Temple Emanu-El of West Essex, Livingston, NJ

We are also working with the Community Hunger Outreach
Each time you visit the Temple, please bring a food item with you,
to give to the Social Action Food Collection.

"And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the
edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them
for the poor and for the stranger. I the Eternal am your God."
Leviticus 23:22

Turkey Collection November 2009
The Social Action Committee of Temple Emanu-El organized a Thanksgiving Turkey Collection last week end.
This is a yearly event that is designed to help families in need celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with a
Turkey dinner. They invited Temple members and the public at large to bring a frozen turkey to the Temple
parking lot. The response was very good with close to 60 turkeys with a combined weight close to 900lbs.
Filling up two minivans, which were transported to the collection point at St. Philomenia’s Church, in
Livingston, where they were trans shipped to the New Jersey Food Bank in Hillside, New Jersey.
A total of 250 plus turkeys were transported.

Bob Share, Steve Heiber, on left with Larry Lerner on far right who organized the collection.
Delivering a turkey was Tony Taylor, with turkey in yellow bag with Herb and Bonnie Sher.

Kosher Food Pantry November 22, 2009

Temple Emanu-EL Social Action volunteers; Back row: Paul Erdheim, Deb Spencer, Nancy, Mark, Andrew
and Lauren Reinfeld. Middle Row: Len Shoenberg, Sandy Goodman, Barbara Litman, Roberta Shoenberg.
Kneeling in front: Diane Share and Lenore Lerner.
Each year the Social Action Committee sponsors, as a Mitzvah project a few hours work at the Kosher
Food Pantry at Oheb Shalom in South Orange. The volunteers were put to work the minute they arrived,
sorting and filling bags with food, helping folks out to their cars with bags of food and then setting up the
shelves with donated food to be packed at a later date for the next scheduled Food Pantry Day.
They never stopped for a minute.

MITZVAH DAY Brighton Gardens January 17, 2010

The Social Action Committee sponsored a Mitzvah Day on January 17, 2010. That afternoon
ten congregants led the residents of Brighton Gardens Assisted Living facility in West Orange
in a Sing-Along of popular songs and American standards. A great time was had by all.
Temple Emanu-El songsters were from left to right; Lenore Lerner, Sue Levine, Barbara Weisman,
Andy Seltzer, Herb and Bonnie Sher, Stephanie Scher, Gloria Huegel, Diane Share and Helen Friedman.
Not in picture Cantor Sharon Brown-Levy and Judy Krafchick.
Click on link below to see more photo's of Brighton Gardens Mitzvah Day activity.
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=554922138f833eb6&sid=0DZs2bdiyYsME
Photographs at Brighton Gardens were taken by Jerry Levine

MITZVAH DAY ACTIVITIES
Many activities were scheduled from making hundred's of sandwiches for the homeless, this was
sponsored by TEMPTY that were delivered directly to the Bridges organization in Summit.
A Blood drive was running from 11 till 4.00pm, we had a great turnout and had people patiently
waiting in line to give blood. Even Rabbi Kaiserman participated by giving two pints of blood.
Dining Kits were prepared and packed for the Homeless Solution of Morristown. Journals were
prepared and decorated for the Battered Women Organization for their clients to record their
thoughts. Temple Members were asked to knoit blanket sqaures at home and bring to Mitzvah
Day to sew them together to make blankets for patients.

More pictures on the Resource Page/Photographs

Mitzvah Day Blankets

Temple Emanu-El’s Social Action Committee sponsored a day long Mitzvah Day on January 17,
2010, a day which provided activities for our members to be of service to our community.
Among these was the creation of a Warm-Up America afghan. Congregants and interested
participants were asked to knit or crochet squares in advance and bring them to Mitzvah Day
to sew them together to make blankets for local service organizations. Over 20 needle
crafters participated in this effort coordinated by Michelle Pozner and Sue Levine. The first of
the blankets, completed by the group with finishing touches by Gloria Heugel and Barbara Littman,
will be donated to the Interfaith Hospitality Network serving homeless families. Mitzvah Day,
organized by Suzanne Klar and Sue Levine, was an outstanding success with over 150 people
of all age groups actively involved with the many scheduled activities.

Visit to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey

Every year, in December, Temple Emanu-El goes to the Community Foodbank of New Jersey in
Hillside. It is always a worthwhile, fun and exhausting experience. This year was no different.
Seventeen congregants braved the bad weather and spent a few hours sorting, lugging and
boxing food for distribution to those less fortunate.
Last year I remember writing about how much effort it takes for food to be in “deliverable” shape.
Barbara Levadi and I were talking this year about the parallels in food handling between our own
houses and in a large operation such as the Foodbank.
Think of how many times you handle your food? You take it from the supermarket shelves, to the
cart, to the checkout, to the grocery bags, to the car, to the house, to the shelves in your home.
That’s what we do at the foodbank, but on a much larger scale. There are not quite as many steps,
but there is much, much more volume.
It takes hours and hours of collective work by dedicated volunteers. This year we sorted and boxed
181 boxes in just under 2 hours. We were told it was a record!

To see additional photographs of the Mitzvah Day activities
Click on Resources Page/Photographs

Pursue Justice-Tirdof Tzedek
The newsletter of the Social Action Committee of the Union for Reform Judaism
New Jersey - West Hudson Valley Council Region