Sunday School this past week rocked the house. I am surprised we were not pelted with quail eggs by our neighbors and that the good folks at the Koban did not use a no-knock warrant to see what was up with all the noise emanating from our patio Sukkah where we danced with the lulav and etrog.
Quick PSA on Sunday School pickup. Please be careful in front of the JCC especially as our budding scholars leave the building. We are located on a very narrow street with buses and Hiroo drivers in supercars constantly going back and forth. Just a reminder to share what your kids already know about how important it is to look both ways before crossing the street. And…I’ve turned into my mother. But you get the idea.
Simchat Torah was a rollicking good time for the, count ‘em, seven people who showed up across both days. Hey, more pizza for the rest of us! I am certain that it was the waning days of the State of Emergency that kept people away. Speaking of which, we will slowly begin reopening for weekly in-person Friday night services, Family Shabbat, Yiddish classes and more. There is still much to be worked out in terms of timing, meals, etc. Keep your eyes peeled for details to follow in the coming weeks.
Services
Zoom Kabbalat Shabbat begins this week at 4:30pm. I know it is early. I have not been able to get in touch with the Rothschilds at Jewish Space Laser K.K. to figure out how to reverse the timing of sundown and onset of Shabbat. In all likelihood, we will meet on Zoom at 4:30pm this week (10/1) and next (10/8) and then move to Zoom Thursday Night Kabbalat Shabbat at 6pm. It will already be Friday in the Jewish calendar. If we love Shabbat so much, why wait?
Next Kiddushes available for sponsorship are 10/23 and 11/6.
Events
Shabbat Parshat Noach in-person services
Saturday, October 9th
Deluxe Kiddush sponsored anonymously in thanks to Reb David Tropp for beautifully leading services over Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
Services: 10:00am – 12:00pm
Kiddush: 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vayera in-person services
Saturday, October 23rd
Oktoberfest Kiddush (more to come but we could use a sponsor)
Services: 10:00am – 12:00pm
Kiddush: 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Toldot in-person services
Saturday, November 6th
Kiddush Open for Sponsorship
Services: 10:00am – 12:00pm
Kiddush: 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vayishlach
Bar Mitzvah of Eli Sheldon
Saturday, November 20th
Services: 10:00am – 12:00pm
Announcements
The JCC expresses deepest condolences to our chef, Ozawa-san, on the loss of his father. ご尊父様のご逝去を悼み、心よりお悔やみ申し上げます。
おかえりなさい (Okaerinasai) to members of the Semaya, Rosenfeld and Yeskel families!
おめでとうございます(Omedetou gozaimasu) to 岸田 文雄 Kishida Fumio on his ascending the ladder to the heights of the LDP. Let us hope that Shimon Peres a”h and Tzipi Livni showed him a good time during his visit to Israel as Foreign Minister in July 2013. May his election bode well for Japan and the Jews.
Great news! We achieved our campaign goal. No, not JCJ100. Not YKA either. We could still really use your help on both of those. We have gone from JCJ0MD to JCJ2MD with the addition of Dr. Emily Abramson-Chen and Dr. Jaime Gerber! Please note this is not an invitation to inundate our community’s medical doctors with phone calls and text messages in the middle of the night or requests to “maybe just check this one thing on my neck, you know, while we are waiting to pick up the kids from Sunday School anyway.” We wish a warm JCJ welcome to the Abramson-Chen and Gerber families.
It is not too late to contribute to our Yom Kippur Appeal. The Simchat Torah pizza and snickers did not pay for themselves. Thank you to all who have donated.
In the following weeks and months, we will roll out several new features in the newsletter including a message from the board, featured members, a Japanese column and member recipes. If you would like to volunteer for any of the above, please reply to this e-mail.
Shabbat Parshat Bereshit
Candle Lighting: 5:07pm
Havdala: 6:02pm