Help prep for the Uptown Havurah seder today!

Dear friends,


Want to help Chaya & Jon cook for the seder?

Have a dish you want to make for the seder but don't have a kosher for passover place to prepare it? (Please bring your kosher for passover ingredients with you.)

Want to hang out with fun people and have wine (Chaya's mother taught her that wine must go in the food and the cook!)?

Great!! Come over and cook (and otherwise help with seder prep) today!

(There will also be a fun baby who will need attention.)


Just a friendly reminder that if you're attending our 2nd night seder (@ the Sulmans), we ask you come over to their place today (at noon) to help prepare the food.

May everyone have a joyous week and a fabulous Passover!

Shavua tov,
Raysh

Planning meeting tonight + preparing for Passover

Hey people,

Just a friendly reminder that tonight at 6pm @ Roat Osha is our planning meeting. Come help plan and drink, all while feasting on gluten-ous culinary delights (unless you are gluten-free!) before Passover rolls around.  And speaking of Passover, make sure to let us know if you're coming to our seder. You can find out more and reply here. Or if you're not on facebook, simply leave a comment and we'll fill you in with more.

As you prepare for the seder, you can check out free online audio files of 'seder standards' at this awesome site.

Also, if you still need to go shopping for Passover, we're coordinating an excursion to the SLP Cub Foods this Wednesday, so drop us a line if you're interested in coming along and showing Manischewitz they are still very much loved.

March Kabbalat Shabbat and Dinner + Upcoming Events

First off, anyone have pics from last Saturday night's party?? We'd love to see them!

Thank you to everyone who attended. We had a great turnout and it was a total blast! Free fresh baked goods + alcohol + awesome people = a little like heaven.

We hope you can join us this Friday night for our March Kabbalat Shabbat + potluck dinner at Raysh's place. There will be some birthday festivities as well, so come for the stories of fatal priestly mishaps*...stay for the birthday cake!

*(See http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Weekly_Torah_Portion/shemini_summary.shtml )

Also, please let us know if you're coming to our awesome Passover seder. Chaya and Jon are hosting the second night, Tuesday, April 19. More details forthcoming. The night Passover ends, we're also planning on having a Tap 'n Torah party involving--you guessed it--beer and learning (and other chametz-filled delights).


And stay tuned about the planning meeting where we'll brainstorm the May bike ride/picnic event.


For now, here's who's bringing what this Friday:

Food:

Pre-dinner snack food (we won't be eating dinner right away: this is important)_____(Monica's bringing fruits, veggies, and chocolates; Nathan's bringing hummus and pita)

Wine________(Madeline, Evan S. [later])

Challah (at least 2)___________(Emily)

Soup_________(Raysh)

Salad_________(Chaya and Jon)

Drinks (water, soda, juice etc.)________

Side dish_________(Meredith's making a quinoa dish; Katy's bringing cooked root veggies; Molly and Melissa S. are bringing noodle kugel; Yehonathan)

Main course___________(Emily, Deborah and Todd)

Dessert____________ (Raysh is making some sort of cake, the kosher sangria might make an appearance; Mike)

General stuff:

Plastic or Paper Cutlery__________(Melissa M.)

Plastic or Paper Cups___________(Melissa M.)

Plastic or Paper Plates__________(Melissa M.)

Napkins_______________(Melissa M.)

Tea-lights________(Raysh)

Transliterated Kabbalat Shabbat song sheets______ (Raysh)

Bencher with Kiddush: (Raysh)

Extra kippot:_____ (Raysh)

Happy New Month of Adar II!! Great weekend, and it only gets better!

Dear Friends,

Thank you to everyone who participated in this week's programming. It was wonderful learning, singing, eating, and schmoozing with y'all at Raysh's and just now at Common Roots Cafe. We've discussed everything from  the boundaries of communal obligation, a certain Rabbi Yossi and his controverial position on resource sharing, Biblical sources on employers' obligation towards workers, and what exactly is "glatt."


I want to take this opportunity to thank the Bronfman Foundation for their generous sponsorship at this Shabbat's Shalosh seudot.  Also, major thanks to Temple Israel for donating to us a truckload of amazing freshly-baked challah.

We were very fortunate to learn from Rabbi Morris Allen this morning, and we look forward to the exciting developments about to unfold with Magen Tzedek.  Once you see their symbol on food products, be sure to buy these products and show your support for the ethical treatment of workers in the food industry. Spread the word!


