Before beginning my Shabbat message I want to wish a refuah shleyma - a speedy recovery- to all those who have been injured and send comfort to those who lost family members at last evening's Lag B'Omer tragedy in Israel.
Shabbat Shalom. Can you believe it’s the last Shabbat in April? I am not sure where the first half of spring went, but we are well on our way to summer, and I for one am looking forward to it! I want to thank all of you who reached out last week to set up coffees, lunches, dinners, and walks with me. It’s wonderful getting to spend one on one time with each of you. It truly is one of the best parts of my job!
A little over a year ago there was an anti-semitic incident that occurred in our community with High School students painting a swastika on the back of one of their peers. From that, the Mountain Brook School System assembled a Diversity Council composed of various stakeholders from across our community, on which I serve. We meet to talk about antisemitism and how the Mountain Brook Schools can be more diverse and welcoming to all students and staff regardless of race, religion, or orientation. I am pleased to report that under the chairmanship of Dr. Al Cohn and the Principal of Crestline Elementary, Christy Christian, many strides in addressing these issues have been made. Below is an excerpt of an article that was shared with Mountain Brook School families. I think it is equally important to share with our community as well.
April 14, 2021 — The Mountain Brook Schools Diversity Committee in December presented five recommendations to the school district to help it more effectively achieve one of its primary strategic goals.
That goal is to develop or enhance structures and practices to ensure the school district honors individual differences, diversity, and the dignity of all, and that all members of the school community are treated with respect.
MBS has begun to implement the Diversity Committee’s recommendations over the past few months and on Tuesday, April 6, provided an update to committee members about the recent progress.
“Our school district is dedicated to enhancing how we honor and respect diversity and remains grateful to everyone who is helping lay the foundation for long-term growth,” MBS Superintendent Dr. Dicky Barlow said. “While we are putting critical pieces into place, our work is only just beginning.”
Each Mountain Brook school has already formed its own diversity committee that will develop programming to enhance students’ experiences and create opportunities for them to interact and partner with diverse communities and people. The school-based diversity committees consist of teachers, school leaders, parents, and students, with one or two committee members serving in leadership roles.
“Our school diversity committees are currently conducting school audits to determine where their schools are with regard to culture, climate, and where they feel like we need to steer that conversation in year one,” said MBS Director of Student Services Amanda Hood, who serves as a liaison between the school district and Diversity Committee.
Additionally, the school district has started to develop partnerships with local and national organizations as resources for professional learning, student training, and parent support.
Close to 500 MBS employees have already completed anti-bias training through the Anti-Defamation League. Before the start of the 2021-2022 school year, all employees are required to complete the training.
“The anti-bias training is really about the lens through which you see the world that has been formed by your upbringing, experiences, and communities you’ve lived in,” Hood said. “It really pushes you to stand back and reflect on how those things have shaped your opinions, thoughts, and lens.”
Principals and school-based diversity committee leaders are also completing leadership training through the Anti-Defamation League and are preparing to implement the ADL’s No Place for Hate program on their campuses next school year. The No Place for Hate program equips schools to build learning communities of inclusivity, respect, and equity.
"Local school diversity committees will establish a minimum of three genuine, authentic, interactive experiences that will occur in their schools to start important conversations and enhance culture," Hood said.
Furthermore, school district leadership will consider recommendations from students who are part of the Diversity Committee's student subcommittee.
“Right now we have a general code in our student handbook about bullying, intimidation, and harassment,” Hood said. “But our students recommended that our school district look at this more closely."
I hope you are pleased at the progress that is being made in the Mountain Brook School System that serves so many of our children. And while positive changes are taking place, we are still alerted to antisemitic incidents happening frequently in other schools both public and private in Birmingham. Please know that the Federation, when appropriate, is working with organizations across the city along with our partners at the Anti-Defamation League to further address these issues.
Wishing you a restful Shabbat and a week of peace.
B’Shalom,
Danny
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See your Federation dollars at work! |
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Yom Ha’atzmaut at N.E. Miles
Jewish Day School
At the Day School, Yom Ha’atzmaut was celebrated with an afternoon full of exciting activities to celebrate Israel. The afternoon started with falafel, served with hummus, fruit & vegetables. All students went to a petting zoo, monitored by Ms. Carter, where they got to play with Lolo, the bunny; Bob, the bearded dragon; Truffles, the guinea pig; and last, but not least, Phineas the ferret. There was socially distanced Israeli dancing and Israel - themed arts and crafts. K and Grade One ran relay races with balloons. Grades two through eight played thrilling water games, which included a water balloon toss. The Upper Schoolers made salt maps of Israel and decorated the school with banners of Israel’s flag. We finished off the day with delicious popsicles. Happy Birthday, Israel!
