18th, 10:00am) we will have an open discussion to gather your ideas. Please take advantage of this opportunity to have your voice heard.
Between now and the Annual Meeting, please take time to consider your recommendations. We’re looking for ideas for all age groups; for special interest topics, such as worship, study, arts and music, social action, etc. Perhaps there are programs you’ve enjoyed at other synagogues that you wish we had at the UJC. Bring your ideas and help shape our future.
Please join us for the annual Danbury Interfaith Thanksgiving Service being held on Monday, November 19th at 7:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church on Deer Hill Avenue.
Publicity/Public Relations specialist (or committee) Need one or more volunteers who have experience working with the media, to publicize our events and accomplishments; to create and sustain a positive public image of UJC in the media.
Computer expertise Need a Microsoft Access Developer and a Web application developer, to create a members’ skills inventory to be maintained on the UJC office computer.
If you have the experience and the interest, please contact Neil Corday, Long Range Planning Committee Chair neilcorday501@cs.com
Our next Havdalah Service will be on Saturday, December 8, 2007 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the UJC. Please join us. Held at sunset, Havdalah marks the end of Shabbat and the beginning of a new week. It is a beautiful service including prayer, music, wine, a box of aromatic spices and a special braided candle. For more information, please contact Stacey Spilka at 203-431-5783 or email Stacey at staceyspilka@sbcglobal.net or call the UJC office at 203-748-3355.
UJC Religious School joins the campaign to Help Save Lives in Israel. Currently there are only 400 fire trucks in all of Israel. Of this number only 200 are serviceable and useable with the remaining 200 either dangerous, obsolete, or in poor working condition. When the workable units were called to the North to deal with last summer’s rocket attacks, the South was left vulnerable. The truck currently used in Afula/Gilboa was built in 1964.
In light of this desperate need, we are teaming up with communities throughout the Northeast to purchase a new lifesaving fire truck for our sister cities of Afula/Gilboa. The Rotem Mini Pumper has been chosen as the ideal vehicle for us to purchase because it is smaller than conventional fire trucks making it a quick response and high performance vehicle which is perfect for the narrow streets and off-road terrain of our sister cities.
Please join in the campaign by encouraging your children to fill the fire truck shaped tzedakah boxes provided from now until Chanukah. Or, send donations directly to the Federation office: The Jewish Federation, Inc. 69 Kenosia Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810.
Please contact Norman Greenstein at the Federation office for more information at 203-792-6353.
The United Jewish Center volunteers are scheduled to supervise the Overflow Homeless Shelter at the Congregational Church during the week of December 24th through the 30th. Contact Nancy Marcus at nancymarcus@snet.net to provide those less fortunate with a safe place to spend a winter night.
Please join the Rabbi for coffee and bagels on Sundays in the Young Board Room.
| December 2, 2007 | Is War Ever Justified? |
| December 9, 2007 | The True Story of Chanukah |
| December 23, 2007 | Why I “Believe in” Santa Claus |
| February 10, 2008 | Israel and the Middle East: An Open Forum |
| February 24, 2008 | The Classic Jewish Wisdom of Pirke Avot |
| May 4, 2008 | The Many Faces of Torah |
| May 11, 2008 | The Mishnah of the Bikkurim (The Temple Ceremony of the First Fruits) Part I |
| May 18, 2008 | The Mishnah of the Bikkurim (The Temple Ceremony of the First Fruits) Part II |
| May 22, 2008 | Judaism and Happiness (7:30 pm Thursday evening, Lag B’omer) |
Project Homeless Connect is a one-day, one-stop community wide event on December 3rd, at the Elk’s Lodge on Main Street to deliver services to homeless people in our community by providing much needed information and counseling.
To sign up for the day to help the homeless fill out forms and make appointments, contact mconderino@ccfc-ct.org by Tuesday, October 9th.
Remember those less fortunate!
Please don’t forget to drop off person care items for the Interfaith AIDS Ministry and old cell phones for the Women’s Center on the bin in the synagogue in the downstairs hallway.
The Jewish Federation's Website
Visit http://www.thejf.org to see
Israel News, Community Calendar, Local Jewish Resources, Worldwide
Jewish News, Jewish Life Resource, Jewish Federation news, Federation
Campaign e-Giving, registration for the Learning Exchange, reservations
for Jewish Federation events AND MORE!!
The news will be an automatic feed with frequent updates. Our goal is for the site to be your destination for all Jewish information including links to many local and worldwide Jewish resources. All area synagogues and local Jewish organizations are encouraged to check the new website's Community Calendar prior to scheduling any events that are open to the community to prevent conflicts. Area synagogues and local Jewish organizations are encouraged to submit upcoming events to be posted on the community calendar and to submit news items, photos and announcements for posting on the website. Please submit your items to info@thejf.org.
Message from Mazon:
MAZON has opened a fund dedicated to disaster relief. To find out more about MAZON's efforts or to donate online, visit us at www.mazon.org, or call us at (310) 442-0020.
If you or a loved one is ailing - at home or in the hospital - and you would like a phone call or visit, please call and leave a message on our clergy’s voicemail(s). Danbury Hospital’s security concerns mean that we may not find out in a timely manner.
Va-yishlah (Genesis 32:4 - 36:43) is read on November 24, 2007
Genesis 32
25 Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. 26 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Jacob's hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him. 27 Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." 28 Said the other, "What is your name?" He replied, "Jacob." 29 Said he, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed." 30 Jacob asked, "Pray tell me your name." But he said, "You must not ask my name!" And he took leave of him there. 31 So Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning, "I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved." 32 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping on his hip. 33 That is why the children of Israel to this day do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the socket of the hip, since Jacob's hip socket was wrenched at the thigh muscle.
© 2008 The United Jewish Center of Danbury
141 Deer Hill Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810
203-748-3355