Woodstock Area Jewish Community/Congregation Shir Shalom
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
In this Issue:
Please note:

All Shir Shalom Events
(except Hebrew School)
will use one Zoom account.

For all: Shabbats, Educational Meetings, Film Series, Special meetings, please join using this information:

Zoom and Phone Instructions:
Join by computer
Meeting ID: 725-948-2096
Password: 856328

or by phone:
Dial: 415-762-9988
Meeting ID: 725 948 2096
password: 856328
This Week at Shir Shalom:
Worship:
  • Wednesday minyan ~ 8:30 am
  • Shabbat Gathering & Yom HoShoah: 4/9 ~ 7 pm
Educational Opportunities:
  • Yom HoShoah Weekend: 4/9 - 4/11
  • J.E.W.s: 4/7 ~ 7 pm. Parents meeting: 8 pm
  • Torah Study: 4/8 ~ 10 am
  • Hebrew II: 4/8 ~ 11 am
  • Hebrew I: 4/8 ~ 12:15 pm
  • Monday Noon Zoom: 4/12 ~ noon with Dr. Medzini
Upcoming Events
  • Eat, Pray, Love: 4/11 ~ 10:30 am
  • Shir Shalom Film Series: JoJo Rabbit: 4/17 ~ 7:30 pm
  • Women's Book Club: 4/18 ~ 2 pm
  • Dr. Ruth Ollison: Being Black in America: 4/24 ~ 7:30 pm
Don't Miss
Yom HaShoah
Weekend of Remembrance

Friday, April 9 ~ 7:00 pm
Shabbat Commemorating Yom HaShoah

Saturday, April 10 ~ 7:30 pm
Havdalah and Online Presentation by Memorial Scrolls Trust of London. Discussion with Heidi Fishman and Lois Roman of MST about the Shir Shalom Holocaust Torah and its Czechoslovakian roots.

Sunday, April 11 ~ 1:30 pm
Zoom discussion of the documentary
Commandment 613
with Miriam Lewin, director/producer; Randi Cecchine, cinematographer/editor; and Rabbi Kevin Hale, noted Sofer, who is repairing our Holocaust Torah

The documentary will be available for viewing, Thursday, April 8 at 6 pm until Monday, April 12 at 6 pm. A special link and password will be emailed.

Sponsored by the Gravitz and Blumenthal families in memory of Dr. Sidney Gravitz
Spring at WAJC
Shabbat Gathering
lead by
Phyllis Forbes and Barbara Mack-Shirman
&
Yom HoShoah Remembrance

Friday, April 9 ~ 7:00 pm
No registration required. Join us on Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/7259482096
Counting the Omer 
From the Desk of Rabbi Haigh 
 


ט֤וֹב אֶ֣רֶךְ אַ֭פַּיִם מִגִּבּ֑וֹר וּמֹשֵׁ֥ל בְּ֝רוּח֗וֹ מִלֹּכֵ֥ד עִֽיר           

Better to be forbearing than mighty, To have self control than to conquer a city. Proverbs 16:32

Counting The Omer - Week 2. Covid 19, Pandemic - Week 56
 
This year, the idea of counting the Omer takes on perhaps a whole new meaning. Many of us are counting how many days until our first vaccine, how many days between vaccines, how many days after the vaccine or when will all of the children or grandchildren reach each milestone. In some ways we are always counting, but this week we are invited to focus on Gevurah in our counting, Gevurah means strength, sometimes inclined towards discipline or justice. A reminder of our resilience, and perhaps the ingrained discipline to wait just a bit longer, until it is perhaps safer to hug or to visit….even as the temptation is so strong, that we might dig deep and find this strength, to hold onto our caution and to remain hopeful…knowing that we are not alone as we wait and count, a bit longer. 
 
With love and hope. 

