Jew

ish

Co

mm

unity

Cen

ter

of

Met

roW

est

New

Jer

sey

Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC • Ross Family Campus 760 Northfield Avenue • West Orange, NJ 07052 tel: 973–530–3400 • fax: 973-736-6871Lautenberg Family JCC • Aidekman Family Campus 901 Route 10 East • Whippany, NJ 07981 tel: 973–428–9300 • fax: 973-929-2942

Why I Love the JCCby Jack Gambino

I like to go shopping at Shop Rite. We buy lots of things for the seniors like cookies and drinks. I like exercising with my friends at the day program and going out to lunch with my friends. I had a wonderful time at the Dance-a-thon and can’t wait to go again.

The name of the group is New Beginnings and that’s exactly what it is. New Beginnings is for widows and widowers age 60+

who are ready to get out and make new friends. According to Co-Director Eileen Roth, the JCC has made it all possible.“Asan affiliate of the JCC, we have a place to meet as well as fabulous programs and refreshments. Everyone who works at theJCC treats us with respect,” she said.

The group was originally formed in 2003 as Beyond Bereavement: New Beginnings, the first social organization of its kindin MetroWest. By 2008, they were still meeting once a month, but the group was dwindling due to lack of funding. RhondaLillianthal, the new Director of the Center for Jewish Life at the JCC, was able to provide them with dynamic speakers andentertainers through the Amelia and Ephraim Hirschhorn Senior Adult Jewish Education Program. It made aninstantaneous difference.

“The metamorphosis that occurred resulted from dedicated work by Program Chairperson Sally Kaufman and enthusiasticmembers who devoted themselves to offering programs which were now designed to meet a cross section of interests.From Yiddish to Einstein, from politics to fine arts, from music to the media, the Hirschhorn Programs provided a freshapproach for us. They provided more than entertainment—the door was opened to new friendships and opportunities tolive again in an uncoupled world with new friends,” said Co-Director Toby Grodner.

“We changed the name of our organization to New Beginnings to better describe the purpose of our much needed group.No other entity existed in New Jersey for widows and widowers that offered the possibilities for living life as a singleindividual after losing your spouse. There has been an enthusiastic response to recreating New Beginnings. We areoverflowing with gratitude for how the JCC changed our lives and gave us a new beginning,” Grodner said.

New Beginnings, with a membership of over 200, meets officially once a month on Sundays, but members also gettogether informally over the course of the year for dinners, movies, Bridge, trips to New York, and other activities. It is a social group, not a counseling group.

“When I talk to members of New Beginnings, I see their energy, hope, and optimism. They have truly moved beyondbereavement,” said Rhonda Lillianthal, the JCC’s Center for Jewish Life Director. Continued on page 3

New Beginnings at the JCCInside This Issue

1New Beginnings at the JCC

Why I Love the JCC

2JCC MetroWest Parent Place

Global Day of Learning

Tap N’ Burn: A Dance Community

3Camp Deeny Riback: The Big Give

In Memoriam: Eric Ross

New Beginnings at the JCCContinued

4Tap N’ Burn: A Dance CommunityContinued

Mark Your Calendar

Extended Saturday Hours

Holiday Hours

Winter 2011 | January–March Tevet 5771–Adar 5771

TheLives We TouchYour Jewish Community Center Newsletter

JCC MetroWest Parent Place

JCC MetroWest Parent Place is an entry way into theJCC family and the Jewish community, providingparental support through classes, speakers, programs,and celebrations. It is also a place to hang out with

friends and meet new friends.

Ricky Peled, mother of Avi, 7; Eli, 4; and Shai, 1, describes Parent Place thisway: “It’s a nook at the JCC that’s just the right size for my toddler to beginhis journey at the Early Childhood Center. He really looks forward to his own classes, space, and friends after we drop off his brother.”

Parent Place is offering NEW Winter Session classes beginning inJanuary. You and your child can “Rock with Andy” every Thursday at 4:00pm. Andy Baum comes to us exclusively from New York City,where he has an enthusiastic following. Other classes beginning sooninclude Little Maestros, with four live musicians who sing and play guitar,piano, and drum on Tuesdays at 9:30am, 10:30am, 12:45pm, and 3:30pm.Choose also from Baby and Me Yoga, Messy Art, Music and Movement(with Miss Jodi from Circle Time Live), and many more.

Parent Place is located at the Cooperman JCC in West Orange. For more information, contact Katy Strulson at 973-530-3915 (kstrulson@jccmetrowest.org) or visitwww.jccmetrowest.org/parentplace.

www.jccmetrowest.org The Lives We Touch | Your Jewish Community Center Newsletter

Global Day of JewishLearning at JCC MetroWest

JCC MetroWest hosted hundreds in a variety of Jewishactivities and educational forums on the Global Day ofJewish Learning in November. We were one of 365

communities worldwide celebrating the completion of Rabbi AdinSteinsaltz’s monumental translation of the Babylonian Talmud fromancient Aramaic into modern Hebrew, making thousands of years ofJewish learning accessible to us today.

