December 2009
What a busy and fun month!

We had a wonderful, well attended Chanukah Party on the 13th!

All the prep work that goes into making a great dinner was done on Saturday night, thanks to Barry Fidelman, Bea Warshawsky, Esther Price, Irv Goldberg, Steve Tolen, Hy & Shelly
Warshawsky and Min Pearce and Keith and Anne Moffat.
Then on Sunday, after the board meeting, another crew brought it all together! Thanks go to Steve Tolen, Barry Fidelman, Debbie Ehrlich, Pat & Tony Mortorano, Keith & Anne Moffat,
Hy Warshawsky, Min Pearce and Beth Davis.What a meal! The Brisket melted in your mouth,
the potato latkes (and side dishes) were many and tasty!
Everyone had plenty to eat and there were no leftovers!

A get well card was sent to Mike Slotnick who was unable to attend.

Looking forward to the next event:
our Purim Program has been CANCELED, but
a Passover Seder WILL be held in March by Reservation.
Please let us know what night works best for your family to attend.

THANK-YOU
to the many people who have paid Shul Dues on time, you should all have received your Membership Cards by now! Please don't forget, our Shul depends on an active membership and dues! Now that the holidays are over, give it some thought.

DONATIONS
GENERAL FUND

Eric Rothner
Sam & Tobie Ehrlich
Greene

GIFT CASE

TZEDAKAH BOX


The next BOARD MEETING will be held on January 17th, 2009.
Open to all, come be informed and express your opinions!

Chanukah Party!

First Hebrew Congregation
249 Broadway
South Haven, Mi 49090



HAPPENINGS
November 2009

"The HAPPENINGS" are the Editorial Comments of the Secretary; Min Pearce.



By now you’re all filled up with everything Thanksgiving stands for, but make room...

and mark your calendars now!

for the 13th of December

CHANUKAH CELEBRATION!!

Fresh Potato Latkes, Brisket, Hot Dogs and all the fixin’s will be served at 2: P.M.

Bring your favorite menorah (and children to light it), candles will be available and
Dreidels will be spinning!!!
IT'S COMING UP SOON!

Call by Friday Dec 4th to reserve your seats and help us in planning estimations!

---Adults: $8:50 -- Children 12 and under: $2.50---

That’s December 13th, at 2:00P.M.

First Hebrew Congregation Social Hall



RENOVATIONS

The microwave donated by Irving Goldberg in memory of his wife, Pearl Goldberg, has been placed and a dedication plaque is to be made. A new commercial (19.5) capacity refrigerator has been purchased and installed.Hy and Barry witnessed the inspection of the Fire Extinguishers, and it was it was thought to be more cost- effective to purchase new rather then to find a source for refilling. Steve Tolen is going to build more storage shelving.

BOARD MEETINGS

Board Meetings are usually held at 10AM on the THIRD SUNDAY of the month. For of a lack of a Quorum there was no meeting held in October. November’s meeting was held on the 15th; Robert and Dora Abel presented a book for inclusion during High Holidays & Lou will look into the possibility. Lou is also going to make a Funeral Protocol Handbook for Jewish Burials which will be given to the City as well as Funeral establishments in the area.
The next meeting will be held at 10:00 AM on Dec 13th prior to the Chanukah Party. Everyone Welcome!



MEMORIAL BOARD

Work is ongoing in to place a new memorial board for installation of additional plaques. Individual memorial plaques can be purchased at $350.00 each.


MAZEL TOV!

Sam Price is back from Afghanistan! Welcome Home!





THANK YOU


To all members who have paid in a timely manner, Membership Cards have been finally been issued and mailed!
Thank-You!


As a benefit for paid members, a free link can be placed in the online Member Business Directory on our website at miSHshul.blogspot.com


For consideration, send your card to Min Pearce, P.O. Box 366, South Haven, MI 49090

or send it by e-mail in JPG format to miSHshul@gmail.com


If YOUR dues are still outstanding,

please have them in before Dec 31 and a contributions receipt will be sent in time for tax purposes.





