Honored Guests
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| Individuals who've visited our
synagogue to address one of
our various adult groups or the
Nursery or Religious Schools
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Joseph R. Merry
Director of Fund Development for the New Jersey Region of the
National Conference for Community and Justice (founded in 1927 as The National Conference of Christians and Jews).
Mr. Merry presented an overview of the mission of the NCCJ and spoke about the Anytown Partners in Education program. He presented us with a video of the Anytown Program and brought a program facilitator (from South Brunswick High School) and a student participant who will shared their experiences. |
James C. McClosky
"Convicting the Innocent in America"
After Vietnam, where he was awarded the
Bronze Star for his valor under fire, Jim worked for a consulting firm in Japan where he later established the
Hay Group's management consulting business in Tokyo.
At age 37, he entered
Princeton Theological Seminary and earned a Masters of Divinity.
While serving as student chaplain at
Trenton State Prison in 1980,
he became convinced that one of the inmates, sentenced to life for murder, was innocent.
He founded
Centurion Ministries, devoting the rest of his life to freeing the imprisoned innocent.
Since 1983, he has helped free over 22
innocent people who have spent an average 15 years serving life or death sentences for crimes they did not commit. |
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In December of 1998, Shomrei Tikvah presented (the late)
Dith Pran, a Cambodia holocaust survivor who's wartime life was portrayed in the award-winning movie, The Killing Fields. |
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In November of 2007 we were thrilled to have Neshama inaugurate our L'Dor VaDor Concert series.
She is
one of the leading superstars in Jewish Entertainment and is continuing the legacy established by her father, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. His deep spirituality and his love of all humanity, filled every song he wrote and touched every person he encountered as he changed the face of Jewish music.
Like her father, Neshama's talent and charisma captivate and endear her to people of all ages and backgrounds as she performs in cities all over the world.
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| David Adler
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The Religious School was pleased to present David Adler,
the acclaimed author of more than a hundred books, including The Many Troubles of Andy Russell and the popular Cam Jansen mystery series. Among David Adler 's books are many award winning Jewish interest books: |
| One Yellow Daffodil | A Picture Book of Anne Frank |
| Chanukah in Chelm | Our Golda: TheStory Golda Meir |
| Jewish Holiday Fun | The Number on My Grandfather's Arm |
| We Remember the Holocaust | Hilde and Eli, Children of the Holocaust
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Susie Fishbein is the author of the wildly successful cookbooks, Kosher by Design, Kosher by Design Entertains, and the forthcoming Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen. She has spent this past year on a media tour traveling around the country giving cooking demonstrations.
She has appeared on The Today Show with Katie Couric, Allie & Jack, Sheila Bridges Designer Living, as well as several network news show cooking segments. She has taught at the prestigious Degustibus cooking school in New York. Susie Fishbein is a mother of four children — three girls and a boy. |
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Phil Mushnick
In almost 30 years of covering sports for the New York Post, Mr. Mushnick has covered the New York Cosmos (soccer), the New York Rangers (hockey), and the New Jersey Nets (basketball). In addition, for the past 21 years he authors the Sports Radio and TV column for the Post. In addition, for the past 7 years, he also writes the weekly sports column for TV Guide.
His columns are always written to protect “the fan” in the business end of the sports world. His presentation covers many topics from baseball, football, basketball to the business end of sports.
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Dr. Fredrick Streit
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Sue Wicks & Gary Waters
Basketball Challenge
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Former Rutgers Basketball Men's Head Coach,
Gary Waters,
and superstar, Sue Wicks, former Assistant Coach for the Scarlet Knights,
visited us during our opening week of festivities for a few rounds of fun and instruction.
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Susan Barry
&
Ethan Cadoff
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Susan Barry & Ethan Cadoff
An Evening of Classic Romantic Songs
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Veterans of the stage and screens (big and small), Susan & Ethan are proud to have performed Gilbert & Sullivan with The Savoy Company of Philadelphia.
Ethan made it to the "cutting room floor" in the 2004 film,
National Treasure, starring Nicolas Cage & Harvey Keitel.
