Vol. 13, No. 8 • December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771

A publication of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County, Inc.68 Stewart Ave., Newburgh, NY 12550845-562-7860

jewishorangeny.org

Forwarding Service requeSted

NON-PROFITUS POSTAGE PAIDNEWBURGH, NY

PERMIT #135

Federation wishes a Happy Hanukkah to our

Jewish community!

Community Champagne Brunch & 2011 Campaign KickoffSunday, December 12, 2010, 12:30 PMCongregation Eitz Chaim 1465 Orange Turnpike, Monroe, New YorkDietary laws strictly observed.

Join us in celebration of the next generation of leaders in our community as we honor the best and brightest. The Orange

County Jewish community is blessed with enthusiastic and dedicated young leaders who are fully committed to making our world and community a better place. They use their Jewish voices to make a difference in Federation, our congregations, and the greater Orange County community. Join us as we honor these outstanding young leaders: Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County: Allison Berman Noar of Newburgh Chapter of Hadassah: Cheryl Nisgor Lachant Congregation Eitz Chaim: Michael and Jessica Cohn Temple Sinai: Eric and Paula Blumenau Temple Beth Shalom: Richard Schwartz & Shari Rake Monroe Temple Beth El: Eric and Debbie Evans Temple Beth Jacob: Craig ZimmermanJewish Family Service: Debbie Sanford In addition to good food and great company, our featured guest speaker, Sophie Ambrose, of Omaha, Nebraska, will speak about the Birthright Israel trip that changed her life. You will have an opportunity to make your commitment to the 2011 Jewish Federation Annual Campaign.Please RSVP www.jewishorangeny.org.

Sophie Ambrose

Allison Berman Jessica and Mike Cohn

Debbie Sanford Craig Zimmerman

Cheryl Nisgor Lachant

Debbie and Eric Evans

Paula and Eric BlumenauRich Schwartz and Shari Rake

c e l e b r at e Y o u n g

l e a d e r S h i p

2 we are one • December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771

We are one, the newspaper of the Jewish Fed-eration of Greater Orange County, does not

accept ads or copy that we perceive to be anti-Se-mitic, anti-Israel, Holocaust-denying or in any way defamatory to the Jewish people. We reserve the right to reject an advertisement that is detrimental to any organization, institution, individual or contrary to the interest of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County. The editorial board of We are one is comprised of the executive committee and the edito-rial staff retained by the JFOGOC.

JEROME B. GOLDBERG, D.M.D

52 MAPLE AVENUE (845) 783-7444 MONROE, NEW YORK 10950

Member American Association of Orthodontists PRACTICE LIMITED

TO ORTHODONTICS

Vol. 13, No. 8 • December 2010 Kislev/Tevet 5771

Jewish Federation of Greater Orange CountyVisit our website: www.jewishorangeny.org

PRESIDENT: ..........................Jack F. BerkowitzExECuTIVE DIRECTOR: ...........Joyce WaschitzPROGRAM COORDINATOR: .......Sharon BallOFFICE MANAGER: ................Georgia MasonEDITORIAl & lAYOuT:...........Gittel Evangelist

we are one is published monthly on our web-site, jewishorangeny.org, excluding February and July, and three times a year in print by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County.

To contribute a story, photo, letter or other tidbit, contact us at:68 Stewart Ave., Newburgh, NY 12550phone: 845-562-7860 • fax: 845-562-5114email: info@jewishorangeny.org

Submissions are required by the 10th of each month. Advertising is available on a monthly or yearly basis. The Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County has as its mission “to serve as the coordinator and unifier of all Jewish organizational philanthropic activities in Orange County and to offer support to Jew-ish agencies locally, nationally and overseas, including Israel.”

Membership to Jewish Federation begins at $36 a year, and will get you we are one each month as well as the chance to be a contribut-ing part of your community and your heritage.

We are JewishOrange New York.

