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Friends,

This week’s Parashat Miketz is most often read on the Shabbat during the holiday of Hanukkah. “וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ שְׁנָתַיִם יָמִים …”. “After two years’ time, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile” (Genesis 41:1).

The first part of the parashah recounts the famous story we all know, about Pharoah’s two troubling dreams which could not be interpreted by any of his advisors. Pharaoh’s cupbearer tells him that two years previously, he had been imprisoned and Joseph had correctly interpreted his dream.

Pharaoh then summons Joseph to be brought before him. Pharaoh recounts his first dream in which seven fat cows are swallowed up by seven lean cows. In his second dream seven fat ears of corn are swallowed by seven lean ears. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of hunger and drought. Pharaoh is so impressed by Joseph that he appoints him his top adviser or Vizier. Joseph saves Egypt by organizing the collection and storage of the grain during the plentiful years in order to be able to feed the population during the years of drought. 

It is interesting to read of the many rabbinical interpretations, regarding the connection between Parashat Miketz and the holiday of Hanukkah. The rabbis saw hints in the parashah embedded in its words or phrases, which relate to the holiday. Here are just two examples: 

1. According to halachah, the Hanukkiyah (Hanukkah Menorah) is placed on the left side of the doorpost, opposite the mezuzah, which is on the right. In the phrase “וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ שְׁנָתַיִם יָמִים”, the word "שנתים" (meaning two) is an acronym for שמאל נרות תדליק, ימין מזוזה (on the left kindle the candles, on the right place the mezuzah).
2. Parashat Miketz contains 2,025 words which serve as a hint for the holiday. During Hanukkah we light candles for eight nights. The mitzvah can be fulfilled with only one candle each night for the entire household. The Hebrew word for candle is “neir” (נר) which has the numerical value of 250. Eight times 250 is 2,000. We begin lighting our Hanukkah candles on the 25th day in the month of Kislev. Thus, 2,025 alludes to the 25th of Kislev and eight candles.

The Etz Hayim’s explanation (pg. 250) has a more relatable explanation regarding thematic connections between the holiday of Hanukkah and Parashat Miketz. “Just as Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the weak over the powerful, the parashah begins with Pharoah’s dream of the lean cows conquering the well-fed ones. As the parashah begins with Joseph in prison and ends with Joseph as ruler, the story of Hanukkah begins with Israel oppressed and ends with Israel triumphant and independent.”

However, I like to think the connection between the Parashah and the holiday of Hanukkah has to do with the concept of dreams.

Hanukkah begins during the month of Kislev which is also known as the “Dreamer’s Month”, associated with sleep and dreams. Kislev occurs during the darkest time of year when we have the shortest days, the longest nights, and when the moon is the smallest it can be, inviting us to dream deeply. The Torah contains ten different dream stories and during the month of Kislev we read nine of them. Joseph’s dreams were of the prophetic kind which actually came true in the end. Our own dreams can also be thought of as prophetic in that we hope and strive for things in the future, for ourselves, for our families, or for our communities. Hanukkah and its miracles inspire us to believe that what we dream and hope for can be actualized. Our own dreams can be subconscious and mysterious, or they can inspire actions to work toward fulfilling those dreams. Our dreams can occur while sleeping but they can also occur when we are awake and aware of all we hope for. 

May we all be inspired by this season and holiday of Hanukkah to pause, to turn inwards and to dream boldly for a just and equitable future for us all.

REGION MATTERS

I am really excited about our upcoming region program because it is a collaborative effort among four regions - our International Northeast Region, IntraContinental Region, Seaboard Region, and Southern Region. Please see our flyer below describing our virtual program with Seth Front on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at 7:30 pm ET. This program promises to bring joy and laughter during the dark days of winter. It is free to all region members, thanks to the financial contributions of our four regions, and I hope to see you then.



