News & Shmooze

Reservations are now open for our big Purim bash featuring a buffet dinner with delicious Italian cuisine, masquerading, a multi-media enhanced Megillah reading and lots of fun for all ages!

Italian Flavored Purim Festa will be held on Sunday, March 16, 5:30 pm at the Comfort Suites hotel in Webster.

For more information or to RSVP:

www.JBayArea.org 
[email protected] | 713-398-2460 

Cost: Individual $10, Family $36
Be a Sponsor: $72, $180, $360

Join us next week, Saturday, March 8, for a Shabbat morning service and Kiddush lunch.

Service at 10:00 am followed by Torah discussion and buffet Kiddush lunch.

To RSVP: [email protected] or 713-398-2460.

Come out this Sunday for the Houston Kosher Chili Cookoff!
Sunday, March 2, 2014 from 11:00 am to 3:00pm
At the ERJCC on Braeswood.

This year’s event is expected to be even more successful with more cooking teams and vendors in attendance.

The beneficiaries for 2014 will be:
• Aishel House - www.aishelhouse.org
• ERJCC Meals on Wheels - www.erjcchouston.org/seniors/meals-on-wheels
• JFS Free Loan Association - www.jfshouston.org/

This event is all about bringing the Jewish Community together for a day of food, fun and festivities as well as to raise funds for important non-profit organizations. This year’s event promises to be the biggest kosher chili cookoff in the state: More teams, more vendors, more entertainment and more children’s activities. 

Visit www.HoustonKosherChiliCookoff.com for additional information.

With Purim only weeks away, excitement is building for the annual Chabad of the Bay Area Purim party! This year's party, 'Italian Flavored Purim Festa' will be held on Sunday, March 16, 5:30 pm at the Comfort Suites hotel in Webster.

The event will feature:

• A delicious buffet dinner
• Animated Megillah reading
• Come in Costume and win a prize
• Hands-on Purim craft
• Family Game Show 

For more information or to RSVP:

www.JBayArea.org 
[email protected] | 713-398-2460 

Cost: Individual $10, Family $36
Be a Sponsor: $72, $180, $360 

Last week's Bay Area Shabbaton was a huge success! Over 40 people gathered to enjoy a delicious Shabbat dinner together and hear a talk by Judge Sara Goldberg, Esq,  who entertained and inspired her listeners with her talk, 'A Jewess in the Judiciary'.

The Shabbat evening program was followed up by a Shabbat day program featuring services, a Parsha discussion and a refreshing Kiddush lunch! 

Gather over some coffee and cake for an informal discussion on the weekly Torah portion.  Casual, social setting, no prior Torah knowledge necessary!

Led by Malky Schmukler 

Wednesdays, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
RSVP: [email protected] or 713-398-2460

Free of charge 

This Sunday, February 23, 2014, hundreds of youth and adults from across Houston will walk for The Friendship Circle, a local organization that helps children with special needs. The walk will kick off at 2:00 pm from the J.F.S. on Braeswood, and make its way to the Beth Yeshurun Pulaski Rauch Auditorium for a fair, rides, food and a BMX stunt show. The fair is from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.

Visit www.houstonfriendshipwalk.com for more information.

Exclusive news scoop, stop the presses!

According to well-placed inside sources who've asked not to be named, the theme for this year's Chabad of the Bay Area Purim party will be... 

PURIM FESTA: An Italian flavored Purim party featuring a delicious dinner and fun for the whole family!

The beautiful PURIM FESTA card is said to be arriving in Bay Area mailboxes over the next week, so keep an eye out for them!

Be sure to save the date:

Sunday, March 16, 2014 at 5:30 pm to be held at the Comfort Suites hotel in Webster.

Ladies, take a break from the hustle and bustle for a bit of Jewish rejuvenation! 

Women's Parsha Roundtable is launching this week! 

Gather over some coffee and cake for an informal discussion on the weekly Torah portion. Casual, social setting, no prior Torah knowledge necessary!

Wednesdays, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Starting February 19th
Led by Malky Schmukler

RSVP: [email protected] or 713-398-2460

Invite your friends to join you! 

Our very own Rabbi Yitzchok Schmukler will be presenting this Sunday at the Yom Limmud, the community wide day of learning in Houston.

His talk will be at 2:00 pm on the topic of: 

One small step for your body, one giant leap for your soul:
A Kabbalistic look at why the actions of mere mortals matter so much in G-d’s Universe.

For more about Yom Limmud see here. 

If you've upgraded your laptop and no longer need your old one -

Chabad of the Bay Area is in need of a laptop computer. As long as it is in decent working condition and can run a recent version of Windows, it would work for us!

Please contact Rabbi Yitzchok Schmukler, [email protected] or 713-398-2460. 

Shabbaton Schedule for tonight and tomorrow:

FRIDAY:
Candle Lighting 5:45 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat Service 6:00 pm
Kiddush & Dinner 6:30 pm

SHABBAT DAY:
Kabbalah & Coffee 9:00 am
Shacharit Morning Service 9:45 am
Buffet Kiddush Lunch 12:15 pm

If you have not yet reserved, please do so ASAP:
www.JBayArea.org/rsvp or by calling 713-398-2460

Suggested donation (for evening dinner):
Adult $18, Child $10, Sponsors: $72, $180, $360.

Join us next week, Friday, February 14 for the BAY AREA Shabbaton, featuring a delicious, full-course dinner and a talk by Houston's YOUNGEST JUDGE, the Honorable Sara Goldberg.

• Dinner at 6:30 pm
• (Preceded by Candle Lighting at 5:45 pm and Kabbalat Shabbat / Welcoming the Shabbat service at 6:00 pm)
• Also: Shabbat morning service & lunch (see website)

Another exciting Purim celebration is being planned. Be sure to save the date so you don't miss any of the fun! Sunday, March 16, 2014 at 5:30 pm to be held at the Comfort Suites hotel in Webster.

Gather over some coffee and cake for an informal discussion on the weekly Torah portion. Casual, social setting, no prior Torah knowledge necessary!

Wednesdays, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Starting February 19th
Led by Malky Schmukler

RSVP: [email protected] or 713-398-2460

A record turnout of close to two dozen students are participating in the JLI course which started up this week (in Clear Lake & Galveston). The acclaimed course, To Be a Jew in the Free World, looks to recent Jewish history to gain perspectives on navigating the unique challenges and opportunities that we face today as Jews.

This is a six-week course, so it is not too late to join in! Show up at the next class to try it out, or sign up by contacting our offices, or visiting www.MyJLI.com.

The Bay Area Jewish Women's Circle event, 'Feel Beautiful: Inside & Out', was held this week, and a great time was had by all! Participants enjoyed learning beauty tips from professional make-up artist, Rivki, and discovered the three character traits that are at the foundation of spiritual inner beauty from Malky Schmukler.