Mid-Atlantic

Candle

Giving Light to All

Women of Reform Judaism Mid-Atlantic District NewsletterAugust 2010

From the President’s Desk…

Summer marks a time of transition in many of oursisterhoods. Presidents and officers finish their terms,new presidents and officers are installed. For othersthe term continues but with a fresh look at whatneeds to get done budgeted and planned for thecoming year.It’s at this time of transition that sisterhoods look backat what was accomplished in the past year. So too,does Mid-Atlantic District. While our convention won’ttake place until October (more about that elsewherein the Candle) and I will give a summing up then, Ihave been reflecting on what we’ve achieved so far.I’m very proud of our district! We sent members to Toronto for the WRJ Assembly; weintroduced our Mid-Atlantic District Pin and made plans to host at the 2011 Assembly.There were Area Days and a well attended Retreat/Board meeting in Fredericksburg,VA hosted by the Sisterhood of Temple Beth Sholom. During that weekend,Sisterhoods opened their hearts and purses and donated funds to send to earthquakerelief in Haiti and Chile.The White Elephant Auction benefiting the YES Fund also had an amazing outpouringof support.And while in some instances membership numbers have been down, we saw theaddition of a new sisterhood, Lake Norman Jewish Congregation Sisterhood in NorthCarolina and the re-activation of Temple Shalom Sisterhood in Chevy Chase, MD. Weare still a growing and vibrant district and are working with WRJ and our sister districtsto make sure we take all the steps necessary to insure the future of our sisterhoods.At the WRJ Board of Directors Meeting and District Presidents Council this May, theresults of the Strategic Plan Study were shared and the emphasis was on the need tokeep growing membership. We could all feel proud of the support that WRJ wasproviding to rabbinic students from countries as diverse as Italy, Ukraine and Brazil .Our YES Fund support was funding grants in Israel and around the world as well ashere at home. NFTY was a beneficiary of WRJ as well as the RAC.

So, as we look ahead to fall and 2010-2011, it is important to realize that we all have animpact on the future of Reform Judaism. The ripples spread out from our sisterhoodsand reach worldwide. We are all a part of WRJ, part of something bigger than any oneof us alone. We can take pride in our achievements and go forward from strength tostrength!

DennyWRJ Mid-Atlantic Retreat / Board Meeting

On April 24-25, 2010 Tem[le Beth Sholom Temple hosted our spring Retreat/Boardmeeting in Fredericksburg, Va., where 50 women from around the district, representing17 sisterhoods learned, prayed and socialized together. This event was held at theFredericksburg Hospitality House. WRJ treasurer, Fredi Bleeker Franks, who traveled althe way from Texas to join us, offered workshops on membership and budget andfinance. Past presidents and Franks enlightened us with a Q and A “Ask the Experts.”Mini-area days were held to promote more successful Area Days and contactthroughout the year.Rabbi Devorah Lynn of Beth Sholom Temple, led an Havdallah service prior to dinner.Later, we were entranced and entertained by Jamey Turney, a musician using glassesand other tools. Our Social Action project was to help victims of Haiti. A memorialtribute was offered for WRJ Past president Betty Benjamin and Mildred Sheff, asupportive district board member and BHC Sisterhood Past president.Temple Shalom, Chevy Chase , Md. was welcomed as a new affiliate. There was amusical Preview of 2011 Assembly to be held at the Gaylord Hotel, in WashingtonHarbor . Outside of D.C. Local arrangement chairs, Susan Aaronson and Jean Kahnreminded us

that our district members will need to plan to be volunteers at thisAssembly!

We had a great YES fund auction event, with item brought by the attendees. Thisactivity was a lot of fun and proved to be a successful way to support the YES fund.

Our president, Denny Norris, was unable to attend this event due to recent surgery. Shewas missed and sent her greetings. Many thanks to Marjorie Schutt, Andra Bloomfield,Sandy Steuer and Temple Beth Sholom Sisterhood for serving as our hosts and all theireffort to make this event successful and fun.

Lynda S. Weinstein, First Vice President, WRJ Mid-Atlantic District

District Presidents’ Council

In May, Lynda Weinstein and I set sail on the MemberShip for the District Presidents’Council where we enjoyed two busy days at the Kutz camp learning how to make ourmembership efforts more productive.

The days were long, allowing a wealth of information to be presented. Acknowledgingthe need to increase membership in our sisterhoods, we learned how to go aboutobtaining and retaining members. Not only do we need to educate new members aboutwhat we do as a sisterhood for our congregation, but also we need to inform them onwhat we accomplish through WRJ. We explored how to adopt technology in oursisterhoods and how to plan conventions. We also had fun with a WRJ Jeopardy game,game night and an informative walk around camp.It may have been tiring, but a great time was had by all. And Lynda and I had the extrablessings of blankets, heat, and hot water!

Ellen Wagner

Vice President, Development and WRJ Projects

Area Directors’ Report

Micki Siebel, Har Sinai Congregation and Area Director, Baltimore and Columbia

Have you ever created new rituals for Jewish women? The women of the Baltimore-Columbia area did! This past April the Sisterhood presidents of Baltimore HebrewCongregation, Bet Aviv, Har Sinai Congregation, Temple Emanuel and Temple OhebShalom along with our area director organized this enjoyable program for our first AreaDay Event that was held in the evening. Cantor Ellen Schwab of Har Sinai to lead us inthis stirring exercise. Cantor Schwab presented many different scenarios that we couldpick from and we created the rituals! For example, is there a ritual for a new mother?Is there one for a woman who retires or travels alone for the first time? How many of ushave moved to a new home recently? These are just some of the rituals we workedwith. The laughter and the discussions could be heard all over Har Sinai Congregation.The women who have learned of this program want to be involved in it at another time!So keep your eyes and ears open and maybe you too can create new rituals for Jewishwomen.

How the Youth, Education and Special Projects Fund Changes Lives:

We have all read how the YES Fund is about Youth, Education, and Special Projects.This time instead of definitions, we have real life descriptions of how the YES Fund haschanged people’s lives in Israel and throughout the world. Please enjoy these storiesfrom WRJ about real recipients and be sure to share them with your sisterhoodmembers.

Congregation Or Hadash in Haifa , Israel is a congregation of about 350 families, which is large by Israeli standards. Over the last five years, Congregation Or Hadash has been called upon again and again by the Municipal Welfare Services of the City of Haifa, schools, institutions, volunteer organizations and individuals to render assistance to those in need who, for one reason or another, aren’t helped by the city’s programs. In 2003, Rabbi Nof performed 192 B’nai Mitzvah. This is the largest number ever performed in one year in the history of Congregation Or Hadash. Fifty weddings were performed by the rabbi for couples the Israeli Orthodox community will not marry.