Chai Lines
International Northeast Region
Women's League
for Conservative Judaism
Networking to Engage, Enrich and Empower
Conservative Jewish Women
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April 4, 2019 Volume 3, Issue 21
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MORE 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, at
and she'll share your news.
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FROM THE PRESIDENT--JOAN LOWENSTEIN
What a wonderful weekend I had! On March 30th I had the honor of visiting Beth David B'Nai Israel Beth Am Sisterhood in Toronto and sharing in their Sisterhood Shabbat. We had the pleasure of also having International President Margie Miller with us. Margie gave an inspiring
D'Var Torah and spoke of
Kehillah Kedosha, a Holy Community and how this relates to our Sisterhoods. I am always so inspired by Margie. Many, many thanks to Ruth Shapiro, President, Leona Eligburg, Sisterhood Shabbat Chair and all the women of Beth David Sisterhood for the invitation and the honor to share in a most meaningful Shabbat.
Margie and I also had the opportunity to attend a program with the Women of Beth Tikvah on Sunday. Author Judie Oron presented on her book,
Cry of the Giraffe. Thank you to Adele Weinstein and the Women of Beth Tikvah for the invitation.
Do you have an event or program you would like me to attend? I hope to visit you all at least once during my term if not more!
Attending these events made me even more excited about our upcoming conference. Spending time with the women in our region is always uplifting and meaningful for me and I can't wait for my next opportunity to do so. I hope you will join us!
Wishing you all a peaceful and meaningful Shabbat.
L'Shalom,
Joan
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ANNOUNCING WLCJ'S JEWELS IN THE CROWN AWARDS
The Women's League for Conservative Judaism's
Jewels in the Crown Award
was established ten years ago, in 2009, in order to recognize our sisterhoods who have demonstrated excellence in education, cultural programming, and social action, and who exhibit a strong Women's League identity. There were more than 215 total sisterhood recipients at the 2014 and 2017 Women's League Conventions. These sisterhoods offered hundreds of interesting and successful programs that reflected a wide diversity of subjects, issues, social action projects, celebrations, and personal enrichment activities. Learn more about the program at
http://wlcj.org/2014/07/jewels-in-the-crown-awards/
.
Now is the time to start collecting your programs to be submitted for Jewels in the Crown Awards for the 2020 Women's League Convention. Please appoint a sisterhood member to be responsible for completing and submitting the application to us. We will be looking at your programs from September 2017 until June 30, 2020.
Download the 2020 Jewels in the Crown application here!
Each Sisterhood must be current with their 2019 and 2020 per capita, and must participate in Torah Fund in order to be eligible to participate in Jewels in the Crown.
Become a shining jewel in the Women's League crown! Please share this letter with your current executive committee and feel free to contact us with any questions.
B'shalom,
Meryl Balaban (mbalaban@wlcj.org)
Madeleine Gimbel (maddy_gimbel@yahoo.com)
Convention 2020 Jewels in the Crown Co-Chairs
Margie Miller (mmiller@wlcj.org)
WLCJ President
Sisters Journeying Together
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FROM WOMEN'S LEAGUE FOR
CONSERVATIVE
JUDAISM
Networking to engage,
enrich and empower
Conservative Jewish Women
Shabbat Message:
"Tazria: A Baffling Parashah, or
What Do Tuma and Tohorah Have to Do
with Childbirth?"
By Barbara Levin, MD, MPH, WLCJ Personal Conversations Chair
This Shabbat, Jewish congregations will again try to decipher
Tazria
, a challenging Torah portion that is often paired with
Metzora
. This year, it is read separately because 5779 is a leap year. The two readings together are among the most "medical," as they discuss various health concerns. The beginning word of this
parashah
, "
tazria
," means to conceive, and it begins with the ritual requirements of child-bearing women. What is
Leviticus
12:1 through 13:59 really discussing? Does it have any significance for life in the 21st century?
The concepts of tumah, uncleanness or impurity, and tohorah, the opposite or purity, occur in other readings. These original ideas relate to the sacrificial services in the Temple in Jerusalem, and are foreign to modern life. Quite simply, the difference between the two is described as who could and who could not participate in public prayer at the Temple, and who could be involved with sacrifices. These categories are unnecessary in present-day rabbinic Judaism: The Temple is not standing, and the sacrifices are no longer.
