May 27th Shaarey Zedek Sisterhood held its 61 st Interfaith Luncheon chaired by Marisa Hochman and Louise Raber. The luncheon was attended by a sold out crowd of 200 people.



Pictured L->R The Reverend James Taylor Christie ( guest speaker), Marisa Hochman, Sandy Polanski, Louise Raber ( SZ Sisterhood Co-Presidents) and Dr Carl Heane-Warne who piped Dr Christie into the luncheon.

We’re extremely proud to have successfully continued this tradition for so many years.

We dined on Shaarey Zedek’s famous party sandwiches and salad with a Key Lime tarte for dessert. The room was decorated in bright pink cloth overlays with beautiful orchid centre pieces.

Sandy announced that we will be receiving the Jewels in the Crown award during the luncheon.

Dr Christie a United Church minister who routinely attends services at Shaarey Zedek spoke on “Can Abraham’s Tent Be mended” ? His answer, if we work together, yes! We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing and be proud Jews!

Tifereth Israel Women's League took the lead in the community Yom HaShoah program this past April in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines and Temple B'nai Jeshurun.  

It was a very successful event. We not only read the names of many of those murdered, but also presented the program 13 Driver's Licenses documentary presented by Lisa Salko, who is related to two of the featured individuals. The panels were loaned to Tifereth by Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center. 

We also had the privilege of hearing the music from the violins from the Violins of Hope project (https://www.violins-of-hope.com/) Violins played by community member, Dekel Luban, see an excerpt below. 

Click here for an exerpt of the violin music

Torah Fund 

The Oseh Shalom campaign for Torah Fund is soon coming to a close. It has been a productive and rewarding year for our region. 

As of this article, it is hard to know exactly how much money has been raised by the affiliates of of our region, as several of you have just had your Torah Fund events near the end of May. However, I am confident that we have made our goal of $95,100.

Here are some important reminders:

We would appreciate checks being in the Torah Fund office by June 15.    

We suggest you mail final checks by June 8 if possible.

Online donations will not be accepted after Friday, June 26th. The online link will be closed from June 27-June 30 as the transition to the new campaign and Torah Fund being managed by Women’s League is completed. On July 1 the new link for our next campaign will be

available.

Important information about the new pins for the Shema Koleinu (Hear Our Voice) campaign of

2026-27:

The pins will be given out at the WLCJ convention in July to a designated woman of each affiliate. If no one from your affiliate is at convention, the pins will be mailed as usual over the summer.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Torah Fund over these past two years! On a personal note, I have very much enjoyed getting to know so many women in our region. It has been a time of growth and hard work. I especially want to thank the Torah Fund Chairs of each affiliate. Lynn Rosenberg Johnson will be taking over the position of Torah Fund Vice President for our region. I leave you in very competent hands!

L’Shalom,

Margie Schneider

ICR Torah Fund Vice President

7381jbs@comcast.net

651-698-4358

Mazel Tov to our incoming

ICR Slate of Officers!

 President: Meryl Nason

Congregation Shearith Israel, Dallas, TX

 Vice-President - Communications: Shira Wajcman

Congregation Beth Shalom, Overland Park, KS

Vice-President – Membership: Louise Raber

Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Winnipeg, MB

Vice-President - Torah Fund: Lyn Rosenberg-Johnson

Congregation Brith Shalom, Bellaire, TX

 Vice-President - Program/Education: Caryn Landes

Congregation Agudas Achim, San Antonio, TX

Treasurer: Jody Jacklin

Congregation Tifereth Israel, Des Moines, IA

Secretary: Cynthia Brooks

Congregation Anshai Torah, Plano, TX

Conference Co-Chairs: Jill Goldstein & Sally Gordon

Congregation Beth Shalom, Overland Park, KS

Parliamentarian: Cindy Ginsberg

Congregation Kol Rinah, St. Louis, MO

Committee Members:

COMMUNICATIONS:

Amy Cook Porter – Individual Member – Colorado Springs, CO

Brenda Keller – Congregation Etz Chaim – Winnipeg, MB

MEMBERSHIP:

Dora Rudberg – Congregation Shearith Israel – Dallas, TX

Micki Kingsley – Congregation Kol Rinah – St. Louis, MO

TORAH FUND:

Nancy Roffman – Congregation Shearith Israel – Dallas, TX

Sandy Polanski – Congregation Shaarey Zedek – Winnipeg, MB

PROGRAM/EDUCATION:

Judy Taylor – Congregation Tifereth Israel – Des Moines, IA

CONFERENCE:

Heather Zarfati – Emanuel Synagogue – Oklahoma City, OK

Amy Cook Porter, Individual Member, Colorado Springs, CO and Margie Schneider, Temple of Aaron, St. Paul, MN are the IntraContinental Region representatives to the WLCJ board.

• Informational Links WLCJ Week
• Torah Fund Legacy Society
• Order 5785 Calendar Diary
• Torah Fund