Sisterhood Hanukkah Lunch

Temple New Jerusalem Congregation Newsletter • Vol. 3 Issue 3 • Winter 2013 www.TempleNJ.org

Word From the Rabbi mazingly, the first day of Ha- interestingly, Thanksgiving, which is a nukkah this year coincided feast based on giving thanks to God, has with Thanksgiving day. So, always been a holiday that is near and Amany people called the holiday “Thanks- dear to the Jewish heart. givukkah.” It is an extremely rare con- In my home, growing up as a kid, vergence. Thanksgiving was almost like a Passover Many people think of Hanukkah as the seder. Our house was filled with Jewish “Jewish Christmas,” but that’s really not family and friends. We went around the a good comparison in terms of the history table and each one of us gave a shpiel and meaning of the holiday. It is because about what we were thankful for. Contents the date is so close to Christmas that it is often thought of this way, which is why Jewish Connection Word from the Rabbi .. 1 the tradition of gift giving on Hanukkah Why do Jews connect with the feast of began in America. Thanksgiving? On Thanksgiving, Amer- A Personal Note ...... 2 icans celebrate the freedom God gave to Teenz Corner ...... 3 Freedom and Thanksgiving the Pilgrims who were fleeing the reli- Actually, Hanukkah is all about two gious persecution of Europe when they Tribez Report ...... 4 things “freedom” and “giving thanks.” came as pioneers to settle in America. Recipes ...... 8 So how awesome that it coincided this Meanwhile, Hanukkah is a festival of year with Thanksgiving! freedom - a time to give thanks to Maoz News ...... 9 While Jews traditionally do not partici- Tzur, the “Rock of Ages,” for delivering Calendar ...... 10 pate in traditional Christian holidays, the Jews from the religious persecution

Contact Info: Temple New Jerusalem 1190 E. Lake Rd. S. Tarpon Springs, FL 34688 Phone: 727.940.5886 Fax: 727.940.5887 [email protected]

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continued on page 6 A Personal Note “Appreciation with Love” Trust in the Lord

ur God is great and other words, wait until you can rec- “Come on, talk to me and let’s work mighty. He is so mar- ognize that which is right for you. this challenge out together!” velous that we cannot even begin to compre- Let’s Be Clear Be Born Again O God and His word through His son hend His supreme love, direction In the Bible, we are told that God and guidance He has for each one wants us to prove Him and prove are one in the same. of us. His word. Let’s take a closer look “Ask and it shall be given, seek and This applies on a personal level to at what this means and what Scrip- you will find, knock and the door each of us. He knows all of our de- tures back it up. will be open unto you ...” ( Matthew sires and hears all of our prayers. “Present your case,” the Lord says. 7:7) It is comforting to know that we are “Bring forward your strong argu- Claim your healing, claim financial taken care of all the time. Even when ments ...” (Isaiah 41:21) prosperity, claim your son or daugh- we see fit to think otherwise. It’s very clear that He wants us to ter as a child of the living God, speak Do you believe that God is trustwor- present to Him our case, to present life to your body to regenerate. thy and He is who He says He is? the evidence as to why He will do If you are born again, washed in the 1 Thessalonians 5:21 is a marvelous what He says He’ll do. blood of Yeshua (Jesus) and by faith bit of wisdom. “But test and prove As a reminder, we are to reason commit and believe in all His ways, all things; what is good hold fast.” In with God in all things. He’s saying, continued on page 6 Teenz Corner Temple Temple TheR Skinny

emple Teenz will celebrate Ha- nukkah on Friday, December 6th, with a pizza party, dreidel games, making and #crystalclearwater lighting menorahs, and a discussion about what

