March 9, 2007– Adar 20, 5767

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

Send your friends and relatives the gift of Jewish awareness -- a Shabbat-O-Gram each week, by signing them up at www.tbe.org. To be removed from this mailing list, sent e-mail request to office@tbe.org. If you have signed up and are not receiving our e-mails, check your spam filter to make sure that TBE is not being “spammed out.”

Contents of the Shabbat O Gram:

(Click to scroll down)

Just the Facts (service schedule)

The (Occasionally) Ranting Rabbi

Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities

Ask the Rabbi

Spiritual Journey on the Web

The Beth El Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary (new)

Required Reading and Action Items (links to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)

Announcements (goings on in and around TBE)

TBE Youth Programming

Joke for the Week

Purim at TBE

Check out www.tbe.org for many more Purim photos,

plus our extensive library of photo albums,

articles, sermons, info about the temple,

Shabbat-O-Grams and links to the Jewish world.

Quote for the Week

“Kashrut is a tool in the arsenal of civilizing humanity

toward gentleness, empathy, and restraint.”

-- Rabbi Brad Artson

JUST THE FACTS

Remember to turn the clocks one hour ahead on Saturday night

Candle lighting: 5:36 pm on Friday, 9 March 2007. For candle lighting times, Havdalah times, other Jewish calendar information, and to download a Jewish calendar to your PDA, click on http://www.hebcal.com/. To see the festivals of other faiths as well, go to http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/. The United Synagogue has updated its candlelighting information. To learn more, click here.

SHABBAT UNPLUGGED

Friday, March 9 at 7:30 PM

Followed by a Sit-Down Oneg and Rebbe’s Tish

A special Tot Shabbat will also be held at 7:30

AND SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR NEXT SYNAPLEX SHABBAT

APRIL 7

THE THEME OF THIS DAY-LONG PROGRAM WILL BE

“MATZAH AND MITZVAH: JEWISH JOURNEYS”

FEATURING JOURNEYS OF A LIFETIME …AND BEYOND

DARFUR, HOLOCAUST, INSTANT YIDDISH, MIRACLES AND LIFE EVERLASTING,

ADULT BAT MITZVAH REUNION FROM 1989,

NO-HATE-BUT-HARMONY,

NESHAMA YOGA, MIND-BODY-SPIRIT BIKE RIDE, AND GOOD PASSOVER FOOD!

LEARNER’S, TRADITIONAL AND MEDITATIVE SERVICE

SESSIONS ON

“THE ETHICS OF EATING,” NUTRITION, KEEPING KIDS HEALTHY,

RAISING YOUR ADULT CHILD

COLLEGE-TALK FOR TEENS, CHESS, TOUCH FOOTBALL

A CHOCOLATE SEDER FOR THE KIDS!

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!

Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM – Mazal Tov to KIRA SMITH, WHO BECOMES bAT MITZVAH THIS SHABBAT MORNING

Children’s Services: 10:30 AM

Our Torah Portion for Shabbat Morning

Parashat Ki Tissa – Shabbat Parah

Exodus 30:11 - 34:35

1: 33:12-16
2: 33:17-23
3: 34:1-9
4: 34:10-17
5: 34:18-21
6: 34:22-26
7: 34:27-35

Maftir: Numbers 19:1 - 19:22 (special maftir)

Haftarah (Shabbat Parah): Ezekiel 36:16 - 36:38

If you liked Storahtelling, you’ll LOVE Storahtelling’s new weekly blog about the Torah portion Find it at http://storahtelling.blogspot.com/. ORT Navigating the Bible; Rashi in English; BibleGateway: Useful for comparing different translations: Note- this is a Christian site.
What’s Bothering Rashi (Bonchek) Each week, one example from the parashah is deconstructed. See a weekly commentary from the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, at www.ujc.org/mekorchaim. Read the Masorti commentary at http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp. University of Judaism, JTS commentary is at: http://www.jtsa.edu/community/parashah/. USCJ Torah Sparks can be found at: http://www.uscj.org/Torah_Sparks5689.html UAHC Shabbat Table Talk discussions are at http://urj.org/torah/index.cfm Other divrei Torah via the Torahnet home page: http://uahcweb.org/torahnet/. Test your Parasha I.Q.: http://www.ou.org/jewishiq/parsha/default.htm. CLAL’s Torah commentary archive: http://click.topica.com/maaaiRtaaRvQhbV2AtLb/. World Zionist Organization Education page, including Nehama Liebowitz archives of parsha commentaries: http://www.moreshet.net/web/index.asp?f=1 For a more Kabbalistic/Zionist/Orthodox perspective from Rav Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Israel, go to http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/index.html. For some probing questions and meditations on key verses of the portion, with a liberal kabbalistic bent, go to http://www.jewishealing.com/learning.html or, for Kabbalistic commentaries from the Zohar itself, go to http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/weekly/intro. Also, try http://home.utah.edu/~rfs4/jkmfc.htm. To see the weekly commentary from Hillel, geared to college students and others, go to http://www.hillel.org/hillel/NewHille.nsf/FCB8259CA861AE57852567D30043BA26/DF7D129F15B3DF0885256AB80058E9C3?OpenDocument. For a Jewish Renewal and feminist approach go to http://rabbishefagold.hypermart.net/Torah1.html . For a comprehensive Orthodox viewpoint from the Israeli rabbi, Yaakov Fogelman, go to the Torah Outreach Program at http://israelvisit.co.il/top/previous.shtml. Guided meditations for each portion by Judith Abrams at http://www.maqom.com/kavannah.pdf For online Parsha quizzes from Pardes in Israel, go to http://www.pardes.org.il/online_learning/parsha_quizzes/ Torah for Kids: http://www.torah4kids.net/ Weekly Lesson of Popular Israeli Rabbi Mordechai Elon: http://www.elon.org/archives/archives.htm - and his parsha sheets: http://www.mibereshit.org/special/download_eng_pdf.htm From Bar Ilan University: http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/; http://www.torahproductions.com/weekly_article.jsp

THE ENTIRE HEBREW BIBLE (AS WELL AS OTHER JEWISH SOURCES) CAN BE FOUND WITH SIDE-BY-SIDE TRANSLATION AT http://www.mechon-mamre.org/

100 Blessings: Download information about the grace after meals (see Birkat Ha-mazon explained in Wikipedia and in the Jewish Virtual Library) The actual prayer can be downloaded at Birkat Hamazon [pdf]

Morning Minyan

7:30 Weekdays, 9:30 Sundays

TO ENSURE A “GUARANTEED MINYAN” FOR THE DAY OF YOUR YAHRZEIT – GO TO THE ROSNER MINYAN MAKER AT WWW.TBE.ORG AND ALSO CONTACT ME AT RABBI@TBE.ORG.

