Hanukkah Shining Lights: Honoring Those in Our Community Who Embrace their Judaism and Jewish Values in their Daily Lives
Jordyn Berk
Jordyn started Chop for Charity as her bat mitzvah project three years ago and to date she has raised over $10,000 for the Children's Hospital of Orange County Foundationand the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Now, after two successful years, she is excited for the 3rd Annual Chop for Charity: Saturday, January 10, 2009. At Chop for Charity, individuals break wooden boards, with the help of experienced instructors, for a nominal fee. There is also an entry fee (a suggested donation) to watch the “Masters” and other martial artists demonstrate amazing boardbreaks. In addition to the board breaks and demonstrations, a raffle and silent auction are held with hundreds of dollars in prizes donated by the local community.Jordyn looks forward to continuing our efforts and making a positive impact on these charities.
Chop for Charity
Making a Difference One Chop at a Time
DATE: Saturday, January 10, 2009 TIME: 12 - 3pm
LOCATION: Lockhart's KarateAcademy in Aliso Viejo
Send your tax deductible donations to:
Jordyn Berk, Chop for Charity, 14 Quail Run, Mission Viejo, CA92692
Ryan Chaban
Ryan earned his scouting religious emblem which is in addition to regular scouting merit badges. Jewish scouting emblems are age appropriately designed so that the lessons learned are meaningful. Each emblem’s requirements become progressively rigorous and the synagogue, the Jewish community and its leaders in addition to the scout’s family are involved. When Ryan was eight he earned the Maccabee religious emblem, at nine the Aleph, now at thirteen, he has earned the Ner Tamid.
In Ryan’s own words: “The New Tamid gave me the opportunity to enhance my knowledge of Judaism through advance activities that strengthened my relationship with my synagogue and rabbis. I learned guidelines on how to practice Judaism in the temple, in the home and in the world which involved service projects. Reverence is the emblem’s essence and it took me six months to complete the required 200-word essay on “How Does the Ner Tamid Help a Scout Practice Being Reverent?” Modeling the guidelines is how I practice being reverent and like Jacob, I often wrestle with this.Today I am humbled with this honor by my synagogue and blessed that so many of my friends are here to share in my simchah.”
The Ner Tamid in the synagogue of our own day goes back to the seven-branched menorah described in the Bible (Exodus 27:20; Numbers 8:2). The center light, from which the other six were kindled, is the Ner Tamid. The lamp burned continually, symbolizing the Jewish people's eternal devotion to God's teachings.Ryan is a great example of this.
Ben Fleischman
The biggest requirement when it comes to earning the Eagle Scout Rank in Boy Scouts is the community service project.Ben's Project involved aiding his "alma mater" elementary school, Marblehead Elementary. Beninstalled shelves,constructed a compost bin, and painted parking spaces in the school'slot. This project had special significance to Ben because it allowed him togive a little back to a school that has given much to Ben. The overall earning of Eagle Scoutwas important toBen because it was, among other things, the culmination ofmore than a decade of scouting and the ultimate return on investment. After a veritable lifetime of Boy Scouts, Ben reached the highest rank possible.
Pete Moss
In addition to all the good tzedakah work that Pete does at Temple Beth El and with the Men’s Club, he helps others fulfill this mitzvah of tzedakah in his tireless efforts over the past few years in support of the following institutions (and this is a partial list!): Jewish Family Services, Jeremiah Society, Laura's House, Lions, AIPAC, Hillel, ORT, Jewish Braille Institute, Jewish National Fund, Jews for Judaism, Stand with Us, Mazon, ARZA, Jewish Historical Society of Orange County, Shoah Foundation, Jewish War Vets, CHOC, Goodwill, Assistance League of San Clemente, Discovery Cancer House, Toby's House, Working Wardrobes, Human Options,Goldstein Youth Village in Israel, ARMDI (Mogan David Adom - Israeli Red Cross), planted trees in Israel to honor Ilan Ramon (Israeli astronaut), Sheba Hospital, Hadassah, “Honey for the Holidays” (New Years project of the Orange County Israel Solidarity Task Force), etc, etc, etc… Additionally,he is a Silver sponsor for the Israeli Merchants Fair in Orange County,he collectsthe following: clothing year round for local families in need,entertainment coupons for families at a shelter, phones that are reprogrammed and are given to abused women for emergency use, used glasses donated to the less fortunate, suitcases for foster care children that are used in place of grocery bags when they are moved from home to home, prom dresses for to help others be able to attend their prom, kitchen & bath items to a local shelter, etc, etc, etc…
If you don’t think you can make a difference, talk to Pete Moss and he’ll let you know you can.
Keary Gregg
Keary has not just embraced the teaching that all human beings are created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God, he devotes many of his efforts to help create a world that truly recognizes this. Of all the community based organizations Keary supports,his primary focus is on supporting The Human Rights Campaign, which envisions an America where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are ensured equality and embraced as full members of the America family at home, at work and in every community. The important work targets supporting fair-minded candidates around the country, media outreach, research and educational programs to engage LGBT and straight-supportive Americans in an ongoing dialogue about equality. This past fall Keary worked tirelessly to defeat Proposition 8 including organizing many in our community to share that there are religious folks for marriage equality. Please go to for more information.
Eliana Leish
In each level of Girl Scouting, girls have the opportunity to earn a Religious Emblem pin. They must individually contact the council that represents their faith. The National Jewish Girl Scout Committee, in NY, offers a successive program to Girl Scouts. Eliana completed the first of several pins that she can earn during her tenure in Girl Scouts. In her second year as a Brownie, she began the work to earn her Lehavah Award.
Lehavah means “flame”. The spirit behind completing the award is to have the flame, or lehavah, light the girl’s way in Judaism. She is expected to ask others for help and in return, to help others. Some of the required activities for Eliana included meeting with a rabbi to understand what a rabbi does, completing a family tree, learning about Abraham and the book of Genesis, and translating what the Shema means to her. She also learned about the history of the 10 Commandments and participated in a Troop mitzvah for others by collecting toiletries for the Marines and making “goody” bags for them.
Eliana will become a Junior Girl Scout this June and will begin work on her Bat Ohr Award—the next level in Girl Scouting. She will learn about Jewish holidays and festivals, the Torah, the synagogue, Israel, and how her history and heritage relate to Girl scouting.
Eliana says that earning her Lehava award means that she is a Jewish Girl Scout and she is proud of it.
Barbara Scheinman
Barbara Scheinman, MSW, has been a Social Worker for the past 33 years. Her experience has included specialization in Women's Issues in the 1970's, HIV/AIDs throughout the 1980's, and homelessness during the past 15 years. She has been apublic speaker on the topic of AIDS, Domestic Violence, and Women's Issues.She has trained volunteers for many organizations, including AIDS Project/Hartford and The American Cancer Society. She has volunteered on various hotlines (suicide prevention, rape response) and in clinics. More recently, she has volunteered for organizations that my children were involved in because it was wonderful to work alongside my kids and share their passions: Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program with her daughter Courtney, Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation with her daughter Caitlyn, and Special Olympics with her son Taylor. She has also served on the Social Action Committee, Israel Matters Committee, and Green Team.
Barbara now advocates and speaks on behalf of the homeless.She has been active with the Illumination Foundation since it was started at the beginning of this year. In January, when it is determined what donated items can best help the formerly homeless, Illumination Foundation families refocus their efforts on budgeting for rent, we will notify the Temple Beth El community how we can help the Illumination Foundation community. With many of our IF children under the age of 5, it is anticipated a diaper drive might be that need.
The Lamed Vavniks: There are 36 righteous people,tzadikim,whose role in life is to justify the purpose of mankind in the eyes of God. These holy people are hidden-- nobody including themselves knows who they are. For the sake of these 36 hidden saints, God preserves the world even if the rest of humanity has degenerated to the level of total barbarism
In every generation 36 righteous greet the Shechinah/the Divine Presence. (Sanhedrin 97b).