Shabbat Shalom, Haunkkah Sameach and a very Happy and Healthy secular New Year,

Marilyn

Marilyn Cohen

Region President

INRPresident21@wlcj.org

Can you Read? Type? Copy and paste? Do you download and save photos of your children & grandchildren? Do you email? Zoom? Then it is really that simple... If you have these basic skills, you can easily learn the rest! The programs that we use to publish the newsletter are not difficult to learn and we are here to train you and help as you learn! If you are interested and want to learn more please contact Marilyn Cohen at INRPresident21@wlcj.org.

Our 2022-2023 Chazak v'Ematz Campaign

Be Strong and Courageous

In honor of the 80th anniversary of Torah Fund, Women’s League has

invited members to present Divrei Torah, brief teachings, to our members.

This month, Kislev, Ellie Kremer, Women’s League Israel Chair,

writes about the lights we kindle.

Our Own Small Miracles

It is a curious thing: For Shabbat and for Hanukkah, we light candles, right? But we are not permitted to use the light from those candle flames. How does that work?

For Shabbat, it was the institution of a special lamp to be lit before sunset, so that you could not say “It’s okay, I will sit in the dark.” Not only is it an old joke but eating Shabbat dinner in the dark would fly in the face of the injunction of “Oneg Shabbat,” that we are required to enjoy, to delight in Shabbat observance.

The key here is that it is the light from the extra “oneg” lamp you are using to serve, eat, clear, and sing zemirot and Birkat haMazon. The light from other sources — your Shabbat candles — is essentially not in “practical” use.

As for Hanukkah, a similar principle applies: In the Talmud, that 1400-year-old magnificent and challenging work of rabbinic discussion and debate, law and legend, superstition and so much more, the sage Rava speaks of the Hanukkah lights. “Another lamp is required for its light to be used…” (Shabbat 21b)

A millennium and a half later, that is still what we do. How? It is the shammash, the “helper” candle with which we light the other candles required for the particular day of Hanukkah.

The shammash has a more important role than merely being a kind of long-lasting match. Its flame produces light that we may use. When we’re playing dreidel, eating, or reading near the chanukiah, we are “using” only the light from the shammash; the light from the other candles is incidental. After all, it’s impossible to mark off the exact place where the light from any single candle begins and ends.

Women’s League’s Torah Fund is akin to a shammash. We help light the flames of Jewish life through contributions to our Conservative/Masorti institutions of higher education. As our students go out into the world, spreading the light of our tradition, it is difficult, if not impossible, to attribute a particular teaching, preaching, or reaching out moment to a specific donation.

The light cast through all our efforts illuminates the beauty and wisdom of our sacred texts and our practices and customs. When we light our Hanukkah candles, we recite “she’asa nisim,” a blessing that acknowledges God for having “performed miracles for our ancestors back when”, and for doing so in our day as well.

We can perform our own small miracles of light by contributing to Torah Fund, say, $10 for each day of Hanukkah above our usual contribution. We might not be able to see the light of an individual day’s donation. We will certainly be able to enjoy the bright glow of teaching and learning, inspiration, and insight our future leaders will bring to the Jewish lives of untold numbers of students and congregants, young and old.

Including us!

Help us educate the future rabbis, cantors, scholars, and educators who currently study at our five Conservative/Masorti schools. Join the Torah Fund Legacy Society so your concern lives on. Click here to learn more: https://www.jtsa.edu/hidden-page/torah-fund-legacy-society/

Send ecards for Hanukkah, or to share joys and sorrows.

In the US: https://torahfundecards.jtsa.edu/

In Canada: Canadian eCards – Torah Fund eCards (jtsa.edu)

Contact your Torah Fund Chair to obtain paper cards.

In the US, donate online: https://inspired.jtsa.edu/give/314821/#!/donation/checkout

In Canada, donate online by using the Canadian ecard link above and adding an additional amount.

Please consider a special donation in honor of Torah Fund’s 80th anniversary. Donors to this special fund will be acknowledged at the Convention July 13-16, 2023.

The secular year is drawing to a close. Please make your 2022 donations soon.

