Iyar/Sivan 5780

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

May (all virtual Zoom Room gatherings)

• 3 Coordinating Committee Meeting
• 4 Kugelettes
• 8 Shabbat Friday Evening Service – Jon Garfunkle will lead
• 13 Vos Tut Zich?
• 18 Kugelettes
• 23 Havdalah – Michele Lyons will lead
• 27 Vos Tut Zich?

June (all virtual Zoom Room gatherings)

• 1 Kugelettes
• 14 Annual Meeting

Ruach has decided to go to an alternating weekly schedule to give our community at least a once a week way to stay in touch via Zoom. One week we will have a Vos Tut Zich? on Wednesday evening. The other weeks we will have a Shabbat or Havdalah Service. Michele Lyons has graciously volunteered to lead the Havdalah on the 23rd.

We would love someone to step up to lead the next Shabbat on May 8th. On Zoom you don’t even need to clean your house! Aside from including the Shabbat prayers, you are free to put your own stamp on it. Perhaps you are interested in the Torah portion for that week? Maybe you would like to lead a Sabbath meditation? Or??  please contact Robin Hruska or Sharon Rutzick if it is something you are willing to do.

COMMUNITY

Life has a wonderful way of asserting itself, despite focus on the virus these days…

Mazel Tov to Elly Cowan, who has graduated from Pitzer College. She is also the recipient of a research Fulbright, only one of 4 research Fulbright grants awarded every year. Elly will return to Nepal, where she studied for part of her junior year. She will be working with Nepali women to address the mental healthcare gap that’s emerging as Nepal transitions from traditional medicine to “western” approaches to healthcare. As many men have migrated elsewhere for wage labor, and children vacate their home villages for schooling, it is the women that are left behind. This project will be about elevating the voices of these rural women and creating a self-empowered healthcare system that does not enforce culturally insensitive approaches and serves their needs. 

Mazel Tov to Dan and Marilyn Gottlieb, who became first-time grandparents to a granddaughter in March. Sydney was born to Gwen and Maddie in Fairbanks, Alaska, where they are working as a pediatrician and physical therapist respectively. What a wonderful reunion that will be when all can travel!

Mazel Tov to Wendy Marshall and Tom Juhasz on the birth of their granddaughter Ariel Nekui-Juhasz, daughter of Michael Juhasz and his wife Giselle. Ariel weighed in at 6 lbs 9 oz. Everyone is doing well.

Mazel Tov to Mira Rosenkotz, Julie, and David on Mira’s upcoming graduation from Mount Holyoke.  For years, Mira read her beautiful poems at services, and then she took them to the streets of New York where she wrote poetry for passersby from the portable desk that David built for her.  She just turned in her senior thesis of poetry, continuing her fine creativity.

ANNUAL MEETING

SAVE THE DATE: Shir Hayam Annual Meeting, on Zoom, June 14. More info to come.

HIGH HOLIDAYS: A LETTER FROM RUACH

Dear Shir Hayam friends,

We are really fortunate, even in this difficult and sad time, to have one another. We are all worried about the health and well-being of our families, friends, and caregivers; are stuck isolated at home; and are watching people around the U.S. and worldwide succumb to COVID-19. Now is the best of times to look to our Jewish community for strength and love.

ZOOM IS THE NEW SHUL

The Ruach and Coordinating Committees and others in Shir Hayam have been busy creating opportunities for all of us to jump onto Zoom when we can and want, to informally meet, learn, create and attend services, watch movies, and even enjoy a lovely community Passover Seder. It’s not hugging, praying, laughing and singing in person, but it is reminding us that our community is vital and we are here for each other.

NOW IS THE TIME TO LOOK TO THIS YEAR’S HIGH HOLIDAYS

Rabbi Jen is not able to be with us this year, and with the uncertainty of what the parameters of healthy contact will be in September, Ruach has decided to have lay-led services for the High Holidays. We are planning for two potential scenarios:

1. High Holiday services in person – we have reserved Fil-Am Hall.
2. High Holiday services via Zoom – with perhaps fewer and shorter services.

We have many people over 60 in Shir Hayam, and some members with underlying health conditions. Our first goal must be to keep us all safe. Time will be our teacher, and by July, we might be able to determine our safest path.

SO … in either scenario, we need leaders for our lay-led services. We would love folks to take a leap of faith and dive into the process. Our hope is that this will be as simple as possible, and that individuals or small groups will step forward and lead us through the Days of Awe. As always, everyone will be invited to bring readings, ideas, poems, and more to integrate into the services. IF THIS STIRS AN OUNCE OF INTEREST, PLEASE CONTACT Nina at nrogozen@gmail.com and she or someone else from Ruach will get back to you soon.

Thank you. Stay safe, stay well!

B’Shalom,
The Ruach Committee (Robin Hruska, Sharon Rutzick, Steven Soltar, Jon Garfunkel, Jeff Brown, Dee Axelrod, Carol Shakow, and Nina Rogozen)

GETTING THROUGH THIS…

KOSHER MEALS FOR FRONTLINE HEALTH WORKERS

Help feed kosher-keeping frontline healthcare workers during the coronovirus pandemic. Here are two organizations that bring Shabbus dinner and other kosher meals to those working in U.S. hospitals to keep them going and feeling cared for and appreciated.

• Kosher19
• Kosher Response

STAYING IN SHAPE

Courtesy of the Suquamish Tribe, check out these great ideas for staying fit while sheltering in place!

15-Minute Beginner’s At-Home Cardio Workout – Everyone has to start somewhere. And when it comes to cardio, working out in the comfort of your own home is a great place to start. You don’t need any equipment for this workout, just a can-do attitude.

Family Friendly Fun Workout — Get your heart rate up in your living room with this fun workout from Class FitSugar host Anna Renderer. Featuring cardio moves that feel like games and challenges where the winner gets prizes — like choosing what’s for dinner — this workout is the perfect way for the family to get active together.

30-Minute No-Equipment HIIT Workout – High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT for short, will definitely help you take it up a notch. Torch calories with this HIIT workout from Le Sweat founder Charlee Atkins.  Includes three circuits that are going to get your heart rate up and have you feeling the burn.

30-minutes or less Yoga classes – This 59-class series promises to have something for everyone, with enough variety to please everyone from beginners to experts.

30-Minute Hip-Hop Fit Workout – Get ready to unleash your inner dance and fitness beast with Hip-Hop Fit creator Mike Peele! This class is for everyone from beginners to advanced. Just get ready to push your mind and body to the next level!

EXOS Livestream – If you prefer live, but socially distanced workouts, try the EXOS livestream, with exercise programming for all levels, as well as yoga and meditation sessions, and even kids’ workouts.