Chai Lines
International Northeast Region
Women's League
for Conservative Judaism
Networking to Engage, Enrich and Empower
Conservative Jewish Women
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December 20, 2018 Volume 3, Issue 14
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FROM THE REGION PRESIDENT--JOAN LOWENSTEIN
I
think once in a while we all have found a random song in our heads. I know it happens to me on occasion. Today the song was "Getting to Know You" by Julie Andrews from the musical
The King and I. It made me think about how I would really like to get to know all of you!
One way we can do this is by attending the International Northeast Region Conference in Toronto on June 2 and 3,2019. I hope you will all put this on your calendars and join us. More information will be coming very soon. We have a fabulous conference committee led by Ruth Shapiro, and they are hard at work planning some great sessions and speakers.
I would also like to visit your Sisterhoods. Please let me know of upcoming programs you may be having and that you would like me to attend. I will do my best to fit them into my schedule and come meet you all. Or in lieu of programs, I can just come for a visit and meet with you and your boards. Feel free to send me an email at
INRPresident@wlcj.org.
In addition, make sure you are taking advantage of all that Women's League has to offer. There have been and continue to be some great distance workshops. Some upcoming in January are
Nominating and another on
Torah Fund. February's workshop is on
Programming and Membership, and in March there is a workshop on
Identifying and Cultivating Membership. Learn more at
www.wlcj.org.
Did you know that our region has a website and a Facebook page? Much thanks to our Communications expert Lois Silverman. You can find the website at
http://www.wlcjregion.org/northeast/.
And find us on Facebook by searching
International Northeast Region WLCJ.
Here's hoping that we all can get to know each other. Wishing you all a very happy and healthy secular New Year!
B'Shalom,
Joan
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GOOD NEWS WANTED
Toot your own horn.
Tell us what is going on in your Sisterhood.
Tell us what is successful in your Sisterhood.
Email Lois Silverman, Chai Line editor @
ltsilverman@google.com
and she'll share your news.
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SAVE THE DATE FOR INR CONFERENCE 2019
INR SPRING CONFERENCE
June 2 & 3, 2019
at Beth David, Toronto
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DID YOU KNOW ABOUT INR'S WEBSITE AND A FACEBOOK PAGE?
INR has a website which contains information about our region including:
- A history of our region
- A listing of our region personnel
- A listing with contact information about region sisterhoods
- An archive of our newsletter, Chai Lines
- Links to Women's League's website and those of other organizations in the Conservative Movement
- AND much more.
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FROM THE EDITOR
I post this poem from Marge Piercy's collection of poems,
The Art of Blessing the Day. It was first posted to WLCJNet in 2005.
SHEMA
Hear, Israel, you are of God and God is one.
Praise the name that speaks us through all time.
V'ahavta
So you shall love what is holy with all your courage, with all your passion
with all your strength.
Let the words that have come down
shine in our words and our actions.
We must teach our children to know and understand them.
We must speak about what is good
and holy within our homes
when we are working, when we are at play,
when we lie down and when we get up.
Let the work of our hands speak of goodness.
Let it run in our blood
and glow from our doors and windows.
We should love ourselves, for we are of God.
We should love our neighbors as ourselves.
We should love the stranger, for we
were once strangers in the land of Egypt
and have been strangers in all the lands of the world since.
Let love fill our hearts with its clear precious water.
Heaven and earth observe how we cherish or spoil our world.
Heaven and earth watch whether we choose life or choose death.
We must chose life so our children's children may live.
Be quiet and listen to the still small
voice within that speaks in love.
Open to that voice, hear it, heed it and work for life.
Let us remember and strive to be good.