We’ve had several people coming lately who are saying kaddish following recent deaths in the family. We want to make sure we have a minyan each day. Your presence any morning is greatly appreciated!

Winter Weather Advisory

Note that in the case of bad weather, weekday minyan does not take place when Stamford public schools are cancelled OR delayed. On Sunday, minyan is cancelled if our Religious School sessions are cancelled. Friday evening and Shabbat morning’s main service is never officially cancelled, but use your best judgment in deciding whether to come. We will endeavor to get proper notification to WSTC radio regarding cancellations, but that may not always be possible for children’s services held on Shabbat.

The

(occasionally)

Ranting Rabbi

Below is my column from this week’s Jewish Week, focusing on this weekend’s early shift to daylight savings time

http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=5786

Saving Daylight

By Joshua Hammerman

On Sunday, March 11, Hebrew school students nationwide will file into class, either more cantankerous and exhausted than ever — or an hour late. That’s because this year, for the first time, daylight savings time will begin on the second Sunday of March.

Since 1986, we’ve sprung forward an hour on the first Sunday of April, but two years ago the federal government decided that we needed one month more of DST. Even normally impetuous Israelis will be waiting until March 29 to spring forward. This year we’re the ones jumping the gun, much to the chagrin of airline pilots, computer programmers, parish ministers and Hebrew school teachers, all of whom stand to suffer from this sudden clock-shock, this mini Y2K.

Advocates claim that we’ll save up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day by being less reliant on light bulbs during working hours. But really, when’s the last time we had a 9-to-5 workday? That’s so 20th century! In an era of 24/7, with filled pre-dawn commuter trains and midnight teleconferences to Hong Kong, are we really saving anything? The shift was, I suspect, a bone thrown to environmentalists, buried in a 2005 energy bill granting tax breaks to Big Oil. Little did they know how this little, obscure add-on would wreak havoc on bar mitzvah schedules nationwide.

Didn’t Congress realize that these cherished dates are often assigned sometime around the time of baby’s first step? Don’t they understand how difficult it is to determine that precise moment when Shabbat ends, that instant when both the Havdalah candle and Bunsen burner can be lit, filling the air with the mixed aroma of sweet spices and bite-size cocktail franks? With receptions thrown off schedule, how many Shabbat-observant relatives will now be forced to wait an ungodly extra hour for the sun to set in Syosset before making that mouthwatering pilgrimage to Leonards of Great Neck?

While I’ve never been a big fan of Shabbat afternoon bar mitzvahs, we do them occasionally to alleviate the morning glut. It just so happens that my congregation has three planned for this March. It’s not easy to explain to exasperated parents how it is beyond my rabbinic power to make the sky darken on demand. The biblical Joshua could make the sun stand still, but this one can’t even perform the cheap trick of making three stars appear an hour early.

Joe Lieberman, where were you when we needed you to explain to your colleagues the complexity of Jewish time?

Did Congress realize that my brief window to enjoy a Saturday night dinner and a movie has now been narrowed considerably? Do they understand that, with 7 o’clock Friday night candle lighting times in mid-March, my internal biorhythmic clock will now expect summer to begin before Mothers Day?

I yearn for the good old days, pre-1986 (except for the mid ‘70s energy crisis years), when DST began at the end of April. The Passovers of my childhood usually ended early enough for us to be able to go out for the traditional P.P.P. (Post Pesach Pizza) after it got dark. Even post ’86, there were years when Passover would begin in March and therefore before the clocks change. No longer. Instead, we are condemned to begin the holiday at an hour when the youngest child is more likely to be counting sheep than cups, plagues and questions.

The extension of daylight time may even have cosmic implications, throwing off Elijah’s timing; he may begin to question his ability to handle that sip of wine from every seder table. The prophet Malachi assures us that Elijah will “turn the hearts of parents to their children and children to their parents.” Well, Elijah now has his hands full, what with parents trying to placate hungry children while waiting for the sun to set so the seder can begin.

Were you thinking about that, Congress?

I am writing this on the day that I turn 50. At no time in my life have I had a keener awareness of my growing need for daylight. I recently marked that peculiar rite of passage where I strategically placed a pair of reading glasses in every room of the house. Last fall, for the first time ever, I didn’t grimace when a wedding videographer asked my permission to set up extra lighting for the ceremony. Not only did I give the OK to those intrusive, obnoxious beams, I positioned one over my right shoulder so I could read the fine print on the Ketubah. So I should be exulting that now there will be one more hour of light.

But my birthday triggered this reflection: Perhaps this premature daylight savings has little to do with preserving energy and everything to do with saving daylight. I’ve always been a baby boom baby, born at the tail end of the postwar population explosion. While I am beginning to sense my mortality big-time, millions of older boomers must really be getting worried about their own darkening shadows. And these are precisely the people who now sit in Congress, the ones who voted to move up DST two years ago. They voted to delay that moment each day when they have to reach for their glasses.

Dylan Thomas’ classic poem now rings true for more people than ever before.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Our instinctive rage against the dying light is being played out on an economic and political stage, with grave consequences to caterers and 13-year-olds. Maybe it is time to stop raging for a moment. We can’t cheat Father Time by delaying night for one hour. If we would choose rather to convert our waning physical light into regenerative spiritual luminosity, we just might save much more than a few barrels of oil.

A Shabbat-O-Gram Exclusive

Just Back from Israel…

Our Beth El BCDS 8^th Graders recently returned from a three week stay in Israel. Here is one more report, exclusively written for the Shabbat-O-Gram.

I just returned from the best trip ever! I have returned from across the ocean from Israel. I have learned a lot in the past few weeks, especially, that friends are everywhere, waiting to be found. It was the best trip I have been on, in my nine years at BCDS. The Kotel was amazing as was its tunnels. We walked the entire Western Wall and left notes for family and friends in the Wall. The food was unique! My favorite food was the fantastic, delicious, chocolate, ice cream and yogurt. The Ruth Rimonim Hotel in Tzfat was amazing; the neighborhood was very religious but it had a very special atmosphere. It was Shabbat when we were in Tzfat and there it was a calm and peaceful setting – people danced in the Shul in Tzfat. I am very tired now that I am home , (jet lag), but I will always treasure the people and places I have seen. I want to learn to speak fluent Hebrew. I felt safer in Israel than in the United States. I loved Israel!

