Tuesday, December 24 at 8:00 am Coffee and Conversation at Panera in Shrewsbury
SEE BELOW FOR A LIST OF COMMUNITY MENORAH LIGHTINGS.
SAVE THE DATE
Friday, January 17 at 7:00 pm MLK Justice Shabbat Service
High Holy Day Appeal-FINAL CALL
It’s the final stretch…
High Holy Day Appeal
We are nearing the end of this year’s High Holy Day Appeal! Now is the last chance for you to donate to this year’s appeal and (possibly) use your gift as a deduction on your 2024 tax return. So don’t miss out on this opportunity to support MRT’s Capital Projects. Visit https://monmouthreformtemple.org/donate-hhda or send a check to the MRT office indicating it is for the HHD Appeal. Joel Morgovsky and Mark Gruensfelder, this year’s HHD Appeal Co-Chairs, thank you for your donations!
HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS
Happy Holidays! The MRT office will be closed from December 23rd-December 27th. For immediate assistance during that time, email jordana@monmouthreformtemple.org.
Please note, Rabbi Edelman is currently on vacation until December 31st and will return on January 2nd. For clergy matters, please contact Cantor Clissold.
Chanukah
Click HERE for a detailed list of upcoming Chanukah events and all you need to know to celebrate at home!
UPCOMING WORSHIP SERVICE
CHANUKAH SHABBAT SERVICE,
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20TH AT 6:00 pm
Service this Friday night will be led by Rabbi Renee Edelman and Cantor Gabrielle Clissold.
Please let us know if you plan to join us, including how many are in your party and what side dish you plan to bring.
Friday night’s dessert table is co-sponsored by Betty Fertik, in memory of her husband, Marc.
There are members of our Congregation who are very sensitive to scents and fragrances. MRT strives to provide a “Scent Free” environment in our building. The MRT community asks that you avoid wearing scents of any kind when coming to our synagogue and please inform your guests who visit with us.
SPONSOR AN ONEG
Celebrating a birthday, anniversary or any other special simcha? Observing a loved one’s yahrzeit? What better way to honor the occasion than by sponsoring the congregational refreshments on shabbat!
An announcement will be made on the bema and, if you want, the rabbi and cantor will invite you up for a special honor.
Leave a Lasting Legacy: Honor a Loved One with a Personalized Brick in Our Garden Walkway
Dear Fellow Congregants,
As you recently saw in my report, MRT is in need of financial assistance to help pay for some necessary improvements in the building that include the roof, sliding doors and HVAC system.
There are any number of ways you can be of help and you will be hearing about them in the weeks and months ahead. This one is by no means going to single handedly fill the financial deficit but it is a quick, easy and meaningful way you and your family can help.
As you may know, we have a brick walkway in our garden and many of you have purchased bricks over the years in memory of or in honor of loved ones and special occasions.
Please consider purchasing a brick now for one such recent or upcoming occasion or simply to just honor a loved one. Here are just some of the reasons to purchase one or more at this time:
To remember the life of a loved one
To honor a loved one
Commemorate a special occasion
Birth of a child
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Confirmation
Wedding or wedding anniversary
Birthday
It is such a special way to leave a legacy for a loved one and you and they will enjoy seeing it in the garden for years to come.
Please click the button below to download an application.
NECHAMA, rooted in the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, provides comfort and hope to communities by engaging volunteers in disaster recovery work. After Hurricane Helene, they mobilized their response team immediately. What started with food delivery and damage assessments in Florida, developed into a weeks-long presence near Asheville, North Carolina with plans for a 6 month deployment.
Tzedakah donations (cash or check payable to MRT) can be placed into the lobby Tzedakah box, sent to the MRT office, or made through our website by clicking HERE.*
*If paying by check or online,please make sure to add a note to your payment specifying that the funds should be directed towards Nechama.
MRT offers two opportunities to meditate together each week.
Boker Tov- Friday, December 20th at 8:00 AM. This is MRT’s long-standing Friday morning meditation session consisting of a short reading, 18 minutes of silent meditation, a tiny bit of discussion, and then Kaddish.
Lilah Tov- Monday, December 23rd at 9:00 PM. Transition peacefully into sleep with this short and meaningful meditation session. We will start with a reading, 18 minutes of meditation, and then a quiet recitation of a portion of the bedtime Shema.
Each session is a way to inject a little bit of peace into your week and will help you feel calm and centered and connected with your community. If you are new to meditation, these sessions can be a gentle introduction to the practice with a Jewish twist. I hope you will join us.
Both sessions can be accessed via Zoom by following the link below:
Join Dean Ross and other board members at Panera in Shrewsbury.
