Chai Lines
International Northeast Region
Women's League
for Conservative Judaism
Networking to Engage, Enrich and Empower
Conservative Jewish Women
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May 25, 2018 Volume 3, Issue 2
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SPRING CONFERENCE 2018
INR SPRING CONFERENCE
"PORTRAIT OF SISTERHOOD"
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FROM THE REGION PRESIDENT
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Ciao! I am writing this on the last leg of our trip to Italy. My husband and I started in Rome, traveled to Florence, and with many side trips in between, are now enjoying the sites of Venice.
The country has certainly lived up to the hype and we have enjoyed experiencing all its flavours. Like many Jews who travel abroad we enjoy visiting the local synagogues and those in Italy are quite grand and ornate. In Florence we joined the congregation in celebrating Shavuot and, despite the machine gun-toting soldiers patrolling outside, the atmosphere inside was warm with lots of children running around. The synagogue, built in a striking Moorish style, is orthodox with women seated on the side with an obscured view of the Bimah. I was able to follow the service despite the unfamiliar style, but it was difficult to have a meaningful connection as I felt somewhat inconsequential. As far as I know, Conservative synagogues do not exist in Italy.
However, there was one striking similarity with North American congregations: the food at the kiddish disappeared soon after the blessings were said!
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Joan Lowenstein as INR's new president. I am confident that with Joan's leadership skills and the talent of the new officers, our Region will thrive and make significant contributions to Women's League.
As this will be my last article as president, I would like to thank all of you for your encouragement and support. The last three years have been an incredible journey, and I have thoroughly enjoyed supporting the mission and values of WLCJ all the while building what I hope will be lasting friendships.
Au revoir, until we meet again,
Shabbat Shalom
Eleanor
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FROM THE EDITOR, LOIS SILVERMAN
We need heroes today more than ever. Look at the success of the recent superhero movies such as Wonder Woman and
Avengers: Infinity War; look at the continued popularity of the Star Wars films (still love the first ones best).
Despite experiencing difficult situations and often physical struggles and perils, heroes to win over the villains. We vicariously live their adventures and savor their victories. There is little ambiguity-we know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.
It's easy to be a hero in movies, but being a real life hero isn't easy. Life isn't black or white. We often don't know who are those on "the side of right" or on "the side of wrong." In real life heroes often personally sacrifice their lives, their positions, their friends, and their reputations.
In 1956, John F. Kennedy wrote his book Profiles in Courage.
The subjects of Profiles in Courage are John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, Sam Houston, Edmund G. Ross, Lucius Lamar, George Norris, and Robert A. Taft. Each of these men lost a great deal by standing up for their principles and the good of their country.
Today we need heroes like these men. We need more people who will choose principle and country over the easier course of complacency and self aggrandizement.
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A GUEST EDITORIAL
Shabbat Message:
"Memorial Day"
By Carol Simon, Past WLCJ President
 "The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example."
-Benjamin Disraeli
The coincidence of starting our week with yizkor during the last day of Shavout and commencing our week with Memorial Day, here in the United States, does not occur every year. However, sitting in shul on Monday morning, recalling the memories of those that came before us, the connection of these two holidays spoke to me. As I prayed, I thought of my father and my father-in-law, and the bravery of these two men that were both a big part of my life.
Several weeks ago, my husband and I found ourselves in New Orleans with a day to sightsee. We had both heard how wonderful the World War II museum was, so we set out to visit this attraction. As we were ushered into the theater to watch the introductory movie, the usher silenced the crowd to let us know that we were honored to have not one, but two World War II veterans amongst us. The applause to thank these two brave soldiers was heartwarming and brought tears to my eyes, as it does now as I am writing this message to you. I immediately thought of my father and father-in-law, as they both served our country proudly during that time. As we walked throughout the exhibit, looking at pictures, reading newspapers, and watching movies, they were with me.
Their experiences during the war were very different, as were their reactions. One shared their experience with his grandchildren, the other said little. One was an interpreter, the other a mine sweeper. Both enlisted, one as a 19-year-old college student, the other as an immigrant grateful to the country that let him in. One became a naturalized US citizen in Italy, the other liberated two concentration camps.
As we reflect on those that have served our countries, whether in the US, Canada, or Israel, we should give homage to those that fought to allow us to live in our respective countries with freedom. Memorial Day should be more than the "official" start of summer, picnics, and trips to the beach. I feel that we should also take a moment of silence, as a nation, as is done in Israel, to honor those who fought and gave their lives, so that we can live with freedom, choices, and democracy. Each year, as I watch the video of life coming to a halt during Yom HaZikaron, it is such a sign of respect, and it teaches each generation that we should never take our freedom for granted.
Since the thought to stop for just 60 minutes, all at the same time, is not something that can be easily accomplished, let's make a pledge this Memorial Day, whether it is this week, or in July, to take 60 minutes and think of your loved ones who sacrificed to give each of you and your families the freedom to live as we do. Share their stories of how and where they served. Share letters, medals and souvenirs that were brought home. Use this holiday, to honor your heroes.
Shabbat Shalom
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FROM THE TORAH FUND VICE PRESIDENT
MARILYN COHEN
Dear Chaveirot,
Here is an article about an INR/Ontario Area Torah Fund Program held at Beth Tikvah Synagogue on Wednesday, May 23.
It was a very stimulating and exciting program.