Mollie Steinmetz

Iran on the Mind

You can’t blame Israelis for being fixated on the Iranian nuclear threat. I see it constantly on Israeli TV and in the press. It also comes through in the popular culture – a typically Israeli – and Jewish attempt – to combat despair with humor, defiance and chutzpah. It was probably the Purim experience that spawned the expression, “gallows humor.”

You may have seen the New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/world/middleeast/02cnd-israel.html?_r=3D1&hp&oref=3Dslogin)

about Israel’s controversial newest entry into the upcoming Eurovision song festival. Here's a link to the song by Teapacks: “Push the Button” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DwpWYFoSrmRA. Read the song’s lyrics.

Let me know what you think.

Do You Jewish-Stamford Yahoo?

The following article about Jewish Stamford appeared in last week's Jewish Ledger. http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2007/03/01/news/news13.txt

There are close to 800 members in this group, but we have many friends in the area who are not yet signed up for the group, but who could benefit from being part of Jewish Stamford.  The more people that sign up for the group, the more useful it will be to everyone. 

You can click on to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JewishStamford/, and follow instructions for signing up.  Do it today!

Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunties

 
Beth El Cares
 
Cathy Satz (968-9191; csscounsel@yahoo.com)
Cheryl Wolff (968-6361; cwolff@optonline.net)
BETH EL CARES co-chairs

Click here to tell your Member of Congress to maintain the current economic and diplomatic sanctions against Iran!

Free Them Now

Ehud Goldwasser Eldad Regev Gilad Schalit

Kidnapped Israeli Soldiers

• Click for more information

• Sign the petition at www.freethesoldiers.org

Pre-Passover Hametz Food Collection

As you clean your cupboards in preparation for Passover, please consider donating unopened boxes, bags and cans of hametz to a local food pantry. For your convenience, you can deposit those items in a box outside the Helen Golin Gift Shop, from March 22^nd to 28^th. We will then deliver the food to a local food pantry. Check your e-mail for more information.

 
Mitzvah Project – Dog-related Items
 

LINDY FRUITHANDLER WILL BECOME BAT MITZVAH ON MARCH 17.

PLEASE READ THIS NOTE FROM HER REGARDING HER MITZVAH PROJECT:

For my mitzvah project I am helping Adopt-A-Dog, a volunteer organization in Greenwich, CT, which helps find good, safe homes for homeless animals.  They have found homes for many Katrina dogs that lost their families in the hurricane.  To help them, I am donating money I have raised, and collecting dog-related items such as toys, collars, bones, and leashes; and cat-related items such as toys, collars, and catnip.  Any crates that your dog or cat no longer use would be greatly appreciated by Adopt-A-Dog   You do not have to be  dog or cat owner to help - Adopt-A-Dog also needs new or used blankets, pillows, soft table cloths, and really anything else that the animals can sleep on.  I can collect some of these items myself, but I need your help to collect enough needed items to make a big difference.

I will have a collection box out in the Hebrew School entrance at the temple for any donations. For any items that are too big for the box, please contact me and we will come pick them up at your home.  

You can also help Adopt-A-Dog by saving "Weight Circles" from Purina Brand Dog Food.  Adopt-A-Dog receives 8 cents for every pound of weight circles sent in to Purina.  Adopt-A-Dog buys 1,000 pounds of dog food every month!  Each label that you clip and donate from a 20 lb. bag gives them $1.60 towards their food bill.  A 50 lb. bag label means $4.00 in meals for their pooches.  Trust me, it adds up!  Please clip the labels off the side of each bag you buy and place them in the envelope attached to the collection box.

On behalf of all the homeless dogs and cats at Adopt-A-Dog, thanks so much for your help! 

Lindy Fruithandler

lindysbatmitzvah@yahoo.com

322-4712

To check out Adopt-A-Dog for yourself, please visit their website at www.adoptadog.org.

What is Shabbat Parah?

On the Shabbat after Purim, two Torah Scrolls are removed from the Ark. The Sidrah of the week is read from the first, and from the second, the chapter of Parah Adumah, the Red Cow (or Red Heifer), is read. It gives the procedure through which people can purify themselves from the contamination caused by a human corpse.

The reading of this chapter was instituted for this time of the year because Jews were required to purify themselves before coming to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festival of Passover.

The Haftarah read on the Sabbath of Parashat Parah contains the verse, "And I shall sprinkle pure water upon you, that you be cleansed. From all your contamination and from all your filth I will cleanse you" (Ezekiel 36:25). There are other parallels in the Haftarah between the concepts of sin represented by contamination, and atonement represented by purity.

SOME FASCINATING SITES TO EXPLORE

A wealth of Passover material for your Seder!

http://www.jewishfreeware.org/downloads/folder.2006-01-07.0640323187/

A slew of vintage Yiddish and Hebrew music – this site is a real gold mine

http://ethnic.doctorjoe.net/

A new site giving “reviewing” different synagogues

http://www.shulshopper.com/

A fascinating exploration of Ultra-Orthodoxy and the Internet:

“Blogging and the Hasidic Life”

http://www.shma.com/feb_07/online_diaries.htm

See also these fascinating blogs:

www.sitra-achra.blogspot.com

“A Hasid and a Heretic” - www.hassid.blogspot.com

“Hasidic Rebel” www.hasidicrebel.blogspot.com

and “Shiagetz” www.theshaigetz.blogspot.com

Jewish and Israeli Links:

A great resource on all things Jewish: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/news.html

The best Jewish site for Jewish learning: www.myjewishlearning.com

THE MOTHERLODE OF ISRAEL-RELATED LINKS: http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00kj0

Israel Defense Force, http://www.idf.il/
Israel Government Gateway, links to Government Ministries, www.info.gov.il/eng
Israel Knesset, http://www.knesset.gov.il/
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/
Israel Prime Minister’s Office, http://www.pmo.gov.il/
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, www.cbs.gov.il/engindex.htm
Israel Tourism Ministry, North America, http://www.goisrael.com/
Buy Israeli Products, http://www.israelexport.org/, http://www.shopinisrael.com/,
http://www.finefoodsisrael.com/
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, www.tau.ac.il/jcss
Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, http://www.besacenter.org/
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, http://www.jcpa.org/
One Jerusalem, http://www.onejerusalem.org/
Twenty Facts about Israel
Myths & Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Jerusalem Archaeological Park, http://www.archpark.org.il/

