TEC Education

DEBBIE BLUMENTHAL

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION DIRECTOR debbieb@templeetzchaim.org

November is here and that means the start of another great holiday season! In preparation, last week the entire preschool took a day to visit Underwood Family Farms and learn all about pumpkins! Learning about the life cycle of the pumpkin and exploring the inside of the pumpkin led to a wonderful life science experience for all ages. Today I saw an infant class washing pumpkins in their sensory table. As Thanksgiving approaches, there are sure to be some cooking and baking projects with pumpkin too! Thanksgiving is a time for us to reflect on all the things we are thankful for and also to remember to help others. Mitzvah Day is always recognized at Temple Etz Chaim on the first Sunday of November. The preschool has been collecting tzedakah all month to donate for Breast Cancer Awareness month. We are also helping to collect fruits and vegetables the last Wednesday of every month. The construction and renovation of the Temple Etz Chaim sanctuary has given us the opportunity to celebrate Shabbat every Friday morning outdoors on the Warren Lawn with our preschoolers and infants. The ECE Parents are invited to join us every week for songs, blessings, and a Shabbat story!

JOYCE BRONSTEIN RELIGIOUS SCHOOL DIRECTOR This month, our two newest Cantorial candidates will be joining us for the Friday morning sing-alongs, so everyone is invited to come and meet them as well! The ECE Center will be closed on November 24th and 25th in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Save the Date! We will be having an in-person Scholastic Book Fair December 5-9th! Books make great holiday gifts! Scholastic offers great books for all ages! Wishing everyone a Thanksgiving holiday filled with friends, family, and good health!

joyce@templeetzchaim.org

Mitzvah Day will take place on Sunday, November 6th. Our students especially look forward to being part of this annual community project. I appreciate the outpouring of support for this important social action project. This year we are collecting personal hygiene items for the children of Casa Pacifica. A few years ago, I listened to a speaker who was once in the foster care system. With tears in her eyes, she spoke about never receiving a new toothbrush as she moved from house to house. Let’s make a difference and help give children new fullsize items. We will never see their faces and joy upon receiving these items. But each of us knows in our heart that we did make a difference, and it feels great. On Mitzvah Day, Religious School students in grades K-7 will fill totes with the new personal hygiene items. Students will also create and decorate cards for the children. Ultimately, 60 filled totes will be donated to students at Casa Pacifica. This project is unique because it is a hands-on project involving all our students. Watching students’ faces as they participate in this Mitzvah project is very moving. I am so thankful for our congregants’ dedication, enthusiasm and participation in this worthwhile project. Giving our children these memories to recount and share creates the tradition of donating and we hope as adults they will continue to do so. Later this month, families will join together to celebrate Thanksgiving. Many people believe that the original Thanksgiving meal of the Pilgrims in New Salem, Massachusetts, was a copy of the Sukkot festival celebrated by the Israelites in Jerusalem. The Pilgrims loved the Bible and even based their calendars on it. Especially noteworthy is that the Pilgrims’ early American calendar used Hebrew names for the months. “Giving thanks” has always been an essential part of Judaism, from reciting blessings after meals to the pilgrimage festival of Sukkot. Since Biblical times, the ancient Israelites celebrated Sukkot by bringing a portion of their fall harvest to the Temple in Jerusalem as a sacrifice and then gathering with their families in booths to feast on their portion of the harvest. Thanksgiving is when we give thanks and appreciate the many things that fulfill our lives. Please plan to attend the Thanksgiving Interfaith Service on Wednesday, November 23rd. This Service is always special because members of the United Methodist Church and Temple Etz Chaim join to celebrate this national holiday. Wishing you everything good and wonderful this Thanksgiving season.

CINDY GOLDBERG

PROGRAMMING & YOUTH DIRECTOR cindy@templeetzchaim.org

So many holidays, so many opportunities to be together! Our plates and hearts were full in September and October with holidays, beginning with a Selichot dinner program with Beit Teshuva founders Rabbi Mark Borovitz and Harriet Rossetto, and ending with a joyous Simchat Torah dinner and service. Thank you to all who made these programs and dinners possible including: Dan Lubetkin, Joyce Bronstein, Leo Bronstein, Pam Friedman, Steve Friedman, Linda Friedlander, Carl Friedlander, Karen Garelik, Buzz Schoenkerman, Carol Schoenkerman, Dave Abramovicz, Dylan Abramovicz, Jake Abramovicz, Shane Silverstein, AJ Silverstein, Allan Horowitz, Gideon Manzur, Elisha Manzur, Sarah Karamas, Steve Ormond, Coby Field, Ricardo Delgado, Tatiana Caceres, Elisa Chacon, Jose Andino, Juan Castellanos, Patricia Bolenos, Cheryl Wolf, Jill Rosenberg, and Benny Sommerfeld. Without these people, none of these events would have been possible. Please take a minute and thank them when you see them. We learned a lot while having fun during our Sunday StickArounds (Round Challah Making and Q&A with Rabbi Averbach)! Sundays in November are going to be great opportunities to get involved with Tikun Oalm, with Mitzvah Day on November 6 and a PJ Library Event at the Moorpark Teaching Zoo on November 13 at 1:00pm. Look for flyers and emails with more information coming soon. Save the date for Bim Bam Shabbat on Saturday, November 5 at 10:30 am on the Gesher/Preschool yard. We will have a youngfamily friendly service with an Oneg to follow. It will be a fun and uplifting morning. USY has been busy! Congratulations to our newly elected board: Jenna Lotterman, President; Martin Jacobsohn and Sarah Blakely, Executive Vice Presidents; John Jacobsohn, VP Religious Education; Mandy Borys, VP Social Action Tikkun Olam; and Harrison Forman, VP Communications. Machar, Kadima and USY all had welcome back events and there is every indication that it is going to be a great year! Stay tuned!