Purim 2025/5755

Purim elves Sheila Erlbaum, Eleanor Brownstein, and Naomi Hirsch

Several decades ago, Minyan Dorshei Derekh revamped our Mishloach Manot approach, the giving of goodies to one another on Purim. In the interest of cutting back on waste (how many hamantaschen can one household absorb?) and increasing the amount of our resources going to support others, we collectivized our baking and our donating.

That first year our goal was to raise enough cash to cover a Heifer Fund cow, which then cost about $500. We succeeded, and then some. Heifer Fund presents a cow to a low-income farming family, along with training, and a expectation that they pass along each calf to another struggling family. The cow provides nutrition, surplus milk provides income, and the cow also contributes fertilizer to improve soil productivity. While it’s not possible to confirm how many families were given offspring from our original donation, it is nice to visualize that kind of exponential impact. Cows live, typically, 15-20 years, so that’s a lot of milk!

We used to buy the baked goods for our baskets, which we playfully presented in clementine crates. Eventually two changes needed to be made.

The first is that clementine crates went extinct. The second game-changer was COVID, when it was ill-advised to go shopping in person.

We pivoted and came up with a new system which has worked even better. We recruit volunteer bakers, who drop off goodies at an appointed time and place. Volunteers gather to assemble baskets which are left on the porches of two members’ homes for pick up. We make extra, and bring them to share with the GJC staff, in appreciation for all their hard work.

Our minyan strives to generate zero waste, so we were happy to discover that coconut fiber plant liners make perfect baskets. They can be used for their intended purpose, as containers, or composted, but even better – some of our members return them to be reused for the next Purim.

For several years, our baskets have been graced by Fair Trade lace mats, which make nice challah covers for small challot, donated by a Linda Egle. She ran a Fair Trade company, Eternal Threads, and commissioned the lace from a cooperative in India. When she closed her business, she had a lot of leftover inventory, some of which she has kindly donated to our project.

During COVID, receiving home-baked treats was an especially heart-warming experience, helping us bridge the chasm created by suspending in-person services.

As COVID traumas recede, we have kept this new approach. People contribute to our minyan treasury, and our loyal Treasurer, Arnold Lurie, splits the total between our two tzedakah recipients.

We love contributing to FBHS, the Female Benevolent Hebrew Society, a venerable Philadelphia philanthropy. “Guided by Jewish values, the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society of Philadelphia has been providing immediate assistance to local, Jewish women in financial crisis since 1819, always upholding the privacy, dignity and self-respect of those we serve.”  Our funds (this year, more than $500) go specifically for Passover food supermarket cards.

We contributed an equal amount to combat hunger right near us, via the Germantown Community Fridge. Community Fridges took off during COVID, when hunger increased but foodbanks were closed. Right on the street, they provide direct, respectful access to food for those in need. Our gift goes towards refilling the fridge with staples. They responded: “Check received. Thank you to your congregation for the continuing generous support.”

Many thanks to all who organized, baked, assembled, and contributed to our 2025 Mishloach Manot.

Chairs: Ruth Loew, Betsy Teutsch

Assemblers: Eleanor Brownstein, Sheila Erlbaum, Naomi Hirsch, Betsy Teutsch

Bakers:

Merle Berman

Phyllis Berman

Michelle Friedman

Ruth Loew and Bob Tabak

Jennifer Paget

Simha Rosenberg

Sonya Voynow

The Weinmartin Family

Donation of lace covers: Linda Egle

Treasurer: Arnie Lurie

Origami: Sheila Erlbaum, Eleanor Brownstein

Purim 2024/5784

 

It was cold! Thanks Betsy, Grace, Eleanor, Sheila, Bob and Ruth

Thanks to all who contributed in so many ways! Enjoy your goodies, cards, and the reusable cocofiber basket, which you can return for next year. And, reuse the shower cap for covering open containers. :-)

Origami creators: Eleanor Brownstein + Sheila Erlbaum

Bakers/Content Contributers:

Phyllis Berman
Fredi Cooper
Helen Feinberg
Pesha Leichter
Ruth Loew
Naida Mosenkis
Irene McHenry
Sharon Strauss

Assemblers/Deliverers:

Michael Blackman

Eleanor Brownstein

Sheila Erlbaum

Grace Flisser

Ruth Loew

Sharon Strauss

Bob Tabak

David Teutsch

Mayven/Meister

Betsy Teutsch

This year we netted around $1200, we we are sending $300 to each of four tsedakot.

