The Men’s Club of the HPCT-CAE is a club of 70-80 members, with a core group of about 10 executive members engaged in the majority of the planning, programming, conducting of meetings, and overall work. With a congregation of varied demographics and spiritual preferences, our goals have been to maintain a broad range of club activities and events - educational, spiritual and fun - to engage as much of the congregation as possible in synagogue life, outside of shabbat and holidays, and to attract more men to join our programming and fundraising committees.

Social events: In recent years, our club has found its niche in holding social events as fundraising opportunities, revitalizing our congregation with events that appeal to all demographics - both young and old, within our community and in the greater metropolitan area. In 2012, our inaugural event was the “Steak and Scotch in the Sukkah” Dinner, which was held for the second year in a row. This year, the dinner coincided with our rabbi’s completion of Tractate Berachot, so we incorporated a siyyum to add a spiritual layer to the already fun-filled evening. The cornerstone of our social activities was our annual December 24th “Evening of Comedy, Music and Dancing”, which has been held since the early 2000s. This year, we invited Keith Barany, a well-known comedian; the Avi Maza Orchestra, a local band; a buffet dinner catered by a local Chinese restaurant; and a 50-50 raffle. The event brought in nearly 200 people, and made for a fun evening and a profitable fundraiser for the temple. In January, our annual Chili Cookoff, which has been held since 2009, brought out eight teams of chefs who engaged in a friendly competition with their own chili recipes, including two vegetarian chilis. All cooking was done on premises in the temple kitchen throughout the day of the competition. All who attended the dinner got a chance to vote for their favorite chilis, and award certificates were printed in hand calligraphy for all teams. Finally, to close out the year, we are holding a "Pre-Shavuot" wine-and-cheesecake tasting - a variation on our popular wine-and-cheese tastings which are traditionally held in advance of Passover.

Speaker program: We partnered with our temple’s Education Committee to invite Samuel G. Freedman, New York Times columnist and author of 2001's “Jew vs. Jew” (and a native of our town); and we partnered with Israel Bonds to invite Art Shamsky from the 1969 New York Mets for a breakfast program.

Athletic events: Our club continues to hold a variety of athletic events each year, in furtherance of the "shomrei haguf" initiative for the health and wellness of our members. This year our temple sponsored a members-only softball team comprised of 16 players who participated in the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County Softball League. Also included on our calendar was a laser tag tournament (Men’s Club vs. USY), an annual golf outing, and Men's Club members who participated in the annual Rutgers Hillel 5K race.

Synagogue Service: The club continues to maintain a tradition of service to our temple and community. Although kosher cakes, challahs, wine and kosher-for-Passover products are now more readily available at local shops and supermarkets, our club continues to sponsor cake and wine sales for the High Holidays and Passover, primarily for the elderly members of our congregation who have difficulty obtaining these items on their own. In partnering with local liquor stores and kosher bakeries, we obtain items at reduced cost and mark up our offerings as a fundraiser for the Temple. This year we saw record number of orders placed and income generated. We also held our twice-annual on-site blood drive and bone marrow testing in support of a local resident who is seeking a stem cell match. Also, for the first time this year, we partnered with our temple’s Youth Committee to undertake the responsibility for safety on Shabbat mornings: As children and teens have a tendency to run through the halls of our shul and congregate noisily in the lobby near the sanctuary during services, Men’s Club members volunteered regularly to monitor and police the premises. Financially, we made an annual donation to the temple’s operating account; helped to fund the purchase of a new commercial freezer; and contributed proceeds from the Yom HaShoah Yellow Candle program to the temple fund for USY scholarships.

FJMC programs: Not only did we once again participate in the "World Wide Wrap" and the Yom HaShoah Yellow Candle Program, but this year we debuted new FJMC programs on our calendar. We held our First Annual Men’s Club Shabbat on Parsha Vayikra; and our first “Hearing Men’s Voices” breakfast on the topic of “What’s Your [Jewish] Story?” We also once again participated in the regional “Man of the Year” program: in addition to having 40 members of our temple community in attendance to honor our Man and Youth of the Year, our temple’s own rabbi, Eliot Malomet, was invited by the Northern New Jersey Region to deliver the evening’s sermon. This combination of FJMC events made for a more fulfilling, meaningful calendar of events.