Plaza Press

The Newsletter for Jewish Federation Plaza

A New Day in History

The first recorded celebration of the new year was in Mesopotamia in mid-March 2000 BC—the beginning of spring during the vernal equinox. The early Romans, whose calendar had just 10 months (March through December), also picked March as the start of the new year. However, ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians commemorated the new year with the autumnal equinox in mid-September. And the Greeks chose the winter solstice, in mid-December, for their New Year’s celebration.

Around 700 BC, the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, added the months of January and February to the Roman lunar calendar. But it wasn’t until about 153 BC that January 1 was celebrated as the first day of the new year. Historians say this was because January 1 was the day that newly elected Roman consuls began their one-year term in office. However, many people throughout the Roman Empire continued to mark March as the start of the new year.

Finally, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII reworked the calendar again, and January 1 officially became New Year’s Day. Most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar right away, but not everyone was quick to jump on the change. Protestant countries such as Great Britain, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire—and its American colonies—still celebrated the new year in March.

For many people these days, the new year begins when the lighted metal ball on the roof of New York City’s One Times Square “drops” down a flagpole. The ball drop countdown begins at 11:59 p.m. and ends at exactly 12 a.m. on January 1. Nearly a million people gather around Times Square to watch it happen, and as many as a billion more watch it on television. America isn’t alone in its New Year’s celebrations. People worldwide gather the evening of December 31 and continue celebrating through the night into New Year’s Day.

JANUARY 2016

Celebrating January

Book Blitz Month

International Brain

Teaser Month

New Year’s Day

January 1

Someday We’ll Laugh

About This Week

January 2–8

Bobblehead Day

January 7

Make Your Dream

Come True Day

January 13

Dr. Martin Luther King Day January 18

Disc Jockey Day January 20

Tu B’ Shevat

January 26

Tu B'Shevat

Tu B'Shevat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat is a holiday also known as

the New Year for Trees. Tu B'Shevat is the new year for the purpose of calculating

the age of trees for tithing.

There are few customs or observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a

new fruit on this day, or to eat from the Seven Species (shivat haminim) described in

the Bible as being abundant in the land of Israel. The Shivat Haminim are: wheat,

barley, grapes (vines), figs, pomegranates, olives and dates (honey) (Deut. 8:8).

You can make a nice vegetarian pilaf from the shivat haminim: a bed of cooked

bulgar wheat or wheat berries and barley, topped with figs, dates, raisins (grapes),

and pomegranate seeds, served with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar (grapes)

and pomegranate juice.

Manager’s Corner

Dear Residents I would like to express my warmest wishes for a happy and healthy 2016.

In the New Year, we are planning exciting programs and activities for your benefit. Among these will be live musical performances, engaging, educational speakers, theatrical events, arts and crafts, Life Long Learning and JCHC University and more. For your convenience, all of the programs will take place within your very own JCHC community. Please plan to attend the programs which have been especially designed to inform, uplift and entertain you. We are also planning museum visits, interesting trips and shopping expeditions for your enjoyment.

For your convenience, below you will find important transportation telephone numbers that you may wish to have:

ACCESS LINK 973-491-7000 ESSEX COUNTY TRANSPORTATION 973-266-8448 EZ RIDE 973-491-7000 GREENLINE LIMO LLC 862 930-5697 LIVINGSTON TAXI 973-740-1999 METRO TRANSPORT 973-325-1359 WEST ORANGE TRANSPORTATION 973-325-4134

Again, wishing you all the best! Ann Marie Bass

A Happy Birthday

Wish

To: Joan Bender

From:

Sandye Garrison Rhoda Morris

From: Sandye Garison

To:

Dolores Lederman

From: Marlene Hyatt

Marlene Mankoff Helen Mandel Marion Brod

Rachelle Chriss Ilse Frank

Elaine Botterman Sandye Garrison

Sophie Lubka Thelma Gottlieb Gert Freeman

A Happy Birthday

Wish

To: Bica Bercovici

To:

Saul Blazer From:

Sandye Garrison Rhoda Morris

Get Well Wishes

To:

Marion Brod

From: Marlene Hyatt

Marlene Mankoff Helen Mandel

Ilse Frank Elaine Botterman

Dolores Lederman Rachelle Chriss

Get Well Wishes

To:

Judy Solomon

From: Gert Freeman Dottie Kleinert

Dolores Lederman Rachelle Chriss

Clara Beckerman & Aggie Rhoda Morris Marlene Hyatt Linda Israel

Mille & Joe Podnos Sandye Garrison

Ilse Frank Elaine Botterman

Helen Boll Sophie Lubka

Esther & Ed Schwartz Sarah Levitt

Miriam Lateiner Carole Golden

Florence Widelitz Judy Cohen Lester Smith

Mickey Spector Sandye Lang Shirley Linker

Shirley Magnus

Condolence

To:

Mrs. Ilya Claus Hyatt in memory of her beloved mother,

Josephine Chaus

From: Marlene Hyatt

To:

Ari and Arron Chaus in memory of their beloved mother,

Josephine Chaus

From: Marlene Hyatt

To:

Steven Goldfarb in memory of his

beloved mother Sally

From: Marlene Hyatt Sophie Lubka

Susan Schwitzer

To: Steven Goldfarb in memory of his

beloved father Manny

From: Marlene Hyatt

Susan Schwitzer Dottie Kleinert

Mickey Spector Norma Tooter

To

Noami Schayes & family

in memory of beloved husband, Dolph

From:

Marlene Hyatt & family

(Camp Walden)

To: Nikki McNary & family

in memory of beloved mother

From:

Marlene Hyatt & family

Library Donations

George Aptecker Alyce Atkins Ilse Frank

Shirley Linker Sarah Moskowitz

Ron Rames Ed Schwartz

Esther Schwartz Norma Tooter

Florence Widelitz

Inspirational Quote

Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.

