Message from Sharon Sobel
First Vice President
WRJ Northeast District
The Class of 2020… We are now the proud – and possibly desperate – members of the Class of 2020. We have learned to master the possibilities available to us on Zoom, and may even have figured out how to mute ourselves. We have attended classes, services, book groups and workshops, gaining much information and not a single calorie. We have attended the Fried Women’s Conference, learning that it’s possible to quadruple registered attendees if we only allow them to stay at home and occasionally push a cat off the keyboard. We have figured out how to make use of every item of food hidden in the recesses of our pantry. We have been instructed not to hug friends we see in passing on the street, not to fidget with our masks, not to open the mail until it’s had enough time to bleach in the sun. We have learned that Passover dinners, b’nai mitzvot ceremonies, weddings, and funerals can still be emotionally satisfying experiences in unprecedented circumstances.
We have learned many things and, as is the case for others in the Class of 2020, we are asked to reflect on our life, our relationships, and our future. Many of us have found strength in the vast uncertainties of the pandemic. We have discovered a whole new world in the confines of our home. And, with little time and even less experience, we have brought our sisterhood and women’s groups members into the new reality of our lives. The women’s seders, end-of-year dinners, book groups, and installations did not happen as planned, but they have happened, nevertheless.
In this spirit of finding possibilities in great challenges, our Convention 2020 Committee is in the process of recreating many of the events, workshops, and services that were to be part of our biennial celebration in Tarrytown, New York. The women of the Northeast District will still meet in November, online, to engage with speakers, celebrate Shabbat, discuss leadership strategies, inaugurate our new YES Fund Tree, and install a new board of directors. And because geography and travel costs will no longer be a barrier to “Celebrating our Stories,” we are working with another WRJ district to coordinate and collaborate on several of our programs.
We look forward to seeing you on Zoom through the months ahead, and at our 2020 Convention. This, too, will be one of the stories we’ll celebrate. For all of us in the Class of 2020, faced with startling changes to our plans and great uncertainties, have learned to adapt and endure, because we are stronger together.
Sharon Sobel
Temple B'nai Chaim, Georgetown, CT
