Tevet/Shevat 5781

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January (all virtual Zoom Room gatherings)

• 2 Shabbat Morning Meditation
• 10 Journey to Jewish Rome
• 11 Kugelettes
• 17 Coordinating Committee Meeting
• 22 Shabbat
• 25 Kugelettes

February (all virtual Zoom Room gatherings)

• 6 Shabbat Morning Meditation
• 7 Memorial Scrolls Trust Presentation
• 8 Kugelettes
• 14 Coordinating Committee Meeting
• Shabbat/Havdalah-tbd
• 22 Kugelettes

COMMUNITY

All wishes for continued healing to Michele Lyons’ daughter Allison.

Congratulations to Eric Stevens: After 8 years as Executive Director of the Kitsap Humane Society, Eric Stevens just announced his retirement. Well, not total retirement. He’s stepping down as Executive Director and transitioning to a part-time role as Capital Campaign/Project Director. In this role, he’ll oversee the shelter’s creation of a major new veterinary center which will expand the capacity of their remarkable, life-saving veterinary practice.

Eric’s tenure as ED of the shelter was transformative in every way. He inherited an organization in financial and cultural crisis and stewarded it into an organization that is a model for shelters nationwide. Today the shelter adopts out nearly 6,000 animals each year, including thousands of at-risk animals from other shelters where they have not been adoptable. In the last few years they’ve built new, state-of-the-art dog and cat kennels, a new adoption center, and a canine behavior training center. Eric also increased the stability and professionalism of the shelter’s staff and large corps of dedicated volunteers.

Eric started at the shelter in 2012 with the idea that he would stabilize an organization in crisis and then turn the job over to a permanent director. What he wasn’t expecting was to fall in love with the shelter, its mission, its people, and its animals. He certainly wasn’t expecting to take an animal home. But in 2013, when kennel staff invited managers to take at-risk dogs into their offices during the day to help the dogs socialize, Eric volunteered to take Mork, a young, nervous pit bull mix who was not at all sure about his relationship with people. Almost immediately, Eric and Mork became inseparable, and within a few months, Eric and Caroline had adopted Mork and taken him home. He is there today, quite certain that he is the one who has adopted these two loving people. Maybe this is what the kennel staff had in mind all along!

We congratulate Eric on an amazing tenure at KHS and wish him continued joy and satisfaction in his new job.

SHABBAT MEDITATION

A Golden Meditation – Join us for the first Saturday of the month meditation with Dick and Linda Golden. This Saturday, January 2, 9-9:30 am. In the Shir Hayam Zoom Room.

SHABBAT

Shabbat Friday, Jan 22, 5:30 pm. Candle lighting, Kiddush and perhaps some discussion. Hope to see you there! In the Shir Hayam Zoom Room.

CULTURAL EVENTS

LONGING TO TRAVEL? Journey to Jewish Rome with Micaela Pavoncello.

Live from Italy on Sunday January 10 2021  10 am – 12 noon

Micaela’s Jewish family in Rome goes back 2000 years. A sought after walking tour guide recommended by Rick Steves, she will share her extensive knowledge, interesting stories, and beautiful photographs in a fun and engaging way during this tour of twenty two centuries of Jewish life in Rome.

Please RSVP to jjr10RSVP@gmail.com to receive the zoom link for this event. (It’s different from the Shir Hayam Zoom Room)

TIKKUN OLAM

Thank you to everyone who donated warm jackets, food, and money to Helpline for distribution to people in need. The need continues, so please feel free to give Helpline food and money as you are able. Foods that are especially appreciated include cereals, granola bars, and hearty soup cans with pop tops.  Helpline has only limited space for clothing, so please hold on to your extra warm coats until they advise us that they can accept them. Helpline is open for drop off from 9- 11 a.m. M – Fri, except Wednesday.  Their phone number is 206-842-7621.

The Kitsap Immigration Assistance Center (KIAC) is based in Bremerton and received a donation from Shir Hayam earlier this year. Cay Vandervelde and Dee Axelrod have both volunteered and worked many hours on an online course to become Accredited Representatives; not an easy task! Their accreditation allows them to help process applicants’ requests for status adjustment, e.g., green card and naturalization. They have also helped by delivering food donations. Michael Orr has given his time and expertise to help KIAC choose and migrate to a new legal software system to replace one they’ve outgrown.

I’ve asked Cay and Dee what motivated them to take on this time and energy commitment to KIAC.  Their  responses below will help you get to know more about these admirable women.  

