Greetings!
Welcome to the new format of the WRS Newsletter. You'll find all you need to know: upcoming Events, Save-the-date info, Social Justice work and other interesting articles.
Come hang out with an award-winning Sisterhood. Do you want connection? Do you need to be of service in your life? All opportunities await you through the Women of Rodef Sholom.
COME JOIN US -- WE'RE HAVING A GOOD TIME!
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Women of Rodef Sholom
wish you and yours a very
Happy Hanukkah
Come to the
Gift Shop
for all your Hanukkah needs (see below)
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November 30th at 6:15
this Friday!
The service promises to be uplifting, musical and serene. Attend this beautiful Shabbat service brought to you by the Women of Rodef Sholom.
No need to RSVP, just show up and feel Shabbat in your life!
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Chai Mitzvah
:
YOU CAN STILL MAKE THE LAST TWO SESSIONS!
T
ext-based Jewish learning that will sharpen your mind and enrich your soul. Get to know others in deeper and more meaningful ways This curriculum is meant to lead us to perform acts of loving kindness.
Claire Mikowski,
Jewish Educator extraordinaire,
will teach on
November 29 and December 6
Classes meet in the JCC Library at 7 pm; Bring a snack to share and we will nosh and learn together! Cost of materials is $36
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For more info about this program from WRJ (Women of Reform Judaism)
CLICK HERE
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Membership Hanukkah Social
in the JCC Lounge
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Sunday, 12/9 3-5 pm
Not Just For New Members Hanukkah Celebration
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Please join us and enjoy latkes and sufganiyot!
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Bring a pair of new warm socks for us to share with the less fortunate in Marin as winter approaches.
We hope to see you on 12/9 to celebrate our membership with new members and members who have been sisters for years.
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Monthly open Mahj play is usually the first and third Tuesday of every month, 1-3 pm in the Congregation Social Hall. Bring your sets, your cards and your Mahj friends. Let's have fun! For more info contact:
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12/19 7:15-8:15 JCC Library
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Third Wednesday of each month, we meet in the JCC Library.
WRS Book Club Schedule:
December 19th- And After the Fire by Lauren Belfer
January 16th- The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
February 20th- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
To RSVP
CLICK HERE
or Call Alice Miller with questions: 415-381-6792
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January 20 at 2 pm
Join us at a WRS Member's home in Woodacre to celebrate TuBishvat among the trees.
For more info:
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ANNUAL TRIVIA NIGHT
a highlight of the year
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Saturday Night January 26 at 7 pm
Once again Howard Rachelson will be our Master of Trivia. Featuring great questions, music and visuals. Enjoy an adult night out! This is our major fund-raiser which supports the Tikkun Olam Fund.
Click here to see what this fund supported last year.
$25 before 1/26; $30 at the door
Your entry includes:
- One drink plus delicious sweet and savory treats
- Door and raffle prizes available
- 50/50 Drawing (winner keeps half)
- Bring your own team (10 per table) or join one
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This group had fun last year.
Bring your friends and have a wonderful evening out
while supporting Sisterhood!
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Light up your lives this Hanukkah with a new menorah - we have over 60 different styles, for every taste and pocketbook. These cuties will fly off the shelves so don't delay.
Hanukkah paper goods, candles, cookies, gelt, gift wrap, socks, silly glasses, hats, aprons and much more.
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SPECIAL HOLIDAY HOURS
Beginning Sunday, November 25 - Friday, December 7
Monday - Thursday 10:00 - 6:00
Friday - 11:30 - 4:00
Sunday - 10:30 - 4:00
Please call ahead to make sure we are open: 415-314-9822
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To make your donation online, click:
After you choose your donation amount, click on "Select Congregation" below the donation amounts and choose Women of Rodef Sholom.
If you choose to send in your check, you can send it to the Women of Rodef Sholom,
Attn: Holiday Dinner Drive, Congregation Rodef Sholom, 170 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael, CA 94903.
Please note on your check Women of Rodef Sholom.
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If you respond directly to a request from the San Francisco/Marin Food Bank, please note on the check Women of Rodef Sholom so that we get credit for your donation.
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WRS JEWELRY SALE 3/3/19 afternoon
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Proceeds support our Tikkun Olam Fund!
Check it out; you too can participate in this good work while cleaning out your closet.
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We are
collecting
your new and gently used jewelry and accessories: scarfs, belts, purses, wallets.
Bring them to the CRS office marked "for WRS"
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Women of Rodef Sholom 2018-2019 Membership
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If you have already renewed your dues, thank you. If not, please rejoin. You can do it very easily by
Clicking here and you will be taken to the WRS website. Or download our membership form by clicking the "Join Today" button.
