Joyce Norden's Color's of the Seasons - Upcoming Art Exhibition

Joyce Norden invites our community to attend the opening of her upcoming gallery showing at fellow Reconstructionist Community Or Chadash in Fort Washington.

"Colors of the Seasons"

at the Staircase Gallery, Or Hadash Synagogue, Forth Washington

Friday evening,

September 7, 2012

Services 7:30; Opening 8:30.

Mazel Tov, Gabe and Ruthie!

We want to thank everyone who helped in so many ways with the aufruf for our son Gabe and Ruthie Brown yesterday.  Thanks to Sheila Erlbaum for davvening, Dayle Freidman for a beautiful misheberach, and many other people who helped as greeters, reading Torah and haftarah,setting up the kiddush,  bringing food, cleaning up and in other ways!  We could not have done it alone.

Thanks also to Minyan Masorti for switching rooms and to Elana Shaw and the shul staff for their assistance as well.

The ruach was great during and after the service, and we were so glad to be able to share this event with family, minyan members, friends, and guests.

Having this service in the Canteen Room was a special bracha for Ruth and me.  It was in the Canteen Room that we met for the first time in the summer of 1980 when Ruth was in town for the aufruf of her cousin Dan Piser and Deb White (MM members who were there yesterday) and I was back from a summer studying Yiddish in NYC for the adult bat mitzvah of Judy Petsonk, a former member of the Germantown Minyan.   We had mutual friends and spoke briefly; it wasn't until we re-met a year and half later at an interhavurah retreat at Fellowship Farm that Ruth and I began dating.

GJC has so many memories for our family:  Ruth and I were married there in 1983 (even though neither of us was living in Phila at the time -- thanks, minyan friends!) and Gabe's bar mitzah, and the bnai mitzvah of his brothers...

We are glad to have a community to share many parts of the life cycle and calendar cycle with.  May we all be blessed to share many simchas.

Bob Tabak and Ruth Loew

Welcome Matriarchs!

After a thoughtful process in response to a Davar Torah by Rev. Will Gaffney, Minyan Dorshei Derekh has begun an experimental phase of including our two additional matriarchs, Bilhah and Zilpah.  Inclusion is the option of the shaliach tsibur.  Click on the image to read it in a larger size.

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.