First Light 5770

On Saturday December 12th, the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation (MVJF) brought together almost 200 members of the Jewish community to celebrate First Light at North Chelmsford’s Congregation Shalom with Sheldon Low. After greetings from Richie Fink, Chairman First Light 5770, Rabbi Shoshana Perry, Congregation Shalom, and Laura Rodman, Vice President MVJF, our youth led us in lighting the candles.

The PJ Library families lit the Shamas. The PJ Library is a cutting-edge outreach program that provides high quality, age appropriate Jewish Books and Music free of charge to children in the Merrimack Valley, ages 6 months – 5 ½ years. Thanks to generous local donors at your Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, children registered in the PJ Library program will enjoy books or CDs noted for their high quality, beautiful illustrations and compelling stories. They are mailed directly to each participating child each month along with a reading guide for parents.

Next, the talented, improvised, adult choir sang Maoz Tsur (Rock of Ages). Youth group members from Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation Shalom, Temple Emanuel, Andover, Temple Emanu-El, Haverhill, and Temple Shir Hadash lit the first candle.

Then, the choir and youth sang Light One Candle. The youth group advisors lit the second candle.

Our featured performer was Sheldon Low from New York City. No stranger to Boston as a graduate of Tufts University Mechanical Engineering school, Sheldon raised the crowd ‘s Chanukah spirit with songs from his albums It’s All Challah to Me, On One Foot and his latest, Light up Shabbat. Sheldon is the newest face in Jewish music performing rock concerts, ‘Light Up Shabbat’ services, and leading Artist-in-Residency weekends in Jewish communities throughout the United States.  Low appealed to youth and family in the  audience. Over the last three summers, Low has been a huge hit with teens performing a national summer tour at dozens of Jewish summer camps in New England and throughout the country. Low has also recently been featured as the headliner and head songleader at various national youth group conventions and Jewish festivals. Members of the youth group joined him for vocal support on some songs.

In these tight economic times, the MVJF office worked creatively and successfully to deliver the program under budget. Richie Fink, First Light Chairman, said the program was, “highly successful from all points of view. The audience seemed to love the show from the youngest to the oldest. The MVJF had a successful fund raiser and thus will have more dollars to allocate” for Jewish international relief and to support local programs. “It really brought the Valley's Jewish community together, from Orthodox to Reconstructionist to unaffiliated.”

FIRST LIGHT 5770 COMMUNITY CORPORATE SPONSORS

STAR LEVEL
Radiation Oncology of Greater Lowell, P.C.
Ruberto, Israel & Weiner

SILVER LEVEL
Demoulas Foundation
Pentucket Medical

BRONZE LEVEL
Cowan Insurance Agency, Inc.
Joan I. Gitlin, M.D.
Morse-Bayliss Funeral Home
Amy Sebell, Prudential Howe & Doherty Realtors

CONTRIBUTOR LEVEL
Barry Danzig, DDS
Endodontic Specialists
KG Associates, LLC
Larry Levine’s Kosher Meat & Delicatessen
Law Offices of Phillips, Gerstein & Channen, LLP
Levenson Goldberg & Company
Lowell General Hospital
Omni Digital Printers
Pinnacle Physical Therapy
QPL, Inc. & The Image Group
White Street Paint & Wallpaper Co., Inc.

WELL WISHERS
Berke & Price Associates
Drs. Cooper, Spiller, Nahata & Lubinsky
Esthetiques Par Kiki
Scott Goldberg, DMD
Greater Lowell Pediatrics, Inc.
H.L. Farmer & Sons Funeral Homes
Antoni Jurkiewicz, MD
Lenzi’s Catering & Special Events
New England Foot & Ankle, P.C.
Sweet Mimi’s, Inc.

PLEASE PATRONIZE OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS