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News from the Northeast
January 2, 2018 | |
The eblast is sent from northeast@wrj.org.
Please add this address to your address book so you don't miss our News.
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Message from Trina Novak,
First Vice President, WRJ Northeast District
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Sisters, it’s cold outside! It is tempting to stay inside and to curl up by the proverbial fire. Instead, I encourage you to bundle up, come on out, and join us for several opportunities to learn and to connect with other WRJ women. We have an amazing opportunity to enhance our speaking skills by participating in Speakers Training. As sisterhood leaders, we are always put into situations where excellent speaking skills are needed – at sisterhood or temple board meetings, at Shabbat services, when asked to give a D’Var Torah, or if asked to present a workshop at a conference or convention. Learning how to research, prepare, and present a topic will give anyone participating the tools necessary to speak in public with confidence. We have been bombarded with news over this past year. Many of us ask every time we read or hear something, “Is this true? Is this what they call Fake News? How can I tell?” Please join us for our Area Event entitled "The TRUTH About News," featuring Kimberley Bookman, a reporter from the Boston area. The event will take place on January 13, 2018, at Beth El Temple Center in Belmont, MA, and will include opportunities to worship together, to enjoy lunch and schmooze time, to hear and converse with Kimberly Bookman, and to also ask WRJ Northeast District leaders any questions you may have about WRJ best practices. A registration form and schedule of activities can be found HERE. Finally, for those of you who need a break from the Northeast winter, it is time to sign up for the WRJ Fried Leadership Conference, which will be held March 1-4, 2018, in Nashville, Tennessee. If you have been delaying, the time to SIGN UP is now! Early bird registration fees end January 10, 2018. Regular registration rates will be in effect from January 11 to February 21, 2018. There will be leadership workshop tracks available for newer leaders as well as for seasoned leaders. More information can be found on the WRJ WEBSITE. Make one of your secular New Year’s resolutions a gift to yourself – one of learning, one of spiritual renewal, and one of women to women connection – through WRJ. It may be cold outside, but it sure is warm inside! Join us! In Sisterhood, Trina Novak
Temple Beth Shalom, Needham, MA
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Join Us in January for Two Events in Belmont, Massachusetts Register separately for each event.
January 12, 2018: Speakers Training This is an opportunity to learn the basics of public speaking or take your skills to the next level. Cost is $30 USD, and includes lunch. GET DETAILS AND REGISTRATION FORM. January 13, 2018: Massachusetts Area Event
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| | "The TRUTH About News"
Featuring 7 News Reporter Kimberly Bookman Come for the day... for services,
lunch, sharing, and program. Cost is $20 USD; subsidized by WRJ Northeast District.
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| Reproductive Rights Webinar January 25, 2018 Join us for the next WRJ Women Act webinar on January 25 at 2 p.m. to learn more about reproductive rights as we approach the 45th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.
REGISTER HERE.
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| Fried Leadership Conference
Nashville, Tennessee
March 1-4, 2018
Join hundreds of WRJ women for learning, connecting, praying, singing, and engaging! - Listen to keynote speakers Rabbi Rick Jacobs, April Baskin, and Marian Wright Edelman.
- Hear musicians Michelle Citrin and Stacy Beyer.
- Expand your knowledge with more than 35 different workshops for women of all levels and interests.
- Connect with new “sisters” during fun programs and unscripted moments.
- Experience “Music City,” WRJ’s audacious hospitality, and a riveting Purim celebration like none other!
| Registration Type | Price | | Early Bird Registration (ends January 10) | $495 USD | | Regular Registration (January 11 - February 21) | $550 USD | | Young Adults (18-35) | $250 USD | | Guests (Shabbat only) | $300 USD |
WRJ will host a WEBINAR at 8 p.m. on January 29 for FLC registrants.
Join us to learn more about what to plan, pack, and expect in Nashville.
Especially recommended for first-timers to FLC.
SIGN UP for this helpful webinar.
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PurimPalooza at Fried WRJ wants to showcase your talent at FLC! Do you sing, dance, act, play an instrument, juggle, lip-sync? The FLC Committee is looking for fun 'n festive talented women to perform at our PurimPalooza Show on Saturday evening, March 3, 2018, during FLC. If you have a two- to five-minute piece that you’d like to perform, please “audition” by submitting your details and video HERE. Applications must be complete (including video submission and FLC registration) by January 10. Note: You must be available for rehearsals/run-throughs on Friday, March 2 (during late-night programming time) and on Saturday, March 3 (during one afternoon workshop block). More information is available HERE.
