June 2008
Iyar/Sivan 5768
SHIR HAYAM EVENTS
See member’s calendar
or call 206-855-7924 for event details.
If you do not remember how to log in to the members only area use the following instructions:
• Click the member area link upper right corner
• When asked you to enter your Username and Password, click “Forgotten your password?” link
• Fill in your email address (the one you used when you originally signed up)
• Click submit button
• Go to your email inbox and you will have received a “New Password Requested” email from Shir Hayam Community Forums Mailer
• Open email
• Click on link in the email and follow the instructions EXACTLY
If you need any help, please call or email Paul Travis or Rachel Kerbrat for help.
MISHEBARACH
Wonderful news from Sheryl McCloud “I wanted to let you all know that as of May 8, I finished both
radiation and chemotherapy (and of course surgery back in December) for endometrial cancer. I am thrilled to be finished; I am feeling better and better and will soon be just about perfect; and I expect that that is the end of it! A major thank you to everyone for all the good wishes and support I’ve received, and especially to Sharon for the chicken noodle soup and all the other soul food. But especially the chicken noodle soup with the secret ingredient. — sgm
Our condolences to Jill Onewein and her family on the death of Jill’s beloved father this month.
MAZEL TOV
Mazel Tov to our Graduates!
Two of our fine young men march in the Bainbridge High School graduation procession this June: Jonathan Hanford and Nathan Stern. Both are off to exciting adventures – Nathan will fish in Alaska with Fred Turkheimer this summer, and Jonathan is off to Hofstra University on Long Island, plenty close to the Carnegie Deli and other essential stops. Our congratulations to them with our thanks for all they have given to our community, and best wishes for all they will accomplish.
ADOPT-A-ROAD
Shir Hayam has decided to continue our participation with the Kitsap County Adopt-A-Road program. It is such a good opportunity to give back to the community and it’s always so great to drive onto the Island and see that “Chavurat Shir Hayam” sign. We will be doing the trash pickup 3 times per year. Try to work one of those sessions into your schedule. The more folks we have the less work it is!
THANKS to everyone who showed up to clean the Highway on June 1!!
ADULT EDUCATION
The Compassionate Wisdom of Emmanuel Levinas
Join us for an evening of fascinating ideas and lively discussion with visiting Levinas scholar, Dr. George Kunz. All are welcomed!
Seabold Hall- Tuesday, June 3rd- 7:30 pm
Sponsored by Shir Hayam and Agate Pass Friends
In a world of violence, difference and frightening inequalities, how can we lead those of us on the top of the global power heap to deeply care about the weak and the least of the world?
The young French philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, spent most of World War II in captivity and lost many of his family to the Holocaust. He was left with the burning question, “What went so terribly wrong? How could the people of Europe have stood idly by?” The rest of his life’s work became an elegant articulation of a way of living life as an answer to this question. Remarkably, the answer Levinas found was full of joy, compassion, and a radical conviction in the goodness of people.
To break us out of our prisons of isolation and individuality, Levinas stands our assumptions about power and weakness, need and desire, and social equality and ethical inequality on their heads. He also gives us the practice of being open to others in a way that shatters our convenient and safe assumptions, and leads us to “suffer the suffering of the other.” Paradoxically, this is the place where joy also lives- the place of a life well-lived.
Deeply steeped in his Jewish roots and his European education, Levinas brilliantly brings together ideas of social responsibility and spirituality, of Atheism and God, and of the logic of the head and the heart.
Dr. George Kunz, the author of a book about Levinas’ philosophy, has lectured both internationally and in his classroom at Seattle University on the applications of Levinas’ philosophy to the practice of modern psychology.
Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) is considered one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. The author of over a dozen popular books, Levinas’ radical spiritual and ethical positions have influenced multitudes of scholars in many disciplines, as well as leading activists around the world.
