Beach Schmooze, News from WRJ, Online Learning, Other News, and Music
Beach Schmooze, News from WRJ, Online Learning, Other News, and Music
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News from the Northeast

August 4, 2020
This eblast is sent from northeast@wrj.org.
Please add this address to your Contacts so you won't miss our News.
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Did you miss the July newsletter? You can read it here.

Message from Marsha Moller
Membership Secretary, WRJ Northeast District

Here is the plan…
Neighbors and family tote chairs, carefully placing them six feet apart. We wear practical shoes to steady ourselves on the uneven lawn surface. We greet with elbow bumps or make the heart sign with our hands. We feel the need to gather in community, to hear voices in unison while reading prayers and singing hymns that bring us back to our childhood and years past. This is the start of the Rosh Hashanah morning service in my backyard.
To get to this day, we must first enter the month of Elul, a time of reckoning and introspection. The pandemic has offered some the time to reflect and assess their lives and how they want to live in community with others. For others, the pandemic has rocked them to the core, with health and economic survival filling their thoughts. How can we find the time and energy to enter Elul with intention?
Let our connections be the starting point for our journey during Elul. Being with others, virtually or face to face, can rejuvenate our spirits to reckon with the past year. Consider engaging a sisterhood member in meaningful conversation filled with purpose and intention. (It may be easier and feel safer to start with a “sister.”) Then widen your outreach to those whose relationship with you is more complicated.
Now, let me take you forward again to Rosh Hashanah 5780…
My backyard is filled with close family and friends, ones whom I have reached out to during Elul. We have dusted off the mini Torahs that our children received during their consecration ceremonies, and hold them close to our hearts as we circle around the yard during the hakafah We listen as family and friends share their voices, reading or chanting Torah passages. Those so inclined share heartfelt thoughts for the new year. We are more connected to Judaism than ever before.
We finish before the rabbi starts his sermon, and we listen to it on a laptop. As Jews so often do, we linger together in the backyard to critique, debate, and ponder what was said. We are glad 5779 has ended, and look forward to vaccines, peace, equality, and fresh beginnings. We commit to bring sweetness into each other’s lives.
Well, that is the plan. Maybe it will rain that day and we will have online services. Maybe some will feel safer staying inside their own home. But the journey into 5780 will be filled with intention and purposefulness.
Marsha Moller
Temple Beth Shalom, Needham, Massachusetts

Northeast Beach Schmooze

The WRJ Northeast District will host an online Sunset at the Beach and Schmooze event on August 5, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Wear your favorite beach attire, bring some snacks (in sand-proof containers if you're joining from an actual beach), and schmooze!

Sisterhood Event

Saturday, August 29, 7 p.m.
Temple B'rith Kodesh, Rochester, NY

Join the women of TBK for community in the parking lot led by Rabbi Rochelle. End the Shabbat and bring some sweetness in to the week with Havdalah and ice cream. All WRJ members are welcome. SEE FLYER for more information.

Online District Speakers

We are pleased to announce that speakers from the Northeast District may be arranged for online Zoom meetings.
There is no cost to your sisterhood or women’s group for a district speaker.

Northeast District Virtual Convention

Join the WRJ Northeast District for Celebrating Our Stories: A Year-Long Journey 
Our first chapter will be our WRJ Northeast Virtual Convention.
November 6-7, 2020
This weekend of learning, connecting, celebrating, singing, and praying will feature:
  • Kabbalat Shabbat services
  • Keynote Speaker Dr. Pamela Nadell, author of award-winning America's Jewish Women: A History From Colonial Times to Today
  • Engaging workshops
  • YES Fund program
  • Installation of our District Executive Committee
  • Time to connect with your sisters
Stay tuned for more information, including how to register for "Celebrating Our Stories."
Please contact Marilyn Shebshaievitz at NEconventionMS@gmail.com with any questions.

News from WRJ

Virtual Trip to Israel

Sites, songs and social justice on August 17-21 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Registration includes a $50 donation to the YES fund. REGISTER HERE.

WRJ Board Applications

WRJ is currently accepting applications for WRJ Board Members to be elected in 2021. Applications will be accepted until Tuesday, September 15, 2020. APPLY HERE.

Online Learning Opportunities

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training Series

Tuesday afternoons, 4:30-6:00 p.m – August 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2000
A series of training sessions from URJ to help you create action plans and fulfill short- and long-term goals towards creating an inclusive community for individuals and families from a wide range of backgrounds. REGISTER HERE.

Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority: The Fierce Urgency of Now

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s phrase "the fierce urgency of now" feels just as relevant today ass it did in 1963. As a movement for justice sweeps the nation, how can we as Jews take part? Co-sponsored by CCAR press and the RAC. Get the details for the event on August 5 and REGISTER HERE.

