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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260404T100000
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DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20240228T223545Z
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UID:10000734-1775296800-1775304000@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Shabbat
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/shabbat/2026-04-04/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Worship
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ctionline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Kids-Blessing-2019-3.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Rabbi Irwin Huberman":MAILTO:rabbiirwin@ctionline.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260405T093000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260405T103000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250403T222355Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T110202Z
UID:10007605-1775381400-1775385000@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Virtual Morning Shacharit Service
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/virtual-morning-shacharit-service-5/2026-04-05/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Services
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260405T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260405T121500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250827T213724Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250827T213724Z
UID:10006468-1775383200-1775391300@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Limud
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/limud/2026-04-05/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Family
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260406T081500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260406T091500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20240228T225753Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T110458Z
UID:10001256-1775463300-1775466900@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Morning Minyan
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/morning-minyan/2026-04-06/
CATEGORIES:Worship
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ctionline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Remote-Services-2020-1-extend1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Rabbi Irwin Huberman":MAILTO:rabbiirwin@ctionline.org
LOCATION:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/99149363611
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260406T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260406T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250910T110710Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T110710Z
UID:10008153-1775473200-1775476800@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Bereavement Group
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/bereavement-group/2026-04-06/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Social Action
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T081500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T091500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250822T172701Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T110929Z
UID:10001517-1775549700-1775553300@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Shacharit Minyan
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/shacharit-minyan-2/2026-04-07/
CATEGORIES:Worship
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ctionline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Torah.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Rabbi Irwin Huberman":MAILTO:rabbiirwin@ctionline.org
LOCATION:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/99149363611
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T180000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250403T220815Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250827T212546Z
UID:10005165-1775577600-1775584800@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Crochet & Knitting Class
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/crochet-knitting-class-4/2026-04-07/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Fun
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250403T220950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250827T212752Z
UID:10005426-1775588400-1775593800@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Nerali.org Concerned Persons Support Group - Call if attending
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/nerali-org-concerned-persons-support-group-call-if-attending-5/2026-04-07/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Social Action
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T081500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T091500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250827T213017Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T104609Z
UID:10005688-1775636100-1775639700@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Morning Shacharit Minyan
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/morning-shacharit-minyan-14/2026-04-08/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Services
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T104500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20240508T170438Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250309T200154Z
UID:10003216-1775642400-1775645100@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Spiritual Circle Meditation
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/spiritual-circle-mediation-2/2026-04-08/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Worship
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ctionline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Spiritual-Meditation-Circle-extended.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T170000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250822T170009Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T104810Z
UID:10004009-1775664000-1775667600@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Drop By And Say Hi ... on Zoom
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/drop-by-and-say-hi-on-zoom-39-2/2026-04-08/
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ctionline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Remote-Services-2020-1-extend1.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="CTI Office":MAILTO:office@ctionline.org
LOCATION:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/98497837218
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T081500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T091500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20240228T214600Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T111836Z
UID:10000213-1775722500-1775726100@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Virtual Morning Shacharit Service
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/virtual-morning-shacharit-service/2026-04-09/
CATEGORIES:Worship
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ctionline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Morning-Shacharit-Minyan-2.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="Rabbi Irwin Huberman":MAILTO:rabbiirwin@ctionline.org
LOCATION:https://ctionline.org/event/virtual-morning-shacharit-service/2026-04-09/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250827T213222Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T111650Z
UID:10008679-1775732400-1775736000@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:(2nd) Bereavement Group
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/2nd-bereavement-group/2026-04-09/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Social Action
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T160000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20260309T204131Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T204250Z
UID:10008941-1775746800-1775750400@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Talmud Stories & Teachings Series
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/talmud-stories-teachings-series/2026-04-09/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Services
ORGANIZER;CN="CTI Office":MAILTO:office@ctionline.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T161500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260409T181500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250827T214406Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250827T214406Z
UID:10006990-1775751300-1775758500@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Limud
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/limud-2/2026-04-09/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T081500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T091500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250403T221812Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250910T105258Z
UID:10006208-1775808900-1775812500@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Morning Shacharit Minyan
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/morning-shacharit-minyan-12/2026-04-10/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Services
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T081500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T091500
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20260327T180532Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260327T180719Z
UID:10009214-1775808900-1775812500@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Friday Morning Shacharit Minyan
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/friday-morning-shacharit-minyan-2/2026-04-10/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Services
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20240228T215937Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250827T212145Z
UID:10000474-1775847600-1775851200@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Musical Shabbat
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/kabbalat-musical-shabbat/2026-04-10/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Shabbat
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ctionline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Music-2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260410T203000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20260327T181833Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260327T181833Z
UID:10009278-1775847600-1775853000@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Kabbalat Musical Shabbat
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/kabbalat-musical-shabbat-8/2026-04-10/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Services,Shabbat
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260412
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260426
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20250922T222246Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T222332Z
UID:10008913-1775952000-1777161599@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:Explore Meaningful 2026 CTI Tours
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/explore-meaningful-2026-cti-tours/
LOCATION:Congregation Tifereth Israel\, 40 Hill Street\, Glen Cove\, NY\, 11542\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ORGANIZER;CN="CTI Office":MAILTO:office@ctionline.org
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260412T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260412T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T222254
CREATED:20260309T194307Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260309T203021Z
UID:10008934-1776018600-1776024000@ctionline.org
SUMMARY:USA vs Canada Hockey Game
DESCRIPTION:Professor turned president: Michael Blitz takes helm at Tiferith Israel				\n				\n				\n				\n							\n			\n						\n		\n						\n				\n		\n					\n		\n				\n				\n									By Roksana Amid When Michael Blitz was 12\, he pulled out the Yellow Pages\, searched for “Jewish-sounding names” and began cold-calling strangers. He was determined to find someone who would teach him Hebrew. Though he didn’t grow up in a religious household\, Blitz’s Jewish identity has been a continuous thread in his life\, strengthened by personal study and reflection. His mother had little knowledge of Judaism\, and his father was an avowed atheist. Still\, Blitz took it upon himself to explore Jewish texts\, language and history\, first as a boy\, then later as an adult. “I actually chose to get bar mitzvahed on my own\,” Blitz\, who’s now 67\, recalled. “Some of my friends had been bar mitzvahed. I was impressed by the service part of it\, the religious part of it.” 								\n				\n				\n		\n				\n				\n												\n											\n															\n											\n										\n									\n				\n				\n					\n				\n				\n				\n									He found Frieda Katz\, a tutor in Brooklyn\, and showed up in her kitchen with $35 in savings from his job picking berries at a farm stand. “I said\, ‘How many lessons will this buy me?’” he recounted. “She looked at the money and she looked at me\, and she said\, ‘All of them.’” That self-directed learning\, he explained\, became a form of healing. “For some reason\, getting prepared for bar mitzvah felt like it was part of a repair process\,” he said. “The same thing happened when we found CTI” — Congregation Tifereth Israel\, in Glen Cove. “It was this kind of powerful reparation in some way.” Blitz’s early initiative — fueled by curiosity and a deep desire to understand his heritage — set the tone for a life of learning\, self-reinvention and a persistent sense of purpose. This year\, Blitz was elected president of CTI\, Long Island’s oldest continuously active synagogue. He and his wife\, Mozelle Dayan\, joined CTI two years ago after spending nearly three decades at a synagogue in Hicksville. The decision to make the move was sparked by friends who encouraged the couple to attend a Friday night Shabbat service at CTI. “We came\, and we loved it from day one\,” Blitz said. They were immediately impressed by the warmth of the community\, including Rabbi Irwin Huberman and the synagogue’s cantor\, Gustavo Gitlin\, who personally welcomed them after services. Before long\, Blitz and Dayan sold their home in Hicksville and moved to Glen Cove to be within walking distance of CTI. “Let’s have an adventure at this point in our lives\,” he recalled saying. Blitz soon became an active participant in synagogue life\, attending every service\, volunteering for fundraising efforts and joining committees. When he was asked to consider taking on a leadership role\, however\, his answer was no. “I felt like I was fairly new\,” he explained. “I didn’t want anything to interfere with my enjoyment of what the synagogue is to me.” But in recent months\, when a nominee for president had to step aside\, Blitz reconsidered. “If I’m really committed to this place\, and this is what they need\, I’ll consider it\,” he said. He was nominated\, and elected unanimously by the congregation. Huberman praised Blitz as a rare leader who “possesses all of the different components: leadership\, role modeling\, love of Israel and a love of learning.” A veteran educator and a prolific author\, Blitz spent more than three decades at John Jay College of Criminal Justice\, where he chaired the Interdisciplinary Studies program for a decade. He designed and taught boundary-pushing courses that combined literature\, criminal justice\, philosophy and cosmology\, among other subjects. Blitz has a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies. He was also chosen by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison to be the lead researcher for her book “Beloved.” “We would have these long marathon sessions in her office\,” he said. “She said\, ‘You need to surprise me every time you step in my office.’” His ability to blend creativity with rigor didn’t go unnoticed. Morrison later referred him to Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy\, and Blitz spent part of his doctoral studies doing research for both literary giants. At John Jay he found his intellectual home teaching experimental interdisciplinary courses\, and also served as poet-in-residence. While his résumé reads like a whirlwind\, Blitz insists that the variety of his career has never felt overwhelming. “When I write a resume\, it does look like I’m insanely busy\,” he said. “But itdoesn’t feel that way.” That mindset\, paired with his academic ambition\, led him torepeatedly take bold leaps. “I’ve actually also always taken thechutzpah step\,” he said. And his passions extend beyond the classroom. He is a high-ranking instructor of Krav Maga\, the hybrid martial art used by the Israel Defense Forces\, and has trained law enforcement and security forces worldwide. He co-founded Blitz Krav Maga\, taught self-defense to security guards at Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall\, and led instructor training for elite IDF veterans. His martial arts journey began in earnest in the early 1990s\, and he has since earned an extremely rare third-degree black belt in Krav Maga. Despite his accomplishments\, Blitz is quick to point out that the through line of his life has always been a hunger for knowledge. Now living just a short walk from the synagogue\, he is rooted in both faith and community. “We have this really close community of friends that we never dreamed of\,” he said of Glen Cove. “It’s been incredible.”
URL:https://ctionline.org/event/usa-vs-canada-hockey-game/
LOCATION:UBS Arena\, 2400 Hempstead Turnpike\, Elmont\, 11003\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Fun
ORGANIZER;CN="CTI Office":MAILTO:office@ctionline.org
GEO:40.7118379;-73.7260875
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