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This eblast is sent from northeast@wrj.org.
Please add this address to your Contacts so you won't miss our news.
Did you miss the May newsletter? You can read it here.
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Message from Natalie Berhumoglu
Take Away Tips
Upcoming Events
Calls to Action
News from Our Sisterhoods
News from WRJ
Calendar and Other Resources
Did You Know? What is Juneteenth?
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| Message from Natalie Berhumoglu
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Connections – WRJ has been the conduit for many connections over my decades of affiliation. These connections began modestly in my local Sisterhood when I first became involved. Well, the leadership were no dopes; they reeled me in swiftly.
After a few years of serving in various board positions and going to WRJ biennial conventions, I caught the attention of the district board. The illustrious and sophisticated Janet Stovin called me to apply for a board position. What an unexpected and humbling honor. I formed new connections and relationships with formidable women from whom I have learned much about leadership, giving, and love. This also led to my serving a term on the North American board. Connections continued to be made at Area Days, District Conventions, Shabbatons, informal get-togethers car rides to and from WRJ events, meetings and phone calls, and many other experiences too numerous to enumerate in this space.
To reinforce the power of WRJ in facilitating connections, I have a most profound example. My mom passed in October 2022. WRJ North America published this information as part of their email newsletter. Not long after, I was emailed by a cousin who saw the listing. We had not had contact in 25 or 30 years! Our mothers were stepsisters who had lost contact with each other. Cousin Allison and I emailed back and forth, and she invited my husband and me to Thanksgiving which we happily accepted. We have continued our promise, however imperfectly, to stay connected. To my delight, Allison accepted my invitation to attend the district board installation and dinner when I began a new term as Recording Secretary. Ironically, Allison also renewed connections with other people she recognized that evening. WRJ has all my gratitude for this.
As I get older and reflect on the meaning and purpose of our existence, I realize the dramatic importance of connections and relationship maintenance. These are the vital components of a purpose-led life. WRJ has been an invaluable partner in my journey of this life.
Natalie
B’nai Israel Reform Temple
Oakdale, NY
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| Take Away Tips for Your Sisterhood
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Looking for a quick, easy fundraiser for your sisterhood? You could sell 100 raffle tickets for $36 each. Have the winner be drawn in one month to win a $1000 gift card to the store of their choice. Your sisterhood can raise $3600 and net $2600. This has been done successfully by several sisterhoods as shared on a recent Schmooze Call.
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| Film, Fiction, & Fine Wine: The Golden Doves with Author Martha Hall Kelly
We are thrilled to have Martha Hall Kelly with us to discuss her new book, The Golden Doves. This book tells the story of two former female spies, bound together by their past, who risk everything to hunt down an infamous Nazi doctor in the aftermath of World War II.
Register Here
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| Northeast District Book Group
Join us on zoom June 11 at 7:30pm for a discussion of The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker.
The book is historical fiction with a fantasy element and takes place in New York in 1899. It is available in print, e-book, and audiobook formats.
Register Here
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June 14 at 8:00pm
on Zoom
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| Know Your Worth and Advocate for Pay Equity
Join WRJ for a conversation around understanding your own value and self-worth at work, pay equity, and family leave. Rabbi Mary Zamore, Executive Director of the Women’s Rabbinic Network will host a fireside chat with Dr. Amy Beacom, Ed.D., founder and CEO of the Center for Parental Leave Leadership. Together, they will explore inequities in the workplace.
Register Here
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December 2-3, 2023
Marriott Albany
Albany, NY
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| Northeast District Leadership Weekend Event
Please join us in Albany, NY, on December 2nd and 3rd for a special event where we will work on leadership training, ethics, and visioning for our sisterhoods and our district.
For more details, click to view the event flyer here.
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Affirm Commitment to Transgender Rights
WRJ has supported rights for LGBTQ+ individuals since the 1960s. Since 2003, this has included civil rights and protections for transgender individuals as well. In recent weeks, local, state, and federal governments have passed a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills (50 have passed and over 500 have been introduced). In response, WRJ has joined with Reform Movement leaders to affirm our unequivocal support for transgender rights.
To learn more about what is going on and how you can help make a difference, learn more from the WRJ press release.
