By Judith Kuper Jaffe

My family has a few special Siddurim that share their own narrative. Among them is my Zayda’s set of Siddurim, with Hebrew on one side and Yiddish on the other. I don’t understand the Yiddish but when I hold this set of books, I think about the journey he courageously took from Budapest through Ellis Island with his young family, and how these books were important enough to carry with him to this new land.

I have this tiny, adorable, white Siddur, inscribed for my mom when she completed cheder and got confirmed in a tiny Orthodox shul one hour south-west of Pittsburgh. Later she had her wedding bouquet set on it, and years later I walked down the aisle, using that same Prayer book, with my bridal bouquet.

Every Friday night, my husband chants the Kiddush from the Siddur that he received when he became a Bar Mitzvah forty years ago at Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston. The Kiddush page is loose and stained. It’s testimony that it's been used.

And my daughters also have the prayer books they received at their Bat Mitzvah in Paramus. These Siddurim have taken many trips, bringing many fond memories, to sleep away camp, to Europe, on several trips to Israel, to college, and continuing on.

Now, our own Kitah Gimmel, 3rd graders, will own their own Siddurim, to leave on their beds, to leaf through its pages, to explore; maybe not now, maybe next year or maybe in ten years.

Shortly, our 3rd grade parents will receive invitations and bookplates. Please be sure to circle March 9th on your calendar. Plan to attend our special program at 9:30 AM, when Israeli artist Inbar Bibring returns to Shomrei to help us create a special Prayer Book Cover and complete the book plate for our students’ Kabbalat Siddur, our Prayer Book Ceremony, to be held on April 4th: Gimmel/3rd-(Kabbalat Siddur/Siddur Ceremony)- Friday night Shabbat Dinner & Services led by students. (Parents are asked to RSVP and are encouraged to volunteer for the Shabbat dinner!)

Our students have been engaged in laudatory mitzvah activities for the greater Montclair and Metrowest community for the past few months. We call it the “Five Minute Mitzvah” on Wednesdays when our kids made cards for seniors at DOROT USA, thank you notes for people who donate blood to our neighbor, the American Red Cross, place mats and individual detergent bags for the Interfaith Homeless Network (IHN), and much more. Please see the thank you’s that our students received from our community located elsewhere in the Kol Emunah. We are so proud of our children and feel our world is a better place with their gemilut chasadim and acts of kindness.

JR Congregation
The Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Eric Yoffie devoted a major section of his d'var Torah at the recent URJ Bienniel in San Diego to urge Reform congregations to begin to reclaim Shabbat, especially Shabbat morning, as time for seeking holiness in
community. As Conservative Jews, we applaud his efforts and we also try our very best to encourage Shabbat awareness and attendance.

With Cece Beyers in Israel for the semester, we are thrilled to have Dani Rosenzweig leading both Junior Congregation and Young Children’s Services. She has plans to both engage and empower our young people.

If you have never brought your children to our children’s Shabbat services, this is the time to give it a try. If you have, kindly plan to attend more regularly and make it part of your Shabbat morning routine. If you have suggestions, please feel free to email or call me with them. We are open to trying new things!

Kindly remember that Junior Congregation is an essential and integral piece of our Jewish Learning Center curriculum. Attendance is expected at least once a month – although we would love to see you more often! When your child attends, please remember to pull your index card for attendance. See you on March 1st & 15th !

Our Shabbat Matters programming has been percolating all year and we are beginning to really see the fruits of our cooking. On March 2nd, Rabbi Shapiro will talk to our families about creating a D’var Torah, literally, the word of Torah. Too often we feel overwhelmed or under prepared to offer such words. It does not require apprehension or a crazy amount of knowledge or work. Rabbi Shapiro will help us all understand how this is something you can and should “try at home,” offering hands-on resources and tools to make it happen.

The Van Vleck Gardens will be the scene of Havdallah on March 8th at 5: 45. Creation and nature is something to be considered on Shabbat. We are taking this unique opportunity to learn about trees with a scavenger hunt and a tree-tapping demonstration and how this is spiritually related to what we do and don’t do on Shabbat as we conclude that evening with Havdallah. Kindly RSVP so we can have appropriate numbers.

In anticipation for our Siyum (closing) program of year one of Shabbat Matters, Story Pirates are coming to Shomrei. Members of Story Priates will be working with our children, getting them ready to write their own soon-to-be-performed productions. Watch for details!

B’Shalom,
Judith Kuper Jaffe
Director of Congregational Learning