Chai Lines
International Northeast Region
Women's League
for Conservative Judaism
Networking to Engage, Enrich and Empower
Conservative Jewish Women
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August 4, 2017 Volume 2, Issue 56
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IN THIS ISSUE
Click on name of article to go to that article.
Mazel Tov to Iris (Rusty) Zackheim on the completion as WL's Financial Secretary and the beginning serving as a Women's League Vice President.
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 FROM OUR REGION PRESIDENT--Eleanor Diamond
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.
Helen Keller
Women's League Convention 2017 is over and I am still exhausted! Our days and evenings were packed with interesting and informative lectures, workshops, activities and networking. We were taught and inspired by rabbis,
chazzanim, academics, and lay people. We learned of the possibilities and challenges of a two-state solution in Israel.
We witnessed the changing of the Women's League Board and the passing of the presidential torch from Carol Simon to Margie Miller. We attended a Torah Fund luncheon and applauded with pride for our Jewels in the Crown winners. We shopped and attended parties. We got reacquainted with old friends and made new ones. Over 420 women from across North America davened, led services and read Torah together.
In those four days among hundreds of women, I couldn't help but feel a connection to all of them. We have our differences, yet we all have a connection to the basic tenets of Judaism and the state of Israel. The feeling of being with hundreds of women who feel the relevance of our Sisterhoods, Women's League and our people was intense and it was especially meaningful for me to connect in person with the amazing women of our region.
Are our Sisterhoods as relevant today as they were in the days of Mathilde Schechter, founder of Women's League for Conservative Judaism? While many Sisterhoods have closed their doors in synagogues across the United States and Canada, others (with the help Women's League) have developed dynamic new structures that engage their members across generations.
Continue to be involved in your Sisterhoods and our International Northeast Region. We are a diverse, intelligent, motivated group of women. Together we can make a difference in our Sisterhoods and in our communities.
Shabbat Shalom,
Eleanor
514-458-6204
Editor's note: Pictures from Convention 2017 will soon be posted to INR's website. Click here to visit our site.
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FROM THE EDUCATION VP
LOIS SILVERMAN
As we finish the first days of August, we know that the brief summer we have across INR is half way completed. Looming on the horizon, we see changes heralded by the passing days. We see endings and beginnings.
We see the shortening of days and the first blush of changing leaves on maple trees. We see the initial planning for our coming Sisterhood year and our High Holy Days. We see the ending of children's camps and the ads for back-to-school needs.
These August days are truly days of transition for many of us as we prepare to send our children, grandchildren, and other loved ones on to the next phase of their education. Whether they are going off to pre-school, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, high school, college, or graduate school, we cannot stifle that feeling in our heart that time is passing too quickly; nor can we stifle the tears shed or hidden.
A number of years ago United Synagogue's Youth Department created a "Going Forth Ceremony" to help us as well as those leaving for school cope with the changes. I've posted it below.
May we adults as well as all our loved ones go from strength to strength.
Shabbat Shalom
LOIS
lsilverman@wlcj.org
There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.- Hodding Carter
Lekh Lekha--A Ceremony of Going Forth
As students individually or as a group receive aliyot to the Torah, the following prayer is offered:
May God who blessed our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, bless __________ as they embark on this significant and transforming journey. Give them strength to meet the challenges which lie ahead and the wisdom to choose well at every junction. May their heritage and tradition be the signposts which guide them on their way. Give them the courage to ask questions, seek knowledge and better our world. "Lekh lekha me-artzecha--Go forth from your land," God told Abraham, "Go forth from your native land, from your father's house, to the land which I will show you...Va-avarkheka...and I will bless you." May, __________, too, always feel God's presence.
Parents recite the following:
We have given you roots and wings. Take them, with our love, and use them well.
[Hebrew]
May Adonai bless you and guard you.
May Adonai show you favor and be gracious to you.
May Adonai show you kindness and grant you peace.
Students recite T'filat HaDerekh [Prayer for the Traveler]:
[Hebrew]
May it be your will, Adonai our God and God of our ancestors, to guide us in peace, to sustain us in peace, to lead us to our desired destination in health and joy and peace, and to bring us home in peace. Save us from every enemy and disaster on the way, and from all calamities that threaten the world. Bless the work of our hands. May we find grace, love and compassion in Your sight and in the sight of all who see us. Hear our supplication, for You listen to prayer and supplication. Praised are You, Adonai, who hears prayer. Amen.
