Celebrating Jewish Peoplehood with Rabbi Alexander Kovtun
Friday, March 7, 2025 • 6:30pm
We look forward to seeing you at our meaningful Shabbat service in the Sanctuary, when we will celebrate Jewish Peoplehood.
If you would prefer to join us virtually, click here to livestream the service.
REMINDER: to enhance security, a password is now required to view our livestream. The password and instructions to log in to the livestream will be sent to you in a separate email. If you have any questions, call the temple office at 516.621.6800.
Co-Chaired by
Carol & James Rotenberg and Lauren & David Borkon
The notion of Jewish Peoplehood encompasses Judaism as a civilization with a collective story, religion, culture, language, ethical tradition, and dedication to community. Our goal in presenting this series is to strengthen the connection between Jews around the world.
our next program in the series: Friday,
March 7 • 6:30pm during our Shabbat Service
Guest Speaker: Rabbi Alexander Kovtun from Germany
Born in 1991 in Krivoy Rog, USSR (now Ukraine), Alexander Kovtun studied law at both the National University Odesa Law Academy and the Kyiv Institute of Intellectual Property. He worked as a lawyer and was politically active both in Ukraine and across Europe. For many years he was the madrich for a number of Jewish organizations including Hillel, Jewish Agency, and Netzer. His Jewish involvement in post-Soviet Union territories spurred his decision to become a rabbi, studying at the Machon program, where he completed his rabbinical study at the Institute for Modern Jewish Study. Alex continued his rabbinical studies at both Conservative Yeshivah, in Jerusalem and Abraham Geiger College, and he studied Jewish Theology at the University of Potsdam. In December, 2022, Alex was ordained as a rabbi in Berlin, at the Rikelstrasse Synagogue. He began his rabbinical career at the Liberal Jewish Congregation of Hanover Etz Chaim. He also serves as rabbi of the Netzer Germany youth movement and works with the Tamar Germany and Keshet movements.
Sinai Shabbat Saturdays
New Ways to Experience Shabbat at Temple Sinai*
Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 9:30am
Saturday Morning Torah Study*K with Rabbi Ilana Schachter in person and via livestream
Shabbat is a time for reflection, gratitude, and enrichment.
Join us for a morning of engaging text study and conversation, centered around the weekly Torah portion.
No previous knowledge of Hebrew, liturgy, or text required – join us as we learn from our tradition and from one another!
*Temple Sinai will always hold space for you to remember your loved one and say Kaddish for them. Please note that Kaddish will be recited during any program marked with *K.
Click here to join the livestream
A VERY SPECIAL SHABBAT SERVICE
with Rabbi Ofek Meir leader of the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa
Friday, March 28 • 6:30pm
Rabbi Ofek Meir has been a teacher and educator at the Leo Baeck Education Center for the past 35 years, as well as a youth coordinator at the community center, and Ohel Avraham's assistant Rabbi. He was the founder and headmaster of the Leo Baeck Elementary School and also served as the Middle School headmaster.
Ofek established the Lorri Lokey International Center for Jewish Studies on the Leo Baeck campus and served as the Head of the Israeli Rabbinic program at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. Since 2018, Ofek has served as the Headmaster and Managing Director of the Leo Baeck Education Center – home to 2,400 students from pre-school to year 12.
Ofek has a B.A and a Teaching Certificate in Jewish Thought and History from the Oranim College, as well as a Rabbinical Ordination from the Hebrew Union College. He also has a Classical Guitar Performance Degree (A.R.C.M) from the Royal College of Music (London).
PURIM Torah Study EREV
WITH RABBI ILANA SCHACHTER
THURSDAY, MARCH 13 • 6:00PM IN THE
LIBRARY
JEWISH PRIDE AS RESILIENCE: THE BOOK OF ESTHER
As we have seen throughout history, in the face of Jewish hate, Jewish pride can be a powerful tool of resilience. Perhaps there is no better illustration of this in our Jewish sacred texts than in Megillat Esther.
This Purim, join Rabbi Schachter as we study this story and draw strength from our powerful matriarch, Esther, who models for us the importance of Jewish pride.
Welcome to our Purim Karaoke...