Monday Noon Zoom
with
Dr. Medzini

Monday, April 12th


Former President Bill Clinton: Close relationship in the Oslo Process Era: 1993-2001

Dr. Medzini served as 
Director of the Israel Government Press Office 
for Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir and Yizhak Rabin, 
he is an Associate Fellow at the Harry S. Truman 
Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace and a noted author.

Sponsored in part by Lori and Timon Malloy
Shir Shalom Film Series
Presents

JoJo Rabbit
Saturday, April 17
7:30 pm

A young boy in Hitler's army finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

Please watch the film before this evening and then join us for a post-movie discussion with Playwright Allan Staples and Cantor Melanie Cooperman.



Available on Amazon Prime, Hulu and HBO max. 

Women's Book Club
April 18 ~ 2 pm

Ten Green Bottles
by
Vivian Jeanette Kaplan

To Nini Karpel, growing up in Vienna during the 1920s was a romantic confection. Whether schussing down ski slopes or speaking of politics in coffee houses, she cherished the city of her birth. But in the 1930s an undercurrent of conflict and hate began to seize the former imperial capital. This struggle came to a head when Hitler took possession of neighboring Germany. Anti-Semitism, which Nini and her idealistic friends believed was impossible in the socially advanced world of Vienna, became widespread and virulent.

The Karpel's Jewish identity suddenly made them foreigners in their own homeland. Tormented, disenfranchised, and with a broken heart, Nini and her family sought refuge in a land seven thousand miles across the world. Read more.....

Available at Amazon in Hardcover, Paperback or Kindle version.
************
Note: The next Book Club selection for the May 16 meeting will be Judas by Amos Oz. This book will also be discussed at the May 10th Monday Noon Zoom session and all book club members are invited to attend. There is no requirement to read the book before this session
Tikkun Olam / Social Justice Committee
Presents

on
Being Black in America

April 24th ~ 7:30 pm

Pastor Ruth is a Texan through and through…born and raised in the small Black community of Piney, in Northeast Texas, between Dallas and the Missouri border. Piney was founded by her ancestors after they were freed from slavery. They purchased the acreage and created an all-Black community with an elementary school and a church (and perhaps a general store)

Ruth’s grandfather told her that academic success was exceedingly important, advice that Ruth followed though it wasn’t always easy. After elementary school, she took the school bus to the upper-grade school in the larger nearby white community where she was placed—with the other Black students—in the vocational track, rather than in the all-white college-bound track. Ruth beat the system, headed to college and got her bachelor’s degree.

As a young journalist, Ruth started out as a radio reporter, then switched to television. She was so popular as a reporter and news anchor that the news director of a competing station recorded her reports and sent the tapes to other Texas TV markets in an attempt to get Ruth hired away—the ploy worked. Over the next several years Ruth won lots of awards, eventually an Emmy as News Director of the Best News Show in Dallas. That win led to her move to Washington, DC, in 1986, where she became Assistant News Director at WTTG-TV, home of the highest-rated prime time news show in the country.

Ruth left WTTG and the news business after a few years. She earned a Doctor of Divinity at American University’s Wesley Theological Seminary, became an ordained Baptist minister, moved with her husband back to Texas (this time to Houston) where she started a church in a troubled Black neighborhood in a building that had been a crack-house.

Brought to you by the Shir Shalom Tikun Olam Committee
Monday Noon Zoom

Coming attractions: (Please note, this schedule may change, so be sure to check back for updates)
Dr. Medzini:
April 19th - G.W. Bush and Sharon: Close understanding: 2001-2009
April 26th - Trump and Biden

May 10th - Amos Oz and the book Judas
May 17th: Steve Resnick
May 24th: Steve Resnick
Virtual Minyan Led by Rabbi Haigh
Please join us!
Every Wednesday
8:30 am

(Zoom and phone instructions above)

Torah Class
Every Thursday
10:00 am

Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47

Join with friends, old and new
to discover the wisdom and beauty of the Torah
Yom HaShoah Learning 4/8/21

