SyraJews

New to Syracuse

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:24:00 +0000

I have lived in Syracuse, NY for almost a year now. While, I cannot recount how many pages I have read in the past year of graduate school, I can tell you exactly how welcomed the Jewish community in Syracuse has made me feel. For those of you reading this blog who have moved to a new area, you understand the trepidation and the anxiety that accompany the excitement of moving to a new town. One minute you are dancing around your apartment and the next, you are lonely eating a bowl of cereal on your couch. I was no different. So, when I walked up to a group of strangers at my first Syrajews event, needless to say, I was nervous. Immediately, though, people recognized the new face and embraced me. I could not have asked for a better, more welcoming reception.

Over the past year, I continue to be impressed with the Jewish community and Syrajews has been a huge part of it. If you are new in town or looking to make new friends. Send us an e-mail, join our group on Facebook, and come to an event. I think I can speak on behalf of the board when I say, we would love to have you!

Staci (your new Syrajews blogger)

November ... Happy Birthday, SyraJews!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:18:00 +0000

November... Happy Birthday, SyraJews!

Saturday, November 7, 7:30 pm: Wine & Chocolate tasting party (kosher) sponsored by Temple Adath. Merlot? Shiraz? Or do you prefer chocolate mousse? Or better yet, how about a Merlot chocolate sauce over vanilla ice cream? This is one event you don't want to miss. Rabbi Victor will lead a discussion on what makes kosher wine kosher. (Temple Adath, 450 Kimber Road, Syracuse). SO's and friends welcome.

As always, check our calendar at www.syrajews.org for the most up-to-date information on events and happenings.

If you have a great idea for a place to hold our stellar SyraJews events - send them our way! We're always looking for new spots in town at which to hold events and we'd love to hear your favorite places.

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Community Happenings

Monday, November 16th, 7:30 - 9:30 pm: Movie Night and Silent Auction - A Bridge Life: Finding Our Way Home from Katrina hosted by The Syracuse Conservative Jewish Coalition at Temple Adath Yeshurun (450 Kimber Road, Syracuse)

Don't have a subscription to the JO? Dude, party foul. Let us know and SyraJews will get you signed up for free.

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Jew News

SyraJews congratulates its newest board member! Welcome on board Andrea Leifer!

Chair: Ben Gnacik

Vice-Chair: Erica Bern

Treasurer: Sabrina Victor

Membership & Social Events:

Ashley Webber

Aaron Gross

Hanah Ehrenreich

Andrea Leifer

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The forum on syrajews.org is the mothership for telling us what you need. Use the forum to throw down information on happenings in and around Syracuse, to advertise for a roommate or an apartment, to share ideas on where to go and what to do. Rock the forum.

Outdoors Listserv

Do you love the outdoors? Enjoy hiking, skiing, snowshoeing? SyraJews is looking for a coordinator for its new SyraJews Outdoors listserv. This opt-in list would enable members who share these interests to contact each other to plan outdoor events or simply invite others along (i.e., "Going to Green Lakes on Sunday at 3:00 -- any takers?"). Think you'd like to do this? Contact us at syrajews@gmail.com and let us know. If you're interested in just being on this listserve, email us as well.

l'hit,

SyraJews

SyraJews: the vibrant social network for

young Jewish adults, professionals, and

graduate students in Syracuse and the

Central New York area.

Check out what's happening!

www.syrajews.org

Hagim v' Stav (Holidays & Autumn)...

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Monday, October 5, 7pm: Sushi in the Sukkah at Chabad. Sam Ehrenreich, local sushi chef, will be whipping up some fresh, hand-madekosher sushi at Chabad. Join SyraJews for a scrumptious good time.

Friday, October 23: Shabbat Dinner with Scott Fried. Scott Fried, the author of "If I Grow Up: Talking with Teens about AIDS, Love, and Staying Alive" andan international lecturer on the topic of HIV education and awareness,will be joining SyraJews for a shabbat dinner. Details to follow.

On tap for later in the year...

...and what better way to fight off the chill of November than a Wine & Chocolate tasting party (kosher) sponsored by Temple Adath and hosted by Rabbi Daniel and Sabrina Victor (and Max, age 2. He'll have the juice.) .

In November, SyraJews turns 2 years old!

As always, check our calendar at www.syrajews.org for the most up-to-date information on events and happenings.

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Community Happenings

Monday, October 5, 7pm-10pm: Hookah in the Sukkah at Hillel. Allare welcome at the Winnick Hillel Center patio sukkah for a hookahcharity event. Bring a donation for Habitat for Humanity and enjoysnacks and hookah with friends. Please don't come if you have swineflu...or really, if you feel ill at all.