Your gift to the Jewish Federation supports

This is your Federation. This is your Community.

jewishorangeny.org

CONGREGATION AGUDAS ISRAEL

CONGREGATION BETH HILLELMONROE TEMPLE BETH-EL

CONGREGATION EITZ CHAIM

CONGREGATION B’NAI TORAHTEMPLE BETH EL

TEMPLE BETH SHALOM

TEMPLE BETH JACOB

TEMPLE SINAI

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE

GAN SHALOM PRE-SCHOOL

NEWBURGH JCC

MENTSCH MAKERS PRE-SCHOOL

SUNY NEW PALTZ HILLEL

GOMEZ MILL HOUSE

GITTLEMAN HEBREW DAY SCHOOL

December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771 • we are one 3

By Dr. Joseph e. BirnBaum

How to explain tHe impact of this uniquely different couple’s arrival in our

troubled midst in 1973? How can we introduce the late Rabbi Dr. Kurt Metzger and Lore, his wife, to a community whose collective memory today can scant recall their presence or contributions to our community?

Let’s begin by describing the Rabbi, called to serve in the pulpit of The Monroe Temple of Liberal Judaism, Beth El, in 1973, to help heal and reinvigorate a congregation that had nearly been brought to the abyss by a prior troubled spiritual leader.

We were, in a sense, the beneficiaries of Hitler’s attempt to wipe Jews off the face of the earth. Rabbi Metzger, the last Rabbi of the Congregation of Nuremberg, spent several months incarcerated in the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp after having been arrested in Breslau in 1938. After his release he came to America in 1940. Lore and most of her family escaped to America from the city of Landau, Palatinate, after witnessing firsthand

the horrors of “Crystal Night” (go to this URL and read in Lore’s own words the brutality her family and the Jews of Landau suffered at the hands of Hitler’s hordes: http://tinyurl.com/294hl2e).

Lore and Kurt married in 1942, and in 1945, their son Ralph was born. Rabbi Metzger came to America already ordained as a Reform Rabbi in Germany, the birthplace of Reform Judaism, and though he eventually received ordination from the UAHC in America, he never completely lost his Germanic roots, nor his Teutonic love of order and decorum. The congregation adjusted to his “foreign” ways and soon learned that beneath his unusual peaked kippot and robes, which seemed strangely similar to those of a Protestant minister, and the stentorian niggun of his cantorial renditions, there was a warm, impish, caring, knowledgeable and committed Rabbi who brought the congregation together and prospered it until his retirement in 1985. He remained Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth El until his death at the age of 80.

Lore and Kurt were devoted to

the cause of reconciliation without forgetting, and this gave them the strength to return to Landau and help that guilt-ridden community rebuild and dedicate the ancestral home of Anne Frank.

In 1977, he was named honorary Rabbi of his native Nuremberg and two years later, Lore and Kurt were special guests of the Lord Mayor of West Berlin.

Lore had always wanted to be buried in the Landau cemetery where her grandparents were interred, and when Kurt passed away, Lore and Ralph traveled to Landau for his interment there. Lore now rests with Kurt in that cemetery in Landau.

I called upon Lore frequently to talk to the pre-confirmation classes I taught in Torah school about her experiences when, at age 12, she lived through the takeover of Germany by Hitler and his minions (see above URL for her story). She brought the Holocaust, with all its misery and mayhem, to life for my students, for whom the Holocaust was as meaningless as were our Indian wars.

Kurt was a remarkably caring

being. He made each individual with whom he dealt feel that that person had his undivided concern. He could be passionate about his beliefs, but met most people with a smile. There was a boyish quality about him that was reflected in his enthusiasm for his model electric trains. He was an avid collector of rare German books … and he always believed, despite my denials, that I spoke fluent German and until shortly before his death, he would send me long letters in German which I laboriously translated with the help of a German/English dictionary.

Kurt and Lore will always be fondly remembered, he for his gentle Teutonic manner, and she for her always prim and proper dress, and her ubiquitous white gloves, and both for their many contributions to our Jewish community and that of their homeland.

They both wished to leave a living legacy of their full lives to our community, and they have done so by willing our Federation “The Rabbi & Mrs. Metzger Endowment Fund,” which will carry out that wish in perpetuity.

Reb. Metzger, above, carries the Torah he cherished; at right, Rabbi Kurt and Lore Metzger were photographed at their daughter Linda’s wedding.