Cocktails • Karaoke • Dinner
Hear the Purim Story...Karaoke-Style, followed by Open Mic Karaoke! Come dressed in your favorite 1970s California look! All net proceeds benefit victims of the California wildfires Space is limited! Register at mysinai.org/purimkaraoke2025
$54/person - or reserve a full table of eight or a half table of four at $64/person
SATURDAY, MARCH 15 • 7:00PM in the SIMCHA ROOM You won’t want to leave....
Sunday, March 16 • 10:30am-12:30pm in the Cocktail Room
We are coming together to pack comfort bags for families who lost everything when the L.A. wildfires ravaged their homes.
You can sign up for a one-hour shift, or pack for the full two hours.
This temple-wide project will be the first of our new, large-scale responses to immediate needs - both near and far.
DEAR ERICH
A Jazz Opera by Ted Rosenthal
Sunday, March 2 at 7 pm
Dear Erich was commissioned by New York City Opera and received its world premiere in 2019 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. Dear Erich was inspired by 200 newly discovered letters written in Germany between 1938 and 1941 by Herta Rosenthal to her son Erich, the composer’s father. Composer Ted Rosenthal is a leading jazz pianist and composer, and has performed worldwide as soloist, with his trio and with many jazz greats.
Special offer! SAVE 25% WITH CODE ERICH
Tickets at TillesCenter.org, 516.299.3100, or in-person at the Tantleff Box Office, open Mon-Fri, 1-6pm, 720 Northern Blvd, Brookville, NY Unlock code ERICH on Ticketmaster before choosing seats. Offer not applicable on previously purchased tickets. Restrictions apply. No refunds or exchanges.
Presented in collaboration with
&
Beyond the Matriarchs: legends about women you’ve never heard of and the rituals that will change your life Thursday, March 6 at 7:00pm in the Library
Join Rabbi Schachter [and Sinai’s own, Amy Pepper] on a spirited and spiritual adventure, as we immerse in storytelling, history, and hands-on Jewish rituals about and for women.
Register at: mysinai.org/matriarchs
The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt
Wednesday, March 19 at 11:00am at the Jewish Museum
Paintings, prints, and drawings representing the Book of Esther made by Rembrandt van Rijn and his contemporaries will be presented with Jewish ceremonial art related to the holiday of Purim from 17th-century Amsterdam. Space is limited for this docent tour, led by Sinai’s own Ronna Niederman.
$20 per person; temple members only limit two tickets per registration Register at mysinai.org/bookofesther
SINAI CINEMA
Narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley IT IS NO
DREAM
The Life of Theodor Herzl
SUNDAY, MARCH 30 2:00PM
AT TEMPLE SINAI
It Is No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl explores the life and times of Theodor Herzl, father of the modern state of Israel. Narrated by Academy Award®-winner, Sir Ben Kingsley and starring Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz as the voice of Theodor Herzl. The film examines how Herzl, a well-known journalist and playwright, an assimilated, Budapest-born Jew, horrified by the Dreyfus trial in Paris and the antisemitism he saw spreading across Europe, took upon himself the task of attempting to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine against all odds.
Over the span of eight years, Herzl organized and led a worldwide political movement that within fifty years led to the establishment of the state of Israel. The film follows Herzl as he meets with Kings, Prime Ministers, Ambassadors, a Sultan, a Pope and government ministers from Constantinople to St. Petersburg, from Paris to Berlin, from Vienna to Vilna in his quest to build a Jewish nation.
Visit to the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County
TUESDAY, APRIL 1 • 1:00PM
Our docent-led tour of the Holocaust Museum, includes a docent-led tour of the special exhibit,
Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel
A suite of 25 lithographs commemorating the 25th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.
Wednesday, March 5 • 7:00pm in
the Library
We are excited to invite you to our upcoming evening business networking meeting, where you can meet potential customers, discover new ways to expand your business, explore potential collaborations, create relationships with others in the community.
We are thrilled to welcome guest speaker Jayson Wolfe, Esq.
Jayson is an attorney whose primary practice areas include Elder law, Trusts and Estates, Guardianship and Estate Administration.
By helping one another improve our businesses, we are helping to improve the well-being of our Temple Sinai community.
Everyone in welcome!
We hope you will join us!
Questions? Contact Richard Blatt by clicking here.
Wednesday, March 12 • 7:30pm in the Library
Friday, March 7 • 9:30am in the Library
Our March Collection
This month, let’s pass along Passover foods!