DONATIONS

October

Donations to the General Fund

Miles Berman

Sanford Schulman

Jerry Goldberg

Dale & Diane Paskin

Eugene Sheridan

Scott Bulmash

Jonathon Hartstein

Bernard Storck

Remy & Julia Ruben

A key Box was donated in honor of Norman Pearce.

A beautiful wooden tzedakah box crafted by Steve Tolen was donated for use in the Foyer.





November

Donations to the General Fund

Tem Horwitz

Norman Brown

Charles Rosenbaum

Belle Reznik

Karen Moore Tolen

Alvin Block



In Memory of Hyman Price

Lillian Maram Reich

Jack Paxton

H. Warshawsky

J. Steinfeld

Barbara Adler

G. Fleischman



Get Well to Minnie Pearce

Remy and Julia Rubin

HAPPENINGS for September 2009

Late Notice Update:

Condolences to the family of Hyman Price who passed away at home Friday, Oct 2.

Graveside funeral services were held at the Jewish Cemetery on Wilson Street at Blue Star Hwy in South Haven on Monday, Oct 5 at 1PM, officiated by Kenneth Hollander. Memorial contributions may be sent to First Hebrew Congregation OR South Haven Hospice -At-Home. Kindly share your thoughts and memories on the families online guest book at www.filbrandtffh.com

*

WOW!!! We’ve had ary busy month!!!

LOX BOX SALE REPORT:

Total earned after expenses for shul general fund topped last year's earnings by several hundred dollars!!! THANK-YOU to EVERYONE who participated!!! A committee is being formed now to plan details for next year, so let us know if you can help Marcie Fineberg and Gail Paradise in any way with this annual fundraising event which may soon include a free newspaper, as well!!!

A Special note of THANKS to the following people, for without their involvement, the Lox Box Project would not have been as successful as it was!

On Friday, 4th of August: Barry Fidelman, Anne Moffat, Hy Warshawsky,
M&M Fineberg,Jasmine Fidelman, Pat & Tony Martorano, & Min Pearce.
On Saturday 5th of August: Barry, Hy, Lou Price, Gale Paradise, Irv Goldberg, Alan, Issac, Rubin Warshawsky, Sarah Schulman, and friend Ms. Cameron, & Min Pearce.
On Sunday 6th of August: Barry, Hy, Lou, Alan, Anne, Gale Paradise, & Min.

*

The same Note of Thanks must be said for the preparation of High Holidays. Barry did a wonderful job managing the kitchen, overseeing and cooking! Our cleaning lady, Betsy, did a great job spiffing things up inside! Mike and Hy tended to the groundskeeping chores, Hy, Shelly, Bea & Min set up tables for the Kiddush that follows the services. BethAnn Pearce-Davis and Barry made several challahs from scratch, (nice to have homemade!) Sue Price made several Kugel for the Break-The-Fast, and Barry prepared all the rest!

Services however, were sparsely attended.
Making a minyan and alliah is a special mitzvot for those who can dedicate the time, and are most appreciated!
There is talk of expanding the service to be more interactive and have more participation in English. Please let your feelings be heard right away so plans can be made now to be approved for future services!

*

The Sukka-Bration Mobile arrived at 4pm Monday with Rabbi Mordecai Haller, his lovely wife and children from Grand Rapids to help us observe the mitzvohs of Sukkot in honor of Hy Price, as he would have wanted us to do.

Simchat Torah is Oct 11th
*

After Yom Kippur comes the REMINDER

that dues are payable now.

Billing statements will be sent out. If the address sticker on it was printed in BLACK, your dues are paid-up and a membership card should be coming
as soon as we get them from the printer!!!!

If the sticker on your mailing was printed in RED,

you are in arrears

(according to our records)

besides this year's dues.

If your sticker was printed in ORANGE,

this years dues have not

(yet)

been received.

A membership of $300.00 is a bargain.
We know times are tough but we hope you will renew and maybe bring in friend.

