Men's Club Helps Out at CAI Garage Sale

The Agudath Israel Garage Sale, held at Justus Buick on Bloomfield Avenue, was a huge success, as it raised close to $5,000 for special needs B'nai Mitvot in Israel. Several Men's Club members played a big role in this Israel Committee event, including lead representative Harvey Hershkowitz. Club members, pictured, along with other CAI congregants, shlepped, sold and counted the many generously donated items at the April 26th event.

Much of the effort was put forth last Sunday. On April 19th, our group, in conjunction with the Israel Committee, picked up goods from thirty houses in the Caldwell area.

Special thanks to all the Men's Clubbers and CAI members at-large who volunteered their time and energy to this very worthwhile cause.

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At right, Lee Gladstein asks, "Do you know of anyone who could use a perfectly good pew?"

Volunteers Needed for Gloriously Green Event - May 3

The CAI Men's Club is playing a very active role in Agudath Israel's Gloriously Green Festival on Sunday, May 3rd. Volunteers are still needed for the functions of traffic flow, helping the organic Kosher food vendor run her booth and manning the appliance recycling booth. Help celebrate Earth Day the CAI way! (This program is being sponsored by the Sisterhood and the Environmental Committee and is open to the entire Caldwell-area community.)

Contact Adam Shandler at adam@adshandler.com if you have questions or can volunteer at least an hour of your time!

Party Honoring Rabbinic Intern Jeremy Gerber

Rabbinic Intern Jeremy Gerber has been a great friend to the Men's Club in his short time at CAI. He's moderated our Torah on Tap events. He's taught liturgical Hebrew to our congregants through the Men's Club's "Learn Hebrew" program. He even placed second in our most recent CAI Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament.



Join the Men's Club as we say "Thank You" with a send-off party before he heads to his new pulpit at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Wallingford, PA. The party will be held at Mr. Chu's Vegetarian Asian restaurant on Bloomfield Avenue in West Caldwell, on Thursday, May 14th at 7 p.m.



Contact Adam Shandler at adam@adshandler.com for more info or to RSVP.

Happy Pesach from the Men's Club!

The Men's Club of Congregation Agudath Israel wishes you and your family and happy and meaningful Passover! Let the Feast of Freedom remind us all that oppression of any kind to any people is unjust and will not be tolerated.

In every generation each person should feel as though she or he were redeemed from Egypt, as it is said: 'You shall tell your children on that day saying, It is because of what Adonai did for me when I went free out of Egypt. For the Holy One redeemed not only our ancestors; God redeemed us with them.'" - The Hagaddah

Men's Club General Meeting - Tuesday, April 7th

The next general meeting of the CAI Men's Club will take place on Tuesday night, April 7th, at 8 pm. Meetings are normally on the second Tuesday of each month, but we are bucking the trend in April due to the observance of Passover.

On the agenda for Tuesday's meeting:

*Recaps of our March events

*Men's Club's participation in CAI's Gloriously Green Event on May 3rd

*Thank You Party for Rabbinic Intern Jeremy Gerber (Thursday, May 14th)

*Men's Club Shabbat in June.

We welcome all new members and their ideas to the meeting. You can also witness Secretary Steve Jacobs' masterful minute-taking.

See you there!

Dan Stein Inspires at Men's Club Networking Night

The small crowd that braved the rain on Wednesday, April 1st, enjoyed an inpsirational talk by Dan Stein, CAI member and Assistant US Attorney, Southern District of New York. Dan was our featured speaker at our second networking night, presented in conjunction with the synagogue's Employment Steering Committee.

Dan, pictured at right with committee chair Bobby Epstein, talked about why he took his legal expertise into public service and about some of the high-profile cases he has prosecuted. He explained that attorneys who work for the Department of Justice have a true passion for law and for the pursuit of truth. After providing some synopses of his case history, Dan spoke about the value of being a Federal employee and offered some resources for job-seekers interested in government work.

A Q&A followed, which inspired a very lively discussion of some of the most highly publicized stories of the day (Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress's gun possession and Martha Stewart's insider trading, for example) and our speaker came through with a strong and candid perspective on the matters. The evening concluded with 30-second elevator pitches by attendees, and informal networking over light snacks. At right, Networking Night Committee Chair Bobby Epstein talks shop with CAI member Naomi Lerner.

Bobby Epstein should be commended for his solid job in organizing the event. Committee member Ken Levitt also deserves applause.

We encourage all Agudath Israel members to join our online networking group CAINet, on http://www.linkedin.com/.