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Social Solidarity @ Adat Shalom

June 22nd 2020
30 Sivan 5780

Special Graduation Edition!
Updates and Information
Chaverim Y'karim - Friends,
With all due respect to (a very young!) Dustin Hoffman, and all kidding aside, this is indeed an important life cycle moment for many in our midst, making the transition from one chapter of their lives to another. Below you can see the graduations at just about every educational stage. Mazal tov to all those graduates and hizuk (strength) to all in their new endeavors, be they academic or professional.

This week also ushers in the new Hebrew month of Tammuz, which recalls an important season in the history of the Jewish people. See Rabbi Rachel's commentary on this new month below.

Finally, tremendous thanks to Pam Sommers and our more than 20 teen leaders and participants in this past Shabbat's Teen Torah (and T'filah) Takeover. Thank you for "making us hear you" and we can't wait for the next opportunity, bim'hera v'yamenu, soon!

Everyone please stay well, stay calm and stay in touch.

Thank you all for following our best practices to keep everything we do as safe and secure as possible. We need our Adat Shalom community’s help to do this. Please remember:
 
Read Social Solidarity,  the twice-weekly newsletter. It is  THE  resource for Zoom links and instructions for all of our programs.
 
Your first and last name is your identifying key to let you into any Zoom program . You will be denied access if the hosts don’t know who you are. Instructions for adding your first and last name can be found  here . If you need one-on-one assistance with this, please send an email to  info@adatshalom.net  and one of our volunteers will be in touch to help you.  

If you are inviting friends to join, please send their names to info@adatshalom.net so we can be sure to welcome them.
  
We want everyone to enjoy our programs and find meaning and connection from our services. We don’t want that interrupted or for people to be frustrated. Everyone has a responsibility to make sure that we are safe an secure when we are on-line. This begins with knowing who is joining us in our community.
Rosh Chodesh Tammuz
Enter Tammuz: By "getting real" with ourselves and acknowledging our exposure to so much potential pain and loss, we discover the core of strength that remains elusive otherwise.

Click here to read Rabbi Hazzan Rachel's teaching about the month of Tammuz and the season we are entering.
Adat Shalom's Haiti Project
Adat Shalom, through its Haiti Committee, has been in relationship with Pastor Johnny Felix and his NICL school since 2010. Not only have we sponsored five separate Service Missions to Haiti, during which we have had the chance to make significant capital improvements to the campus of the NICL school, but annual gifts from Adat Shalom’s “Haiti Partners” ($100/year) has enabled us to make grants that bridge the gap between tuition revenue and the cost of running the K-7 school that now serves 225 students. Pastor Johnny has visited Adat Shalom twice, both times joining Rabbi Sid on our bimah on Shabbat morning. We are currently inviting Adat Shalom members to sign up as Haiti Partners so that we can continue to support the NICL school. If you would like to become a Haiti Partner, please click here

And join us for these two programs to learn more!

The Haiti Project Presents a Talk with Pastor Johnny Felix of the NICL School
Saturday, June 27 from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

After services and break-out time, come back at 11:30am, when we will be joined by Pastor Johnny, zooming in directly from Haiti. Learn more about his work and our partnership.

Haiti Book Group
Sunday, June 28 at 2:00 PM
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

We will be discussing The Comedians  (1966) is a novel by  Graham Greene . Set in  Haiti  under the rule of  François "Papa Doc" Duvalier  and his secret police, the  Tontons Macoutes , the novel explores the political suppression and terrorism through the figure of an English hotel owner.
Kol Hakavod -- Way to Go!
Mazal tov to all of our graduates and their families. Whether they have moved from elementary school to the big world of middle school or have completed medical school and are ready to help save lives, we are proud of your accomplishments and hard work along the way.

If you still want to send a graduation announcement for Thursday's edition, please send it by 2PM on Wednesday to info@adatshalom.net.
Graduate and Professional School

Joshua DuBow (Saul DuBow & Estelle Quain) graduated from his medical residence program at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston! He will continue to work as a doctor at the hospital in the fall.

Michael Ross Abram s (Kay & Ira Abrams) graduated University of Michigan law school last May, 2019, with NO debt and determined to pursue public interest work! He is wrapping up a clerkship for a federal judge in El Paso Texas this August and headed to clerk for chief judge Roger Gregory on the US Court of Appeals for the fourth Circuit, starting August 2020 in Richmond.

