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The WAVE Newsletter
February 16, 2024 ~ 7 Adar I 5784
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Dear Central Great Lakes,
Whether we find ourselves joining a sisterhood affiliate meeting, participating in a program, or joining a luncheon, we’re always led to a table to sign in and write our name on a badge that we wear to help others know who we are.
Did you ever wish that each day, before you pull out your phone, power up your computer, or leave your home to go where life is taking you in that moment, that you could wear a name card that would identify you as “Human – Handle with Care”? A simple tool, the card would protect us from the emotional dramas and vulnerabilities that come with life and all its uncertainty.
A helpful tool? Perhaps. But that’s not the Jewish way! Let’s talk about this.
One thing we know for sure is that life is in constant motion, ever changing, often quicker than we would like. As life unfolds, we create relationships, form deep connections, and become attached to people, places, and experiences.
However, because life is in motion and everything is changing, we poignantly realize how
vulnerable we are. Like many of us who have family and friends scattered all over the world,
our lives are a dance of exuberant “Hello’s” and then all too quickly, a slow walk of “Goodbye's.” And we let go, and we go on. We handle our hearts with care.
Holding on and letting go -- a mysterious and challenging paradox of existence.
Family, friendships, community, and relationships are treasures of life that bring us meaning,
joy, and gratitude. Yet the stronger the relationships, the deeper the connections, the more
sadness and pain when we have to say goodbye and leave. Moments are precious because
they are moments!
How do we live fully within these parameters of life that are in constant motion and dramatic
change? How do we keep ourselves open to life’s adventures knowing that each moment or
experience has to end? How do we leave, and how do we return to our lives as they were, and go forward? How do we embrace the moments of joy, gratitude, and beauty fully in the
moment, knowing that they are only for a moment? How do we remain strong?
One answer - we can turn to the ritual, traditions, and sacred texts of Judaism to help provide meaning in the complexities and contradictions of life. They’re amazing anchors.
Shema Yisrael, “Listen, Israel” and then Ve’ahavta, “And you will love” -- Shabbat is a restorative oasis that allows us time to listen and be grateful – yes, for the moments. Ve’ahavta – we’re counseled: to be mindful as we sit in our homes and as we walk our pathways; as we rest and as we go forth, and to treasure these moments. With this mindfulness, we can develop the capacity to meet with love whatever life brings.
As modern Conservative Jewish women, we’re also bound by a strong DNA covenant with our Biblical sisters: Rachel, Rebecca, Leah, Sarah, Miriam, Esther and so many more. Their voices resonate deep in our souls. We only need to listen to their voices of hope; we need only to listen to our fore mothers speak of their lives led with grace and strength to know that we are Sisters Strong: Women of ingenuity, strength, resilience and hope ready to face life’s pivots.
As women of Central Great Lakes Region, remembering the why of our sisterhood affiliates, of the sacred work we do to serve our Jewish communities here and in Israel and to perpetuate our beautiful Jewish heritage, gives our lives a strength of purpose to live life fully – every moment!
I invite you to join us April 7 – 9 at Adath Israel Congregation, Cincinnati, Ohio, for our Spring Conference 2024. We’ll explore the Jewish response to life’s moments. Please take a moment to read All Things Conference in this issue of The WAVE and see why we are excited about the opportunities we will have together at Conference to: Strengthen our resilience; sharpen our perspective on the world around us; stand strong as women of shared values; discover how we can live mindfully; navigate this paradoxical and mysterious gift of life; and have some fun along the way.
Together, we can find the courage to make our lives a blessing. Come along!
See you in Cincinnati!
Shabbat Shalom,
Pam
Pam Schlosberg
CGLR President
cglrpresident21@wlcj.org
847.433.7546 (h); 847.691.8991 (c)
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All Things Spring Conference and Registration | | |
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Conference Registration CLOSES April 1
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Hotel Registration CLOSES March 25 | |
Celebrate your Valued Volunteer and the New Region Officers.
