What do you get when you put together a group of Conservative Jewish women from Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and southern California, a hard working conference team, a fabulous consultant, inspiring speakers, terrific workshop leaders, the Ruach Revelers, the Off Keys and many helpful volunteers - a Pacific Southwest Region Spring Conference!
For those of you who attended, I know you'll enjoy reading these articles and seeing the pictures from conference. For those of you who were not able to attend, we missed you and hope you get a little of that PSW Region Spring Conference feeling from reading this issue of the Chai Lines.
I am very excited to be able to share this issue with you on our new PSW Region website. While you're on the website, I hope you'll take a look around and see what's going on in our Region and in Women's League. Our website is going to be a major communication tool for us. We are working on planning our summer workshops and when those dates are set, please look on the website for that info also. I hope to be seeing many of you then!
B'Shalom,
By Marilyn Berkowitz
PSW Region President
Please take the time to read all the highlights of the conference throughout these pages, and enjoy the pictures, which can be found at http://wlpsw.winkflash.com. The password is “psw”.
The Future of Conservative Judaism
Dr. Robert Wexler, President, American Jewish University, provided statistics from two in depth studies regarding Jewish life in America one from 2000 and one from 2009, to compare and contrast the topics of the importance of being Jewish, Intermarriage, Branches of Judaism, Anti-Semitism and Israel.
The study showed that the current Jewish birthrate is 1.8%. If we are simply to sustain the current population of Jews we need a birthrate of at least 2.2%. Having three or four children would give us a slight increase in our population.
In 2000, 93% of Jews in the survey felt being Jewish was either very or fairly important in their lives, while only 8% felt it was NOT very important. By 2009, 84% still felt being Jewish was very or fairly important while 15% felt it not very important - a 7-9% negative shift.
Further the study showed that with this comes the fact that about half of our young Jews are in mixed marriages and that they see anti-Semitism as less a problem than their elders. The 2009 ADL survey of younger Americans of all categories found this to be generally true. The only segment of the younger American population that was found to experience a rise in Anti-Semitism is the youth of the Black community.
Before 1970, the rate of intermarriage was 13%. By 2000 it had reached 47%. In San Francisco and Seattle, 55% of Jews are married to non-Jews. Dr. Wexler stated it is important to remember that intermarriage, though it may not be a wise thing for the Jewish community, is NOT necessarily a rejection of being Jewish. It is more often a function of being more accepted by the larger community as our children attend secular schools and we choose to live in neighborhoods more representative of the larger community. So, while Jewish self identification is high, so is intermarriage. How do we keep our Jewish children within the community? Is Day School the only answer? It is certainly an important component, but Hebrew High is also. In both areas we must strengthen the curriculum for ALL students, but especially our 11th and 12th graders. We need to provide them glimpses of the larger Jewish World, educate to inspire them, provide scholarships to programs like USY, Ramah, Birthright.
The challenge we must accept is how do WE address these issues individually and collectively to enhance American Jewish Life? The Conservative Movement, Women's League, and individual Sisterhoods are ideally positioned to take the lead in addressing this issue. We have the most well educated laity, and we must continue to educate and inspire them. We have the Keruv program to help us welcome Jews by Choice and their families, and teach us to be careful with our comments. We must continue to: recruit and train good leaders, provide opportunity for our adults to participate in activities such as My Turn In Israel (Birthright for Adults) and Volunteer in Israel, and, we must find ways to cut or defray the "cost of being Jewish" to allow our fellow Conservative Jews continued opportunities for learning and service.
Our Sisterhoods continue to be what the Jews of Europe called their communities-Kehillah Kedosha. A sacred community to be sure, but also a group committed to a common purpose and bound by common values and beliefs, bringing opportunities for education and service to our synagogues and communities.
