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From the Region President |
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Since our last newsletter, some of you have already reached out to Terri Davis and have even attended the Parsha HaShavua Study Group at Kehilat Netzach Israel via Zoom. This is wonderful to hear! But, as I mentioned, we are twinned with two congregations in Israel, and this week I will introduce you to Marion Juster and Kehilat Hakerem in Karmiel, Israel.
Marion is a lovely lady who I had the pleasure of speaking with last week. She informed me that when she made aliyah with her husband and two young children, they were among a group of approximately 15 - 20 families who founded Kehilat Hakerem in 1979. Marion originally comes from the New York City area.
According to the congregation’s website, “the City of Karmiel is situated about 40 minutes north of Haifa. It lies in the Beit Hakerem Valley, which is the dividing line between the Upper and Lower Galilee and serves as a hub for the surrounding towns and villages. The city is famous for hosting the International Dance Festival every year in August.” When she first moved there, Karmiel was a rustic development town with goats and sheep. There were more people than there were telephones and the median age was 19 with a population of 10,000. The population is now around 55,000. My research indicates that there are now approximately 30 Orthodox synagogues in Karmiel and like Netzach Israel, Kehilat Hakerem is the only Masorti/Conservative Synagogue in the city. Also like Netzach Israel, they receive no government funding.
Kehilat Hakerem currently has about 80 member units. They are small, but active. They hold Kabbalat Shabbat, Shabbat morning and Holiday services which are led by lay members of the congregation or by Rabbi Tsvi Landau or Rabbi Gil Nativ who are both members of the congregation. During the Pandemic they have been holding services outside on the patio socially distanced or Kabbalat Shabbat services on Zoom before Shabbat.
The congregation has an active beit midrash with 3-4 courses every week. There are at least 2-3 courses in Hebrew and at least 1 in English. There is a B’nei Mitzvah program which, during Covid, has transitioned to a Mincha program with just the families.
Their current building is located on land donated by the city of Karmiel, and the original building was given by a donor. Half of the building is used for a kindergarten and half is used for the synagogue. However several years ago, they were able to expand so that they no longer had to move the chairs after services to hold kiddushim. Just prior to the Pandemic a donor gave funds for a patio and garden, and they recently started a community vegetable garden.
Rabbi Nativ’s wife, Zivah heads up the Special Needs B’nei Mitzvah program as well as leading an advanced Hebrew course. Rabbi Tsvi Landau’s wife, Julie Landau, is the current president of the congregation. And Marion herself is the Prayer Coordinator assigning and keeping track of those reading Torah and Haftorah.
And of course, many of the women take part in Masorti Women’s Days of Study co-hosted by Women’s League, the Masorti Movement, and the Schechter Institute.
Again, we can find many ways to facilitate our “twinning”. We can reach out to Marion and the Kehilah when we can again travel to Israel and visit. We can host members of their congregation when they can travel here. And with the Pandemic having us all on virtual communication platforms such as Zoom and Google Meets, perhaps we can attend classes and services at each other’s congregations. But of course, the most important way to practice our twinning is to support our Sisters and their congregations in Israel financially.
I hope that you all gave on Giving Tuesday to Masorti Days of Study. And I will say again that Israeli government funding is overwhelmingly directed to Orthodox congregations. As long as this situation continues, Masorti/Conservative congregations rely, in part, on us.
On Canadian site: choose Fund: “Masorti Kehillot”
and write “Kehilat Hakerem” in message box
Feel free to just reach out and get to know Marion. Email Marion at edjustmarion@gmail.com or you can reach her on WhatsApp at +972 54-473-1643.