Sam Sharpe (Darin Schonzeit & Steve Sharpe), graduated from Columbia University with a Masters in Computer Science with a concentration in Machine Learning. 

Gabe Pinkney (Pam Sommers and Fred Pinkney), graduated with a M.S. in Gerontology from McDaniel College. He has worked with older adults in assisted living, memory care, nursing home, and independent living facilities with an emphasis on social activities and creative engagement. His undergrad degree at Towson was in radio and broadcasting and he has worked at radio stations and as a sports public address announcer. He used these skills to create original guided meditation audio pieces to share with older adults. Gabe also serves as a hospice volunteer and meets (remotely now) one-on-one with seniors. He will continue to volunteer remotely with the Charles E. Smith Life Communities and Jewish Social Service Agency and looks forward to his next adventure.

College Graduates

Rachel Sieradzki (Emily Novick & David Sieradzki) received an Associate's degree in General Studies/Liberal Arts from Montgomery College.  

Ellie Samuels (Judy Greenwald & Michael Samuels), graduated from Emory University with highest honors in political science and gender studies. She has a remote internship with is the State Department and looking for a job on the Hill.

Raphael Cohen (Lisa Fuentes & Tom Cohen) will graduate from the University of Chicago in June with a BA in history. He wrote his senior thesis about the deregulation of the financial services industry in 1999. He hopes to work to develop alternatives sources of clean energy and has a particular interest in Asia and Latin America. Among his other passions are music (he plays the piano), Mandarin, politics, and reading.

Jesse Griff-McMahon (Lora Griff & Ethan McMahon) graduated from the University of MD with degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering, summa cum laude He will enter a PhD program in Astrophysics at Princeton in the fall. 

Anna Marcus (Phyllis & Jonathan Marcus), graduated from the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, with a dual major in Cognitive Science and Political Science. Go Blue! Anna will begin working with Guidehouse consulting this summer, and hopes to go to law school in a few years.

Moses Milchberg (Rena & Howard Milchberg) graduated from McGill University with a degree in Biophysics and a minor in Statistics.

Gideon Epstein (Rachel Hersh & Jonathan Epstein) graduated from the University of Maryland at College Park with a degree in government and politics in December (2019). Just before graduation, he joined the staff of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights as an election protection fellow. He plans to begin law school at Boston College in September, 2021.

High School Graduates

Noah Stein (Bruce & Susan Stein) graduated from the Lab School of Washington in June. Noah will be taking a gap year, split between working and rock climbing (his passion), and then In Fall 2021 will be going to Westminster College in Salt Lake City.

C. Danny Donoso-Kugler (Adriana and Ignacio Donoso), graduated from Walt Whitman High School and received the  Distinguished Hispanic Scholar Award  in recognition of his academic achievements, leadership skills and social contributions. He will attend the University of Pennsylvania.
 
Raquel Feldman (grandchild of Sheila Feldman) graduated Bethesda-Chevy Chase High and will happily attend Brandeis University this fall

Gili Golan (Orit & Hagai Golan) graduated from Rockville High School. Among other activities he participated in the JCRC's (Jewish Community Relations Council) Israel Engagement Fellowship and Student to Student Programs. He's off to Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

Mira Diamond Berman (Rabbi Jane) graduated from Blair High School and is going to Grinnell College in the fall.

Zoe Chyatte (Meredith Fuchs & Jeffrey Chyatte) graduated from Walt Whitman High School. She is excited to be joining the Cal Golden Bears at UC Berkeley this Fall.

Abby Ehrenstein , (Judy and David Ehrenstein, sister of Sam, granddaughter of Gerry), graduated from Montgomery Blair High School and plans to attend Oberlin College. She has no idea what she will study but looks forward to singing with some of the many choral groups there.

Josh Siegel  (Guila & Nathan Siegel) graduated from CESJDS and will attend NYU in the fall. 

Ethan Feldman (Elena Broder & Mark Feldman) graduated from Walt Whitman High School. He plans to attend Boston University, studying engineering.

