I hope this email finds you all well. We planned a dad’s night out at bowlero the evening of November 29th. I hope you’ll join me for a fun night out together.
This Wednesday, November 22, join Bekkah Gold at Starbucks for a college-age reunion and chance to see some familiar faces! Drop in any time between 4:00 and 6:00 pm to ask our Beth El friends about their college experience.
This Wednesday, November 22, join Bekkah Gold and your Beth El friends for a reunion at Starbucks in Wykagyl! Drop in any time between 4:00 and 6:00 pm for a coffee, some familiar faces, and time to catch up!
We know it's been a difficult six weeks, and we can't wait to see you in person.
Seniors in high school will also be invited to see college-age friends, and those just out of college are more than welcome as well.
Tell Bekkah you'll be there by emailing teens@bethelnr.org. Interested in other alumni programming? Email Bekkah about that too. We're trying to plan for winter break and want to bring everyone together whenever we can.
See you soon! PARENTS: If you are reading this email, please forward to your college-age student!
Beth El Synagogue Center 1324 North Avenue New Rochelle, NY 10804
I am so excited to welcome you all to Beth El this Sunday, November 19th, to enjoy an afternoon of magic, laughs, and crafts! Feel free to park on site in any of our three parking lots. Do NOT park in the CVS parking lot across the street as your car will be booted and ticketed.
We look forward to greeting you at the main entrance. The show will begin at 3:00 pm. At around 4:00 pm, we will transition to crafts and storytime.
Welcom to the new Hebrew month of Kislev! As the days get shorter and darker, the light of our community joining together, supporting each other, and celebrating together keeps us strong as we approach Hanukkah. We have wonderful upcoming programs for the whole family, and we hope you'll join us!
Highlight in this email include:
Thursday, November 16: The Jewish Education Project presents "Navigating Antisemitism Today: Guidance and Support for Parents of Young Children" at 8 pm. Register here.
Friday, November 17: Community Shabbat Dinner at 7 pm for Rabbi Bedo's visit. Register here.
Sunday, November 19: 4th grade b'nei mitzvah parent meeting at 9 am; BE Mitzvah session at 12 pm; The Magic of Camp at 3 pm.
Saturday, December 9: Tot Hanukkah at 10:30 am; Maccabee Madness at 6 pm. Register here.
Saturday, December 16: Family Havdallah for 5th-7th grades. Register here.
Thanks, Alyssa
Upcoming Events
Navigating Antisemitism Today: Guidance and Support for Parents of Young Children Thursday, November 16, 8:00 pm for parents of children under 10 Note: This is a free webinar.
In this session, we'll explore what it means to be a parent of young children as we navigate the atmosphere of antisemitism in today's world. We'll discuss the challenges and fears we are facing in this difficult moment with guidance and insight from Dr. Betsy Stone. We will also discuss how to talk to young children about antisemitism and how to cultivate positive Jewish identity at this time.
Tot Hanukkah Saturday, December 9 at 10:30 am for families with young children
Join us for a Hanukkah-themed Tot Shabbat! We'll sing and celebrate Hanukkah and Shabbat, and we'll end with a special Hanukkah-themed snack!
Maccabee Madness Saturday, December 9, 6-7:15 pm for children in K-5th grade; 6th & 7th graders can be leaders and helpers
Join us in blue and white for Havdalah, Hanukkah candle lighting, a light dinner with latkes, and lots of Hanukkah-themed activities such as dreidel spin art, relay races, Hanukkah Bingo and more! Register Here.
Family Havdallah for 5th, 6th, 7th grade Families Saturday, December 16 at 6 pm for families with 5th, 6th & 7th graders
We are kicking off our Family Havdallah programming with our 5th, 6th and 7th grade families. We'd love for you to join us! We will meet at Rabbi Sitkin's home, although Beth El will be a backup location in case we need more space. We will enjoy Havdallah, a light dairy dinner, games, community and s'mores. Of course, siblings are invited to join!
Celebrate Thanksgiving by donating funds to buy turkeys for our New Rochelle neighbors at HOPE. Every year Beth El is crucial to buying turkeys for hundreds of families who will not celebrate Thanksgiving without our help. Families will have a meaningful Thanksgiving through your generosity.
We have a busy weekend this weekend, and we hope to see you! On Friday, we have our Shabbat service and community dinner with Rabbi Bedo's visit. On Sunday, we have our session to help understand and contextualize what's going on in Israel. We also have an upcoming lounge night after Thanksgiving.
Typically, we'd encourage you to follow us on Instagram @bethelnr_teens. If you do choose to log into social media during this time, please try not to click on photos and videos, as they are incredibly hard to see (and unsee). We are here to support you.
Bekkah, Alyssa, Rabbi Zisser and The Teen Leadership Board
Shabbat Services and Community Dinner Friday, November 17 Service at 6:30 pm Dinner at 7:00 pm
Join us for services and dinner when Rabbi Bedo comes to visit Beth El! Register here for community Shabbat dinner with your family on Friday evening, which will be an informal opportunity to meet Rabbi Bedo.
