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How is it possibly time for Passover already? Slow down, 2018! For some of us, spring inspires cleaning, while others look forward to the start of baseball. Of course, for our Jewish community, spring signals endless boxes of matzah. The first night of Passover is March 30th. Will you be having a Passover Seder at your home? See our Jewish Holiday Spotlight to see how you can shake up your Seder with a bit of staged drama. If you are interested in finding a community Seder to attend, either on your own or with your kids, I am happy to connect you to some local options.

Camp Mountain Chai_newSpring also brings the return of SJSP Family Camp Weekend! We’ll be heading  to Camp Mountain Chai April 13-15, 2018. And this year, we are happy to be sharing the campsite, meals, and services with families from JCC’s PJ Library and Ohr Shalom Synagogue. We’ll still be sure to carve out special opportunities for our single-parent families to connect. I hope you can join us for this fantastic weekend! Click here for camp registration information. 

Speaking of camp, have you started thinking about summer camp options for your child(ren) yet? Jewish day camp and sleep-away camp are great opportunities for your kids to become more engaged with their Judaism and the Jewish community. SJSP is happy to again offer needs-based financial assistance for Jewish summer camp this year. Funding is limited and past assistance does not guarantee future assistance. Please email me for more information about application process and qualifications. 

I hope to see you and your children soon. Feel free to contact me anytime if I can help with resources or referrals.  

Happy Passover!

malissa_winicki_signature

Malissa Winicki
Manager, Family Connections and Community Engagement
malissaw@jfssd.org | (858) 637-3328

In this issue:

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SJSP: Discussion Group (Now Meeting on Sunday)

What is it?

  • Meet with other Jewish single parents encountering the issues, challenges, and triumphs of raising a child on their own.  
  • Snacks provided and a Child Activity Program is available.
  • Newcomers welcome! 

Sunday, March 11, 2018 | 1:30 - 3:30pm – San Diego 
JFS - JOAN & IRWIN JACOBS CAMPUS 
8788 Balboa Avenue, San Diego 92123 

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 | 6:00 - 7:30pm – North County 
Temple Solel 
3575 Manchester Avenue, Cardiff by the Sea 92007 
Meet in the smaller social hall. 

*Space is limited - RSVP to Malissa Winicki at (858) 637-3328 or malissaw@jfssd.org.

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Volunteer with JFS

Dianne White shoppingVolunteer with the Hand Up Food Pantry
The Hand Up Food Pantry at JFS feeds hundreds of homeless and hungry individuals and families each month. You can help alleviate hunger by conducting a food drive in your school, business, group, or congregation! We’ll provide you with everything you need, including flyers and food bins. Volunteers are also needed in the pantry to sort through donations, stock the shelves, and assemble food bags for distribution. 
Two Sundays a month, volunteers are invited to participate in military food distributions. Click here to view the complete list of opportunities and start your Hand Up volunteer application.  

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JFS Employment and Career Services

Career Kick-start 
March 6, 9, 13, 15, 2018 | 9:00am-12:00pm

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Jewish Family Service
JOAN & IRWIN JACOBS CAMPUS
Turk Family Center
8804 Balboa Avenue
San Diego 92123

Do you feel stuck in your job search? Are you ready to take the steps to move into the career you’ve always wanted? Do you want professional career guidance to get you started? Kick your job search into high gear with JFS Employment & Career Services' intensive, two-week course designed for people actively looking for employment. Register>>

 

2018 Gala


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Jewish Holiday Spotlight: Passover 

Passover Begins with the First Seder on Friday, March 30th

“Who lives, who dies, who tells our story ...”

You might recognize these words from the musical “Hamilton” but they apply as well to our upcoming Passover holiday. Will you be having a Passover Seder (which means ‘order’) at your home, or attending one? During our Seder, we tell the Passover story – how the Jewish people went from slavery to freedom – a story that has lots of drama, sadness and joy, just like the story of Alexander Hamilton. However, the Seder is the oldest theatrically produced meal known to humankind. The first Passover feast is described in the Bible, in Exodus, chapter 12.

