FJMC Sefer Haftorah Comes to CAI June 9

The Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs (FJMC) Sefer Haftorah makes its annual visit to Congregation Agudath Israel this week. CAI's Men's Club will host the scroll from Wednesday, June 9 to next Wednesday June 16 before handing it off to Temple Beth Shalom's Club in Livingston.

The scroll, first commissioned by the FJMC in 2003, includes every Haftorah and makes its way around the country every year. Last February, the Sefer made an appearance at the Torch-award winning David Schenker talk. This year the Sefer will be on display at the bar mitzvah of Alex Nathan. Alex's father Randy is a big supporter of the Men's Club and contributes to our programming.

In addition to reading haftorah portions from the sefer, the scroll serves as a reminder that anyone can purchase their own scroll or have a personally meaningful haftorah inscribed. Simply contact international@fjmc.org or consult the Sefer Haftorah page on the FJMC website.

CAI Hoops Finishes Regular Season With Rout of Emanuel

The Agudath Israel Men's Club Basketball team closed out it's 2009-10 regular season with a 60-42 thumping of Temple Emanuel -- and a three-game win streak. The win avenged a three-point loss about a month ago when CAI fell to the E-Men 43-40.

In the win, center David Kerner (pictured, top) continued his hot streak with 15 points. Richie Dicker (bottom picture) added 14. All but two of the eleven men who showed up got on the scoreboard and those that didn't made other contributions to the cause.

Agudath Israel gets a bye week as the league takes its President's Day/School Vacation hiatus for February. But CAI returns to action in the playoffs on Thursday, February 25th. Pairings and times have not been announced, but Agudath Israel is likely the 4th seed in Division B and will face top-ranked B'nai Shalom of West Orange, whom CAI has never beaten this year. Continue to visit this blog for official details.

CAI Outplays JCC-West Orange, 47-35; Two in a Row!

With a formula of patient play on offense, low turnovers and a flawless 2-3 on defense, the CAI Men's Club basketball team won its second straight game, 47-35, over JCC-West Orange. David Kerner (right) picked up where he left off from last week's sensational effort with a double-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds. Steve Eitman connected for 12 points including two go-ahead three pointers.

CAI was down 21-19 at the half but solid zone defense kept JCC-WO from making - and eventually taking - shots from beyond 10 feet. CAI has not had a two-game win streak since winning the Jerusalem Division championship in 2008.

Agudath Israel goes for three in a row when it faces Temple Emanuel on Thursday, February 11 at 8:15 pm. Emanuel notched its only win four weeks ago against CAI, a game Agudath let slip away in the last two minutes.

General Men's Club Meeting: February 9th

In spite of a speaking engagement cancellation for February 9th, the Men's Club will still hold it's general monthly meeting on this date, 8 pm, in the CAI conference rooms.

On the agenda:

-Recap of World Wide Wrap event.

-Purim Festival assignments.

-Jewish Family Night at the Nets.

-March Madness Guy's Night Out.

-Yom Hashoah Candle Packing Night (pictured.)

-NNJR Retreat.

Contact Adam Shandler at adshandler@gmail.com for more info. All new members and their ideas are welcome.

CAI Defeats JCC-Whippany; Snaps 13-game Losing Streak

The Agudath Israel Men's Club Basketball team got a huge monkey off its back on January 28, defeating the JCC-Whippany team, 51-44. The win snaps a 5-game losing streak on the season and a 13-game losing streak dating back to last year's campaign.

In the win, David Kerner (pictured) poured in 15 points in arguably his best game in a CAI uniform. He also added 10 boards and 4 blocks. Steve Eitman netted 20, including 4 key free throws down the stretch.

"It was vintage CAI basketball, the kind that won us the championships in '07 and '08," said team general manager Adam Shandler. "Work the ball around for good shots, clock control, low turnovers. It didn't hurt that Kerner was relentless on the boards."

CAI played sound, disciplined ball with minimal turnovers and only had one five-minute dry spell on offense. Defensively, the team held JCC-W to three points in the final four minutes.

Agudath Israel is back on the court on Monday night, 7 pm, for a rematch with JCC-West Orange. CAI fell to JCC-WO four weeks ago by two points, after clawing back from a 16-0 deficit.

