Gentlemen - first off, my apologies for the length of time between now and my last communique - it's been a crazy few weeks not helped by the fact that I was involved at the receiving-end of a 3-car pileup on 880 last week. I'm pretty much ok - banged up, but mobile thanks to some rest and Vicodin. A few more days and hopefully I'll be back to my normal self. :)
With that said, let's launch into a few items, shall we?
The recent Diaspora Dinner was a remarkable success - Brotherhood cleared more than $3000 profit from this sold-out extravaganza - thank you to all who participated as Chefs, servers and guests! We were originally scheduled to have another Dinner on March 22, but have decided to postpone it until May due to our Chefs being out that weekend and there are no other available Saturday nights between now and May 31.
However, your ever-enterprising co-prez has come up with an alternate event that I am very excited about - on March 22, we are planning a New York City Jewish night, complete with a Jazz (or Klezmer) band, dancing, a movie focused on the joys of Jewish New York City projected in 120"+ of full throbbing colour, and food. Oh yes- there will be food - I'm thinking of remaking the homemade Pastrami that was such a hit at the New York City Diaspora Dinner, as well as the homemade pickles from that same dinner and several other items. Of course, appropriate beverages from the City such as Dr. Brown's soda and more will also be available. We may also have a comedian, we will see how that pans out.
Cost for this evening of New York bliss will be $20 for Brotherhood members and $25 for non-Brotherhood members. We could definitely use some help the night of in the kitchen - nothing fancy, just people to slice meat, assemble sandwiches, and help clean up. If you are interested in attending as a guest (or helping in the kitchen/serving), please email me via reply to this message. An event like this will be fun, give our Diaspora Dinner chefs a much-deserved break and still let Brotherhood make (we hope) a good profit.
Next Saturday is of course our Distinguished Speaker, Mr. Curtis Sliwa, founder of The Guardian Angels and a nationally recognized speaker. Mr. Sliwa will be talking about the gang problems facing San Jose (and most other cities across the nation) and will be joined by members of the Mayor's Anti-Gang Task Force for a roundtable discussion. I have just confirmed that Ms. Cora Tomalinas - a member of the PACT (People Acting in Community Together) steering committee and the Mayor's Anti-Gang Task Force, will be joining us. As you may know, Brotherhood is helping to pay for Temple Emanu-El's first year of PACT membership and we are honoured Ms. Tomalinas is joining us. We expect at least 1-2 additional local diginitaries onstage as well.
I have heard back only from a few members as to their plans to attend this event - I ask with the greatest respect and hope that you will see fit to attend this free, and historic discussion. Please do email me if you plan to attend and have not yet done so - it is the only way we an know how much food/drink to have at the reception afterwards and this is an extremely important event for Brotherhood. I hope you will attend - it is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 7:00 PM in the Sanctuary.
I am happy to report that Brotherhood, once again in cooperation with the Stanford Blood Center, will be hosting a blood drive on Sunday, February 24, from 8:45 AM to 12:30 PM in our large social hall.
Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. Go to the Stanford Blood Center website at https://www.membersforlife.org/stanford/mobilesch/login.php?target= , (enter your email address and date of birth and follow the prompts to pick your time). Appointments will be given priority - you can also call the office to set an appointment.
Lox and bagels and juice will be provided to help you regain your strength! Give the gift that only you can give. Requirements: at least 17 years of age, weigh at least 110 pounds, free of cold and flu symptoms. Eat before donating and drink LOTS of fluids. Bring photo ID. There are some circumstances under which potential donors will be deferred. Each unit donated is divided into various parts (red blood cells, plasma, etc.) and can provide life-giving support for more than one recipient. Help us reach our goal of 85 visitors - many thanks to Philip Schwarz for taking point on this important event! If you can't give blood, we could also use some volunteers to help those giving blood with bagels, juice, etc. Please email Phil directly if you can give an hour of time for this - his email is <email removed>.
Lastly, the Brotherhood Dinner Club will get back on track February 21 (yes, it's next Wednesday night) with dinner at a local Korean restaurant, serving amazing 'grill at the table' beef, called bulgoki. It's cooked over real charcoal and is frankly better than any bulgoki I had in Seoul - the cuisine is wonderful, non-threatening and very, very good. If you like beef, teriyaki and garlic - this is your kind of meal. :) Email me if you would like to attend - map is here:
http://siliconvalley.citysearch.com/profile/map/1083377/santa_clara_ca/korean_spring_bar_be_que.html
You basically turn onto Kiley from El Camino Real towards Stevens Creek Boulevard - at the corner of Benton on your right, there is a 7-11 and a small Korean strip mall. Turn into that and it's in there.
That's it for now - many thanks to you all for your continued support.
cheers, J (co-prez) H
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