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THE WARREN-WATCHUNG CONNECTION
SEPT/OCT/NOV 2017
Congregation Knesseth Israel First-Year Dues Special: $180 for families $90 for individuals Includes High Holiday tickets Affiliate Memberships available at reduced rates for those with primary memberships at other synagogues. Includes High Holiday tickets and access to religious school enrollment. Rabbi Jack Kramer Cantor Eddie Roffman 229 Mountain Avenue, Bound Brook, NJ 08805 732-469-0934 info@ckibbnj.org Calendar of events & more info at: www.ckibbnj.org Rosh Hashanah Sept. 20: 7:30 pm Sept. 21 & 22: 9:30 am Services are open to all on Sept. 22 — no tickets required Yom Kippur Sept. 29: 6:30 pm - Kol Nidre Sept. 30: 9:30 am WORSHIP WITH US AT THE HIGH HOLIDAYS Junior Congregation services at 10:30 am Sept. 21 & 30. Babysitting available Sept 21 & 30. Please call the temple office for tickets & details. CKI’s RELIGIOUS SCHOOL offers individual Bar/Bat Mitzvahs where your child can shine! Contact school@ckibbnj.org for more information and to register for the 2017-18 year. ĂŶ /ŶĐůƵƐŝǀĞ ŽŵŵƵŶŝƚLJ ĞĐŽŵĞ ƉĂƌƚ ŽĨ ŽƵƌ ƚĞŵƉůĞ ĨĂŵŝůLJ Ăƚ " # " ! ! $ % ( ( # % # % ( " " " " " " " ! # % ! # % $ ( &''& # # " # # No doubt there are many jokes that start with this sort of question. This is the story of one of them. Some people might find religious ori- ented jokes offensive so we’ll just call it “The Joke” (although based on what we see on television and social media, it seems tame by today’s stan- dards). If you want to hear it, then write to me at The Connection and I will be happy to share it with you. In the winter of 1970, I signed on to be the drama counselor at a sum- mer camp for the upcoming season. A few months later, I stopped by the house of some long-time friends to see their teenage son, David, who would be a camper. I wanted to see if David would be willing to take a lead role in a play I would be direct- ing that summer. When I arrived, David was on an errand so I visited with his father for a few minutes awaiting his return. His father was a Rabbi and Professor at The Hebrew Union College where Reform Rabbis are educated and ordained. I thought he would enjoy The Joke. It was obvious that he did not, although he was kind enough to let it pass without any reaction, as he took a slow draw on a small cigar and changed the topic. I lost touch with David when he went off to college and I moved away for work. He too became a Rabbi. As many young Rabbis do, he moved from smaller to larger congre- gations around the United States. His name would come up from time to time. At one point, he was the spiri- tual leader for a congregation in Portland, Maine, where good friends of ours worshipped. Following in his father’s footsteps, he left the congregational world to focus on interfaith and interreligious relationships. A couple of years ago, he became the Director of Interfaith Affairs at the ADL (Anti-Defamation League). I saw on Linkedin that he was based in New York City. After over a year of trying to make our schedules fit, I met him for a cup of coffee (less than two weeks before he would relocate to New England with the ADL). As we were catching up I men- tioned to David that over 45 years ago I had told his father a joke that I don’t think he liked very much. I then began to tell David The Joke. David started smiling halfway through my delivery. David knew The Joke. However, he told me he had no idea that his father knew The Joke nor that I had told his father any jokes, let alone The Joke. David then said, “I actually use The Joke as an ice breaker when I am kicking off events around the world to interfaith groups and I am not joking with you now.” DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT THE PRIEST AND THE RABBI? By: Dan Rosenberg www.theconnectionsnj.com