In a broader context, understanding the impact of these concepts on life has relevance in the modern world. The ancients were more intimately involved with life forces; death and birth were part of their daily lives, and wondrous in their understanding. Avoiding dead bodies and human secretions made sense in their minds. Blood (dam) as a life-giving substance is a key expression in Hebrew thought. Dam, from the root a.d.m, connects with many words, such as earth, Adam the first human, and the color red. The ancients believed that the nefesh (the life force) existed in the blood; this is why animals are slaughtered in such a way as to remove the blood so that it is not eaten.
Women's monthly cycles of bleeding and the loss of blood at childbirth were particularly mysterious. Why was the woman not compromised by this loss of blood? What did it mean for the child to be born in such a way? We have answered these questions with modern science and the hormonal understanding of the female reproductive system, yet issues remain in our modern times. We have gained in scientific knowledge, but in medicalizing the birth process and making it safer, we have distanced ourselves from wonder, from the spiritual experience of birth.
Women experience their monthly periods and childbirth differently. Many women feel "tired" and "drained" during menstruation, and the transitions around pregnancy are challenging, even today. The problem of postpartum depression, for example, often requires medical intervention. The concepts of tumah/tohorah gave women an out, an excuse for being removed from public life requirements. In addition, this parashah specifically explains when a woman could return to her normal life, i.e. at 33 days for a boy, and 66 days for a girl (Who knows why there's a difference?), and also what she had to do to make expiation. Leviticus describes the exact formula of sacrifices that a woman needed to provide for her renewal, and even offered a low-cost (sliding scale) option for poorer families. Amazing!
While the era of sacrificial services has passed, and discussions between male rabbis about the difference in sex and gender have waned, the importance of women coming to grips with their own hormonal and reproductive capabilities persists. Unfortunately, modern science has not provided any easy formulas for transition and change in today's life. It is open for each woman to determine when she is able to return to her "regular" life. The whole discussion of paid leave for childbirth is a current and hot topic. In some sense, modern science has done women a disservice by making both monthly and life-changing experiences so "normal." As women, we are no longer given much slack in terms of dealing with these changes in our own bodies and emotions. The culture around us expects us to move on without any blessing or special rituals.
Perhaps this is what Tazria is saying to us in our 21st century world. These events, pregnancy and childbirth, are life-changing and require the same time and support, even in these days. Translating the term, tumah (impurity) of old, from a physical state to a broader, emotional one presents us with the opportunity to take the time and social exclusion to regain strength and personal insight after childbirth, even during monthly cycles. Getting many others in the modern world to accept and support these transitions is part of the broader picture.
I present these thoughts as a woman, and as a healthcare provider. These musings are not those of a Torah scholar, nor are they meant to be medical in a scientific way. I have used this review of Leviticus and its challenges to open the discussion of our 21st century needs as women to recognize our capabilities, our challenges, and our blessings. Can we open ourselves to learning from ancient wisdom and traditional practice? I would welcome any thoughts from readers who would care to share with me. My email is blevin@wlcj.org.
Thank you and Shabbat Shalom!
________________________
Introduction to Mishnah Berakhot
With Rabbi Amy Levin
Looking for ways to immerse yourself in Jewish study and text? Women's League for Conservative Judaism has just started a new program to enhance, enrich, and engage our Conservative Jewish Women in the 21st Century:
Listen, Pray, Think: A Journey through Mishnah Berakhot,
an 18-month study of the entire Tractate
Masechet
, of
Mishnah Berakhot.
This course will consist of ten live Zoom videoconferencing sessions taught by female scholars and rabbis, which will be recorded and posted on the Women's League website. Materials will also be available on our WLCJ website prior to each session for individual study,
b'chavruta
study with a partner, or as a group study with your Sisterhood.
If you missed the first session on March 17,
Rabbi Amy Levin
will be leading
Intro to Mishnah Berakhot
again on
Call-in information will be sent upon registerin
g - Please refrain from joining the call until
FIFTEEN MINUTES
before the session.
This program is open to REGISTERED individual Women's League and sisterhood members ONLY.
Not a member yet? Become an Individual Member here!
Make sure to register for all individual sessions in order to take the full course.
 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, 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.
Sign Up Now for Distance Workshops!
