This Coming Week and Shabbat at the UJC
January 27 - February 2, 2008 / 20 Shevat - 26 Shevat 5768

This coming week and Shabbat:

Sunday, January 27
Eisner/Crane Lake Presentation 10:00 a.m.

Monday, January 28
UJC Staff will stock the shelves at the St. James Food Pantry 10:00 a.m.
Investment Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Adult Choir 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, January 29
Henry Dick Club will make sandwiches for Dorothy Day Hospitality House 4-6 p.m.

Thursday, January 31
Jewish Study Group 10:30 a.m.

Friday, February 1
Torah Study 12:00 noon
Shabbat Evening Tefillah 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 2
Torah Study 8:45 a.m.
Shabbat Morning Prayers 10:00 a.m.


United Jewish Center preSCRIPtion for success

Why not buy your groceries, coffee or gifts with UJC script? It doesn't cost you anything to buy from us and the UJC makes a percentage from each card purchase.

Go to www.glscrip.com and send a list of what cards (business name, denomination and how many) along with a check to the UJC. This is a great (and 'painless') way to help the UJC fundraise!

Drop your order off the next time you're at services, Religious School or in the building for any reason.

The next order will be placed on Monday, January 21st. Upon receipt of the cards, the purchaser will receive an email notice that they are available for pickup.

Any questions, contact Bonnie Wunsch at ujcscrip@aol.com or 313-0578.


IGive.com

The UJC and IGive.com have teamed up to make it easy for you to support the UJC -- and it doesn't cost you a penny!

IGive.com's stated mission is "to enable the economic power of individuals to benefit their chosen communities"; their goal is to have a portion of every online transaction benefit causes close to home. IGive has created a shopping portal that allows you to shop at your favorite online sites and stores as you always do; when you make a purchase through IGive's portal, the store donates a percentage of your transaction to the benefit of your choice. It's simple and easy -- you don't have to do anything special, and donations are made in your name.

The list of vendors on IGive's portal is 700 strong and growing; you'll find that all the most popular shopping sites (Amazon, Zappos, Barnes & Noble) are represented, plus a long list of more specialized sites. Most anywhere you shop now, you can shop through IGive.

The UJC is now a registered cause on IGive's portal; all you need to do is register as a user on IGive (it's free!) and identify the UJC as your chosen cause. Then, go about your normal online activities; IGive provides you a regular tally of the donations that have resulted in your transactions, so you can watch your support grow.

Go to www.igive.com to get started -- it's a fast, simple and zero-cost way to raise money for the UJC.


Havdalah Service

Our next Havdalah Service will be on Saturday, February 9, 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. We have a potluck dinner before the service and dessert after.

For more information, please contact Stacey Spilka at 203-431-5783 or email Stacey at staceyspilka@sbcglobal.net.

If you haven't yet been to one of these beautiful services, please join us!


Rabbi Librach's Sunday Seminars

Please join the Rabbi for coffee and bagels on Sundays in the Young Board Room.

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)

PASSOVER CANDY SALE (yum!)

Get Ready! Our 3rd Annual Barton's Passover Candy Sale is coming; beginning January 27th and running through February 24th. Support our Religious School by making this year the best ever. Contact Daryl Bain at 203-743-1180.


Volunteers needed for the Food Pantry

United Jewish Center volunteers will be working at the St. James Food Pantry on Monday, January 28th and Friday, March 21st. Write these dates in your calendar and help stock the shelves to feed needy families this winter. Contact Denise Maleh at ndmaleh@sbcglobal.net


Volunteers needed for the Dorothy Day Hospitality House

On January 30th, United Jewish Center volunteers and friends will be cooking and serving the meal at the Dorothy Day Hospitality House. Contact Sandy Brenner @ shbrenner@charter.net to help out. This is another rewarding mitzvah, providing a delicious meal for our needy neighbors.


Volunteers needed for the Homeless Shelter

The Social Action Committee is responsible for supervision of the Overflow Homeless Shelter at the Congregational Church on Deer Hill Avenue for three weeks this winter. Contact Nancy Marcus at nancymarcus@snet.net to help for the February 25th through March 2nd dates.

Spend the night and enable those less fortunate to have a safe place to sleep. It's a mitzvah you can do in your sleep! Arrive at 9:00 p.m. where you'll meet the coordinators (Annie and Ray Orr) who have already prescreened the guests. The coordinator gets the coffee ready for the morning and explains where things are and what needs doing (and believe me, it's not much at all that needs doing!). Once everyone is in and settled the coordinator leaves. Then its lights out soon after and wake up at 5:30 a.m. to coffee and a breakfast snack and some warm conversation. The guests leave whenever you're ready between 6:15 and 7:00. The guests are very appreciative for what you have done and it's a good feeling to know you've given those less fortunate a warm, safe place to spend the night.


Volunteers needed at the UJC!

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


Social Action

Social Action projects are funded by your contributions to the United Jewish Center Tikvah Fund and Mazon.

Remember and honor family and friends with a donation to the Tikvah Fund and contribute 3% of the cost of the food at family and synagogue celebrations to help feed the needy at the Dorothy Day Hospitality House soup kitchen.


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.


In the community

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.

Bikur Holim

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.

Taste of Torah

Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1 - 24:18) will be read on February 2, 2008

Chapter 23

1 You must not carry false rumors; you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness: 2 You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong - you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty - 3 nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute.

4 When you encounter your enemy's ox or ass wandering, you must take it back to him.

5 When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him.

 


 

© 2008 The United Jewish Center of Danbury
141 Deer Hill Avenue, Danbury, CT 06810
203-748-3355