USA:

Israel Info Center – Israel Activism Portal, www.israelinfocenter.com/
US White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/
US State Department, http://www.state.gov/
US Senate, http://www.senate.gov/
US House of Representatives, http://www.house.gov/
THOMAS (search for US Legislation), thomas.loc.gov
United Nations Watch, http://www.unwatch.org/
Embassy of Israel – Washington, D.C., http://www.embassyofisrael.org/

Media-Related Links:

CAMERA, www.camera.org

Jerusalem Post, http://www.jpost.com/
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, http://www.jta.org/
Ha’aretz English Edition: www.haaretz.com

HonestReporting.com, http://www.honestreporting.com/
Independent Media Review and Analysis, http://www.imra.org.il/
Middle East Media Research Institue (MEMRI), http://www.memri.org/
Palestinian Media Watch, http://www.pmw.org.il/
Israel Insider, http://www.israelinsider.com/
Jewish World Review, http://www.jewishworldreview.com/
America’s Voices in Israel, http://www.americasvoices.net/
@The Source Israel, http://www.thesourceisrael.com/

Other Jewish Sites

Data JEM – an GEM for Jewish Education! Database for  Jewish educational materials: http://www.datajem.com/visitor/IntroPage.asp

The best Jewish kids’ site on the Web is http://www.babaganewz.com/ , with games, virtual tours and “J-Pod” downloads, kids of all ages will LOVE it.

Another superb educational site is http://www.myjewishlearning.com/ -- you can be a self-taught “maven” on all things Jewish!

A Jewish Guide to the Internet: http://www.uscj.org/metny/bellmobj/jnet2.htm

On Jewish Vegetarianism and Animal Rights: http://jewishveg.com/schwartz/ (hey, you KNEW I’d put this one in)

How many Jewish hockey players are there? (None right now…there’s a lockout). Find out at http://www.jewishsports.com/

Glossary of Yiddish Expressions: http://www.ariga.com/yiddish.shtml  )Please be patient, this page is farshtopt with information)

You can find an online Hebrew dictionary at http://milon.morfix.co.il/

Nice Jewish parenting site http://jewishfamily.com/

http://www.jewishgates.com/main.asp  Jewish Gates is an amazing site, filled with material on Jewish history, ritual and culture.

Go straight to the linked index at http://www.jewishgates.com/fullindex.asp and go to town!

http://www.zipple.com/  The Jewish Super Site; a similar site is http://www.maven.co.il/ and my personal all-time favorite,

http://shamash.org/trb/judaism.html

The sourcebook for Jewish history (all periods) can be found at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html

Online Texts Related to Jewish History. All the primary sources “fit to print.”

Israel Campus Beat – to get all the latest information on Israel relevant to students on college campuses

The Beth El Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary

Excerpts from Haley Erskine’s Speech on Parashat Tetzaveh

When I was assigned this portion many months ago little did I know how perfect it would be for me. It’s not just because my brothers and I have all become bar and bat mitzvah at the time of a Jewish holiday. It’s because my portion, T’tzavveh, is all about fashion.

The portion describes the wardrobe of the priests. I can really relate to their bold fashion statements. Their fashions were filled with bright colors like blue and purple and gold and crimson. Their accessories included bold touches like a robe, fringed tunic, headdress and sash. One commentator of the Torah says that ever since God made garments for Adam & Eve, the way we dress has been a special way of expressing who we truly are.

Tonight, Jews throughout the world will dress up creatively to celebrate Purim. Many will wear masks. Ironically, even though the mask hides your face, it helps you to express the creativity of your inner self & your uniqueness.

Just like the priests, I feel like I have always tried to be a step ahead in my fashion statements. I even bought this dress at a store, called “A Step Ahead.” I also like bright colors, and those of you wearing my hot pink yarmulkes probably know that. I guess it’s fitting that as a trend setter, I am the first to become Bat Mitzvah in my class. In fact, I even got married a few weeks ago, as my Hebrew school class had a mock wedding. I designed and made my own invitations for my Bat Mitzvah and redecorate my room at least once a month. This past May, I was not just a trend setter, but also a pace setter. I raised the third greatest amount of money of any individual at the Connecticut Walk Against Hunger. I will be doing it again as part of my mitzvah project.

Now that I have become Bat Mitzvah, I need to put my talents to good use. I would like to offer my room decorating skills to the temple in remodeling the sanctuary. I’ve often sat here during services thinking about how I would redecorate the sanctuary if I had the chance. And so here is what I would advise for my extreme TBE makeover.

First, I would do all the seats over in gold like what the priests wore. We also need lots more flowers in and around this room. It’s a good thing that our Hebrew school class planted one thousand bulbs in our Holocaust Memorial Garden outside the windows. The carpet is something else I might change if given the chance. I would prefer to see something a little more colorful to keep everyone awake during my really long haftarah.

Seriously, though if we did change it I would really miss the old place. I have been coming here since my baby naming so in a sense I grew up here. Maybe it’s better for some things not to change so often. After all, the fashions of the priests may be really bold, but they haven’t changed in three thousand years.

Some GOOD NEWS from Israel 21c, www.isrealli.org,

and other sources

Poll: More Americans Are Pro-Israel (Jerusalem Post)
    Americans are more pro-Israel today than they were 10 and 20 years ago, according to a February Gallup poll.
    Averaging all polls conducted from 1993-1999 and comparing these with all polls conducted since 2000, Gallup trends show that the average level of sympathy for Israelis rose from 41% to 53%, while the average sympathy for Palestinians rose from 13% to 16%.
      The percentage of Americans who are impartial regarding the Israeli-Palestinian dispute has decreased. Only 22% are impartial, compared with 30% two years ago and 43% 14 years ago.
    As Americans have moved out of the "no preference" column, they have moved disproportionately into the pro-Israel column.

An Israeli lesson in animation
Get out your sketch pad! Israeli start-up AniBOOM has created a video-sharing Internet site for user-generated Flash animation videos. The unique site enables amateur and professional animators around the world to post their content on site and share advertising revenues. AniBOOM has already held two successful international animation competitions attracting an impressive panel of judges, and more than 2,000 participants. By providing a wealth of tools and social networking elements, the company's vision is to challenge the existing studios, and create new TV, cellular, and PC game content using independent international animators.  More...

