Jofa Weekly, 3/29/24: The Well-Being Offering

Women's Shushan Purim Megillah Reading in Nachlaot, Jerusalem.

In This Edition:

Weekly Message
Recent and Upcoming Events and Programs
Women's Voices
Spotlighted Israel Resources
Divrei Torah by Women on Parshat Tzav

Weekly Message:

The Well-Being Offering

Friends,

It's hard to believe that, after all of the anticipation, Purim has come and gone – albeit in a uniquely thoughtful and meaningful way this year, as we strove to balance the ongoing situation in Israel with the celebration and joy of the chag.

Now, as we quickly shift gear into Pesach preparations, we must keep in our hearts and minds that the fate of the hostages still hangs in the balance, and Israel is still at war and in trauma.

This week's Torah portion may help shed some light. Parshat Tzav describes various sacrificial offerings, including a distinctive and intriguing category: the zevach shlamim, consistently translated as the offering of well-being. One specific category of shlamim offering, linked to expressing thanksgiving, has a unique feature: Although other sacrifices were offered by the kohanim (priests), people bringing a thanksgiving offering were invited to engage in the rituals themselves.

Abravanel, the medieval commentator, adds that the individual who brings the offering, needing to consume the sacrifice within a limited time, “invites his relatives and friends to share his meal and joy. On being asked what motivated this feast, the host will recount the Divine wonders.” (Abravanel on Vayikra 7:11) By doing this, Abravanel explains, the individual, in effect, publicizes the miracle that led to thanksgiving being offered.

Perhaps this is a timely reminder that our own well-being derives in part from fulfilling these same fundamental human needs of giving thanks and publicizing the miracle -- in other words, gratitude and community. At a time that seems particularly bleak, it becomes all the more important for our well-being that we look for whatever good there is to be found, and share our gratitude for it with our community. When it feels especially dark, maybe acknowledging and sharing even the smallest of miracles can offer us a glimmer of hope that helps us keep moving forward.

With this in mind, below you will find some ideas to help you keep moving forward -- several recent and upcoming events; women's voices and perspectives on the situation in Israel and the weekly parsha, and more suggested ways to support needs on the ground in Israel.

May we all soon share gratitude in the community of Am Yisrael for the safe return of the hostages, the IDF soldiers, and all who are in harm's way.

Shabbat Shalom and Besorot Tovot.

Jofa in the News:

Executive Director Daphne Lazar Price's Interview

with Abigail Pogrebin on Jewish Broadcasting Service

Jofa's Executive Director, Daphne Lazar Price, appeared on the Jewish Broadcasting Service's "In the Spotlight" with Abigail Pogrebin, discussing Daphne's recent trip to Israel, on the joint Jofa/Maharat solidarity mission -- including the mission's unique focus on the war's significant impacts on women, and the sexual violence perpetrated against women. You can stream the half-hour program here.

Purim 2024/5784

Women's and Partnership Megillah Readings Recap

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's 13th Annual Women's Megillah Reading

By all accounts, Purim this year was an ideal time for dozens of communities around the world to offer meaningful opportunities for women to participate in megillah readings, in both all-women and partnership settings.

From Sacramento and Irvine, California, to Skokie and West Rogers Park, Illinois, to New York City, and numerous other communities across the United States -- as well as around the globe to many more readings in Europe, Israel, and Australia. Not only were the pictures fantastic, the feedback was incredibly enthusiastic. As one annual leyner in Cleveland, Ohio, shared -- echoing sentiments that many other women have expressed -- megillah reading is the most personally meaningful aspect of her Purim experience each year.

Encouraging and supporting women and communities with the resources to organize and learn megillah readings where women participate is just one of the ways that Jofa helps to expand opportunities for women within the framework of halakha, to build a vibrant and equitable Orthodox community.

Check out this photo gallery of megillah readings from around the world that participants shared with us. (For more info on the photos, you can also check out our Facebook and Instagram feeds.) Yasher Kochachen to all who joined, and may that number continue to grow each year!

Jofa Statement on U.S. Supreme Court

Abortion Medication Case Hearing

Jofa, National Council of Jewish Women, the Religious Action Center, Women of Reform Judaism, and fellow Jewish Abortion Access Coalition colleagues gathered this past Tuesday, March 26, as the Supreme Court heard a consequential case on medication abortion.

Jofa united with the broader reproductive health, rights, and justice community to loudly and proudly proclaim our support for abortion access. Our Jewish voices are needed now more than ever to fight for our religious freedom and make the Jewish viewpoint on reproductive freedom clear.