(Zoom and phone instructions above)
Shir Shalom Teen Gatherings
(Now known as the 'J.E.W.S' - Jewish Education in Woodstock)
Every Wednesday ~ 7 pm

Tonight and on

On April 14
12th graders, meet at 7 pm
Parents of 12th graders, meet at 8 pm

Via Zoom
Aleph Bet
Hebrew School
Open to children in K-7
Sunday, April 11th
10:00 am

Join our Zoom Meeting 
Contact Roni Skerker school@shirshalomvt.org
WAJC Online Offerings:
Regular updates for online offerings available at http://www.shirshalomvt.org/yachdav/
Are You Ordering From Amazon?

Did you know that if you sign in at: smile.amazon.com  (which will take you right to the Amazon homepage), a percentage of your purchase dollars will be donated back to Shir Shalom by Amazon!
Help support Shir Shalom. Shop smile.amazon.com 
COVID-19 Resources
COVID-19 Vaccinations

Have you gotten your shot yet? Are you having trouble scheduling an appointment? Not sure who or where to call?
We are here to help!
Sloane Miller has volunteered to help members of Shir Shalom register on line. Please email Sloane at sloane.a.miller@gmail.com for help.



Who is Eligible
People 50 years and older.
  • Make an appointment anywhere. No passcode is needed.
  • If you live in another state, you can still get a vaccine in Vermont if:
  • you work in an occupation or setting in Vermont that is currently eligible.
  • you moved to Vermont within the last 6 months with the intention of becoming a resident and are in an age group, occupation or another group that is currently eligible.


People 16 years or older with high-risk health conditions
Make an appointment anywhere EXCEPT Walgreens. No passcode is needed. See high-risk health conditions(link is external.

School staff and child care workers can make an appointment AFTER being contacted by school leadership or by the Department for Children and Families, who will provide a code.

To register for a vaccine appointment, visit healthvermont.gov/MyVaccine
or call
855-722-7878
You will be asked to provide your name, date of birth, address, email (if available), phone number, and health insurance information (if available, but not required.)
Will reduced unemployment benefits squeeze your finances?
Immediate financial assistance to the residents of the greater Woodstock area who are unable to meet their basic household needs due to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you live in Woodstock, Barnard, Bridgewater, Killington, Plymouth, Pomfret, or Reading, WARF can help provide immediate financial assistance of up to $1,000. This is available to anyone in those towns who are unable to meet their basic household needs, such as rent, food, or childcare, due to the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus.
WARF is committed to the confidentiality of all participants.

To apply for aid: www.woodstockarearelieffund.org
To ask questions: woodstockcovid19@gmail.com
To see regular updates on Facebook: @woodstockarearelieffund
Vermont Expands Utility-Assistance Program

WARF wants to be sure those struggling financially during the pandemic know about all state and local resources.

We’re going to need to pull together to get through this winter. Don’t forget that even if you’ve never needed help before, you can reach out to WARF for financial assistance with basic household needs at www.woodstockarearelieffund.org
Resources
WAJC/Congregation Shir Shalom
in color!

Do you have a simcha to share?
Consider sponsoring a Newsletter
Feb/Mar
Apr/May

Send a check for $195 to: 
WAJC, PO Box 526, 
Woodstock, VT 05091
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Resources for Racial Justice


WISE
Every hour, every day.
866-348-9473
working to end gender-based violence through survivor-centered advocacy, 
prevention, education and mobilization for social change
LGBTQ resource photo
For LGBTQ equality in Jewish Life
Mental Health and Addiction Resources available at Shirshalomvt.org
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Contact Information:
(802) 457-4840

* Rabbi Ilene Haigh 

*Heather White
Assistant to the Rabbi

* Sari White 
Office Manager: 

* Phyllis Forbes, President 

* Roni Skerker, Living Judaism
Woodstock Area Jewish Community, Congregation Shir Shalom