ERIC FEIGENBAUM

Queen Esther was a reluctant hero. She began life as an everyday person who almost unwillingly was pulled into life of royalty. When bad things started happening, she had every incentive to stay quiet. It would have been easy for her to live her protected and luxurious life and allow the politics around her to be. Moreover, she knew speaking up could be fatal. But with the lives of family, friends and all of her people on the line, she prayed and found the courage to have uncomfortable conversations. To have conversations which were almost unimaginable.

One important truth we can learn from Purim is that in a sense we (and maybe Megan Markle too) are all Queen Esther. There are a lot of large and important topics we face in our individual lives, in our society and as a human race that can feel so big or risky – or so beyond us – that the easy path is to go about our lives and leave the big decisions to others – hoping the outcomes won’t be too terrible

Like Queen Esther, we live lives of privilege and power. Never in history have Jews had as much power as we do here and now. We are equal citizens in a heterogeneous society where we worship freely, have access to high levels of education, can live wherever we want, take any job we want, own property, hold political offices and hold title to the pursuit of happiness. Like Queen Esther, our privilege gives us the responsibility to care about what’s going on and engage in difficult conversations when needed.

With this in mind, Temple Etz Chaim is gearing up to introduce a new speaker series entitled Our World Evolving: Global Thought Leaders. For our inaugural year, we will welcome three diverse guests to our Thousand Oaks community, starting with Professor Jared Diamond this July. Each speaker is an expert in his or her field and each has extremely thought-provoking topics to discuss. Their talks will trigger emotional, moral, and ethical discussion, and you will have the opportunity to take part, accompanied by your TEC mishpacha. Don’t sit this out. Don’t let others make the big decisions. Come learn and be part of conversations that will shape the very future of humanity.

And have a very Happy Purim.

As the month of March begins, the preschoolersarefullyengagedinthestoryof Purim. The classrooms are stocked with crowns, costumes, Purim character masks and of course, groggers. This is a holiday wherethechildrencanusetheirdramaticplay skills to celebrate the bravery of Esther, be sillylikeKingAchashverosh,andbeaheroto helptheJewishpeople.

Every Friday in the month of March we are inviting Grandparents to visit the classrooms with their grandchildren! Grandparents are a valuablepartofourlives. Theyhavesomany storiesandexperiencestosharewithallofus.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION DIRECTOR

We look forward to these intergenerational experiences. Together the family members will participate in activities in the classrooms and will finish the morning at our Shabbat Singalong.

Towards the end of March, we are introducing the next Jewish holiday Pesach, or Passover. The older preschoolers will visit the Matzah Factory and make their own matzah. We will enjoy the story of Passover, special Passover foodsandclassroomSeders.

OurECEparents’group,ParentsofTempleEtz Chaim (PTEC), had a Parents’ Night Out on March 1 at Tarantula Hill restaurant on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. It was a fun gettogether and a great way to meet other ECE families.

Havdallah and Hotdogs, our annual family program,wasonceagainagreatsuccessthis year. We are so grateful to our anonymous donor family for their generous annual sponsorshipofHavdallahandHotdogs,which allows us to offer this fun-filled evening of food,crafts,andactivitiesatareducedcostto families. TodahRabah!

This extravaganza could not have occurred without the outstanding and hardworking individuals listed below. From conception to fruition, all those involved in Havdallah and Hotdogs worked diligently to make this evening a success: Susan Kane, Karen Garelik, Maya Tenenbaum, Heidi Birnbaum, RabbiAverbach,LeoBronstein,

Sarah Karamas, Carl Friedlander, Linda Friedlander,CindyGoldberg,AdyaRiss,Auggie Riss, Merrill Kaminsky, Steve Kaminsky, Felicia Toporoff, Ian Toporoff, Jeff Landes, Matt Sanders, Terri Zwicker, Joe Zwicker, Vanessa Averbach, Cantor Kenny Ellis, Lori Arons, Jessica Dennis, Adam Felsen, Nicole Lodtner, TobiLove,RandeePaller,RivkaMoscovitch,Jill Rosenberg, Dani Urman, Evelinda Urman, Ilana Urman, Niki Stokols, Mark Stokols, and Lior Yakov. Also, a huge thank you to Gideon Manzur, Shane Silverstein, and our fantastic maintenance staff for ensuring everything was setupandtoourteenageaides–SaraBlakely, Mia Sonnenberg-Rhim, Emma Riss, and Ashley Tepfer.

We appreciate all the parent volunteers and those on the committee of the Parents of Temple Etz Chaim for helping us with our school, holiday and family events! We all value yoursupport!

ChagSameach!

DebbieBlumenthal joyce@templeetzchaim.org

We hope you plan to attend "Havdallah and Hotdogs" again next year. Although the name stays the same, the theme of Havdallah and Hotdogs changes every year. We already have nextyear'sthemeplanned–youwillloveit!

We are looking forward to sharing many more happytimesatTempleEtzChaim.

HappyPurim–ChagPurim–Enjoy,

JoyceBronstein

MarchMadnessTECStylebegins…

Westartedthemonthalittleearlywithawalk to combat the rise of antisemitism globally, nationally,andlocallyasaproudsponsorand supporter of the Tri-County ADL Walk Against Hate, held at Conejo Creek North on February 26. TEC was proudly and mightily represented at the event, which brought people from all across Ventura County together. It was a great afternoon of communityandlearning.Thankyoutoallwho volunteeredandwhoparticipatedintheevent in any other way. Your presence made a difference.

BimBamShabbatwillbeheldMarch4onthe Gesher play yard. Mr. Steve will be with us againaswecelebrateShabbattogether.This song-filledmorningisgearedforfamilieswith youngchildren.

Purim is almost here, and we are looking forward to the merriment that only an amazing carnival, megillah reading, shpiel, hamantaschen, and homemade knishes can bring. If you haven’t already done so, please signuptovolunteerforthecarnivalonMarch5 from 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM. This year, we will be adding a street fair component to the carnival for added fun for all ages. The Pop-Up Purim Pizza Party, Megillah reading and Shpiel will be held on March 6, beginning at 5:30 PM with pizzaand6:15PMforthemerrimentofthemain event(s)–themegillahandshpiel.

Our afternoon at the theater to see Fiddler on the Roof will be on March 16. We are looking forward to sharing this cultural experience together.

Sunday StickArounds continue on March 19 with a Town-Hall focusing on educational opportunities at TEC. As usual, the Town Hall willbeginat9:30AM.

Look for upcoming information about how to join us for a group trip to the Ronald Reagan Library Auschwitz exhibit on the Sunday (4/16/23) preceding Yom HaShoah. Rabbi Averbach will also be participating in a community wide memorial at the Reagan Librarythatevening.Wearelookingforwardto ameaningfuldaytogether.

Members of TEC USY joined with Aliyah and Shomrei Torah in their annual Into the Night activity, and Machar and Kadima continue to have fun-filled lounge activities. Our next lounges are planned with Machar tentatively scheduledforMarch19andKadimascheduled forMarch28.

The construction team has been working diligently to ensure that the project is completed on time and with the highest quality standards.

As of now, the interior walls and floors have been stripped down, and the new electrical and plumbing systems have been installed. The next phase of the renovation will focus on rebuilding the walls, installing new flooring, and updating the lighting fixtures.

We would like to thank all of our members for their patience and understanding during this renovation period. We understand that the construction work may cause some disruptions, but we assure you that it will be worth it once the renovation is complete.

We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the renovation, and we look forward to welcoming you all back to the newly renovated building soon.