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A note from our President
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Dear Sisters:
This November I was grateful to have two celebrations of Thanksgiving. The first occasion was during Parents Weekend at Tulane University, where my daughter is a sophomore. My husband, Marc, and I went for a long weekend with some of our best friends, Sophie and her husband, Brendan. Their daughter also attends Tulane; our daughters have been dear friends since kindergarten. They are actually third generation friends, as their grandparents were close, and Marc and Sophie were friends as well, growing up near each other in San Francisco.
It was one year prior, the last day of Parents Weekend 2017, when Sophie received a phone call from her doctor. It was devastating news. Her breast cancer had returned after ten years. I’ll never forget where we were, looking at the Mississippi River, when Sophie got the call. We were all in shock. Sophie and I both felt nauseous and had to sit down. I hugged her so tightly. We had no idea what the coming year held, but we knew it could be horrific.
The next few months brought anxiety, tests, and dreaded news. Sophie and I celebrated our December birthdays together, but with unwanted fear and sadness. Our daughters supported each other at college during the winter and spring as Sophie underwent three surgeries. There were post operative complications due to previous radiation treatments, so Sophie’s recovery was painful and challenging.
After such a struggle with her surgeries, Sophie was dreading chemotherapy, and felt so horrible after the first treatment, that she considered not continuing. Her numbers for recovery improved so vastly with chemotherapy though, that Marc and I, as well as her husband and siblings, told Sophie quitting wasn’t an option. I knew I had to do everything I could to make chemo bearable, so I went to Sophie’s treatments with her loaded with a cooler of the few items she could tolerate, watermelon and sparkling water. I rubbed my homemade body butter on her sores, and CBD cream on her scalp. During those treatments we distracted each other with fun memories. We spent a lot of time laughing about silly things and making plans for the fall, when we all had high hopes that Sophie would feel well enough to travel.
This Parents Weekend was filled with tears of joy, much hugging, and constant laughter as we celebrated the blessing of all being together with our wonderful daughters. We arrived home to the tragedy of the Camp Fire, and smoked filled air, but the treasure of Sophie being well and the memories of our weekend, filled out hearts. That joy continues to sustain me. Supporting each other when we are deeply struggling is part of our lives, but moments of happiness and laughter can be found along the darkest parts of the journey, and help light the path ahead.
am so proud that our Sisterhood will support those in need from the devastating fires, as well as each other as we face life’s challenges. Please reach out to the Women of Rodef Sholom Sisterhood if you need support. We are there for you!
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With much love,
Lucy Schneidman
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Dear friends,
I have a little dreidel, and wouldn’t you know,
Every time I spun it, it made a lot of dough!
I got so very rich from my dreidel, and my story became so well known that everyone in town began asking me for money. Soon my wonderful dreidel became a burden. Folks in town became aggressive, even pushing their way into my house to ask for some money.
One day I thought of a solution to my problem…I would give the dreidel away! Since everybody knew me because of my magic dreidel, I put on a long, grey beard, a tattered coat, and a pulled a threadbare stocking cap over my head ‘til it touched my eyebrows. I tucked the dreidel in a rag, put it in my pocket, and set out to give it to the first person who would play a game of dreidel with me.
First, I approached Moshe, the town butcher. Did he want to play a quick game of dreidel over a cup of coffee? “No,” he declared, wrapping a roast. “I’m way too busy buying and cutting meat to have time to play a child’s game,” and he waved me out the door. Then there was Shmuel the tailor. Looking up from the sewing machine, he didn’t even bother to take the pins out of his mouth, he simply shook his head and went back to stitching pants. Howard was too busy planting crops. Benjamin had challah to bake. Books and studies took up all of Avi’s time.
Finally, I visited Yosef, whom I’d passed many times on the street. He lived wherever it was dry and warm at night. Yosef did odd jobs to buy food for him and his best friend, who happened to be a bulldog named Frank. “How about a little game of dreidel and we share some of my coffee?” I asked. Yosef’s face lit up and we settled into a game. As we played, he talked about life on the street; some days good, some days not so much. “I’m always thankful for kindness, even if it’s just a smile from a stranger, aren’t you?”
He spun the toy, winning almost every time, as I knew he would. After an hour of conversation and dreidel, I said, “The piece is lucky for you. Why don’t you keep it?” Yosef hugged me. “Thank you!” he said. “Mostly, thank you for your friendship.”
Before long, Yosef owned his own home, always with open doors to help others. He never knew it was me who played dreidel with him that day.
Sometimes I think I catch Frank winking at me, though.
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Chag Sameach,
Cantor David Margules
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In the bin this month: In the temple lobby
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December:
Warm jackets, raincoats and sleeping bags for the unsheltered to be distributed by St. Vincent De Paul dining room and continued Toy Drive.
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