By Judy Zola
Har Zion Sisterhood, Scottsdale, AZ
Healing Service
We had the pleasure of presenting a workshop on leading a Sisterhood Healing Service by Diane Levitt, Cantor Beth Garden, Tricia Friedman, and Stacy Young of Congregation Tikvat Jacob Sisterhood (CTJ). The Healing Service at CTJ has been part of our Sisterhood calendar since our two communities merged two years ago. It's been a work in progress, but very much supported and appreciated by our own community, so we were excited to share it with others. We brought a guitar and some percussion, which helped in encouraging people to sing, especially when the music is unfamiliar. Everyone got two handouts: An abridged version of a recent Healing Service at CTJ, and "A Leader's Guide to Services and Prayers of Healing," an article from the National Center for Jewish Healing. We used the format from the recent Healing Service, interspersed with comments about resources for readings, the use of music and the rhythm of the service. The workshop was full. Despite the fact that many of us did not know each other and the workshop was more "class" than "service," the experience was moving for all of us. There's something about women getting together to focus on healing themselves and others that is profoundly spiritual, whether it's in a beautiful chapel or a breakout room at the Hilton. As presenters, we learned that the power of a Healing Service reaches beyond communities and relationships. We were grateful to be invited. If anyone would like a copy of the Healing Service program, or has questions about the workshop, feel free to contact Diane Levitt at ritual@ctjmb.org.
By Diane Levitt
Congregation Tikvat Jacob, Manhattan Beach, CA
Keynote Address
An inspiring keynote speech at Sunday's lunch was given by International Women's League Consultant Terry S. Winston. Terry spoke of the challenges facing organized groups such as Women's League, in general. Many people in today's society are not as willing as in the past to be loyal to groups. Thus, many organized groups have lately experienced a decline in membership. There is a challenge and a crisis in getting leadership. The response people have to crisis and hardship, said Terry, can be divided into three categories—carrot, egg and coffee. In response to being boiled, the carrot gets soft. An egg, on the other hand, becomes hardened, and thus people who respond to hardship as "eggs" become hard and bitter. Coffee, however, transforms itself, when percolated, into a much improved substance. A good leader becomes transformed for the better by hardship.
Terry spoke further of the role of Sisterhood in promoting Judaism in the home. Judaism must be observed in the home, not just taught in Jewish schools. Whatever the family's composition, Sisterhood should aim for programs that help women to strengthen home observance. Terry reminded us that active, informed women will result through Sisterhood's creating programs that are varied and accessible to its members. Subjects in these programs should include kashrut, Shabbat and other holiday observances. Women thus educated will be able to then teach their families to have a Jewish home.
By Gabriella Litov
Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, CA
Terry Winston's 10 Step Program for Sisterhoods
Dear friends of PSW, in my keynote address to the delegates at the 2010 PSW region conference, I described some of the challenges we face in both the secular volunteer and our Jewish communities. Our problems in sisterhood aren't unique. It is the same problem that non-profits, volunteer agencies, charities All over North America are facing: A crisis in leadership. I am proposing a remedied approach in a 10-step program which can create a healthy training ground for leaders & volunteers.
- Create & promote a culture of respect.
Whatever draws a high caliber of staff to your synagogue will be what draws high caliber volunteers. - Resist the temptation to use a "band-aid" approach.
Quick fixes won't help a board that shows symptoms of deeper problems. - Reconnect with your purpose.
Revisit the original inspiration that first attracted you and your members and what was the difference were you supposed to make? What brought you here? Connect with the membership you serve. - Clarify the rules of governance & write them down.
What rules are going to govern by? What are the jobs of each player? What happens if the players don't play by the rules? - Recruit based on leadership criteria.
Know what you want before you go shopping for it. Not because someone is simply available. - Set high expectations.
The job of governance is a real job. Anything less demeans the importance of the job. Make it clear that every member is responsible for self-discipline and their personal commitment. - Build quality into small packages.
The optimum size of highly functioning teams is usually 6-8. Recruit for the right skill sets that include clearly defined goals & job descriptions. - Play fair.
Once you have all your rules.. play by them..regardless. - Celebrate success.
Develop an annual plan for the job of governance for your boards and draw your meeting agendas from this plan. And say…. Thank you. - Think ahead.
Plan for the future as well as planning for future leadership. Take care of tomorrow today.