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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Beth David Women - Beth David B'nai Israel Beth Am Toronto - December 8th @ 7:30 PM EST |
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Beth David Women Mindfulness Meditation with Fay Ganz
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Beth David Women - Beth David B'nai Israel Beth Am Toronto - Tikkun Olam Efforts |
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Women’s League for Conservative Judaism would like to acknowledge the Tikkun Olam efforts of our members. For over twenty years, a varying number of sisterhood members gathered to craft blankets for Project Linus, as well as hats and scarves through Ve’Ahavta. To date, these thoughtful women have donated over 3,000 blankets as well as several dozen hats and scarves. To support their effort, donations of synthetic worsted weight yarn are accepted in addition to monetary donations. In addition to sourcing the help of those with crafting experience, members offer instruction on a multitude of crafting activities including knitting, crocheting, and needlepoint.
Looking forward to seeing you in person on the 3rd Tuesday of each month when we are able to meet in person again. We applaud your efforts, kol ha’kavod!
For more information, please contact:
Noreen Kasman
905-881-2164
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Have you RSVP'd for Zentangle Yet??? |
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Virtual Candle Lighting - December 14th @ 7 PM EST |
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Hanukkah Meet & Greet for Individual Members and Region Presidents - December 16th @ 6:30 PM ES |
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Jews have always used humor to survive difficult times. When they came to the USA in huge numbers and had to fight to survive in a strange and hostile environment, they used this coping mechanism to persevere and thrive.
From the Yiddish Theater to the Borscht Belt, they created entertainment for themselves; however, it was only through the medium of television that they were given the opportunity to share their humor and comedy with the whole world and especially in the audience’s own living rooms.
Through film clips, this course will explore the history and role of Jewish entertainers in television from the beginning of the industry.
Beginning on Monday, January 11, 2021, at 3:00 PM ET we are pleased to offer a three session series entitled
Jews In Comedy, led by Lois Silverman.
The first session will be, The Beginnings 1948-1960.
Through film clips, this course will explore the history and role of Jewish entertainers in television from the beginning of the industry.
Participation in this program is a benefit of your membership.
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Ellen Kaner Bresnick
Education Co-Chair
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Julia Loeb
Education Co-Chair
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Paula Shoyer Program - SAVE THE DATE:
Jan. 25 @ 2:30 PM EST
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WLCJ is thrilled to have Paula Shoyer, known as “the Kosher Baker”, cook with us in celebration of Tu B’Shevat on Monday afternoon, January 25, 2021, at 2:30 PM (ET), Tu B’Shevat, is the birthday of the trees, so we will be highlighting plant-based recipes. Paula will be demonstrating three delicious recipes with us.
The author of The Kosher Baker, The Healthy Jewish Kitchen, The Holiday Kosher Baker, The New Passover Menu and coming out very soon, Instant Pot Kosher Cookbook, Paula has a degree in French pastry from Paris. She is also a freelance writer, cookbook editor, and social media influencer and has done cooking classes all around the world. Honored by Jewish Women International as a "Woman to Watch", Paula competed on Food Network's Sweet Genius and has appeared on TV over 44 times, including in Israel.
She is a favorite of WLCJ and has presented at several WLCJ International Conventions.
To make this a truly educational program, Rabbi Ellen Wolintz-Fields, WLCJ Executive Director, will teach us about the mitzvot of Tu B’Shevat and Julia Loeb, WLCJ Education Co-chair share her insight on vegetarianism.
The cost for this member’s program is $18.
REGISTRATION TO COME NEXT WEEK
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SHABBAT MESSAGE
COME BACK TO SISTERHOOD
Are you tired of Covid 19? Most of us are. We are tired of dealing with the threat of illness and death, wearing masks, not going out to eat, not shopping in malls, and not going to the movies or gyms or hair salons. We Zoomed High Holiday synagogue Services and Thanksgiving dinners. Some of us have attended Zoom funerals, shiva minyanim and maybe even a bris. We have been denied our usual methods of coping with stress and given a new meaning to the term isolation. Mental health professionals have given this phenomena a name: Covid Fatigue.