Questions? Call Craig and Zann 360-297-4160, z-c@themaskery.com
BAR MITZVAH
Sam Jabloner’s Bar Mitzvah will be on Saturday, August 30. Save the date.
TIKKUN OLAM CORNER
If you have a favorite charity that you would like to profile here – please let me know.
From the American Jewish World Service:
May 21, 2008 – The effects of Cyclone Nargis are continuing to intensify: the official death toll is now almost 80,000 while aid agencies estimate that the number of dead could be 128,000 or higher. At least one million people are currently homeless and some 2.5 million people are at risk of starvation and disease.
AJWS has been in constant contact with grantee organizations in communities neighboring the affected regions since the disaster struck and is working with them to make sure that aid reaches those who need it most. AJWS emergency funding is supporting the Emergency Assistance Team, a coordinated relief effort that includes the Mae Tao Clinic and several AJWS grantees. Inside Burma*, the Emergency Assistance Team is visiting affected communities, assessing needs, distributing food and clean water, providing shelter and health services, and disposing of dead bodies. The team is also documenting the scenes and abuses they are witnessing.
Grassroots relief efforts like those supported by AJWS are vital to the people of Burma at this time. While some Southeast Asian aid workers are now being granted visas to enter the country, aid efforts are still being hampered by the Burmese junta and aid workers are still not being allowed into the most badly affected areas. It is estimated that aid has only reached 30% of those who need it, and there are reports that international aid is being sold on the open market instead of being distributed.
An AJWS contact in the region, who cannot be named for security reasons, had this to say: “The provision of lifesaving aid has been stalled due to the [junta’s] underreporting and inept emergency management… The people of Burma have been cheated out of accessing the help they desperately need during this devastating time.”
As the situation on the ground in Burma continues to develop, AJWS will continue to provide updates and reports from our grantees in the region.
Click here to donate to the Burma relief work of AJWS.
*The name Myanmar was given to the country by the SPDC in 1989. However, pro-democracy activists still use the old name, Burma, to vocalize their objection to military rule. In solidarity with these activists, and in opposition to the illegitimate rule of the SPDC, AJWS refers to the country as Burma.
HAPPENING IN SEATTLE
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle:
An Inter-Faith Afternoon with Rabbi Moshe Cotel. Rabbi Moshe Cotel, composer/pianist, presents a unique mix of classical piano and personal stories. In 90min, Cotel recounts his private journey from the life of a virtuoso musician to that of a spiritual leader. Works by Mozart, Bach, Mendelssohn, Bloch, Schoenberg, Scriabin, Gershwin, and Delibes will be performed in this program that has much to teach us about life well-lived, music and spirituality, joy and love, art and Torah
Location:
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
4408 Delridge Way SW
Seattle, Washington 98106
Cost: $20.00
Event Contact:
Tammy Kaiser
Phone: (206) 774-2251
tammyk@jewishinseattle.org
JEWISH SUMMER CAMP
Is your child a 6th to 8th grader?
Has s/he never gone to an overnight Jewish camp for 3 weeks or longer?
Is your child NOT attending a Jewish Day School?
If your child is between 6th and 8th grades, doesn’t attend Jewish Day School, and has never been to a Jewish sleep-away camp for more than 3 weeks, s/he may be eligible for $1800 towards a Jewish camp’s tuition. The Foundation for Jewish Camping is sponsoring these scholarships. They are available for any Jewish camp in the US, and there is also a list of Jewish camping possibilities on the West Coast. If you are interested in more info about these scholarships for your child or children now or in the future, you can access their website at www.onehappycamper.ORG.
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP
Do you know or are you a Jewish student in financial need who is attending or planning to attend the UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON? If so, applications for the BEROL-SHINDELL SCHOLARSHIP are available from Hillel at the University of Washington or at your counselor’s office. The deadline for this scholarship’s application is May 3, 2008. Hillel Foundation for jewish Life at the university of Washington 206.527.1997
www.hilleluw.org
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