Celebrate Torah Fund
On Sunday, May 2, delegates to the 2010 Conference were given invitations to a party to be held that evening. Upon entering the room, everyone was handed a party favor, a key chain with the words "Torah Fund- key to our future". A slide show of Sisterhood Torah Fund events from this year was shown in the background. After a little drinking and snacking, Alon Ferency, a Ziegler student who was just ordained this May, spoke about how Women's League "plants and preserves" for the future of Conservative Judaism through donations to Torah Fund and Scholarships. This was the first time many of those in attendance heard first hand how Torah Fund benefits the students. Lela Jacoby reiterated the importance of Torah Fund and asked the delegates to consider raising their pledges or putting some money into the Tzedakah boxes decorating the tables. The Region Torah Fund committee and International Cabinet were acknowledged for their contribution to the Campaign. All Sisterhood Torah Fund Vice Presidents and Chairs were recognized for their hard work during the year. Those in attendance were given a peat pot and seeds to "plant and preserve" The evening was capped by a performance of the "Reynolds Rap" performed by The Adat Ari El Torah Fund team- Amy Masor, Joette Labinger, and Susie Katz. They were awesome! Thanks to Iris Lasky, Angela Horvitz and Evan Ravich for their donations to this evening.
By Renee Ravich
Torah Fund Vice President
Modern Jewish Thought for Everyday Thinking
Terry Winston led a wonderfully engaging session entitled "Modern Jewish Thought for Everyday Living". She had us do an information sharing exercise in which we broke off into small groups. Each group had different thought provoking questions that referenced the session topic. Each group designated a leader to read the questions for the group. The room was buzzing with stimulating discussion as the women engaged in a wonderfully interactive learning experience. After a few minutes, which was just enough for us to get our feet wet, the group leaders were asked to share with everyone the thoughts their group had come up with.
Questions such as "Do we need God?" "Does he need us?" "Is there a decline in a sense of wonder?" "Should new rituals be included to mark women's life cycle events?" all kindled spontaneous, profound and philosophic debate among the attendees.
This session was well received by all and I am sure the women continued with more discussion long after the plenary was over. Terry also informed us that she would put the questions on the Women's League website so that we could share them with our Sisterhoods. Everyone agreed it would make for a stimulating educational program. Terry instilled a wonderful component of education that sparked our motivation and eagerness for learning. It inspired us as Jewish women to share our ideas on Jewish thought in a different, wonderful and interactive way that we will encourage our own Sisterhoods to enjoy and participate in.
By Kim Memar
Temple Beth Sholom, Las Vegas, NV
Speed Programming
The two hour afternoon program was quite wonderful. This was our second year of providing this informative program. We had twelve presenters. Each Sisterhood Representative spoke for about 10 minutes and shared information about a program or project or social event that was successful. These were repeated a number of times to small groups and information sheets were passed out to be read and used by their Sisterhood at a later date. This program idea originally came from the "Speed Dating" concept, giving out much information to many people in a small amount of time. Although this is exhausting to the presenters, it's also a lot of fun.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all who shared.
By Barbara Schwartz
Conference Co-Chair
“He Said – She Said” - Planting the Seeds of the Modern Conservative Rabbinate
On Monday afternoon, the Closing Plenary was conducted by Rabbi Nicole Guzik of Sinai Temple and Rabbi Erez Sherman of Shomrei Torah Synagogue. Both were ordained as Rabbis a year ago at the Jewish Theological Seminary and they were married to each other in January 2010.
After being introduced by Edie Nitzberg, they took turns discussing three areas: a glimpse into life as new Rabbis, a glimpse into their newly formed Jewish household and renewed hope and inspiration for the Conservative Rabbinate.
Growing up in Orange County, building her identity as a Jew, a teacher and a leader was very important to Rabbi Guzik. She learned to be a leader from her mother, a Sisterhood President for several years, who would take her and her siblings to Sisterhood meetings. She was encouraged by Rabbi Artson to participate and lead services in the congregation. Rabbi Sherman grew up in Syracuse, New York, where his father has been a Rabbi for 36 years. His sister is also a Rabbi. Music has been a part of his life and he strives to incorporate it in Synagogue services and activities. Both Rabbis participated in the Women's League Synagogue at the Seminary and felt like it was a second home.
