June 2015

June 1, 2015 Rachel

Sivan/Tamuz 5775

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

June

5 Shabbat Potluck
14 Annual Meeting
29 Super Supper

SHABBAT POTLUCK

The June 5 Shabbat potluck gathering will be at Araya’s house , 18110 Cherry Tree Lane, Suquamish, beginning at 6pm. All are welcome.

ANNUAL MEETING

Please plan to attend – There will be yummy food!
Sunday June 14 10 am to 12 noon
Location: Madison Ave. Fire Station (the one nearest to town)

Committee Heads: If you need to adjust the amount that was budgeted for your committee last year, please contact Denise Brown or Lisa Weiss ASAP so that this year’s budget can be prepared with your request in mind.

At this time we expect the meeting to be fairly quick. Topics (to date) will include: Committee Reports and 2015-16 Budget Approval. The Coordinating Committee will send out an agenda prior to the meeting.

The Annual Meeting is also when we elect/approve new Coordinating Committee members. Speaking of new CC members…hint…. hint…. nudge…. nudge… If you’re interested in joining the Coordinating Committee, please contact Lisa Weiss, Jessica Lang, Nina Rogozen or Araya Sol. Arthur Mortell and Tom Schaeffer will be finishing out their terms in June and stepping down from the board, so we have (at least) a couple of openings. Be a Mensch. Join the Coordinating Committee!

WORDS FROM ROBIN HRUSKA

Dear Chavarim,

I want to thank each and every one of you for your love and support of my teaching journey to Nepal. It was a difficult and very rewarding teaching experience. Schools there, if they have any, are simply buildings with chalkboards, not a reading book, map, or art supply anywhere. The children adored the reading books, puzzles, markers and paper I was able to bring with me- not to mention the Hokey-Pokey and other circle games they learned. I had preschoolers and early primary children for 4 hours and the older children would come in the afternoon after their school day in the larger neighboring village a half hour walk away. It was a wide mix of ages and abilities and it was always a potluck of who arrived to school that day -and when- though I did have my core group that I could depend on. It was hard to say good-bye.

And of course, the whole experience is now put in context of the earthquakes that have devastated the lives of so many Nepalis. I want to thank the membership, those folks that made special donations in my name and the Tikkum Olam committee who directed this year’s donations to Nepalese relief. It brought me to tears. In Margem, the village where I lived, we were spared the devastation that so many Nepalis experienced, but the extent of the damage, as you know, is astronomical. My guides’ family houses in the Everest area were damaged but livable after the first quakes. The second large quake 2 weeks later took the houses down. The medical aid workers I met are very concerned about the coming monsoon season and the cholera they feared would break out in these tent villages. Trekking season, the big income of many Nepalis was devastated this May and perhaps into the next season, so they are looking at a long recovery and much rebuilding in a very poor country.

Here are a couple of pictures of my wonderful children. Thank you again for your love and support and for donations to the Nepali relief.

Robin

TIKKUN OLAM – Nepal Earthquake Relief

The Tikkun Olam Committee directed all of the Chavurat Shir Hayam annual TO funds to go to AJWS’s Earthquake Emergency Relief in honor of Robin Hruska, who safely arrived back in the states May 17. In addition to the budgeted TO funds, members & friends donated an additional $2,150 for a grand total of $2,629. Correspondence follows:

Dear Chavurat Shir Hayam,

I cannot thank you enough for your generous contribution to AJWS’s Earthquake Emergency Relief Fund. As you read these words, we are working to help thousands of people in Nepal and India who have been affected by this devastating disaster.

With your help we are doing everything possible to help earthquake survivors recover and rebuild their lives.

Thank you, again, for your generosity in the face of this crisis.

With gratitude,

Ruth W. Messinger

President, AJWS

This gift is from Members & friends of Chavurat Shir Hayam in honor of Robin Hruska
Dearest Robin, By the time you read this you may be safely in Michael’s arms. The CHS T/O committee decided to donate this year’s allotted funds to the AJWS Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund in your honor. We are all so glad to have you back safe & sound.

Recent donations to the Chavurat

The Chavurat recently received a donation to our Super Supper fund in memory of Dee Axelrod’s mother, Penny Axelrod, who passed away in early February. Also, a donation to the Tikkun Olam Fund was received in memory of Sharon Rutzick’s mother, Jean May.

Making Donations to Shir Hayam

Tax deductible donations can be made to the General Fund, School, Education Fund, or other fund of your choice to honor an event or as a remembrance. Make checks payable to Chavurat Shir Hayam and send to PO Box 11142, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

NEW PHOTOS FOR THE WEBSITE

Photos submitted by Paul Travis (which you too can do on the new web site at shirhayam.org/gallery!)

The Second Pardes retreat at Camp Indianola was delightful, again facilitated by Arik and Zann (supported by countless volunteers). This is one of the Friday night activities. It drew participants from all over Western Washington!

Photos from our April Havdalah with Arik which was delightful, inspiring, and yummy!

NEW WEBSITE

In response to some comments about the light color and size of the font on the website – we have made some adjustments. The color is now darker and if you want to make the font bigger, for easier reading, just click on the blue and white plus sign in the lower left hand corner of the web page and the font will get bigger. We are continuing to enhance the new website so please send suggestions, photos, and additional content to me – Rachel Kerbrat.

MORE SHABBATS?

Some Shir Hayamers 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.

HAPPENING IN SEATTLE

Save the date for attending a Shabbat service with Reb Arik Labowitz at Congregation Eitz Or on Friday, July 17, 7:00 PM – 9:15 PM, and Saturday, July 18, 10 AM to noon, followed by a pot luck lunch and afternoon study session at University Unitarian Church (UUC), 6556 35th Ave., NE, Seattle. For more information: http://www.eitzor.org