As part of Project Re-Jew-Venate LPJC

Rabbi Viñas provided an annual report detailing the

Progress of the congregation

After one year of service;

“State of the Congregation”

Rabbi’s Annual Report

2003-2004 5763-5764

Submitted March 31^st, 2004

9^th day of Nisan 5764

This report will focus upon the activities, events and developments initiated at the Lincoln Park Jewish Center (LPJC) during this my first year of activity for the center. It was agreed in the Rabbi’s contract (section 5.1) that I would provide to the President, a written report at the end of my first year as Rabbi at the center. I have decided that it would be most appropriate to share this report with all of the members of the congregation rather than solely with the President and governing officers. I made this decision based upon two factors; (1) I believe it is important that all of the members of the center become aware of the progress, difficulties and general state of the synagogue so that we can all work together to promote its vibrancy and progress and, (2) because my activities on behalf of the congregation have promoted changes that I believe will be beneficial to the long term life of the synagogue which affect all members and their families.

New Programs:

The following paragraphs will report on new programs created since the beginning of my work, the recruitment of new members and marketing and outreach activities already conducted;

v Midrashia: A series of Jewish Educational events for each season, organized into an attractive brochure form. Each of these brochures advertises us as a “Vibrant and Welcoming Modern Orthodox Congregation.”

The Fall Midrashia brochure was sent out to our members and placed all over Riverdale. The classes were very well attended. The following is a description of each:

●The Call of the Shofar: A pre-High holiday’s series that discussed Teshuva (repentance) and the Shofar was blown as is the custom during the month prior to Rosh Hashana. This had a small attendance but the children’s program had 15 children on a Sunday morning.

●Learn to Read Hebrew was offered by a volunteer, one of our new members, Malka Kaplan. This met Sunday Mornings.

●Introduction to Cabalah was offered Monday nights during November. We had 50 participants each night. This included many new faces.

●Introduction to Talmud was led by Rabbi Joshua Maroof on Monday nights during December. It had 25 participants.

The Spring Midrashia brochure was sent out to all members and our growing list of “friends of LPJC” which is managed by my wife from our home computer. The friends list includes names and addresses of non-members who are invited to attend our activities. We generated these names from events and classes where participants were invited to submit names and addresses for future programs. Unfortunately I have been unable to generate more brochures from our own photocopy machine because this machine is unable to handle the increased number of copies since I began my work at the center. It smears the copies if they include a high amount of text or graphics and this would make us look very unprofessional. Our first batch of 500 brochures were made at Staples and folded by Jimmy, Helen and my children by hand.

●Cabalah the Building Blocks of Creation Monday nights at 7 pm during March. Has been very well attended by over 30 participants.

●Video Flour on Sunday March 21^st was a resounding success. Avishai Mekonen an Ethiopian immigrant spoke about his life in Ethiopia and Israel and presented scenes from his movie and Operation Solomon. This was also a fund-raiser for his upcoming trip to Israel to donate a kidney to his brother. We raised $656 dollars. $556 came from attendees and $100 from our charity fund.

● Other programs have not yet occurred. The programs offered include; Kosher for Passover, The Shabbos Hagadol Drasha “the Power of Matza”, the community Seder, “A Travelers Guide to Shabbos zemiros” offered by our chazzan, The Mitzvah of living in the Land of Israel presented by Rabbi Aharon Ziegler my Rebbi, a Children’s Shavuos Ice Cream Party, and a Torah Factory presentation on June 13^th from 12-3 pm. Additionally we will also have a presentation regarding Home ownership in the Lincoln Park area by Realtor Jeffrey Landsman. This program is called “the American Jewish Dream.” It is being marketed all over Riverdale, the Upper West Side of Manhattan and Queens.

v The Parashat Hashavuah class was ongoing throughout the year. This meets on Tuesday nights at 8:15 pm. I created a class that encourages participation, with lively discussions, and at each class a different classical or modern commentary is “invited” to attend. I describe this person’s life and work and present the Parsha from this perspective. This class usually has around 25 participants.

v Shalosh Seudos classes: between Mincha and Maariv on Saturday nights I offer a class during the refreshments of the third meal of Shabbat. As always women are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion. Between Passover and Shavuos we study the Ethics of our Fathers portion of the Talmud and during the rest of the year I offered a class regarding the Siddur (prayer book). After Shavuos we hope to begin learning some of the ethical and pietistic writings of Musar.

v The Children’s Shavuos Ice Cream Party. Was held last year for the first time on the first day of Shavuos in the afternoon. There were well over 20 children of varying ages in attendance. The children were read the Ten Commandments from a real torah scroll and then were given ice cream to re-create Mount Sinai since it is a custom to eat dairy. The sprinkles were multicolored to represent the flowers of Mount Sinai. This year’s party will take place on Wed. May 26^th at 4:30 pm.

v New Web site:

WWW.LPJC.org A web site designed and created by me. Creating this was not easy for me. The web site has photographs, a history of the center, service times and divrei torah. It also includes advertisements of upcoming programs. The cost of creating and maintaining the web site has been completely paid for by me.

v The Cantor: Cantor Eric Freeman was hired by the congregation to sing for us during the High Holidays. His performance was excellent. So many members expressed the wish that we had the money to hire him for the rest of the year that I decided to make that happen for all of us. Using funds from a separate grant which I have received from UJA federation for my Spanish language group, “El Centro de Estudios Judios Torat Emet.” I have hired the cantor to perform for us, at least once a month since, October of 2003. The following are the dates of his attendance; Oct. 24, Nov. 15, Dec. 6, Dec. 20 (Shabbos Chanukah), Jan. 10, Jan. 31, Feb. 7, March 28, First two days of Sukkoth, Live music for the Sukkah party and live music for Purim party.

v The Sukkah Party: This Sukkoth we had a wonderful Simchat Beit Hashoeva in the Sukkah. The Cantor provided live music for the event as gift to the synagogue from El Centro de Estudios Judios Torat Emet. Four cases of wine and two cases of beer were donated to the synagogue by Howard Abarbanel and by José Viñas (my brother) who is a distributor for the Abarbanel Wine Company. The party was attended by around 80 people.

v The Chanukah Party: Klezmer and Latkes …This party was attended by over 100 people. One of the families which attended this party joined our synagogue.

v Shul attendance:

Right after Yom Kippur, we began a Monday and Thursday morning minyan. We were off to a good start at first but this winter was a difficult one and unfortunately we have not had a minyan lately. We are hoping to increase involvement soon with some of our minyannaires returning from Florida. Dr. and Mrs. Keltz have been especially helpful in getting the word out about this minyan. The Shabbos Morning services have grown. At most Shabbos services we now have 60-80 people. This was confirmed by Jimmy who explained to me that in the past he was setting out three tables for the Kiddush but now he needs six. On Shabbos afternoon we usually have a minyan that is followed by shalosh seudos refreshments.

v El Centro de Estudios Judios Torat Emet; This is a Spanish language group which I created in Jan. of 2000. The aim of the group is to provide Torah learning through classes and social events for Spanish speaking Jews. It is the only one of its kind in the Tri-state area. With this group I have competed for funding and have received very competitive grants and recognition. We began meeting at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and continue meeting at our synagogue. At present I have created the only Spanish language Jewish Newspaper in the country. Its name is “Tora Tropical.” Some of El Centro’s participants attend our programs and services and some have become members of our congregation. When I joined the congregation it was agreed that I would continue my activities with this group.

I want to clarify to those who are unaware of the origins of Latin American Jewry that it is very similar to American Jewish origins. The vast majority of Latin American Jews are of ASHKENAZIK descent. Their families went to Latin America straight from Europe. Just as the majority of America Jews came here straight from Europe. Other American Jews are of Sephardic descent. In fact, the first Jews to come to New York were leaving Brazil due to the Portuguese Inquisition. They were the founders of the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue in 1654 which is now a major institution located at 70^th and Central Park West. Some Latin American Jews are of Sephardic ancestry having arrived from Spain, Portugal and the Middle East. These Jews are similar to the Sephardic Jews of America. The only difference is that they went to Latin America rather than the US. This describes the vast majority of those who attend my group. There are also a number of participants that have undergone conversion to Judaism through the Orthodox movement. In fact, many of those are never around on Shabbos because they are so observant that they do not travel on Shabbos. Some of these are people of Sephardic ancestry whose ancestors were forcibly converted to Catholicism during the Inquisition. They are often called by the name ‘marranos’ which means “pigs” as they were referred to for their allegiance to Judaism throughout the centuries by their anti-Semitic neighbors. The Jewish community refers to them as ‘anusim,’ a Hebrew word that means forced ones. When they come to my events (and our events) they are simply seeking to return to their roots, their religion and their people. It is a miracle that after 500 years the Jewish ‘Neshama’ (soul) still pangs within them and I need to be a part of encouraging them and welcoming them in their return to our people. Everyone who attends our services understands that we conduct them following the Ashkenazic practice.

I’m proud that our shul is the kind of place that makes everyone feel welcome regardless of race, ethnic background, disability, level of Jewish practice (Jewish denomination), whether they are married to a Jew or not, gender or any other difference. We should take a strong stand of inclusion and embrace and welcome. Unfortunately, there are many synagogues where exclusion and exclusivity is the order of business. It would serve us well to let people know that we are the kind of synagogue where this does not happen. There are a very large number of “typical American Jews” who would want to support and be members of a synagogue whose foundation is “ahavat yisrael” love of our fellow Jews. Most of us understand that what counts is Judaism not the custom or place of origin.

One of our new members decided to join us after having visited our congregation during the Chanukah Party. He told me that what made a major difference for him was that he saw a great diversity among our congregation that he had not seen elsewhere. This family includes a young son who will be Bar Mitzvah at our congregation next year.

