CHAI LINES
The Newsletter of the International Northeast Region
Women's League for Conservative Judaism
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SISTERS JOURNEYING TOGETHER
Serving Conservative Jewish Women
in New York State, Ontario, and Quebec
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Visit our Region's Facebook page with daily articles, videos and more.
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From the Region President--Joan Lowenstein
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This week Womens League and our Region in particular has suffered a great loss. We mourn the passing of Leona Eligberg, truly a Woman of Valor. Many of us have had the honor and pleasure of knowing and working with Leona over the years on a sisterhood, branch, region and international level.
Leona served in many positions over the years including, but not limited to, being the former Montreal Womens League President, an WLCJ International Vice President, and was currently serving as our Region Membership Vice President. Leona was also extremely active and held positions in The League of Human Rights of B’Nai Brith of Canada, B’Nai Brith Mount Sinai Chapter, Shaare Zedek Sisterhood President, and National Council of Jewish Women Yachad Branch. Of course she was also very involved in her synagogue and sisterhood be it in Montreal or Toronto. And this does not even touch upon her work life as a teacher or positions held in the secular world which are also numerous and esteemed.
Leona, we will miss your smiling face, your good conversation, your hard work and your stories about your grandchildren and your trips to Albany. But most of all we will just miss you. May you rest in peace and may your memory forever be for a blessing.
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I wish, above all else, good health for you and your loved ones, and of course, a peaceful and meaningful Shabbat.
Joan
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Lois Silverman Offers Virtual Course Jewish Women in Film Part 2:
Jewish Women in Film--
1930's & the War Years
Monday, May 4, 2020 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT, followed by Q & A
During these very difficult times why not learn more about Jewish women in the movies. Lois Silverman will be offering a course on Monday, May , 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT, followed by Q &A. All are welcome.
Please see zoom instructions below.
"When we view a film, we enter a new, often unfamiliar world," said Silverman. "If the film is well constructed, we become engrossed in how the inhabitants of that world react with each other. But when we study a film, we learn more about that world; we see how the inhabitants of that world interacted and why they acted as they did. To study film is a means of viewing history and studying it," explained Silverman as she described her upcoming course. Silverman teaches a film course at SUNY/POLY in Utica/Rome
New York.
Since the beginning of the US film industry in the early 1900s, Jewish women have been involved in front of the camera. They have also been part of the film industry, to a lesser degree, behind the scenes. While putting the times and societal norms into context, this course, through film clips, will explore the history and role of Jewish women in film from the beginning of the industry until today.
Don't forget the popcorn! All are welcome ! Tell all your family and friends!
Lois Silverman earned a B.A. cum laude and an M.A. in English Literature from Montclair State University, NJ. She has taught American and English literature, writing, and media studies as well as many adult education courses. Presently she is teaching film studies at SUNY/POLY (Utica/Rome). Having been sisterhood president of Temple Beth El, Utica, and NY State Branch President,
she has also served as WL’s Program/Music Chair, Youth/School Chair, and is now Internet Services Chair. Lois has written many programs and publications for WLCJ.
Topic: Women and Film
Time: May 4, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Love WLCJ!
Follow WLCJ on her Social Media Sites
If you aren't already following Women's League for Conservative Judaism on all her social media sites, now is the time to do so. It's a great way to keep in touch with the latest news and events. Here are WLCJ's links, including LinkedIn, which has recently been added to the website homepage.
Stay tuned over the next months for quick tips on how to help maximize WLCJ's impact on all her
social media sites.
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Shabbat Message: May 2, 2020
The Journey
by Cathy Litofsky,
Seaboard Region President
When I started thinking about my Shabbat message, I can honestly say that the final version here does not in any way resemble where my writing began. I started thinking about the holidays ahead in May. I thought about memories from the past and how they impact my present. I thought about family members who have shaped me and the lessons I learned from all of them, good and bad. I was then reminded of a quote by Lillian Hellman. She wrote: “Nothing you write, if you hope to be good, will ever come out as you first hoped.” I hope that the journey I took to get to my final destination is worth the read.
The last six weeks have provided “a new normal” for now. During this period, we have seen and heard a lot about the pandemic and how it has shifted our everyday routine to working at home, to Zoom workshops and Shabbat services. It has also brought about changes with regard to the spaces we are in and the community that surrounds us.
The journey we are experiencing, however, brings hope, encouragement and a greater sense of community. I am reminded of Rabbi Akiva’s journey and how optimistic he was throughout his spiritual journey that was filled with learning, teaching and faith. It also brought me to thinking about and understanding Rachel, his wife, during Rabbi Akiva’s journey. It brought me hope and the ability to be optimistic.