Tuesday, October 6, 7pm: The J at the Opera. Syracuse Opera Company preview of La Boheme. Join the JCC there. Free. Contact Julie Fleck, 445-2040x104 if interested.

Thursday, October 8, 7pm at ArtRage: the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, speaker Jimmy Johnson. CNYWorking for a Just Peace in Israel & Palestine welcomes JimmyJohnson, Jewish Peace activist with the Israeli Committee Against HouseDemolitions (ICAHD), to talk about globalization and theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict. ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave. Free tothe public and snack-tastic treats will be there.

Don't have a subscription to the JO? Dude, party foul. Let us know and SyraJews will get you signed up for free.

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Syracuse Community Events

Friday, October 9: "Travels Through Israel" photo exhibit by Jessica Gifford at Sugar Pearl. Jessica Gifford will display colorphotography chronicling her travels through Israel at Sugar Pear (corner of N. Crouse & Burnet Ave). Her show opensOctober 9th.

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Open Board position!...SyraJews has one beauty of an open position and we need animaginative, creative, committed individual to fill it.

Chair: Ben Gnacik

Vice-Chair: Erica Bern

Treasurer: Sabrina Victor

Communications:

Membership & Social Events:

Ashley Webber

Aaron Gross

Hanah Ehrenreich

YOU?!

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See the SyraJews website for times/locations of High Holiday Services. Please let us know at syrajews@gmail.com if you are looking for hospitality for any of the holidays!

y'alla,

SyraJews

Hagim Tovim

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Shalom ya'll,

In the mood for some High Holiday hospitality and/or looking for a congregation?

Take a gander at our High Holidays page for the times/locations ofRosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services and events at area synagogues.You'll be welcome anywhere you go- if you're new to a place just letthe usher know and mention you're a SyraJew. They'll help you out. Wecan too, if you send us an email.

And now, what you've all be waiting for: THE LAST KICKBALL of 2009 and THE FIRST KICKBALL of 5770.

Wednesday, September 23, 6 pm: Kickball and Picnic. Comeout and enjoy the crisp autumn air. Join us to play or just to hang-out(Jewish Community Center, 5655 Thompson Rd, DeWitt). Family friendly, SO's and friends welcome.

Sweet September...

Thursday, September 10, 7pm: Honey Tasting... fanof Bit o'honey, Sweet Honey in the Rock, or Honey Nut Cheerios? Now'syour chance to gain an education and test your palette on a variety ofthis sweet stuff. Rabbi Ain will lead the tasting at Congregation BethSholom-Chevra Shas. (18Patsy Lane, at the top of the hill off Jamesville Road, DeWitt). Familyfriendly, SO's and friends welcome. (attention! this event wasinitially listed as Friday, we'll be there for real on Thursday)

Sunday, September 13, 12:30 pm: Jewish Music Arts & Culture Festival (JMAC). Popularly referred to as JMAC and traditionally held in Armory Squareor Clinton Square...this year's festival will be at your very own JCCin DeWitt. Meet up with SyraJews at the Community Table and we'll makethis a group thang. (Syracuse JCC, 5655 Thompson Rd, DeWitt). Supremely family friendly.

On tap for later in the year...

October will bring a kosher, handmade Sushi in the Sukkah night...and what better way to fight off the chill of November than a Wine & Chocolate tasting party (kosher) sponsored by Temple Adath and hosted by Rabbi Daniel and Sabrina Victor (and Max, age 2. He'll have the juice.) .

Jewish Community Heroes...worth $25k

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Reposted from the Fundermentalist, a JTA blog

The UJC will give $25k to one of your Jewish Community Heroes

By Jacob Berkman · August 4, 2009

The UJC: Jewish Federations of North America wants to know who are your living Jewish heroes, and the organization might give one of them $25,000.The umbrella organization of the federation system is asking the Jewish community and those associated with the federation network to nominate Jews who are involved in charitable work to be considered fori ts first Jewish Community Hero Award. Nominees will have their bios posted online as well as a description of the projects they support, and the community will be able to vote on who should receive $25,000 to go toward the winner's cause. Anyone can make a nomination online and any North American resident older than 13 is eligible to be nominated.

The project is part of the UJC's million dollar plus marketing initiative that has included a significant research study into who exactly is the federation system's base, how to reach out more effectively to it and beyond it. It has also included a foray into online social networking platforms such as Facebook that started with an online color war called SuperJews that asked young Jews to join virtual online teams and then to perform online acts of social conscience. There has been some debate about whether that first attempt was successful. Some in the Jewish communal world dismissed it as cheesy, but the UJC says it was a success and fulfilled the organization's goal. "We wanted to reach well over 1,000 people for the campaign," a spokesman for the organization, Andy Nuesner, told The Fundermentalist. "Final numbers were 1,450."