Read here
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Speaking Up for Democracy in Israel
"When I signed up to join the Women Off the Beaten Path: WRJ Goes to Israel journey, I knew it would be a meaningful experience. This year marks the 50th anniversary of my first trip to Israel, but I had never traveled to Israel with WRJ. I looked forward to the joy of being in Israel and celebrating her 75th birthday with that special mix of sisterhood, spirituality, and social justice that is Women of Reform Judaism. Then everything changed and changed again. Being in Israel with WRJ at this particular moment in time has taken on a far deeper meaning."
- Shoshana Dweck, WRJ VP Social Advocacy
Read more about the WRJ trip to Israel last month and what you can do to learn more or get involved in protecting civil rights in Israel.
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News from Our Sisterhoods |
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| Women’s Organization of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
New York City, NY
In commemoration of Yom Hashoah, the Women's Organization held a hybrid screening of the new documentary “Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski,” the true story of a man who smuggled himself into Nazi camps and rushed to sound the alarm about the horrors of the Holocaust while there was still time to stop them.
The program was very well received. The bonus is that this documentary is available for your sisterhood to view as PBS offers a free license for its use.
For more information
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| Sisterhood of Temple Etz Chaim
Franklin, MA
Sisterhood president, Karen Dauer, and her husband were honored with a Tree of Life Award which serves to recognize special individuals within their community whose actions and commitments have helped Temple Etz Chaim and the communities around it. They have both been very active in temple life and activities over the past three decades. Yasher Koach Dauers!
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WRJ Annual Report for 2022
Wondering why you might be interested in checking out the WRJ Annual Report? Here is what they say you will find.
"Within these pages, you will read about the many ways that WRJ engages women by providing enriching educational and creative programs. Through webinars, trainings, local and District gatherings, and international conferences and missions, WRJ cultivates women’s leadership, lifts up women’s voices, and strengthens our Jewish communities. And you will see how WRJ’s philanthropy through the YES Fund galvanizes the collective power of our network to support Reform Jewish institutions worldwide, inspire and train the next generation of leaders, and bring innovative programs to our communities."
Read more
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June is...
Pride Month
June 11
7:30 pm
NE District Book Group
June 18
Father's Day
June 19
Juneteenth
June 21
Summer Solstice
June 23
National Indigenous Peoples Day (Canada)
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Save the Date
Oct. 23
7:30pm
District Zoom Schmooze
Nov. 19
District Watch Party
"Speaking of
Unmentionables: The Rise & Fall of Ladies Underwear"
Dec. 2-3
Northeast District Leadership Weekend
Albany, NY
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| Request a District Speaker
Your sisterhood is entitled to a district speaker at no cost to your sisterhood. Learn more here.
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Donate to the District
Make a gift to WRJ Northeast District Fund (NDF) to say thank you, happy birthday, mazel tov, or to send get well wishes or condolences to your family members and friends. An acknowledgment will be emailed to each person whose email address is provided.
The NDF enables the Northeast District to support our sisterhoods, women’s groups, and individual members.
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| Did You Know?
What is Juneteenth?
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Until recently, the only widely celebrated holiday commemorating Black rights in the United States was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. However, in 2021, the holiday of Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans on June 19, was established as a federal holiday. By doing so, the US took a step forward in reckoning with its history of systemic racism and will hopefully continue to work toward equity for all Black Americans.
The Emancipation Proclamation declared enslaved people legally free on January 1, 1863, but the law was not enforced in Texas until June 19, 1865. That day, two months after Robert E. Lee’s surrender, Union Major General Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in Galveston, TX, to read the proclamation aloud and enforce the law. This day would later be coined Juneteenth.
Juneteenth is a beautiful reminder to not be complacent. While this holiday is a joyous one that affirms the Jewish notion that we are all created b’tzelem Elohim and deserve to be free from bondage, it’s equally important to remember that the fight for true equality is ongoing.
Read more
--adapted from URJ.com
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The Board of the Northeast District
of Women of Reform Judaism
Wishes you a lovely start to summer!
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Share this newsletter by using one of the social media icons above.
The next eblast will be sent on Wednesday, July 5.
Send event listings, photos, and articles to wrjneblast@gmail.com by June 20.
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