J osh Lobsenz (Eileen Abt & James Lobsenz) graduated from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and will be attending Brown University in the fall.

Jesse Lacefield (Dinah Leventhal & Patrick Lacefield) graduated from Winston Churchill HS in Potomac, MD. He is planning to attend Catholic University in the fall. He was recruited to play on the varsity baseball team there and intends to study business.  

Daniel Schorr (Jill & Gary Schorr) graduated fromm Magruder High School. HHe is planning on pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre at SUNY Cortland next year, or whenever college actually happens.

Max Milchberg (Rena & Howard Milchberg) graduated from Winston Churchill High School and will attend Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

Middle School Graduates

Daniel Ribeiro (Ariel & Arthur Ribeiro) graduated 8th grade from Tilden Middle School.

Noam Richman (Chaya & Peter Richman) graduated 8th grade from Silver Spring International Middle School. He will be going into the VAC Magnet program at Einstein HS.

Aden Jeral (Tami Wendrow & Joe Jeral) graduated from middle school.

Noah Parker (grandchild of Steve & Myrna Parker) will be starting ninth grade at Wootton High School.

Elementary School Graduates

Jackson Parker (grandchild of Steve & Myrna Parker) will be starting sixth grade at Cabin John Middle School.

Lilah Sacks and Noah Sacks (Lisa Landsman and Murray Sacks) graduated 5th grade/Lower School at CESJDS.
Clockwise from top Left (the guy with the red tie): Danny Donoso-Kugler, Josh Lobsenz, Ellie Samuels, Gabe Pinkney, Noam Richman, Noah Stein, Rachel Sieradzki, Daniel Schorr, Jesse Lacefield, Zoe Chayette
Jewish Learning
Since COVID we have offered a range of Jewish Studies programs designed to keep you engaged and enriched. P lease continue to tune-in to our own programs and share our programming with friends and family beyond our Adat Shalom Community. All are welcome.

LGBTQ in Israel with Idan
Tuesday, June 23 at 10:00 AM

Join Idan for a rewind session as we learn about the status of the LGBTQ community in Israel as youth, soldiers, adults, married and as families!

The Swing: A Story with Idan
Friday, June 26 at 10:00 AM

Join Idan Sharon for an incredibly insightful analysis of a children’s song about the playground swing!

Jewish Values Amid A Pandemic: Mussar for Our Time with Rabbi Hazzan Rachel
Friday, June 26 at 12:00 PM
Good to Know: Registration Required

Do you know something that would be Good to Know ?
Send an email and offer up your wisdom! 

ZOOM REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR EACH EVENT!

Please try to register at least 24 hours PRIOR to the event so we can be sure to send you the Zoom link.


If you are interested in sharing what you know with others, please send an email to info@adatshalom.net
and we'll get you on the calendar.

It's Good to Know!
 I-phone Photography Made Better with Bob Barkin
Sunday, June 28 at 10:30 AM
PRIOR REGISTRATION REQUIRED!

Learn the ins and outs and ups and downs of photography using your smartphone. Bob, an experienced photographer, will share best practices to capture the images and scenes you want.

Someone should please send the editor the best Zoom photo of the group so we can post it in Social Solidarity!

What's Jew-ish and/or Tikkun Olam-ish about Working or Volunteering Globally with Phyllis and Friends
Sunday, June 28 at 5:00 PM
PRIOR REGISTRATION REQUIRED!

Phyllis Lerner has worked internationally for over 15 years, including Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda. She'll facilitate a panel of 7 Jewish "guests," between 23-83 years old. They all have deep and wide international experiences and have carried their Judaism in their baggage with intention, humor and even food. Come hear their stories and poignant reflections.
Shhh, it's a Surprise
We all knew that the end of Idan's 2-year stay with Adat Shalom would come to an end but we really thought we'd celebrate with vegan snacks, Harry Potter skits, a few tears and an enormous amount of appreciation for all he has given to our community.

Please gather your family and prepare a message of farewell -- l'hitraot -- to Idan. Make or buy a card and mail it to Adat Shalom and we'll put them together into a scrapbook, OR record a short -- under 30 seconds -- video greeting on your phone and send it to info@adatshalom.net and we'll put a farewell video together.

Deadline for submissions: July 18. Don't worry, we'll keep reminding you!