Save the date for our next Torah Fund Stands with Israel virtual event on Monday evening, January 30, 2023, at 8:00 p.m.

My wishes that your Hanukkah will be bright.

Comments or questions? Contact me.

Linda Boxer

INR Torah Fund VP

INRTorahFund@gmail.com

By Doreen Bornfreund, WLCJ Kol Ishah Co-Chair

Hanukkah Memory

My favorite Hanukkah memory!

Fourteen years ago, on the seventh day of Hanukkah, my first grandchild, my first grandson was born. Just after Shabbat, on Rosh Chodesh and Hanukkah! He and his mother were home from the hospital within twenty-four hours! Plans were already in place to celebrate lighting the eight candles at my home, with my son, my daughter-in-law, her parents, brother and sisters, my other son, his fiancée, and my husband - a family together, while we awaited the birth that would further bind us together. Little did we know! 

So we packed up the latkes and all met at sundown at the new baby’s home. How more exciting than this, can it get, to enjoy the mitzvah of lighting the Hanukkah candles? Although, I must admit, most of us were gathered around our baby in his bassinet, our camera phones in hand, like paparazzi, while his Saba lit the eight candles in the front window. 

Every year as we light the eight candles, I fondly remember that night. This memory will stay with me forever! 

This past January (2022), this grandson celebrated becoming Bar Mitzvah. Amazingly, it was also a day to remember. It was the Pandemic. Only fifty people allowed at the morning service at the Kiever Synagogue. Masks and social distancing required. Always thinking ahead, I had booked a hotel in downtown Toronto for my husband and myself, and my other son, with his now, wife, and 9 year old daughter. Just in case.

Ha ha! Two feet of snow overnight. We got stuck three times driving the short distance to the shule. My two sons shovelled part of the parking lot to get our cars in. Only eighteen people made it, including the photographer. The Bar Mitzvah boy was the tenth man to make the minyan. Two magic numbers! Despite the odds, the Torah was read, my grandson became Bar Mitzvah.

They say we make plans and Adonai laughs. So don’t count on things going the way you want. But I say, believe, things work out. Adonai makes miracles too.

May you all create wonderful memories of lighting Hanukkah candles and participating in miracles. From my family to yours, I wish us all miracles, good health and peace. And love. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Hanukkah Sameach!



Doreen Bornfreund

WLCJ Kol Ishah Co-Chair

International Northeast Region

Dbornfreund@rogers.com

Women of the Wall: Rosh Chodesh Tevet - Sunday, December 25 @ 12 AM ET

Join WOW as we welcome the month of Tevet at the Kotel - Sunday, December 25!

Politicians are threatening to take away the freedoms we've won, but we will not be discouraged or silenced. We are standing stronger than ever, and we have a new choir that is elevating our voices in prayer.

Jewels in the Crown Returns to Convention 2023

Application and supporting materials must be submitted to Women’s League by

March 2, 2023.

For more information mail: jewel@wlcj.org

Jewels in the Crown is an opportunity for your Sisterhood to be honored for exceptional programming and participation.

See below for information and application. *NEW* more options to fill out the application.

Application online version was created on Google Forms as an alternative.

Avner Moriah

WLCJ FUNDRAISER

Thank you to Grace Schessler, WLCJ Vice President and Program Chair, for planning our amazing program with Avner Moriah! If you missed the program, you can watch the recording here:

This is a WLCJ FUNDRAISER and we thank Avner Moriah for contributing a percentage of all sales to WLCJ.

Please go to his website:

 http://avnermoriahprints.com/ and take a look at his beautiful collection. Discount code is valid until December 31st, 2022.

20% DISCOUNT CODE: WL2022

Watch Avner Moriah at JTS Women's League Pavillion video below (click on the image):

Giving Tuesday

WLCJ FUNDRAISER

All of the #GivingTuesday Campaign will go to the MASORTI WOMEN’S DAYS OF STUDY.

