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From the Region President |
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This week we have “Part B” from our guest columnist, Region Torah Fund Vice President, Marilyn Cohen. In this issue, Marilyn provides us with additional information regarding the Torah Fund special project Creating New Spaces (“Spaces”), an update from Barbara Ezring, WL International Torah Fund Chair and Lisa Paule, Torah Fund Director, and a photograph and description of the new B’Yachad Pin which we are all anxiously awaiting.
Marilyn also has many ideas for virtual Torah Fund events and is more than willing to lend a hand. Contact her if you need assistance. She can be reached at marilyncohen@bell.net. And don’t forget to let us feature your recent or upcoming Torah Fund event in an upcoming issue of Chai Lines. Please send an email to Marilyn with details. Once again, thank you Marilyn for all of your hard work as our INR Torah Fund Vice President.
I would also like to draw your attention to two exciting new initiatives from Women’s League. Beginning this month, Women’s League is offering an Adult Bat Mitzvah Course and a Beginning Hebrew reading class for WL members. Bat Mitzvah classes will meet monthly on Thursday evenings at 8:00 pm ET beginning on September 24th and will culminate with a Bat Mitzvah at the next WLCJ Convention in 2023! The Beginning Hebrew reading class will meet twice per month on Fridays at 1:00 pm ET beginning on September 25th. You can find more information below or contact Ellen Kaner Bresnick Ebresnick@wlcj.org or Julia Loeb jloeb@wlcj.org
And do not forget to register for our next Region Program, an evening with Nina Segalowitz. Nina is an Indigenous woman from Montreal, Canada who was given to an adoptive family that was unaware that she had been taken from her birth parents unwillingly. She was raised by a Jewish father and a Filipino mother. Please see the flyer below for more information. I hope you will join us on October 20th to hear her fascinating story. Please RSVP to Adele Weinstein at adelew@rogers.com by Thursday October 15, 2020.
I wish, above all else, good health for you and your loved ones, and of course, a peaceful and meaningful Shabbat.
Joan
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THE TORAH FUND PIN FOR 2020-2021/5781 |
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The Torah Fund theme for 2020-2021 is B’Yachad, which means "Together."
The new Torah Fund season kicked off on July 12, 2020, as we celebrated our shared yerushah (heritage) as proud Jewish women affiliated with the Conservative/Masorti Movement, at the virtual one-day Women’s League Convention, which replaced the originally-planned full Convention, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Wearing this pin signifies the joy of sisterhood members working together year-round to make important contributions to the Jewish community through their volunteer efforts at synagogues across the United States and Canada. Our pride in being Jewish shows in everything we do.
We are high achievers in our professional and personal lives, and we accomplish even more together! Each of us is one small nugget of gold, but together our small gifts reflect and refract the light inside us, and help each other shine. Together, since 1942, the modest contributions of thousands of individuals to this grassroots fundraising effort called Torah Fund have helped to educate and train each generation of rabbis, cantors, scholars, educators, summer camp directors, chaplains, campus Jewish life staff, and committed lay leaders. These are the people who guide and teach, console and uplift our people, one soul at a time. We make this happen together.
Join us by supporting Torah Fund today!
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Hello Everyone,
We'd like to update you on Torah Fund operations as our B'Yachad Campaign moves full speed ahead.
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As you know, because of the pandemic, the Torah Fund office within JTS remains closed and we are neither fulfilling orders for paper materials nor sending the new pins. We don't know when the office will re-open. Please encourage donors to continue to wear our beautiful Chesed pin.
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Please, continue to make online donations to Torah Fund. We are sending meaningful in honor of and in memory of letters (paper) to recipients. Because cards are presently unavailable, this is a great alternative for acknowledging lifecycle events.
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Since we cannot send the paper greeting cards, a creative suggestion was made to use the 2020-21 TF Invitation Shell, found on the TF Resources page, which you can print locally, as a card alternative. It can be folded and any sentiment written on the inside.
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If you become aware of a donation for which there will be matching funds, please be sure to inform the Torah Fund office to expect the matching funds gift, and please provide the name of the donor and entity making the matching gift.
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On the TF donation page we fixed two items: We removed the default donation amount, and the default Gift Type. There are options for periodic contributions a donor can set up by selecting Sustaining Gift and choosing from the drop-down menu.
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Let's talk about the wonderful virtual TF events sisterhoods will host this autumn/winter! Why limit them to just your sisterhood audience? Please consider including members of other sisterhoods as online attendees, and share your event info with your region TF VP and Women's League. Especially these days, it's good to have a variety of TF virtual events for supporters.
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Why not spice up your sisterhood and region communications with stories about our seminary students and alumni. Here are two links that may be of interest. Please stay tuned for more material and profiles from our seminaries.