As a married couple, who are both Rabbis, they can understand each other's involvement in Synagogue life and each can offer a support system to the other. They are always "talking Torah" as they share new experiences. They want to not only teach Torah, but also model living a Jewish life, especially to teen-agers and young adults.
Rabbi Guzik proposed answering the question: How can we ensure there is a future for the Conservative Rabbinate? She stated that Conservative Rabbis need to open up their homes and share Judaism with their congregants. One example is inviting young adults for Shabbat services and dinner afterwards. Another example is inviting new members to a Seder at the Rabbi's home. Making a personal connection will engage new members and empower them to become leaders.
Rabbi Sherman stated that Rabbis need to help young people get involved in the community. In his Synagogue, he is reaching out to Nursery school families, Post B'nai Mitzvah families, college students and other groups so that they can get to know each other and form a bond through Judaism.
Rabbi Guzik closed the session with a challenge to the delegates: Professional women are finding it hard to associate with Sisterhood. How can we get them to go to that first event so that they will become interested to join us? Sisterhood women can also identify other women to be Rabbis and encourage them.
After listening to these two bright, articulate and talented young Rabbis, everyone in the audience felt that we are very fortunate to have them as leaders and mentors in our communities and that the Conservative Rabbinate does indeed have a promising future.
By Clara Bruno
Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, CA
Torah Study
Cantor Marcia Tilchin of Congregation B'nai Israel of Tustin Spoke twice on Sunday May 2nd ; once at a morning workshop and again in the afternoon. . Her subject was The Birth and Youth of Moses and the women who played such a major part in saving and nurturing him as he grew. Although this sounds simple, it is a very complex subject and Marcia has a special way of encouraging her audience to discuss and delve deeper into the subject. Those of us that were lucky enough to attend were sorry to see the workshop end as we would have liked to continue learning more from Cantor Tilchin.
By Barbara Schwartz
Conference Co-Chair
From our Conference Vice President
"Meaningful, touched my soul, great nuggets that stuck with me, well planned & well executed, great bonding, brought to tears, dynamic, lots of learning, informative, outstanding, stimulating, absolute best, great ideas to take home, best session, speechless so good, came out feeling on top of the world, beautiful learning experience, very much needed & good exchange of information, inspired, fantastic & eye opening, dynamic speaker, great sense of humor, WOW, amazing, great fun, surprisingly enjoyable, fantastic program, thoughtful & everyone engaged, wonderful – would not change a thing, exciting & noisy & frantic & great, perfect ending."
If you were not one of the 145 delegates who attended our 2010 Spring Conference on May 2 & 3 at the Hilton in Irvine, California, THAT IS WHAT YOU MISSED!!
This year we had the opportunity to involve several Sisterhoods in the production of actual workshops with resounding success. Yasher Koach to the:
- Sisterhood of Congregation Tikvat Jacob, Manhattan Beach for their 'Came out feeling on top of the world' Healing Service Workshop;
- Sisterhoods of B'nai Israel, Albuquerque; Adat Ari El, Valley Village and Temple Etz Chaim, Thousand Oaks for their 'Very much needed & good exchange of information' Catering Workshop.
We also had the pleasure of learning with some special guests. Mr. H. David Nahai, a Senior Advisor to the Clinton Climate Initiative and who has served for 10 years on California's Regional Water Quality Control Board discussed the 'Three C's of Climate Change'. The Irvine Police Department Emergency Preparedness sent a representative who taught us the what, where, how, who and why of being prepared.
We want to thank the very generous Sisterhood of Temple Beth Shalom, Long Beach for donating the contents of and making the 20 centerpiece mitzvah baskets donated to the Jewish Family Service of Orange County. A very special thank you to Lillian Radomsky of Temple Beth Sholom, Las Vegas for leading us through a 'beautiful and inspiring' T'fillot service.
