Chai Lines
International Northeast Region
Women's League
for Conservative Judaism
Networking to Engage, Enrich and Empower
Conservative Jewish Women
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January 4, 2018 Volume 3, Issue 15
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FROM THE REGION PRESIDENT--JOAN LOWENSTEIN
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I am thankful for all of the organizations in the Conservative/Masorti Movement. This week I am especially grateful for USY. My daughter returned on Sunday from USY International Convention. In my teens I was an active USYer, and I believe USY helped shape my beliefs in Judaism, my drive to be involved, and do all that I can to ensure the future of Conservative/Masorti Judaism.
My daughter came home not wanting convention to have ended, and I completely understood. It makes me so happy and proud that she is beginning her journey into adulthood with strong convictions and a sense of belonging and responsibility.
I have found many ways in which to continue to contribute to my local Jewish community, our region, Womens League, and Conservative/Masorti Judaism. However, there are often things which make me wish I could do more.
I read this morning about a verbal attack on Dr. Yizhar Hess, executive director of the Conservative/Masorti movement in Israel. The article stated that "while joining a prayer service at Jerusalem's Western Wall Hess was approached by an ultra-Orthodox man, who said the following... "I will murder you, if I had a knife I'd put it in you here. If I had an axe I'd take it like this, in your head. You're a heretic. It's permitted to kill you."
The article went on to state that in response to this, over 30 Leaders of Conservative/Masorti Jewry worldwide called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to condemn the death threat issued last week to the head of the movement in Israel. Within the letter our leaders wrote that "Dr. Hess is a leader of the Conservative Movement - a movement representing more than 2 million Jews worldwide, and this disgraceful assault on him reverberates within each one of us." How true that is! It definitely reverberates within me!
In a Women's League Facebook post we were informed that "WLCJ has added their names to this important statement on behalf of the Masorti movement the world over. We will continue to advocate for egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall and condemn threats against leaders within our own community."
What does all of this have to do with USY? Everything! USY is the first organization that exposes our children to the importance of supporting all of our Conservative/Masorti organizations throughout our lives. In addition to all of the positive aspects of support we receive, these are the organizations who represent us as individuals and take action against such despicable acts. However, none of these organizations can exist without our support, be it monetary or participatory. Additionally, it is up to us to model these values to our children and grandchildren.
I value your participation in Womens League, and I thank you for any way in which you support all of our Conservative/Masorti organizations.
May 2019 be a blessed year for all Jews worldwide.
L'Shalom,
Joan
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GOOD NEWS FROM THE INR FAMILY
Bette Siegel, Past President NY State Branch, to be honored by Cong. Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas, DeWitt, for outstanding service.
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SAVE THE DATE FOR INR CONFERENCE 2019
INR SPRING CONFERENCE
June 2 & 3, 2019
at Beth David, Toronto
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DID YOU KNOW ABOUT INR'S WEBSITE AND A FACEBOOK PAGE?
INR has a website which contains information about our region including:
- A history of our region
- A listing of our region personnel
- A listing with contact information about region sisterhoods
- An archive of our newsletter, Chai Lines
- Links to Women's League's website and those of other organizations in the Conservative Movement
- AND much more.
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FROM THE REGION BOOK CHAIR--
RUTH BORSKY
Odessa, Odessa is a smartly and sensitively written novel by Barbara Artson. It is the most recently published suggested reading by Women's League's online book club.
The book follows closely the Orthodox Kolopsky family from the end of the 19th century Russia to the 20th century in the United States and Israel. From being victimized by the vicious minded pogroms of the Cossacks to a better life in America. The book mainly concentrates on the Kolopsky family beginning with the initial failure of Mendel, the scholar, teacher, and rabbi in New York. Family members' lives are described in detailed situations and interactions with each member of this large family. Nothing is left unsaid, good or bad.
Toward the end of the book, Barbara Artson reveals how the second half of the Kolopsky family came to Palestine/Israel. The tie in is more of a discovery by two sisters, daughters, of Disha/Dora Kolopsky. The shocking revelation of the life of the rebel, Shimshon (Samson) Keter. Readers get a whole different perspective of life after the pogroms. Here we find the monstrous response to injustice and the seeking of a better life and future than was written in the previous part of the book. The reader also gets an unusual view of Israeli politics.
This is an EXCELLENT choice for our Sisterhood member to read.
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FROM WOMEN'S LEAGUE FOR
CONSERVATIVE
JUDAISM
Networking to engage,
enrich and empower
Conservative Jewish Women
Shabbat Message
"God, Women, and Tefillin"
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields
WLCJ Executive Director
Becoming a Conservative Rabbi was my lifelong dream. I played make-believe Rabbi in preschool and kindergarten, and I wrote my ambition under my high school yearbook picture. In the fall of 1993, when applying to Rabbinical School became a reality for me, there were so many stories about the actual Rabbinical School interview at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the only option for me at that time. The interview was held in the 'Green Room' - but was the carpet green or were the walls green? When the interview committee offered you a glass of water - do you say the
berachah, blessing over the water? And, if you do recite a blessing on water, will the committee deem you too
frum, pious, for JTS? And, with my New York style of talking with my hands, my luck, I would knock the cup over when I spoke with my hands - so I decided, if offered a glass of water, I would carefully push it back out of hand-flinging reach. Would the committee ask me if I had seen God today? My rabbi, Rabbi Bill Lebeau, would often tell the legendary story that Rabbi Heschel asked him if he had seen God when he walked down Broadway the day of his Rabbinical School interview.
The October before I would apply to Rabbinical School, I was still not fully prepared to answer the all-important question I had heard the Rabbinical School interview committee at JTS was sure to ask - do you daven, pray, three times a day, and, when you daven in the morning, is it with Tallit and Tefillin? I prayed three times a day. However, in the community where I grew up, it was not an option for girls to don Tefillin. During a two-day conference held at JTS, on October 24-25, 1993, marking the ten-year anniversary of the vote to admit women to the Rabbinical School, three of my friends who were in Rabbinical school helped me put on Tefillin for the first time. It was the most incredible experience. As I walked to JTS that morning, I felt like I was getting married to Tefillin because I knew I was committing myself to the mitzvah of Tefillin, and this was a major step in my pursuit of my dream to become a Conservative Rabbi. I jumped into the performance of the mitzvah of Tefillin full force. However, I wanted to understand the mitzvah. I was a Religion Major at Barnard, and so I wrote my BA thesis on "G-d, Women, and Tefillin." (yes - my theology at the time had me omitting the O in God.) I researched the sacred texts that discuss women and Tefillin, and ever since Tefillin has become my obsession. After I completed my research for my undergraduate thesis on women and Tefillin, I wrote a ritual for the first time a woman dons Tefillin, which can be used for anyone who puts on Tefillin for the first time. I even have silver earrings with my Hebrew name, Esther, in the shape of Tefillin, which were originally cufflinks, but I convinced the jeweler to make them into earrings instead.
One of my rabbinic dreams has now come to fruition. This year, Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs and Women's League for Conservative Judaism have a formal collaboration to make this year's World Wide Wrap, on Sunday, February 3, 2019, an egalitarian wrap encouraging and educating both men and women about the mitzvah of Tefillin. Over the next few weeks, before the World Wide Wrap, FJMC and WLCJ will be disseminating weekly study sheets, which I will prepare about Tefillin, with a special emphasis on women and Tefillin. It is true - Tefillin is a mitzvah still not as common to women, but perhaps, through greater education, and through trying to don Tefillin, we can all embrace a new mitzvah this new year. The World Wide Wrap encourages people to embrace the mitzvah of Tefillin. It is a fact that that not all men who wrap the Sunday of the World Wide Wrap will wrap again, until the following year - as is true of many B'nai Mitzvah boys as well. This should not curtail anyone of any gender to not try the mitzvah.