Cay’s response… Volunteering with KIAC appealed to me for 3 reasons – I had helped tutoring and housing assistance for an immigrant advocacy group in college and loved every bit of the work and the people, I have always been interested in how legal systems work, and finally, Dee (our former Shir Hayam chairperson) asked me to!   I am especially happy to be part of Shir Hayam’s participation in the wider community because I think our collective experience and kindness has so much good to offer our neighbors.  The pure pleasure for me is getting to do something important that combines work with other Chavurah members, other immigration advocates (all of them interesting and dedicated) and KIAC’s immigration clients as a joined force for compassion and justice.

Dee’s response… At my age it’s unusual to be offered the chance to learn and to apply a new skill at the level of becoming an Accredited Representative.  Grappling with the intricacies of immigration law was an attractive and scary challenge. Rage was another motivation, as in anger at the current administration….Helping immigrants obtain legal status and (maybe) becoming skilled enough to help them fight removal in court are ways to resist.  I’m motivated by the memory of immigrant grandparents and a desire to honor the Jewish immigrants who came here and, the ones who were turned away. Jewish roots and values are the framework for this project. Justice, justice.

Coordinating Committee Meeting

Report from the Coordinating Committee

Shir Hayam’s Coordinating Committee (CC) met December 6.

Among the topics covered:

SH support of race equity, religious tolerance and Tikkun Olam:

• A BISD teacher’s scheduled a test on Yom Kippur. Members of CC drafted and sent a letter of protest to BISD leadership and made a presentation to the Multicultural Advisory Council (MAC). CC will reinforce the message at Jan school board meeting.
• CC decided to send reps to the City of Bainbridge Island (COBI ) Race Equity meeting Dec 8.
• Connect with the people who track hate groups in Kitsap County
• Consider contribution to Stonechild Chiefstick Memorial

Brainstorming ways to enlarge and reinforce SH membership

• Possible Yiddish storytelling on YouTube by SH members
• Reinventing the Sunday school
•  Sending out annual membership invitation package by mail right after the June annual meeting

Lending our Torah

• Can we do so, under the terms of the loan of the Torah to SH?
• If we can, what ought the guidelines be to ensure respect for and safety of our precious scroll and ark.

Upcoming CC meetings 

January 17 at 10 am & February 14 at 10 am – SH members are most welcome to attend. Join us in the SH Zoom Room.

1/17/20201 agenda

• Proposed guidelines for use of the SH financial reserve funds
• Presentation of a plan for a financial review of SH
• Discussion of the “Shalom Bayit” function – what is it, do we need it?
• Possible SH Wiki
• Enlarging SH membership: ideas for a “multi-year, multi-tier” membership
• Ongoing discussion of at-large community projects: i.e., ways SH community can help address alleviating poverty and homelessness in Kitsap County

From the Holocaust Center

For more information or to register for these events you can visit the Holocaust Center website – https://www.holocaustcenterseattle.org/

 “THE FAMILY” Three Roads – How One Family Embodied The Sweep of 20th Century Jewish History

Tuesday, January 5, 2021 12:00-1:00pm REGISTER NOW Seattle author David Laskin draws on his award-winning book The Family to recount the story of the three branches of his mother’s Russian-Jewish family:  one branch immigrated to the United States and went into business, founding the fabulous Maidenform Bra Company; one branch journeyed to Palestine and made the desert bloom as idealistic Zionist pioneers; the third branch remained behind and perished in the Holocaust. Laskin illustrates the talk with vivid slides not only of his relatives but of the historic events they experienced.  

Born in Brooklyn, David Laskin grew up on Long Island hearing stories of struggle and survival told by his Russian-Jewish immigrant grandparents.  Settling in Seattle with his wife and three daughters in 1993, Laskin has won wide acclaim for his journalism and his narrative nonfiction books recounting the lives of ordinary people caught up in the great movements of history.  Four of his recent books, including The Family, have won the Washington State Books Award. Laskin’s first novel, What Sammy Knew, will be published by Penguin in March, 2021.  You can purchase The Family from our community partner and local bookseller, Madison Books!

The Power of Personal Stories: UW Students Grapple with Stories of Survival and Loss

Tuesday, January 12, 2021 12:00-1:00 pm REGISTER NOW When students signed up for Professor Rawan Arar’s “Genocide and Law” class at the UW, they quickly learned that this class was going to tackle more than text – it was going to challenge their emotions and their human understanding.  The situations they would be studying were not just events, but were real people’s lives. Working with the Holocaust Center for Humanity, students were assigned to interview survivors of genocide and their descendants. In this special program, students will join with the survivors to provide a candid view of interviewing, being interviewed, and the lessons learned.

