January 19th
6th of Sh'vat

For many around the world, the new secular year is a time to set the vision and goals for the coming year. Here at the BACH, we’ve been working on developing our key areas of focus for the coming year which I wanted to share with you.

• Community-building: We have experienced unprecedented growth over the last several months and are aiming to continue this momentum into the coming year by sharing our warm community with everyone. Inviting friends and family to come visit, participating in more programming and creating a welcoming atmosphere are all a part of this important effort. If you have any friends or families who you think would be interested in Long Beach and the BACH community, please reach out. Sara and I would welcome the opportunity to personally call them and invite them for a Shabbos. 
• Torah and Social programming for everyone: As we enter the 10^th (!) month of this pandemic, I know that many are seeking more options for meeting with neighbors and friends as well as for entertaining the whole family. We want the BACH to be that place and over the course of the next few months, we will be rolling out a wonderful line up of shiurim, children and teen programming. 
• Outreach / Kiruv: One of the areas where our congregation is so special is the kiruv work we do. We remind Jews that no matter their background, the BACH is their home. We will be increasing our programming and services over the next few months in an effort to reach more people.

2021 is going to be a fantastic year at the BACH. I look forward to what the coming year has in store for all of us.

For many years the Long Beach community has supported and maintained a community-wide Eruv. This past week, the Rabbis from the various Shuls hosted Rabbi Dovid Miller who took us all on a walk-through of the eruv.  It was a chance for each of us to understand its ins and outs (literally!). 

Mother\Daughter Paint Night: Last week's paint night got rave reviews, as the ladies of all ages enjoyed the creative energy and bonding! 

Daf’n Donuts: Daf n’ Donuts continues to be a very popular program with our youth. This week the children began the fifth perek of Maseches Pesachim. 

Pre-teen oneg: The youth who attended the pre-teen oneg last week definitely worked up a sweat playing an intense game of socially distanced football. 

Dor L'Dor: Dor L’Dor will be hosted at the BACH social hall again this mozei shabbos, January 23rd at 7:00PM, with its unique blend of Torah, pizza and prizes. For just $100, a family can have the zechus of sponsoring this entire event of inter-generational growth and bonding.

Game Night: Join us for a fast-paced, mind-bending game of Scattergories on Sunday January 24, at 7:00PM! Click here for the zoom link. Race the clock together as a family to come up with words of the same starting letter for various categories. For anyone new to the game, have no fear: All the rules will be reviewed in detail at the beginning of the zoom. This community bonding event is sure to bring lots of laughs and fun into our homes.

Tu B'Shvat Seder: The women of our community are invited to a special Tu B’shvat Seder led by Rabbi Berlin and Rebecca Lazar on Wednesday, January 27th at 8:00 PM. Click here for the zoom link. Please prepare the following special fruits of the Sheva Minim in advance to enhance our virtual experience together: Figs, dates, pomegranates, olives, grapes, a wheat-based treat such as cookies, crackers or brownies,  a cooked barley-based product, and last but not least some white and red grape juice or wine. We will send out a pdf seder guide in advance so everyone will be able to easily follow along as we take a tour through Israel with its special fruits as our guide.

Melave Malka Chocolate Bomb Making: Calling all mothers and daughters to come get sticky at our hands-on hot chocolate bomb-making melava malka! The event is called for Mozei Shabbos, January 30th at 7:30PM in the BACH social hall. This is sure to be a sugar powered event with lots of laughs and free-flowing chocolate.

Tu B'Shevat Plant Night: Everyone is invited to come and plant some greenery together in honor of Tu B’shvat on Sunday, January 31st at 10 AM in the BACH social hall. It might be dreary and cold outside but together we can enhance our homes by bringing new life into our winter surroundings indoors. Each participant will get their own pot to decorate and will then plant in it. RSVPs are crucial for this event so please reach out to Jonathan to reserve your spot. 

I had the pleasure of joining the LBJE community this week in a musical havdalah via zoom. Together we sang, talked about the power of fire that was created by Adam HaRishon on motzei shabbos, and enjoyed havdalah.

LBJE celebrated two amazing Birthdays this week (Tracy Kreutzer and Dr. Steven Fox) with birthday gifts delivered by Rabbi Smith and Rabbi Gruenstein and an enhanced pre-shabbos zoom with special L’chaims. 

 This #MembersMonday, we introduced you to Aaron Rosen. He shared the following:

"I am reminded every morning of my love for Long Beach when I smell the salty ocean air and hear the faint crashing of the waves.  The ocean views from the boardwalk help me to appreciate the majesty of Hashem’s creations He has given us to enjoy.  More importantly, though there is a real feeling of achdus among the different shuls which I enjoy davening in, and people here are accepted and welcomed for who they are.  Perhaps the best haskama though is that my kids always look forward to coming here (and have explicitly told me not to move away!).  Thank you to Hashem for giving us beautiful Long Beach; Thank you to all the shul members and rabbeim for making this a vibrant community!"

Wishing everyone a wonderful week as we come together to learn and daven, with much exciting programming on the horizon! For those of you who are taking trips for Yeshiva week, we wish you safe and healthy travels and look forward to seeing you back soon.

Warmly,