Endowment Memorializes Beloved Late Rabbi Kurt Metzger and Wife

4 we are one • December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771

THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER ORANGE COUNTYHAROLD LEVINE NAMED ENDOWMENT PROGRAM

ESTHER & FALK LEVINEMEMORIAL FUND

JACK N. & JESSICA B.BLINKOFF

ELLIS HECHTMEMORIAL FUND

GERALD & JUNEKREISBERG

DR. IRVING & GEORGIA ANDERMAN

DR. REUBEN & GERTRUDE MOKOTOFF

EDITH & EUGENE MULLIN

MEMORIAL FUND

SYLVIA & MURRAY MINTZMEMORIAL FUND

CELIA & BERNARDBRICKMAN

ROSE COHENMEMORIAL FUND

THE GUTTERMAN-GOLDBERG FAMILY

EDNA & SHEPARDPRYLUCK

JOSEPH SCHULHOFMEMORIAL FUND

IRV KAPLANMEMORIAL FUND

DR. PAUL LIPSCHULTZMEMORIAL FUND

LAWRENCE & MARION R. LEVINMEMORIAL FUND

LILLIAN & NORMAN HECHT

HAROLD & LEONA NADLEMEMORIAL FUND

ALLA & BORISLIPKIN

THE RIEGERFAMILY

FLORENCE & JACQUESLEVINE

MARVIN & EVELYN ABRAMOWITZMEMORIAL FUND

DR. MARTIN ALTCHEKMEMORIAL FUND

ANDREADUBROFF

HAROLD LEVINEMEMORIAL FUND

PEARL COHNMEMORIAL FUND

HARRIET & JACK LEVY MEMORIAL FUND

LESLIE A. HANDLERMEMORIAL FUND

RACHEL & EMANUELREISER

PEARL & NATHAN OLIVERMEMORIAL FUND

THE GITTELSOHNFAMILY

MORRIS & ESTELLE SPIVACKMEMORIAL FUND

MARION RIDER LEVINMEMORIAL FUND

RABBI KURT & LORE METZGER

MEMORIAL FUND

FLORENCE SUSSMANMEMORIAL FUND

LIBBY & MATSCHLEIFER

THE SURESKYFAMILY

ALFRED GOLDBERGERHOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FUND

GLORYACOVELSMITH

PAUL ORNSTEINMEMORIAL FUND

Honorials & Memorials

In honor of Robin Karpfen and Bruce Weiner being honored at Major Gifts, from Jennifer and Hal Teitelbaum. In honor of Joan and Joe Birnbaum’s special wedding anniversary, from Evelyn and Mort Marshak. In memory of Vivian Bromberg, dear mother of Barbara, to Barbara and Ron Sherman, from Suzanne and Jack Berkowitz and family. In honor of and congratulations to Joan Kaplan on the marriage of her son Eric to Erica, from Raena and Alan Korenman.

Calling all volunteersVolunteers are needed on an ongoing basis for various clerical projects at the Federation office in Newburgh. If you have a few hours to spare once in a while, please let us know. Call 562-7860 or e-mail sharon@jewishorangeny.org with your availability. When something comes up, we’ll call you.

Yeladeinu (Our Children) Family events

The Yeladeinu Program sponsored a very enjoyable overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge, a lovely hotel with an indoor water park. Ten families with a total of 25 children attended. We welcomed Shabbat together and were given breakfast baskets to enjoy in our rooms. At the park, we rode water slides, floated down a lazy river, splashed in the wave pool and swam until we were exhausted! Upcoming events include:Bowling, Dec. 12, 2010Snowtubing, Jan. 23, 2011Pool Party and Luau, Feb. 13, 2011

special sunDays

Monroe: Our Monroe Special Sundays Program now has two classes to accommodate the diverse needs of the students. Both classes will learn Jewish culture, Hebrew and prayers. One class will focus mostly on Jewish culture and identity and go at a slower pace. The new class will focus more intensely on learning the Hebrew alphabet and prayers. We are

also pleased to announce the addition of two new staff members to Special Sundays: Sherree Kane Graber will be teaching our traditional class, and Limor Einev, a movement therapist, will be doing “special” programs with both classes. We welcome back Maris Gamzon, who will be teaching our new class and Carol Nirenberg, our educational supervisor.