The next two Distance Workshops are
Wednesday, April 3, "Volunteerism: Alive and Well" and Wednesday, May 22, "Meeting your Sisterhood's Financial Needs (also of interest to Region Financial Teams)," both at 8:30 p.m., Eastern time.
Do you have any social action projects you'd like the membership to know about? How has your community volunteered time to benefit those less fortunate? We are working on a piece for the Fall 2019 issue of
New Outlook
and we would love to hear from our members on what they've done to spread
tikkun olam
. E-mail Erica Slutsky at
eslutsky@wlcj.org
for more details!
Bulk Order our 5780 (2019-2020)
Calendar Diary for your
Region Conference Today!
The next edition of our Women's League Calendar Diary is now available for bulk orders!
1. Set a timeline based on the date of your region conference and have your designated chair place a bulk order with Women's League a few weeks in advance of the convention date using this form.
We suggest sending one check from the region rather than several checks from each sisterhood so only one check can be written to Women's League for all calendar diaries ordered.
2. Women's League will then ship the calendar diaries from New York to your specified address (i.e. the chair's home or the conference host site).
3. The chair can take the master list of every sisterhood that orders the calendar diaries, pack them in bags with the names of each sisterhood written on the outside of the bags, and place the order forms in each bag for the conference.
4. When a sisterhood attends their region conference, they can get their bags directly with the specified quantity of calendar diaries in it. They can also put the bags in their car so they don't have to carry the bags with them at the conference.
5780 Calendar Diary features:
- Shabbat and holiday listings
- Candle lighting times in cities in the United States, Canada, and Israel
- Prayers and berakhot
- Locations of sisterhoods in North America and Kehillot in Israel
- Original writing and artwork from our sisterhood members
- Chesed project ideas from Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
Calendars will be available soon -
Order yours today!
The next Women's League Reads book is
Gateway to the Moon
, by Mary Morris. Now in hardcover and e-reader editions, it will also be out in paperback on March 12. An author interview will be held NEXT
Monday, April 8, 2019, at 8:30 p.m. EST.
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. T
o join the group, write to Lois Silverman at lsilverman@wlcj.org with your Sisterhood name or individual WLCJ member ID.
For other questions and comments, contact Vivian Leber at
vleber@wlcj.org
.
Philadelphia members! Join author and artist Nadine Epstein and our friends at
Moment Magazine
for a discussion on her new book "Elie Wiesel: An Extraordinary Life & Legacy" on April 17 - click on the photo below for more details!
WWOT - Weekly Words of Torah:
Parashat Tazria (Shabbat HaChodesh/Rosh Chodesh Nisan)
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 is a triple header. We read the Torah portion of Parashat Tazria, it is Rosh Chodesh Nisan, and we also refer to this Shabbat as Shabbat HaChodesh, one of the special Shabbatot that precedes Passover. Shabbat HaChodesh is either the Shabbat that coincides with or immediately precedes Rosh Chodesh Nisan - and, this year, you can see that it coincides. The Maftir-reading for this Shabbat is Exodus 12:1-20: "God spoke to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: This month is the first of your months, it is the first of the months of your year..." This constitutes the Commandment that we sanctify the months and, later on the Sanhedrin, calibrate our calendar.
We read the first mitzvah given to the Jews as a people, which tells us to take control of our time. It is deeply significant that the first national mitzvah that God gave us, while still in Egypt on the very threshold of redemption, was to take control of our time. A slave has scant need for a calendar: s/he sleeps and wakes, eats and works, lives his/her entire existence, according to his/her master's timetable. Only a free person can determine his/her own schedule, and only a free nation can determine its own calendar. What do we do with our time? Do we squander it? Do we dedicate it to the better good?
I can bet that, if you are reading this, you do many good things in your life - for one, you are a member of a Sisterhood. I have a challenge for all of us. In this new month, Chodesh, what new things, the same root - Chadash - new - can we do this month? New things in terms of: What new things can we do for our Sisterhood and our Sisters? What new people can we meet and bring in? What new ideas do we have to share with our Sisterhood? What new concepts in Torah do we want to learn? And what new mitzvot might we want to incorporate into our lives? May this new month of Nisan bring us all good health, happiness, joy, and meaning.
Save the Date!
WLCJ Convention 2020
Sisters Journeying Together
Sunday, July 12 - Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Hyatt Regency Schaumburg in Schaumburg, Illinois
(Suburban Chicago)
We look forward to seeing you there!
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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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