Thank the President and Officers Who Served Our Region from 2021-2014
Congratulate our Incoming President
Synagogues can Honor their Valued Volunteer and their Officers joining the CGLR Board
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Valued Volunteer - Extended Deadline to February 28 | |
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Conference 2024 Blanket Registration
Thank you to the following Affiliates who have paid their blanket registration for Conference.
Adath Israel Sisterhood – Cincinnati, OH
Sisterhood of Congregation Shaarey Zedek – Southfield, MI
Ezra-Habonim, The NTJC Sisterhood – Skokie, IL
Congregation Beth Shalom Sisterhood – Northbrook, IL
There’s still time to send your check for blanket registration to
Wanda Pitzele
2885 Parkwalk Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45239
Questions? Call Wanda at 630-289-3349
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We continue to send our prayers for those who suffer in Israel and the Ukraine. | |
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A Prayer for Israel in this Time of War
by Rabbi Naomi Levy
God, our Strength and Protection, we pray for the State of Israel in this
devastating time of war, shock and grief. Our hearts are breaking, God. We pray
for the lives of the innocent civilians who have been heartlessly kidnapped by
Hamas, bring them home, watch over them, God. We pray for the lives of the
soldiers who have been taken captive, we pray for their safe return, shelter them,
God. We pray for the souls of the innocent victims who were brutally slaughtered.
Send comfort and strength, God, to the grieving. Send healing to the injured, and
strength and wisdom to their doctors and nurses. We pray for all our brothers and
sisters in Israel in this time of tragedy and crisis.
Watch over Israel, God, spread Your shelter of peace over the land and over all
our brothers and sisters who live there. Shine Your light upon Israel’s leaders,
officers and advisers, help them to overcome all divisiveness and to act with
clarity and determination. Protect the men and women who defend Israel, let them
be safe and may they be victorious over the Hamas terrorists who attacked our
people. Watch over them, God. Hear their prayers. Bring peace, God. Let it rain
down from the heavens like a mighty storm. Let it wash away all hatred and
bloodshed. Peace, God, please, God.
God of the brokenhearted, God of the living, God of the dead, gather the souls of
the victims into Your eternal shelter. Let them find peace in Your presence, God.
Their lives have ended, but their lights can never be extinguished. May they shine
on us always and illuminate our way.
Amen.
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A Prayer of Peace for the People of Ukraine
by Rabbi Naomi Levy
G-d, our hearts are with all the people of Ukraine,
Its president, Volodymyr Zelensky,
And with our Jewish brothers and sisters in Ukraine
200,000 souls
Who crouch in fear
As the sound of sirens and bombs pierce the air.
Synagogues once filled with songs of celebration
Have become makeshift shelters.
Echoes of the Holocaust reverberate.
The memory of the one and a half million
Martyred Ukrainian Jews.
G-d, we pray that the panic in the streets of Ukraine
Will give way to the sound of children playing,
And the sound of sirens will give way to songs of hope.
We pray that the world community will unite
And cause the Russian army to retreat.
We pray for no more violence
Or bloodshed
And we pray that diplomacy
Will be the path to peace.
Hear our prayers, G-d,
Hear the prayers of the mothers and fathers,
the prayers of the children
longing for safety.
G-d, our Shelter,
Bring peace.
Let it rain down from the heavens like a mighty storm.
Let it wash away all hatred and bloodshed.
Peace, G-d. Please, G-d. Amen.
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Please consider extending a sense of renewed
hope and send our light forward.
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Find more Israel-related resources on
the WLCJ website.
We now have a webpage with all the resources collected. Please go to www.wlcj.org and click on the Resources menu and then on Israel.
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Dear Sisters,
Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Ba’Zeh - We are all responsible for Israel. This is the general campaign that helps support the five seminaries around the world. There is also a second campaign called the Spaces Campaign. This is a restricted fund to help two projects. The first project is a Women’s League Study Space at the Jewish Theological Seminary. The second is a training course for rabbinical students called “Women’s League Institute on Gender Bias and Harassment” at the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies. The goal is $200,000 and we have about $38,000 remaining to get to our goal. It would be great if we could achieve our goal this year. If you have a little extra to give in additional to your annual Torah Fund campaign, that would be wonderful.