I hope that all of us - men and women - will embrace the mitzvah of Tefillin. Try it. See what it feels to wrap the retzuot, the straps, around your arms, and feel the batim - the boxes, on your arm and forehead, and bind the words of God on you, as a reminder of your commitment to God. What a blessing to begin the new year of 2019 - sharing this wonderful news of an amazing collaboration between Women's League for Conservative Judaism and the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs to bring the women and men of the Conservative/Masorti Movement into a closer, more sacred relationship with God, Torah, and Israel through the mitzvah of Tefillin. I pray that 2019 brings good health, happiness, joy and peace, and the embrace of new mitzvot to all in our WLCJ community.
Announcing the Next Women's League Reads Book!
 Join Women's League Reads' for an exclusive discussion with Odessa, Odessa author Barbara Artson on Thursday,
January 17 at 8:30 p.m., Eastern time.
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.
You may subscribe to by contacting Lois Silverman, Internet Services Chair, at lsilverman@wlcj.org, with your e-mail address, sisterhood name/town/state, or individual member information, and thereby join the online group for book news and discussions. READ MORE
Join the Next Leadership Institute
Sunday-Monday, February 17-18, 2019
Tamarac, FL
Program
Temple Beth Torah Sha'aray Tzedek
5700 NW 94th Avenue
Tamarac, FL 33321
Hotel
Hampton Inn & Suites Ft. Lauderdale West-Sawgrass Tamarac
5701 Madison Avenue
Tamarac, FL 33321
Tuition
$199 per person
Cost of room, double occupancy per night is $105.
 Do you still have your copy of our 5778 Calendar Diary? Are you looking to purchase some extra copies for your sisterhood or Judaica shop? Need a last-minute gift? Our 2019-2020 Calendar Diary is about to print soon, but we're marking down the 2018-2019/5778 edition for only $6!
Featuring artwork from our own members and community, the 5778 edition of our pocket calendar includes Jewish holidays, candle-lighting times, Birkat HaMazon, and useful tips for all occasions. Comes with plastic cover.
The next two Distance Workshops are "Nominating: Choosing Well for the Future" on
Wednesday, January 23, at 8:30 p.m., Eastern time
and "Torah Fund: Investing in the Future" on Wednesday, January 30, at 8:30 p.m., Eastern time. Participation is limited to members of Women's League only. Learn more at the link and register today!
WWOT - Weekly Words of Torah:
Parashat Vayera
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 week's Torah Reading, Parashat Vayera, shows us what determination Moses and Aaron must have had in order to approach the Pharaoh so many times to repeat the same command, "Let my people go." Each time they went to Pharaoh, after the Plague hit the Egyptians, Pharaoh would seem to cave in and grant permission to the Israelites to leave, but then he would rescind the permission. However, Moses and Aaron were persistent and did not give up. They kept going and continued demanding that Pharaoh let their people go. Were Moses and Aaron just stubborn? Or determined? Or worried that, if they gave up, God would do something to them like the plagues God delivered to the Egyptians? Let us recall that Moses did not initially want to go on this mission. Nevertheless, Moses eventually believed in the mission, and believed in himself.
This teaches us many important lessons: One must believe in their cause, and persistence pays off. My philosophy in life is - you never know until you ask. So, ask! What is the worst that can happen? Your request won't be granted, or will the person say yes? We can all learn the lessons of persistence and determination from Moses and Aaron.
Help Us Continue the Legacy!
It's not too late to celebrate the Women's League centennial! We invite all members and sisterhoods to support the next 100 years of Women's League by contributing a minimum of $100 to the $100 for 100 Years Campaign.
You can also support Women's League by donating to The 1918 Society, which honors the Women's League Centennial and its founding in 1918 by Mathilde Schechter. Help us guarantee a successful future by contributing a minimum gift of $1,918. All donors will receive a Women's League kippah as a thank you gift.
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FROM THE TORAH FUND VICE PRESIDENT
MARILYN COHEN
Marilyn Cohen,
International Northeast Region Torah Fund Vice-President
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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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