We are committed to creating community!
As we continue to adjust to the uncertainty of a new, yet temporary, norm it is important for us to connect as a community. We are happy to be able to share opportunities for engagement, support, encouragement, and resources to make our adjustment a little easier.
In addition to the programs listed below many of our partners, locally and nationally, are working to create community. We encourage you to contact your synagogue to learn of additional opportunities.

You can find a directory of our partners and synagogues by visiting our website at Thejewishfed.org/community .
 
For additional resources and information, please go to the Federation  Thejewishfed.org/covid19 , or visit our Facebook page at Facebook.com/thejewishfed .
For more information on Partnership Programs,
please visit our

Michiana Jewish Film Festival Update
This year was to be the 10th anniversary of the Michiana Jewish Film Festival and we planned for it accordingly. Many hours of hard work were poured into creating a spectacular festival that we could all be proud of. We could not have known about the situation in which we currently find ourselves. Only weeks after our final roster of films were carefully selected by our wonderful film festival committee, we have made the difficult decision, along with the staff at DeBartolo, to cancel the physical portion of the festival, which was to take place at DeBartolo.

Our community's health and safety must be placed above all other considerations and there are too many unknowns at this time to continue to plan the festival at its original venue. However, as they say in show business, "The show must go on." For this reason, we are delighted to inform you that the festival will still take place, in a modified virtual format, during the week of May 11th, as previously scheduled.


Watch for further information in our emails and on our Facebook .

A Message from
Jewish Family Services:
JFS: Person-To-Person Calling, Maot Chittim and Other
Upcoming Programs

In reaching out to current and former JFS clients over the past week, we affirmed that social distancing and stay-at-home orders are leading to an increase in isolation and anxiety in our community. With these findings, JFS is ramping up our remote services and programs to offer contact, camaraderie and companionship to everyone in the community, especially those who are most vulnerable.

Our Person-To-Person program is available to all in the community. Volunteers will be calling members of the community on a regular and continual basis to check in, offer friendly conversation and a listening ear, and identify individual needs for JFS staff to address. This service is free and confidential. If you, or someone you know would like to receive person-to person calls, please contact Rowan Kelley, Director of Jewish Family Services at [email protected] , or 574-309-1213.

Beginning next Sunday, April 5 th , Rowan will be offering an eight-part remote discussion course on maintaining and enhancing wellness practices in the age of social distancing. This course is free and open to all in the community. If you are interested in participating, please contact Rowan by next Friday, April 3 rd at [email protected] .

Join JFS Staff in a live virtual community event to discuss how the pandemic has effected us and ways we can cope. We will meet through ZOOM technology every three weeks so we can see one another. We would like to offer helpful tips for coping with isolation, illness fears, economic concerns, and more. Furthermore, we hope to create a safe space for sharing and discussion. Mostly we want to have a space where we can all feel connected in this time of social distancing.

Please email [email protected] if you are interested in participating!

JFS will be continuing to follow the Passover tradition of Maot Chittim this year, by offering financial and grocery assistance to anyone in the community who needs help to have a Seder at home. This assistance is confidential and offered with an open heart, as our united Jewish community prepares to celebrate and commemorate our liberation from Mitzrayim. If you are in need of assistance to make the Seder a reality in your home this year, please contact Rowan at [email protected], or at 574-309-1213 by next Friday, April 3 rd .

Finally, for those in the community who can give at this time, we need your help. In addition to delivering Maot Chittim and ensuring that all who are hungry in our community have a Seder meal, JFS is preparing to expand our direct assistance programs to community members who need our care and support. We are here for you, delivering the services and programming our community needs. If you are able to give to our Passover Appeal, please do so. You can donate online by clicking here .

Any questions can be directed to Rowan at [email protected] .

Zoom Meetings
Evening Minyan & Gatherings
Sundays at 8:30 AM
Monday-Friday at 8:00 AM
Tuesdays and Thursday at 6:00 PM
Join Sinai Synagogue through Zoom, and not miss a beat for Sundays at
8:30 AM, Mondays-Fridays at 8:00 AM and Tuesday and Thursday gatherings at 6:00 PM. We davven minha and check in with people.
At the end, Rabbi Friedland shares a short lesson.

To be included in all Zoom meetings, be sure to click the link below:

If you have any questions, please contact Rabbi Friedland at [email protected] .
Need Tips to Get Through this Period of Being Stuck at Home?
How about taking some from a person who spent years in
solitary confinement?

Natan Sharansky, the former head of the Jewish Agency spent nine years in a Soviet gulag due to his Zionist activity. Now he is sharing five tips for quarantine in a new video that was published on Monday.