T Hanukkah means and what the lighting of each

candle means. Teenz

Teenz recently ﬁ nished a series on “My Heart* - Christ’s Home”. The series was just awesome and Yeshua went into each room of the home of each Teen and did some house cleaning. If you have not read this, you must. It takes a good look at your life and helps you clean things up. #kayakingfun * On Saturday, October 19, the Teenz enjoyed

a canoeing trip. We journeyed down Weeki Wa- Ch chee River on a three-hour excursion. We enjoyed seeing manatees, ﬁ sh and swimming in the cold crystal-clear water. It was a fun trip for all! We are eck-In so blessed to have these amazing Teenz. * Ruthie Stepakoff will be leaving our Temple Teenz group in January, as she will be heading off to Florida State University. We are going to miss her, but we are excited for her as she starts a new journey in her life. Lisa Demo has already started college and visits us when she comes home #teenzrule on weekends. Please keep both girls in prayer.

The Teenz will head to Celebration Station on* Thursday, January 2, 2014, from 4-8 p.m. The cost is $10. Must have permission signed before attending. This will be our ﬁ rst trip together with our new middle schoolers.

Looking forward to another great year! Desiree Naumann #Biblicalcostumes page 3 Temple Tribez Report

Temple Tribez Set Good Example

halom, Yeladim! Our In fact, the appointed leaders at latkes that the children will help Temple Tribez had GCJFS used the Temple Tri- make, a gift exchange, crafts and a fun-ﬁlled Fall season bez as a wonderful example of what treats. S and beginning of Winter at it means to serve, care and give back The story of Hanukkah will be told Temple New Jerusalem. to the community a good deed. about how Yeshua the Messiah is Lots of mazel and congratulations the light of the world. to all of the Tribez who put forth All Are Welcome Parents, if you have a child inter- the effort and time to raise $76 for Our TNJ Tribez are always up to ested in giving a personal testimony our local outreach at Gulf Coast something fun. They embrace Bible to the other children, please call the Jewish Family Services (GCJFS). truths in fun and innovative ways. TNJ ofﬁce. We’d love to here from Our children did their Tzedakah We encourage you to invite your you. project throughout the Summer till friends, family and their children Our Tribez are very special and September for the Yad B’ Yad pro- to our Shabbat services on Friday the Lord has given each one of them gram at GCJFS. evenings. We will share with them many special talents to praise His This is the “Hand in Hand” pro- the joy of learning about the God of name and be a good example to gram that involves Jewish adult Israel, Yeshua the Messiah. their friends. volunteers acting as mentors, com- Until next time ... Keep on smilin’ panions, and positive role models to Light of the World with God’s love and His Shalom. Jewish children from single-parent For Hanukkah, we have planned a homes. party with dreidel games, delicious In His Glory, TNJ Education Team page 4 hings Teac by

abbi Michael Stepakoff was born into a ConservativeR Jewish family. He accepted Yeshua as his Savior in 1992 and has Rabbi Michael Stepakoff been in ministry serving as a Messianic Rabbi since 1998. Through the years, the Lord has blessed Rabbi Michael with numerous cre- ative gifts and talents. He is a recognized Messianic songwriter and his inspired songs have been recorded by such artists as Ted Pearce, Jonathan Settel, Kol Simcha, Deborah Klein, Paul Wilbur and more. His talent to deliver powerful �� messages brings the scrip- �� tures to life for Jewish and �� non-Jewish people around �� the world. These teachings �� share power-packed mes- �� sages centering on Yeshua, �� as seen thru Jewish eyes, �� and as revealed thru the �

�� word of God in both Old and New Testaments.

Get your copy today!

abbi Michael Stepakoff was born into a Conservative Jewish family. He accepted Yeshua as his Savior in 1992 and has been in ministry serving as a Messianic Rabbi since 1998. Through the years, the Lord has blessed Rabbi Michael with numerous Rcreative gifts and talents. He is a recognized Messianic songwriter and his inspired songs have been recorded by such artists as Ted Pearce, Jonathan Settel, Kol Simcha, Deborah Klein, Paul Wilbur and more. His talent to deliver powerful messages brings the scriptures TNJto life forofﬁ Jewish ce, and1190 non-Jewish E. Lake people Rd.around S., the world.Tarpon These teachingsSprings, share FLpower- 34688 • 727.940.5886 • www.templenj.org packed messages centering on Yeshua, as seen thru Jewish eyes, and as revealed thru the word of God in both Old and New Testaments. Get your copy today.

