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In This Edition:

  • Weekly Message
  • Countering Antisemitism Coalition Letter
  • Screams Before Silence Community Conversation, May 28
  • Shabbat Dorshot Tov, June 1
  • Gila Fine Book Talk, June 2
  • Resources for Shavuot, June 12-13
  • Nova Festival Exhibit, in New York Through June 16
  • SAR Yemei Iyun, June 23-24
  • Summer Learning Opportunities
  • Mental Health Awareness Month Resources
  • Women's Voices
  • Israel Resources
  • Divrei Torah by Women on Parshat Behar

Weekly Message:

Counting the Days

Friends,


Jews are always counting and marking time – now as much as ever. Our counting of the Omer, marking each day during the seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot, helps us try to experience some of what Am Yisrael might have felt during the time following the Exodus from Egypt, as they anticipated the spiritually profound moment of Hashem giving us the Torah at Mount Sinai.


However, over time, the Omer also became associated with tragedy and mourning. The Talmud tells us that during this seven-week period, 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva's students died of a plague – their punishment for not respecting each other. Today, we follow mourning customs during this time period, juxtaposing joyous anticipation with sadness and loss.


This year, of course, there is a terrible new layer of mourning. Not only are we counting the Omer alongside the number of days that our hostages have been held in Gaza. Because the Omer began 200 days after October 7, the Omer number that we count each night matches up with the last two digits of the days of captivity. Meaning, for example, that Lag Ba'omer, the 33rd day of the Omer, which falls out this Motzaei Shabbat and Sunday, May 25-26, will be the 233rd day of captivity.


Against this backdrop, we find more counting in this week's parshaParshat Behar, which features the laws of Shmita and Yovel, the mitzvot to take a sabbatical for the land of Israel every seven years, and a jubilee every 50th year, after seven Shmita cycles. (The last Shmita year was 5782 (2021/22) and the next is 5789 (2028/29).) Even as the specific laws of Shmita are applicable only to Jews living in the Land of Israel, the whole Jewish world still counts the 49-year Shmita cycle, just as we all count the 49 days of the Omer -- and now we are all counting the indeterminate days of the hostages.


The Akeidat Yitzchak (59:1), written by the Spanish Rabbi Yitzchak ben Moshe Arama (c.1420–1494) offers a philosophical perspective on the meaning of this counting: "Since man is apt to lose sight of the swift passage of time, and the brevity of his stay on earth, the Torah commands us to count seven year cycles and fifty year cycles to remind us how quickly the time allotted to us passes, and to alert us to use such time wisely...When the Torah legislates the counting of the cycles, (even of forty-nine days) it says, 'You shall count for yourself,' meaning for your own benefit."


The benefit of this realization of how quickly time passes can help strengthen our resolve to go forward with intentionality: "to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Tehillim 90) – both preparing us for the joy of accepting the Torah, along with the profound meaning and identity that it brings to our lives and our nation, while also deepening our prayers and efforts for the hostages, and our fortitude to face the uncertain road ahead. 


With all of this in mind, as always, we offer ways to help you go forward with intentionality, purpose, and meaning, through upcoming events, preparation for Shavuot, women's voices on current events and the parsha, and ways to support Israel and the Jewish people.


Shabbat Shalom ~ Lag Ba'omer Sameach ~ Besorot Tovot

Coalition Letter Supporting

Countering Antisemitism Act

Jofa is proud to be part of a very broad coalition of 61 national Jewish groups across the political and religious spectrum, urging swift action on the bipartisan Countering Antisemitism Act, the most far-reaching congressional antisemitism initiative ever.


Read the letter sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on May 21 here. For more information, see the Jewish Insider article, "Across Political and Religious Spectrum, 61 Jewish Groups Urge House to Take up Antisemitism Bill."

"Screams Before Silence"

Jewish Community Conversation,

Online, May 28

Jofa is cosponsoring a virtual Jewish Community Conversation about the powerful documentary, "Screams Before Silence," which captures first-person testimony from survivors, first responders, forensic experts, eyewitnesses, and released hostages from the attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7th. Their harrowing accounts reveal the uncompromising truth: that Hamas used sexual assault as a weapon of war.


Please watch the one-hour film, and register to join the online conversation with Sheryl Sandberg and NCJW CEO Sheila Katz, this coming Tuesday, May 28, at 8:15PM ET, discussing the importance of bearing witness, lifting up the silenced voices of October 7, and demanding justice.

