Passover is coming. If you haven’t made your seder reservations yet, the deadline is today, Friday 4/8 so please visit our Passover page ASAP.
But also…the Mormons are coming? Yes, it’s true. On Sunday, April 24th at 2:30pm nearly 200 LDS’ers, Zionists the whole lot of them, will visit the JCC to learn more about Judaism and the Jewish people. Growing out of a connection made through the Tokyo Interfaith Council, we’ve invited the local LDS Youth Group for a tour of our building looping around the Mikvah, Social Hall, Lounge, Library, Classrooms and ending in the Sanctuary. We are calling it the ‘Stations of the JCC’. Our BBYO cohort will lead the way, but we are also looking for docents, chaperones, people who led campus tours and can walk backwards without running into walls, etc. to help make the event a success. For those in the know, LDS Bishop and all around good-guy Doug Hymas will be there. If you are able to help, please reply to this e-mail.
Services
Passover Seder – First Night
Friday, April 15th
6:30pm
Reservations
Passover – Day One
Saturday, April 16th
Services: 10:00am
Passover Seder – Second Night
Saturday, April 16th
6:30pm
Reservations
Passover – Day Eight with Yizkor
Saturday, April 23rd
Services: 10:00am
Events
Lehrhaus Lecture Series presented by Jack Halpern
The Adventures of a 12-Language Polyglot — the joys and pains of learning a new language —
Jack Halpern serves as the Founder of the CJK Dictionary Institute and Director of the Japan Yiddish Club
Date: May-Early June (we’re getting slightly more specific!)
If you have an idea for an event or a topic you would like to share with others, please reach out to Events Chair Sherry Greenfield at sherry@greenfield.net
Announcements
Habitat for Humanity Japan’s Charity Gala will be held on Wednesday, April 13th 7:00pm at Happo-en. Please join JCC members and Habitat Board Members Cecilia Melin and Liu Gao Epstein for a lovely evening supporting an important cause: the rebuilding of the playground at Wakabaryo Orphanage which was founded by our past president Ernie Solomon z”l. Reservation information can be found here.
Parent club alert! Would you like to play a Taiko drum? There has been an ongoing class at Taiko Lab in Aoyama with other TIS and ASIJ parents, and we are looking to share the fun! They’ve set up a special trial lesson for any TIS parents (and friends!) interested in giving it a try. The lesson is on Thursday April 14 from 10-11am at a discounted price of ¥3000. Moving forward classes will be twice a month, and there are no classes in July and August for the summer break. If you’d like to have a go, then email Emily Chen at emilyac407@gmail.com, or on WhatsApp at +81-70-4498-3305 for more sign up details. Feel free to bring a friend too!
The 12th yahrzeit commemoration for Ernie Salomon z”l this past Shabbat was very special. The beautiful words of Ernie’s widow Josselyne continue to reverberate around the social hall. Thank you to the Semaya, Rosenfeld, Turk, Rosenberg and Nadler families for sponsoring, Todd Walzer and David Tropp for leyning and Sophie Leviton for helping lead services.
Passover begins Friday night, April 15th. For the first time since 2019, we will host two in-person Seders at the JCC. Please visit our JCC Passover page for more details including Passover groceries and chametz sale. Deadline is Friday, April 8th. Yes, I know that was redundant considering the intro but our analytics tell us many people scroll down immediately to avoid reading the copy at the top of the page.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Meetings have started monthly in-person at the JCJ. Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested to join. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club enjoys exploring Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Parshat Metzora/Shabbat haGadol
Candle Lighting: 5:50pm
Havdala: 6:48pm