By Carl Zebrowski 
Editor

Cozy can be good for the mood of an event. On the evening of September 24, dozens of members of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s Maimonides Society and family filled Jay’s Local eatery in Allentown to kick off the Federation’s new campaign year and catch up with friends not seen over the summer break.

It was easy to rub shoulders in the warm setting of Jay’s. Maimonides members helped themselves to the wide assortment of cold drinks and food items on offer. 

A few new Maimonides members were joining the group for the first time and made the rounds: Jenny Schechner, a therapist specializing in ADHD and licensed clinical social worker; Dennis Lorell, an obstetrician gynecologist; and Ben Shore, a general surgeon who’s brand new to the Lehigh Valley.

Schechner also received her Jewish Federation Women’s Philanthropy Pomegranate Pin at the event. Federation presents the pin to a woman who has committed to an $1800 giving level to the annual campaign for Jewish needs. Women’s Philanthropy immediate past presidents Laurie Wax and Carol Bub Fromer were on hand to pin the silver pomegranate brooch on Schechner. 

New Maimonides president Houman Ahdieh announced that the first of the society’s regular Sunday Brunch and Learns for the 2027 campaign year will be at 9:30 a.m. November 8 at Temple Beth El. Rabbi Dr. Elimelech Goldberg, CNN Hero, pediatrician and professor, martial arts black belt, and founder of the Kids Kicking Cancer international program, will present a “Breath Brake Seminar: How to Live Longer and Better,” aimed at training participants in focused breathing and other martial arts relaxation techniques.

Rabbi Goldberg has been teaching groups those techniques and the lessons of Kids Kicking Cancer at least since he founded that nonprofit it 1999, leading seminars and presentations for groups of kids and adults all over the world. He’s a friend of Maimonides member Mark Notis, who set up the coming visit for this extraordinary event and provided the happy hour attendees with the details. Keep an eye out for Federation emails with more information and a registration link to attend.

If you work in healthcare and would like to join the society to meet and socialize with fellow Jewish professionals in the region while keeping up with the latest healthcare developments and helping Jewish causes locally, in Israel, and elsewhere, contact Aaron Gorodzinsky, Jewish Federation director of development, at [email protected] or 610-821-5500 for more information.