Passover plateIn telling the Passover story during the Seder, we have something very special to help us with the story’s elements – special foods we eat only during Passover. Here is a listing of the symbolic foods that help us tell the Passover story: 

Matzah: This non-rising bread baked quickly, recalls that the Jews fleeing Egypt had no time to wait for their bread to rise and to bake it properly.

Salt water represents the bitter tears shed during the years of slavery and the water needed in the spring to make things grow.

Grated horseradish, bitter herbs or romaine lettuce are a reminder of the bitterness of slavery.

Roasted shankbone (sometimes the bone of a chicken leg is subsituted) symbolizes the ancient sacrificial lamb of the Passover service and the rebirth of nature in the spring.

A mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine or grape juice represents the mortar used by Jewish slaves to build pyramids for Egypt’s pharaohs  

Parsley or other available greens recalls the green of the spring and the renewal of faith and hope.

A hardboiled egg which is browned by roasting or putting under a flame, represents life, continuity as well as being a special offering during Temple times.

Alexander Hamilton’s story is 242 years old. If you’re lucky you saw “Hamilton” told on stage, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Our story of Passover and the Jewish people is 3000 years old. We are fortunate to tell the Passover story every year at a meal as old as the Bible and, through symbolic foods, we are able to experience it as well. We hope you and your family will keep this ancient story going and will tell our story of the Jewish people at a Seder during the wonderful Passover holiday.

It may come as no surprise that there are plenty Hamilton inspired Passover resources just waiting to increase the drama of your seder. Check out Haggadot.com or this Hamilton Haggadah for more inspiration.

If you would like more information about celebrating Passover in your home please contact Malissa at malissaw@jfssd.org and she can put you in touch with additional resources.

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March 4, 2018
Academy Awards/Oscars Night

Much like the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards is a night that many people throw a party to watch. Need Oscar ballot for everyone? You can print this one. Which movies and actors are you rooting for?

Festival of ScienceMarch 3-11, 2018  
San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering 2018  
The Biocom Institute Festival of Science and Engineering is a ten-day educational experience including interactive demonstrations, hands-on activities and dynamic speakers to engage kids and families in all that encompasses STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The week kicks off with its largest event EXPO Day (March 3, 2018) at PETCO Park. EXPO Day is free and open to the public. Hundreds of community businesses and organizations will participate in EXPO Day in addition to over 60 programs and events that will follow throughout the week all throughout the county of San Diego. More than 75,000 kids, parents, teachers, industry leaders and community members are anticipated to attend during Festival Week. Click here for more information

March 8, 2018 
International Working Women's Day 

Whether you are working inside or outside the home, this is a day that we salute you! Thank you to all the moms, caregivers and relatives who keep our lives running smoothly. Don’t forget to take time for yourself with a day off from all your duties.  

March 8, 2018 | 7:00pm 
Help Save a Woman's Life ... Maybe Your Own! – Temple Solel
Ovarian Cancer is no longer the “silent killer.” There ARE symptoms. There ARE risk factors. However, there is no test for the early detection of this cancer ... your symptoms may be the only clue that something is terribly wrong. Do you know what those symptoms are? The Ovarian Cancer Alliance of San Diego’s HEAR (Hope Experience Awareness Risks) program will make you aware of these symptoms and risk factors when you attend their presentation. You will hear amazing inspirational stories from ovarian cancer survivors, (and yes, you will even find yourself laughing at times during the program!) You will also learn information that can save your life or the life of a woman you love. Click here for more information

The Great Inflatable RaceMarch 10, 2018 | 9:00am 
The Great Inflatable Race San Diego

The Great Inflatable Race is a fun run with inflatable obstacles spread throughout the running course. You and your friends will feel like kids again as you jump, dive and bounce on our custom-designed inflatables. Get fit, support a good cause and create epic memories that will last you a lifetime. So, what are you waiting for? Join the Bounciest Fun Run on Earth! The whole family can join in. Click here to register.