B'nai Shalom's 3-pointers Drown CAI, 68-40

The CAI hoops team battled a hot-shooting B'nai Shalom squad for 25 minutes. It was the 25 minutes after that that posed a problem. Not seeing an outside jumper they didn't like CBS nailed trifecta after trifecta to extend a five point lead into a 28 point victory. Agudath Israel didn't do itself any favors, scoring only two points in the last six-and-a-half minutes.

Steve Eitman (pictured) carried Agudath with 14 points. Richie Dicker had 10 and Greg Adelsberg poured in 8. CAI was without center David Kerner during the January 18th contest due to a sore wrist.

The Agudath Israel Men's Club basketball team is next in action on Thursday, January 28 when it faces the JCC-Whippany team. Game time is 7 pm.

David Schenker Talk, for Feb 9, Cancelled

Due to some important work obligations, David Schenker's return visit to the CAI, scheduled for February 9, will be cancelled. David, who serves a Director of Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, spoke last March at Agudath Israel. His insights on Iranian nuclear development and the Syria-Lebanon relationship were met with great interest. We apologize for any inconvenience this cancellation causes our congregation. The Men's Club will be working on getting David back to CAI at a future date.

The Men's Club will likely be holding a general meeting on February 9th. Refer to future CAI communications for confirmation.

CAI Men's Club Blood Drive a Success

The January 10 CAI Men's Club Blood Drive was a tremendous success thanks to the efforts of program chair, Gary Kabler, the volunteers from both Men's Club and Sisterhood and the hard-working crew of the Blood Center of NJ. And what's a blood drive without donors? By 11 am over 30 people had come to donate blood. There was even a wait - a good problem to have as the winter months tend to pose the greatest blood shortage.

Gary, pictured, and his wife Evvie brought in a great breakfast spread for the donors and volunteers and Evvie is without peer when it comes to high-quality bagel and vegetable slicing and plating.

If you missed today's Blood Drive, don't worry. The Blood Center of NJ is always looking for donors. To set up an appointment call 973-676-4700, x132. The Blood Center website also has a wealth of information: http://www.bloodnj.org/

In the image below, donor and Men's Club member Mike Chiaet has a delightful conversation with a NJ Blood Center volunteer.

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.

General Men's Club Meeting, Tuesday, December 8

The next general meeting of the CAI Men's Club will be held on Tuesday, December 8, 8:00 pm in the conference rooms. All new and prospective members and their ideas are welcome.

On the agenda:

-Recaps of the Topics on Tap event and Man of the Year Dinner

-Preparation for the December 15 Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament

-Blood Drive in January

-FJMC Night at the Nets Game

-Recap of season's first Men's Club basketball game

For more information, please contact club president Adam Shandler: adshandler@gmail.com

Big CAI Presence at 2009 Man of the Year Dinner

On Wednesday night, November 11, the Northern New Jersey Region of Jewish Men's Clubs held its annual Man of the Year Dinner at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston. Eight clubs from the Northern sector of the region were represented, and Congregation Agudath Israel of Caldwell was featured prominently.

Our 2009 club honoree was Larry Dodyk. Larry, a recent past co-president now serving as club adviser, partnered with Scott Kopen to keep our club vibrant while CAI went through a two-year building renovation. His enthusiasm with events like the speaker's breakfast, family picnic and participation on our two championship basketball teams was very much needed during our time of diaspora.

Austin Mahler was CAI's Youth of the Year, a new concept for the dinner. Austin could always be counted on to help us put up and take down the Sukkah. As his mitzvah project, Austin catalogued and organized every volume for easy access in the shul library. An imminent Eagle Scout (who had his board review the morning of this blog entry), Austin is a senior at Newark Academy in Livingston. He is the son of Alfie, an active club member, and Jeannette Mahler.

The superstar of the night was Harvey Hershkowitz. Introduced by our own Rabbi Alan Silverstein as a man whose committment to Israeli causes goes unmatched, Harvey accepted his honor with grace, humility - and the best part - a short speech! Especially the last part about eating! Harvey, who was a three-year president of CAI Men's Club from 2004-2007, serves on the NNJR board as its Vice President.

Thirty-seven people from the CAI circle were in attendance, including the family of Austin Mahler and Larry's co-workers from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Congratulations to all of our award recipients!

Topics on Tap Recap

Rabbinic Intern Michael Jay was a hit as moderator of his first Topics on Tap event!