A Collaborative Article from the 4 / 5 Class
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PJ Library: It's in the Bag!
Monday, May 3rd @ 8 PM
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Complexities and Trends
in the Jewish Nation
Thursday, May 6th @ 11 AM
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Please join the Birmingham, Greater New Orleans, and Lehigh Valley Jewish Federations for a pop-up lunch and learn program as we hear from Iris Posklinksy, Head of Partnership in the North Region of the Jewish Agency for Israel, – on Thursday, May 6th, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. CDT.
Iris will lead us through a discussion of the Complexities & Trends in the Jewish Nation including:
- Demographic data and what it means – what is the future of the Jewish Nation?
- Changes and Challenges in Israel - Diaspora relations.
- Israel as common denominator to a partisan issue.
- Trends in Jewish Philanthropy.
This event is jointly hosted by the Rosh Ha'ayin Partnership2Gether Steering Committee, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, the Birmingham Jewish Federation, and the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley, in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel's Partnership2Gether program.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Life After Life Without Parole
Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 at 12PM
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Full Circle is doing a pop-up shop at the LJCC on May 16!
Join us anytime from 10 AM-3 PM at The Levite Jewish Community Center for a spring pop-up shop!
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Summer Kick-Off
Sunday, May 23rd at 6:30-9 PM
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The Birmingham Jewish Federation, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Beth-El, and Keneseth Israel invite you to a Summer Kick-Off Party! This event is open to all incoming 8th-12th graders in the Birmingham Jewish Community. Join us at the LJCC outdoor pool for kosher BBQ, DJ Platinum, and fun! |
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The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center (BHEC) is seeking an Executive Director. The Executive Director is a key management leader with overall operational responsibility for overseeing the strategic planning, programming, revenue development, and day-to-day administration of the organization. The ideal candidate will require experience in the following areas, including a strong track record in fundraising and resource development, marketing, and community outreach. The position reports directly to the Board of Directors.
To read more, you can visit their website here.
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“Where Do We Go From Here?” with Lisa McNair and Adath Jeshurun
May 2 @ 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Temple Beth-El
Since the fall of 2020, Temple Beth El has been engaged in a public facing programming series entitled Tirdof (You Shall Pursue), exploring issues of civil rights past and present. Now we’re asking, what’s next? Lisa McNair, whose sister Denise McNair was killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, is a professional public speaker on the topic of reconciliation. This program will feature both a talk by Lisa on her family’s journey and experiences with reconciliation work, and interactive Q and A session. For this program we will be joined by members of Adath Jeshurun, a congregation in Minneapolis, taking advantage of virtual format to expand our reach, and to facilitate a conversation on racial justice and reconciliation across Jewish communities and regional distinctions.
Lisa’s presentation and the moderated Q & A will last for approximately an hour. For the last 20-30 minutes of our program, we will host small group breakout sessions for participants to collaborate and brainstorm across congregations (and states), and then come together for sharing and processing.
This series is part of the development of the Beth El Civil Rights Experience; a multimedia project exploring the intersections of Birmingham’s Jewish and Civil Rights histories, with an eye towards exploring the past and “building bridges” in the present and future. Register here!
"The New Jewish Canon”:
A Conversation about Contemporary Judaism
May 4 @ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Temple Beth-El
The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have been a period of mass production and proliferation of Jewish ideas, and have witnessed major changes in Jewish life and stimulated major debates. Join this class to talk about the book, “The New Jewish Canon,” which came out this year in July. This book offers a conceptual roadmap to make sense of some of this rapid change. The New Jewish Canon is an entry point for the Jewish intellectual and communal zeitgeist of the contemporary period and the recent past, canonizing our most important ideas and debates of the past two generations; and just as importantly, stimulating debate and scholarship about what is yet to come. Join Rebbetzin Bethany with your lunch on zoom to talk about some of these debates. Register here for the zoom link.
JCRC Lunch & Learn
May 4 @ 12:00 PM- 1:30 PM
JCRC
Offenders Alumni Association featuring guest speakers Founder Deborah Daniels and Dena Dickerson, Carla Crowder of Alabama Appleseed and Ron McKeithen, recently released habitual offender.