Profiles | An Israeli energy bar just like Grandma used to make
When Yoav Almazag's acting school teachers told him he should look for another profession, the young Israeli hit upon the unlikely idea of making and selling the date rolls his Moroccan grandmother used to prepare for him when he was a child. He started out modestly, marketing the traditional delicacy to neighborhood groceries, but business soon took off. Today Grandma Mesadi's date and nut treat has become one of the most successful energy bars in Israel, selling widely to cyclists, sports enthusiasts and just about anyone who like a healthy snack. Now a US food chain is poised to sign an agreement with Almazag, and his Energy Treats are expected to reach American shelves shortly. More...

Technology | Israeli rescue device promises a 'safe exit' from world's high-rises
Ever since 9/11, one of the main worries for rescue personnel is how to get people out of a skyscraper in an emergency if traditional exits are blocked. Now an Israeli company, SAFEXIT, has come up with the answer - a controlled descent device that looks like slip-on overalls, and helps you escape from the outside of a building at a rate of 3.3 feet per second. The system, developed by a specialist from Israel's anti-terrorism unit, can be retrofitted into new or existing buildings. The first shipment is on its way to the US, and installations - including one in the state government offices of Philadelphia - will begin in the coming months. More...

Health | Israeli lab therapy treats melanoma with the plasma of autoimmune disease patients
Melanoma is the least common but the most deadly skin cancer, accounting for only about 4% of all cases, but 79% of skin cancer deaths in the US. With current treatments causing severe side effects and effective only 10-20% of the time, the innovation of Israeli startup GammaCan is garnering interest from the medical world. Based on a discovery by noted immunologist Prof. Yehuda Shoenfeld, their therapy called VitiGam is manufactured from the plasma of patients suffering from vitiligo, a benign autoimmune skin condition that destroys the pigment in a person's skin. Shoenfeld determined that VitiGam prompts potent anti-melanoma activity in both in vitro and lab mice melanoma models. GammaCan is now planning clinical trials in the US, Israel and Europe. More...

Profiles | Altering the future of Israeli Arab women - one at a time
Kiram Baloum is an Israeli Arab woman from Taibe who's determined to change the society in which she lives. As the director of the Women's Empowerment Unit of the Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development (CJAED), Baloum has helped over 3,000 Arab women set up businesses across Israel. And while her work has been recognized as groundbreaking and she's been named as one of Israel's top 40 women 'making a change in Israeli society', Baloum says her work won't be complete until she's introduced the word 'entrepreneurship' into the lexicon of all Israeli Arab women. More...

now for the rest

Prime source: Daily Alert of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

See also http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672581/k.CB99/Home.htm

IDF Raids PA Security HQ in Ramallah, Arrests 18 Terrorists - Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff
Israel Defense Forces troops raided the Palestinian military headquarters in Ramallah Wednesday and arrested 18 fugitives who had sought shelter there, Palestinian security officials said. Among those taken was Khalil Shilo, a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, who has been on the run since 2000. The fugitives, all allied with Fatah, were involved in shooting attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers, as well as attempted kidnappings, the army said. (Ha'aretz)

Israeli Poll: Talk with Palestinians Only After Quartet's Conditions Fulfilled - Ephraim Yaar and Tamar Hermann
According to Tel Aviv University's Peace Index survey of Feb. 26-27, 2007, 56% of the Jewish public sees it as impossible to reach a settlement with the PA government based on the principle of two states for two peoples, compared to 40% who think it is possible. 83% say the Israeli government should not recognize the Palestinian unity government or negotiate with it as long as it does not recognize Israel and fulfill the Quartet's conditions, especially in regard to fighting terror. 82% believe Iran's nuclear armament constitutes an existential danger to Israel. Only about one-fifth favor a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights. (Ha'aretz)

Israel, Saudi Arabia Explore Changing Saudi Peace Plan - Leslie Susser
The Saudis have quietly been exchanging ideas with Israeli leaders on changes in the 2002 Saudi peace plan that would make it more palatable to Israel. The main sticking point for Israel is the Saudi plan's prescription that would give Palestinian refugees a right to return to Israel proper, which virtually all Israelis see as shorthand for the destruction of the Jewish state through a demographic onslaught. In the secret talks with Prince Bandar, Israel has made it clear that the refugee option is totally unacceptable. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni argues that in the context of a two-state solution, it's logical that Palestinian refugees would return to a Palestinian state, not Israel. According to unconfirmed Israeli press reports, Saudi King Abdullah has ordered an appropriate change in the text to give re fugees a choice: either to return to the Palestinian state or stay where they are - in Jordan, Lebanon or Syria - and receive financial compensation. (JTA)

The Silence That Kills - Thomas L. Friedman
Nobody in the Arab world ''has the guts to say that what is happening in Iraq is wrong - that killing school kids is wrong,'' said Mamoun Fandy, director of the Middle East program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. ''People somehow think that killing Iraqis is good because it will stick it to the Americans, so Arabs are undermining the American project in Iraq by killing themselves.'' The world worries about highly enriched uranium, but ''the real danger is highly enriched Islam,'' Fandy added. That is, ''highly enriched Sunnism'' and ''highly enriched Shiism'' that eats away at the Muslim state, the way Hizbullah is trying to do in Lebanon or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or al-Qaeda everywhere.
    One result: there's no legitimate, decent, accepted source of Arab-Muslim authority today, no center of gravity ''for people to anchor their souls in,'' Fandy said. In this welter of conf usion, the suicide bombers go uncondemned or subtly extolled. ''The battleground in the Arab world today is not in Palestine or Lebanon, but in the classrooms and newsrooms,'' Fandy concluded. That's where ''the software programmers'' reside who create symbolic images and language glorifying suicide bombers and make their depraved acts look legitimate. (New York Times, 2Mar07)

Iranian Women Arrested in Protests Outside Court - Nazila Fathi (New York Times)
    Iranian authorities arrested 33 women on Sunday after protests outside a court where five of them were being tried for leading a campaign to gain more legal rights for women.
    The five were put on trial after they organized a demonstration for women's rights last June, charged with endangering national security, agitating against the government, and taking part in illegal gatherings.