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FROM WOMEN'S LEAGUE FOR CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
Networking to engage,
enrich and empower
Conservative Jewish women
CONVENTION
We are in the process of creating albums from convention for you to enjoy. We know that the Jewels in the Crown Awards luncheon was one of the most popular, so that is our first album.
Click here to see the pictures.
You can also view the Installation and Action for Women's Health on our website.
Next Leadership Institute
October 29-30, 2017
Merrick Jewish Centre, Merrick, NY
Cost: $199 for the entire 2 day institute, including meals and snacks.
Plus hotel at $70 per person, double occupancy.
For further information, contact: Mimi Pollack, incoming Leadership Institute Chair, mimipollack@comcast.net, 215-355-5069, 215-837-6502
Videos of the Masorti Women's Study Days in English
To watch three of the classes from last month's outstanding day of study, click here.
- Stranger in Our Midst - 2 Shakespearian plays, taught by Prof. Alice Shalvi
- Memorable Women of Jerusalem: 2nd Temple to Today, taught by Rabbi David Golinkin
- Getting Unstuck: A Kaballat Shabbat, music workshop, taught by Shira Taylor Gura
from Women's League Reads
To listen to our conversation with Deborah Tannen, author of You're the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women's Friendships, click here.
Support Women's League the easy way!
We have joined Amazon Prime. Initiate your shopping session through our website. Amazon will rebate a percentage of the sale back to Women's League.
The only requirement is that you initiate your online shopping session through our website. Click on the Amazon logo on the top of our webpage (near the Facebook icon) than click on the Amazon shopping cart on the next page. Do that for every purchase.
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FROM DIANE FRIEDGUT, WOMEN'S LEAGUE'S ISRAELI LIAISON
INR and Israel
INR has been twinned with the two kehillot in Israel: Hakerem in Carmiel and Nezach Israel in Ashkelon.
Hakerem in Carmielin is in the northern part of Israel. It is a wonderful, active kehilah with interesting activities.
- Their Co-Presidents are Mike Cronin and Julie Landau
- The women from Hakerem on the Masorti Women's Study Day Planning committee & Women's League's Int'l Masorti Women are:
- Marion Juster has been my Northern Chairperson for the Study Day itself in the north and is also very active in Hadassah
- Julie Landau is a steady participant and also has been bringing her now 14 year old daughter since she was 11.
Nezach Israel in Ashkelon is also a wonderful, active kehilah with many activities.
- The president is: Sara Ilan. Many years ago I wrote a feature article in WL Outlook about her extraordinary work as a school principal and her project Harry Potter
- The women (from Nezach Israel on the Masorti Women's Study Day Planning committee & Women's League's Int'l Masorti Women) are:
- Lorna Szefler has been organizing study day participation from her kehilah for many years
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kehillah and is an active participant of the study days since its inception
Please feel free to contact them by email (clicking
on their names will link you to their email addresses.
Shabbat Shalom
Diane
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FROM THE TORAH FUND VICE PRESIDENT
MARILYN COHEN
TORAH FUND CAMPAIGN 2017-2018
Mah tovu , which means "
how good!", is a phrase that originates in the Torah, in Numbers 24:5. Quoted in our prayer book, it forms the basis of the opening prayer that is sung when we enter the synagogue.
The full phrase is
Mah tovu ohalecha Yaakov, mishk'notecha Yisrael, "
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!" It is a spontaneous exclamation of joy and appreciation, said when gazing at the nation of Israel, dwelling in peace and mutual respect. As we celebrate the beginning of the 100th year of Women's League for Conservative Judaism and the end of the 75th year of the Torah Fund Campaign, we count our many blessings as individuals within the community of Israel. We are blessed in our synagogues with depth of learning, prayer, and acts of kindness that bind us together; with communal leaders who are thoughtful and learned; with children and grandchildren who make us smile; and with the love of family and friends-especially our Women's League sisters-who are such a strong support to us.
How good are all these blessings in our lives!
The pin, featuring the number 100 in raised letters and encased in a silver frame, is a
treasured keepsake of the Women's League centennial celebration to wear with pride!
Marilyn Cohen, INR Torah Fund VP
h) 416 223 2955
c) 416 518 1860
Check out the New Torah Fund Guide and all the other materials to run a great campaign!
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NEED HELP?
HELP IS AVAILABLE ON THE WLCJ WEBSITE.
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