On Tuesday, November 10th, the Men's Club hosted 30 congregants who took part in our first current events discussion group of the calendar year. Formerly known as Torah on Tap and held at Cloverleaf Tavern, the program with the new name moved on campus to Agudath Israel's library. Amidst the ancient texts and the classic Jewish literature, participants dined on pizza and snacks and drank cool refreshing beer while discussing the topic "Barack and Bibi: Can We Really Be Friends?"

Michael did a masterful job of kicking off the talk with a commentary on the week's parsha before seguing into a history of American presidents' relationship with Israel. Then the floor - and floodgates - were open for dialogue. It was hard for participants not to draw comparisons betweeen the tepid Obama-Netanyahu relationship and those of U.S. and Israeli leaders of the past. Many were critical of the President's non-committal stance on the Jewish state, and his foreign policy in general, despite the administrative support he receives from Jewish members of his staff. That said, in the eng the group agreed that it is still early in the relationship and hoped to see more of a bridge built between the two nations.

The Men's Club would like thank Michael for his superb, well researched presentation and the Topics on Tap Committe of Harvey Hershkowitz, Ken Levitt and Adam Shandler. We would also like to recognize Metrowest Youth Shaliach from Israel Yotam Zach for attending and offering the perspective of a young Israeli.

The Club is considering adding another Topics on Tap event for 2010 and is open to ideas. Current events that affect world or American Jewry and the state of Israel tend to be of most interest.

(Pictured above are Israel Committee Co-Chairman Harvey Hershkowitz, Rabbinic Intern Michael Jay and Men's Club President Adam Shandler.)

General Men's Club Meeting, Tuesday, October 13

The CAI Men's Club will hold it's October meeting on Tuesday, October 13 at 8 pm. We will meet in the CAI conference rooms. On the agenda:

-Review of Scotch in the Sukkah Event
-Organization of Sukkah dismantling
-Topics on Tap Event for Tuesday, November 10
-Man of the Year Dinner for Wednesday, November 11
-Marshalls and Marchers for the CAI Walk for Israel

All new and prospective members, and their great ideas, are welcome. Contact club president Adam Shandler at mensclubcai@gmail.com for more information.

Rain, Schmain...The Sukkah Is Up (and it's good!)

The rain came down but the Sukkah went up on the morning of Sunday, September 27. In spite of the challenges of inclement weather, a short window with Kol Nidre that night and some really good football games to get home to, the Men's Club raised the Sukkah in just under an hour-and-a-half. (It seems to get quicker every year!)

The Sukkah will play host to several Agudath Israel events, many of them sponsored by the youth and school programs. The Men's Club will take center stage in the Booth on Thursday, October 8, 8 pm, when it hosts its first annual "Scotch in the Sukkah" event. The cover charge of $18 gets participants a Scotch tasting, seminar from a Scotch Maven and a commemorative glass. Additonal glasses can be purchased from the Men's Club for a discounted price of $6.00.

Marty Schenker, Men's Club VP is co-chairing this event and can be reached at marty-boy@comcast.net.

Special thanks to our Sukkah builders, with special yasher koaches going to event chair Gary Kabler (pictured, catching raindrops with his tongue) and our foremen Mike Chiaet and Alfie Mahler, who brought the good drill.

Yotam Zach Speaks, Inspires at Agudath Israel

On Tuesday, September 15, the CAI Men's Club and Israel Program Committee welcomed speaker Yotam Zach, 23, to Caldwell. Yotam is the 2009-2010 Youth Shaliach (emissary) from Israel.

Yotam took the audience through a very thorough but inspiring timeline that began all the way back in 1936 when his grandparents fled an oppressive Iraq and post-war Europe respectively. He spoke of growing up in the Tel Aviv suburb of Azur where his parents held high ranking civic titles.

Yotam spent much of his lecture talking about the public relations and physical wars that were fought in the Gaza strip during his days of military service. Two of the most challenging but impactful experiences were having to remove Jews from Gaza during disengagement and battling Kazam rocket-launchers during the incursion. But the P.R. war seems to have been one of the toughest things Yotam had to deal with. Friends would call him on his cell phone to verify and refute disparaging reports about the Israeli military seen on international media.

Towards the end of the presentation, Yotam encouraged the audience to write letters of hope for POW Gilad Shalit and talked about reactions from the death of IDF pilot Assaf Ramon.