TNJ ofﬁ ce, 1190 E. Lake Rd. S., Tarpon Springs, FL 34688 • 727.940.5886 • www.templenewjerusalem.org from page 1 Word From the Rabbi

also returning to believe in God meant that you were Eretz Yisrael (the risking your life. land of Israel), The easy way out was to go along where Messianic with society and be like them, but synagogues are that required forsaking the God of springing up like Israel. Maybe you could keep a low flowers blooming profile, hide your faith and hope no- in the desert. body bothered you. Some did. Oth- ers were bolder. They made an open A Great show of their rebellion against An- Victory tiochus. Some paid for it with their This season, we lives. What would you have done? remember that a of the Syrian Greeks. great miracle hap- A Sign Just as America became a safe ha- pened in Israel, just about 160 years Did you know that the scriptures ven for Christians coming out of before the Messiah was born. We say a Jew looks for a sign? You may Europe to worship God freely, Jew- give thanks for that. He was born to find this interesting ... ish people came to America for the a virgin daughter of Israel and his Hanukkah has never occurred this same religious freedom. America parents dedicated him in the Tem- early on the calendar. In fact, since was founded as a land for all people, as required by the Torah. the time when Abraham Lincoln de- ples, from every nation, tribe and None of this could have happened clared Thanksgiving a national holi- tongue, to worship God without fear if God had not delivered the Jews in day in 1863, only one time has Ha- of being persecuted. a great victory led by Judah Macca- nukkah begun on Thanksgiving day, bee against the Greco-Syrians. as it is happening this year. That was Messianic Uprising The mighty Syrian army was de- in 1888. One wonders ... Was the celebra- feated and the Temple was liberat- Even then, it was only possible be- tion of Thanksgiving, initiated by ed from the pagan worship of their cause Thanksgiving often occurred early Americans, a kind of prophet- King, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. a week later than it does now. It was ic foreshadowing of the persecution If ever there was a type of the An- changed by President Franklin D. coming against the Jews in Europe? tichrist, it was Antiochus. If ever Roosevelt to the fourth Thursday There certainly is a connection that there was a picture of the end times, instead of the last Thursday in No- resonates with the people of Israel. it was those days which we recount vember. In America, where Jews are safe, during Hanukkah. The converging of Hanukkah and this generation is seeing for the first Antiochus came into Israel a con- Thanksgiving won’t happen again time since the days of the Apostles, queror with a mighty army and for thousands of years. Which the great spiritual awakening of the brought a culture and way of life means this year, 2013, is probably Jewish people - Messianic Judaism that many deemed superior. He out- the last Thanksgivukkah in human – as Jews recognize Yeshua as the lawed the Jewish faith in the God of history! promised Messiah and Savior of the Abraham and began putting people So is it some kind of a sign? I will world. to death for studying the word of leave that up to you to decide. One Messianic Judaism in the 21st cen- God, keeping the basic command- thing’s for sure - It’s a good time to tury is a worldwide movement that ments of the Torah and worshiping celebrate freedom and give thanks clearly began in America, is cen- the Lord. to Yeshua who made it all possible! tered here and is spreading around He set up pagan animal sacrifices in Give glory to Yeshua and say, the world to every city where Jews the Temple and forced the Jews to “Thanks a-latta-kah!” can be found worshiping together worship Greek gods. It was a time with Gentiles that love Israel. It is where you had to make a choice. To Shalom! Rabbi Michael Stepakoff page 6 from page 2 A Personal Note then you can go to the throne of God Many onlookers were amazed and you as a vessel for His eternal plan with joy, humbleness and strength. in complete awe as the man leaped in your life. to his feet praising, rejoicing and For prayer requests, email me. May The Lord’s Power glorifying God. After being ques- the Lord bless you and keep you. Let’s look at an example from the tioned by the Sadducees about what Bible about how people took God at power could do such a thing, they His word. stated with assurance that the power We all remember the story of Pe- of the risen Lord Yeshua whom was ter and John in the book of Acts. crucifi ed is at work. As they walked into the Temple, as They walked the walk. Yeshua had was their custom, they saw the same promised to send the Comforter to lame man who, from birth, could work in signs and wonders. not walk. We can walk in His righteousness Filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and love. The disciples proved God (Holy Spirit), Peter took the lame to the people of that day. man’s hand and declared boldly, “In Remember, you are the only one the name of Yeshua of Nazareth, get who can claim your part in the King- Shalom to each of you! up and walk!” dom of God today. Let the Lord use Rebbetzin Tara Stepakoff