Shabbat Dorshot Tov, June 1

During Kolech: Religious Women's Forum's annual Shabbat Dorshot Tov, families and communities across Israel host female scholars who give divrei Torah and teach shiurim for diverse audiences and communities, including some where female religious leaders are uncommon.


This year, Yeshivat Maharat is cosponsoring Dorshot Tov, to include more than 100 female scholars speaking in Diaspora pulpits on Shabbat Bechukotai, June 1.


If you're speaking on June 1, know someone who is, or would like to find a pulpit, here you can find more info and the application link. We hope you'll join us!

Gila Fine Book Talk,

Upper West Side, New York City, June 2

On Sunday, June 2, at 7:30PM, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Gila Fine will discuss her brand new book, "The Madwoman in the Rabbi's Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud," which is being released on June 1. The book, focusing on the six named heroines of the Talmud, explores such questions as: How does the Talmud portray its heroines? Why are they never as they first seem? What does this tell us about the rabbis' views of marriage, sex, childbirth, and what it means to be a woman in the world? This event is free, but registration is required; event location will be sent to all registrants.

Resources for Shavuot, June 12-13

Jofa's Project Ruth/Shavuot page offers resources to help enhance your participation and learning for Shavuot, including:



We hope that these leyning and learning resources help to enhance your chag with meaningful participation and fresh insights.

Nova Music Festival Exhibition,

Now in New York City, Through June 16

The Nova Music Festival Exhibition is a groundbreaking, in-depth remembrance of the brutal October 7th attack. This traveling exhibition is currently open to the public in Lower Manhattan through June 16.


The installation sets out to recreate an event dedicated to peace and love, that was brutally cut short by Hamas’ attack on Israel from Gaza on that fateful day. Please visit the exhibition website for details on visiting, and updates as additional cities are announced.

SAR's 23rd Annual Yemei Iyun

on Bible, Jewish Thought, and Talmud,

June 23-24

Jofa is pleased to be co-sponsoring SAR's 23rd Annual Yemei Iyun on Bible, Jewish Thought and Talmud, taking place on Sunday and Monday, June 23-24, and featuring more than two-dozen leading educators on a range of topics. The program is taking place in person at SAR in Bronx, New York, with shiurim also available via Zoom on Monday afternoon. Access the full schedule and registration here.

Summer Learning Opportunities

The summer season offers many opportunities for women to learn a range of Torah topics in a variety of settings, formats, and levels, with some offered via Zoom. Here are several summer learning options that we encourage you to explore:

Mental Health Awareness Month Resources

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we are drawing attention to the Blue Dove Foundation's extensive resources on mental health and Judaism -- including the new "HaDerech - The Way: A Guide for Mental Health Crises" and "Lashon Hara: How to NOT Talk About Mental Illness". Please visit the Foundation's web site for these and many more helpful resources.

Women's Voices

Raising women's voices helps us find new insight and perspective about what has been happening and how we try to find meaning in it. We hope that these voices provide you with new understanding, and inspire you to act, and to share your own insights.


Following are selected blog posts, reflections, and opinion pieces by women, published in the past week:


More Israel Resources

With the war in Israel and the hostages' fate weighing heavily on us, we keep seeking ways to offer help on the home front.


Please check our Supporting Israel: Ways to Help Now page, where we continue adding ways to stay 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 to 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, raise your voice -- in Israel, around the world, and in your own home and community.

Spotlighted Israel Resources

We continue highlighting resources and organizations 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 running list.

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Olim Beyahad works to change Israeli society’s stereotypes and misconceptions about Ethiopian Israelis and facilitate their integration into all facets of society via high-quality employment integration, excellence in education, and in-depth media interventions. Olim Beyahad has used its extensive network and credibility as a leading Ethiopian Israeli organization to organize a clinical mental health initiative in partnership with Wuste Tzega, the Center for Culturally Adapted Psychotherapy. Together, they are providing culturally sensitive therapy, including in the Amharic language, to families affected by the war.


Orr Shalom is Israel’s largest provider for children and youth at risk in out-of-home care, including children with mental and physical disabilities, who have been removed from their homes and their parents' custody by the welfare authorities due to severe abuse and neglect. For over 40 years, Orr Shalom has sought to provide these children with everything they were lacking – immediate protection, a warm home, an embracing family environment, and a real chance for a better present and future. Orr Shalom is providing extra support to the children living in group homes in areas under fire, and to graduates who have been affected by the emergency.

Divrei Torah by Women on Parshat Behar

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

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach

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