Shabbat Shalom! This is an extra special week for me as my parents arrived last night from Omaha. We have not seen each other since March 6th of 2020. This is the longest I have gone my entire life without being in the same room with them! I know many of you are also having reunions now that the vaccines have become more readily available across the country. I wish for you the same happiness that my family is experiencing right now.
As I began to write this week’s message, I went back to reference what I had written to you all last year. It was my eighth week on the job and we were just at the scary beginning stages of COVID, learning what our “new normal” would look like, having no idea how long that normal would last or the number of people the virus would impact. And now one year later we are returning to yet another “new normal”. Last year it was all about creating balance, learning how to maximize our indoor space, and creating schedules for ourselves and our children so that we could work, while many of us also “home schooled” our children. We were learning how to Zoom and FaceTime, and reaching out to loved ones near and far became a nightly ritual.
Today, as more people are vaccinated, and restaurants, stores, and public arenas are opening, we are learning how to live once again. But unfortunately, there are many unanswered questions…Do we leave our masks on until our food is brought to the table when we eat inside a restaurant? Do our gatherings still have to be on Zoom? What will our summer experience actually entail? And what is it that is so important that can’t wait? Getting back to normal, whatever that is, is a daunting task. Personally, I detest the new amount of traffic, and I find myself wanting to yell at people in stores that have chosen to shop without a mask even though COVID is still a major health issue. Sometimes it feels like too much – but then I am reminded of all the things we missed out on last year at this time and I look forward to resuming some of those activities.
Here in our community, the synagogues have started to shift to in-person attendance. The LJCC is getting back to regular programming and here at the Federation, I have made the commitment to meet as many of you in person as possible during the month of May to make up for lost time. This activity is something that I am THRILLED about. For more than a year, these Shabbat greetings have bonded us together and now finally I will get to see so many of your smiling faces. I am compiling a list of visits to make and I would love to see each and every one of you. However, there is one of me and 4,000 of you. So, I ask you, if you have time for a coffee, lunch, or visit during May, please click here and we will get it on the books. Nothing formal, no solicitation, just perhaps some coffee and conversation – after all, we are old friends now!
Looking forward to seeing you all and wishing you a week of peace.
B’Shalom,
Danny
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See your Federation dollars at work! |
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Letter to the Future Me: An Ethical Will Seminar with Dr. Erica Brown |
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Thursday April 29th at 1PM
Please join National Women's Philanthropy and the Jewish Future Pledge as we explore the process of creating an ethical will. This interactive session will feature Dr. Erica Brown and will be hosted by LOJE25 Chair, Judy Altenberg.
Registration can be found here or click the image below!
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Complexities and Trends
in the Jewish Nation
Thursday, May 6th @ 11 AM
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Please join the Birmingham, Greater New Orleans, and Lehigh Valley Jewish Federations for a pop-up lunch and learn program as we hear from Iris Posklinksy, Head of Partnership in the North Region of the Jewish Agency for Israel, – on Thursday, May 6th, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. CDT.
Iris will lead us through a discussion of the Complexities & Trends in the Jewish Nation including:
- Demographic data and what it means – what is the future of the Jewish Nation?
- Changes and Challenges in Israel - Diaspora relations.
- Israel as common denominator to a partisan issue.
- Trends in Jewish Philanthropy.
This event is jointly hosted by the Rosh Ha'ayin Partnership2Gether Steering Committee, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, the Birmingham Jewish Federation, and the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley, in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel's Partnership2Gether program.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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Life After Life Without Parole
Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 at 12PM
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Summer Kick-Off
Sunday, May 23rd at 6:30-9 PM
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The Birmingham Jewish Federation, Temple Emanu-El, Temple Beth-El, and Keneseth Israel invite you to a Summer Kick-Off Party! This event is open to all incoming 8th-12th graders in the Birmingham Jewish Community. Join us at the LJCC outdoor pool for kosher BBQ, DJ Platinum, and fun! |
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The Birmingham Holocaust Education Center (BHEC) is seeking an Executive Director. The Executive Director is a key management leader with overall operational responsibility for overseeing the strategic planning, programming, revenue development, and day-to-day administration of the organization. The ideal candidate will require experience in the following areas, including a strong track record in fundraising and resource development, marketing, and community outreach. The position reports directly to the Board of Directors.
To read more, you can visit their website here.
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Shabbat Hilicha/Shabbat Hiking
at Red Mountain Park
April 24 @ 10:30 AM -12:00 PM
Temple Emanu-El
One Saturday per month, in lieu on an online Shabbat service, we will meet at a local hiking trail to spend Shabbat morning together. Led by Rabbi Wright and Cantor Wittner, we will spend one to two hours enjoying Shabbat in nature.
"The New Jewish Canon”:
A Conversation about Contemporary Judaism
April 27 @ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Temple Beth-El
The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have been a period of mass production and proliferation of Jewish ideas, and have witnessed major changes in Jewish life and stimulated major debates. Join this class to talk about the book, “The New Jewish Canon,” which came out this year in July. This book offers a conceptual roadmap to make sense of some of this rapid change. The New Jewish Canon is an entry point for the Jewish intellectual and communal zeitgeist of the contemporary period and the recent past, canonizing our most important ideas and debates of the past two generations; and just as importantly, stimulating debate and scholarship about what is yet to come. Join Rebbetzin Bethany with your lunch on zoom to talk about some of these debates. Register here for the zoom link.
Introduction to Judaism with
Rabbi Adam Wright
April 27 @ 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Temple Emanu-El
Join us for an engaging 12-session course for anyone interested in exploring Jewish life. Open to all, this course is perfect for interfaith couples, those rearing Jewish children, spiritual seekers, individuals considering a “return” – (conversion), and Jews who want a meaningful adult Jewish learning experience. Our programs welcome people from all backgrounds. Topics include holidays, life cycle celebrations, theology and core beliefs, prayer, Torah, history, antisemitism, and the Holocaust, Zionism, and Israel, the North American Jewish experience, and the tapestry of the Jewish people today. Register here.
Lunchtime Torah Study
April 28 @ 12:00-1:00 PM
Temple Emanu-El
This Torah study meets via Zoom and will cover that week’s Torah portion. All levels welcome. Learn more here!
JewCurious?
April 28 @ 5:30 - 7:30 PM
Temple Beth-El
Are you JewCurious? Have you heard that Judaism is about asking questions? Questions are the start of a great conversation. I would say, Judaism is about a great conversation. Come learn more about what that conversation sounds like by joining this JewCurious Class. This class is for everyone looking to get a broad overview of Judaism. This 101 class lasts for 20 weeks and is open to anyone who is curious. We’ll explore the major narratives, history, practices, theology and values of Judaism. You can expect that the learning will happen with curiosity and open-mindedness and respect for one another’s boundaries and beliefs. Taught by Bethany Slater from Temple Beth El. To register: Click here to register!
Tirdof: “The Ledger and the Chain:”
Book Discussion and Conversation with Dr. Joshua D. Rothman and Rabbi Sharon Brous
April 29 @ 7:00- 8:00 PM
Temple Beth-El
Join TBE community member and Chair of the University of Alabama History Department, Joshua Rothman, for a discussion of his new book, The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America.
In his book, Dr. Rothman details the stories of three of the most prominent slave traders in American history. Focusing on the lives and careers of Isaac Franklin, John Armfield and Rice Ballard, Dr. Rothman documents the roles of these men in the evolution of the domestic slave trade, the shocking activities that their business entailed, and their significance for American society and the American economy before the Civil War. Learn more and sign up here!