- Cantor Takes Winding Path to Profession – Jewish Exponent [featuring CS ’20 Alum Jacob Agar]
- Rabbi Feels Call of History – The Atlanta Jewish News [RS Alum Rabbi Joshua Heller featured]
Thanks for all you're doing to make the B'Yachad Campaign a success. Stay well.
Sincerely,
Barbara Ezring
International Torah Fund Chair
Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
Lisa Paule
Torah Fund Director
Jewish Theological Seminary
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CREATING NEW SPACES: A TORAH FUND CAMPAIGN SPECIAL PROJECT
Creating New Spaces ("Spaces") is the newest Special Project of the Torah Fund Campaign of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. Our $200,000 goal has two components:
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To raise $100,000 to support the JTS Crossroads Campaign by building a study space in the new Undergraduate Residence Hall at JTS, to be named "Women’s League Study Space."
- To raise $100,000 to support a special course of training at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies concerning issues of gender bias and harassment, to be named "Women’s League Institute on Gender Bias and Harassment."
Like all Torah Fund Special Projects, Spaces runs parallel to the general Torah Fund campaign. Donations to Spaces are in addition to the general campaign.
Give online to Creating New Spaces (US Donors Only)
Or send a check, payable to Torah Fund with Spaces in the memo line, to:
Torah Fund
The Jewish Theological Seminary
3080 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
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Parashat Ki Tavo 5780 Shabbat, September 6, 2020 / 16 Elul, 5780
A MESSAGE FROM OUR INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT
Shalom,
We have all become aware of the devastation due to the recent natural disasters. We have watched as the wildfires in California and Hurricane Laura in Louisiana have devastated entire communities. We have reached out to our affiliates in those areas and found them to be safe and unharmed.
If you live in those areas and need assistance, please reach out to your Region leadership or me directly. We, at Women’s League pray that those communities heal quickly and continue to remain safe during this unique and challenging time.
B’yachad, we remain together,
Debbi Kaner Goldich
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Shabbat Message
By Barbara Ezring,
International Torah Fund Chair
We are living in challenging times. In the Spring, our “normal” changed overnight. No longer could we meet at the synagogue in the morning to pray together. No longer could we run out to the store to pick up what we forgot in our regular shopping trip. No longer could we meet our friends for lunch or dinner at our favorite restaurant. We were at home, needing food and supplies that previously had been readily available, but now might not be available for many months. Our schedules, our finances, our bodies and our psyches were intensely affected. The Jewish part of our lives, especially, was upended as Purim celebrations were cancelled, Pesach sedarim became Zoom sedarim, and Shavuot found many of us studying through the night, yet again, on Zoom.
Through all of this upheaval, you persisted. Though your Torah Fund events may have been cancelled or turned into Zoom events, you raised $1,433,000 for scholarships and programming for the students at our five Conservative/Masorti seminaries – The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano in Buenos Aires, and Zacharias Frankel College in Potsdam, Germany. Thank you for your diligence during a very challenging year.
Even now, with Rosh Hashanah just three weeks away, who could have imagined that we would be looking forward to Zoom High Holiday services? Who could have imagined that our seminaries would be closed and that our students would be studying remotely? The graduates of our seminaries and the students in their internships realized this. They have been busy during the last six months, phoning congregants to be sure they’re doing well, officiating through Zoom at funerals, shivah minyanim, baby-namings, britot milah, weddings and many services, and meeting endlessly to plan very different Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah experiences.
As we enter the New Year 5781, the Torah Fund office and JTS remain closed and we cannot safely distribute pins, printed materials and cards. Let us work B’Yachad – Together to raise the funds that will support our students as they continue to inspire us in their quest to repair the world.
May you have a Shabbat Shalom.
Barbara Ezring
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Parashat Ki Tavo 5780 (Shabbat, 9/5/2020) - Warnings
- In Parashat Ki Tavo, we read Deuteronomy chapter 28, which is known as the “Tochechah,” warning. It describes the punishment which B’nai Israel, the Children of Israel will face for disobedience to God. The warnings begin with a list of six blessings, and then continues with a long list of detailed curses and consequences if the law is broken.
- Do you think people learn better if there are warnings?
- Do you think that telling people the consequences if they do not follow something really motivates people to follow the belief or law?
- Are warnings really a motivator, and if not, what would you see as the purpose of the list of these warnings?
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THURS., SEPTEMBER 10
8:00-9:15 PM EDT
Personal Conversations is a Women's League educational program that dives into current issues of concern to Jewish women.
Keep Family Relationships Emotionally and Spiritually Healthy during COVID-19 and in an Election Year. A discussion with Rabbi Naomi Kadish and Psychologist Alison P. Block, Ph.D.
Moderated by Vivian Leber.
for FREE session.
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Programming Idea of the Week |
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Volunteer to Present:
Home
made with (insert Sisterhood name here)
The nicest part of this program is that everyone gets to spend about an hour together cooking, learning and schmoozing!
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This program can be held once, once a week, once a month, or a few times a year around holiday time.