November Lounge Night Wednesday, November 29, 6:30-8:00 pm for 8th-12th graders; in the Youth Lounge at Beth El
Join us for Trivia Night! Bring yourselves, your homework, and/or your Beth El friends! Pizza and snacks provided.
Register atwww.bethelnr.org/teenloungenights.
Lounge Nights happen monthly on the following Wednesdays all year long: Dec. 13, Jan. 24, Feb. 28, Mar. 13, April 17, and May 8. Mark your calendars!
Questions? Want to help plan? Contact teens@bethelnr.org.
Teen Collab: Now Registering Module 2! Thursdays, 6:30-8:00 pm at the JCC Mid-Westchester for 8th-12th graders
The Teen Collab is a joint project of six Conservative Synagogues in Southern Westchester. Teens from all six synagogues meet weekly to connect, socialize and learn. We offer three modules, and each module has options for two courses.
We meet on Thursdays from 6:30-8:00 pm at the JCC Mid-Westchester, and each module is about 8 sessions. We are now enrolling for Module 2, which begins in January!
Module 2: January to early March (you can still sign up!)
The Ethical Life: Jewish Values in an Age of Choice
Israeli TV: Checkout
Module 3: mid-March to May (you can still sign up!)
We're looking forward to Rabbi Bedo's visit to Beth El this weekend! Register herefor the community shabbat dinner with Rabbi Bedo this Friday evening, November 17th at 7:00 pm. This will be an informal opportunity to meet Rabbi Bedo.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Rabbi Kling Perkins' visit to Beth El. We would appreciate feedback from the community. Please send any feedback to rabbisearchfeedback@bethelnr.org.
Now, more than ever we recognize the importance of being a part of our special Jewish community. Please contribute to the B'Yachad Campaign, by supporting Beth El—we can continue to act as one, together for the good of all.
Wednesday, November 29, 7:30 pm Join us for singing and reflection with renowned Israeli singer, musician, and prayer leader,Yahala Lachmish.
Yahala has jazz training and Sephardi roots, and is one the of the world’s leading experts on Piyutim (liturgical poems). She will share her deep music and personal reflections on the war in Israel.
Our laws prohibit antisemitism on college campuses, and they hold institutions accountable for failing to effectively stop and prevent it.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of antisemitism in New York state, you can submit a complaint here. There is no filing fee to submit a complaint.
Click herefor events, ways to help, and resources.
Celebrate Thanksgiving by donating funds to buy Turkeys for our New Rochelle neighbors at HOPE. Every year Beth El is crucial to buying Turkeys for hundreds of families who will not celebrate Thanksgiving without our help. Each turkey costs $25.
Saturday, November 18, 7:00 pm The Night of Jewish Learning will offer 28 courses with diverse topics sure to interest everyone. After 2 sessions of teaching, we will join as a community for a kosher dairy dessert.
$20 per person by November 3rd. The price will go from $20 to $25 after November 3 and $30 the day of the event. This event will take place at Beth El Synagogue Center.
Register Here. This event is organized by the Westchester Board of Rabbis and the Westchester Jewish Council.
Monday, November 20, 7:00 pm Join us for the Inter-Religious Coaltion's annual Thanksgiving interfaith service. Our offerings help support the hungry in our community by giving to: HOPE Community Services, Manna Ministries, and The Brown Bag. You can give via Zelle or bankings apps to giveircoalition@gmail.com and/or by bringing non-perishable items to the event.
Tuesday, November 21, 11:30 am Come for the morning exercise or just the discussion and lunch!
10:30 am: Silver Sneakers FLEX
11:30 am: AI & You What is Artificial Intelligence - AI? Is AI safe? How do I use AI? What does the future of AI look like? Presented by Matt Lewis, Beth El member and Global Chief Artificial and Augmented Intelligence Officer of Inizio Medical
Tuesday, November 28, 7:30 pm Please join us as Dr. Jeffrey Rubenstein guides us through a close reading of three different Talmudic stories and teaches us how the Talmud weaves them together to form an interesting and cohesive literary unit.
Elise and Barry Richman are sponsoring this evening in memory of Barry's parents, Erma and Dave Richman.
Dr. Jeffrey L. Rubenstein is the Skirball Professor of Talmud and Rabbinic Literature in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies of New York University. To sponsor an Open Beit Midrash Scholar Series, click here. The Open Beit Midrash Scholar Series is underwritten by the Yvette and Herman Gordon Century Fund for Adult Teaching and Learning. To ensure we can continue to offer high level adult educational programming please consider contributing to that fund here.
Thursday, November 30, 7:00 pm Rabbi David Schuck will moderate a panel of experts including from BigVision, WJCS, and the Harris Project. You will hear personal stories, gain awareness in recognizing symptoms in your loved ones, learn about support and resources, and have an opportunity to ask questions.
Register Here. This program is organized by the Beth El Mental Health Initiative.
*Any day not listed has no scheduled programming (besides minyan).