Let us remember to find what is holy within and without.
from Marge Piercy,
The Art of Blessing the Day
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FROM WOMEN'S LEAGUE FOR
CONSERVATIVE
JUDAISM
Networking to engage,
enrich and empower
Conservative Jewish Women
Shabbat Message
"Two New Years and Two Birthdays"
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, WLCJ Executive Director
 I have always wondered if one could send their leftover Shana Tova cards this time of year, because, after all, the New Year of 2019 is beginning in just a few days - and Shana Tova is the greeting to wish one a good year, so why not? How lucky are the Jewish people that we are able to celebrate two New Years - one where we get to sit at Services for hours in synagogue, often seeing people we have not seen since the previous year; and one New Year, where we can stay up all night watching people around the world celebrate the New Year in their time zones. And, for my New York-centric family - the ultimate highlight of New Year's Eve evening is the countdown to the ball drop in Times Square. The Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:1, teaches that there are four New Years: the 1st of Tishrei, 15th of Shevat, 1st of Nisan, and 1st of Elul.
If we can celebrate two different New Year's Days, one for the Jewish Calendar, and one for the Secular Calendar, why can't we also celebrate two birthdays - Jewish and Secular? How many people know their birthday on the Hebrew calendar? If one were to think about what date is most commonly remembered on both the Hebrew and Secular Calendar, it is a Yarzheit, the day of one's death. Most commonly people say Kaddish, and light a Yarzheit candle on the Hebrew date of one's passing. However, I have known people who have observed both the Hebrew and the Secular date of their loved one's passing - because the dates on both calendars hold significance to them.
My proposal is this: Why not celebrate happy occasions on both calendars as well? Many of us pride ourselves on living a "double life" - a Jewish life in a secular world. If we possibly commemorate our loved ones' deaths on both calendars, why not celebrate our anniversaries and birthdays on both calendars, as well? (Yes, you might recall that, in May, right before Shavuot, my Shabbat message, "A Second Day of Birth for our son Coby Dov," was about his second day of birth, when he had his heart repair. However, now, I propose that we all can have two days to celebrate our birthdays - the date it falls on both the secular calendar, and the Hebrew calendar.
Therefore, this week, on the 12th of Tevet, December 20, 2018, I will wish my husband Jonathan, a happy Chai anniversary; although, on the Secular Calendar, we got married on January 7, 2001. Furthermore, in our house, the 12th of Tevet has an extra special meaning. It was not until a few years ago, when I started thinking about our son Coby Dov's Bar Mitzvah date, that I realized that Coby's date of birth, January 12, 2006, was the 12th of Tevet - Jonathan's and my Hebrew wedding anniversary. Traditionally, the Bar Mitzvah date is determined according to a boy's thirteenth birthday on the Hebrew calendar, not the secular calendar.
Many of us have witnessed B'nai Mitzvah that are often about the show, and the party. For our Coby Dov, his Bar Mitzvah is truly a milestone in all of our lives. For, in addition to having overcome the challenge of a congenital heart defect, and beginning Early Intervention at nine months old, at twenty-three months old, Coby was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and a few years later diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. The evening he was diagnosed with ASD, I was pregnant with our third child. Our oldest, Cameron Elizabeth, who was four at the time, walked into our bedroom while I was crying. She asked why I was crying, and I told her I had learned why Coby didn't talk. She said, "Coby does not talk, because Coby is a baby!" And, since then, Cameron has been Coby's biggest advocate, fan, and friend. Through many hours of intervention, therapy, schooling, love, and hard work, Coby often needs to be told to be quiet! And I often preface my reprimand by telling him that I am very grateful he does speak, but he needs to either lower his voice, or decrease his talking just a little. Coby loves to communicate and interact, and he is smart, friendly, inquisitive, and a caring young man, with a heart of gold and great interpersonal skills. We have been blessed to live in school districts with children who have a similar diagnosis, and this year, when we moved, he immediately made new friends and achieved honor roll. With the transition into a new school, I was not going to register him immediately in Religious School, but, rather, teach him myself. However, he requested to attend Religious School, and he loves it.