1) Philadelphia's own Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, for Passover ma'ot chitim, provisioning for Passover for low income clients.

2) The Community Germantown Fridge, a community 24/7 street access pantry for our hungry neighbors. We are excited that this year all GJC will be collecting surplus chametz and donating it to the CGF as well.

3) To Dorshei Derekh Alum Ari Brochin, son of Rabbi Reena Spicehandler and Jermy Brochin. The donation will fund the group he works with at the Jerusalem African Community Center, whose members are primarily seeking asylum.

4) To Anya Friedman-Hutter, daughter of Rabbi Dayle Friedman and David Ferleger, who works in education in Beer Sheva and will share it with the hungry there.

Purim 5783/2023

 

Happy Purim!

This year we have raised over $1000 towards to split between charities who feed people. One is in our neighborhood, the Germantown Community Fridge. The other supports low-income women in need of assitance procuring Passover provisions, the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society.

The baskets are made of coconut fiber. They are used as liners for hanging plants, but you can really use them just as a bowl or basket. If you're not finding a use for them, just give yours back. We can use them again next year!

The lace is fairtrade, from a company that went out of business, sadly, and we were able to purchase them at steep discount. Irish nuns originally taught the women of this community in India to make lace. Machine-made lace tanked their business but they did revive it.

Sheila Erlbaum's crane

Thanks to all who worked on this project, one of the most joyful of the year:

Bakers:

Phyllis Berman, Jane Century, Fredi Cooper, Dayle Friedman, Pesha Leichter, Ruth Loew, Jennifer Paget, Sharon Strauss, and Esther Wiesner

Contributors of contents:

Lynne Jacobs, Irene McHenry, and Sharon Strauss.

Origami artists: Eleanor Brownstein and Sheila Erlbaum

Assemblers and Deliverers:

Eleanor Brownstein, Chana Dickter, Grace Flisser, Lynne Jacobs, Sharon Strauss & Sonia Voynow

Captain: Betsy Teutsch

                                            Eleanor demonstrating how the origami frogs jump.

Dorshei Derekh Pandemic Purim 2121

What a year - with Zoom replacing regular meeting, bringing many new "virtual" people to our community.
The Presser Committee usually plans one social justice event a year, but this year we are on a roll.  We've planned many Purim events to help us stay connected.

Thanks to all who have helped pull this off!

Chag Sameach from the Presser Gang:

    Malkah Binah Klein, chair

    Donald Joseph, Chair Emeritus

    Michael Blackman

    Debrah Cohen

    Mark Pinsky

    Atenea Rosado

    Betsy Teutsch

Here is how we've organized the four mitzvot of Purim

1. Mishloach Manot (Gifts of food to our friends)

Bags of love, in the form of goodies, are being picked up today by those who sent back the form.

Coordinator: Betsy Teutsch

Co-Assembling: Margaret Shapiro

Bakers:

Levanah Cohen

Fredi Cooper (thanks for the recipe!)

Dayle Friedman

Penina Kelberg, and Ellie and Kayla Kelberg-Gross

Pesha Leichter

Bob Tabak and Ruth Loew

Jennifer Paget

Allison Pokras

Genie Ravital

Heather Shafner

Howard Spodek (see his note on the baklava!)

Elyse Wechterman and Sharon Nerenberg

        Delivery Elves: Michael Blackman, Mark Pinsky, Donald Joseph, Betsy Teutsch

        Artwork: Micaiah Kimmelman-DeVries

2. Matanot L’evyonim (Gifts to the poor)

Dorshei Derekh has donated $500 to each of the following three local organizations.  We encourage you to learn about these organizations and lend your support: 

Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network (http://philashelter.org)

Germantown Fridge (https://www.germantowncommunityfridge.com)

Philadelphia Bail Fund (https://www.phillybailfund.org)

Additionally Debrah Cohen is delivering 15 bags of goodies (our bakers really outdid themselves!) to her clients and to the Germantown Fridge, with a note explaning Purim gifts.