Middletown: We have worked cooperatively with Lucy Fox, principal of the Temple Sinai religious school, to address the needs of children requiring special assistance. An experienced aide will be placed in one of the classrooms to help children with behavioral and learning issues. Hanukkah PartiesJewish Family Service is holding our annual Hanukkah Party for seniors on Tuesday, at 12:00 noon, December 7, 2010. We are delighted to have Cantor Bob Cohen entertaining at this event. It will be held at Temple Sinai in Middletown. The cost is $10/per person. Reservations are required;

please call Margie Faber @ 341-1173, ext. 308. Jewish Family Service is holding our annual Hanukkah Party for the developmentally delayed. It will be held on Tuesday, at noon, December 14, 2010, at Temple Sinai in Middletown. For more information, please contact Marjorie Faber @ 341-1173, ext. 308. Bridge to WellnessDo you know that Jewish Family Service offers subsidized counseling?

If you or someone you love is uninsured or cannot afford their deductibles, JFS will provide short-term counseling with sliding-scale fees.

Through a grant with Safe Homes, we are also providing free counseling for survivors of domestic violence who are referred by Safe Homes.

Everyone on our team of consulting therapists is licensed, very experienced, and compassionate.

For more information, call 845-341-1173, ext. 310.

Jewish Family Service

December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771 • we are one 5

By malkie krieger

tHis past year, I had the amazing and life-changing experience of going to Israel to study for the year. From

the beginning of September until the middle of June, I was totally immersed in the culture, language and with the people of the land. I went primarily to study in a school in Jerusalem but during my free time, my friends and I had the opportunity to travel throughout Israel and really get to know the country.

Every weekend we would brainstorm--where should we go this Shabbat? The Galil? The Negev? Eilat? Tzfat? The possibilities were endless and we took advantage of having the opportunity of really becoming more familiar with Israel, and the Israeli people, on a firsthand basis.

One week I went with a few friends to a small town called Kfar Tapuach in the Shomron. The people we stayed with there told us about their lives and how they grew up in such a small, yet close-knit community. After Shabbat was over we really felt like we belonged to their family--we are all Jews, we are all connected to one another.

I also had the incredible experience of volunteering for an organization called Standing Together. This organization was founded and is run by an extraordinary man named David Landau.

He noticed Israeli soldiers stationed far away from their homes, protecting Israeli lives and visitors on a daily basis. David decided to show them gratitude for all they do. He transports groups of people to army bases throughout Israel so that we too can say thank you to the soldiers who defend our land. On many occasions I traveled to various army bases and gave the soldiers food, drinks, and letters from people who care, and even stickers saying that “people throughout the world care about you and appreciate what you are doing.”

Most importantly, I had daily Torah classes on various subjects, focusing on important Jewish principles. The lessons I learned will remain with me forever.

I want to thank the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County for awarding me a grant to help cover some of the costs to afford me this wonderful opportunity.

Malkie Krieger and her family live in Monroe.

A Life-changing Year of Study in Israel

ABOVE: Malkie, right,

and a friend ride a camel in

the Negev.RIGHT,

Malkie, lower left, and a

friend visit soldiers on an

army base with the Standing

Together organization.

BELOW: Malkie and

friends on a hike called yam l’yam.

6 we are one • December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771

“war is Hell,” said General Sherman as he marched through

the South creating hell wherever he went. Because war is hell, no one goes to war without a good reason. In the ancient world, sometimes that good reason was the chance to benefit

personally – from booty captured or land conquered. For others, it was defense of those possessions, or that land, that brought them to arms. Sometimes the motivation for

risking one’s life was more personal – family or tribe threatened, or perhaps revenge and punishment for hurtful acts. For still others, the good reason might be ideological – freedom, or independence from some conqueror.

