Kiddushim Guidelines

(As of July 2007)

In order to improve our Kiddushim, members and their families interested in sponsoring a Community Kiddush are being asked to make their own arrangements. This will allow you to provide the simha you are looking for within your budget as well as to share with the rest of the community. B'nai Jeshurun will continue to support the Community Kiddushim as outlined on the following pages.

Dates and Times:

Currently, space is available every 2nd and 4th Shabbat at the 86th Street Social Hall (SPSA) from 12:30-2pm. If you wish to sponsor a Kiddush on another Shabbat, BJ will do its best to change dates if space allows. However, no more than two kiddushim will be held in a month. Additionally, it is important to note that more than one family can "share" sponsoring a Kiddush. If there is already another family sponsoring the Kiddush that you desire, we will put you in touch with this family about "sharing" the date.

Space:

All kiddushim are held at the 86th St. Social Hall. A kiddush at the 88th St. sanctuary is rare, due to events previously scheduled into that space.

B'nai Jeshurun's Role:

• B'nai Jeshurun will coordinate space and set-up including all tables, chairs, paper goods and flatware, seltzer, coffee and tea, sugar, milk, etc. The usual kiddush set-up is buffet style with long tables set up for seating. Please note that we ask our guests to give preference to those congregants who need to be seated.
• The Kiddush Committee will ask someone from the family to recite the motzi in the Social Hall so we can begin the Kiddush immediately after services. If you feel you or a member of your family will be too busy at the end of services, you may designate one of your guests to recite the blessing or the Kiddush Committee will select someone to do so.

Sponsor's Role:

• As is the case for sponsoring the morning minyan breakfast, sponsoring families may order food through one of our approved caterers (see list). You may use a different caterer of your choice, and provide BJ with a copy of that caterer's certificate of kashrut. Please fax the certificate to the attention of Yael Hammerman, 212-496-7600. Kiddushim can only take place if we have the certificate of kashrut at the time you engage the caterer.


• In general around 150-175 people from the BJ community attend kiddushim. The guests of the sponsoring family (ies) should be added to this number, when you are planning your event. These celebratory events (such as a B'nai Mitzvah, baby naming, aufruf etc.) will increase this number. We ask our congregants to please not over-order food. It becomes more expensive for the sponsor and can become wasteful, since we often cannot make use of the left-overs and they get thrown out. Should you wish to take left-overs home, please make arrangements with your caterer to have covered platters or containers available and have them provide a staff member to package the left-overs. You may also choose to have an organization, such as City Harvest or other organizations that feed the hungry, make use of the leftovers, but the food needs to be picked up from SPSA by 3pm. It is the sponsor's responsibility to make these arrangements directly. Our Kiddushim are usually over by 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon.


• All kiddushim will be Dairy/Parve.


• Please make sure that the caterer provides sufficient serving utensils.


• BJ does not provide challah for the Kiddush so please make arrangements for the caterer to include challah.


• All deliveries must be made on the Friday before the Kiddush to SPSA at 263 West 86th Street before 2pm. Please ask your caterer to have every box and bag marked Community Kiddush with the date of the Kiddush, and the name of the sponsor. Please call Yael Hammerman at 212-787-7600, ext. 255 with the caterer's name, phone number and contact. The caterer should also contact Roma Serdtse, ext. 258, our facilities director, who will need to speak with you concerning the arrangements. If you will have any special requests, you may call Yael or Roma. It is the sponsors' responsibility to call the caterer on Friday early afternoon preceding their Kiddush to assure a timely delivery of the food.


• You do not need to hire any additional staff, as the Synagogue will take on the responsibility of setting up and cleaning up at the end of the Kiddush.


• It is not necessary to decorate for the Kiddush but if you would like to decorate, please contact Roma at ext. 258.

Scheduling and Contact Information:

• Please call Yael Hammerman at x255 or email at yhammerman@bj.org at least six weeks prior to your date to begin coordination.


• Confirm the date with any other sponsoring families. If there are multiple sponsors, we will provide you with each other's information, and help with coordination of multiple sponsors.


• Be sure to provide your sponsorship information to Yael Hammerman for the Kol Jeshurun by TWO WEEKS before the Kiddush (e.g. "This week's community kiddush is being sponsored by (names) in honor of (name) becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah or in honor of the naming of (name) etc."

We wish you mazal tov on your upcoming celebration and are available to speak with you concerning anything you wish to discuss. Mazal tov to you and your family!