Nisan/Iyar 5775

Call 206-567-9414 for event details or see our online calendar

April

• 12 JLC
• 18 Havdalah with Arik
• 26 JLC
• 27 Super Supper

May

• 9 JLC Graduation
• 24 Shavuot
• 25 Super Supper

COMMUNITY

We send our deepest condolences to several Chavurah families in this newsletter.

To Dee Axelrod and her family on the loss of her mother, Penny Axelrod, in February

To Marcia Rudoff’s family and wide circle of friends on Bainbridge. Marcia passed away in March.

To the Rutzick family on the loss of Sharon’s mother, Jean May, early in April.

JLC EVENTS ON THE HORIZON

Here’s the lineup for the next three JLC sessions:

• Sunday, April 12  10am – noon, a hike at Pritchard Park
• Sunday, April 26  10am – noon,  an Earth Day mitzvah project
• Saturday evening May 9  5 – 8pm  L’ag b’omer bonfire and graduation at Zann and Craig Jacobrown’s in Indianola

All are welcome to join in these JLC activities.  Please contact Araya Sol for more information.

THIS WEEKEND WITH ARIK

No Friday Shabbat dinner/service

Saturday April 18 

5:30-6:30 p.m. Discussion with participants that will be leading High Holiday services

6:30 p.m. Havdalah and potluck (for whole Chavurah)

location: The Dayaalu Center

 

Sunday April 19 

9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. High Holiday education around music and services (for whole Chavurah)

location: The Dayaalu Center

MORE SHABBATS?

Some Shir Hyamers have expressed interest in having more frequent Shabbat dinners, perhaps even weekly. If you are interested in establish such a lovely informal habit ( practice? ritual? ) please contact Carol Shakow.

NEW WEBSITE

We are continuing to enhance the new website so please send suggestions, photos, and  additional content to me – Rachel Kerbrat.

ROBIN HRUSKA’S BIG ADVENTURE – Part 2

Here we are at about the halfway point of Robin’s sojourn in Nepal. I spoke with her last night our time: Sunday morning for her. She has moved her bedding into the school, which is right next door to the family she’s staying with. This was in the hope of getting some relief from a dusty environment that’s given her low-grade, but persistent, respiratory irritations. It has worked wonders; she sounded great and much more energetic than on prior calls. It also helps that she’s having good weather again after a couple weeks of steady rain that included some wicked thunderstorms.

The school week is six days in Nepal (what’s up with their union!?), so a lot hangs on Saturday. This week she had a great one: an outing with Lakshimaya, the grandmother (though: mid 40’s probably) to the neighboring village of Lelep. Robin absolutely adores Lakshimaya and they had a wonderful time. The high point was when Lakshimaya uttered the following magical words: “You walk like a Nepali!”. There’s a tiny store in Lelep, so this also qualified as “out shopping with the girls”.

The school day continues to be a good news / bad news situation… it’s been frustrating trying to get anything going with the younger kids (pre-K to first/second-grade age), or with their regular teacher for that matter. Then, after the regular day, the older kids (up to middle school age) come to work on their English, and that has been a complete blast. Robin did report one breakthrough with the younger group: she has a reliable way to get their attention now. She calls out “Bataharu! Bataharu!” (Class! Class!) and they reply “Ho! Ho!” (Yes! Yes!) Robin learned this technique from a seasoned first-grade teacher in the Bainbridge Island district (I’m lookin’ at you @susanclaesson 🙂 and it works on the other side of the world too!

Another area where she feels progress happening is hygiene. She has the kids washing their hands after going to the bathroom, and she’s now working on lice/scabies discipline. People just think of lice as something you live with, the way we think of mosquitos. She’s trying to teach them that you can get on top of this with a certain amount of diligence. Wouldn’t *that* be a nice gift to leave with the village!

There are two kitties and one puppy in Robin’s life. She’s become pretty attached to the puppy in particular – I think she’d like to bring him home. I asked for the names of these critters, and the answer was, “Oh, they don’t name the animals here.” I told her that that really surprised me; that I thought that would have been a human universal. This caused her to remark that they don’t use people’s names much either. She said it was weeks before she learned all the names of the host family.

Last time I told you:

All I see on my plan are regular international charges, as if I were calling a landline phone in Nepal. This strikes me as a bit too good to be true, so I’ve asked Crystal Mountain whether this is going to cause satellite phone charges – typically on the order of $10 a minute – to hit them.

It turns out that the sat phone Robin has is part of a government-subsidized program, and we don’t have to worry overmuch about the minutes. So we’re having 10-15 minute calls twice a week, with quality that varies but is usually passable and sometimes great. It’s a very unexpected luxury to be able to do this over the sat phone.

Robin told me to give you all her love and tell you that she’s thinking about you constantly. She’s very touched that so many people are thinking about what she’s doing, and I always tell her about all the good wishes and love you all are sending back.

 

EARTH DAY

Earth Day at Pritchard Park will once again be sponsored by Interfaith Council.  It will be held on Saturday, April 18, 1-3 p.m. Meet at either parking lot and bring tools and gloves!

IFC NEWS

9th Annual Bainbridge Island National MS Society Walk MS – Help Us Find a Cure – Support Local Merchants – Shop ‘til You Drop!

STEP 1:   Come to Bainbridge High School at 9 a.m., Saturday, April 11.
STEP 2:   Make a donation in the gym lobby or at one of the team tents.
STEP 3:   Put the orange event band on your wrist & drink a free Starbucks coffee.
STEP 4:   Do the kid-friendly three-mile walk thru downtown Winslow (or cheer on the walkers).
STEP 5:   Enjoy a free chocolate, massage, vegetarian chili & live music by the HEP Replacements.
STEP 6:   Shop at as many of the local merchants as possible all that Saturday!

Just show your wristband to receive special offers (get complete list at the walk).

Register here early!

Thank you for helping create a world free of MS!

HAPPENING IN SEATTLE

2015 Community Passover Seder – APRIL 11, 2015 5:00 PM

Join the Secular Jewish Circle for a Community Passover Seder

Saturday, April 11th, 5:00-8:00pm
Secular Jewish Circle, Wallingford, Seattle
Members: $20 adult, $15 seniors and students,
$8 children over 5
Non-Members: $35 adult, $20 seniors and students,
$14 children over 5

Click here for more information and to register

 

‘In the News with Jeff Greenfield: Barney Frank:’ 92Y Live Streaming APRIL 12, 2015 4:00 PM

 

Yom Hashoah Holocaust Remembrance Day Community Programs APRIL 15, 2015

The Holocaust Center for Humanity is holding two events with Jeannie Opdyke Smith, daughter of Polish rescuer Irene Gut Opdyke, on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, on Wednesday, April 15, 2015.

Irene Gut Opdyke was named one of the Righteous Among the Nations, a title given to those who risked their lives by aiding and saving Jews during the Holocaust. You can read her story in her memoir, In My Hands.

Lunch and Learn
Jeannie Opdyke Smith will speak at a Lunch and Learn from 11:45 am to 1:15 pm., at the Holocaust Center for Humanity, 2045 2nd Ave., Seattle. Space is limited to 50. Please RSVP to Amanda Davis, at amanda@holocaustcenterseattle.org, or call 206.582.3000. Please bring lunch. Dessert and coffee will be served.

70 Years After Liberation: Commemorating the Holocaust
Jeannie Opdyke Smith and Fulbright Scholar Denise Grollmus will share reflections on the new Jewish community of Poland, at Kane Hall at the University of Washington, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Free and open to the public. The event is co-sponsored by the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the UW.