NOTE:
(Paid Members can have a link posted on our website to their businesses for free!)
Send information to mySHshul@gmail.com or send in a copy of your business card.

*

THANK-YOU
Mike Slotnick provided the beautiful flowers at the Bimah and the entrance to the Shul.
*
A $1000 grant was received for the education fund from the Jewish Federation in Detroit to be used for continued programs as discussed by the board, possibly: oil making class for Chanukkah, film festivals, a singing brunch program" Bagels and Broadway". Please let us know if you would be interested or can suggest something.
*
Linda Warshawsky donated a book for the library.
“Echos of Detroits Jewish Communities”, by Irvin J. Cohen.
*

CONGRATULATIONS MAZEL TOV !

Andy & Shirley (Grassflower) Wohlman ,

Grandparents of a new baby girl,
Skyler Marie Quinn.

*

BethAnn Pearce-Davis a new Grandparent of a baby boy,
Dylan Kaleb Davis,
born to her son Dennis and daughter-in-law Sarah.

*
DONATIONS
-General Fund-

M. Gordon
Marcey Feinberg
V&F Annete
Bea Warshawsky in honor of Hy Warshawsky’s birthday
Jerry and Charlene Fleischman in honor of Bea Warshawsky’s birthday
*

If we left anyone out, PLEASE call and tell us so we can update the online information for everyone!!!

High Holiday Services Schedule

2009 5769-5770 Shanna Tovah!

Friday Sept 18th
7:30 PM Erev Rosh Hashana

Saturday Sept 19th
9:00 AM Rosh Hashana
Kiddush follows

Sunday Sept 27th
7:30 PM Erev Yom Kippur
Kol Nidre

Monday Sept 28
9:00 AM Yom Kippur
8:00 PM Break-the-Fast
($10/person)

AUGUST

The Annual Meeting was held on 16 of August, 2009, a full Board attending with the exception of Irving Goldberg.

Board members for 2009-2010 voted in by the members of our congregation are now:
Barry Fidelman, Lou Price, Mike Slotnick, Hy Warshawsky, Min Pearce, Anne Moffat, Debbie Ehrlich, Steve Tolen, and Joyce Berman.

Reports were given and the Annual meeting adjourned.

The August Board Meeting was then held and Executive Officers

were chosen by closed vote as follows:

President Barry Fidelman / Kitchen Committee Chair

Vice President Lou Price / Religious Education

2nd VP Mike Slotnick / Building Committee Chair

Treasurer Hy Warshawsky / Contact

Secretary Min Pearce / Membership Committee

The President welcomed Steve Tolen and Joyce Berman.

A new brochure will be printed up for the coming year reflecting the changes and will be available for distribution.

Updates and accessibility changes to the website will be made also.

Paid Members will be offered a listings link in our online Member Business Directory

and are encouraged to submit their business cards / information

for consideration at the next meeting!

At the suggestion of Anne, a Zedekiah Box will be placed on the table in the foyer for your convenience.

*

It’s LOX BOX time!

Get your pre-paid orders in by August 31^st deadline!

Work sessions for volunteers have been scheduled as follows:

Come on down and HELP-

(it’s more fun when there are many hands!)

4 Sept. (Fri.) 3:00 p.m. ‘till ?

5 Sept (Sat.) 7:30 p.m. ‘till ?

6 Sept. (Sun) 8:00 a.m. ‘till ?

*

Donations:

B. Kozel in honor of Hy & Shelly Warshawsky’s Anniversary

Gerry & Charlene Fleischman in honor of

Hy Warshawsky’s birthday

Fred and Myriam Ebstein in Memory of Norman Pearce

Miscellaneous donations to the General Fund

THANK-YOU!!!

*

Announcing:

*

Theatrical Productions of Interest:

*

The CIVIC Theatre in Kalamazoo will be presenting

"FIDDLER on the ROOF” Sept 25-Oct 10

Public ticket sales open Aug 31st. Our own Lou Price will again play the part of Tevya!

www.kazoocivic.com Call 269-343-1313.

