A New Year. A Lot of Laughs.
A Great Night.
It was finally time!
Time to laugh. Time to reconnect. Time to come together for NCJW/Essex’s Opening Event 2025. And, in the week since we gathered at the JCC in West Orange, the laughter lingers and all signs point to a wonderful year ahead.
The program, made possible through the generous support of Ellen and Donald* Legow, is the official opening to the NCJW/Essex programming year. NCJW/Essex President Andrea Rakitta Mintz welcomed everyone and shared more about what brings people to our organization.
“NCJW/Essex truly is a special place, with special people who care about our community and each other. It has been such an important part of my life, and it is my privilege to stand here as your president,” she said. “I am so proud of the work and advocacy we do in the community. Our mission is simple: Inspired by Jewish values, we volunteer and advocate to improve the quality of life for women, children and families, strive for social justice and work to safeguard individual rights and freedoms while providing services and programs to our local community.”
Andrea called out numerous NCJW/Essex programs: Back 2 School Store, Power Up the Vote, Mitzvahs-in-a-Minute, Kids Essentials Closet, Lunch and Learns and many more events that offer ways to give back.
She invited everyone to visit our new offices in Roseland, saying “Suite 404 is so much more than an office. It’s the space where we come together to plan, make decisions, connect and do work that matters, work that makes a difference, work that meets this moment.”
* of blessed memory
A Thank You to the Center for Women
One of the emotional highlights of the evening came when Ann Marie S., a Center for Women client, shared her gratitude for what the Center has meant to her and her family’s life. Ann Marie first came to the CFW when the pandemic brought her catering business to a halt. She sought not only guidance about how to navigate the loss of employment and income, but ways to rebuild and move forward.
Introduced by NCJW/Essex Executive Director Caitlin Higgins Joy and with her two daughters looking on proudly from the audience, Ann Marie said, “The NCJW/Essex Center for Women gives us the tools we need for our future, but also the peace we need in our present…
“The Center for Women has been a lifeline to me. It has strengthened my career path, nurtured my mental health and reminded me of the power of sisterhood. Thank you all here tonight for making this all possible.”
Ann Marie is one of hundreds of women helped by the Center for Women each year through skills development – interview practice, resume writing, connections with employers, certification classes – and the self-esteem and self-empowerment focus we all need to navigate life’s daily challenges.
The Crystal Award to CASA Exxex
The Helen D. Schwartz Memorial Crystal Award is presented only when our Awards Committee feels an organization or an individual is deserving. This year, the decision to give the award was easy, as CASA for Children of Essex County is such an honoree.
Accepting the award, CASA’s Executive Director, Marla Higginbotham, described a garden, saying when you plant a seed, one of the great joys is watching it grow, and spreading the goodness and good work through the generations.
The analogy was apt, as CASA was incubated and began its life more than 40 years ago as an NCJW/Essex section committee. Some of the women in the audience, Marla said, were the original planters of the seed which has evolved into an agency that ensures children in foster care have a trusted adult speaking on their behalf in Family Court and provides detailed reports that help inform court decisions that have enormous consequences in the lives of these children.
The connections between CASA and NCJW/Essex remain strong. Our Period.Project provides menstrual products and education to CASA clients aging out of the foster care system, and 120 Back 2 School Store packages went to CASA clients this summer
Laughing with Carol Leifer
Carol Leifer, the night’s headliner, delivered some much-needed laughter to everyone in the theater, sharing funny stories, wry observations and some good-old-fashioned comedy for nearly an hour.
Carol traced her origins in comedy to listening to records by Alan Sherman, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and others with Seymour, her optometrist father, while growing up on Long Island. She progressed to early gigs at Catch a Rising Star and other clubs where she was seen and promoted by comedy legends Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David.
Those relationships became lasting, as Carol later became a writer on both Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, responsible for such iconic Seinfeld episodes as the Marble Rye and the Korean Manicurist. The Curb episode where Larry returns to the car dealership for licorice was based not so loosely on Carol’s experience bringing her Audi to a local dealership where the waiting room spread featured Nothing Bundt Cakes.
“I found myself with a very problematic car. Every time I heard a ding or beep, it was back to the dealership to enjoy those cakes!” she said.
Highlights of Carol’s nearly 50-year (so far!) career in comedy career include winning an Emmy as a writer for Hacks, writing for the Oscars 11 times and appearing on David Letterman’s show 25 times – both the most of any woman.
When asked if she experienced antisemitism in Hollywood, her response, “Not really, Hollywood is a pretty safe space for the Jews!”
Carol shared more about her personal life. Coming out as a lesbian to her parents brought love and joy, not the disappointment she anticipated. Disappointment, her parents said, was when she married a gentile! Carol became a mom at 50, adopting a son from Guatemala. “It’s always an interesting day when the two magazines that come in the mail are Parents and the AARP Bulletin!” she joked.
Her brief stay in New Jersey for the NCJW/Essex event included an afternoon at the Short Hills Mall. In addition to sampling the coffee yogurt at Bloomindale’s, she was able to sample a few new perfumes before her performance. Her favorite – and one of her opening jokes – “Tester! You should all try it!”
For so many in the audience, the belly laughs and smiles came at a time when a dose of humor feels so necessary.
More Than Just a Show
Opening Event 2025 featured much more than just a show…
Our host, JCC Metrowest, provided the space for more than 250 guests to come together, reconnect and enjoy the show. Attendees were treated to an Amazing Raffle Extravaganza with fabulous prizes. Raffle tickets dropped like the drizzle of rain outside into the bags, winning stubs and numbers were matched following the show, and 27 lucky winners left with reminders of a great night. Carol spent time following her performance talking with guests and signing her book How to Write a Funny Speech for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation, & Every Other Event You Didn’t Want to Go to in the First Place.
Phoebe Pollinger masterfully organized a mini-art show featuring selected works by renowned artist Helen Frank. Proceeds from the art sale support NCJW/Essex’s work on reproductive rights, and several guests went home with new pieces for their collections.
Massive thanks to Lori Gelman and Robin Kollin, co-chairs of Opening Event 2025, who created a fantastic evening, with help and support from VP of Volunteer Engagement Lisa Katz, Marcela Rakitta for her photographs, the entire NCJW/Essex staff and everyone who helped make this such a memorable evening!