Holocaust Survivor Charlotte Wollheim

Tuesday, January 19, 2021 12:00-1:00pm. Born in Germany, Charlotte Wollheim remembers a happy childhood. All of this began to change when the Nazi party came to power in 1933. As Jewish people’s lives became increasingly threatened, her parents sent Charlotte and her sister to the Esslingen Jewish Orphanage while they tried to find a way out of Germany. Not even 10 years old, it was a frightening experience. Charlotte’s family would make it to the United States, but not before her father would be arrested multiple times, her grandfather’s home would be vandalized, and their lives would be endangered. 

In 1988, Charlotte teamed up with Holocaust survivor Vladka Meed to organize summer trips to Poland for teachers to learn about the Holocaust. These trips became a turning point for hundreds of educators in their understanding and commitment to Holocaust education. Charlotte is a member of the Holocaust Center’s Speakers Bureau. Registration Coming Soon

Choices Matter: Complicity and Action During the Holocaust

Thursday, January 21, 2021 3:30-5:30 pm. REGISTER NOW Presented by Melissa Mott, Echoes & Reflections. An examination of the range of choices and decisions made by individuals, communities and nations during the Holocaust is a powerful lens through which to study this period of history. This approach encourages deep critical thinking and analysis, and also serves as a catalyst to compel students to work toward making change in their own lives and the larger society. This learning opportunity examines the consequences of inaction and highlights the courage and difficult choices of those who rescued and resisted during the Holocaust. Educators will gain the tools to support students to implement an action-oriented project influenced by the lessons of this history, as well as how these lessons and more may be adapted to remote instruction.

Dear Erich: A Jazz Opera by Ted Rosenthal – Commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Wednesday, January 27, 2021 6:00 pm. REGISTER AND LEARN MORE. Join the Holocaust Center for Humanity for a special one of a kind virtual performance to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Ted Rosenthal, composer and jazz pianist, will perform excerpts from his jazz opera, Dear Erich, with two Seattle area opera singers.

The event is free to attend, or, support the Center by becoming a Patron with a $180 donation. Your donation will support virtual programming for students, teachers, and the community in 2021. Patrons will be recognized on the event page and during the program.

From Endless Opportunities

Endless Opportunities is a Jewish community-wide social & education program sponsored by Temples De Hirsch Sinai & B’nai Torah, Jewish Family Service and Congregations Beth Shalom & Kol Ami. Please visit the Endless Opportunities webpage for additional information or contact Rabbi Kate Speizer, EO Coordinator, (206) 693-3046.

A Rabbi’s Journey to Jewish East Africa

Thursday, January 7, 2021 • 10:30 am Join Congregation Herzl Ner Tamid’s Senior Rabbi, Jacob Herber, as he discusses his remarkable trip to the Abayudaya community of Nabagoya Hill, Uganda, his experience helping to convert over 200 members of the community, his participation in the installation of Subsaharan Africa’s first native-born, Black rabbi, and his adventures while on safari. Please register in advance for this virtual meeting by clicking here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqdO6hqT4vGdSSLcdaS4AppZqUy-ZlVqbC 

Unveiling Leonardo with Artist Miha Sarani

Thursday, January 14, 2021  • 10:30 am This presentation will focus on a closer look at one of the greatest creative minds in human achievement, Leonardo da Vinci. By exploring political, scientific, religious and artistic reflections of the period known as the Renaissance, we will look at the contribution da Vinci brought to the “rebirth” of the humanities. Together, we will unveil the trajectory of his career and aim to gain a clearer understanding of why his interests extended beyond artistic practice. Please register in advance for this virtual meeting by clicking here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkdu-pqTgjHtYxGkwpF2zK3gIBNRs19F9n 

Surviving the Holocaust in Hiding: Peter Metzelaar’s Story

Tuesday, January 19, 2021 • 10:30 am From time in hiding on the farm of a non-Jewish couple, to going to school posing as a Christian boy, to a daring escape on a Nazi truck with his mother dressed as a Red Cross nurse, Peter Metzelaar’s harrowing journey of survival started in Amsterdam in 1942. At the age of just seven years old, Pete and his mother, Elli, were the only two from their family not to be seized by the Nazis. A longtime member of the Holocaust Center for Humanity Speakers Bureau, Pete has paved the way for testimonials to be told and legacies to live on. Please register in advance for this virtual meeting by clicking here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpcuCtrj8vGNBjDQaHsEGDNl6N8ZFQ7KzC