*

Oct 17-24^th, Michigan OPERA Theatre in Detroit presents the opera “Nabucco”, by Giuseppe Verdi, based on the Old Testament story about the plight of the Jewish people during the time of the King Nebuchadnezzar. Exiled from their homeland, Jewish people are eventually victorious as the King frees them and asks forgiveness from G-d. This is the first time Michigan Opera has featured a main stage presentation opera with Jewish content.

www.MichiganOpera.org Call: 313-237-7464 or 313-961-3500

*

The Jewish Theatre of Grand Rapids presents

“The Value of Names” by Jeffery Sweet

on October 22,24, 25, 29, 31 and Nov 1.

www.jtgr.org Call 616-234-3946

*

NOTE:

Board Meetings are USUALLY held at 10AM on the Third Sunday
of the month, but the
NEXT meeting date will be
September 13th.

All Welcome!

*

*FYI*

*

High Holiday Schedule

Please join us for High Holiday Services:

Sept 18^th

Erev

Rosh Hashana -- 7:30 PM

Sept 19^th

Rosh Hashana -- 9:00 AM

Sept 20th

Rosh Hashana -- 9:00 AM

-Kiddush follows-

Sept 27^th

Erev

Yom Kippur -- 7:30 PM

-Kol Nidre-

Sept 28th

Yom Kippur -- 9:00 AM

-Break-the-Fast- -- 8:00 PM

See You There!

JULY

FIRST HEBREW CONGREGATION

HAPPENINGS

JULY

My apologies for being so late with this printing. I have been in ill health for some time now but I am getting stronger and hope to be my new self soon. Things have been going on never the less and I will attempt to bring you all up to date. The next Board meeting will be on the 16^th of August, 2009.

Everyone Welcome.



Annual Meeting:
The following members were present as of 12:30 p.m.;
Mike Slotnick, Barry Fidelman, Hy Warshawsky and Min Pearce.
Since a quorum was not reached
(as is mandated in the by-laws to start a meeting),
this Annual Meeting was called off.


Board Meeting:
There were 47 ballots received of 57 sent out for the Election of nine Board Members for 2009-2010. The following members were voted in: Joyce Berman, Debbie Ehrlich, Anne Moffat, Barry Fidelman, Lou Price, Mike Slotnick, Min Pearce, Steve Tolen and Hy Warshawsky. A suggestion was made to purchase a small shed to house the mower, edger, clippers, snow shovels, etc. but discussion was tabled since expenses for the kitchen, store room & painting of pipes in the social hall came to $ 7,406.80. Kiddush and Break-the Fast for High holidays will continue under Barry Fidelman’s direction. Lynda Warshawsky presented a program list with various topics of interest that may appeal to the general public as well as our local Jewish Community which could also be a stimulus for increased Synagogue membership and was given approval to begin.



Please Note these
Upcoming Events:

Question and Answer

Discussion Group

Every Thursday evening 8:30-9:30 pm;

hosted by Rabbi Margareten from Camp Agudah Mid-West.

A Shabbos Shmooze and Social

at the home of Norm and Lois Brown on Friday, August 21 at 7 PM. Please bring a dessert or appetizer to share. RSVP to Lynda Warshawsky at jlw1993@comcast.net or 269-639-1532 and let her know what you plan to bring. Brown’s live on Lois Lane, west of Blue Star Hwy, East of Tello’s on the north side of North Shore Drive.

A Kosher Israeli Dinner and Talk

Tuesday, August 25 at 6 PM at the home of Joe and Lynda Warshawsky.

This evening is sponsored in part by a special grant from the Ravich Foundation and the Metro Detroit Jewish Federation.

Co-sponsored by The Chabad House of Grand Rapids.

Bring only yourselves but RSVP to jlw1993@comcast.net or 269-639-1532.

We look forward to seeing you!

LOX BOX FUNDRAISER!

$30 for: 4 servings of EACH;

Bagels, Lox, Cream Cheese, Sliced Onion & Tomato,

Juice, Coffee Cake, Plastic Knife/Fork and Napkins also Included.