Allen Klein

From the Desk of Gert and Sandye

On January 23rd, we will host a” Hoe-down.” Learn line dancing, square dance, have goodies and enjoy this special night. On January 30th, Roberta Atti will present a question and answer seminar. You will receive a slip to fill out in order to ask any questions you would like to have answered regarding nutrition. The spring season is packed with events. These include the annual Academy Awards, Masquerade Party, Purim Celebration, Beach Party, High School Reunion, Mother’s/Father’s Day Luncheon and more. Check the bulletin board for updates. Our volunteer’s do a great job! Please refrain from criticizing them. They give up their leisure time so that you can be served. Instead of a snide comment, try a “Thank You!” We especially want to express our thanks to the volunteers who always show up on time to help out, no matter how they are feeling. Kudos to Joan Bender, Linda Israel, Wanda Robinson, Norma Tooter, Rhoda Morris, Elaine Botterman, Dolores Lederman, Roberta Atti, Carol Golden, Rachelle Chriss, Mary Castro, Shirley Cruset, Marlene Mankoff and Ruth Palin. We would be remiss if we didn’t dig deep for a huge acknowledgment of the assistance provided by Aggie Bothas each day. She is always ready to render assistance in any way help is needed. Thank You!

Gert Freeman has worked so hard this past year to bring

pleasurable moments, delicious food and entertainment to all of

our residents.

Thank You Gert

UPCOMING EVENTS

Life Long Learning

EZ Ride Program

Essex Green

Seeing Eye Puppy Visit

Floral Design Workshop

Plaza Men’s Club

Montclair Art Museum

Tai Chi Chih

Livingston Mall

Whole Foods in Union

Hirschhorn: The Art of Photography

Choral Group

Walmart & Rt 22

Trader Joes, Florham Park

Woodbridge Mall

Barnabas Health Presentation

Q & A with Menorah Chapels

Poetry Workshop

Tenants Birthday Party with Rosalind Grant

Tenant Association Hoe Down

Gamefest

Trailside Museum in Watchung Mountains

Manhattan Bagel in Livingston

Jewelry Workshop

Rabbi Study Group

Short Story Group with Pearl Kaufman

And much more. Be sure to check your calendar for event dates and times.

Iris Berman Early Childhood Center presented a

wonderful Kid’s Cookie’s n’ Concerts “Hanukkah”

program.

Happy January Birthday

Jan 01 Ruth Palin Jan 01 Toby Rosenstein Jan 03 Susan Schwitzer Jan 07 Miriam G. Lateiner Jan 07 Barbara Spierer Jan 08 Linda Israel Jan 14 Shirley Linker Jan 20 Mary Castro Jan 25 Stuart Burglass Jan 25 Edward Schwartz Jan 26 Sondra Lang Jan 29 Gary Prager

Famous January Birthdays:

J.R.R. Tolkien (writer) – Jan. 3, 1892 Soupy Sales (comedian) – Jan. 8, 1926 Robert Stack (actor) – Jan. 13, 1919 Ethel Merman (singer) – Jan. 16, 1908 Oliver Hardy (comedian) – Jan. 18, 1892 Dolly Parton (singer) – Jan. 19, 1946 Neil Diamond (singer) – Jan. 24, 1941 Oprah Winfrey (host) – Jan. 29, 1954 Jackie Robinson (ballplayer) – Jan. 31,1919

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The day chosen to observe the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this year falls on Monday, January 18th. Dr. King, one of the leading figures in the civil rights movement, made many quotes which have become legendary. Here are just a few:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"The time is always right to do what is right."

"We are not makers of history. We are made by history."

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

"I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live."

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."

The wise words of Dr. King are still very relevant today.

Protecting Privacy

When you hop on a computer to visit pages on the Internet, how can you be sure no one else is watching you? Governments collect data to fight threats. Social media sites and online search engines gather data to personalize their services. And retailers collect information to analyze buying habits. As a healthy reminder for us to be ever-aware of how much we share on the Web, countries all over the world mark January 28 as Data Privacy Day.

Certainly, large institutions such as banks and insurance companies pay millions each year to secure their vast stores of our personal data. But how should individuals protect themselves? Time magazine offers some tips: Don’t fill out personal profiles for social media sites like Facebook; your real friends already know your birthday and address. Turn on private browsing in your Web browser’s tool bar to remain anonymous while surfing the Internet. Use a password generator like Norton’s free Identity Safe to develop hard-to-crack passwords. Any of these measures can help thwart hackers from secretly stealing your data.