JCC Metrowest broadcast Rabbi Steinsaltz’s address live fromJerusalem in the Maurice Levin Theater and transformed the day into a celebration of Jewish learning and heritage. Highlights included aMezuzah Making Workshop, the dedication of new Mezuzot for the Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC, the kickoff of the JCC MetroWest MezuzahProject (a campaign to place new Mezuzot on doorposts throughout the Cooperman facility), the screening of An Article of Hope (a filmabout Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon who carried a Torah from theHolocaust into space on the space shuttle Columbia), and aperformance by the community Jewish choir Kol Dodi. Keeping with theJCC’s goal to be inclusive and to provide a venue for meaningful Jewishexperiences, all activities were free and open to the public.

Tap N’ Burn: A Dance Community“5 and 6 and 7 and 8…shuffle, ball, touch….”

A long line of women in black tap shoes and cowboy hats followinstructor Kathy Pucci’s choreography. Soon (Saturday, January29) they’ll be performing this routine to a song by the CharlieDaniels Band at the JCC’s Rockin’ Round the World Dance-A-Thonin support of JCC Special Needs Services. This is Tap N’ Burn, aJCC group exercise class that is its own unique community.

For the past three years, Kathy has been teaching Tap N’ Burn onMondays at 10:30am and Tuesdays at 6:15pm. A core group of

tappers have been with her from the beginning, but newcomers are welcome and encouraged. “People come in and theyare so motivated by Kathy and the music. It’s not intimidating at all,” said Leslie Zablow, who has a dance backgroundand also takes salsa and cardio classes at the JCC. “I walk out with a smile on my face.” Continued on page 4

2

Launch of the Mezuzah ProjectLeft to right: Alan Feldman, CEO JCC MetroWest; Alte Kasowitz; Julie Levine, the artist who created the Mezuzah case for theJCC; Honorable Mayor of West Orange Robert Parisi; Rabbi Asher Herson; and Rabbi Mendy Kasowitz. This picture was taken aspart of the Mezuzah Project at the dedication of the first Mezuzah to be placed on the entrance to the JCC from Steiner Court.

Camp Deeny Riback: The Only Difference thatMatters is the Difference You Make in Another’s Life by Rachel Cooper

At Camp Deeny Riback, the onlydifference that matters is the differenceyou make in another’s life. This conceptdid not hit home for me until my final dayas a CDR camper this past August.Having grown up at CDR—I always knewcamp was special, different from othersummer camps, but I could never put it inwords. And then, something magicalhappened, I got “it”—and I owe this

realization to the experiences I had as a 9th and 10th graderin CDR’s Leader-in-Training (L.I.T.) program.

Being an L.I.T. has made such a huge impact on me, not justin being a good counselor but in other aspects of my life. My first year of being an L.I.T. was in 2009, and at the time I was still the shy, uncertain camper I had been the yearbefore. I always went swimming with my campers, helpedthem get dressed, and sang along during Music. I dideverything I was supposed to but that wasn’t enough. The thing I was missing was the leadership skills, the onesthat put me above and beyond what is required. Thissummer, I came back with a new attitude and goal; to prove to myself that I can be a leader.

Because of my hard work, I was selected to be one of the Big Give captains along with Eliana Gladstein and Scott Ensel.Each summer, the L.I.T.s hold the CDR Big Give, a fundraiser,to help an organization or cause they have chosen.

The L.I.T.s had a long discussion about what we wanted toraise money for. We knew we wanted to do something localand something that had to do with the joy of camp. Wefinally decided that we wanted to raise money for anorganization called the Gift of Camp. This foundation,founded by the Landau family, raises money to help parentswho have a child struggling with cancer send that child orhis/her siblings to camp. The event we chose was a5K/Wellness Run. We asked parents to send donationssponsoring their children, and they very generouslycontributed to our cause. CDR staff also contributed byentering a staff Home Run Derby activity. The day of theevent was a blast for everyone, especially our Junior Villagecampers, who loved the balloons they received at the finishline. In all, we raised over $2,100. Every L.I.T. was so proud ofour accomplishment.

So, here I am—a former CDR camper who not only wentthrough the two-year Leader-in-Training program, but wasselected to be a Big Give Captain too. Soon, I’ll be applyingfor a Junior Counselor position at CDR. Participating in Camp Deeny Riback’s L.I.T. program has changed me in waysthat will affect me for the rest of my life.