Yotam will be spending the year engaging with Jewish communities of all ages in the Metrowest area and Rutgers University. We highly recommend having him speak to your group. You'll get some great stories about what it's like growing up in Israel and you'll be able to connect with a young Israeli who genuinely wants bring a bit of the Holy Land to the States. For more information contact Men's Club President Adam Shandler at adshandler@gmail.com.

Thanks to Yotam for giving us a strong start to the Men's Club 2009-10 programming calendar, and to Randi Brokman for suggesting this terrific speaker. (At right, Yotam Zach, center, poses with, from left, Men's Club VP Marty Schenker, Israel Committee Co-President Harvey Hershkowitz, Men's Club President Adam Shandler and Israel Committee Co-President Lee Gladstein.)

Men's Club Votes on New Logo, Slogan

The CAI Men's Club has voted on a new logo, pictured, at left. The logo fonts and torch were designed by club president Adam Shandler but reformatted by a committee of Men's Club veterans.

"The font is Neuropol, a new design featured in MS Word 2007," said Shandler. "The torch represents the numerous NNJR Torch Awards for Excellence in Programming that we've won throughout the years." The Men's Club has also rolled out a new slogan for the 2009-2010 programming year. "Excellence in Friendship."

"The slogan best captures what we're all about - being a nationally recognized Men's Club that focuses on brotherhood," Shandler added. Last year's slogan was "A National Award Winning Club".

The CAI Men's Club kicks off its 2009-10 programming calendar this Tuesday night, September 15, at 8 pm when it hosts speaker Yotam Zach. Yotam is this year's Metrowest Youth Emissary from Israel and a former IDF Intelligence Officer. The Men's Club is sponsoring this event in partnership with the CAI Israel Program Committee. For more info, email mensclubcai@gmail.com

Yotam Zach, Speaker for Sept 15 Event, Featured in NJJN

Yotam Zach, the 2009-10 MetroWest Youth Shaliach (emissary) from Israel, who will be speaking at CAI on September 15, was featured with fellow emissaries in the most recent edition of the New Jersey Jewish News.

Yotam and four other twenty-somethings are in the U.S. this year promoting kinship with American Jews and talking of their experiences as young Israelis.

Yotam, 23, was a soldier and intelligence officer in the IDF and twice represented the Tzofim Youth Caravan (Israeli Scouts) on public relations missions on behalf of the state of Israel.

If you don't subscribe to the NJJN you can download the article online right here: http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/081309/mwComingToAmerica.html

Yotam, pictured, back row, right, will speak to our congregation on Tuesday, September 15 at 8 pm in the CAI conference rooms. This event is co-sponsored by the Men's Club and the Israel Program Committee. There is no charge for this event but donations are appreciated and will benefit the October 25 CAI Walk for Israel.

For more information contact Adam Shandler, adshandler@gmail.com, or Harvey Hershkowitz at HSHINC@aol.com

(*Photo credited to Lori Silberman Brauner of the NJ Jewish News)

Adult Israel Encounters - September 15

The Men's Club is proud to announce its first program for the 2009-2010 calendar.

The club will host "Yotam", a speaker from Adult Israel Encounters. Yotam, a young Israel adult visiting American synagogues and Jewish institutions this fall, will discuss growing up in the Holy Land and what life was like in the IDF. A Q&A will follow, and light refreshments will be served. Please contact club president Adam Shandler at adshandler@gmail.com for more info.

CAI Men's Club Wins FJMC Torch Award

The Agudath Israel Men's Club continues to receive recognition at the international level. At the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs (FJMC) Convention, held in Philadelphia on July 4th weekend, CAI took home a Torch Award for excellence in individual programming. "An Evening with David Schenker of the Washington Institute" was recognized for being a strong program in the Israel Awareness category. Marty Schenker, Vice President of CAI Men's Club, organized this event - one of the best attended in our programming calendar last year. David Schenker (pictured) will be invited back to speak to our community in early 2010.

The Torch Award for the Schenker lecture complements a FJMC Quality Club Award that our Men's Club won for overall excellence in 2008-09. The Quality Club Award was bestowed upon CAI at the NNJR Presidents Dinner on June 17th in North Brunswick. This marks the the third straight year that the CAI Men's Club has taken home a Quality Club Award.

Congratulations to Mary Schenker and all of our members for an outstanding year of service, dedication and hard work. Let's do it again in 2009-10!