The Jewish Communal Hero project is much more ambitious. The UJC has enlisted Blue State Digital, the online strategy firmthat helped the Obama campaign raise more than $500 million online, todevelop and produce the project. And while initially the UJC looked at Jewish Community Heroes as phase two of the SuperJews project, the organization decided in house to expand it to include Jews of all ages as potential nominees. "The could be the single largest Jewish social networking projectever," Neusner said. "When you look at all of our partner agencies,like Hillel, the JDC, the Jewish Agency, ORT. These are some really large mailing lists. Also the New York federation, the Los Angeles federation, the Chicago federation, they have humungous lists. We havea good running start."

The UJC will also enlist a couple of bloggers from outside of the federation system to track the contest's progress.

Neusner said that the organization has learned some lessons for SuperJews -- which may see a revival later in the year. But Jewish Community Heroes is meant to be larger. What did Blue State think about SuperJews? "They liked it but thought it was small scale. They said, 'Ok, that is great but how do you reach 25,000 people or 50,000 people,'" Neusner said.

Nominating closes Oct. 8, and five finalists for the award willultimately be chosen by a panel of judges. They will be invited for a ceremony at the UJC's annual General Assembly, which will be held in Washington D.C. Nov. 8-10, when the winner will be selected.

++ Clarification. JTA, which receives fuding from the UJC, is a partner in this project.

SyraJews in August

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:08:00 +0000

August outdoors....

Tuesday, August 11, 6 pm: Kickball and Picnic. The summer time favorite. Join us to play or come and hang-out (5655 Thompson Rd, DeWitt). Family friendly, SO's and friends welcome.

Sunday, August 30, 10 am-12pm: Erie Canal hike. Meet us in front of the DeWitt Town Hall (5400 Butternut Drive East Syracuse, NY 13057) for a hike along a stretch of the historic and picturesque canal that made upstate New York. Bring good shoes, water, and a pic-a-nic basket, Yogi. Family friendly, SO's and friends welcome.

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Sweet September..

Thursday, September 10, 7pm: Honey Tasting... fan of Bit o'honey, Sweet Honey in the Rock, or Honey Nut Cheerios? Now's your chance to gain an education and test your palette on a variety of this natural and healthy sugar. Rabbi Ain will lead the tasting at Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas. (18 Patsy Lane, at the top of the hill off Jamesville Road, DeWitt). Family friendly, SO's and friends welcome.

Sunday, September 13, 12:30 pm: Jewish Music Arts & Culture Festival (JMAC). Popularly refered to as JMAC and traditionally held in Armory Square or Clinton Square...this year's festival will be at your very own JCC in DeWitt. Meet up with SyraJews at the Community Table and we'll makethis a group thang. (Syracuse JCC, 5655 Thompson Rd, DeWitt). Supremely family friendly.

On tap for later in the year...

October will bring a BBQ after hours at the JCC...and what better way to fight off the chill of November than a Kosher Wine & Cheese party sponsored by Temple Adath and hosted by Rabbi Daniel and Sabrina Victor (and Max, age 2).

As always, check our calendar at www.syrajews.org for the most up-to-date information on events and happenings.

If you have a great idea for a place to hold our stellar SyraJewsevents - send them our way! We're always looking for new spots in townat which to hold events and we'd love to hear your favorite places.

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Community Happenings

Friday, August 7, 5:30 pm: Hava naGrilla at Temple Adath Yeshurun. This free, kosher BBQ is a wonderful chanceto join Temple Adath as they welcome the new Rabbi Daniel, Sabrina, andMax Victor. Come one, come all! (450 Kimber Road, Syracuse 13224). Family friendly, SO's and friends welcome.

Sunday thru Wednesday, August 9-12...the Israeli Scouts are performing. Check the Jewish Observer or the Syracuse Jewish Federation's community calendar here for locations and times. Family friendly, SO's and friends welcome.

Tuesday, August 25, 7pm: Ice Cream Social with CNY JJoin. You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream. Have a cone, have a bowl, have a handful...Join with Jewish singles ages 23-40 for a mixer at the picnic area (inside in case of rain). (Syracuse JCC, 5655 Thompson Rd, DeWitt)

Don't have a subscription to the Jewish Observer? Dude, party foul. Let us know and SyraJews will get you signed up for free.

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Global Community Events

Wednesday, September 9, 8 pm- midnight: 14th Annual New Generations Benefit...For the New Israel Fund at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. Featuring Soulicowith guest Axum. Co-Chair of the event is Orthodox Anarchist blognik,Dave Sieradski. For more info: www.nif.org/nycbenefit

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Open Board position!...SyraJews has one beautyof an open position and we need animaginative, creative, committed individual to fill it.