Council on American Islamic Relations Donating Carter's Anti-Israel Book to U.S. Libraries (LittleGreenFootballs)
    The Council on American Islamic Relations is sending free copies of Jimmy Carter's anti-Israel book to library administrators throughout the U.S.

Palestinians Pull Folk Tales From Schools - Mohammed Daraghmeh and Dalia Nammari (AP/San Francisco Chronicle)
The Hamas-run PA Education Ministry has ordered an anthology of Palestinian folk tales pulled from school libraries, reportedly over mild sexual innuendo, the most direct attempt by the Islamic militants to impose their beliefs on Palestinian society.
    The book ban angered and worried many Palestinians, who have feared that Hamas would remake the Palestinian territories according to its hard-line interpretation of Islam.
    "If we don't stand up to the Islamists now, they won't stop confiscating books, songs and folklore," said West Bank novelist Zakariya Mohammed.

Enough with Despair - Yair Sheleg (Ha'aretz)

• Objectively speaking, the present situation is much better than the difficulties with which our fathers and grandfathers had to deal: the economy is booming. The country's military might is greater than ever before. Even Israel's famous isolation is not what it was. Alongside Israel, against the Iranian threat, there is a covert alliance of most of the moderate Arab states which do not even have the capability of presenting Iran with a "balance of terror."
• If during the 1980s and 1990s there was a feeling that if we merely make the necessary concessions, we could ensure our future in the region, the past few years have severely damaged that security. The strongest threat today comes from a side that does not lay down any conditions for an agreement - it simply wants to annihilate the State of Israel. The Palestinians, too, since the failure of Camp David in 2000, broadcast the message that they prefer to harm Israel rather than build their future.
• There is a constant pall of danger over life. But this is the situation of mankind in general. The vast majority of people do not allow this fact to hamper their joy of life or their ability to stick by the missions they have undertaken. Human decisions are made not only according to the risk involved but also with a life that is worth living, that has significance.
• Alongside the recognition that Israel has not managed to turn into the safest place for the Jewish individual, the Zionist choice is still the most correct choice for someone who wants to live a Jewish life that is worth living - life in the only place where Jews are not a minority fighting for the very survival of their identity.

MYTHS AND FACTS

MYTH #255

"Israel is pursuing a policy of genocide toward the Palestinians that is comparable to the Nazis' treatment of the Jews." [Reprint of #115]

FACT

This is perhaps the most odious claim made by Israel’s detractors. The Nazis’ objective was the systematic extermination of every Jew in Europe. Israel is seeking peace with its Palestinian neighbors. More than one million Arabs live as free and equal citizens in Israel. Of the Palestinians in the territories, 98 percent live under the civil administration of the Palestinian Authority. While Israel sometimes employs harsh measures against Palestinians in the territories to protect Israeli citizens – Jews and non-Jews – from the incessant campaign of terror waged by the PA and Islamic radicals, there is no plan to persecute, exterminate, or expel the Palestinian people.

In response to one such comparison, by a poet who referred to the “Zionist SS,” The New Republic’s literary editor Leon Wieseltier observed:

The view that Zionism is Nazism — there is no other way to understand the phrase “Zionist SS” — is not different in kind from the view that the moon is cheese. It is not only spectacularly wrong, it is also spectacularly unintelligent. I will not offend myself (that would be self-hate speech!) by patiently explaining why the State of Israel is unlike the Third Reich, except to say that nothing that has befallen the Palestinians under Israel’s control may responsibly be compared to what befell the Jews under Germany’s control, and that a considerable number of the people who have toiled diligently to find peace and justice for the Palestinians, and a solution to this savage conflict, have been Israeli, some of them even Israeli prime ministers. There is no support for the Palestinian cause this side of decency that can justify the locution “Zionist SS” (The New Republic, December 30, 2002).

The absurdity of the charge is also clear from the demography of the disputed territories. While detractors make outrageous claims about Israel committing genocide or ethnic cleansing, the Palestinian population has continued to explode. In Gaza, for example, the population increased from 731,000 in July 1994 to 1,324,991 in 2004, an increase of 81 percent. The growth rate was 3.8 percent, one of the highest in the world. According to the UN, the total Palestinian population in all the disputed territories (they include Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem) was 1,006,000 in 1950, 1,094,000 in 1970, and explodedgrew to 2,152,000 in 1990. Anthony Cordesman notes the increase “was the result of improvements in income and health services” made by Israel. The Palestinian population has continued to grow exponentially and was estimated in 2004 at more than 3.6 million (Anthony Cordesman, “From Peace to War: Land for Peace or Settlements for War,” DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, August 15, 2003, pp. 12-13; CIA World Factbook, 2004.).

This article can be found at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths2/HumanrightsIsrael.html#o7

Source: REVISED Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard.

Jesus’ Lost Tomb

From Slate:

The Lost Tomb of Jesus (Discovery Channel). Sunday evening's broadcast of this documentary was perhaps anticlimactic, since the show's aha moments—researchers discover Jesus' tomb in Jerusalem, and he seems to have been married to Mary Magdalene (just like the Da Vinci Code!) and fathered one "Judah, son of Jesus"—had already been digested by countless commentators. (Having James Cameron as one of the producers only added fame to the fire.) Critics are skeptical of the claims, despite the imprimatur of several scholars who confirm—or at least, do not deny—that the tomb could have belonged to Jesus and his family. U.S. News notes wryly, "You pick your scholars, you get your verdicts." The film itself is "enjoyable," writes the New York Times' Alessandra Stanley, "mostly because it is scripted like a cryptology treasure hunt and centered on the Indiana Jones-ish persona of [co-producer] Simcha Jacobovici." And the Boston Globe throws up its hands at the controversy, writing: "[W]e cannot say with absolute certainty that Jesus did not rise from the dead and settle in New Jersey."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070228-jesus-tomb.html Mati Milstein in Jerusalem for National Geographic News The archaeologist who excavated a Jerusalem burial cave featured in a new film is among the experts who have slammed the movie's claim that the cave is the tomb of Jesus, his wife, and their son.

Announcements

» Click here for more information

Passover is just around the corner!

Are you ready???

BOOKS are the perfect gift

for kids & adults of all ages!

Enhance your Seder with a

new Hagaddah!

Join us for the

TBE JEWISH BOOK FAIR

Sunday, March 11th

8:45 AM - 12:30 PM

(downstairs in the social hall)

All students will have a chance to browse during Religious School with their class.