Is it real, this Covid fatigue? Of this, I am not sure. But I can tell you that my Women’s League sisters are fighting it daily because they are busier than ever with Women’s League programs and events. They are keeping up with personal connections by attending our daily Psalms service where we just finished studying all 150 Psalms and are now studying Pirket Avot. We chant the misheberach, the Psalm of the day, study a chapter of Pirket Avot and recite mourner’s Kaddish. Every day at noon almost 80 women get together to find joy in each other’s company. We held open the Zoom line on Thanksgiving and many women joined just to visit each other knowing there was no service that day.
Almost every one of our thirteen Regions has had their Torah Fund Study Day on Zoom or it is planned in the very near future. And, our Sisterhoods are celebrating their paid up Membership events and Torah Fund events on Zoom every week. Our Judaica shop chairs are connecting on the List serve and had a workshop to share ideas and help each other sell their shop items during this challenging time. Our Communication committee is reworking our website. Our Education Committee is continuing its Hebrew Language classes in three levels of learning and began a three year Adult Bat Mitzvah class. Our Membership Committee has created workshops to help our Sisterhoods maintain and increase membership and pay per capita. Our World Affairs Committee, which includes the Resolutions Committee and the Social Justice Committee, is working on reaching out to the entire Masorti/Conservative world to make it a better place and help our members be worthy of that gift.
If you love cooking, please join us on January 25 for a Tu B’Shevat cooking demonstration with famed TV chef, Paula Shoyer. Be with us on January 11 for Jews in Comedy series to laugh at Jewish TV entertainers. And do not forget about our annual Hanukkah virtual candle lighting on December 14. WL Reads continues on January 18 with guest author Sarah Blake who wrote The Guest Book. Look for our Program idea of the Week for ideas for virtual programming for your Sisterhood. This week it is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And finally, read our Social Justice blurb of the week for information on how you can make a better world within your own. Read all about our Sisterhoods that continue to make blankets as part of our Convention ’20 social action project and donate them to homeless shelters. Do not forget our Health and Wellness Series and our Personal Conversation series that are offered quarterly.
And if you want to continue learning beyond the sisterhood walls we promote learning with Scholar Stream, an initiative of the RA, USCJ, JTS, and Ziegler, and B’yachad Together, American Jewish University’s continuing education program and JTS Events and Learning, The Schechter Institute’s overseas learning program.
If you are exhausted from Covid 19, COME BACK TO SISTERHOOD! We are here for you and ready to energize you and help you get through this unique time. Come back to the programs offered on the Sisterhood, Region and International level. As a member of your Sisterhood, they are all open to you. COME BACK TO WOMEN’S LEAGUE! Come back to the friends you have not seen in months. Come back to where it all started for you. We are not Covid 19 exhausted and still providing engaging programs and opportunities for you. COME BACK TO SISTERHOOD AND WOMEN’S LEAGUE! I WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU!
Debbi Kaner Goldich
WLCJ International President
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Programming Idea of the Week |
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HANUKKAH PACKAGE: TRAVEL TO 8 DESTINATIONS
The Programming Idea of the Week can double as a Sisterhood Hanukkah program or can be a special gift for friends, family, or even yourself!
Check out www.jewishmajorca.com to learn about an exciting opportunity that has been organized this year. Have your vacation plans been canceled but you’d still like to travel? Are you wondering with whom you will spend the Hanukkah nights? Well, you’re invited to take a virtual trip around the world to meet Jews in far-off places! Join eight international Jews from across the globe as they guide you in exploring local Jewish geography, uncover fascinating hidden gems of history, and share personal stories that will inspire you.
Uganda, Australia and New Zealand, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Russia, Spain and Argentina all await you. All sessions are one hour long and are, of course, in English. Each day of Hanukkah, at the same time (4pm EST) you will hop onto a virtual tour bus.
Note: Sisterhoods can offer one “trip” during Hanukkah then light candles together upon your return “home.” Each trip is 18eu = 22 USD or 72eu = 88 USD for the complete package.
Bon Voyage!