Chair: Ben Gnacik

Vice-Chair: Erica Bern

Treasurer: Sabrina Victor

Communications: Hanah Ehrenreich (yours truly)

Membership & Social Events:

Ashley Webber

Aaron Gross

YOU?!

SyraJews Summer

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:27:00 +0000

It's Kayitz (summer)!

Wednesday, July 15, 6 pm: Kickball and Picnic! We just can't get enough at the JCC (5655 Thompson Rd, DeWitt).

Tuesday, July 21, 7pm: Night out at the Rosamond Gifford Burnet Park Zoo. Meet us at the Lions at 7pm and bring or buy your picnic lunch. A departure from the usual events at SyraJews...you've never been to the zoo if you haven't been after hours. Join SyraJews there. Admission price (towards a good cause) is: $6.50 advance sale, $8.00 at the door.

A couple more summer resources:

Fruits? Berries? It's all here: www.pickyourown.org

Blues Fest, Crafts Fairs... summer sun/somethin's begun...uhoh, those summer nights...wella, wella....www.visitsyracuse.org

As always, check our calendar at www.syrajews.org for the most up-to-date information on events and happenings in the community.

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We have an open position on the Planning Board.

The Planning Board:

Chair: Ben Gnacik

Vice-Chair: Erica Bern

Treasurer: Sabrina Victor

Communications: Hanah Ehrenreich (yours truly)

Membership & Social Events:

Ashley Webber

Aaron Gross

You?!

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JewNews:

Mazel Tov to Daniel & Sabrina Victor on the purchase of their new home.

Answer to last week's Trivia question: Owen Reckess was the first semi-official SyraJew baby and he was born just shy of Pesach 2008. Mazel Tov to Dave & Sarah Reckess!

Got news? You know what to do, bubeleh....syrajews@gmail.com

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New Outdoors Listserv

Enjoy the kayitz, pals!

SyraJews

SyraJews in June

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:30:02 +0000

Ain't it just June already...

Sunday, June 14, 11 am - 1 pm: Brunch at Strong Hearts Cafe (719 E. Genesee St, Syracuse - right next to the Parkview hotel). Join SyraJews at Syracuse's premier vegan restaurant. Not sure if you're into "vegan" - just to give you a hint, you'll never know the difference. Home of Syracuse's finest "milk"shakes and unbelievable pastry...the food is delicious and the place very, very cool. Check out www.strongheartscafe.com for menu and info, prices very reasonable. Note- Stronghearts is right across from a massage training school & spa...can you say, $35 massage?!

Monday, June 22, 6 pm: Kickball and Picnic! Summer will be underway as we continue our warm weather favorite. Bring some food or bring your gameface - we'll see you at the JCC (5655 Thompson Rd, Syracuse).

And July...

Wednesday, July 15, 6 pm: Kickball and Picnic! We just can't get enough! at the JCC (5655 Thompson Rd, Syracuse).

Tuesday, July 21, 7 pm: Night out at the Burnet Park Zoo. A departure from the usual events at SyraJews...you've never been to the zoo if you haven't been afterhours. Join SyraJews there. Admission price (towards a good cause) is: $6.50 advance sale, $8.00 at the door.

If you have a great idea for a place to hold our stellar SyraJews events - send them our way! We're always looking for new spots in town at which to hold events and we'd love to hear your favorite places.

As always, check our calendar at www.syrajews.org for the most up-to-date information on events and happenings in the community.

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Planning Board update: Your Planning Board now has positions:

Chair: Ben Gnacik
Vice-Chair: Erica Bern
Treasurer: Sabrina Victor
Communications: Hanah Ehrenreich (yours truly)
Membership & Social Events:
Ashley Webber
Aaron Gross
Diana Ecker

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JewNews:

Congrats to Jaclyn Sisskin Gnacik & Ben Gnacik on the birth of their son, Ari- the second SyraJew baby!

Trivia question: who was the first semi-official SyraJews birth? Hint- his initials are O.R. and he was born just shy of Pessach 2008.

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The forum on syrajews.org is the mothership for telling us what you need. Use the forum to throw down information on happenings in and around Syracuse, to advertise for a roommate or an apartment, to share ideas on where to go, what to do, and/or to star in our storyboard on why you moved (back) to Syracuse. Rock the forum.

New Outdoors Listserv
Do you love the outdoors? Enjoy hiking, skiing, snowshoeing? SyraJews is looking for a coordinator for its new SyraJews Outdoors listserv. This opt-in list would enable members who share these interests to contact each other to plan outdoor events or simply invite others along (i.e., "Going to Green Lakes on Sunday at 3:00 -- any takers?"). Think you'd like to do this? Contact us at syrajews@gmail.com and let us know. If you're interested in just being on this listserve, email us as well.

Yo, be there or be square.
SyraJews