Hanukkah, that minor holiday we celebrate this month, ended up on the Jewish calendar because a bunch of Judean farmers – led by an old priest named Mattathias and his soldier-son Judah – went to war against their Syrian Greek overlords. So what was their “good reason”? Surprisingly, throughout our long history we Jews really have never come up with the definitive reason; different groups of Jews in different eras inevitably found different answer in values and motivations that were prompted by the historical circumstances in which they found themselves, even when a close reading of the Hanukkah story did not support those values and motivations.

Medieval Jewry in Europe, for example, faced repeated attempts by the religious authorities of their day to convert them to Christianity, and so they understood in the Greeks’ takeover of the Temple in Jerusalem an attempt to convert Jews to Hellenism, leading to the Maccabees’ response as a defense of religious truth. But there is nothing in Hellenism that would direct its adherents to attempt such religious coercion; fighting off attempts at religious conversion could not have been the Maccabees’ “good reason” for entering hell.

American Jews, trying to make a place for themselves in this country, claimed that Hanukkah marked the first battle in history for that quintessential American value, religious freedom. But the history of that time reveals that the Maccabees were actually doing the very opposite, fighting for their own particular form of Judaism in opposition to other understandings of our traditions; the concept of “religious freedom” did not exist in their lives, and so could hardly have been the “good reason” that moved them to take up arms.

Israeli Jews have concentrated on the victory of the few over the many in defense of Jewish sovereignty, just as Israelis had done in the period leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel. But the Maccabees were not fighting for sovereignty when they first revolted; the fact that some form of Jewish self-rule emerged 25 years later was certainly not the original “good reason” for going to war.

Even the desire to see the miraculous in the world is not

grounded in the events of 165 BCE: the story of the oil burning for eight days was formulated at least 400 years after the Judah and his brothers cleaned out the Temple and instituted the new holiday.

So what can we say about this Festival of Lights? Why should we find time in our busy schedules to gather around our hanukiyot to light a few candles? Why “good reason” did Judah and his followers have 2175 years ago that led them to enter hell?

May I suggest that the Maccabees’ “good reason” for going to war is the most important, the most fundamental truth that Judaism has proclaimed throughout its history. When Judah and his band took up the fight against the most powerful army in the world, their rallying cry was not “Liberty or Death” or “Long Live the King”, it was “Who is like our G-d among the mighty?!” They put their lives on the line because they considered the defense of the Presence of G-d in the world to be worth the risk. Their primary motivation, their principle cause, their seminal value was the recognition of G-d’s centrality to the world and the need to proclaim that centrality in their lives. They saw in the events that occurred in their lives the Presence of the Divine; in fact, they were convinced that the very existence of their world testified to that all-encompassing Presence. As a result, three years later, after having vanquished the Greek army sent to wipe them out, they celebrated their victory, not by writing a political manifesto and not by partying hearty, but by observing the eight day festival of Sukkot/Sh’mini Atzeret, down to

the waving of lulav and etrog “before the L-rd” as they rejoiced in their newly reclaimed Temple. (Sure, it was nine weeks after the usual time for the traditional harvest festival, but they had been a bit busy at the time, and, besides, the Temple wasn’t in their control yet.) They were simply expressing their gratitude to the Master of the Universe, whose holy spirit was clearly bound up in their world.

And it is that lesson that has made the lighting of candles each night of Hanukkah so meaningful throughout the ages. For those burning candles, glowing in the window of the Jewish home, proclaim the Presence of G-d in this world and remind us that we can, and should, look for G-d everywhere and at all times. No wonder the legend of the jar of oil burning for eight days has had such a hold on the Jewish imagination. For even if the miracle never actually occurred, the truth of that myth reinvigorated the Jewish soul for century after century. The Maccabees fought because G-d was a palpable presence in their lives, and they were willing to die rather than surrender that truth. That was truly their “good reason” for putting their lives on the line by going into hell.

We are not asked, as the Maccabees were, to risk death for our heritage and for our G-d. Instead, may we be willing to live to proclaim that central value of our heritage – that G-d’s Presence can be found in every encounter and every place in our world.

Rabbi Joel Schwab is the spiritual leader of Temple Sinai in Middletown.

A Hanukkah Question: Why Revolt?

