Men's Club General Meeting - Tuesday, January 12

The Men's Club of Congregation Agudath Israel will hold its monthly general meeting on Tuesday, January 12 at 8 pm in the CAI conference rooms.

On the agenda will be:

• A recap of the December Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament and January 10th Blood Drive



• Preparation for the David Schenker (Washington Institute) talk in February



• An update on Men's Club involvement in the Purim Festival



• Discussion of a possible tour of the new Jets/Giants Stadium in the spring



• Jewish Chaplains Monument at Arlington National Cemetery



• Other March events

For more information please contact club president Adam Shandler at mensclubcai@gmail.com

Got Blood? Great, We Could Use It!

The CAI Men's Club is sponsoring one of its most important events on Sunday, January 10th from 9 am - 1 pm. It's the Annual Blood Drive, which is run with the help of the New Jersey Blood Center. We'll be set up in the synagogue's Adult Lounge located towards the back of the building. Donations will primarily serve the Agudath Israel Community and, where needed, the Jewish Community of MetroWest at large.

All donors are highly encouraged to eat a small breakfast. Brunch food, offered by the Sisterhood, will also be provided for donors. Donoars are also asked to bring a valid photo i.d. with them.

In addition to blood and platelet donations, the blood center is also offering free cholesterol screenings. (So a small high-fiber breakfast may be the way to go!)

For more on the blood drive please contact event chair Gary Kabler at gkabler@comcast.net. If you do one major mitzvah this year, give blood! You never know who may need it.

CAI Comeback Against JCC W.O. Falls Short

The Agudath Israel Men's Club Basketball Team was hoping for just one victory in 2009. Alas, despite a post-Hannukkah Maccabean effort it was not meant to be. CAI lost a heartbreaker 40-38 to the JCC of West Orange.

JCC-W.O. opened up the contest with a 14-0 run. But CAI closed the gap with a 9-2 run of its own with about 10 minutes left in the first half to make the score 16-9. Always reliable center David Kerner struggled with foul trouble forcing the team to go small in certain scenarios but Stu Markon proved a worthy stand-in tonight for Kerner.

With the JCC-W.O. up by as much as 12 points in the second half, CAI put a few runs together led by the fast break scoring of Richie Dicker and Jay Adlersberg. But it was two transition baskets and two key free throws by David Lurie (right) that cut the JCC-W.O. lead to 2 points. With four seconds left, CAI had the chance to tie it but the team's old bugaboo - turnovers - reared its ugly head. All in all this was a great second half effort and the team looks to build on this moral victory when it faces Temple Emanuel on Monday night, January 4th.

Richie Dicker (left) led all CAI scorers tonight with 16, including three 3-pointers.

Agudath Israel falls to 0-3 on the season with this loss and 0-11 dating back to the 2008-09 season.

JCC-Whippany Holds Off CAI, 39-30

The CAI Men's Club basketball team went bucket for bucket in the first half, but poor shooting and turnovers resulted in a 39-30 loss to the JCC team of Whippany Thursday night. Center David Kerner (left) led all scorers with 12 points, including his first career three-pointer. Greg Adler scored 8.

Playing a successful 2-3 zone for most of the second half, CAI held JCC-W to 3-of-12 shooting. But Agudath could not capitalize on their opponent's misses.

"Defensively I thought we really held our own," said team general manager Adam Shandler in a post-game press conference that only he attended. "We made them work for every shot and even when they scored we challenged them. But you can't miss the opportunities that we did and expect to win the game."

At halftime, JCC-Whippany led 18-16.

CAI Hoops is now 0-2 on the season and 0-10 dating back to last year. "Am I worried?" asked Shandler to no one in particular. "Not at all. I've seen some of the competition in our division and believe that, if we're healthy and have our top guys in there, we'll get some Ws."

Agudath was without starting point guard Richie Dicker and three-point ace Steve Eitman tonight. The team will have to get its first win without Larry Dodyk (hand) and Jay Baranker (knee) who are out for the season due to injury.

CAI gets a short weekend break then its back to action on Monday night at 8:15 for a contest against JCC of West Orange.

Eitman Wins Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament

In a game that raged on till 11:15 pm, Men's Club Treasurer Steve Eitman won his first CAI Men's Club Texas Hold 'Em Poker title. Carl Schaerf took second place and David Kerner, who one has taken first, second or third prize at least once in his storied career, came in third.

The December 15 event, which featured 30 players, started with pizza and schmoozing. After the tables were assigned and money collected it was time to deal. It took almost an hour for the first player to bow out, but soon enough, a consolation table was filled with six players. Larry Dodyk, (pictured above, far left) playing with only one good hand (not a poker hand but his right hand) won first prize in that bracket and a starter poker kit.

We would like to thank Temple Beth Shalom of Livingston members Ira Sessler, Paul Schaeffer and Alan Shandler for participating in our event. We will be holding another Texas Hold 'Em Tournament in May. Stay tuned for details!

Happy Hanukkah From the Men's Club

The Men's Club of Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex wishes you a festive and enjoyable Hanukkah. Whether you've welcomed a new child into the world, got a new job, or did a big mitzvah, we hope you are enjoying your miracles great and small this Hanukkah season. Chag Sameach!

CAI Drops First Game of the Season to B'nai Shalom

The CAI Men's Club Basketball team played a hard game but couldn't stop the hot shooting of B'nai Shalom, losing 58-48. In the game played at JCC of West Orange on Monday night, December 7, Agudath Israel dropped its 9th straight dating back to last season when it finished the 2008-09 campaign at 0-8.

"I would say we are the Nets of the JCC Temple League, but the Nets have won a game this year," said team general manager and small forward Adam Shandler, who was not present at the game.

Richie Dicker paced CAI with 14 points while Steve Eitman netted 13. David Kerner brought down 20 rebounds in the loss. Agudath Israel takes the floor again on Thursday, December 17 in a battle versus the JCC-Whippany team at 8:15 pm.