Tuesday, November 14th 10:00 am – SilverSneakers for Seniors (In Person). Register here. 1:00 pm – Mah Jongg (In Person) 7:45 pm – CANCELLED for this week - Textual Magic: The Jewish Wisdom and Themes That Ignited My Love for Judaism with Rabbi David Schuck (In Person & Zoom)
Wednesday, November 15th 7:30 pm – Board of Trustees Meeting (In Person) Thursday, November 16th 12:00 pm – Body & Soul: Guf & Nefesh (In Person & Zoom). Register here. Join online here. 1:30 pm – Parashat HaShavua (In Person & Zoom). Join online here. 6:30 pm – Teen Collab Learning (In Person) 7:30 pm – POSTPONED – Sigd: Celebration of an Ancient Jewish Ethiopian Holiday (In Person)
Friday, November 17th 6:00 pm – Shabbat Services with Rabbi Bedo (In Person & Livestream) 7:00 pm – Community Shabbat Dinner with Rabbi Bedo (In Person). Register here.
Saturday, November 18th 9:00 am – Shabbat Services with Rabbi Bedo (In Person & Livestream) 10:30 am – Mini Minyan (In Person) 10:30 am – Tot Shabbat (In Person) 12:45 pm – Daf Shevui (In Person) 12:45 pm – Shiur (text study) with Rabbi Bedo (In Person) 4:20 pm – Mincha/Maariv (In Person & Livestream) 7:00 pm – Westchester's Eighth Night of Jewish Learning and Celebration (In Person & Zoom). Register here.
Sunday, November 19th 8:15 pm – Morning Minyan with Rabbi Bedo (In Person & Zoom) 9:15 am – Religious School with Rabbi Bedo (In Person) 12:00 pm – BE Mitzvah Experience (In Person) 3:00 pm – Magic of Camp: Beth El Day Camp Open House (In Person). Register here. Monday, November 20th 11:00 am – SMART Zoom (Zoom). Join online here. 1:00 pm – Canasta (In Person) 7:00 pm – Inter-Religious Coalition’s Annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Service (In Person). Register here.
Tuesday, November 21st 10:00 am – SilverSneakers for Seniors (In Person). Register here. 11:30 am – Lunch & Learn: AI & You with Matt Lewis, Beth El member and Global Chief Artificial and Augmented Intelligence Officer of Inizio Medical (In Person). Register here. 1:00 pm – Mah Jongg (In Person) 7:30 pm – Textual Magic: The Jewish Wisdom and Themes That Ignited My Love for Judaism with Rabbi David Schuck (In Person & Zoom). Register here. Join online here.
1. Parent/Teacher Dialogues will be happening this Wednesday, and school dismisses at noonfor all classes, except our Shoresh classes which dismiss at 11:45. There will be no after care on Wednesday and lunch will not be served in school.
2. As a result of Daylight Savings Time, Shabbat is now beginning much earlier so our full day classes (Gezah Bet, Anaf Aleph and Anaf Bet) will be dismissing at 1:30 on Fridays until the clocks are changed again in March. Please mark your calendars for this Friday's 1:30 dismissal time.
3. Please consider sending in non-perishable, kosher food items for your child's class' GIVING Box. Collections will begin this Wednesday, November 15, and will continue until next Tuesday, November 21. The food will be distributed to the HOPE (Helping Other People Eat) community. With your help, we can fill our boxes, give the children the warm feeling of helping others, and make a meaningful contribution to those in need. Together we can dig deeper to emphasize one of the most significant aspects of Thanksgiving.
4. Beth El Day Camp is sponsoring The Magic of Camp this Sunday, November 19, 3:00 - 4:30 pm. This event is open to current and prospective families. See details on the flyer below and click here to register.
Joel Shechter z"l, brother of our member Ira (Cynthia) Shechter and uncle of our member David (Carrie) Shechter.
The funeral will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, November 14th at 1:30 pm at Sharon Gardens Cemetery (273 Lakeview Ave, Valhalla, NY 10595).
Shiva will be observed at the home of Ira and Cynthia Shechter (400 High Point Dr, Apt 202, Hartsdale, NY 10530) according to the following schedule:
Wednesday, November 15th from 1-3 pm and 6-8 pm with minyan at 8:00pm. Thursday, November 16th, from 1-3 pm and 6-8 pm with minyan at 8:00pm. Friday, November 17th from 10 am-12 pm. Saturday, November 18th from 7 pm-9 pm.
Sunday, November 19th from 2 pm- 8 pm with minyan at 4:20 Sunday's shiva will be observed at the home of David Shechter and Carrie Fox (184 Winding Brook Rd. New Rochelle, NY 10804).
May the Shechter family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים
Lauren Freeman-Bosworth Beth El President
Members of our community who have suffered the loss of a loved one have been comforted by the generosity of donations made in the memory of those they have lost.
If you would like to make a donation to Beth El Synagogue Center, please click here.
We hope you'll join us for an afternoon of magic, laughter, and crafts. "The Magic of Camp" will be taking place this Sunday, November 19, at 3:00 pm. See more details on the flyer below. Register hereby tomorrow, Tuesday, November 14th!
