It is with great joy and "simchah" that the Library Minyan welcomes our new Simchah Coordinator, Fran Grossman. In this role, Fran will reach out in advance to families or individuals who are planning to celebrate bar and bat mitvahs, aufrufs or other major smachot with the Library Minyan, provide guidance and information regarding Minyan practices and policies, and coordinate with the gabayim and others. We also thank Bill Seligman, our outgoing Simchah Coordinator, for the dedication, knowledge, and hard work he put into this role for several years. 

Our inaugural Library Minyan Ice Cream Social on Saturday night, November 10, was a great success! After a friendly havdalah circle, Francine and Michael Farkas led us in a guitar-strumming sing-along of American folk and pop songs, Allan Kokin got us roaring with his stand-up comedy routine (much of which I dare not repeat here), and Rabbi Ari Lucas and Rabbinic Intern Uri Allen topped off the evening with an Israeli sing-a-long, all served up over heaping helpings of ice cream and toppings. Over the course of a few fun-filled hours, we got to know our fellow Minyan folk (especially Allan Kokin) much, much better! Special thanks to our merry “MC,” Mike Cohn (get it?), as well as Rabbi Lucas, Uri, Francine, Michael, and Allan. Yeshar koach to Rebecca Friedman for arranging the event, putting together song sheets, buying food and table decorations, etc. etc! And todah rabah to all who attended for your singing, laughter, and good conversation! Surely, we must do this again!