This past month we had a minyan every Friday evening; it was wonderful!
Our month began with April 4th Shabbat Service led by our B'Nai Mitzvah class; and Friday night was Standing Room Only. Okay, so there were some chairs empty, but the 70 plus attendees comprised of JCSC and Temple Shalom families were treated to a well-prepared, student-led service and Kiddush provided by Greg Perlmutter, Shelia Grodsky and the Anker family.
Where a minyan is the norm for Saturday morning services, unfortunately it is not for Friday evenings. Fortunately, this past month those needing to say Kaddish were able to do so. Thank you to everyone who answered the call.
This past Friday, April 25, was quite special. The word was out that the Rabbi unavailable to lead services and Neil Lewinter was stepping up-to-the-bima. Once again, thank you Neil. When Harold and Florence Goldring arrived to an empty parking lot at 7:53, they were a little concerned. At 7:55 Neil was there and by 7:58 the parking lot started to fill up.
By 8:02 we had 14 adult members ready to begin. Special, right? Yes! But, it got even better. At 8:03 Abbi and Larry Anker arrived directly from a softball game. By 8:05 Abbi was changed out of her uniform and co-leading Shabbat Services with Neil. This was a special evening and Abbi's preparation was fantastic! I feel very lucky to have been part of this service. Neil and I picked up some passadic goodies and everyone enjoyed the Kiddush.
We all have busy lives and we all make choices. For instance, at this point, it is very difficult for me to attend Shabbat morning services. So, I choose to attend Friday night and most of the time my son and wife join me. And, on occasion, Kim takes Jamie to Saturday morning services when he was not able to attend on Friday night.
As a child, Friday Night Services was part of our family life-style. I wouldn't say we were "religious"; we didn't keep a kosher home and we all enjoyed a cheeseburger. I would, however, say that my family was "traditional", in that we observed the Jewish holidays which included attending Shul on Friday evenings. After all, Shabbat is the most important ritual observance in Judaism.
The two towns I grew up in had large Jewish populations, thus a "call for a minyan" wasn't required. We, as Jewish families in Sussex County, are faced with many challenges and one of them is numbers; there are so few of us. When a congregation has 3,000 adult members, it needs a very small percentage to make a minyan; less than 1%. When a congregation has only 150 adult members, a minyan requires about a 7% participation.
This is a challenge. By choosing to raise my son Jewish in northern New Jersey, it is a challenge I have accepted. We do not attend every Shabbat service, but we do try to attend most of them throughout the entire year. Hebrew School may end in May, but Shabbat is 52 weeks each year.
I am very happy that Kim and I made the choice to become members of the JCSC community. I am extremely proud to listen to my son daven and answer questions based upon the education he receives at the JCSC; many times it seems he is my teacher. I am very grateful to all of his teachers over the past 5 years, thank you.
Shabbat is a day of celebration and prayer. All are encouraged to celebrate and pray each and every Friday evening and Saturday morning. We may be small in numbers, but together we can accomplish wonderful feats!
Wishing all of my very best to the JCSC community and their families.
See you in Shul,
Ken Lowenstein