Many might think that the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony creates this special moment when one can count in the minyan, and one becomes a 'bar mitzvah.' Quite frankly, my Coby Dov can count in the minyan on the 12th of Tevet sometime in the afternoon, thirteen years on the Hebrew calendar since he blessed our lives. Coby loves being Jewish and coming to synagogue, and I know when duty calls; when a tenth is needed, he will be there to help with the minyan. However, to make it 'official,' he will have his Bar Mitzvah ceremony on another New Year, the New Year for Trees, Tu B'shevat, on January 21, 2019 (Martin Luther King Day) at the Egalitarian section of the Kotel. Coby will don tefillin made from new tefillin boxes (batim) and parshiyot (parchments) attached with the straps (retuzuot) from the first pair of Tefillin that my parents purchased for me in 1993, to decrease any of his tactile sensitivities. Our youngest, Samuel, will lead parts of the Service, Cameron will leyn Parashat Yitro. When Coby is called to the Torah for his Aliyah and delivers his D'var Torah, words we were never sure he would ever speak, I am sure there will not be a dry eye.
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The Calendar Diary SALE Starts NOW!
Do you still have your copy of our 5778 Calendar Diary? Are you looking to purchase some extra copies for your sisterhood or Judaica shop? Need a last-minute gift? Our 2019-2020 Calendar Diary is about to print soon, but we're marking down the 2018-2019/5778 edition for only $6!
Featuring artwork from our own members and community, the 5778 edition of our pocket calendar includes Jewish holidays, candle-lighting times, Birkat HaMazon, and useful tips for all occasions. Comes with plastic cover.
WWOT - Weekly Words of Torah:
Parashat Vayechi
To inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower
Conservative Jewish Women
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, Executive Director, Women's League For Conservative Judaism
This Shabbat, we conclude the reading of the book of Genesis, Sefer Bereshit, with the Torah Reading of Parashat Vayechi. As Jacob prepares for his death, he blesses his sons, as well as his grandsons. With each of Jacob's blessings, he captures the essence of each son's personality and character. Going forward, the words of the blessings, and the symbolism conveyed in the words of the blessings to each of the sons, become their tribe's symbol and emblem. For example, when one sees a series of symbols for tribes, a lion is often associated with the tribe of Judah because of the blessing given to Judah in Genesis 49:9, "Judah is a lion's whelp; on prey my son, have you grown. He crouches, lies down like a lion, Like the king of beasts - who dare rouse him?" Dan is symbolized with a serpent, as his blessing in Genesis 49:17 was "Dan shall be a serpent by the road, a viper by the path."
There are a number of symbols associated with the Jewish people - a menorah, the chai, and, of course, the Magen David, the Star of David, our six-pointed Jewish star. When I commuted to New York on the New Jersey Transit bus, my favorite part of the commute was driving by the Newark airport and seeing the blue Magen David on the El Al planes. Such great pride one feels to see our Magen David, our Jewish Star on an airplane, or anywhere, for that matter. Now more than ever, we must show our Jewish symbols with greater frequency and pride. This year, we have heard, more often than in previous years, that our Torah Fund pin Atid, Future, in the shape of a Jewish star, has inspired people to wear their Torah Pin more frequently, because of the pride it brings for one's Jewish identity. If you have not yet made your Torah Fund contribution, it is never too late to help the future of our five seminaries. Furthermore, the Torah Fund pin would make a great gift for someone, to show their Jewish pride and hope for a bright and peaceful future.
Announcing the Next Women's League Reads Book!
 We are pleased to announce Women's League Reads' winter book and author, Odessa, Odessa by Barbara Artson. Women's League Reads will hold an author interview Thursday, January 17 at 8:30 p.m., Eastern time.
Membership in Women's League Reads is open only to members in good standing of Women's League-affiliated sisterhoods or to individual members who have paid dues directly to Women's League.
You may subscribe to by contacting Lois Silverman, Internet Services Chair, at lsilverman@wlcj.org, with your e-mail address, sisterhood name/town/state, or individual member information, and thereby join the online group for book news and discussions. READ MORE
The Women's League offices will be closed next week and will reopen
Wednesday, January 2
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FROM THE TORAH FUND VICE PRESIDENT
MARILYN COHEN
Marilyn Cohen,
International Northeast Region Torah Fund Vice-President
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NEED HELP?
HELP IS AVAILABLE ON THE WLCJ WEBSITE.
Programs, membership ideas, education material, and more available at wlcj.org
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