3. Reading the Megillah

We encourage you to join GJC for Megillah reading on Purim night, February 25, and on Purim morning, February 26.  See GJC emails for timing and details.  In addition, Dorshei will be hosting a Melaveh Malkah (a special gathering for escorting Queen Shabbat on Saturday night) on February 20 to prepare for reading the Megillah.

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Saturday evening, February 20, 2021, 7PM, begins with havdalah

Listening for the Voice of Queen Esther

Join Rabbi Malkah Binah Klein for an intimate evening of creative encounters with Queen Esther, the heroine of the Purim story known for her courage, beauty, connection with spirit, and friendship.   Bring pen and paper, as there will be opportunities for writing, and if you are so moved, wear some jewels or a crown.  

4. Purim Day Seudah/Feast

We won’t literally be feasting together this year; however, we will be coming together as a community for a feast of joy, on Purim Day, just before Shabbat.  Join us, even if you have traditionally thought that Purim isn’t your thing.

Friday afternoon, February 26, 4PM

Dorshei Zoom Purim Party Extravaganza

Come sing, play, and laugh, and most of all, let loose your inner, zany child with special guests Rebekka and Gedalia.  Silly hats/costumes are welcome. The Zoom link has been shared.

 

Purim's GJC Tsedakah Collective 2016 - Please Participate!

This Purim, GJC and Minyan Dorshei Derekh will once again run our Mishloah Manot tzedakah collective project, continuing a tradition of over a decade. It allows us all to fulfill two of the important mitzvot of Purim: mishloah manot (giving treats to our friends) and matanot la’evyonim (giving gifts to the poor).

Here’s how it works:

• You donate to the project – suggested minimum, $18, no maximum!
• Donations can be made via PayPal or by sending a check made out to “Germantown Jewish Centre, earmarked for the Purim Tsedakah Project, to the office
• The bulk of the proceeds is donated as tzedakah to three local organizations providing direct support to the needy.
• A small percentage of the proceeds will be used to provide aFair Trade Equal Exchange Chocolate bar + clementine  each household attending the Charry Megillah Reading and/or the Dorshei Derekh evening Purim celebration Wednesday night, March 23.
• We are dispensing with the tradition of clementine cartons filled with goodies; families have been reluctant to take them. Rather than waste food, we are “minimizing the waste and maximizing the mitzvah“. By purchasing Fair Trade chocolate, the mitzvah of helping the poor support themselves is integrated into the ritual of mishloach manot!

1. We will once again be supporting a Weavers Way Community Program, the community garden at Stenton Family Manor, a homeless shelter in Germantown.  The grant  helps a farm educator teach residents how to raise food.  The produce raised is used directly in the kitchen to feed residents.

2. We will be contributing to refugee resettlement, via the

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, HIAS-PA. 

3. We will also support The Center For Returning Citizens, whose head Jondhi Harrell spoke at the Stefan Presser Social Justice Shabbat this past January.

The Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC) assists returning citizens in the transition from incarceration to society by providing job training, housing assistance, counseling services, legal aid, and referrals. TCRC helps individuals, families and communities with the adverse impacts of incarceration.

Time to Pony Up for Purim!

GJC’s 2013 Purim Tsedakah Collective Welcomes Your Participation

This Purim, GJC and Minyan Dorshei Derekh will join together in an expanded Mishloah Manot tzedakah project, which Dorshei Derekh has done for nearly a decade. It allows us all to fulfill two of the important mitzvot of Purim: mishloah manot (giving treats to our friends) and matanot la’evyonim (giving gifts to the poor).

Here’s how it works:

• You donate between $18 – $108 to the project.
• Donations can be made via PayPal or by sending a Check made out to GJC to the office (for checks, please indicate on envelope and check that payment is for the Mishloah Manot project).
• The bulk of the proceeds is donated as tzedakah to four food-based organizations that help the hungry.
• A small percentage of the proceeds will be used to provide a mishloah manot goodie basket for each household that attends the evening Purim celebration on Saturday, February 23 in the Charry Sanctuary.