We have a long standing relationship with Hatzilu Rescue Organization which provides support to Jews experiencing job loss, health issues, and other difficulties. Hatzilu is Hebrew for rescue or save.
Please donate these non-perishable Passover foods and place in the bins in the temple lobby (no glass):
• matzo
• matzo ball mix
• kosher soups and mixes
• kosher snacks/macaroons
• gefilte fish (canned only)
• salmon
• tuna
• sardines
• and other kosher for Passover items
This event includes a live breathwork, meditation, visualization experience.
Register at sjjcc.org/event/turn-stress-into-strength/
Transform Stress into Strength
Stress is unavoidable. But what if you could turn it into your greatest strength? In this transformative event, Brigitte shares her deeply personal journey of resilience. Through her own traumatic experience, she developed a method—rooted in ancient techniques combined with science backed, evidence-based tools—that not only help to navigate past trauma but also builds capacity to handle chronic stress that affects all of us.
Let’s talk about:
• How breathwork, meditation, and visualization re-wire the response to adversity
• The science behind managing stress and building inner strength
• Practical tools you can use to shift from overwhelm to empowerment
Curb Your Mitzvah
Sid Jacobson JCC is collecting the following items for their Prom Drive as well as “Dress for Success”.
Drop off will be on Sunday, March 16 from 10am-12pm at the
Sid Jacobson JCC, 300 Forest Drive, Greenvale.
Items needed:
Prom Dresses - all sizes
Men’s & Women’s belts
Men’s Suits - smaller sizes
Men’s Dress Shirts - smaller sizes
Women’s Blazers - S-XL
Women’s Skirts - S-XL
All Congregants Welcome to Join Our Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Class Guest Speakers Series
Every year, our sixth grade students and their parents engage in a special unit of study on the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance. The class is led by Ellen Widawsky, a fantastic educatior who has traveled to Germany and Poland with the HAJRTP, studied at Yad Vaschem at the Echoes and Reflections Advanced Teachers Seminar, participated in the Belfer Conference at the USHMM, the Charlotte and Jacques Wolf Educators Conference on Echoes and Reflections in New York City, and traveled with the Sousa Mendes Foundation on their Footsteps to Freedom trip.
Ellen is graciously opening up specific sessions of her class to the entire congregation.
The congregation is welcome to attend these classes, each featuring a different guest speaker:
March 10: Alison Widawsky, a 3G, will tell the story of her zayde, Sam Widawsky, a Holocaust survivor from Poland. 3G is a grandchild of a Holocaust survivor. Widawsky survived the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz, Kaufering, and other labor camps.
March 17: Joan Arnay Halperin, author of the book My Sister’s Eyes: A Family Chronicle of Rescue and Loss During World War II, will talk about her family connection to Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese Consul General based in France, who signed false visas enabling thousands of Jews (and others) to leave Europe through Portugal. Sousa Mendes and Chiunie Sugihara are both Righteous Among the Nations.
RSVP is required; please email Debra Hollander by clicking here.
The Temple Sinai Early Childhood Center PFA is in the planning stage of our annual Sinai Summer Jam fundraiser. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, May 18. The event’s success relies heavily on the contributions of sponsors, who go out of their way to lend financial support.
Summer Jam is a communty-wide event that features inflatables, rides, food, music, and special guests. All the monies raised at the event will be used for enriching programs both inside and outside of the classroom for out students and their families.
We hope you will consider one of our sponsorship levels!
With ALL sponsorship levels, your family or company name/logo will be featured around the event space and will be included in all communications both via email and social media.
$710
This sponsorship level also includes your own table where you can engage with attendees and distribute promotional materials. PLUS 8 complimentary tickets (only required for children) and 5 raffle tickets.
$540
This sponsorship level also includes 6 complimentary tickets (only required for children) and 3 raffle tickets.
$270
This sponsorship level also includes 3 complimentary tickets (only required for children).
$360
This sponsorship level also includes 4 complimentary tickets (only required for children).
$108
This sponsorship level also includes 2 complimentary tickets (only required for children).
Any support is welcomed and much appreciated! All donations are tax deductible, and we will gladly supply a receipt acknowledging your donation by request.
To sign up for a sponsorship, please click here.
If you are unable to sponsor but would like to donate a raffle prize, please contact Hillary Friedman of the PFA by email at hkrinick@gmail.com, or by phone at 516.643.2099. Your name/logo will be displayed at our event as a thank you!
