The CBH Blog

CBH's 2021 virtual spiel brought together some of the greatest hits of spiels past to tell the Purim story.

By Vincent Kahwaty

Members of the CBH community embarked on a Tu B’Shevat hike at South Mountain Reservation.  We met at Hawk Hill and began our journey to celebrate “the birthday of the trees” that occurs each year on the 15th of the month of Shevat.  

Social distancing? You bet! Everyone kept at least 6 feet apart with masks on at all times, even when chatting.

The hike was truly beautiful.  We got to see some amazing sights including an area where the path went through a thick grove of Norway spruce trees.

All in all, the hike was one to remember, and seeing some familiar faces -- or just other faces in general -- was all we needed to have a good time. The hike ended just as the first snowflakes of  winter storm Orlena began to fall.  

By Vincent Kahwaty 

On a chilly December Sunday morning, the teens and group leaders of the CBH River Health Monitoring Committee braved the cold to head over to Stanley Park for a health check of the Passaic River.  Their task was to observe and log information about specific aspects of the river environment to make sure that it can accommodate a wide variety of wildlife species.

Jackson Levine, Nate and Joe Laposky, and committee leaders Helene Goldfarb and Stephanie Tran took notes on water pollution, sewage, water speed, aquatic vegetation (including algae growth), man-made structures in or around the banks of the river, and assessed the erosion of both the left and right banks. 

The group logged their observations and compared them to previous records.  In the spring and summer months, the team will return to the river and collect samples to test and submit to the Great Swamp Association of Water Monitoring, who then send a report to the Department of...

At Shabbat services tonight, we celebrated Hanukkah. 

We started off by all lighting our menorah's together. It was a veritable  Menorah Palooza!

Then, we shared our Hanukkah memories. You can find them here: https://padlet.com/zacharykaplanwork/w27iy2pbf2vl2pya

Finally, Andy made a video where congregants sent in their own verses. 

It was a great time!

A DIY menorah that shows good things can happen when you play with your food.

Another idea to bring a little extra meaning to Hanukkah: Make a gratitude journal to remind you of the things large and small that you appreciate.

A DIY menorah you can bake and use!

It's a menorah, and it's delicious! Margie explains.

This DIY menorah is more for noshing than for lighting. An easy, fun Hanukkah activity for the whole family.

Make a beautiful menorah with easy-to-find materials.