The book for the May 23rd TSS book group meeting has been changed to Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson.

The meeting will be at Roberta and Robert Kritzer’s home on May 23rd at 7:15 pm.

About the book:

Elliot Rosenzweig, a wealthy Chicago philanthropist, is attending opening night at the opera. Ben Solomon, a retired Polish immigrant, makes his way through the crowd and shoves a gun in Rosenzweig’s face, denouncing him as former SS officer, Otto Piatek. Solomon is blind-sided, knocked to the floor and taken away. Rosenzweig uses his enormous influence to get Solomon released from jail, but Solomon commences a relentless pursuit to bring Rosenzweig before the courts to answer for war crimes. Solomon finds a young attorney, Catherine Lockhart, to whom he recounts his family’s struggles and heroisms during the war, revealing to her that he and Piatek grew up as brothers in the same household.

Although this book deals with the Holocaust, the book is really about the question of the nature of evil. How do two people raised in the same home have such divergent ways of choosing a path in life? What does it say about the age old question, is it nature or nurture that shapes the choices we make in life?

 

Please RSVP to Margie Hertz at mhertz@ptd.net or
Marcia Berkow at mhberkow@gmail.com

I apologize that we have had to change the choice for the TSS Book Club’s choice for May 23, 2013. After a great deal of research, we have found that the book is only available as a download to the Kindle, and a paper copy of the book, is only printed on demand. Barnes and Noble and Amazon have indicated that a paper copy of the book could take anywhere from 2-3 to obtain. As a result, we have decided to pick a different book for our next discussion. Thank you for your understanding.

We will be meeting at Roberta Kritzer’s home on May 23^rd at 7:15 pm.  Please RSVP to either Marcia Berkow at mhberkow at gmail. Com or Margie Hertz at mhertz@ptd.net

Thursday May 23

7:15 PM

Shira Klein, a New Jersey mother of three young children, has been battling Hodgkins Lymphoma since 2010.  She is currently undergoing chemotherapy, but will need a stem cell transplant from a donor to prolong her life. Screening is on April 14th. If interested in helping out by getting screened – check out the press release and flyer below:

Shira Klein press release

Flyer about Shira Klein Bone Marrow Screening

Scholars in Residence Weekend as experienced by our Congregants:

“On Friday night our scholar in residence, Nate Schumer, gave the d’var Torah. He spoke of the diversity of Jewish observances and practices in the ancient world. Everyone agreed that it was fascinating and thought provoking. Nate’s talk was scholarly but informal and quite charming. It was informative and initiated intense conversations at the Oneg. A great evening for TSS. Yasher Koach.”

“Saturday morning at a packed house at Cantor and David’s home we had an enthusiastic Shabbat morning service including a wonderful chanting of the Ten Commandments by Jeremy Vaida and comments on the Torah portion by Nate. Nate and his wife, Hilary, treated our sixth and seventh grade students and their parents to another wonderful program. It was lively and, of course, competitive as students and parents competed for points in “Is it Jewish?” I am very proud to report that our wonderful and smart students carried the day! The students and parents had some building with spaghetti and marshmallows (you had to be there) and a wonderful learning experience. We all had a yummy Kiddush lunch to end the morning. It was a wonderful way to spend Shabbat morning.”

     Summary of the Friday evening and Saturday Scholars in Residence Program submitted by Janet Hogan.

“Last Sunday morning at the TSS Adult Education program, it was a privilege and a joy to meet with our scholar in residence, fellow TSS congregants, and our guests, some of who are steeped in knowledge of history. Analyzing early sources of Biblical writing, why they happened, what they meant at the time, and what they mean to our times resulted in an energizing and enlightening discussion. Whether history-literate or not, everyone participated and brought valuable ideas to the discussion. Thank you TSS, it was a beautiful experience.”

       Summary of the Sunday morning Scholars in Residence Adult Education Program submitted by Norm Sarachek.

TSS was pleased and honored to host such an informative, enlightening and educational weekend.

The TSS Men and Movies Club had its first outing – to see The Gangster Squad. Our consensus prediction is that this movie will not win the Academy Award this year. Even the NRA may be impressed by the amount of firepower  employed in this film! Here is a photo of the group throwing down a few beer after the movie. Very successful first outing, thanks to our Sultan of Cinema, Michael Nelson!