Greetings Havurah Members,
I’ll begin with my sincerest wishes to all of you for a happy and healthy 2025!
Thanks to everyone who volunteered for our Chanukah Gala and Menorah Lighting. Volunteers make our events successful!
Our next Shabbat Dinner is on Friday, January 24th. We will have delicious Mediterranean food from Hummus Bowls and Wraps. If you haven't eaten there, here’s what you can expect: a hearty meal bowl with a tremendous variety of toppings to choose from. Our theme for the evening is Tu B’Shevat, the birthday of the trees in Israel. Our dessert will be an assortment of fruits on the Seder plate associated with the Seven Species of Israel. Following dinner, Havurah’s own Susan Dubin will present “Tu B’Shevat in Theresienstadt – Spiritual Resistance During the Holocaust.” Susan is a library consultant to the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center and has worked with the World Federation of Jewish Child Holocaust Survivors and Descendants. She was named “Jewish Educator of the Year” by Jewish Nevada in 2020.
The deadline to RSVP for the Shabbat dinner is Friday, January 10th, at NOON. That afternoon, we must turn in the final count and payment to the caterer. Click HERE for the invitation and RSVP details.
Mark your calendars for our upcoming meetings and functions:
- Monday, February 24th at 6:30 pm: Quarterly Membership Meeting
- Sunday, March 16th, at 6:30 p.m.: Purim Party featuring renowned comedian Rabbi Bob Alper, a costume contest, and dessert. We will collect food donations for the Jewish Family Service Food Pantry at this event.
- Saturday, April 12th: Passover Seder, led by Havurah’s own Rabbi Danny Gottlieb and Ricki Weintraub.
- New members, stay tuned--we will hold some New Member Get-togethers soon! These are an opportunity to meet in a small group to get to know some other members, and a few people from the Leadership Team. Invitations will go out later this month.
I am excited to be working with Wendy Linow and Mitchell Stein as our Vice-Presidents, Alan Alterbaum as our Treasurer, Lenore Delman in her final year as our Secretary, Carol Levey leading Membership, Ricki Weintraub leading Programs, and Jan Grinel and Helene Laefer leading Events. In addition, Barbara Miller and Marnee Foldoe will be our Social Solos Ambassadors, and Pepe Kahn, Rhonda Begun, and Linda Shapiro will organize our Dine Outs. Marilyn Lerner will continue as our Care Committee chair and will continue to partner with Lenore Delman to coordinate our volunteer needs. Maxine Drapkin will be our Hospitality Coordinator, ensuring we have all we need in our kitchen for our functions. Ellen Goodside will be leading our Sunshine Committee. Ary Mirochnik will continue as our website manager and assist with other technical needs. If you need to contact any of these people, go to our website, www.havurah.scaclub.org, log in, and click on Solos or Sunshine on the left for those contacts, or click on the Board Members tab, then the person you wish to contact for everyone else. This is not an exhaustive list—just the people you would most likely want to contact. Many more people are stepping up to help behind the scenes, and I genuinely appreciate them all!
If you have forgotten your password on the website, no worries--there is a tutorial on the main page entitled "Setting Up Your Havurah Website Account." Logging in allows you to see documents and contact Leadership Team Members (currently "Board Members" on the website). We are not able to accept payments on the website. All payments to Havurah, whether for dues or events, require either cash, or checks made out to Sun City Anthem Community Association, Inc. Our mailbox is located in Anthem Center across from the fitness desk. 2025 Membership Dues remain at $15 per person. They are due now. If you don't renew your membership by February 28th, our website automatically deletes you and you will no longer receive Havurah emails, and you won't be eligible for member rates for our functions. To the tremendous number of you that have already submitted your 2025 dues, thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming functions!
If you have suggestions, comments, or concerns, don't hesitate to contact me at debbieblonder@icloud.com or (703) 624-0897.
Warmest Regards,
Debbie