There are dozens and dozens of people to thank for helping make Conference 2010 such a wonderful success, including the Conference Committee, the Conference Planning Committee, my Co-Chairs Jina Rezvanpour and Barbara Schwartz, our wonderful President, Marilyn Berkowitz and our fabulous International (truly, from Canada) Consultant, Terry Winston. Todah Rabah to each and everyone.
Please mark your calendars for the first Sunday and Monday, April 3 & 4, 2011 - that's right, April - as our tentative date for Conference 2011 at the Hilton, Irvine. As always, we try to plan a Conference that reflects your interests and needs so please consider serving on the 2011 Conference Committee. Contact me at agnesmom@hotmail.com.
B'Shalom
By Agnes Emert
Conference Vice President
Ongoing President's Session
I guided an enlightened discussion with 12 sisterhood presidents who are continuing their terms of office. This group of bright, caring and thoughtful presidents represented the largest and the smallest sisterhoods in our region, as well as several mid-sized.
The women were asked, first, to gauge the "temperature" of their sisterhood and second, to reflect on one thing they would like to do better. The presidents then worked from an outline Alice offered that dealt with Challenges and Choices. Several suggestions, as well as a few frustrations, came to light as the women addressed how they best deal with some of the challenges within three main areas: (1) Synagogue Relations - including synagogue leadership, calendaring, finances and catering; (2) Sisterhood Leadership - including personalities, disharmony, follow-through and apathy; and (3) Outreach - including mentoring, image, programming, learning and spirituality.
Two of the successful ideas shared were making individual or small group coffee dates with young women who are not yet involved and putting some of the gift shop items on E-Bay. We ran out of time before we could have a fuller discussion of the choices offered on the outline: personal conduct (body language, tone, tactful firmness); connecting modes; support systems; risk-taking and empowering others.
By Alice Greenfield
Past President, PSW Region
Outgoing President's Session
Tobie Rosenberg, Past Region President, led an extremely interesting and lively discussion among outgoing Sisterhood Presidents. We discussed the challenges that our sisterhoods face and ways that we, as Immediate Past Presidents can guide our new leaders using dignity, respect and a lot of positive inspiration. We found that even though our sisterhoods vary in size and location, we have a common bond of finding appealing programs and events that will entice the younger moms.
By Monique Smallson
Shomrei Torah, West Hills, CA
Sisterhood and the Internet
I led a lively discussion, with many of the approximately 40 women who attended offering suggestions. Some of the Sisterhoods use Face book and Twitter to notify their members of upcoming events. Others use Evite. All of these services are free of charge and fairly easy to setup. We talked about some of the other social networking sites (like MySpace and LinkedIn), but decided they were not very useful to the Sisterhoods.
There was some discussion about Blogging, although no one in the group had done it for their Sisterhood.
Various cautions were discussed. Once you post something on the Internet, it is there for everyone to see forever. As one person said, if you don't want to see it in print on the front page of your home town newspaper, don't post it on the Internet. You also should watch what personal information you post.
Your safety on the internet is in your hands! We also talked about sending emails to our members. One big problem with emails if you have a large mailing is that depending on your ISP, you will have to break the list into multiple emails. Also some ISP's will block your emails thinking they are SPAM. AOL is one of the most notorious for doing this. It was suggested that if you have a lot of AOL members, you break the emails up into various groups.
For those Sisterhoods with a lot of women who don't have a computer and who may not be local, we talked about using VOIP, Skype, and Magic Jack to save on the phone bills.
We also talked about earning money for your Sisterhood using the Internet. Lorraine Joffe from Sinai Temple shared her experiences setting up an eBay Giving Works account to sell items from their Judaica shop without a charge since eBay donates back all of the fees paid to eBay. Judy Fisher mentioned Market America's non-profit opportunity and suggested anyone interested could contact her for more info.
Women's League has a 30 page booklet "Image Plus Public Relations Handbook" which can either be ordered or downloaded from their web-site.
