Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter and his wife Shana Yocheved Schacter will conduct rabbinic training for Project Sarah.
Domestic violence cases are very complicated, and there's a lot of emotion involved. The rabbis need to understand the issues and to be able to set appropriate boundaries," said Esther East, executive director of Jewish Family Service of Greater Clifton/Passaic, where Project SARAH is based.
Setting boundaries and understanding the issues are topics that will be covered in a workshop for rabbis and their spouses, sponsored by Project SARAH and the Rachel Coalition, to be held Saturday, Feb. '3. Entitled "Weathering the Storm: A Rabbi's Role when Congregants Divorce," the workshop will be led by Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter and Shana Yocheved Schacter, CSW, who are husband and wife. The goal of the program is to help rabbis become a more effective resource for congregants in the midst of the emotional turmoil that comes with divorce. Cong. Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck will host the program, which begins at 8:30 p.m.
Project SARAH is a statewide program that provides counseling for victims of domestic violence, education, community outreach, and professional training. It is a joint project of the New Jersey Department of Criminal Justice, Victim Services, Passaic County Women's Center, and the Jewish Family Service division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Clifton/Passaic. The Rachel Coalition provides domestic violence resources to families in the MetroWest Jewish Community.
Barbara Sabin will speak at Temple Beth Tikvah in Wayne.
Most people think of Hadassah as a women's organization in the United States, but through Hadassah International, we have different units in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, China, and a lot of other places, plus many members who are male," says Barbara Sabin, RN, BSN, of River Vale, chair of special projects for Hadassah International and co-chair of the National Center of Nurses Councils Advisory Board.
Sabin will speak on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 1 p.m. at the second in the series of senior daytime programs at Temple Beth Tikvah in Wayne. Her topic is "A Bridge to Nations through Medicine." The program is free to senior members of the synagogue and open to other members and non-members for $5.
The poster promoting the upcoming roller hockey tournament.
Joe Teplow and Netanel Shafier, two teenagers from Teaneck, don't know anyone who lives in the southern Israel town of Sderot. Nonetheless, the town is much on their minds these days. "It's really important to show the people of Sderot that we care," says Netanel.
Sderot has been struck by thousands of Qassam rockets, killing and injuring many people. That's why Joe, 16, and Netanel, 17, and their friend, Zev Hait, have chosen it as the beneficiary of the charity roller hockey tournament they're organizing at Joe's school, SAR High School in Riverdale. Netanel attends Torah Academy of Bergen County, and Zev also attends SAR.
Steve Allen, left, stands with Wayne mayor Scott Rumana at a reception to welcome him as new executive director of the YM-YWHA of North Jersey.
Life is too short not to be an enthusiastic person," says Steve Allen, new executive director of the YM-YWHA of North Jersey in Wayne. Allen, who began his job in early September, says his "passions" bring him to his new position: working with programming, spreading the word about the Y, supporting federation activities, reaching out to the Jewish community. "I feel blessed, walking into this situation. When I asked some of my friends who work for other federations and non-profits in the Jewish world about switching over to the Y, they said this job description must have been written for me."
Allen is especially enthusiastic about the Y's nursery school that's full to the brim and the 90 new members who signed up at the September Open House. "I'm so impressed with the programming staff that I've inherited," he says. "I'm a firm believer that programming and personnel are the lifeblood of this organization."
Temple Beth El's current building was built in 197'.
After riding the fortunes of Hackensack up and down over the last century, Temple Beth El there is reaching its centennial year in '008. The congregation is inviting past members and families to join in its commemorative events, while looking to attract new members with the celebration of its history and new programs.
It is also, according to Larry Eisen, a 35-year member who, with his wife Marsha, raised two children at the Conservative egalitarian synagogue, exploring the possibility of including an Orthodox minyan. The shul was originally Orthodox.
Chef Denis Whitton will teach a cooking class at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades.
This is not your grandmother's kosher," says Judy Belinfante, speaking of upcoming cooking demonstration classes at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades. "It doesn't have to be fattening or loaded with cholesterol. And these classes are not just for those who are kosher."
Belinfante, program director of the Adult Department, schedules cookbook authors and restaurant chefs to lead kosher cooking classes, which take place periodically in the Tenafly JCC's teaching kitchen. "The big problem is finding people who are both good cooks and good teachers," she confides. "It's not always in the same package."
Jesse Nowlin (top) and Carly Davis have spearheaded efforts to organize a rally on Oct. 14.
Adults who think that today's teenagers are lazy and uncommitted should meet Jesse Nowlin, 18, and Carly Davis, 16.
Jesse and Carly are the organizers of a teen rally in support of the eight captured Israeli soldiers on Sunday, Oct. 14, 3 to 5 p.m., at Votee Park's bandshell. Together they have signed up six speakers, gotten a permit from the town, arranged for food to be donated, lined up sponsors, collected signatures for a petition to the president, set up a Website, arranged for a band to entertain, solicited help from '0 other teens, and publicized the rally in area high schools. All this while attending Torah Academy of Bergen County (Jesse) and Ma'ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls (Carly), both in Teaneck.
"The idea of the rally is really to raise awareness of the captured soliders," according to Jesse, who lives in Teaneck. "We wanted to do something along those lines." The idea came to Carly during a rally sponsored by the National Conference of Synagogue Youth last spring, when one of the speakers talked about a rally he had organized in the '70s. "We knew we wanted to do something, but we didn't know quite how until we got this big boost from this speaker," says Carly, who lives in Fair Lawn. "People don't think teenagers can do much, but if the community sees we can come together for this and we believe it's important, it'll make a difference." Carly and Jesse are being helped by more than '0 other young people they have recruited from their schools and others.
As the board of trustees at shuttered Metropolitan Schechter High School continues to deal with the plight of the teachers left without jobs, stories of hardship caused by the Teaneck school's closing keep surfacing.
Anat Graf, 4', an Israeli who had been a Hebrew teacher there for four years, decided to move back to Israel and informed the school in March that she would leave in July. However, her ex-husband died in Israel in June, so she and her 7-year-old son had to return then. While there, she reversed her decision and decided to come back to the United States "for my peace of mind," she says. She also wanted her son to have some stability in his life after the shock of his loss.
We were like a family. This is where so many of us got our foundation for life," says Jane Canter, one of three co-presidents of Cong. B'nai Jacob in Jersey City. The once-thriving congregation is asking for support from former members who have spread to Bergen, Passaic, and Essex counties and beyond. Now serving only about 75 members, the Conservative synagogue is fiscally strapped and needs an infusion of funds because of its shrinking membership.
Cong. B'nai Jacob was once one of numerous synagogues in Jersey City, which had a vibrant Jewish population. Founded in 1959 by eight families, the congregation built its own building, which was dedicated in 1963 and boasted 300 to 400 families at its height. One of those families was that of The Jewish Standard's publisher, Jamie Janoff, and his sister, Beth Janoff Chananie, whose parents were charter members and whose childhood house stood just behind the synagogue's parking lot.
The deserted halls of Metropolitan Schechter High School.
Teachers from Metropolitan Schechter High School in Teaneck who were left without jobs, pay, or health-care benefits when the school closed just before the fall term had a chance to hear on Tuesday what arrangements are being made for them.
The teachers participated in a conference call with board president Alan Tannenbaum, and although the terms he discussed were not disclosed to the press, some of the teachers told The Jewish Standard that he said that their plight is important to board members and that some of the money collected on their behalf would be distributed soon.
According to Matt Weber, a math teacher who participated in the call, "The board is continuing to work towards a mutually equitable solution."