MRT Committee News
Adult Education
The Adult Education Committee develops and organizes programs that encourage adult Jewish learning, with emphasis on culture (music, art, literature, food, film,) Israel, Bible study, spirituality and mysticism, the environment, history and current events, and more.
Please review our 2024-25 calendar year flyer, which is attached below and available on the MRT website. It provides an overview of many adult educational offerings at MRT, including all Adult Education Committee programs. You can access it through our weekly E-blasts and the temple website: monmouthreformtemple.org, by clicking on Adult Jewish Learning, programs and schedules. Hard copies will also be made available to the congregation within the temple lobby.
The Adult Education committee is always seeking new members. We have a Zoom meeting every third Thursday of the month @ 4:00 p.m. We invite you to attend a meeting, join our committee, or register for any of our programs. We encourage you take advantage of these educational opportunities, as you take a step forward on a path of life-long learning.
Please contact one of our co-chairs for any additional information or questions that you may have. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Our engaging MRT Sisterhood offers many activities and programs throughout the year to its members. We are also a member of Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), the umbrella organization of Sisterhoods nationwide. WRJ offers a multitude of educational and social programs to explore and participate in. Feel free to visit http://www.wrj.org to subscribe for updates from WRJ via weekly e-mail.
Sisterhood Judaica Shop
Your MRT Sisterhood Judaica Shop has a selection of beautiful and meaningful gifts for the home, the holidays, special occasions and for the young people in your life.
Below is a catalog showing many of the items we have available. To order any items or visit the shop, contact Racielle Lande hilande0110@gmail.com
Please help us keep our mi shebeirach list current.
If you or a loved one have been included on the Mi shebeirach list and you would like for yours or their name to continue to be read, please let us know as soon as possible so we know to keep the name on the list.
We appreciate your help in keeping the list up to date.
Mi Shebeirach
If you are in need of pastoral care or would like to add a name to our Mi Shebeirach list to be read at Shabbat services, please contact Rabbi Edelman, Cantor Clissold or the temple office.
Please note: Names added to the Mi Shebeirach list will be read aloud during Shabbat Services for two weeks. If you would like to continue to have the name read, you must recontact the temple at the end of the two week period. As always, when you attend Shabbat services, you are welcome to announce the name of a loved one in need of healing.
Yahrzeits
May our loved ones’ memories forever be a blessing
The names of your loved ones will be read during Shabbat services for Yahrzeit, Shiva & Shloshim.
Names to be read on Friday, December 20, 2024
Shabbat Service at 6:00 PM
Emanuel Barouch, Raymond Becker, Frank Bouju, Marc Fertik, Harry Field, Martin Gale, *George Glasser, *Bobbie Goldstein, Molly Gurevitz, Sylvia Katz, *Richard Klein, Edward Klein, *David Lane, Herbert Leifman, David Lewis, *Nettie Morse, Clara Newman, Ace A. Orange, *Ida Reisner, Samuel Rivkin, *Bette Halpern Schmelzle, *Lois Baker Smith, *Herbert Tanzman, *Beth Tanzman, *Ann Weissman
Names to be read on Friday, December 27, 2024
Shabbat Service at 5:30 PM
*Samuel Avrin, *Goldie Bialy, Rachel Brandel, *Mortimer Brandwene, *Michael Brightman, Selma Burdas, *Leonard Gettelson, *Edith R. Ginzburg, Irving Hoffman, Collette Katz, Ann Klatsky Kobrin, *Esther Komar, *Joseph Lansky, Judith Lissy, Herman Pernick, *Hyman Reisner, Howard Semer, Gertrude Snyder, Jeffrey Stark, Harry Swersky, Sam Weshnak
*Names with an asterisk have memorial plaques. To order a memorial plaque, please email or call Jordana in the MRT office. Purchasing a plaque ensures that Kaddish will be said, in perpetuity, at temple services during the week of the anniversary of that person’s death.
OFFICE HOURS :
Monday-Wednesday: 10 am – 4 pm
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 10 am – 2 pm
Our clergy and staff are always available to you. Please contact anyone with their information below.
We strive for a “No Conflict” schedule here at MRT. Please contact the office before scheduling any temple events. This way, each event will be on the calendar, and we can all participate in them.
When making payments or donations to MRT, please consider using PayPal in lieu of checks. It’s a safe, easy way to send money.
Simply go to the donation page of our website (https://monmouthreformtemple.org/donate/) and follow the instructions. Don’t forget to include the reason for your payment by clicking “Add a Note” once you are logged onto PayPal. Thank you!