Some of the 4 food organizations are old DD favorites and some are new – we will be feeding people near and far:

1. We will once again be supporting a Weavers Way Community PRogram, the community garden at Stenton Family Manor, a homeless shelter in Germantown.  The grant  helps a farm educator teach residents how to raise food.  The produce raised is used directly in the kitchen to feed residents.

2. Hazon has carved a niche supporting the new Jewish food movement, Jewish Farm School, CSA’s and generally promoting local, healthy, sustainable agriculture. Many GJC members have participated in Hazon’s famous bike rides.

3. Philadelphia’s own Female Hebrew Benevolent Society distributes $50 supermarket gift certificates to impoverished clients to help them cover Passover food expenses.  This will be the Ma’ot Chitim donation, specifically given to the poor for Passover provisions.

4. Through our emissary Nomi Teutsch, who was a Tony Blair Interfaith Social Justice fellow at United Sikhs last year, we will be contributing to the Sikh Food Pantry inKenya, used to feed the hungry suffering famine conditions in the Horn of Africa.  The need is ongoing as is their wonderful work.

We are so proud of the work these organizations are doing and that we can support them, filling the mitzvah of feeding the poor.

We are seeking volunteers to put the packages together. Come shmooze and assemble baskets from 4-6 PM on Thursday, February 21, in the Charry Lobby. Kids ages 7 and up accompanied by a parent are welcome to help with this mitzvah!

We need clementine boxes!  Please drop them by the GJC synagogue office anytime up until Thursday 2/21

Share this:

It's Clementine Season - Here are our Tsedakot

We are really thrilled to be sharing our Mishloach Manot tsedakah collective with the whole shul!  Details on contributing will be coming soon, but in the meantime, we have worked with the GJC Social Action Committee and agreed upon five food organizations where we'll be sending the monies collected after subtracting the cost of the mishloach manot baskets, given to all households attending the joint Dorshei Derekh/GJC Charry Megillah reading on Wed, March 7 at 6:30.

Some of the 5 food organizations are old DD favorites and some are new - we will be feeding people near and far:

1. We will once again be supporting a Weavers Way Community PRogram, the community garden at Stenton Family Manor, a homeless shelter in Germantown.  The grant helps a farm educator teach residents how to raise food.  The produce raised is used directly in the kitchen to feed residents.

2. Hazon has carved a niche supporting the new Jewish food movement, Jewish Farm School, CSA's and generally promoting local, healthy, sustainable agriculture. Many GJC members have participated in Hazon's famous bike rides.

3. Philadelphia's own Female Hebrew Benevolent Society distributes $50 supermarket gift certificates to impoverished clients to help them cover Passover food expenses.  This will be the Ma'ot Chitim donation, specifically given to the poor for Passover provisions.

4. We will be contributing to our neighbor Church of the Annunciation (at Lincoln and Carpenter) for their food pantry.

5. Through our emissary Nomi Teutsch, a Tony Blair Interfaith Social Justice fellow at United Sikhs, we will be contributing to the Sikh Food Pantry in Kenya, used to feed the hungry suffering famine conditions in the Horn of Africa.

We are so proud of the work these organizations are doing and that we can support them, filling the mitzvah of feeding the poor.

Please drop your clementine boxes off in the Maslow.

Thanks to All our 2011 Mishloach Manot Contributors!

Thanks to all.  Let us know if anyone's name was accidentally omitted. We will be disbursing these Ma'ot Chitim funds shortly - if you meant to contribute but didn't, you still can send $$$ to www.paypal.com to our account: treasurer@dorsheiderekh.org.

Thank you to ALL the

 Dorshei Derekh Purim Mishloach Manot Contributors! 