page 7

* DISH

HANUKKAH *

Source: Bon Appétit, November 2013 STRAWBERRY SUFGANIYOT

Ingredients: • 1 tbsp brandy (optional) • 2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast) • 1 tsp kosher salt • 3-4 cups all-purpose ﬂour, divided • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract • 1 tbsp plus 1/4 cup sugar • 6-8 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces • 2 large egg yolks • 8 cups vegetable oil • 1 large egg • 1-1/2 cups strawberry jam • 1/2 cup warm whole milk • Powdered sugar • 1/2 tsp ﬁnely grated orange zest Special equipment: A deep-fry thermometer, piping bag, 1/4” • 2 tbsp fresh orange juice round tip, 2-1/2”-diameter biscuit or cookie cutter

Dough: Combine yeast, 1 tbsp flour, 1 get the same results by mixing the dough other kitchen towel. Let rise until not tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp warm water in the with a sturdy wooden spoon and knead- quite doubled in size, 40–50 minutes. If bowl of a stand mixer; let stand until yeast ing on a lightly floured surface.) you are not ready to fry dough, refrigerate starts to foam, about 5 minutes. Whisk in Knead and proof the dough: Turn rounds up to 3 hours. egg yolks, whole egg, milk, orange zest, dough out onto a floured work surface Fry the dough: Fit a large heavy sauce- orange juice, brandy, salt, vanilla, 2 cups and knead, adding more flour as needed, pan with thermometer; pour in vegetable flour and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Mix until no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. oil to measure 4” and heat over medium- on low speed with dough hook until com- Transfer to a buttered bowl, turn to coat, high heat until thermometer registers bined, about 2 minutes. Add 6 tbsp butter and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let 350°F. Working in batches, fry dough un- 1 piece at a time, mixing well between rise in a warm, draft-free place until dou- til golden, about 1 minute per side. Trans- additions. (Any small lumps of butter will bled in size, about 1 hour. fer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet get worked into dough when more flour is Cut the dough: Roll out dough on a light- and let cool slightly before filling. added.) Gradually add remaining 2 cups ly floured surface until 3/4” thick. Using Fill and finish the sufganiyot: Pulse jam flour (may not need all of it), mixing until a floured cutter, cut out rounds of dough, in a food processor until smooth (this will mostly combined between additions, un- twisting cutter to release the dough (this make it easier to pipe). Scrape jam into til dough is soft, smooth and shiny. The strengthens the edges so the dough puffs piping bag fitted with 1/4” tip. Insert tip dough will begin to pull away from the when frying). Reroll scraps once. Trans- into top of sufganiyot and gently fill un- sides of bowl and climb up dough hook. fer rounds of dough to a parchment-lined til jam just pokes out of hole. Dust with (*If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can baking sheet and cover loosely with an- powdered sugar just before serving. page 8 Temple News Eight Days Sisterhood of Hanukkah Hanukkah Lunch