Your #GivingTuesday gift to the Masorti Women's Days of Study has made a successful outcome. Every little bit helps. The Masorti Women’s Days of Study are wonderful educational experiences that have drawn hundreds of women from Europe, Central and South America, the USA and Canada, Russia, and Israel. Lectures have been presented by some of the most gifted teachers in Israel; languages have included Hebrew, English, Russian and Spanish. Before the pandemic, the only way to participate in this special learning was to be in Israel. Like previous years, anyone from anywhere can attend via computer! #GivingTuesday is when most of the funding for The Masorti Women’s Day of Study is raised and like past years, you did not disappoint. 

Although #GivingTuesday ended, we still accepting donations. If you haven't donated already or are in a generous spirit, please give to the “GIVING TUESDAY - MASORTI WOMEN’S STUDY DAYS”. Let’s open our wallets and open our minds!

Donations are still being made and entered. A final list of donors will be compiled after December 31, 2022. Thank you to all who have contributed.

WL Reads - Sunday,

January 8 @ 1PM ET

WL Reads Co-Chairs, Merle Carrus and Susan Farber interview Lori Banov Kaufman, author of Rebel Daughter, on January 8th. Join us for an engaging virtual conversation about this novel and Ms. Kaufman’s writing process.

The next WL Reads Dates are listed below. Click on the Date for more info and to register early. We hope you can join us: Thursday, April 27

Personal Conversations - Thursday, January 19 

@ 7:30 PM ET

Discovering Lost Holocaust Family and a Community of Helpers.

How a book, film, and non-Jews in Poland launched my journey.

In Conversation with Marsha Raimi

WLCJ Southern Region Treasurer

International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the day when the Allies first liberated a Nazi Camp, will be observed on Friday, January 27, 2023.

WL Personal Conversations Chair, Vivian Leber comes in conversation with Southern Region Treasurer, Marsha Raimi. Marsha will share her personal story: how she unearthed a fuller version of her father’s Holocaust history, found survivors and other descendants, and has become a Holocaust educator...

2023/5783 – January 21/28 Tevet

Parashat Vaera

You are invited to tailor the following texts to meet the needs and goals of your Women’s League Shabbat committee. We have included poems and readings based on the theme of Chazak v’Ematz and we have provided a D’var Torah to be used on January 21, 2023 for Parashat Vaera, and a generic D’var Torah to be used if you schedule your Women’s League Shabbat for a different date. We have also included letters of greeting that may be read at your services from Women’s League International President Debbi Kaner Goldich, Women’s League Torah Fund Chair Barbara Ezring and Women’s League Executive Director Rabbi Ellen Wolintz-Fields.



• Chazak V’Ematz
• Generic D’var Torah
• 5783 Women’s League Shabbat Torah Fund Greetings
• Women’s League Anniversary Shabbat

Jews in Film - Monday, January 23 @ 2 PM ET

NIGHT AND DAY—

The Jewish Connection to the Movie Musicals of the 1940s

Lois Silverman, WLCJ Communications Co-Chair

In the 1940s the creation of Hollywood musicals was led by Jewish composers, directors, and writers. The creators included legends of musical theater including: Irving Berlin, Sigmund Romberg, Jerome Kern, the Gershwin Brothers, Rodgers and Hart, and Rodgers and Hammerstein...

SAVE THE DATE

The next sessions are listed below. We hope you can join us:

Session 2 will explore the WW II years: 1942-1945, Monday, February 13 @ 2PM ET

Session 3 will explore the post-war years: 1946-1949, Monday, March 20 @ 2 PM ET

Health & Wellness - Thursday, January 26 @ 8 PM ET

Health & Wellness: End of Life Issues

WL Health & Wellness Chair, Mindy Steinholz holds a difficult conversations with Rabbi Ron Goldberg of Los Angeles Jewish Health. 

Rabbi Ron Goldberg

Born in Chicago IL, but relocated with his family at the advanced age of six months to Los Angeles and the then rural San Fernando Valley. In the early 1960s the San Fernando Valley was the home of horse and chicken ranches and endless orange groves. Rabbi Ron grew up in a traditional/Conservative movement home and attended Hebrew School at Temple Beth Ami of Reseda California...