Go to www.wlcj.org and sign in to download and/or print. If you search for "Image Plus Public Relations Handbook" and pick the link for LINKING: Strengthening Sisterhoods.
By Judith S. Fisher
Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, CA
Torah Fund
"When do you need the checks? To where are they mailed? What needs to be sent with them?" Questions about wrapping up the Campaign were answered in the Torah Fund Workshop. The new theme for 5771 was introduced. It is "Kehillah Kedoshah- Celebrating Community Woman to Woman. It is represented by a lovely hamsah pin. The basics of beginning the new campaign year were next on the agenda. Items discussed were the timeline for the summer; the importance of forming committees; Torah Fund Cards; promoting Torah Fund using posters, newsletters, and talks; e-bay for Torah Fund; new forms; and of course, the Scholarship Campaign. The rest of the time was given to our Sisterhood women to share about their various 2009-10 events. Everyone picked up an idea or two.
If you are a Torah Fund VP or chair and would like more information, please contact Renee Ravich at 858-792-8328 or rravich@san.rr.com.
By Renee Ravich
Torah Fund Vice President
Membership and Z'Havah
The Membership workshop this year was a combined workshop with Z'havah. The workshop focused on how to bridge the two groups that in many sisterhoods are separate and do not feel or act as one large group. The main ideas that were discussed were that women want to feel inspired and will attend something that is worth their time. They want to be with their children if possible because of the limited time they have and they want to be entertained!
We need to create great programming, which helps educate new women so that they clearly understand the mission of Women's League. We need to change the perception of sisterhood. We need to make sure it is for ALL women, of ALL ages. We can not intimidate, we need to listen to what new woman want and what they have to say. A few suggestions were a Bridal Fashion Show, Hike and Havdallah, Kosher Yoga, Sex and the Bible, volunteering at a food bank and including new young women in the Sisterhood Shabbat.
During the workshop we also discussed the possibility of not having Z'havah at all. Some sisterhoods feel that it has divided the organization, instead of building a stronger cohesive one. Each sisterhood will have to evaluate what is best for themselves and whether they should continue with Z'havah or use other ways of blending new women into the existing group.
By Barbara Anik
Membership Vice President
Countdown to Sinai - Our Sustainable Tradition
On May 2, on the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, Carol Levy, Senior VP Campaign, Jewish Federation of L.A., spoke to us about the traditions of the holiday of Lag Ba'Omer. On this day, bonfires are lit, couples get married, people dance in the fields, families go on outings and have picnics and children receive their first haircut. It is the one day during the counting of the Omer, the time between the physical emancipation from Egypt and the spiritual giving of the Torah that is a celebration. It is the image of the bonfire with its warmth and sparks of enthusiasm, G-d, holiness and inspiration that is most important for Women's League's future.
In a preliminary study of 250 Jewish leaders from 22-40, presented by sociologist Jack Wertheimer at the Jewish Funder's Network, there were many revealing findings. It was discovered that 40% of Jewish leaders attended Day School, more than 10% of which were Orthodox Day Schools, 2/3 of the leaders attended Jewish summer camps and 50% spent time studying in Israel. It was also found that today's young Jewish leaders want to be inclusive with non-Jews, are not threatened by anti-Semitism and 50% do not see Israel as central to Jewish identity and people hood.
The findings in this study outline the challenges that face Jewish organizations today. These include making Israel central to Jewish people hood, finding a place for the non-Jewish spouse in the Jewish community, raising and allocating money so that our children and grandchildren can attend Day School, Jewish camps and programs such as Birthright which are life changing experiences in their Jewish identity. In order to face these challenges, we must form a strong and vibrant organization.
The main motivations for joining an organization are friendship, warmth and welcoming and meaningful programming. Ms. Levy suggested that we must think back to who brought us into the Synagogue or Sisterhood and the ideals and qualities of this person. We should work on these qualities so that we can be mentors to others. We can put our arms around one person and make a difference. We should get back to basics, develop a strategy that worked for us and relive it with someone else. We all relate better to a personal approach. This one-on-one relationship will encourage others to join and become active in Women's League. It is up to us to be the single spark that helps Women's League grow into the bonfire that will sustain our Jewish traditions in the future.
