Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Rabbi Anita Steiner[Rabbi Anita Steiner is an RRC graduate and a long-time resident of Ashkelon. She is the chair of Rabbis for Human Rights. This story was written around 5 P.M. today Israel time. Ed.] On the radio, every hour and also on the half hour, the names of the soldiers who have died are listed as well as the times and places of their funerals. The Israeli casualties are mounting, in addition to all the casualties in Gaza.

Yesterday after the seventh rocket here, I stopped counting. The house of some one I know was damaged by a rocket that was close to hers. Even when there aren't rockets landing, there is a lot of noise. Helicopters, planes, jets, artillery being fired, and many unknown booms. And so many of our kids, brothers, husbands, friends, either in Gaza or poised to go in.

“The Dynamics of Congregational Growth"
Sunday, March 29, 2009, 1 pm to 6 pm, at Beth Israel Congregation, Media, PA

Come learn how to use a congregational systems approach to understand the dynamics of congregational growth connected to your mission and Jewish values. Gain important skills and ideas about how to effectively reach out to attract new members, reach in to strengthen already-existing members and volunteers, and how to creatively grow the congregation's financial resources.

Dear Ma Nishma Subscriber,

I'm happy to deliver to your e-mail doorstep the latest issue of Ma Nishma ("What's Happening?"), featuring news and events from JRF. Now everyone can subscribe to Ma Nishma. Register at the JRF website at http://jrf.org/user/register then click "Manage your JRF e-newsletter subscriptions" at the top left of the home page to subscribe.

Newsletter editors and webmasters: Please reprint stories and announcements from this issue for a JRF News page in your congregational newsletter and on your website.

We are pleased to announce that Daniel Cedarbaum has dramatically changed his relationship to the JRF this fall – stepping down from his volunteer leadership positions and assuming an important role as a full-time member of the professional staff of the JRF. Dan is now the JRF’s Director of Movement Growth Initiatives and Special Projects.

The recent tragic events in Mumbai are a reminder that Jewish institutions are regarded as attractive targets by terrorist groups. It is also known that during times of political transition there is a need for heightened national security. In light of this unfortunate reality, Dr. Carl Sheingold, JRF’s Executive Vice President, attended a high-level security briefing organized by the Secure Community Network (SCN) in New York, and scheduled an exclusive conference call for JRF congregations with Paul Goldenberg, Executive Director of SCN.

Listen online or download the audios from this Forum. Download Rabbi Fred Scherlinder-Dobb's notes!

Also, listen to audio of the Convention’s opening plenary, Jewish Identity, Community and Leadership: A Dialogue Between the Generations.

Shawn Zevit and Derek Rosenbaum on Greening Conference Call: Derek takes the idea of a "green" call very seriously.On In 1990 JRF passed a movement-wide resolution (see attachments below) on the environment and congregational life. Since 2006 we offered conference calls and resources on Sustainable Synagogues and Living a Jewish Life Rooted in Ecological Values.

Read the notes from the 2007 call.

With the enthusiasm around JRF's Omer Learning Initiative, as well as the solid response of JRF congregations in the Climate Change and Blessing the Sun (Solar Energy) Initiatives, JRF continues to deepen our work with member communities, other religious movements and partner organizations (JCPA, COEJL) in the area of sustainability.

Rabbi Amy Small with Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director of the Islamic Society of North AmericaIn December 2008, Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, including heads of more than 25 national organizations issued a consensus statement, "A Window of Hope for the Peace of Jerusalem," calling for urgent U.S. leadership for peace in the Middle East. The statement and a letter to President-Elect Obama were drafted by the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East (NILI).

Among the endorsers of the consensus statement were Dr. Carl A. Sheingold, JRF Executive Vice President, Rabbi Toba Spitzer, President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Rabbi Brant Rosen, Immediate Past President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and Rabbi Amy Small, Past President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. These Reconstructionist leaders signed on to this initiative personally, not as officially representing their organizations.

In the letter to President-Elect Obama, the religious leaders urged him to make Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace an urgent priority of U.S. policy from the start of his Presidency. They assured him that substantial majorities in synagogues, churches and mosques across the country would support active U.S. leadership for peace.

JRF Midwest Region Family Journey to Israel - June 23 - July 7, 2009
Led by Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow and and Dawn Weiner-Kaplow of Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue, Northbrook, Illinois

Come to Israel to discover your Jewish historical and spiritual roots in the land and its people. Starting and ending in Jerusalem, we will track Jewish civilization from Biblical days to the bustling and exciting modern State of Israel. Our tour will explore Israeli society, culture, art, technology, spirituality, politics and more.

Read more to see all the details and download the attached flyer. To register or receive more information, contact Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Synagogue at 847- 498-8218 or info@shir-hadash.org.

In response to the terror attacks in Mumbai, India, Robert Barkin, President of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, and Carl A. Sheingold, JRF’s Executive Vice President, issued the following statement:

We join communities around the world in mourning along with the people of India following the senseless terror attacks in Mumbai this week. We stand in solidarity with them and our hearts go out to the families and friends of all those killed and wounded.

Rabbi Jane Rachel LitmanRabbi Jane Rachel Litman has been hired to serve as the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation's Western Region Director. She is the first rabbi to hold the position since 1996. Rabbi Litman was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1989. During her student years, she was an intern in Los Angeles organizing Reconstructionist havurot in the San Fernando Valley. One of those havurot recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary. Since graduation, Rabbi Litman has served four California synagogues ranging in size from eighty to two thousand families. She also taught at California State University Northridge and Loyola Marymount.

The Tikkun Olam committee of Congregation Bet Haverim in Atlanta, Georgia, asks the question "How little could you live on?" At the Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday, December 5 will be a special program on the Living Wage Campaign. This interfaith alliance, of which Bet Haverim is a member, hopes to raise the salaries of the lowest-paid workers in Georgia, many of whom are not covered by the federal minimum wage law. To help understand the significance of the choices workers must make, congregants have been invited to jot down ahead of time their own “subsistence” budget for a month, including just the necessities they must pay for and to bring it to the December 5 service. How little could YOU live on? Read more!

In 1990, JRF passed a movement-wide resolution on the environment and congregational life. Since 2006 we offered conference calls and resources on Sustainable Synagogues and Living a Jewish Life Rooted in Ecological Values.

• http://jrf.org/Sustainable_Synagogue_Resources
• http://jrf.org/sz-2007-omer-intro
• http://jrf.org/omer/2007

As part of the Sustainable Synagogue Initiative and the 2008 JRF Biennial convention, we honored 15 of the individuals and communities leading the way in our movement in integrating Jewish values and religious life, and sustainable communal policies and practices. Read more to see the full list!