Marilyn
Check out the New Torah Fund Guide and all the other materials to run a great campaign!
L to R: Arlene Sylver (BTW member), Marilyn Cohen (INR Torah Fund VP), Judith Shapero (Principal Associated Hebrew School Toronto, Danilack Middle School), Rabbi Louis Sachs (Associate Rabbi Beth Tikvah Synagogue), Fran Caine (Torah Fund Chair, Beth Tikvah Women) , Adele Weinstein (President, Beth Tikvah Women)
Torah Fund Lunch & Enlightened Discussion on May 23, 2018
by Jenny Roger
The Torah Fund Lunch & Enlightened Learning program was hosted by Beth Tikvah Women for the Women's League for Conservative Judaism, International Northeast Region - Ontario Area.
Sisterhood members gathered from synagogues across Toronto and from Buffalo.
Beth Tikvah's Associate Rabbi Louis Sachs, a graduate of the Ziegler Rabbinic School, Los Angeles, shared his journey to become a rabbi and how the sponsorship he and his fellow students received from Torah Fund played a vital role in their year-long study experience in Israel.
Judith Shapero, a graduate of Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, and principal of Associated Hebrew Schools, brought to life for us the Cairo
Geniza, one of the greatest treasure troves of Jewish life ever discovered, consisting of documents dating from the ninth to fourteen centuries. A
geniza is a storage place for sacred Hebrew texts that are no longer usable. The Cairo
Geniza also included personal documents such as letters, wills, and poems that give us an intimate look into the life of the Jews of the Middle Ages, including information about the importance of educating Jewish girls at that time.
Judith's boundless enthusiasm and joy for the topic brought to life the words on the fading texts while Rabbi Sachs gave us a personal connection to the proceeds raised by Torah Fund.
Learning, practicing
tzedakah, connection to community and a splendid lunch made for a wonderful morning.
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FROM WOMEN'S LEAGUE FOR
CONSERVATIVE
JUDAISM
Networking to engage,
enrich and empower
Conservative Jewish women
WWOT - Weekly Words of Torah
To inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower Conservative Jewish Women
By Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, Executive Director, Women's League for Conservative Judaism
The latter part of this week's Torah reading, Parashat Naso
, the Torah describes at great length the offerings of the
Nesi'im
(Princes) on the day that the
Mishkan
, Tabernacle was sanctified. What is unusual about this section is that every
Nasi
, prince, offered exactly the same offerings, yet the Torah describes each one separately in virtually identical verses. We know that there are no extra words in the Torah, therefore, why was it necessary to enumerate the same information twelve times; why could the Torah not simply mention the offerings the first time and then simply say that all the other
Nesi'im
brought the exact same offerings?! Of course, this repetition comes to teach us an important lesson, because, otherwise, the Torah would not repeat the same offering so many times. We all know, even those of us, like myself, who rarely cook, that two people may make the same recipe, or even the same person may make the same recipe, but it comes out tasting differently, and being different. We may give the same instructions and supplies to multiple children to do the same art project, and the project results in a different finished product.
Furthermore, no two people lead the same way. We need people who bring different perspectives, and skill sets, and unique ideas and backgrounds. Yes, the Princes may have brought the same offerings, but were the princes and the offerings truly the same? I do not believe so. No two animals were truly exactly alike, like no two people are exactly alike. We all bring our own skill sets, backgrounds, and unique perspectives. And that is why our Sisterhoods, and Women's League for Conservative Judaism, need each and every one of you!
WWOT, Weekly Words of Torah will be a brief paragraph prepared weekly by our new Executive Director, Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields, presented in our "This Week @ Women's League." WWOT will provide meaningful thoughts related to the Weekly Torah Portion, an event on the Calendar, a Prayer, or something of Jewish interest, to inspire, guide, engage, enrich, and empower Conservative Jewish Women. If you have any particular interest in future topics, or want to send Rabbi Wolintz-Fields an email, you can contact her at [email protected]. Read previous Weekly Words of Torah here.
Announcing #WLReads' Summer 2018 Book and Author!
Waking Lions, by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
(translated by Sondra Silverston)
Live Interview with the Author - Sunday, July 8, 2018, Noon EST
First published in Hebrew, and translated into English and other languages,
Waking Lions is a complex and suspenseful story about an overconfident Israeli neurosurgeon whose life spins out of control in a vortex of guilt, fear, deception, longing, and humbling encounters after he literally and figuratively crashes against the hidden Eritrean refugee community in the Negev.
The author, a native Israeli and a psychologist, is masterful at portraying the inner life of the protagonist. The novel, at its heart, is about reconciling self-preservation with being an ethical person. The Eritrean woman who becomes the master of the doctor's fate also surprises us with her secrets. The desperate plight of the refugees and layers of class and racial divisions in Israeli society are another subtext.
Ms. Gundar-Goshen won the prestigious Sapir Prize for her earlier first novel, and the Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize for Waking Lions. Waking Lions is available in hardcover, paperback (339 pages), digital format, and in some libraries. Join the conversation here!
Thank You for Your Support!
This growing list. ALL contributions are welcome.
The following groups and individual have contributed to Women's League and its many initiatives. We encourage you to
join
Masorti WL Days of Study in Israel
East Meadow Jewish Center, East Meadow, NY
Garden State Region
Judi Kenter, in memory of Ed Waxman
Adas Israel Sisterhood, Washington, DC
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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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