“Where Do We Go From Here?” with Lisa McNair and Adath Jeshurun
May 2 @ 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Temple Beth-El
Since the fall of 2020, Temple Beth El has been engaged in a public facing programming series entitled Tirdof (You Shall Pursue), exploring issues of civil rights past and present. Now we’re asking, what’s next? Lisa McNair, whose sister Denise McNair was killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, is a professional public speaker on the topic of reconciliation. This program will feature both a talk by Lisa on her family’s journey and experiences with reconciliation work, and interactive Q and A session. For this program we will be joined by members of Adath Jeshurun, a congregation in Minneapolis, taking advantage of virtual format to expand our reach, and to facilitate a conversation on racial justice and reconciliation across Jewish communities and regional distinctions.
Lisa’s presentation and the moderated Q & A will last for approximately an hour. For the last 20-30 minutes of our program, we will host small group breakout sessions for participants to collaborate and brainstorm across congregations (and states), and then come together for sharing and processing.
This series is part of the development of the Beth El Civil Rights Experience; a multimedia project exploring the intersections of Birmingham’s Jewish and Civil Rights histories, with an eye towards exploring the past and “building bridges” in the present and future. Learn more here. Register here!
JCRC Lunch & Learn
May 4 @ 12:00 PM- 1:30 PM
JCRC
Offenders Alumni Association featuring guest speakers Founder Deborah Daniels and Dena Dickerson, Carla Crowder of Alabama Appleseed and Ron McKeithen, recently released habitual offender.
Jewish Liturgy 101 with Cantor Wittner
May 4 @ 6:00 PM
Temple Emanu-El
What does our liturgy mean? Why do we say the Amidah every day, three times a day? What is the v’ahavta all about?
Jewish liturgy includes reciting, chanting, or singing texts; using ritual objects and wearing ritual garments; performing choreographed physical actions and gestures, and reciting blessings. Although Jewish liturgy includes far more than just the texts that are recited, the texts themselves provide a valuable way of understanding what Jewish prayer and worship is all about. Join us for a three-part series with Cantor Wittner to answer these questions and more in Jewish Liturgy 101.
Antisemitism Across America with Bari Weiss
May 4 @ 7:00 PM- 9:00 PM
JCRC
From 2017 until 2020, Bari was a staff writer and editor for the Opinion section of The New York Times. Before joining the Times, Bari was an op-ed editor at the Wall Street Journal and an associate book review editor there. For two years, she was a senior editor at Tablet, the online magazine of Jewish news, politics, and culture, where she edited the site’s political and news coverage. She regularly appears on shows like The View, Morning Joe, and Real Time with Bill Maher.
Bari is a proud Pittsburgh native and a graduate of Columbia University. She is the winner of the Reason Foundation’s 2018 Bastiat Prize, which annually honors writing that “best demonstrates the importance of freedom with originality, wit, and eloquence.”
Her first book, “How to Fight Anti-Semitism,” was a Natan Notable Book and the winner of a 2019 National Jewish Book Award.
Special thanks to the Steiner Interfaith Fund of the Grafman Endowment Fund for Temple Emanu-El for funding this special congregational program.
Tot Shabbat
May 7 @ 5:00PM- 5:30 PM
Temple Emanu-El
It’s time for Tot Shabbat! Join us for a family-friendly Shabbat celebration designed for children ages 0 through 6 years old and their grown-ups. We will sing our way into Shabbat, hear a story, and have a blast! Learn more here!
Financial Assistance Available
for Jewish Community Members
Thanks to a grant from the Greatest Needs Fund of the Birmingham Jewish Federation’s COVID Relief Campaign, Collat Jewish Family Services is offering financial assistance to Jewish community members who are facing financial insecurity because of job loss, caring for family or other issues. Confidential assistance is available to members of the Birmingham Jewish community who need help with rent or mortgage payments, utilities, prescription costs or other needs. To learn more, please email CJFS Clinical Director Marcy Morgenbesser LICSW, marcy@cjfsbham.org or call 205.879.3438.
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The Birmingham Jewish Federation
@jewishbirmingham
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