Please donate below to the Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Ba’Zeh Campaign and/or the Spaces Campaign.
B’Yachad - Together We are Strong,
Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca Goldwasser, CGLR Vice President of Torah Fund
rebeccatorahfund@gmail.com
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Torah Fund Legacy Society | |
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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!
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Torah Fund supports programs and scholarships for the five Conservatives/Masorti global institutes
of higher education.
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Scan Code
to send E-Cards --->
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Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Southfield, Michigan | |
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We want to spotlight your Affiliate/Sisterhood’s events and programs and give your Affiliate Sisterhood a Shout Out in The WAVE.
Please send us your flyers and photos! And please invite Pam, CGLR President, to join you, too!
Please share your Affiliate's events and programs with us.
The next full issue of The WAVE will be published on Friday, March 1, 2024! Flyers are due by 1:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, February 27.
For all March issues of The WAVE:
Please send your copy to
Karen Weiss at kbweiss1023@gmail.com
and
Pam Schlosberg at cglrpresident21@WLCJ.org
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Mazal Tov
to
Rachel Ferber, CGLR Communications Website Administrator, on her birthday, February 25
Mi Sheberach for
Alyssa Volkov, Ariella Ylena bat Rachel Devorah,
is the daughter of Rhonda & Dave Cohn. Rhonda is a Past CGLR President.
and
Ellen Kaner Bresnick, WLCJ Kehilah Co-Chair
We wish them a Refuah Shlemah - a complete and speedy recovery.
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Shabbat Message: “Make for yourself a teacher, acquire for yourself a friend.” (Pirkei Avot 1:6)
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When I became a Bat Mitzvah in the late 1970s (so late, it was practically the 1980s), my family’s Conservative congregation was not yet egalitarian, though the Movement itself was in the midst of change. I don’t think any of the other Conservative congregations in our area were egalitarian at that time either. In fact, some were so traditional that girls were not even allowed to stand on the bimah for their Bat Mitzvah service. However, the girls in the local Reform congregations were called to the Torah at their Bat Mitzvah services. I also remember that none of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah children in either Movement, at any of the many services I attended, actually read from the Torah. Boys always had an aliyah; Reform girls did too. Many of us chanted a Haftarah (even some of us Friday night girls).
Within the year, my congregation voted to become egalitarian. With that change, I began to be called to the Torah for an aliyah. I never took having an aliyah for granted but I also never thought about reading from the Torah myself. It was something that the rabbi or the cantor did. I did not connect this skill with something a layperson could do. Or could learn to do.
Fast forward a couple of decades and I joined my current synagogue as an adult with a family. And I saw Bar/Bat Mitzvah children read Torah. I saw many parents read it too. I saw lay readers on other occasions. I attended Sisterhood Shabbat services and saw women older than me read Torah. When my daughter began to study for her Bat Mitzvah, I decided I would like to read Torah on that occasion as well, in her honor. Our synagogue Bat Mitzvah tutor, Alice Krochmal z’l, agreed to work with me. Then she kept working with me for Sisterhood Shabbat services and other occasions over the years, always listening when I said “give me a short one!” I also had the opportunity to read Torah at other Sisterhoods during my term as MetroNorth Region President.
My rabbi, Dana Bogatz, has been teaching me Biblical Hebrew for years. She is endlessly patient when I mess up my vowels and other letters (which I do, often). She has worked with me so I have been able to read Torah for my nieces’ and my nephew’s Bat/Bar Mitzvah services, for Sisterhood Shabbat, on other Shabbatot, and even on Rosh Hashanah as well. This week, which is Parashah Terumah, I will be one of the Torah readers while she takes some well-deserved family time. As I began to work on this Shabbat message, I was still early in my preparation process. I doubt I will ever be able to just read on a moment’s notice – it usually takes me weeks and multiple resources to prepare.
When I do stand on the bimah and read from the Torah, I use the yad my parents gave me as a birthday gift several years ago. I am also equipped with the lessons from my friends and teachers Alice and Rabbi Dana, the examples of other women I have watched do the same, and the knowledge that the evolving egalitarian Conservative Movement has enabled me to do things I once thought I never would. My wish for you is the chance to do those things (whatever they may be) that you once thought you would never do.