1. First, ask for volunteers who would like to cook a favorite recipe in her own kitchen.
2. Decide on the day of the week and the time you will hold the class.
3. About one week before, send out the list of ingredients and materials you will need.
4. Give the option of buying the ingredients and cooking along OR just watching.
5. This will be done on Zoom so everyone but the cook will be muted.
6. There should also be one other Sisterhood leader on the Zoom call to watch for questions written in the chat or if hands are raised.
7. The cook should welcome everyone into her kitchen and also give some info about the recipe they are cooking.
8. Teach how to cook the recipe, step by step.
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Want to sing, teach, help with technology and more during Daily Study and Kaddish? Click here to
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WL will not be having Daily Psalms on Labor Day, September 7th.
Monday - Friday 12 PM Noon ET; 11 AM CT; 9 AM PT; 10 AM MT
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 630 830 287
Password: 875936
Dial by your location:
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York);
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose);
+1 647 558 0588 Canada;
+972 55 330 1762 Israel;
+972 3 978 6688 Israel
or find your local number:
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Click here for more information and/or to REGISTER for FREE
class.
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Click here for more information and/or to REGISTER for FREE
class.
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Sisters Journeying Together
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We are continuing to collect fleece blankets and t-shirt shopping bags for The ARK as our Social Action Project for Convention 2020. Your fleece blankets will be distributed to The ARK clients during Chanukah. The ARK distributes hundreds of blankets and t-short shopping bags. Your work will be very much appreciated. Please send your fleece blankets and t-shirt bags so that they arrive prior to Thanksgiving. This will allow enough time for organizing the distribution. If you have any questions or have already completed fleece blankets and/or t-shirt shopping bags, please contact Edna Schrank eschrank@wlcj.org or 847-651-2231. Please ask Edna on where to send them. If you need the directions, please click on the appropriate link:
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Social Justice Blurb of the Week |
In the richest country in the world, people are going hungry. All kinds of people are going hungry! Food insecurity is a real thing even among members of our congregations. A small action this week can yield a big result. Make contribution to your local food pantry. Encourage your Sisterhood members to join you and donate. You can also check out
ASAP to see how you can be part of the solution.
Thank you.
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Are We There Yet?
Are we ready to enter the High Holiday season empowered by new knowledge, melodies, and a refreshing community of seekers and learners from around the world?
Follow this linkto join us for V’samachta B’veitecha | Rejoicing at Home, September 10-17, 2020 and stay tuned for a robust menu of Hebrew, classical text, music, current events and community enrichment to be announced soon for October through December
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Become a Member/Renew Your Membership to Mercaz
The new membership year begins July 1, 2020. There are two ways you can become a supporter of of Mercaz:
Become a Member/Renew Your Membership to Mercaz
The new membership year begins July 1, 2020. There are two ways you can become a supporter of of Mercaz:
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Josh Flagg, the Messy Middle, and dubLab
B’Yachad Together: Spirited by American Jewish University delivers ONLINE LEARNING that captures the insights of our faculty and friends and convenes our diverse and inclusive community to advance ideas, dialogue and debate.
This week we welcome you to join us as we hear from the LAPD, prepare ourselves for the High Holidays, welcome author Faros Cassell, explore veganism, and discuss US-Iran relations.
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Ideas for Elul; New Fall Mini-Courses; Graduate Study at JTS; and More |
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WLCJ American Mothers of Olim GoogleGroup |
WLCJ has googlegroups that benefit many of our communities. There is a group for sisterhood presidents, for judaica shop chairs, and Women's League Reads.
A lesser known group is for American Mothers of Olim (Children who have made aliyah to Israel). With more people staying in place and travel being put on hold, there has been renewed interest in this group. Women's League members are invited to participate.
Interested?
Contact Ellie Kremer,
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Join the WLCJNet
WLCJNet is the Sisterhood without Walls. This is a site where each member of Women’s League can share ideas, exchange opinions, and get suggestions. We share stimulating ideas for programs, fundraising ideas, and ways to grow our membership. We may need some suggestions for holiday recipes or places where we or family members can stay while traveling. We share information we learn in our Jewish community. We grow together and learn from each other. The WLCJNet is open every day except Shabbat and Jewish holidays. We welcome new members.
To join the WLCJNet,
please send an email to
Sherry Lynn Rubin at
Please send your name, name of sisterhood, location of sisterhood, and email address, and you will be added to the WLCJNet.
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Calendar Diary Now Available |
To purchase your WLCJ Calendar Diary 2020-2021, please CLICK HERE.
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LOVE WLCJ
Follow WLCJ on her Social Media Sites. If you aren't already following Women's League for Conservative Judaism on all her social media sites, now is the time to do so. It's a great way to keep in touch with the latest news and events. Click on the icon to go to the social media site.
Stay tuned over the next months for quick tips on how to help maximize WLCJ's impact on all her social media sites.
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