Monday, March 23, 2015

Hamburgers, Hotdogs, and Haggadahs


Our first ever YISE youth non-youth event, “Hamburgers, Hotdogs, and Haggadahs” had a wonderful turnout. We had adults come out from a variety of different shuls to join in the learning of new ways to enhance their sedarim for their children/grandchildren this upcoming year. Between Rabbi Rosenbaum, Rabbi Silver, and me, guests shared that they got to learn about the emotional/spiritual connection to the seder through the 4 sons/4 cups/4 questions, gained a deeper connection to the ten plagues, and learned how to take a hands on approach to the décor and activities at the seder.

Participants eagerly took notes and listened attentively during this 1 hour round robin event. In addition to the learning, everyone enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner. Special thanks go out to Rabbi Rosenbaum, Rabbi Silver, Josh and Mickie Breitstein, Adina Obstfeld, Yitz Sandberg, Tuvia and Carol Lazar, and the office and maintenance staff for all of their help before and at this event. I could not have done this without them. I would also like to thank all of the people that came out 2 weeks before pesach to make their sedarim more meaningful! As always, if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email me at bkugler@yise.org. If you have any ideas for sedarim that you would like to share, please add them in the comments section below!

Monday, March 2, 2015

YISE/KMS Community Purim Extravaganza!!!


A little bit of snow did not stop roughly 300 people from pouring into the KMS social hall for our KMS/YISE Community Purim Extravaganza! Upon arrival, children and their parents were greeted by 3 huge inflatables (bounce house, pirate ship, and game center), multiple carnival games (Big Popper, Froggy Flyer, Skeeball, etc...), face painting, hamantaschen baking, mask making, and card decorating. Additionally, a large group of younger children gathered in the youth beit midrash for a purim story (Barnyard Purim) and a sing-along with local talent, Daniel Siesser.
 
Throughout the event, people got to enjoy cotton candy, a variety of snacks, and mingling with each other.  There was a wave of excitement every time another raffle winner got called over the microphone, and the music got everyone in the mood for the upcoming chag! We could not have done any of this without the efforts and happy smiles on the faces of our teen volunteers who greeted each person with a smile, and helped all of the children to have fun in a safe environment.  KMS was an incredibly gracious host, and we look forward to hosting them next year when the community carnival shifts over to YISE.