Our gross this year was $1,140

Adina Abramowitz and Naomi Klayman 

Alex & Sheila Avelin

Emily Blake & Karen Dunn

Bobbie Breitman

Eleanor Brownstein

Reba Carmel & David Franklin

Ken Cohen & Doug Lerner

Fredi & Heshie Cooper

Mikael Elsila & Dina Pinksky

Sheila Erlbaum

Helen & Michael Feinberg

Dayle Friedman & David Ferleger

Audrey Fingerhood

Mike Gross & Penina Kelberg

Anna Herman & Robert Dudnick

Shulamit Izen

Shira Kamm

Ruth Loew & Bob Tabak

Arnie Lurie and Patricia Lepera

Richard & Alice Mandel

Mitch & Susie Marcus

Steve Masters & Beulah Trey

David & Nahariyah Mosenkis

Neysa Nevins & Melissa Klein

Joyce & Carl Norden

Genie & Ameet Ravital

Joel Schneier

Elana & Brian Shaw

Howard Spodek

Reena Spicehandler & Jeremy Brochin

Jacob Staub & Michael Spitko

Debbie & George Stern

Richard Stern

Betsy & David Teutsch
Carol & Jay Tinkleman

Deborah Waxman & Christina Ager

Abby Weinberg & Nathan Martin

Leah Weisman & Eric Brunner

Adam Zeff & Cheryl Bettigole

Thanks to All!

We had a wonderful Purim celebration last night. Once again our community has joined together to create an inspiring (!) service and joyful celebration.

With deep appreciation, we would like to thank the following people who helped make it happen:

Naomi, Coordinator of Coordinators!

Dovvener: Howard Spodek

Megillah Reading:

Toby Kessler

Shulamit Izen

Rabbi Adam Zeff

Barbara Pearson

Sheila Erlbaum

Jacob Staub

Shira Kamm

Purim Shpiel:

George Stern

Betsy Teutsch

David Mosenkis

Aviva Perlo

Tsedakah Coordinator: Carol Tinkleman

Finance: Joel Schneier

Assemblers

Eleanor Brownstein

Ken Cohen

Michael Blackman

Sheila Erlbaum

Helen Feinberg

Carol Tinkleman

Doug Lerner

Bakers:

Ruth Loew

Danielle Stillman

Helen Feinberg

Adam Zeff

Deb Cohen

Anna Herman

Betsy Teutsch

Additional contributions:

Arnie Lurie (grape juice)

Betsy Teutsch (hangers)

Eleanor Brownstein (hamentaschen)
Green Mountain Coffee

Yasher koach to all!!

Naomi

Dorshei Derekh Gets a Social Action Shout Out

Sue Fishkoff included Dorshei Derekh, along with a number of other Jewish communities, who have integrated social justice tie-ins to Purim in a JTA article.  DD alum Leah Staub is there, too!

PURIM FEATURE

Turning Purim on its head with social action instead of drunkenness

By Sue Fishkoff · March 14, 2011

Or is it?SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- Purim is about costumes, outrageous Purim spiels and drinking until you can’t tell the difference between Mordechai and Haman, the hero and villain of the Purim story.

A number of American synagogues and Jewish organizations are eschewing, or at least downplaying, the drunken revelry to focus more on the socially conscious aspects of the holiday, which begins on Saturday night.

“I’ve always hated the drunken side of Purim,” said rabbinical student Ilan Glazer, spiritual leader of Conservative Temple Beth El of North Bergen, N.J., which will hold an alcohol-free Jewish comedy festival this year on Purim afternoon. “It seems counter to what we try to teach our children about the Jewish tradition.”

The most widespread alternatives involve “mishloach manot,” the mitzvah of giving food baskets to friends, and “matanot l’evyonim,” the mitzvah of giving to the needy.

In New York, the Israeli Consulate is teaming up with City Meals on Wheels and the Netanya Foundation to deliver meals to the homebound elderly, complete with “Happy Purim” cards decorated by children in Netanya, Israel.

Ahavat Olam, a progressive synagogue in Vancouver, British Columbia, is joining with local Muslims to prepare a meal for 300 to 500 hungry and homeless people as part of its ongoing Muslim-Jewish Feed the Hungry Project.

In Philadelphia, the Reconstructionist Dorshei Derekh Minyan at the Conservative Germantown Jewish Center raises money for collective mishloach manot baskets that are assembled at the synagogue building. Minyan attendees each get one basket of goodies instead of one for each purchased, so the bulk of the funds, about $1,200 a year, goes to local nonprofits. Other synagogues use the same method to raise funds for themselves or other causes.