What is ahead for us and where is this journey taking us? Many of us have become familiar with and more comfortable with gathering in a communal setting via Zoom and other new technology to participate in workshops, events and Shabbat services. We are socializing with neighbors, Sisterhood members and family in ways we were not comfortable with just a short time ago.
We have taken a side path on this journey to set our personal needs aside and perform acts of Tikkun Olam at a much higher frequency than ever before. We have seen neighbors and businesses coming together as a greater community to donate services, supplies and food to those in need. We have ramped up personal communications with our own Sisterhood members and boards by picking up the phone and checking in on each other...
Although we are all on this journey, it touches each of us in very individual ways. What this journey has proven to me is that even in the most difficult times, we can concentrate on the positive. We can take the lessons our ancestors have passed on to us,
l’dor v’dor,
stress its importance in the present and how essential it is for the future. We can and will stay engaged with the community around us.
May this week be easier for you and your loved ones. May you find comfort in the community surrounding you now or the ability to reach out to embrace the community you are in. Most importantly, stay safe, connected and engaged with your community.
Shabbat Shalom!
Cathy Litofsky
Seaboard Region President
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Weekly Words of Torah goes PC (Parashah and Chesed)
Parashat Aharei Mot - Kedoshim
(Shabbat 5/2/2020)
This coming Shabbat, we read a double portion - Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim. In Parashat Aharei Mot, we read about God providing more laws and duties for the priests, the kohanim, including the responsibilities of the high priest on Yom Kippur. Other laws discussed pertain to fasting and atonement on Yom Kippur, laws about blood and eating meat, and prohibitions on inappropriate sexual relations. Parashat Kedoshim includes the holiness laws, laws about respecting parents, not worshipping idols, observing Shabbat, eating sacrifices right away, leaving the corners of fields for the poor, not stealing, not taking advantage of handicaps, judging cases fairly and not hating people. The most famous line in the Holiness law code here in Parshat Kedoshim is found in Leviticus 19:18, Ve-ahavta le-re’acha ka-mocha, Love your neighbor as yourself.
Simple Chesed projects for this week - leave a note at your mailbox thanking your postal worker, for being an essential worker during this period of social distancing, quarantine and isolation. Leave a similar note with your recycling and garbage cans, in order to thank our sanitation works. Showing our appreciation to the essential workers in our community during this period in time, is just one way to put the words, Love your neighbor as yourself, into practice.
“A Prayer of Hope During This Pandemic” By Rabbi Naomi Levy
Rabbi Naomi Levy is the founder and spiritual leader of
Nashuva
, a groundbreaking Jewish community based in Los Angeles.
Originally published at
Nashuva.com
.
We are frightened, God,
Worried for our loved ones,
Worried for our world.
Helpless and confused,
We turn to You
Seeking comfort, faith and hope.
Teach us, God, to turn our panic into patience,
And our fear into acts of kindness and support.
Our strong must watch out for our weak,
Our young must take care of our old.
Help each one of us to do our part to halt the spread of this virus.
Send strength and courage to the doctors and nurses
In the frontlines of this battle,
Fortify them with the full force of their healing powers.
Send wisdom and insight to the scientists
Working day and night across the world to discover healing treatments.
Bless their efforts, God.
Fill our leaders with the wisdom and the courage
To choose wisely and act quickly.
Help us, God, to see that we are one world,
One people
Who will rise above this pandemic together.
Send us health, God,
Watch over us,
Grace us with Your love,
Bless us with Your healing light.
Hear us, God,
Heal us, God,
Amen.
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MISHNAH BERAKHOT, CHAPTER EIGHT
WITH RABBI AMY LEVIN
NEW DATE AND TIME
Monday, May 11, 2020,
at 2 p.m., EDT
Rabbi Amy Levin, the second woman ordained by the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary of the Masorti Movement, has trained in the Rav Hamachshir program of The Jewish Theological Seminary and the “Consulting for Vital Congregations” program of The Alban Institute. She has served congregations in Israel and in the United States and is the past president of The Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island. In that role she testified before the Rhode Island General Assembly supporting new legislation regarding same sex marriage, gun control, funding for domestic violence education and more. Rabbi Levin has served on the faculty of the Schechter Institute, Hebrew Union College and The Conservative Yeshiva. Since 2011, Rabbi Levin has served on the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the international Rabbinical Assembly. She returned to Israel in the summer of 2016 and lives on Kibbutz Hanaton. From there, she has established Tzibur Strategies for Vital Congregations and Their Leadership (
www.tziburstrategies.net
) providing consulting and coaching for congregations, clergy and leadership teams and Pirka Mobile Jewish Learning providing live-streaming, interactive Jewish learning through video chat platforms. She also serves as Kibbutz Hanaton’s Director of Community Life and Services.