By Roberta Spaccia
Adat Ari El, Valley Village, CA
Sisterhoods Got Talent
We are blessed to have women in our Pacific Southwest Sisterhoods who are not only talented, but were also generous enough to share their talents with our conference attendees. Those in attendance were treated to a show filled with beautiful music, comedy and fun.
The show began with a lovely duet by Phyllis Fleschler and Aliza Goland of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker", from "Fiddler on the Roof". They were accompanied on the violin by Janice Banarer. Next, Kelley Stein sang an old Israeli pioneer song, accompanied by Janice Banarer on the violin. What a powerful experience. Michelle Hoisch, from Temple Aliyah Sisterhood, sang a lovely song a cappella, letting us all appreciate her sweet voice.
Shomrei Torah Sisterhood's contingent at conference, led by President Monique Smallson, performed as a group. They brought us songs of joy and fun.
The Adam and Eve skit, complete with fruit, was hilarious. The tribute to their current President Monique, and to their new President Jennie Raffle was good hearted. Their final song was a creative tribute to Pacific Southwest Region President Marilyn Berkowitz and our conference consultant Terry Winston.
Janice Banarer brought her violin on stage to play a solo violin piece of classical music--then she turned the tables on us and went into a funny comedy routine. Janice showed us that she is a woman of many marvelous talents. As the evening came to a close, we were treated to a solo by Phyllis Fleschler who sang "Far from the One I Love" from "Fiddler on the Roof". She was accompanied by Janice Banarer on the violin. The evening concluded with two songs by our great Ruach Revellers, led by Phyllis Fleschler. Phyllis is a remarkable, multitalented musician whose help was invaluable in putting the talent show together and making it a success.
All in attendance agreed this was a wonderful evening of entertainment by so many of our own talented Sisterhood women. Many thanks, Todah Rabbah to all those who participated and made this evening such a huge success.
By Irene Burstein
Chair, Sisterhoods Got Talent
Tikkun Olam
We started by discussing Tikkun Olam and specifically the Mitzvah Yomit project started last year. Since many of the Sisterhoods had not started the project, we talked about starting with easy mitzvot such as holding the door for someone loaded with packages or calling housebound neighbors to see if they need anything from the market when you are going. Doing a mitzvah every day is something many of us probably do without even realizing we are doing it, but pointing it up with the Mitzvah Yomit project will help us realize what we do –and perhaps help us to do better.
Have you ever considered that Sisterhood itself is a mitzvah? Having a Sisterhood in your synagogue is doing a mitzvah for the synagogue. Without Sisterhood, many of the benefits the synagogue enjoys would not exist. So in a sense, every time you help Sisterhood, you get mitzvah points.
However, Sisterhood is also part of the greater community and should be doing more things than just for the synagogue. We talked about the Women's League projects which every Sisterhood should be supporting. Myra Shapiro explained the knit/crochet caps which her Sisterhood is making for cancer patients. Gail Neiman read about the homes PSW supports for battered women and children and Myra talked about Project Chicken Soup and where the Sisterhoods could participate.
This year, while we are still promoting the Mitzvah Yomit program, we are concentrating more on "going green" – le'avdah u'lshamrah – to plant and to preserve – also part of tikkun olam. We talked about ways the Sisterhood or synagogue can help stop waste or global warming and how Sisterhoods or individuals can help with the greening of the neighborhood. We remembered what David Nahai had told us earlier in the Conference about the Jewish mandate to plant and preserve dating back to the Garden of Eden, when G-d gave us dominion over nature – the responsibility of stewardship, and the obligation to protect His world.
We then broke up into groups to try to plan a "green" project that the Sisterhood can do in the synagogue. Flyers were distributed giving facts about water and waste and telling how we can help to protect our environment.
When the meeting was adjourned, the women felt they had learned a lot, and that they had made a good start.