Here is the statement that Jofa issued regarding the Supreme Court's abortion medication hearing; a decision is expected by late June.

Shabbaton Shivyoni

This Weekend, March 29-31

Shalshelet Shivyoni, the student-led intercollegiate community dedicated to halacha and inclusion, is hosting its second annual shabbaton!

The group will gather at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Connecticut for a Shabbat of egalitarian and partnership minyan tefillah, thoughtful shiurim, and a vibrant community of college students from across the United States.

Jofa's Executive Director, Daphne Lazar Price, is a featured speaker, along with Hadar faculty, Rabbi Miriam-Simma Walfish and Rabbi Micha'el Rosenberg.

See graphic above; scan the QR code, or visit ShalsheletShivyoni.org to find out more.

Jofa Partnering in Rally for the Hostages

Next Sunday, April 7, Noon, New York City

We are again -- still -- heartbroken, as we plan an event to mark what is now six months since the hostages were taken captive in Gaza. It is essential to keep the hostages in everyone's minds and prayers, and in the news. ‏Time is running out. Each week, we learn of another hostage murdered in captivity, another report of the atrocities and sexual assaults that they have suffered. We can’t stop advocating for them. The support of our community members and partners is essential.

‏Please save the date to join us in person if possible next Sunday, April 7, at 12PM, at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, at East 47th Street and Second Avenue, in Manhattan. Please also share this information widely and and help spread the word, to make this the biggest rally for the hostages so far. ‏

Jofa Partnering in Yeshivat Chovevei Torah's

Seder Sense Virtual Learning Program

Next Sunday Evening, April 7

Next Sunday, April 7, Jofa is joining YCT and many communal partners to present Seder Sense: An Evening of Pesach Prep for Your Mind and Soul. It's a great opportunity to learn with excellent educators and start getting into the Pesach spirit! Please register at yctorah.org/seder.

Women's Voices

Here we raise women's voices on what they are processing and feeling right now, and how they are finding understanding, strength, hope, courage, resilience, and meaning during this time. We hope that these writings provide you with new perspectives, and inspire you to write and share your own insights:

Giving and Connection

As we begin approaching the holiday of our freedom, with those not yet free from captivity still preoccupying our minds, we continue seeking out ways to do what we can to help.

Please check our Supporting Israel: Ways to Help Now page, where we continue adding ways to keep connected and engaged with what is happening in Israel and what we can do - including raising the voices and stories of how girls and women are impacted, how they are responding, and ways we can support them.

The page includes resources for fighting antisemitism; advocating; staying informed; keeping attention on the hostages; finding comfort in rituals; ways to contribute; talking to kids about Israel; reaching out; mental health; community gatherings, tefillot, and more.

We will also keep spotlighting additional resources in this weekly email and our social feeds, and adding them to our Israel page. We hope that each week you'll find something that speaks to you, helps you stay connected, take action, build hope -- in Israel, around the world, and in your own home and community.

Spotlighted Israel Resources

We continue highlighting resources and organizations each week that you can turn to for information, support, or to contribute toward direct needs on the ground in Israel. Please see our Supporting Israel page for our continually growing list.

Kedma empowers its global volunteer base to give back within Israeli society and around the world, through service-learning initiatives and partnerships with Jewish organizations. Since its founding in 1996, Kedma’s mission has been to strengthen gap year students’ Jewish identity and integrate them into Israeli society through the lens of volunteerism. With the COVID-19 pandemic, Kedma expanded its platform and focus beyond pre-college and college-age students to all segments of society: Its programs now engage high-school students, graduate students, professionals, families, and the elderly. Through its programming, Kedma strengthens Diaspora communities and global Jewry’s connection to Israeli organizations.

The Israeli Alzheimer Medical Center in Ramat Gan is a residential medical facility for 200 people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, and a leading treatment provider in Israel. It also hosts a multipurpose day center for dementia patients who live at home or with their families. Since the war, the Center has taken in additional residents who were evacuated from the South and North. Although the Center was at capacity, it happened to be completing construction on a new wing that was able to accommodate evacuees. Most of these evacuees will live at the Center for the foreseeable future, and potentially for the rest of their lives. Funding will help the Center cover additional expenses resulting from the influx of new residents, including staffing, equipment, and basic needs.

Divrei Torah by Women on Parshat Tzav

Jews around the world are reading and studying Parshat Tzav this week. Here are a few divrei Torah by women on this week's parsha:

Shabbat Shalom U'Mevorach

Support Jofa's Work