9:10—9:30 3th grade                   10:30—10:50  6th grade

9:30—9:50  4th grade                 10:50—11:10  1st grade

9:50—10:10 5rd grade              11:10—11:30  Kindergarten

10:10—10:30 7th grade             11:30—11:50  2nd grade

You can also, of course, check out the selection at drop-off and after pick-up!

Take advantage of this great opportunity to express your appreciation of our teachers by purchasing books on their wish lists!

All proceeds from the Book Fair will benefit

the Temple Beth El Hebrew School!

Temple Beth El 350 Roxbury Road Stamford

Second Night Community Seder

Tuesday, April 3 at 7:00 PM

(Doors open at 6:45 PM)

Led by Rabbi Joshua Hammerman and Cantor Rachael Littman

Includes traditional Kosher Seder meal

Entertainment and activities for children throughout the evening

Please complete the reservation form below and send it with your check, payable to Temple Beth El, to Temple Beth El, 350 Roxbury Road, Stamford, CT 06902. Reservation deadline is March 22, 2007.

Prices: Adults: $55, Children (3-12) $25, Children 2 and under free

Maximum Price per Family $175, Parents & Kids

Please check off choice of Entrée. Children’s meal will be Chicken Fingers

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name	Age	Chicken	Eggplant	Cost
Total Cost

If you have a child who would like to help with the younger children’s activities, please provide their names and ages: _________________________, _________________________, _________________________.

If you are able to volunteer please check off your preferences:

Clean Up

Serve

Children’s Activities

Clean Up

For more information please contact Steven Mayer at 203-316-9195; e-mail steve_mayer@mayerbenefits.com or Mark Plotzky at 203-359-2290; e-mail mark.plotzky@snet.net. THIS FLYER CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT OUR WEBSITE, www.tbe.org

.

Learning and Latte at Borders

NEXT TUESDAY!

Stamford’s long-running monthly interfaith “tri-alogue”

featuring Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Rev. Douglas McArthur and Dr. Behjat Syed

This year’s topic:

“Moral Dilemmas for a World in Crisis”

Join us as we engage in friendly dialogue about some of the hot-button issues of the day.  

Meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 7:30-8:30 PM, October-May

 Topics (subject to last-minute adjustment to keep up with the headlines)

March 13 – Is sexuality good, evil or neither?

What are the worst “sins” for our traditions?

April 10 – What are different ways of imagining God in our traditions? How does God show love?

May 8 – What is the future of religion in America?  The world?  Is religion a source of evil? Can other religions be “true?”  How can pluralism work for the believer?

Community Scholar-in-Residence Program

AVRAHAM INFELD

President Emeritus of National Hillel & Early Architect of “birthright israel”

March 20, 2007

7:30 pm at Temple Beth El (opening session)

“Being Jewish in the iPod Age”

Maintaining and translating Jewish values into contemporary Jewish life

Infeld is known for his searing intellect, brilliant insights

into Jewish life and enthusiastic, dynamic speaking style,

Avraham Infeld is not to be missed.

For more information on the other events of the three-day program,

visit UJF website at www.ujf.org or contact

Dr. Ilana De Laney

203.321.1373 ext. 114 or ilana@ujf.org

This program made possible through the generosity

of the Herbert and Sarah M. Gibor Charitable Foundation

We PROMISE you won’t be disappointed!

1. For Parents of Young Children: Reinforcing the Beauty of Jewish Values at a Yong Age. – Tuesday, March 20^th at 9:45 AM at the JCC

2. For All: Redefining Being Jewish in a World of Uncertainty. Tuesday, March 20^th at 7:30 PM at Temple Beth El.

3. For Jewish Teens and Parents   - Being Jewish in the iPod Age. Wednesday, March 21^st at 7:00 PM at Temple Beth El.

For more information please go to www.ujf.org or email Ilana at ilana@ujf.org

SWEET ON YOU

Newest addition to the TBE catering panel

You may now use SWEET ON YOU to enhance

your Kiddushes, for your baby namings and aufrufs at

Temple Beth El

Please call our Executive Director for more information

ADULT ED

“The Many Demensions of Jewish Prayer”

with Rabbi Hammerman

meets select Sunday mornings 9:00-10:00 am

Bimah 101:

Prepatory course for Adult Bar/ Bat Mitzvah

With Cantor Rachael Littman

Meets weekly Sunday mornings 10:00-11:00 am

Judaism for Everyone

An Introductory Class for Dummies, Smarties…

and Those Who Don’t Know How to Ask

With Rabbi Hammerman

Meets weekly on select Sundays 11:00 am-12:00 pm

(A prerequisite for those who wish to join

the Beth El Adult Bar/ Bat Mitzvah Class.)

Fee: $50 for materials

Modern Conversational Hebrew Ulpan

Instructor: Eran Vaisben, Education Director

Do you have good basic Hebrew reading skills? The primary goal of this class is to further your overall

understanding and use of the Hebrew language. This class emphasis is on communicative skills that

will enable you to communicate in simple Hebrew for everyday situations. This first level Ulpan class

is covering a variety of dialogue, articles, stories and songs.

Prerequisite: Hebrew reading

SENIORS – HAZAK RETREAT
We are planning to participate in a very exciting Hazak Retreat this June
13-20. Please see all details via the url:

http://www.uscj.org/ctvalley/Hazak%20Retreat%202007.pdf

Support our Temple Gift Shop!

Changes in Kosher at Stop & Shop Ridgeway

Approx. 16 months ago, in response to requests by the local kosher community, the SKAC has been in discussion with corp. management at Stop & Shop to consider both expanding store space, devoted to kosher, as well as consolidating all specific kosher products to one area at the Ridgway location.

Management informed the SKAC a few months ago, that they would accommodate this request.

In the next few weeks, during the store's overall remodeling, the temporary " Super Passover " section, traditionally situated in the center of the store, has been relocated to the right side of the produce section.

The permanent regular kosher section will soon be relocated to the rear of Aisle # 14. There will now be over 100 feet, devoted to kosher specific products, with grocery on one side of the aisle and refrigerated / frozen items, including dairy, meat / poultry and frozen, on the other side.

We hope this expansion and consolidation will be more of a convenience and an additional draw to the location for your local kosher needs.

The SKAC wishes to thank store management for their continued efforts to accommodate the shopping needs of their local kosher customers.