March 12-14, 2018 | 7:00pm
Jacob Goldberg Lecture Series - JCC 

Don’t miss Professor Goldberg’s unique ability to synthesize the state of middle east affairs. Professor Jacob Goldberg (Ph.D from Harvard University in Middle East politics) was a former Senior Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.  March 12th topic: A New Middle East landscape – Arab Decline and Ascendance of Iran. March 13th topic: Can Saudi Arabia lead Sunni-Arabs against Shiite-Iran? Will the US join? March 14th topic: Israel at 70: Strategic Challenges, Domestic Polarization and a Thriving Economy. Click here to register and for pricing information.

March 15, 2018 | 6:30-8:00pm
Passover Step-by-Step - Congregation Beth Israel 
Experience the rituals, traditions, foods and music of Passover in this hands-on workshop led by Rabbi Cantor Arlene Bernstein. Learn how to lead a Seder and take home a booklet complete with recipes and songs to use at home. No fee, but please RSVP below at least one week in advance. For more information contact Program Director Ilene Tatro at itatro@cbisd.org or call (858) 535-1111, ext. 516

National Puppy DayMarch 23, 2018
National Puppy Day! 
If there was ever a holiday that everyone could get behind, this may be it! It is a special day to recognize the unconditional love puppies give us, and the joy they bring into our lives. It should come as no surprise, that one of the goals of National Puppy Day, is to encourage us to adopt puppies. Even if your pup is an adult, they are still puppies at heart, give them some extra love today. 

March 29, 2018 | 1:10pm
San Diego Padres Opening Day - Petco Park 
It’s finally back! A sure sign that spring is upon us is the crack of the bat and getting to the ballpark to take in a game. Baseball starts again on March 29th and the Padres are home playing against the Milwaukee Brewers. The giveaway is “opening day hat.” Many kids are on spring break and if you can sneak out of work early, check out the opening day fun! Click here for more information.

Every Sunday - House of Israel – FREE!
Visit this showcase of Israeli culture, history, and innovation in the heart of Balboa Park. Click here for more information.

Sign Up to be a Host Family – Hands of Peace
Hands of Peace, a unique interfaith program developing peace-building and leadership skills in Israeli, Palestinian, and American teens through the power of dialogue and personal relationships, is accepting applications for host families. The program takes place from July 11 - 30, at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad. Apply NOW to be a host family by filling out an online application at www.handsofpeace.org. For questions, contact Sarah Heirendt at (559) 999-7066 or sheirendt@handsofpeace.org.

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Fun Passover Art Project 

Use this easy step-by-step project to make your own no-sew Afikoman bag. It's easy and fun!

Items needed:  

  • 2 sheets of 9x12 felt (usally found at your local craft store) 
  • Pinking shears or regular scissors 
  • Hot glue gun or any kind of crafting glue - just keep in mind that crafting glue takes longer to dry.  
  • Buttons and sequins for decorating 
  • Puff pain (typically shelved with the decorative painting supplies at your local craft store) 

Directions:

Afikoman1  To create the fold-over envelop flap: fold over the top edges until they meet in the middle.
 Afikoman2 You can pin a pin at the fold or just use your eye to cut along the fold line.  
 Afikoman3 Then take your second sheet of felt and line it up at the bottom of your fold-over flap. This will leave an excess of 4 inches at the bottom which you will need to trip off. You remaining envelope will be 8×9 inches big (not including the fold-over flap), the perfect size to fit a slice of matza!
 Afikoman4 Now it’s time to glue your pieces together to create an envelope! Glue a bead of hot glue along the sides and bottom (bottom not shown).

If you are using a hot glue gun, you will have to work quickly. Also, do not let children use the hot glue gun, and make sure the glue is completely cooled before you let them decorate. If you are using other crafting glue, you have more time to glue and position your pieces, but you’ll need to let your envelope dry for an hour or two so that is will hold securely before you let children handle it. 

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Now it’s time to decorate!  Some sequins and decorative jewels come with a peel-off backing. If you don’t have that kind just use a small dab of puff paint to hold them. Use your puff paint to create swirls and stars and even the word Afikoman. Just make sure to let your puff paint dry overnight before you go hiding it somewhere where the paint might smear off and make a mess.

Happy Afikoman Searching!

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