Grace Schessler
International VP WLCJ and Program Chair
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Psalms, Pirkei Avot and Kaddish |
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Monday-Friday 12PM Noon ET; 11AM CT; 9AM PT; 10AM MT
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
No Psalm Study on 11/26 - THANKSGIVING
Want to sing, teach, help with technology and more during Daily Psalm Study and Kaddish? Click here to SIGN UP.
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COUPON EXTENDED!
40% discount on Pirkei Avot Lev Shalem
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As of, November 9th, we start learning Pirkei Avot. We will be learning one teaching, every day, of Pirkei Avot, for several weeks, until we finish. As Women's League members, the Rabbinical Assembly has generously given us a code to receive 40% off the book purchase. Order your book today by using WLCJFORTY.
This code will expire on November 25 (the day before Thanksgiving), so don't wait until last minute!
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Be sure to enter code
WLCJFORTY at checkout to save!
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Parashat Vayishlach / Shabbat, December 5, 2020 - Was it real or was it a dream?
In Parashat Vayishlach, we read of Jacob wrestling with a man, which results in an injury and also a new name, Israel. Was Jacob really wrestling with a man, or was it a dream? Or was Jacob really wrestling with himself, and his long history with his brother Esau who he was about to meet again. Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real, that when you woke up you were not sure if it was a dream, or if it were real? Do you ever have thoughts, dreams, conversations with yourself, where you feel like you are wrestling with a real issue or concern? What do you do when this happens? What have your dreams been like lately? Relaxing? Or do you feel like there is wrestling taking place?
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Stay Connected with WLCJ Groups |
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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,
Israel Committee Chair
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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 slrubin@wlcj.org.
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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Posting the WL Week on any Social Media? |
We want to advise to our WL members to please NOT post the exact zoom links on social media. We hold all of these events exclusively for WL members and sharing it publicly defeats the purpose. If you know of anyone that is not a member but wishes to join a program, refer them to join WLCJ. |
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Congregation Torat El, Oakhurst, NJ |
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There is no charge for this event but registration is required.
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We are excited that four institutions of the Conservative/Masorti Movement -- the Rabbinical Assembly, USCJ, The Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies -- have created a joint initiative to offer high quality adult education opportunities to all those interested in participating.
ScholarStream is an exciting series that will give individuals and communities the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s leading scholars and engage deeply with our texts and traditions.
For more information on the ScholarStream, please click here to
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B’Yachad Together: Spirited by American Jewish University.
Over 165 conversations and 55,000 registrations – B’yachad Together: Spirited by American Jewish University – continues to deliver original content designed to captivate, ignite and advance ideas, spark thought-provoking dialogue and debate, and capture the insights of faculty and friends.
For more information on B'Yachad Together spirited by AJU, please click here to REGISTER or READ MORE.
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The Whizin Center for Continuing Education is pleased to present our mid-fall lineup of classes and learning opportunities, delivered in an ONLINE format.
We wish continued good health and safety to the entire community. We will be updating our offerings and classes on an ongoing basis. Be sure to visit our website to learn more.
For more information on the Whizin Center for Continuing Education, please click here to REGISTER or READ MORE.
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The Wholeness of a Broken Heart; The Power of Interfaith Alliances; What Happened to Moses's Family?; and More |
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For more information on JTS news and events, please click here to
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Become a Member/Renew
Your Membership to Mercaz
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The new membership year begins July 1, 2020. There are two ways you can become a supporter of Mercaz:
IN THE US
IN CANADA
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To purchase your
WLCJ Calendar Diary
2020-2021,
please click on the link below or
to download the order form,
email Razel Kessler
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Continue the love
We are continuing to collect fleece blankets and t-shirt shopping bags for The ARK as our Social Action Project for Convention 2020. 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:
UPDATE: On Veteran’s Day, November11, 2020, Rachel Ferber and I presented 56 blankets and 89 t-shirt bags to Jamie Brocker, head of The ARK Food Pantry...
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Women's League for Conservative Judaism |
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