Rabbi Joel Schwab

rabbi Garry loeb and the Monroe Temple of liberal Judaism recently celebrated the Rabbi’s 25th anniversary as the

congregation’s spiritual leader. The Temple held a weekend of festivities in his

honor to mark this special simcha, including an elegant Saturday night buffet followed by a Sunday luncheon.

Pictured here at erev Shabbat services kicking off the weekend is Rabbi loeb, center, surrounded by his family: his sister, leslie loeb, to his left; his wife, Sorel loeb, on the rabbi’s right arm; their children, Eryn and Zach loeb, back row, center, together with their significant others, John and Ashley, respectively. Mazel tov, Rabbi loeb!

Mazel Tov, Rabbi Loeb!

December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771 • we are one 7

If you would like to make a donation to help sustain this exciting program in Orange County, please

contact Joyce at (845)562-7860.

Jane Friedland

Sharon and Jerry Goldberg

Geraldine and Steven Luloff

Carla Wise and Geoff Chanin

Cheryl and Elliot Tetenbaum

Doris and Steve Rubinsky

CURRENT FUNDERS OF THE PJ LIBRARY PROGRAM

tHe Bossy Frog came to town on Sunday, November 21, to

the delight of 21 children and their families. The Fall PJ Library (that’s PJ for pajamas) event was held at Middletown Thrall Library and hosted by the Jewish Federation, the Newburgh Jewish Community Center, and Gan Shalom and Mentch Makers pre-schools. Allison Berman and Debbie Sanford read Chanukkah stories to the pajama-clad children,

who came from all over Orange County, while parents enjoyed watching from the sidelines. Jeffrey Friedberg and the Bossy Frog Band entertained with silly songs and give-away toys. Pictured here are a few of the happy faces. To see more pictures or to sign your child up for this FREE program, visit www.jewishorangeny.org or call 845-562-7860. Thank you to Grandma Gail Conklin for the photographs.

Bossy Frog Rocks PJ Library

8 we are one • December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771

Hanukkah Party @ The Newburgh Jewish

Community CenterSunday December 5th 2PM

·  Potato Latke Contest judged by:

Special Guest —”Bubbe” Flay

** Bring your best recipe for judging & prizes!

·  DJ Music & Karaoke·  Shalom Sesame Debut -

Chanukah: “The Missing Menorah” 

Food & Fun$18.00 Suggested Donation per

Family

Parents Night Out

Saturday Evenings Nov. 20th & Dec. 18th

Leave your kids with us from 6-10pm and enjoy some time alone or get your holiday shopping done.

$25.00/ 1st Child, $5.00 each additional child

Call for more information or to register! 561-6602

NEW

Senior Exercise Class Join Us!!

Tuesday, Dec. 7th @ 11:00 am

Armchair Aerobics Strength & Stretch

Suitable for all ages & levels!

Instructor: Brenda MorrisFee: $5.00 Call 561-6602 to register!

68 Stewart Avenue, Newburgh 845-561-6602 njcc6602@aol.com www.newburghjcc.org

Holiday Vacation Program

December 28th, 2010 Kids cooking class

@ the Newburgh JCC

“Let’s Make Pizza” 2 sessions: 11am-1pm

for ages 4-7, and 1pm-3pm

for ages 8 & up.Advance reservations

are required.$10 per child

Please call: 561-6602

Wilfred Bank Orange County Post 413 Jewish War Veterans

of the U.S.A. PO BOX 2157

Newburgh, NY 12550

The next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, December 12, 2010, at

10:00 A.M. This meeting will be held at

Congregation Agudas Israel, 290 North Street, Newburgh, NY. We will be finalizing our plans for the Four Chaplains Memorial Service, and also discussing the program, and a few other things pertaining to the service.

We will also address the fundraising raffle we are currently having for a Custom Handcrafted Veterans Walking Staff, which will be held at our January 2011 meeting, and future fundraising as well.

Bagels, lox, cream cheese, coffee, juice, etc., will be served after the meeting.

For additional information please contact Ian Berkowitz, 914-720-7908, vigilberk@aol.com. When using e-mail, please annotate “JWV” in the subject line.

