Dear Friends,

I hope that you had the opportunity to attend the joint Shabbat service with Rabbi Diamond and Or L'Simcha last week. Over 85 people attended the joint service, and it was literally a standing room only crowd. If you were not able to make it, please plan on attending the next joint service opportunity. There are many events happening at the Tree -- keep reading this email and see. Hope to see you at one or more of the fun, exciting, spiritual and educational events this weekend.

Please join Rabbi Listfield and Steve Weiss for Friday night services on February 13 beginning @ 5:45 PM. Rabbi Listfield should be back from Israel and can tell us about his personal observations and experiences there. The Friday night service is a nice way to start your weekend.

Saturday morning Shabbat services on February 14 (with the always enlightening and inspiring Bagels Torah and Rabbi --with Rabbi Listfield) start at 9:45 AM. Come and ask Rabbi Listfield about his trip to Israel, and hear what is happening there based on his own personal observations.

The TLC School Committee of Tree of Life and Or L'Simcha and the TOL Family Programming Initiative (generously sponsored by the Snow Foundation) will again be having Shabbat children's programming this Saturday, February 14, at 10:30 AM. T here will be new Shabbat programs: Noah's Ark for pre-K; Minnie Minyan for K-2; and Children's Torah Minyan for 3-6. Please come and bring your kids. This should be really fun, educational and a great family time together.

Youth Lounge Pizza will be served and Ice Cream Sundaes "Planning the Perfect Youth Event" Open to all 6th and 7th Graders and Jewish Friends

Required for all Tree of Life and Or L'Simcha 7th Graders and their parents.

Please join the TOL/OLS Youth Group for a Shabbat service (6:00 to 7:00 PM) on Friday, February 20 -- featuring the Jewish University Center's fabulous singing group, the Vokols. High school students Shabbat dinner with the Vokols to follow services. Please make your reservations by calling Zach Sitkin (267-664-0937) or Rayna Gross (412-334-9770).

Please join the Men's Club, Social Committee, and Adult Education to hear our ADL guest speaker, Shari Kochman, for a talk and then discussion about "Anti-Semitism Today: The Old and the New." Ms. Kochman is an expert on the subject, and her informative lecture about the "new" politically driven anti-Semitism should not be missed. Breakfast will be served before her presentation. Cost/donation will be nominal. Please plan to attend this important talk on March 1 following the morning Minyan and breakfast.

Kids on the Block is a wonderful puppet show presentation sponsored by the Children's Institute. Most of the puppets have a disability and the 50 minute show highlights disability awareness. This is a wonderful opportunity and all of our TLC, Tree of Life and Or L'Simcha families are invited to the March 1 performance at 11:00 AM at the Tree. It is appropriate for kids of all ages.

The Pittsburgh Conference of Jewish Women's Organizations will hold its meeting at Tree of Life on Monday, March 2 at 12:30 PM. Pamela Hershberger, PhD, will be speaking about women's special relationship with lung cancer. All women are welcome to attend this event. Please call the synagogue office (412-521-6789) to make your reservation for this event.

The next TOL/OLS Book Club meeting is on Tuesday, March 10 from 7:30 - 9:00 PM at the Te Cafe on Murray Avenue. The book to be discussed will be "Not Me," by Michael Lavigne. The book takes us into the life of a man who, while visiting his father in Florida, discovers something completely shocking in his father's journals. This book is very readable, and can be finished in one afternoon. Please plan on attending the Book Club meeting.

I have appointed our immediate past President, Dr. Howard Elson, as the Chairman of our Nominating Committee. Recommendations for the Board of Trustees may be submitted for consideration by the Nominating Committee by sending them to the Nominating Committee by email to joeldon@aol.com or by calling Joel Goldstein at 412-512-6789 now through February 13, 2009. Now is the time to get involved either at the Board or Committee level and to fulfill your new year's resolution.