Pick-Up Your Order or Dine-In!

(Sunday, September 6^th between 10AM & 2PM only)

Payment Must Accompany Preorder / Deadline 31 August 2009

Contact any Board Member or call Secretary Min Pearce 269-637-2874

We are attempting to get as many members as possible to receive this newsletter by e-mail to reduce the costs of ink-on-paper monthly mailings.

Write to us to request your e-copy!

miSHshul@gmail.com

FIRST HEBREW CONGREGATION

249 Broadway, South Haven, MI 49090

“The Happenings” and can also be viewed at:

www.miSHshul.blogspot.com

Upcoming Activities

August 21
The Jewish Community of South Haven is invited
for a Shabbos Shmooz and Social
at the home of Norm and Lois Brown
on Friday, August 21 at 7 PM.
Please bring a dessert or appetizer to share.
RSVP
to Lynda Warshawsky at: jlw1993@comcast.net.
or
call 269-639-1532
and let her know what you plan to bring.
The Browns live on Lois Lane,
west of Blue Star off of North Shore Drive,
east of Tello's on the north side of Nor(Sunday, September 6th)th Shore.

August 25

Enjoy a kosher Israeli dinner and talk
on Tuesday, August 25 at 6PM
at the home of Joe and Lynda Warshawsky.

This evening is sponsored in part by a special grant from the Ravich Foundation
and the Metro Detroit Jewish Federation,
also co-sponsored by Chabad House of West Michigan.
Bring only yourselves
but RSVP
at: jlw1993@comcast.net.
or
call 269-639-1532.
We look forward to seeing you!

Pre-Order Deadline
is Monday August 31st
for

The First Hebrew Congregation's
LOX BOX
fundraiser!

4 servings of EACH for $30;

Bagels, Lox, Cream Cheese, Sliced Onion & Tomato, Juice, Coffee Cake.

(Plastic Knife/Fork and Napkins Included)

For Pick-Up or Dine-In!

( Between 10AM and 2PM only )

(Sunday, September 6th)

Payment Must Accompany Preorder

See any Board Member for tickets

or

Call Min Pearce at 269-637-2874.

The "BUSH" on our South Lawn

The "bush" on our South Lawn,
pruned in 2008 without realizing
that it was a rare specimin tree
(planted by Joe Ashen)
has been identified as:

Metasequoia glyptostroboides,

or "Dawn Redwood" a rare deciduous conifer grown from seeds brought from China
where it had been considered an extinct species known only to the fossil record.

Exerpts from Wikipedia explain in detail it's history:

Metasequoia redwood fossils are known from many areas in the Northern Hemisphere; over 20 fossil species have been named (some were even identified as the genus Sequoia), but are considered as just three species, M. foxii, M. milleri, and M. occidentalis (Farjon 2005). During the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, extensive forests of Metasequoia occurred as far north as Axel Heiberg Island (northern Canada) at around 80°N latitude. Large petrified trunks and stumps of the extinct Metasequoia occidentalis (sometimes identified as Sequoia occidentalis) also make up the major portion of Tertiary fossil plant material in the badlands of western North Dakota in the United States.

The trees are well known from late Cretaceous to Miocene strata, but no fossils are known after that. Before its discovery, the taxon was believed to have become extinct during the Miocene; when it was discovered extant, it was heralded as a "living fossil".

Metasequoia was first described as a fossil from the Mesozoic Era by Shigeru Miki in 1941, but in 1944 a small stand of an unidentified tree was discovered in China in Modaoxi by Zhan Wang; due to World War II, these were not studied further until 1946 and only finally described as a new living species of Metasequoia in 1948 by Wan Chun Cheng and Hu Hsen Hsu. In 1948 the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University sent an expedition to collect seeds and, soon after, seedling trees were distributed to various universities and arboreta worldwide for growth trials.