Looking ahead at our calendar, several of us will be attending the upcoming Shalom Hanoch Concert at the CCC (this Thursday night), and of course, be sure to join us for our crazy awesome Purim party at Meredith's late Saturday night of Purim (March 19th).

We are looking for a host for our March 25th Friday night gathering, so if you're in Uptown and have a place that will fit ~20ish awesome folk, please contact Raysh

May the new month of Adar II be filled with blessings for you and everyone important to you.


Be well!


b'virkat Shalom,
Raysh

February Friday Night Gathering: February 11, 2011

Hey everyone. Thank you to everyone who participated in our planning meeting last week. Everyone in attendance had great ideas that we look forward to making a reality soon!

Stay tuned for more information on non-Shabbat/holiday programming we'll be doing. For now, those interested in attending the CCC March 10th Shalom Hanoch concert should contact Raysh.

Next week, we hope you can join us for the February Friday night gathering at Josh's. Watch your emails for more info.

Below, watch for updates in who's bringing what:

Here's who is bringing what:

Food:

Pre-dinner snack food (we won't be eating dinner right away: this is important)_____(Nathan's bringing hummus and pita)

[FOR BOTH THE WINE AND CHALLAH, YOU MUST BE ON TIME]

Wine________ (Monica; Elliot)

Challah (at least 2)___________ (Laura and Joel; Meredith)

Soup_________(someone's bringing Ethiopean Split Pea Stew)

Salad_________ (Josh)

Drinks (water, soda, juice etc.)________(Katy)

Side dish_________(Cia; Sonia's bringing sweet noodle kugel; Deborah and Todd are bringing a vegan dish)

Main course___________(Mila's bringing a mushroom and greens gratin; Madeline is bringing mac 'n cheese; Alexander is bringing a casserole)

Dessert____________(Monica)

General stuff:

Plastic or Paper Cutlery__________(Raysh)

Plastic or Paper Cups___________(Raysh)

Plastic or Paper Plates__________(Raysh)

Napkins_______________(Josh)

Tea-lights________(Raysh)

Transliterated Kabbalat Shabbat song sheets______ (Raysh)

Bencher with Kiddush: (Raysh)

Extra kippot:_____ (Raysh)

Planning Meeting this Sunday

Hey everyone. This Sunday at 6:15PM we're having a planning dinner at Darbar India Grill (1221 W Lake St).  Please come with ideas, your planner, and a good appetite.

Hope to see you there!

Happy Thursday,

Raysh

Friday Night Gathering THIS Shabbat

We hope you can join us this coming Friday for a Friday night gathering full of happy occasions: we will be welcoming Chaya and Jon's newborn daughter and celebrating Tu b'shvat and MLK day.

One exciting Uptown development is that Lake Wine & Spirits has opened and carries well-priced kosher wine (two kinds: just ask them for their Israeli wine)!! Not only that, their very helpful staff told me they can order kosher wine by the case if people are interested.

In terms of food, you might wish to consider bringing foods that are either products of trees and/or are baby-friendly (but no need--anything vegetarian is cool):

Here's who is bringing what:

Food:

Pre-dinner snack food (we won't be eating dinner right away: this is important)_____

Wine________ (Ben; Nick; Bradley; Evan)

Challah (at least 2)___________(Nathan)

Soup_________

Salad_________ (Yael, Alex; Madeline)

Drinks (water, soda, juice etc.)________

Side dish_________ (Rachael)

Main course___________ (Mila; Chaya)

Stuff for Tu B'Shvat Seder:
--walnuts, coconuts, or almonds_____(Meredith is bringing walnuts)


--olives or dates or peaches or apricots________

--figs or grapes or (c)raisins___________(Jon's bringing dates and figs)

--mangoes, bananas, avocados, or pears (dried versions of any of these is cool too)__________

Dessert____________ (Raysh is bringing something that involves oranges, dates, and lots of booze; Abi is bringing some kind of baked goods)

General stuff:

Plastic or Paper Cutlery__________(Monica)

Plastic or Paper Cups___________(Monica)

Plastic or Paper Plates__________(Monica)

Napkins_______________

Tea-lights________

Transliterated Kabbalat Shabbat song sheets______ (Raysh)

Bencher with Kiddush: (Chaya and Jon)

Extra kippot:_____ (Chaya and Jon)