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Clutter Expert Workshop
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Jamie Novak is the author of the bestseller 1,000 Best Quick and Easy Organizing Secrets and the newly released book "1,000 Best Quick and Easy Timesaving Strategies". She is often referred to as the "Oprah of Organizing" and has been featured on Home and Garden Television's (HGTV) Mission Organization and is the resident organizer for NBC's iVillage.
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Rabbi Jo David
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Rabbi Jo David of the
Jewish Appleseed
Foundation, a worldwide organization bringing Judaism to those who have not
had the Jewish experience, has worked extensively with interfaith
families and, because of her experience, brings a unique prospective to
interfaith issues.
She was ordained by the
Academy for Jewish Religion in 1992 & holds a Master's degree in Judaic Studies from NYU.
She has served congregations on Long Island, Westchester, & Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Since 1994 she has been an "Ask the Rabbi" for America On Line and answers questions on the
Foundation's website.
She has also written articles for
Jvibe, a Jewish Internet magazine for teens. |
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Lisa Lipkin is a professional storyteller, educator, and writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, the New Yorker, and in her monthly column for The Forward.
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"When Ms Lipkin tells a story, any story,
the listener hears her carrying us forward, not merely freezing us in some past tableau..."The New York Times |
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Ravit Bar-Av
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Prior to joining the Public Affairs team as Information Officer at the Consulate General of Israel in NY, she served as the Information & Public Relations Director of the Peres Center for Peace. She served as Coordinator of the Peres Center Peace Corps Partnership with UNOPS (UN Office for Projects Services), as well as Director of the IT Peace Incubator. Her initiatives included the production of PR activity tools, websites, multimedia presentations and newsletters. Ms. Bar-Av has a B.S. degree in Marketing Communications, as well as two Professional Academic Certificates in Information Management and Executive Office Management. She served in the IDF as a Lieutenant. |
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In lieu of one month's meeting of the Book Club,
Sisterhood welcomed Princeton author, Mimi Schwartz, to discuss her recent book, Thoughts from a Queen-sized Bed. During her presentation, she spoke about what it means to be married for almost forty years, to grow up in an immigrant Jewish family, come of age in the 1950s, marry her high school sweetheart, and have her consciousness raised in the 1970s.
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David Kaplan
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| Alan Freedman
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Alan has been the Director of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, since its inception in 1993 as The Long Island Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. When the hall of fame began, Alan was the Health & Phys. Ed. Director
of the Suffolk Y JCC, the home of the hall of fame. Since then, the hall of fame has expanded to become a national organization, and Alan (hasn't expanded), but has become the Assistant Executive Director of The Y, responsible for not only the hall of fame, but the day-to-day operations of the agency.
Alan, who has a Master of Arts in Applied Physiology from Teacher's College, Columbia University, has been at the Y since June, 1986. He is married to Marilyn, a Tax Attorney with UBS in Weehawken, NJ and is the father of David, a teenage Maccabi basketball player and Rachel.
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Dr. Nathan M. Reiss|
Why & How to Leave a Legacy of your Jewish Heritage
Our New Beginnings group presented a special evening with Nathan M. Reiss, genealogist of the
Jewish Historical Society. Dr. Reiss discussed the importance of documenting family history, and illustrated how to begin this facinating undertaking.
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B'nai Tikvah Comedy Nights
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Comedy Cafe
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Rabbi Bob Alper
The world's only practicing clergyman doing stand-up comedy... intentionally!
Bob Alper has appeared on
Showtime, Comedy Central, Good Morning America, and hundreds of radio programs and was our featured performer at our 2nd Annual Comedy Night.
Cory Kahaney is a divorced single mother raising a teenage daughter without the slightest trace of bitterness. Her television credits include hosting a week of NBC's "Later" as well as appearing on the syndicated "Martin Short Show", Comedy Central's "Premium Blend", and NBC's "Louie Anderson's Comedy Showcase".