Floral Design Workshop

In January, the Floral Design Workshop will take place January 13th at 3:00 p.m. This is the 2nd Wednesday of the month. This change will occur during the month of January only. All are welcome to participate in this highly enjoyable program. It will take place in the recreation room.

Seeing Eye Puppy Visit

You are cordially invited to learn how seeing eye dogs are trained. Sharon

Kessel, a seeing eye puppy trainer will visit Plaza with a puppy in training on Monday,

January 4th at 1:00 p.m. on the promenade.

JANUARY 2016 PLAZA Calendar is subject to change

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 New

Year’s Day

Office &

Dining

Room

Closed

2 9:00 SHABBAT

SERVICE

11:00 KIDDUSH

7:00 MOVIE

11:00

BRUNCH

2:00 MOVIE

4 10:15 TOWN

BUS

10:45 Essex Green 11:30 TAI CHI

1:00 Seeing Eye

Puppy

7:00 Life-Long

Learning 7:15 BINGO

5 11:00

EXERCISE 1:00 EZ Ride

Program

2:00 CURRENT

EVENTS

6:00 LIBRARY 7:15 Meditation & Relaxation

6 10:45 Trader Joe’s

Florham Park 11:00 Move Today &

Walking Club 12:15 Life-Long

Learning 1:30 CHORAL GROUP 7:15 BINGO

7 11:30 Montclair

Art Museum 11:00 Exercise 2:00 Watercolor Painting in the Recreation Room 3:00 Plaza Men’s Club

9 9:00

SHOPRITE

10:00

SHOPRITE

1:00 ONEG

SHABBAT

9 9:00 SHABBAT

SERVICE

11:00 KIDDUSH

7:00 MOVIE

10 11:00

BRUNCH

2:00 MOVIE

11 10:15

TOWN BUS

10:45

Livingston &

Shorthills

Mall’s

11:30 TAI CHI

7:00 Life-Long

Learning 7:15 BINGO

12 TBA: Robert Butts “Composers 11:00

EXERCISE

2:00 CURRENT

EVENTS

6:00 LIBRARY 7:30 Tenant Assoc Meeting

13 10:15 Whole

Foods & Target in

Union 11:00 Move Today &

Walking Club 12:15 Life-Long

Learning 1:30 CHORAL GROUP 3:00 Floral Design Workshop 7:15 BINGO

14 10:15 Woodbridge

Mall 11:00 Exercise 2:00 Hirschhorn:

“The Art of

Photography” by

Judy Ebright

15 9:00

SHOPRITE

10:00

SHOPRITE

12:00 Golda

Och HS

production:

Into the Woods

@ JCC 1:00 ONEG

SHABBAT

16 9:00 SHABBAT

SERVICE

11:00 KIDDUSH 2:00 “Composers”

by Mastro

Robert Butts

7:00 MOVIE

17 11:00

BRUNCH

2:00 MOVIE

18 Martin

Luther King

Jr. Day

Office &

Dining

Room

Closed

7:00 Life-Long

Learning

19 11:00

EXERCISE

1:00 Barnabas

Health “Burn

Saftey” 2:00 CURRENT

EVENTS

6:00 LIBRARY

7:15 Meditation & Relaxation

20 10:15 Walmart &

Rt 22 Shopping 11:00 Move Today &

Walking Club 12:15 Life-Long

Learning 1:30 CHORAL GROUP 7:15 BINGO

21 10:45 Rt 10 &

Irvings & Farmers

Market 11:00 Exercise 1:00 Q&A with Menorah Chapels on Promenade 2:00 Poetry

Workshop 7:30 Tenant’s

Birthday with

Rosalind Grant 7:00 Book Club

22 9:00

SHOPRITE

10:00

SHOPRITE

1:00 ONEG

SHABBAT

23 9:00 SHABBAT

SERVICE

11:00 KIDDUSH

7:00 MOVIE 7:00 p.m. Tenant

Association “Hoe

Down”

24/31 11:00

BRUNCH

2:00 MOVIE

Gamefest

after Movie

25 10:15

TOWN BUS

11:00

Trailside

Museum,

Watchung

Mountains

11:30 TAI CHI

7:00 Life-Long

Learning 7:15 BINGO

26 Tu

B’Shevat 11:00

EXERCISE

1:15 Rabbi

Study Group 2:00 CURRENT

EVENTS

6:00 LIBRARY

27 10:45 Manhattan

Bagel, Livingston 11:00 Move Today &

Walking Club 12:15 Life-Long

Learning 1:30 CHORAL GROUP 6:45 Jewelry Making Workshop 7:15 BINGO

28 10:45 Essex Green 11:00 Exercise 2:00 Short Story

Group featuring

Pearl Kaufman

29 9:00

SHOPRITE

10:00

SHOPRITE

1:00 ONEG

SHABBAT

30 9:00 SHABBAT

SERVICE

11:00 KIDDUSH

2:00 pm

Roberta Atti

Q&A Lecture 7:00 MOVIE