In the late 1980s, it was discovered that many of the second generation trees in cultivation suffered from inbreeding depression (extremely low genetic variability) which could lead to increased susceptibility to disease and reproductive failure. This was because most of the trees were grown from seeds and cuttings derived from as few as three trees that the Arnold Arboretum had used as its source. More widespread seed-collecting expeditions in China in the 1990s sought to resolve this problem and restore genetic diversity to cultivated Metasequoia.

Metasequoia has proved an easy tree to grow in temperate regions, and is now widely planted as an ornamental tree. Planted specimens have already reached 25-40 m in height and 1-1.3 m in diameter, despite being in cultivation for under 60 years. This rapid rate of growth has led to consideration for using the tree in forestry plantations. It has been discovered that Metasequoia will thrive in standing water, much like the baldcypress, and if left branched to the ground in full sun, will develop the large, contorted boles that have made it famous.

Limbing at an early age will prohibit this formation later on.

Big tree

The type specimen, in Modaoqi, was in 1980 measured at 241 cm in the buttressed portion of the trunk, and 167 cm above the buttress. I believe this is the specimen pictured here. Several trees about 50 m tall are found in the Shuishaba valley. An isolated tree formerly grew a few kilometers to the north at Wangjiaying, 220 cm diameter and 50 m tall; this was the largest tree yet recorded, but was killed by a lightning strike in 1951 (Bartholomew et al. 1983). A visit to the Hubei population in 1980 found stumps over 2 m diameter, logged between 1950 and 1980 (Hendricks 1995).There is a specimen 36.9 m tall with a dbh of 135 cm at the College of William and Mary,Williamsburg, Virginia (Robert Van Pelt e-mail 18-Mar-1998).

Read more about this fascinating tree by following these links:

http://www.cirrusimage.com/tree_Dawn-Redwood.htm

http://www.conifers.org/cu/me/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasequoia

http://www.metasequoia.org/

http://www.dawnredwood.org/

HAPPENINGS May 2009

The first phase of the Kitchen project is almost done!! Just waiting for the electrician to install the under cabinet lights. Still need to locate another upright freezer. It’s so bright and airy, I can’t wait to do something fleishidic! It has been a long time coming, but the efforts put into it by everyone will be a benefit long into the future.

Joe & Linda Warshawsky, of the Steel Center, have donated all the material for the kitchen’s stainless steel back splash and the heavy pipe necessary to fix the railings around the outside of Shul. The building is a better place for our future generations because you stepped up. How can a simple Thank You suffice?

Nominations to the board closed with ten candidates for the nine positions.
Paid members will be receiving an Election Ballot with a short bio
about each candidate
and a stamped RETURN envelope.
These MUST be postmarked no later than 15 July 2009.
Remember it’s “YOUR” board that serves the Shul.
Please DO NOT sign your ballot.

Election results will be announced at our Annual Meeting
Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at about 1PM.

Starting in 5770, membership cards will be issued
to all members who were Paid-Up for 2008-2009
by the end of September
when dues for the NEW year 2009-2010 will be collected.

Hope to see you and your family there if not sooner!

Join in the discussions!

The next Board Meeting has been moved up
to 10AM Sunday, June 14th
in honor of Father’s Day.

A limited number of accommodation referrals
and discounted room reservations
will be available during the summer season.
Please forward written requests to the shul or our e-mail address
in advance and we will send information.

Don’t forget to reserve your Labor Day Weekend LOX BOX as well!

Of note, the house and property on Church St. adjacent to the shul is up for sale again at $129K.
After much discussion, the board has voted unanimously against making a bid, although acquisition of the property would be favorable. We have a full plate in dealing with steam pipes that need to be refinished, re-growing an unruly patch of lawn, purchase of an additional memorial board
and tending plantings at the cemetery.

Donations to the General Fund
Jerold & Naomi Senser
Arlen Tolen
Seymore Padnos

In Memory
of Norman Pearce… Nancy Vilims

Mazel Tov
Congratulations to Debbie and Kevin Merrell
on the birth of Abigail Lucille April 27th in Holland Hospital,
6lbs.4oz. of all girl to keep Grandpa Irv busy!