Topic: Mishnah Berakhot
Time: May 11, 2020 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Study the the who, what, where, when and why of Birkat HaMazon with Rabbi Helene Kornsgold,
Director of Congregational Education
Thursday, May 7th 8:00 - 9:00PM Eastern Time
Rabbi Helene Kornsgold has been working as the Director of Congregational Education at Temple Israel in Charlotte, for the past 4 years.
She loves working with people of all ages and is constantly inspired by those she works with and teaches. Rabbi Kornsgold worked in Los Angeles, California for 8 years prior to moving to the South. She was ordained in 2006 from the rabbinical school at JTS, in addition to receiving her Masters in Jewish Education from the Davidson School at JTS.
For her undergraduate studies, she attended the dual degree program between Barnard College and List College (at JTS). Her free time is spent with her husband Alon and their dog Bailey.
How to lead Birkat HaMazon with Eryka Velazquez, cantorial intern at South Huntington Jewish Center in Long Island.
Thursday, May 14th 8:00 - 9:00PM Eastern Time
Eryka Velazquez utilizes the power of prayer and song to connect present-day Jews with ancient Jewish traditions. She is a passionate singer, and music has always played a major role in her life. Currently in her fifth year of studies at the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and the Davidson School of Education, Eryka deepens her knowledge of Jewish education every day. In her future positions of leadership, she looks forward to blending the beautiful Jewish traditions of our past with contemporary practices of Judaism. Eryka most recently spent a second summer at Camp Ramah Wisconsin as a Yahadut teacher, Shira staff and B'nai Mitzvah Program Director.
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Women's League Reads Author InterviewJune 2, 2020 - 08:00 PM Eastern Time
Convention presenter Goldie Goldbloom
will discuss her novel
ON DIVISION
Goldie Goldbloom’s first novel, The Paperbark Shoe, was given the AWP Novel Award, the Independent Publishers’ Novel of the Year, and was recently placed on the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read list. Her work has been shortlisted for the Australian Literary Society’s Gold Medal and the Aurealis Prize for Fantasy Fiction, and her writing has appeared in venues such as NPR, Ploughshares, The Kenyon Review and Le Monde. She is the grateful recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Brown Foundation, the City of Chicago, the Elizabeth George Foundation, Ragdale, Yaddo, Northwestern University and many other organizations. Her most recent novel, On Division, was chosen to be the One Bay, One Book selection for San Francisco for 2020. She is chassidic, the mother of eight children, and grew up in Australia. She teaches in the creative writing program at Northwestern University.
Topic: Author Goldie Goldbloom
Time: Jun 2, 2020 08:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Meeting ID: 475 511 878
Password: 453669
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+1 587 328 1099 Canada
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Meeting ID: 475 511 878
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Still Accepting Jewels In The Crown Application
There's still time to send in your forms!!
We thank all Sisterhoods who already sent in their Jewels In The Crown applications. The cover letter and application may be found under section 05A of the password protected area on the website. Need help with login? Need quick blank application? Contact Razel
rkessler@wlcj.org
212-870-1263.
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Cross Movement Events All Times EDT Unless Specified
Life Under Siege: The Talmud's Take On Trying Times
Monday, May 4th 1:00-2:15pm
Dr. Sarah Wolf explores how the values and priorities portrayed in a Talmudic story about the siege of Jerusalem sheds light on present-day questions of political leadership, unreliable news sources, physical privation, and economic disparity. 1:00–2:15 p.m. ET.
Note: The Zoom link will be in the confirmation email that you will receive after you register.
Cantors Assembly
SongSwap: Shavuot, Yizkor with special guest Julia Andelman
Listen
May 6th 12 Noon EDT
SongSwap is all about sharing. No need to be a cantor or musician. Everyone is welcome...all the time.
We always meet for a live, in-person webinar on the first Wednesday of each month at 12 Noon EST. You can also find us on iTunes, Google Play and YouTube. To learn more or to listen and watch previous episodes, visit our archives.
NO COST ONLINE
LEARNING
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Your opportunity to enjoy past zooms
Cantor Leon Sher and Hazzan Aliza Pomerantz-Boro sing his composition, Heal Us Now (each from their own home) at a special visit to our daily 1pm Psalm Study and Kaddish, Friday, March 27th
Listen
Their earlier performance of this piece with the choir from Congregation Beth El, Voorhees, NJ
Lois Silverman -- Jewish Women In Film Part 1
April 1st Program is now on our website
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