‘El Centro’ has received a grant from UJA Federation in support of its programs and its newspaper. As soon as I saw that these funds were available to us, I found a way to share some of this with the congregation. What was decided was to hire the cantor to perform services for our congregation on the shabbatot that he would be performing for ‘El Centro’s’ Saturday evening Melava Malkas. To date we have paid for 12 visits from the chazzan, the new literature rack, the web site, one scholar in residence weekend that drew 200 people and an accompanying Kiddush. We have also contracted with the cantor to provide services at least six more times before Rosh Hashana.

v New members:

Since I began working for this congregation we have acquired many new members. We are so happy to be able to count them as our foundation for the future. Many of them are young families with children. One of our older members expressed to me her joy at seeing that once again there was the sound of children in our halls and their participation during services is so appreciated by all of us.

The following are our new members:

Claire and Joseph Cohen

Michelle and Felix Fonseca (children)

Mitch and Cecilia Offner (children)

Uri and Esther Tam (Children)

Esther Rodriguez

Joan and Mark Roth (children)

Adele and Maury Rosen (children)

David Brache

Malka and David Kaplan

Irina and Ariel Yanez

Marisol and Sharon Azulay

Mitch and Joan Kaufman (Child)

Hilda Hershenfis

David and Irene Lebowitz (returned)

Clara Fligelman

*Walter and Reni Hanau

v Shabbos Forshpeis; I created a weekly handout with a D’var Torah that is related to the Shabbos Torah Reading. This is also posted on our website.

v Public relations and Press

Jewish Week July 4^th weekend

Journal News (twice once on front page)

Westchester Jewish Chronicle twice

Westchester Jewish Life

Riverdale Review

The Jerusalem Report

v Mechitza- We have installed a temporary mechitza made of plants down the center aisle of the synagogue and a short curtain in the chapel. The Mechitza in the sanctuary requires a lot of care and I have replaced the plants many times but they still die due to the lack of light in the sanctuary. I installed the plants myself and occasionally change them when I see that they are no longer aesthetically pleasing. The Mechitza in the chapel is in the front on the left hand side. I made this myself and installed it. Mr. Jack Greenberg suggested that we remove some of the seats nearest the wall in order to allow for movement in the ezras nashim. I removed two seats and this worked out very well. I have proposed that we create a stained glass and wood framed mechitza that would match the décor of the sanctuary. The artist has completed the drawings for the panels which would feature Jewish life cycle events depicted within a Star of David to match the windows. Following the same pattern as the plants, it would be 40 inches high and not obstruct views in either direction. I have also requested that the mechitza be made with wheels on the bottom so that it could be removed for events that do not require its presence.

v Eruv-

I have completed studying the Talmudic section of Eiruvin and all of the laws pertaining to the construction of an eruv. These are some of the most complex laws in the Jewish codes. I have also contacted Rabbi Howard Jachter an expert in Eiruvin, who took me out into the “Field” and showed me the applied halacha of its construction. I am now ready to create the eruv. With in the next few months all of the leg work will be completed for its creation. At that point I recommend that we create a public relations and media blitz in the Jewish papers regarding its erection so that we can attract Eruv users.

*An eruv is a boundary marker around a geographic area or neighborhood that creates a “private domain” that would allow observant Jews to carry within its boundaries. It is proposed that we include Tibbets Brook Park as part of the Eruv so that the message is clear that this is a Modern Orthodox community that values recreation on Shabbos for families.

v Reputation:

The synagogue’s reputation appears to be increasing in a positive direction. This may be based upon the media attention that I have been able to attract to the center, the reputation that I built up before coming and the good work of our members in spreading positive messages about us. I can not stress enough the importance of this enough to our future. It is a foundation to build from. In business reputation is everything and here it is also. The usual scale in business is called “8/21.” Word of mouth has been recognized as the best marketing because it usually creates loyal customers. The 8/21 rule is that if someone is satisfied by a service they tell 8 friends (on average) but if they are dissatisfied they tell 21 friends. UJA Federation considers this scale to be even higher in the Jewish community. Reputation is everything for a community and synagogue. If we continue to be successful at developing a reputation as an Orthodox synagogue that is run completely according to Orthodox traditional practice and is welcoming and open to all levels of practice and background it will be the precipitating factor of our success as a congregation. American Jews are clamoring for this type of institution.

A Vibrant and Welcoming Modern Orthodox Congregation

Morning minyan Havdala The sound of the shofar kids

Pres. Elliott Pallais & Rabbi Purim Crowd Sisterhood

Viñas at LPJC Dinner 2003

This page will report on the progress of “Project Re-Jew-Venate LPJC.”

The mission of this project is to re-invigorate the shul by creating new programs, classes,

special events and activities that will attract and welcome new members and friends.

This project was launched by Rabbi Viñas as soon as he began his work

at the shul on April 1^st, 2003.

Last revised July 7^th 2004, 18^th of Tamuz 5764