(Courtesy of Cong. Netivot Shalom) Congregation Netivot Shalom will host its annual dinner on Saturday night, March 9, at 8:00 p.m. at the Fair Lawn Jewish Center. During the event, Lew Michelson and the Community Security Service (CSS) team will be honored with the Sema Heller Memorial Award. Jonathan and Sarah Dauber will receive the Service Award.
“Unfortunately, this year synagogue security has been on everyone’s mind,” said Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot, spiritual leader of Netivot Shalom. “We are grateful that Netivot Shalom has a committed team of CSS volunteers in place thanks to Lew Michelson and dozens of our members who have stepped up and put aside their personal comfort to help protect our community. We are also grateful to long-time members of Netivot Shalom, Jonathan and Sarah Dauber, who have worked with great devotion and dedication, for many years, on many committees and programs to help enhance our shul.”
Netivot Shalom’s CSS team was formed in late 2014 when several members of the congregation simultaneously decided that the shul was too vulnerable and addressed this by taking turns standing outside. Within months, the first group of volunteers completed a 12-week intensive CSS training course. Michelson, a New York City public school teacher who has been a member of Netivot Shalom since 2014, was tapped as the CSS team manager. Since the team’s founding others have signed up and received training, and now 23 current and four past members are being honored for their service to the community. Michelson and the CSS team have focused on improving security while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere, both of which are important values to the congregation.
Jonathan and Sarah Dauber have been active members of Netivot Shalom since moving to Teaneck in 2006. Jonathan, an associate professor of Jewish mysticism at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University, has been a member of the education committee for many years, and served as its chair from 2015-2017. He takes special pride in organizing the Shavuot all-night learning program each year. He has also been an active member of the CSS team since its inception, and currently serves on the shiva committee.
Sarah, a research psychologist at the Center on Addiction in New York City, has served on the youth committee, social committee, strategic planning committee and the nominating committee. She chaired the social committee for two years and especially enjoyed hosting the shul bake sale during that time. For the past two years, Sarah has been co-chair of the chesed committee.
For more information about the dinner or to make a reservation, visit netivotshalomnj.org/dinner.�
