A ‘sumptuous’ breakfast, an exchange of ideas

The Southern New Hampshire Jewish Men’s Group has been meeting monthly for more than 40 years

Leon Goldstein co-founded the Southern New Hampshire Jewish Men’s Group more than 40 years ago.

On a recent Sunday morning, a couple of dozen people gathered in a meeting room at Temple Beth Abraham in Nashua to listen to a journalist talk about the media in New Hampshire.

The breakfast — bagels, lox, hash browns, tangerines and, of course, coffee — was “sumptuous,” just as promised in promotions for the event.

The genesis of the Southern New Hampshire Jewish Men’s Club can be traced to a small gathering among a group of friends more than 40 years ago, co-founder Leon Goldstein said.

“We were sitting around a gentleman’s house at a poker game, seven or eight of us, and we kind of looked at each other,” Goldstein said. “Everybody was married. There were lots of social things for the women to do. Women’s American ORT, Hadassah, sisterhood.

We said we should have something just for the guys.”

The nonprofit group provides fellowship for Jewish men and the husbands of Jewish women through monthly gatherings. The group asked me to talk about my work with NH Business Review and New Hampshire Magazine for its Oct. 26 meeting.

Before I began my presentation to the group, which included a few women, I turned the tables for a little bit to learn more about the club and also to underscore how storytelling is at the heart of what journalists do.

I had already spent some time getting to know current club president Monroe Kahn over breakfast, so I knew a bit about his history before I interviewed him in front of the audience.

Kahn and his wife moved from Charleston, S.C., a couple of years ago to live closer to their grandson. Shortly after the couple joined Temple Beth Abraham, they began volunteering to help in the kitchen. Kahn jokes that he became the men’s club president because he raised his hand.

“We basically are here for friendship, and we have individuals like yourself to give us a talk about what’s going on around here,” Kahn said. Talks might be about Jewish studies or political events, he said.

Rabbi Jon Spira-Savett said the men’s clubs serve an important purpose.

“There’s a long history of what used to be called, or in some places are called, brotherhoods as well as sisterhoods,” Spira-Savett said. “There’s a program of our sisterhood going on actually elsewhere in the building right now.”

The rabbi noted that the meetings are multigenerational, directing me to a 13-year-old boy across the room who came to the meeting with his father.

A tradition of volunteering

Leon Goldstein was honored in September by Temple Beth Abraham with the Keter Shem Tov Award for his lifetime of volunteering for the temple and the Nashua community, which includes work with the Nashua Soup Kitchen.

“His late wife, Ronnie — who served as a past president of Women’s American ORT — shared his commitment to Jewish life and learning,” the temple wrote in a post announcing the award. All three of the couple’s sons, Aaron, Robert and Harold, celebrated their bar mitzvahs at Temple Beth Abraham.

Goldstein, a retired corporate finance executive, also handles security for the synagogue. He was one the first people to greet me that morning outside, welcoming me to the temple.

After our meeting, Goldstein and other members of the group offered tours of Temple Beth Abraham’s kosher kitchen, its sanctuaries and meeting spaces.

While I hope the members of the Southern New Hampshire Jewish Men’s Group enjoyed my talk, I’m quite sure I learned more than they did that morning.

Powered by Women

At NH Business Review’s Powered by Women event on Nov. 13, I can just sit back, listen and learn.

From 8 to 11:30 a.m. at Manchester Country Club in Bedford, five highly accomplished women will talk about their journeys and engage in a panel discussion moderated by our managing editor, Amanda Andrews.

This year’s group touts expertise in medicine, law, human resources, manufacturing, finance, executive coaching, Fortune 500 corporations, marketing and advertising. Yes, that’s a few more areas of expertise than we have panelists — and I’m sure I missed a few — but that underscores their depth of knowledge and experience.

The lineup features Dr. Stephanie Ihezie, neurosurgery medical resident, Dartmouth Health; Kristi Baxter, associate executive coach, Sojourn Partners; Geri Eisenman Pell, co-founder, Rise Private Wealth Management; Donna Daneke, director of human resources, Summit Packaging Systems Inc.; and Mackenzie Fraser, senior vice president, EVR Advertising.

Read more about them in the profiles that begin on page 30 and at our events tab at nbbr.com, where you can find a link to register.

Tickets are $65, plus fees, and include a breakfast buffet. Tickets for groups of six or more are $59, plus fees. Paid subscribers of NH Business Review can use their exclusive discount code to save 15%.

Mike Cote is the editor of NH Business Review. Contact him at mikecote@yankeepub.com