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January 17 – 7:30 p.m. The Community Synagogue, 160 Middle Neck Road, Port Washington, NY Domestic Violence: Raising Awareness & Action through Education
Speaker: Mindy Perlmutter, Executive Director, JCRC of LI
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January 27 – 8:00 p.m. Temple Beth Am, 300 Pleasant Street, Framingham, MA Trivia Night Fundraiser Women of the Wall at Our Sisterhoods
Aaron Ginsburg wrote this wonderful article in The Jewish Voice about Women of the Wall (WOW) and Lesley Sachs’s recent visit to Beth-El Sisterhood in Providence, Rhode Island. We share these photos...
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On Saturday, December 2, the Sisterhood of Temple Beth-El (Providence, RI) hosted WOW Executive Director Lesley Sachs and WOW supporter Vivian Gealer for a day of learning, prayer, and sharing. | |  |
At its annual Chanukah party, the Sisterhood of Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA) received a WOW tallit from several of its past presidents and longtime members. | |
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URJ Biennial Recap In December, a record-setting number of people experienced the URJ Biennial in Boston. There were far too many highlights to explain here, but I hope a few will suffice to give you a taste. 1) We heard from AMAZING speakers, including the Reverend Barber, who challenged us to confront the moral divide in our society and to address the needs of the poor; Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who spoke of the need for civil and respectful discourse, telling us about growing up with a Republican father and a Democratic mother; and Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose speech was littered with quotable moments, my personal favorite being, “Our power is not a battery that is drained with use; it is like a muscle that gets stronger the more we use it.” 2) A new social justice album was released – "Together as One" – featuring eight fantastic new social justice songs for today, with all the proceeds benefiting the Religious Action Center. 3) One hundred fifty NFTY kids attended and helped Dan Nichols lead Havdalah. 4) We experienced the embrace of the new face of the Reform Jewish community — “audacious hospitality” at its best with Jews of color, LGBTQ Jews, Jews from all different backgrounds, Jews with both visible and invisible disabilities etc. Not all American Jews are white and Ashkenazi any more, and you could really tell. 5) A wide variety of learning sessions and experiences, from how to talk about Israel, to engaging volunteers, to in-depth text study. Worship experiences from yoga to an all-women’s service. AND SO MUCH MORE. It is hard to convey the entire sense of the Biennial experience in all its exhausting, overwhelming and marvelous glory. For me personally, this was my ninth Biennial (I guess I like them!). Plan now to join me for my tenth, December 11-15, 2019, in Chicago!! Abby Fisher
WRJ Executive Committee member
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Help Victims of Southern California Fires Temple Beth Torah in Ventura, California, is collecting gift cards to support their seven families who have lost homes, and other community members who face the greatest need. TBT is requesting gift cards to stores such as Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s, as well as the major grocery store in the area, Vons. Donations can be mailed to Temple Beth Torah, 7620 Foothill Road, Ventura, CA 93004. Or you can DONATE ONLINE to TBT's Fire Relief Fund. The following photos are from December 2017.
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Thomas Fire, Ventura, California | |  |
Leo Baeck Temple, Los Angeles, California | |
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| Calendar January 5 deadlines:
Speakers Training registration
Massachusetts Area Event registration
January 10 deadlines:
FLC early bird registration
FLC PurimPalooza applications
January 12: Speakers Training January 13: Massachusetts Area Event January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day January 20: Women's March – NYC, Boston/Cambridge, Providence, etc. January 25: WomenAct Webinar: Reproductive Rights January 29: FLC Registrants Webinar
Save the Date for Convention 2018
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WRJ Northeast District Convention
October 25-28, 2018
Framingham, MA It's not too early to start planning!
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| Your sisterhood is entitled to a District Speaker once every two years, without expense to your sisterhood. Please submit your requests with 6‑8 weeks' lead time.
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| W E L C O M E New Sisterhood Presidents and Leaders Now that you have elected and installed your new leaders...
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WRJ will provide outreach grants of up to $1,000 to WRJ sisterhoods and women’s groups for programs that reach out to interfaith families and non-Jews. The emphasis will be on programs that can be replicated.
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| Did You Know...? The Women's March on January 21, 2017, was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Women and families came together to advocate for legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues – including women's rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, reproductive rights, the environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, and workers' rights. Some fuzzy numbers for the 2017 Women's March: - The crowd in Washington, D.C., was estimated near half a million.
- Total participation in the U.S. was about four million (give or take half a million).
- Worldwide participation was around five million.
Stronger together! The next Women's March will take place on January 20, 2018.
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 | Columbus Circle:
11:30 a.m. ‑ 3 p.m. | |  |
Rhode Island State House: 12‑2 p.m. | |  |
Cambridge Common Historic District: 1‑4 p.m. | |
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Share this newsletter by using one of the "Share this" icons at the top of the newsletter. The next eblast will be sent on February 6, 2018.
Send program listings, photos, and articles to wrjneblast@gmail.com by January 30.
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| | | Women of Reform Judaism | 633 Third Avenue | New York, NY 10017-6778 US
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