New Beginnings continued from page 1

Eileen Roth agrees. “It’s given me a life again. I have madeso many good friends through this group,” she said. “Beinga widow, you’re the forgotten person. The need for NewBeginnings is based on the sense of isolation and alienationcreated by being a widow or widower in a world of couples.Not only have we lost our spouses, but we’ve lost the placein society that made up our lives.”

The goal of New Beginnings is to create social opportunities as well as a sense of community and a place in the Jewish community. Dues are $18/year (which goes towards refreshments). For more information,contact Rhonda Lillianthal at 973-530-3519(rlillianthal@jccmetrowest.org).

The Lives We Touch | Your Jewish Community Center Newsletter www.jccmetrowest.org3

InMemoriam

We will miss you

Eric Ross (1919–2010)

JCC MetroWest mourns the passing of our long-timefriend and supporter Eric Ross. “The loss of Eric Rossleaves a giant hole in the heart of our community,”said Alan Feldman, CEO, JCC MetroWest. “Hisphilanthropy has left its mark across the Jewishcommunal landscape as he served as a role model to us all, displaying an unparalleled commitment tocommunity—locally, nationally, and internationally.”

Monday, January 17JCC MetroWestChildren’s Music SeriesZ Brothers Band

Monday, January 17Martin Luther King Jr. DayVacation Program

Saturday, January 22Ante Up for Education…at the JCC

Saturday, January 29Rockin’ Round the World Dance-A-Thon

Sunday, January 30Tree Time at the Arboretum

Saturday, February 5New Jersey Jewish Film Festivalextra!The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground

February 18, 21–25Presidents WeekVacation Programs

Saturday, March 5Toast of the Town

Sunday, March 6Kids Extravaganza

Sunday, March 13Purim Palooza

Monday, January 17Martin Luther King Jr. DayREGULAR HOURS

Holiday Hours

Mark Your CalendarHere’s a small sample of what is happening at the JCC. Visit our website for more information at www.jccmetrowest.org

www.jccmetrowest.org The Lives We Touch | Your Jewish Community Center Newsletter 4

Through March 12LATE CLOSING • 8:00pm

Extended Saturday Hours

Tap N’ Burn: A Dance Community continued from page 2

Kathy, who is a professional dancer, hit on theidea that mobilizing the class for performances—in full costume—would be a terrific incentive.They rehearsed rock and swing routines forseveral months and held their debut performancefor JCC seniors in the West Orange Maurice LevinTheater in September 2009. This was followed byan appearance at the first JCC Dance-A-Thon inJanuary 2010, which was themed Dancing throughthe Decades. The group wowed crowds withWelcome to the 60s (from Hairspray). They added two more routines, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (40s) and Jailhouse Rock (50s), for an encoreperformance at Jewish Federation Plaza (seniorhousing next door to the JCC) in June.

Kathy hopes to soon move the class up another level byentering dance competitions. “I am amazed at how fareveryone has come and how fast they learn,” she said.

“I wanted to be active and find a fun form of exerciseafter having children. When I was younger, I had someexposure to dance, but I always wanted to learn moreabout the tap genre,” said Lauren Kampel, a graphicdesigner at the JCC who considers the communityperformance component of Tap N’Burn a welcome bonus.“Going out into the community gives us a higher purpose.”

From college students to senior members such as LucyBroomall, 70, and Mitzi Kreinberg, who is 84 and has beentapping since she was a little girl, all agree that tap is ajoyous way to exercise. “Tap is about the music for me,” said Janet Lazar, a lawyer who has been in the class twoyears. “It’s a mind-body connection, it’s about balance, and just great exercise.”

“Tap makes me happy and is truly the best thing about Mondaymornings. Our performances really challenge me to keep up myskills and bring back fond memories from high school when I waspart of a community performing group at a dance school Iattended,” said Cynthia McConnell, an Aquatics Instructor at theJCC who considers tap her favorite exercise out of the water.

Instructor Kathy Pucci invites you to join the fun. Kathy has dancedwith Ballet Hispanico of New York, Chautauqua Festival Ballet,Miami Momentum Modern Dance Company, L’Image de Ballet/Jazz,and Buffalo Ballet Theatre. She has taught at the University ofMiami, Chautauqua Institution, and Broadway Dance Center.

“Anyone can follow the warm-up which consists of single soundslike stepping, stamping, and stomping and progresses to doublesounds like flaps and shuffles. I teach modifications of all of thesteps so that people can do it at any level,” Kathy said.

Learn to tap! A beginner level Tap N’Burn class is forming on Monday mornings at 10:15am. For more information, call the Fitness Desk at 973-530-3416 or contact Kathy Pucci at kathypucci@gmail.com.

Monday, February 21Presidents DayREGULAR HOURS