10th Anniversary Celebration - Mazel Tov Melissa and Neysa!

Dear Dorshei Community,

We look forward to celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary with you this Shabbat, June 2.  

Our service, which I will be leading, will include chanting (with drum/ shruti) led by Leah Weisman.  Jacob Staub will be our gabbai rishon.  Susan Windle will offer original poetry woven into the service, and Neysa will offer the dvar torah reflecting on the sotah ritual and how we suffer from the stories we create in our minds.  The discussion will focus on bringing awareness to these stories in support of our relationships.  

Following services, we are hosting a sit-down kiddush lunch (salmon, lasagna, quinoa-bean salad, cobbler with ice cream, pasta and pizza bagels for the kids).  Lunch is open to the GJC community (Masorti and Charry will be joining us).  Lunch will include a short program: singing, a dvar torah by Rabbi Zeff, a historical perspective from our own Mitch Marcus, who was instrumental in moving the process along to welcome our wedding at GJC, and a blessing from our friends and mentors Susan Windle and Wendy Galson, who have been together for 36 years.

In joy and appreciation,

Melissa and Neysa

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Our own Mikael Elsila is Congregant of the Year!

GJC is proud to recognize Mikael Elsila as its Congregant of the Year. 


Mikael has twice served as coordinator of minyan Dorshei Derekh. He and his wife, Dina Pinksy served as ECP class parent. Mikael and Dina have often acted as ambassadors to new and prospective members by hosting them for Shabbat meals. 


A talented pianist, Mikael has volunteered his skills as the bandleader for the Dorshei Derekh band, playing piano on Purim, at last year's musical Shavuot service, and at the Women's Club Torah Fund Brunch. Mikael most recently served on the Nominating Committee and has been nominated to the Executive Committee to serve as Recording Secretary. 


We are so grateful for the many ways that Mikael and his family contribute to our community of communities!


Please celebrate this, as Chris Levin steps down and (also our own) Mitch Marcus steps up!

GJC's Annual Congregational Meeting

Wednesday, June 13 at 7:30 pm

in the Marcus Auditorium

Pirkei Avot this Shabbat at 4:00

Pirkei Avot's 4th week will be hosted at Betsy and David Teutsch's this Saturday at 4:00.  Rabbi Robert Tabak will lead the study.  All our welcome!  email for address.

thanks to JugglingFrogs for the Pirkei Avot Wordle.  (Wordle sounds Yiddish, no?)

Dorshei Derekh Listserv Posting Policy

Dear Dorshei

I am pasting below the Code of Conduct for the Dorshei Derekh Listserve, which was ratified on June 6, 2011 by a minyan meeting and was e-mailed out to the listserve last year. It is also posted on the Dorshei bulletin board.

Since the Pennsylvania primaries are coming up (next Tuesday, April 24), I would like to remind you particularly of point #2 below, which says, "Do not endorse for office or solicit funds for any political candidate or political party."

We have interpreted this to mean that you should not even give your personal opinion of a particular candidate on the Dorshei listserve. We realize that this limits free speech, but we are doing this to protect the greater good. Apparently, GJC's tax-exempt status could be jeopardized if the shul itself were to endorse a candidate, so we are building a very wide wall around this.

If you have any questions about this, e-mail me back and I'll try to find out the answers.

Thank you

Mikael Elsila

See below....

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE DORSHEI DEREKH LISTSERVE (Ratified June 6, 2011)

The Dorshei Derekh listserve is meant to facilitate the work of the minyan and to build community among the members of the minyan through an exchange of information and opinions. To further that purpose, those who post to the listserve are required to abide by the following rules:

1. Avoid using l'shon hara (negative, disparaging or unkind language) and rechilut (language that causes strife or acrimony).

2. Do not endorse for office or solicit funds for any political candidate or political party.

3. Repeated advertisements to promote businesses or commercial activities are not acceptable.

4. Any statement on a controversial subject must be expressed as a personal view.

5. Any statement endorsing an organization or suggesting participation in any of its activities must disclose the basic nature of the organization.

6. Only paid-up members of Dorshei Derekh may post opinions and activities on the listserve that are unrelated to Dorshei Derekh.

7. Inquiries asking for off-list responses are welcome.

8. Every posting should include a clear, concise subject line.

9. A forwarded email should begin with a sentence or two explaining why the sender thinks the email is important to post to the list.

If you believe any of these rules have been disregarded, please contact the Minyan Coordinator, who will respond appropriately. Repeated violations of these rules will result in the violator being barred from posting to the list.

The committee suggests that this statement, once approved initially, get posted to the listserve and thereafter to every new person who joins the listserve. We also suggest that a statement that these guidelines exist appear automatically at the bottom of each posting along with a link to the guidelines, which can be placed on the Dorshei Derekh blog.

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.

Wow! Our Beautiful Parochet designed by Deborah Schwartzman

Heartfelt thanks to the Friedman/Ferlegers for donating our gorgeous parochet in memory of Miriam Ferleger, z"l.

Happy 25th Anniversary Dorshei Derekh!

Happy Anniversary, DD!
Thanks to all who helped plan, played roles, and came from near and far to celebrate these latest 25 years!