Wise Aging Program

Linda Levin will once again be offering a WRJ exclusive program. The cost of the program is $80 and for every WRJ participant who signs up, Linda has agreed to donate $18 to WRJ. This program will take place once a month beginning in September on the following dates: 9/2, 10/7, 11/4, 12/2 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. REGISTER HERE

Campfire on Tour

An online concert series benefitting URJ camps and NFTY. Click here for more information.

RJ on the Go

Reform Judaism has launched a platform to host interactive, meaningful, and fun experiences for everyone in your family. Click here for more information.

Progressive University

The World Union for Progressive Judaism is offering seven engaging online courses for young adults 20-30 years of age.  Click here for more information.

Other News

Kraus Immigration Mini-Grants

To support and encourage our congregations essential work with immigrant children and young people during the pandemic, the RAC is welcoming appllications for Kraus Immigration Justice Mini-Grants in amounts up to $5000. Application deadline is August 10.

CJPAC Mentorship Program

Are you a Canadian Sister interested in politics or know someone who is? We are turning our Women in Poiitics Mentorship Program Virtual and expanding it across the country and we want you and your family and friends. Click here to learn more. Application deadline is August 15.

RAC Civic Engagement Campaign: Every Voice, Every Vote: Every Week

The Reform Jewish Movement’s 2020 Civic Engagement Campaign encourages all U.S. citizens to exercise their right to vote and to break down obstacles that shut some out of the voting booth. Click here for information on the campaign, and register for upcoming webinars and events.

Racial Justice Resources

Want to be more actively antiracist but feel unsure where to start? To help guide those who are curious about antiracism and allyship on the right track, the URJ has assembled a robust list of resources that provide an informative and engaging look into institutional racism, privilege, and the lived experiences of Jews of Color.

Online Resource Roundup

WRJ has created a new ONLINE PROGRAMMING GROUP on Yammer. Look there for online events, and post your sisterhood’s online events there.
Looking for a chronological list of online events? Check UPCOMING WEBINARS on the Northeast District website.
Did you miss a Zoom session? Check RECENT WEBINARS on the Northeast District website.
Looking for other programs? Check ONGOING RESOURCES on the Northeast District website.

Here are two ways to make sure you are counted

  • Make sure to register for a mail-in ballot if you are unable to vote in person on November 3. Click on vote.org.
  • Be counted as part of the National Census. Help your state and community receive federal funding for critical programming Click on Census2020.

WRJ Northeast is Back on Twitter

Follow us at @WRJNortheast 

Calendar and Other Resources

Calendar

August 5 Sunset at the Beach and Schmooze
August 14 CJPAC Application Deadline
August 15 Havdallah with District Presidents
August 17-23 Virtual Israel Tour
September 15 WRJ Board Application Deadline

Save the Date

November 6-7 Northeast District Convention
March 11-14, 2021 WRJ Fried Women's Conference, New Orleans

New sisterhood presidents and women's group leaders!

Please complete the LEADERSHIP INFORMATION FORM so that we can update our records and keep you informed with news, events, advocacy alerts, and more.

Keep in Touch
with WRJ Northeast

Twitter Facebook Instagram
NEwebsite yammer

Need access to Yammer?

Contact Heather Lorgeree at 212‑650‑4050 or email her at leadership@wrj.org.

Request an Online Speaker

Your sisterhood is entitled to a district speaker once every two years, without expense to your sisterhood.
In alternate years, you may REQUEST A WRJ SPEAKER.

Moment Magazine

Subscribe via the WRJ Shop, and one-half of the $18 subscription price will benefit WRJ initiatives.
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Together we can make a difference

Did you Know...
Jewish Women and Suffragists

On August 18, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting any citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex was ratified. Today, 100 years later, we take a look back at the Jewish women who dedicated their lives to women's suffrage in America and around the world. This is by no means a comprehensive list; so many Jewish women fought for suffrage, this is merely a sample of the stories we know.
Gertrude Weil 
Mary Belle Grossman
Rosika Schwimmer
Belle Winestine .
Anita Pollitzer 
Rosa Manus 
Rosalie Whitney 
See https://jwa.org/blog/jewesses-for-suffrage for more informtion
"Another Wave" (music & lyrics by Beth Schafer)
Visit our website Follow us on Twitter www.facebook.com/WRJNortheast wrjneblast@gmail.com
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The next eblast will be sent on September 1, 2020
Send program listings, photos, and articles to wrjneblast@gmail.com by August 25, 2020
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