In memory of Alice Krochmal, z’l
In honor of Rabbi Dana Bogatz
Shabbat Shalom,
Mindy Steinholz
WLCJ Finance Chair / MetroNorth Region Past President
msteinholz@wlcj.org
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from WL Week
Thursday, February 15, 2024| 6 Adar I 5784
To see the entire WL Week email, click here.
The website calendar is updated on a regular basis.
For upcoming calendar events, click here.
To read the Weekly Words of Torah from
Rabbi Margie Cella, WLCJ Educator, click here.
To read Rabbi Ellen's Reflections on the
Masorti Leadership Solidarity Mission to Israel, click here.
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Sunday, February 25 at 5:00 PM ET
Climate Change--What? Why? How?
Please join us as we uncover and discuss all the aspects of climate change with our panel of experts.
Mirele Goldsmith, Ph.D. is an environmental psychologist, educator and activist. She is making a difference on Capitol Hill with United States Vice President Kamala Harris. Mirele is founder and co-chair of Jewish Earth Alliance.
Mark Elliot, was Meteorologist with the Weather Channel for almost twenty years, since 2004, and now is the Chief Meteorologist for AT&T. Mark, who is also known as a "storm specialist," has Awards/Degrees in Meteorology, Environmental Science, Atmospheric Sciences and speaker of Climate.
Dr. Thea Iberall from Jewish Climate Action Network (JCAN) began focusing on the climate crisis in 2011 when she was doing research for The Swallow and the Nightingale, her ecofeminist novel about a 4,000-year-old secret brought through time by the birds. Thea has been published in anthologies and journals, including Blood to Remember: American Poets on the Holocaust. Her book of contextual poems, The Sanctuary of Artemis, traces the roots of patriarchal domination through poetry and essays. A storyteller and teacher, Iberall is an inductee into the International Educators Hall of Fame. Iberall has a Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts in computational neuroscience and is the author of three scientific texts. She has a leadership role in the Jewish Climate Action Network, which works through education, activism, and organizing to add an urgent and visionary Jewish voice to the climate crisis.
Rabbi Katy Z. Allen is the co-founder of the Jewish Climate Action Network (JCAN) and also the founder and spiritual leader of Ma'yan Tikvah - A Wellspring of Hope, which holds outdoor services all year long. For twelve years, Rabbi Katy, a board certified chaplain, served first as a chaplain at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and then as a hospice chaplain.
Heddy Belman
hbelman@wlcj.org
WL Sustainability Co-Chair
Corinne Hammerschlag
corinneh@rogers.com
WL Sustainability Co-Chair
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Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
11:00 AM CT / 12:00 Noon ET
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/630830287
Meeting ID: 630 830 287
Password: 875936
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Want to sing, teach, help with technology, and more during
Daily Psalm Study, and Kaddish?
Sign up here to lead a part in Makom B'Yachad.
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Key to Calendar:
CGLR Events
WLCJ Events
Affiliate Events
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Wednesday, February 16 - Registration now open for CGLR Spring Conference, Beyond the Eclipse
Sunday, February 25 - WLCJ Sustainability Program- 4:00PM CT/ 5:00PM ET
Wednesday, February 28- Deadline for Valued Volunteer Nominations and Ad Book ads
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Sunday, March 3 - Congregation Shaarey Zedek J BUS 313 Tour of Jewish Detroit
Tuesday, March 19 - Congregation Shaarey Zedek "Around the World with Torah Fund" at 6:30 PM ET
Monday, March 25 - Conference Hotel Reservations Deadline
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Monday, April 1 - Spring Conference Registration Deadline
Sunday, April 7 - Tuesday, April 9 - CGLR Spring Conference 2024 - "Beyond the Eclipse" at Congregation Adath Israel, Cincinnati, Ohio, with registration opening at 10:30 am ET and Opening Plenum at 1:15 pm ET
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Central Great Lakes Region Board | | | | |
