Dear Friends,
This past year has been one of the most difficult periods in recent Jewish history. The ferocious attack on Israel on Simchas Torah 5784 and the war in its aftermath have turned our world upside-down, and galvanized us as a broader Jewish family. In light of the threat being faced both in Israel and abroad, it is more important than ever for us to find opportunities to grow together, in solidarity.
In that spirit, we’d like to encourage you to participate in a communal learning initiative that will begin on Rosh Hashanah and conclude on Shmini Atzeres. The goal is to complete Shas Mishnayos as well as Chamisha Chumshei Torah and Sefer Yehoshua in memory of all those tragically murdered on that fateful day.
The learning has been divided up between Ahavas Achim, Ahavas Yisrael, Etz Ahaim, Ohav Emeth, Ohr Torah, and Young Israel of East Brunswick,. Each shul will complete one Seder of Mishnayos, one book from Tanach, and will make their own siyum on Shemini Atzeres.
Sign up at the link below:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qHm3P6uA1P6PctTIOSXklS0Fx-VQCEUOXCHfz0T-WrQ/edit?usp=sharing
We hope that our communal learning initiative will serve as an Iluy for the Neshamos of those who were tragically taken from us and a meaningful way to honor their memories. May our learning also serve as a Tefilla to Hashem to bring victory to Am Yisrael and the safe return of the hostages.
Rabbi Yehoshua Hess
Rabbi Gedaliah Jaffe
Rabbi Eliyahu Kaufman
Rabbi Sariel Malitzky
Rabbi Steven Miodownik
Rabbi Eliyahu Tal
Selichot Services Starting September 5, 2024
Seleichot Services will start on Thursday, September 5 and will go through to Yom Kippur. Selichot will start on Weekdays at 5:50am followed by Shacharit at 6:30pm. Selichot on Sunday is at 7:15am followed by Shacharit at 8:00am.
Licensed for use under SquareSpace via Unsplashed
Kiddush Volunteers Needed
Etz Ahaim’s Kiddush is a time for getting together and connecting with friends. It’s a way of introducing new people to Etz Ahaim in a relaxed atmosphere. It is a way we represent ourselves to the rest of the Jewish community.
However, the Kiddush doesn’t appear magically, it takes volunteers to set it up, to do clean up, to do shopping and planning. We need your help.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take hours of planning and executing. However, we do need people who can setup the tables before Shabbat, to help plate and put food on the tables, and to clean up. It takes about an hour or two of your time each week, and the more people who volunteer, the less time each of us have to commit to make sure Etz Ahaim has the most wonderful kiddushes in town.
Please volunteer. We’d really appreciate it if you can pick up a few items while shopping, or stay afterwards to toss a few things in the trash and wipe down tables. Or, help us setup before the Kiddush. And the more volunteers, the less time and effort each of us has to do.
So please sign up below. And thank you for taking your time to make Etz Ahaim a better place.
Tomchei Shabbos Emergency Appeal
Tomchei Shabbos needs your help! In recent weeks, there has been a significant increase in the number of families seeking assistance from Tomchei Shabbos.
They need your help to ensure that Tomchei Shabbos can continue to provide the vital support that these families in our community depend on.
Please visit: http://www.tomcheimc.org to donate or click on the button below.
Purchase your High Holiday Seats 2024
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are around the corner, and it's time to purchase your high holiday seats. Click below to download the form. This form must be filled in and seats paid for by August 26, 2024.
You may purchase your high holiday seats directly from our webpage, or download the paper form and mail it in or return it to Congregation Etz Ahaim with your payment.
Members must be current in their dues as of August 2024 to receive a seat assignment
NOTE: We never want to let financial considerations prevent anyone from attending. If you need financial help to pay for High Holiday seats, contact President Ray Morris at 732-985-5648 evening or 732-744-4403 daytime.
Steve Snodgrass, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cutting or Trimming Your Hair During the Three Weeks
May a person cut or trim their hair during the Three Weeks?.
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Gunnar Bach Pedersen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Laws of the Three Weeks
The Three Weeks lasts from the fast on the 17th of Tammuz (Shiva Asar B'Tammuz) and end on the end of the 9th day of Av (The fast of Tisha B'Av).
Read MoreSunday Breakfast is Back
Immage from Unsplace via SquareSpace License.
An Update on the Status of Jerusalem Pizza and China Lee
When Jerusalem Pizza and China Lee burned down, we didn’t just lose a couple of restaurants, but a community center. After months of waiting, we finally have some news about rebuilding.
Mazel Tov to our members Shalom and Yardena Cohen. May you rebuild stronger and better than before.
Support the Highland Park/Edison/New Brunswick Eruv
Image what life would be without the Edison/Highland Park Eruv. Here’s an article from the December 17, 1978 New York Times describing what life was like:
When Mrs. Irwin Asher moved to nearby Edison a little more than a year ago, she found it difficult to make friends.
The primary time for socializing was Saturday, and for the last seven years Mrs. Asher had spent her Saturdays at home with her children. It wasn't just that Mrs. Asher was a doting mother; she simply was observing the restrictions of the Jewish Sabbath.
There could be no wheeling baby carriages, no carrying sefarim or talits, no visiting the sick in hospitals, no bringing food over for Shabbat. We are use to the eruv, and the fact that it has never been down in over seven years. This includes Friday, July 5, 2019 when we spotted a message on a Facebook group that somone noticed the eruv was down. The eruv was back up by noon that very day and once again up by the time Shabbat came.
However, maintaining the eruv does cost money, and every year, the Eruv Committee raises money from the members of the various Orthodox congregations who benefit from it. Now it’s Etz Ahaim’s turn to fund raise.
We are asking everyone who benefits from our eruv to contribute $36 to help maintain it. This works out to a mere 70¢ every Shabbat. These funds help with repairs, expansion, insurance, etc. This also includes are webpage, and a whole technology behind it to keep everyone informed about the eruv’s status. Not one penny goes to the various volunteers who check the ten miles of eruv every week, and whose vigilance helps keep it up.
Please click on the button below (or go to https://etzahaim.org/news/eruv-2024) and contribute $36 or.whatever you can afford to help keep the eruv up and running.
P.S. For those who do not know, we have multiple ways of informing you of the status of the eruv. You can get our Mastodon updates pushed to your phone. You can get Facebook updates from our Facebook page, or you can subscribe to our email list and get emails every Friday once we’ve determined the Eruv’s status. Go to our webpage at https://hperuv.org for more information where we display the latest status. And if you’re old fashion, you can also call the Eruv Hotline at tel:732-487-ERUV for the latest updates.
Do you know that most people who are looking to move to Highland Park first search to see whether Highland Park has an eruv? Because of this, we keep a lot of information about the Raritan Valley community on our webpage. Come take a look!