Sisterhood
The Fair Lawn Jewish Center Sisterhood, an affiliate of the Women's League for Conservative Judaism, strives to help our congregation evolve from a synagogue to a community. If the goal of our synagogue is to be a home away from home, then the goal of Sisterhood is to provide the sisters (and mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and cousins), and to offer friendship, support, and caring (and of course, food!). How do we do this?
Each year we sponsor, along with the Men's Progress Club, a synagogue-wide Hanukkah Hagigah, complete with live entertainment, sufganiot (jelly donuts), latkes, dreidels, and chocolate coins. On Purim, we amass a cast of thousands to put together the best Purim Carnival west of the Saddle River. Virtually no one leaves without a goldfish! We also provide gifts to all of our Bar and Bat Mitzvah youngsters, as we all kvell when a congregant celebrates this important milestone. During the High Holidays, we provide snacks for Junior Congregation, and offer traditional candy apples on Simchat Torah.
Our Sunday morning Sukkah decorating gets our creative juices flowing, as we beautify our sukkah with paper chains, fruits, pictures, and more, with an assist from the children and the Men's Progress Club. Sisterhood also provides the flowers that adorn the bimah during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. We regularly help fund improvements to facilities at the Center as needed, such as the recent renovation of the bathrooms in the Religious School level.
Our book breakfast, cosponsored with the Books and Bagels group, brings in contemporary authors of Jewish-themed books.
Past guests have included Ruchama King (Seven Blessings: A Novel), M. L. Malcolm (Silent Lies), and Perri Klass and Sheila Solomon Klass (Every Mother Is a Daughter: The Neverending Quest for Success, Inner Peace, and a Really Clean Kitchen [Recipes and Knitting Patterns Included]). Sisterhood Shabbat, held each January, provides the opportunity to practice and showcase our synagogue skills. Each year, the bimah is overflowing with women reading Torah, chanting the Haftarah, receiving aliyot, and offering insights through a D'var Torah. We are very excited to host a Jewish Antiques Roadshow this fall, featuring Jonathan Greenstein of J. Greenstein & Co., Auctioneers of Rare Antique and Artisan Judaica.
Last year, hosted a members-only Hanukkah menorah-lighting program, complete with potato lakes and jelly donuts. All of our members enjoyed an ice cream social to close out the calendar year. In the coming year, we are planning a Sunday morning Yoga & Yogurt program and a paid-up membership brunch with lively entertainment. There will also be a weekday luncheon for our members who prefer weekday afternoon programs. A craft program is planned over the winter, giving us all a good excuse to get out of the house for a few hours.
Our Gift Shop, open by appointment, is stocked with beautiful Judaica and other gifts. Think of shopping there for wedding, engagement, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, birthday, baby, and other gifts. Our Shaloch Manot baskets, distributed on Purim, provide the opportunity to fulfill a mitzvah, fill our bellies, and raise some money. For Passover, we run a Passover Candy Sale. A Judaic book sale is planned for the fall, as is a cheesecake sale in time for Shavuot. All proceeds of our fundraising activities go directly to future programming, supporting synagogue activities, and funding special projects within our shul community. Our Sisterhood also maintains one of the most active Torah Fund programs in the nation; this program raises money for the Jewish Theological Seminary to ensure the future education of Jewish rabbis and scholars.
Sisterhood can only offer these programs through the dedication of our many members. Our committed group of volunteers can always be found to lend a hand to provide the little extras that make our synagogue our second home. Won't you join us? There's always something to do and a friend to be made. New Center members receive free membership their first year. For more information, please contact Carol Marcus, Sisterhood President, through the Center office or via email. We look forward to meeting you!