Jewish Liturgy 101 with Cantor Wittner
May 4 @ 6:00 PM
Temple Emanu-El
What does our liturgy mean? Why do we say the Amidah every day, three times a day? What is the v’ahavta all about?
Jewish liturgy includes reciting, chanting, or singing texts; using ritual objects and wearing ritual garments; performing choreographed physical actions and gestures, and reciting blessings. Although Jewish liturgy includes far more than just the texts that are recited, the texts themselves provide a valuable way of understanding what Jewish prayer and worship is all about. Join us for a three-part series with Cantor Wittner to answer these questions and more in Jewish Liturgy 101.
Antisemitism Across America with Bari Weiss
May 4 @ 7:00 PM- 9:00 PM
JCRC
From 2017 until 2020, Bari was a staff writer and editor for the Opinion section of The New York Times. Before joining the Times, Bari was an op-ed editor at the Wall Street Journal and an associate book review editor there. For two years, she was a senior editor at Tablet, the online magazine of Jewish news, politics, and culture, where she edited the site’s political and news coverage. She regularly appears on shows like The View, Morning Joe, and Real Time with Bill Maher.
Bari is a proud Pittsburgh native and a graduate of Columbia University. She is the winner of the Reason Foundation’s 2018 Bastiat Prize, which annually honors writing that “best demonstrates the importance of freedom with originality, wit, and eloquence.”
Her first book, “How to Fight Anti-Semitism,” was a Natan Notable Book and the winner of a 2019 National Jewish Book Award.
Special thanks to the Steiner Interfaith Fund of the Grafman Endowment Fund for Temple Emanu-El for funding this special congregational program.
Lunchtime Torah Study
May 5 @ 12:00-1:00 PM
Temple Emanu-El
This Torah study meets via Zoom and will cover that week’s Torah portion. All levels welcome. Learn more here!
Tot Shabbat
May 7 @ 5:00PM- 5:30 PM
Temple Emanu-El
It’s time for Tot Shabbat! Join us for a family-friendly Shabbat celebration designed for children ages 0 through 6 years old and their grown-ups. We will sing our way into Shabbat, hear a story, and have a blast! Learn more here!
The Tikkun Middot Project
May 11 @ 7:00 PM-9:00 PM
Temple Beth-El
The Tikkun Middot Project is an innovative, national program to promote character development through mindful engagement with the Jewish Mussar tradition. Beth El is participating by building a small group that will meet to study, discuss, and practice character-forming techniques. Created by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, the purpose of the program is to bring positive communal change by helping individuals acknowledge and reduce negative behavioural patterns. The course will help you be more skillful at navigating challenging situations by building up your wisdom and compassion. Beginning November 17th, Rebbitzen Bethany will be leading a group through this program using a curriculum created by Rabbi David Jaffe.
What Kind of Commitment Is This? Participants will meet once a month for two hours over the course of nine months. In between sessions, participants will check in with a chavruta (study partner) at least once, to study relevant material and check-in for approximately 30-45 minutes. During each unit participants will learn about an action and a focus phrase they can use to help them work on the character trait for that month. Registration is required and the group will close after the first session so that we can build intimacy as a group.
Hands Up Together 2021
May 13 @ 5:30-6:30 PM
Collat Jewish Family Services
Mark your calendar for 5:30 pm May 13, when CJFS will honor Nancy Collat Goedecke at our annual Hands Up Together event! The virtual event will be presented by Mayer and Medical Properties Trust, Inc. Event Chairs are Marjorie Perlman and Emmett McLean, and the event’s Honorary Chair is Charles Collat Sr. Hands Up Together 2021 will be presented on Zoom from 5:30-6:15 pm on Thursday, May 13. This annual event helps make it possible for CJFS to provide care and support for older adults in greater Birmingham. CJFS programs and services support independence and enrich quality of life for older adults, regardless of their faith or financial ability. Get your tickets here!
Financial Assistance Available
for Jewish Community Members
Thanks to a grant from the Greatest Needs Fund of the Birmingham Jewish Federation’s COVID Relief Campaign, Collat Jewish Family Services is offering financial assistance to Jewish community members who are facing financial insecurity because of job loss, caring for family or other issues. Confidential assistance is available to members of the Birmingham Jewish community who need help with rent or mortgage payments, utilities, prescription costs or other needs. To learn more, please email CJFS Clinical Director Marcy Morgenbesser LICSW, marcy@cjfsbham.org or call 205.879.3438.
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The Birmingham Jewish Federation
@jewishbirmingham
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