Once again, I cannot stress enough the importance for all of you to attend this meeting.

Ian M. BerkowitzCommander

tHe noar oF newBurgH cHapter oF HadassaH recently honored 90 of the area’s finest educators for their outstanding contributions,

at a special luncheon held at Temple Beth Jacob in Newburgh.

Featured speaker Ellen Lyons, National Treasurer of Hadassah, spoke of Hadassah’s focus on education in Israel and the United States. The event benefited the Hadassah College in Jerusalem and many of Hadassah’s other educational endeavors, including the “Check it Out” program in the Cornwall schools.

Shayna Skibinsky, a senior at Newburgh Free Academy, entertained those in attendance with a superb performance on the viola.

The event was co-chaired by Brenda Seiden, Phyllis Smith, Gail Oliver and Sidney Berkowitz.

Noar Hadassah Honors Educators for Outstanding Contributions

TOP PHOTO: Shayna Skibinsky gave an exceptional performance.ABOVE: Gail Oliver, left, congratulated Hadassah National Treasurer Ellen Lyons on a wonderful presentation. RIGHT: Ken and Carol Packer were among those presented with special certificates by chapter co-president Paula Martino, right.

December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771 5771 • we are one 9

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LOCAL SYNAGOGUESThere are presently ten synagogues serving Greater Orange County, New York’s thriving Jewish Community. To help you find the congregation that best suits your lifestyle, we have provided a brief synagogue overview. For more detailed information, we invite you to contact each synagogue directly.

Congregation Agudas Israellocation: Newburgh • Phone: 845-562-5604 Affiliation: Conservative

Congregation Ahavas Torahlocation: Monroe • Phone: 845-783-7565 Affiliation: Orthodox

Congregation Beth Hillellocation: Walden • Phone: 845-778-7374 Affiliation: Conservative Website: www.congregationbethhillel.org

Congregation B’nai Torahlocation: Greenwood lake • Phone: 845-477-3716 • Affiliation: Conservative

Congregation Eitz Chaimlocation: Monroe • Phone: 845-783-7424 Affiliation: Conservative Website: www.eitzchaim-monroe.org

Monroe Temple of Liberal Judaismlocation: Monroe • Phone: 845-783-2626 Affiliation: Reform Website: www.monroetemple.org

Temple Beth Ellocation: Port Jervis • Phone: 845-856-1722 Affiliation: Conservative

Temple Beth Jacoblocation: Newburgh Phone: 845-562-5516 Affiliation: Reform Website: www.tbjnewburgh.org

Temple Beth Shalomlocation: Florida, NY • Phone: 845-651-7817 Affiliation: Reform • Website: www.tbsny.org

Temple Sinailocation: Middletown • Phone: 845-343-1861 Affiliation: Conservative Website: www.templesinaimiddletown.com

lOCAL AGENCIESJewish Family Servicelocation: Middletown • Phone: 845-341-1173 location: Newburgh • Phone: 845-562-8372

Newburgh Jewish Community Centerlocation: Newburgh • Phone: 845-561-6602 Website: www.newburghjcc.org

Noar of Newburgh Chapter of Hadassahlocation: Newburgh and surrounding areas Phone: Paula Martino 845-567-0377

Monroe Hadassahlocation: Monroe • Phone: Ruth Sussman 845-783-3660

Middletown Chapter of Hadassahlocation: Middletown and surrounding areas Phone: Cynthia Weintraub 845-386-3395

Pick a peck of pumpkins with WJCC’s Hebrew school kidsThe Hebrew School of Walden Jewish Community Center paused for a photo during a recent trip to Hodgson’s Farm in Walden, where the kids picked pumpkins and enjoyed the autumn delights.

10 we are one • December 2010 • Kislev/Tevet 5771

Bringing light and hope to those who need it most is what your Jewish Federation is all about. We help countless people overcome poverty, hunger and despair, and we fund valuable programs that sustain Jewish identity and enrich our community. Find out how you can help.

Go to www.jewishorangeny.org or call 1.845.562.7860 to learn more.

68 Stewart Avenue Newburgh, NY 12550