Gary Greenberg was part of the 1996 New York/Toyota Comedy Festival,
where he was hailed as one of the city's top clean comics. Gary's been seen on Comedy Central's Stand-Up Stand-Up and The USA Network's Up All Night with Gilbert Gottfried.
He is also a contributing writer on Comedy Central's The Daily Show.
Ben Kurland has been called "Philly's favorite comedian" by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Ben has appeared on numerous TV shows including Comedy Central's Stand-Up and Deliver, A&E's Evening at the Improv, ABC's Comedy Club Special, and HBO's Comic Relief. He has appeared in Atlantic City with Lou Rawls, Three Dog Night, Drew Carey, and has written for Sanford & Son and All in the Family.
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Dr. Matthew Speesler
Matthew Speesler, M.D. has had a local Pediatric practice for 17 years. He is a physician affiliated with Robert Wood Johnson and St. Peter's Hospitals. Dr. Speesler has been presenting workshops to parents for more than 8 years.
Center for Pediatrics
23 Clyde Road, Suite 101
Somerset, NJ 08875-6086
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Roger N. Levine, ESQ.
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Before founding Levine & Furman, which has the distinction of having represented the first tax-payer who was victorious in an important domicile issue in the New York Tax Appeals Tribunal, Mr. Levine was the senior tax partner of a large northern New Jersey law firm. His experience also includes several years in the tax planning department of a Big Six accounting firm, one of which was spent in the firm's Washington, D.C., National Office.
Mr. Levine has served as chairman of both state and local bar association committees, is currently a member of the Tax and Estate Law Committees, and has participated in drafting recent New Jersey tax legislation. |
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Azriela Jaffe is the author of several books, her most recernt being:
"Two Jews Can Still Be a Mixed Marriage".
She also writes
Advice from A-Z, a self-syndicated column which
regularly appears in about two dozen newspapers, magazines, and websites such as
Business Week.
She has appeared on over 200 televesion and radio shows and is a highly respected motivational speaker who
is a member of the National Speakers Association, and a sought-after keynoter and workshop leader for entrepreneurial and women's conferences all over the country.
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Charles "Shai" Goldstein
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As Director of the New Jersey Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League, Shai Goldstein is charged with the responsibility of promoting the National ADL's Charter to "...stop the defamation of the Jewish People ...Secure justice and fair treatment to all citizens alike." Mr. Goldstein networks and develops programs with other civil rights groups, government and community leaders, law enforcement, educators, and Jewish and non-Jewish clergy leaders to further the goals of the ADL's national charter.
Mr. Goldstein is a graduate of Drew University in Madison, NJ and holds a law degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, MA.
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The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Krich was born in Germany and lived in New Jersey before moving with her family to Los Angeles in 1960. With a master's degree in English from UCLA, she taught high school English for eighteen years, chairing the English department at Yeshiva University of Los Angeles High Schools, and received the Milken Families Foundation Award for Distinguished Educator of the Year and the Samuel Belkin Memorial Award for professional achievement. Past editor of the national Sisters in Crime newsletter and a former director of the National Board of Directors of the Mystery Writers of America, and a member of the American Crime Writers League.
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Mandy Linden
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Acting For The Stage
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Mandy's teaching experience includes the Claremont Children's School in NYC, where she taught Acting and Musical Theater. As an actress, Mandy performed in commercials, summer stock, and regional theater, and is toured with Pieces
of 8, a professional a cappella jazz group. Mandy received her BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan and continued her training in NYC with Terry Schreiber and Tim Corcoran. She was a Casting Assistant and Associate for Theater, Film, and TV at Miramax, Judy Henderson Casting, and Theatreworks/USA, America's largest touring theater company for young audiences. Mandy also worked as the Assistant to the Musical Director for the original version of The Scarlet Pimpernel on Broadway.
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In December of 2000, our PACT program held a Hanukah Special Music Program featuring singer, musician, entertainer
Bruce Fagan who combines traditional Hanukah songs with Rock n' Roll classics and current party favorites.
He has a broad range of musical talents and a wide repertoire of Israeli and Jewish music and contemporary children's tunes.
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