Jennifer Newfeld, Director of Congregational Learning

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Tikkun Olam Day


Playing with the children at Gateway
Wow, what a Tikkun Olam day! Over 175 B’nai Amoona adults and children spent this past Sunday morning at Gateway180. Gateway180’s mission is to provide safe, nurturing emergency shelter services designed to get women, children and families into homes in 30-days or less. We have been partnering with Gateway180 since last year and have developed a really nice relationship. They love that we keep coming back. This past Sunday we scrubbed some rooms that needed to be cleaned, cooked lunch for the residents, cleaned up the grounds with our beautification committee, made over 100 sack lunches and bags of trail mix that Gateway can hand out to those in need, created a quilt as a gift to the shelter, and offered opportunities for our children and their children to get to know one another while enjoying art projects, board games, Israeli dancing and sports. 
Taking a snack break

Thank you so much to everyone who helped make the morning such a success. We had so many people attend, more than double last year. Next year we might need two sights for Tikkun Olam day.

We look forward to our next opportunity with Gateway180 when we welcome their children to our Purim carnival on March 11th. 

We had so many pictures of smiling children, here are a few 
Making PB & J sandwiches for sack lunches
Sports time for B'nai Amoona and Gateway children
Playing
Making a quilt for the wall at Gateway
Our Beautification Committee
The new chiefs
Grilled Cheese

Monday, January 9, 2012

Wedding

Yesterday we had a lovely wedding at Pardes. Rabbi Joe and Barbara Davidson (already married for 39 years) agreed to get married at yesterday's mock wedding. It was a lovely morning with singing, dancing and learning about the components of a traditional Jewish wedding. I loved watching our 9th & 10th grade students link arms and sing while our bride entered the room for the B'decken. When our 2nd and 3rd graders watched wide eyed as the couple walked down the isle. And when our 6th & 7th graders shouted Mazel Tov during the breaking of the glass.
It was a wonderful morning.