any people kot celebration. n Sunday, this special holiday gath- ask, why are D e c e m b e r ering. We’ll enjoy great there eight Lord’s Light 8th, from 1-3 food, games, fellowship days in Ha- Secondly, according to p.m., the TNJ Sisterhood and a fun gift exchange. legend, although there O nukkah?M There are two will gather with friends Please bring a $10 gift reasons ... were just a few drops to celebrate Hanukkah. for the exchange. of oil found in the Tem- Location: Joyful Time ple with which to light All Are Welcome Bahama Breeze One reason is because the Menorah, the lamps It’s an event that always 3045 N Rocky Pt Dr E, the big fall feast of in- stayed lit for the entire attracts alot of guests. If Tampa gathering, known as eight days of celebrating. you have a friend(s) that Sukkot (Tabernacles), We sure missed every- would like to join us, was the most joyful time one last week. On Friday, please bring her along. of the whole year. December 6th, we will All are welcome! Though Sukkot was ﬁ nish off the festivities of The annual luncheon about two months past Hanukkah with a party. will take place at Ba- already, when the Temple Following service, there hama Breeze. Our ladies was liberated from the will be delicious latkes are always thrilled with Syrian Greeks, the Jews and special treats for the decided to celebrate Suk- kids. kot anyway, because they It’s going to be a great loved it so much! So Ha- time together with Yesh- nukkah was really a Suk- ua, so don’t miss out. Stepakoff Bar Mitzvah

abbi Michael ebrate this momentous Stepakoff and and proud occasion. family are cele- A big luncheon will fol- bratingR their son David’s low at the synagogue. A Bar Mitzvah and they sign-up sheet with more would like to invite you details will be out soon. to join them. Special Service Rabbi will have a Shab- bat service in honor of the Bar Mitzvah on Sat- urday, January 18th, 11a. m.-1 p.m. All are welcome to cel- page 9 Get your copy today! Shabbat Service Rabbi Michael’s new book, “Arubot Ha- Fridays, 8 p.m. Shamayim: The Floodgates of Heaven”, explores the topic of tithing as the Bibli- All are welcome to our main event at Temple New Jerusalem. $5 cal key to walking in the covenant bless- It’s a weekly appointment with Yeshua! Praise, Dance, Teach- ings of God. It will transform your life ing, Torah and Ministry, always under the presence of the Ruach into ﬁ nancial prosperity and blessings! HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).

C A L E N D A R

December January 2014 December January 2014 General General Teenz & Tribez Teenz & Tribez

Congregation No Shabbat Tribez & Teenz Celebra- Hanukkah Party BirBirthdaysthdays Service, Friday, Teenz tion Station Trip Fri, December 6th, January 17th Hanukkah Party Thursday, Janu- Anniversaries 8 p.m. David Stepakoff’s Fri, December ary 2nd, 4-8 p.m. Yahrzeits Sisterhood Bar Mitzvah and 6th, 8 p.m. David Stepakoff’s Hanukkah Party Special Shabbat Bar Mitzvah and We would like to men- Sun, December Service Luncheon, Satur- tion your birthday, an- 8th, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, day, January 18th, niversary and Yahrzeits MJAA Southeast January 18th, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in upcoming newsletters 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and weekly announce- Regional Confer- ments. ence, December Please give our ofﬁ ce a 20th-22nd call at 727.940.5886. MJAA Southeast Regional Conference, December 20th-22nd Happy Birthday and An- Join TNJ and enjoy this weekend of Messianic praise and worship. This annual conference features niversary to everyone Davidic worship, kids’ program, singles’ events, personal prayer, daily classes, Torah service, market- celebrating this winter! place, great fellowship, youth activities, dance symposium and Yeshiva teaching.

______Temple New Jerusalem 1190 E. Lake Rd. S. Tarpon Springs, FL 34688