Written by Michael Froimowitz    May 1st was our fifth annual "Picnic With the Trees."  God gave us a gorgeous day for it, and volunteers did the rest. 

Many thanks to Sarah and Jordan Lee Wagner for hosting the event;  to Benyomin Fleischmann, Rabbi Shachter, and Rabbi Yaffe for giving wonderful presentations;  to Nechama Fleischmann for shopping for the food;  and to John Negrotti of Silver Lake Liquors for donating the fine wines and plenty of ice to keep all the beverages cool! 

If you missed the event itself, you can still catch some of the learning:  videos of some of the presentations are now available on the website. 

All in all, an auspicious beginning; can Lag B'omer be far behind?

Written by Michael Froimowitz    Passover has come and gone and it was an inspirational personal and communal experience.  The Shabbat Hagadol Kiddush was unique. Our Chatan Torah, Benyomin Fleischmann, and the Chatan Bereshit, Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe, joined together to make this a memorable experience.  It was a great chametz feast before Pesach.  Rabbi Yaffe made his amazing cholents... a huge fleishig one and two pareve. All will agree that they are gastronomic delights.  Binyamin looked after the fish, salads and just about everything else.  There were divrei Torah, z'mirot, and a huge crowd.  It was a wonderful introduction to Pesach.

The services were on time and meaningful.  It is a source of great pleasure for me, and I am sure to all, that we have so many new members and worshipers.  They are from different backgrounds and cultures, yet all feel at home under our roof.

Now we set our sights for Shavuot as we count the daily Omer.  Shabbat Shalom to one and all!

Written by Michael Froimowitz    This year, the Adams Street Shul celebrated Purim with an amazing amount of spirit. Thank you to Rabbi Avinoam Durani, who read megillah at several times for us. In addition, a community seudah was held on Purim day for the first time. Yasher koach to all those who helped make this a success: Robin and Michael Walker, Jane and Phil Rosen, David Jacobson and Shelley Greene, Tsila Sloane, Rena Walker, Binyamin and Nechama Fleischmann, Michael Froimowitz and Linnea Bredenberg.

Written by Michael Froimowitz    Planning is underway for a communal Purim seudah (meal) and party at the Shul on the afternoon of Purim, which is Sunday, March 20th. The planning committee would like some feedback about how many people would be interested in attending. We anticipate the price of the meal to be about $20 for adults and $10 for children. We are also looking for more volunteers to help with this event. We are also looking for donations to help offset the costs. Please contact Robin Walker () this week if you, your family, and friends are interested in attending, or if you would like to help out in any way. We hope that everyone will be able to attend, in costume of course!

Written by Michael Froimowitz    Now that the days are getting longer (can Spring be far behind?), mincha is once again being held later in the afternoon on Shabbat, followed by Seudah Shelishit and Maariv/Havdallah.  We are looking for a few more volunteers to help with set up/clean up for Seudah Shelishit – several of our previous “regulars” are out of town for extended periods.  If you are willing to assist in this mitzvah, please contact Dr. Ronny Drapkin ().

Written by Michael Froimowitz    What a great Chanukah party we had this year!  Kids made Chanukah picture frames and decorative menorahs at the crafts table run by Jane Rosen.  Others schpritzed water-guns, competing to douse the flames, in the carnival-style booth run by Shoshanna Fleischmann and Max Cantor.  Celebrants decorated cookies, and then ate their artwork.  Other partygoers filled their own jelly donuts with the sweet sticky stuff of their choice.  Face-painting by Rena Walker added additional color to the festivity!  Odeya Durani oversaw the Dreidel-Spinning Contest, while Rabbi Durani excelled in the Blind Potato Dancing.  He also had the children mesmerized during Story-Time.  Chocolate money flowed freely.

Thanks also to Sarah Boling and David Winer, who spent most of Friday slaving over a hot stove in the Shul kitchen, making over twenty pounds of latkes.  The aroma during Friday night services was heavenly, and they were all gobbled up well before the party ended. 

Thanks go to Rabbi Avinoam Durani and Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe for their inspirational words at the candle-lighting.  And to Chaya Esther Vaks for photography and to Dr. Ronny Drapkin for videotaping.  And to Nechama Fleischmann for doing the prerequisite shopping.

Thanks also to Jordan Lee Wagner for the microphone and amplifier, the lyrics sheets for the sing-along, and for emceeing the Trivia Contest; and to Sergey Khanukaev  for the live holiday music.  (How'd we get so lucky to have our Chanukah music played by a musician named for the holiday?)

Thanks to Phil Rosen and Yoki Fleischmann for manning the admission table and the lottery ticket sales.  Thanks also to Max Cantor for the stereo system and recorded music, and to Daniel Gorelik and Benyomin Fleischmann who set-up the party beforehand and to all who helped clean up afterward (including Max Cantor; Shoshana Fleishmann; Odeya Durani; Phil and Jane Rosen; Benyomin, Yoki & Nechama Fleishmann; Chaya Esther Vaks; Chaya Durani, and others). 

Special kudos to the teenage members who organized the whole shebang, and to Jane Rosen who guided it all in this new direction! 

Yasher Koach and Chanukah Sameach, Everyone!

P.S. -- If you have digital photos or videos from the party, please send them to for sharing in the Scrapbooks section of our website.

Written by Michael Froimowitz    A Happy Chanukah to you! 

I've been criss-crossing the continent because of my new job, but will be back in time for the festival, and am looking forward to seeing everyone at the Chanukah Party. 

While you're counting the days, be sure to check out our Favorite Chanukah Food poll at http://adamsstreet.org/member-pages/member-poll-results.html .  Make your culinary opinion known; your taste buds will thank you later.

Written by Michael Froimowitz    Let me belatedly share with you a lovely note received from Cantor Zev Gutman, who davened for us on the High Holy Days:

It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I thank the entire community for the kindness and consideration they showed me during the past High Holiday season, both during my 'audition' Shabbat and the Yamim Noraim. The warmth I felt from the congregation inspired my own Tefilot and enabled me to truly serve as your Sheliach Tzibbur.

I must mention specifically those families who hosted me during my stay, and the wonderful people who picked me up from the train station.

It was truly an inspirational experience to join with your community and I hope to have more occasions in the future to daven with you.

May Hashem bestow up on all of us only great blessings and kindness!

Cantor Zev Guttman