SAVE THE DATE

Part II of this program is listed below. We hope you can join us:

Thursday, March 30 @ 8 PM ET

Weekly Words of Torah

Parashat Miketz – Rosh Chodesh Tevet - December 24, 2022

Joseph is the classic rags to riches story – although he did not start with rags. Joseph was the favorite son of his father Jacob; he was wrapped in the coat of many colors, and had magnificent dreams, which could be seen as a very positive, fruitful future. Yes, Joseph was hated by his brothers, whose jealousy perhaps caused them to throw him into a pit and be sold into slavery. As a servant, he was seen as very appealing to the wife of Potiphar. Maybe he had a better life as a servant, in the home of someone who admired him. But he had values, and did not appreciate Poritphar’s wife’s advances, and Joseph wound up in jail. Joseph could not be kept down. He used his dream interpretation to get him out of jail, and straight into official business, advising Pharoah and becoming a top official in Egypt. Joseph should be an inspiration to all of us. His life is exemplary of what many of us go through – highs and lows in life. Life is a roller coaster. We may have a great job, a wonderful life, and the best of health, and all of that can go away with the blink of an eye. Remember the challenges Joseph had in his life, and let us all stay strong. Chazak v’Ematz – Be Strong and Courageous!

Makom B'Yachad

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday

12PM ET; 11AM CT; 9AM PT; 10AM MT

Join Zoom Meeting: 

https://zoom.us/j/630830287

Meeting ID: 630 830 287

Password: 875936

Special Program during Makom B'Yachad:

Friday, December 23 - Hanukkah

Want to sing, teach, help with technology, and more during Daily Psalm Study, and Kaddish?

Project Stock the Shelves

Your contribution will help reduce food insecurity among our neighbors

If you’ve been shopping recently, you can’t help but notice how much the cost of food has gone up. Please consider contributing a Kosher item to your pantry collection this month.

Debbie Bettan

Social Justice Project Chair

dbettan@wlcj.org

Karen Block

Social Justice Co-Chair

kblock@wlcj.org

Ardis Wexler

Social Justice Co-Chair

judgeardis@aol.com

PrezNet

Join the WL PrezNet

Toby Maser

PrezNet Moderator

WLCJ 5783 Calendar Diaries in Pocket & Planner Sizes

Calendar Diaries are available in TWO SIZES. 

Pocket Size: 4x6in. 

Planner Size: 8.5x11in.

Both available to ORDER NOW.

The cost for the weekly questions email and hard-cover book is currently $99. For more information and to receive a $10 discount click below:

Women's League for Conservative Judaism gets a donation by using the link.

Cory Schneider

Archives Chair & Consultant

Past International President

Administrator, Torah Fund Legacy Society

cschneider@wlcj.org

WLCJ App

We brought back the WLCJ App.

It's available for download on all devices (iPhone/iPad/Google Play/Android).

WLCJ Website

The Women's League website now is available in all languages.

Visit our website: www.wlcj.org

What's Next for Conservative Judaism?; When Educators Handle Challenging Subjects; A Jewish Artist Fascinated by Books and Printing; and More

Start Your Journey Toward Hebrew Fluency; Tour Hasidic Brooklyn, Discover the History of Ancient Israel, and More!

Schechter's Ongoing Hybrid and Zoom Courses in Jewish Literature, Philosophy, Art and History

New Digital Torah Fund eCards Available NOW:

Send a greeting with ecards and support Torah Fund! Make your gift more meaningful by using our ecards for every occasion!

Dear Torah Fund Leadership Team,

During this 80th anniversary year for Torah Fund, all $80+ donations will be reported and recognized by the Torah Fund office. Please share with us any 80th anniversary events happening in your Region or sisterhood. Also, we would appreciate it if you would forward any invitations, flyers or articles to us so we can share the updates.