The SKAC continues to work, to provide more kosher choices to town. Stay Tuned !

Eat & Enjoy,

Avi Greif

Pointperson
Stamford Kosher Activists Committee

Youth and family Programming

Temple Beth El Youth Commission

Invites you to a fundraiser:

FAMILY

ICE SKATING

PARTY

SUNDAY APRIL 8^th 2007

1:00pm – 4:00pm

$5 per person / $15 per family

Skate rentals available for $4.50 each

In order to reserve your place please fill out attached form by April 1^st and send to the Hebrew School office.

Laser tag, mini golf, bowling, batting cages available at additional cost.

Kosher for Passover refreshments will be provided.

Questions? Email: lpomerance@optonline.net

The Rinks at Shelton

Located off Merritt Parkway Exit 53 (1 mile North of Sikorsky Aircraft)

784 River Road (Rte 110), Shelton, CT, 06484

www.SportsCenterCT.com

USY

** All USY events are now open to 8th graders

8th grades are welcome to continue to attend Kadima events as well.

March 31st or April 1st - Comedy Club in New York!

May 5th or 6th - Chelsea Piers

June 3rd - Pool Party

We hope to see you at these events.
If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to write me at edoecohen@gmail.com or call 917-348-9790.

All the best!
Edoe

FAIRFIELD COUNTY CT JEWISH LITTLE LEAGUE NEWS - MARCH 7TH

Hello Baseball Fans!

The 2007 Fairfield County Ct Jewish Little League season is right around the corner.  Registrations for the 2007 season have been pouring in.  Don't get left out!

Here are the latest happenings at the FCCJLL!

TWO WAYS TO REGISTER:

1) download form from our website at www.FCCJLL.org, (see our FORMS page) complete it and mail with check to the league office  OR

2) in-person registration at Congregation Agudath Sholom's Passover Boutique and Wine Sale this Sunday, March 11th from 10am to 3pm.  

The season starts with our April 1st and April 15th practices and opening day on April 22nd.  The full schedule is available online at http://fccjll.org/schedule.htm.

Major Leagues: Current Grades 5 through 8

Minor Leagues: Current Grades 2 through 4

T-Ball: Current Grades K and 1

Intro to T-Ball: Pre-K (minimum age 4 as of 4/1/07)

FCCJLL AND FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE ANNOUNCE THE FCCJLL FRIENDSHIP DIVISION

The FCCJLL and the Friendship Circle are joining together to offer a special baseball program for children with special needs aged 10-14 already involved with the Friendship Circle (www.friendshipct.com).  This will be a 4-game program and inclusion in all FCCJLL events.  For more information, please contact Seth seth@fccjll.org or Malya at malya@friendshipct.com.

2006 YEARBOOK IS ONLINE AND AT THE PRINTER!

The long awated 2006 Yearbook has been completed.  It is viewable in full-color on our league website at: http://fccjll.org/fccjll-yearbook-2006.pdf.  It has been sent to the printer and as soon they arrive, they will be sent out to all our FCCJLL families, sponsors, yearbook advertisers and community leaders.

FCCJLL MITZVAH PROJECTS

With the help of Isrella Knopf and her son Douglas Knopf and others, we are embarking on several Mitzvah projects. 

The league is conducting a New and Used Equipment Drive in conjunction with Pitch In for Baseball (see www.pitchinforbaseball.org).  All the equipment collected will routed to Israel as part of the numerous efforts to expand baseball in Israel. 

In addition, Isrella will be coordinating a Snack Bar/Stand at our games this season.  Available for purchase will be beverages, snacks (all kosher) and various FCCJLL logo-wear.  Proceeds from the sales will be split between the FCCJLL and the Jewish National Fund's "Project Baseball" (www.jnf.org/baseball) which is helping to fund and build baseball fields in Israel. 

To help out with these projects, please contact Isrella Knopf at: iknopf@ctjfs.org

FCCJLL KIPPOT - RESERVE YOURS NOW!

Many people have seen the Commish wearing a white kippah with the FCCJLL logo on it.  These white suede kippot make for great gifts for the kids and provide a protective layer between the kids' heads and their batting helmets!   These will be available soon.  They are $20 each.

COACHES NEEDED for 2007 SEASON

We need your commitments for coaching this season.  If you are willing and able to coach or help out, please let me know ASAP.  Prime teams still available in all division.

ATTENTION ALL SPONSORS

As we continue to expand our FCCJLL offerings, we need to continue to raise funds and one of the biggest ways is through our Team and Family Sponsorships.   If you are an existing Team Sponsor, please advise ASAP if you will be back for 2007.   Thanks to those who have already re-signed up for 2007!!!

Additional family or league general sponsorships that support us are very much needed.  You can also help to sponsor our League BBQ (on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend) or our Annual Bridgeport Bluefish minor league game.  We can also use a sponsor for the FCCJLL Snack Bar.  Sponsorships are available at the following levels:

  [  ] FAMILY $100   [  ] STAR $125                 [  ] ALL-STAR $250  
  [  ] MVP $350       [  ] HALL-OF-FAME $500   [  ] LIVING LEGEND $1,000

Note: Team sponsorship begin at $250.  Sponsorship form can be found on the website at: http://fccjll.org/fccjll-sponsor.xls

ORGANIZERS NEEDED FOR A POST-SEASON AWARDS BREAKFAST

If you are interested in helping us organize a first ever Post-Season Awards Breakfast where we will officially give out trophies, sponsor plaques and have a mini-charity auction, please contact Seth asap.  We would like to do this the Sunday following the Championship Games (June 24). 

FCCJLL GETS EQUIPMENT GRANT FROM DICK'S SPORTING GOODS

The FCCJLL requested and received a special equipment grant from Dick's Sporting Goods (www.dickssportinggoods.com) their Community Youth Sports Program.  Included are new batting helmets, baseballs and bat bags, squeeze water bottles (enough for all FCCJLL participants to receive one), coaches scorebooks and clipboards.  In addition, they are providing coupons packages for all our families and coaches for discounts at their store.  The nearest Dick's is located in Milford.  We are very appreciative for this great program.

JOKE FOR THE WEEK

Ahmedinijad Stand Up (comedy) for Israel Click to watch

It’s not funny and there’s some bad language – but I include this another indication of Israel’s current obsession with the Iranian nuclear threat

Previous Shabbat-O-Grams can be accessed directly from the archives on our web site (www.tbe.org)

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