RUACH

Shabbat Morning Meditation with Linda and Dick via Zoom: Saturday, Nov 6 at 9:00 AM

Shabbat Zoom Service: Saturday, November 19 at 6:00 PM

COORDINATING COMMITTEE

Summary of October 10, 2021 Meeting: Present:  Jon Garfunkel, Jessica Lang, Sharon Rutzick, Paul Travis, Cay Vandervelde

CC worked to clarify the Bylaws governance documents by deciding the following:

1).  Each year, the CC will select or re-appoint a new set of officers independent of each person’s status with respect to his/her own term as CC member.

2). Each year, the CC will decide whether to select all four offices identified in the Bylaws (Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer), or whether to consolidate these functions, e.g., Chair/Vice Chair and/or Secretary/Treasurer.

3). The Treasurer functions will include initiation and oversight of a Financial Review (as described in the Bylaws), making sure we submit the annual required financial form to the State as part of the 501 (c)(3) reporting requirements, and signing that form. Supporting tasks may be appropriate to the Bookkeeper or other qualified 3rd party.  Left undecided is whether the Financial Review shall be conducted yearly or every two years.

We selected the following CC officers for this year:  Cay Vandervelde (Chair), Jon Garfunkel (Vice Chair), Sharon Rutzick (Secretary), Paul Travis (Treasurer)

Jessica Lang will hold the position of Jewish Community Watch, established by last year’s CC.  Jessica will be charged with reporting and overseeing Shir Hayam activity to engage the at-large community on topics of Jewish security concerns, and revisit our connections with the Race Equity Network and the Multicultural Advisory Council.

The CC began a review of the Year of Renewal Proposals.  All Tikkun Olam proposals had been met by last year’s activities, and CC will review Participation and Communications at the next CC meeting.

The next CC meeting will be on November 7, 2021.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Mazal Tov, Mazal Tov to Jerry Hanrahan on the wonderful celebration of his 80th birthday, surrounded by his beautiful family from the Island, Arizona, and Colorado.

TIKKUN OLAM:

Cropwalk:

The Bainbridge Island / North Kitsap community gathered a total of $11,165, plus a matching gift for the same amount. Total collection was off of last year, due in part to additional commitments made by faith communities in the areas of Covid relief, and Afghani immigration. Two of the current organizers are stepping down, and someone may be taking their place. With all fingers crossed, Cropwalk will continue on the island

UPDATE on Afghani Refugees:

Hello Shir Hayam Community,

I would like to have a zoom get-together to talk about how we could be involved with other Jewish Communities doing mitzvot for our new  Afghani neighbors. So far, all the refugees will be living in South Seattle where there is an established Afghanistan community.  Local Jewish groups are working through theInternational Rescue Committee (IRC). This organization has worked throughout the world helping people settle in new lands.

There are several ways our chavurah could be involved…..

• Providing School Supplies – Now school children will need backpacks  with school supplies. I have a list of needed supplies for both elementary and high school kids. We can work together to fill one or several backpacks.
• Teaching English or Helping with Paperwork – Volunteers have a chance to help, via zoom, teach the refugees English, or help with paperwork.  There is training for this position and a time commitment required. I would like to be involved with this project personally.
• Donating goods – Furniture and household items will be collected and used to set up homes for the refugees.

Kitsap  does not at this time, have any Afghani refugees settling here. Right now, let’s pitch in to help those that already have their feet on the ground in the greater Puget Sound Region. 

If you are interested in helping Afghan refugees in the programs I mentioned in this letter, please let me know via email or call.  We will find a time to zoom together so we can discuss the projects in detail. I look forward to hearing from you soon. In appreciation of your generosity,

Jane Greenberg

CULTURAL EVENTS:

FROM THE SHIR HAYAM EDUCATION AND CULTURE COMMITTEE:

PLEASE CONSIDER ATTENDING THESE AND OTHER PROGRAMS FROM THE SOUSA MENDES FOUNDATION:

THE NOVEMBER 14 AND NOVEMBER 21 PROGRAMS WILL BE FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY (APPROXIMATELY 12 NOON) BY A DISCUSSION IN THE SHIR HAYAM ZOOM ROOM

(please note: you need to register with the Sousa Mendes Foundation by the Thursday before each program):

The Legacy of Aristides

November 14, 11:00 AM

| free but registration required

The documentary film The Legacy of Aristides asks the question: What is the legacy of Aristides de Sousa Mendes today? We are presenting a bilingual dialogue with the filmmaker, Patrick Séraudie. He will be in conversation with two of the subjects of the film: Gerald Mendes, grandson of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, and Cookie Fischer, whose mother was a Sousa Mendes visa recipient.

Register at: Signup Form (constantcontactpages.com)

Our Hebrews: The Tuscan Mountain Village that Rescued its Jewish Population

NOVEMBER 21, 11:00 AM

Little Jerusalem: that is how the locals refer to the town of Pitigliano in southern Tuscany, because of its striking resemblance to Israel’s ancient city. Through the medieval stone walls, the fascinating story of centuries of harmonious co-existence between Jews and Christians is told for the first time, including the heroic acts performed by the locals during the Holocaust.

Register at: Signup Form (constantcontactpages.com)

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The Institute of Jewish Spirituality is offering:

Sacred Chant: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love

Rabbi Shefa Gold, December 19, 2021 – January 14, 2022

By cultivating a personal practice of chant, we are receiving the holy texts that we have inherited by making them wholly our own. Through daily practice supported by teachings, processing and reflection we will learn and explore the power of the sacred phrase as a tool of healing and transformation. Through experiential classes we’ll discover what makes a chant different from a song, by exploring the power of intention, repetition, focus, awareness of states, and the silence that follows a chant.

We’ll learn to use chant to build the mishkan(sanctuary) of heart, body, relationship, community, and world, so that God’s Presence can be invited into our lives. We’ll study the process of cultivating a middah (internal quality or characteristic) through the embodiment of a sacred phrase while meeting our obstacles and resistances with compassion and wisdom. Together we will work at becoming whole-hearted before God through deep devotional practice, so that when it is time to serve, our service will be the overflow of our own evolving and vital chant practice.

Registration opens November 18th at https://www.jewishspirituality.org/go-deeper/prayer-project/

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Holocaust Center for Humanity is offering:

WINTER SERIES: LUNCH-AND-LEARN PROGRAMS

1st & 3rd Tuesdays of every month, November 2021-February 2022

Join us for our Lunch-and-Learn series to hear children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, notable speakers on timely issues, and historical experts. 

These programs aim to present perspectives and voices that challenge and inspire people to confront bigotry, racism, and indifference, and to consider how their actions make a difference. 

All programs are virtual on Zoom. Register for one program or multiple. Register at: Winter Series: Lunch-and-Learn (google.com)

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