Margie and Rita

Co-chairs of the Torah Fund’s 80th anniversary

Margie Miller              Rita Wertlieb

Mmiller@wlcj.org     Rwertlieb@wlcj.org

WOW Merchandise

All prices include regular shipping (with tracking, 2-4 weeks). Express shipping costs an extra $20 per item.

Join ADL for Shine A Light, an initiative to raise awareness about modern antisemitism through education, community partnerships, workplace engagement and advocacy. ADL will offer webinars and resources from now through the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.

Shine A Light uses the powerful story of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, to champion the message that light can dispel darkness. It seeks to catalyze conversations within and across communities — on the ground and online — so that people will better understand what constitutes antisemitism and take steps to respond.

Today, we are seeing Jews and Jewish institutions facing antisemitism with alarming frequency, and the trend is worsening. In 2021, ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents counted 2,717 antisemitic acts across the U.S., a 34% increase from 2020 and the highest number on record since ADL began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

Shine A Light comprises more than 80 Jewish and non-Jewish organizations who are committed to addressing rising antisemitism and amplifying our efforts — together.                    Read More & Get Resources

2023 Holocaust Remembrance

Eva Wachsmann (being held second from the left) was born in Kosice Mesto, in the former Czechoslovakia on 22 March 1930. Here she is pictured with her family at the family home. Eva was nine years old when the Second World War began. She did not survive the Holocaust. She was murdered by the Nazis in the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi concentration and death camp. Credit: Yad Vashem Archives, Hall of Names

Calendar of Events at United Nations Headquarters January | February

10 January – 23 February 2023

Exhibition “After the End of the World: Displaced Persons and Displaced Persons Camps”

Europe emerged from the Second World War utterly broken, with millions of refugees scattered across many countries. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was created to resettle those displaced by the mayhem of the war and the Holocaust. The fragments from the past illuminate the work of UNRRA administrators, and chart how, in the aftermath of catastrophic loss, Holocaust survivors navigated their new lives in displaced persons camps. The exhibition is sourced with artefacts and documents from the archives of the United Nations and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and draws upon the expertise of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the Graduate Center—CUNY. The exhibition was created by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme and Professor Debórah Dwork, together with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Archives, the United Nations Archives and Records Management Services, and with generous support of Stockton University.

Opening event: Tuesday, 24 January 2023, 11:00 a.m. EST, Visitors Lobby, United Nations Headquarters

Registration will open soon...                                        Read more, click here.

The Nefesh B’Nefesh JNF 2022-2023 Ma'alot Grant Program

Go to this LINK for the Ma'alot Grant information. It has details about the application plus a special offer from Rabbi Paul Freedman. He will be delighted to call you if you wish more information.

Is your synagogue considering a Mission to Israel in 2022 or 2023?

Our colleague, Rabbi Paul Freedman (nina_f@netvision.net.il) can offer resources including offers from Masorti Movement, Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center, and Nefesh B’Nefesh with its new Campus (located in the Kiryat Leumi, next to the Jerusalem Supreme Court). Some suggestions translate into budgetary reductions for your Mission especially with the NBN Campus.

New format for our EMagazine - Today’s Israel

Our EMagazine Today’s Israel, has a new format with fewer articles and an emphasis on photos. In this first issue there are three examples describing what Rabbi Paul’s partners, Nefesh B’Nefesh, Masorti and JNF are doing. Without their support, none of the above would be possible. We need your input with suggestions for future issues. Here is the Link. 

Don’t miss this new website – ExploringJudaism.org – where people like you can share personal and meaningful Jewish wisdom and reflection in addition to insight on practical living through the lens of Conservative/Masorti Judaism.

ExploringJudaism.org is a digital home for the Torah of Conservative/Masorti Judaism. While the name of this stream of Judaism was born well over a century ago, in the contemporary world Conservative Judaism is expressed through connection, community, and the creation of meaning.  This lens on Judaism is rooted in the idea that Judaism grows with us, that we’re guided by process, and that there is beauty in the balance.

Click on the button to visit website for summer events:

INR of Women's League for Conservative Judaism