November 2008

Heshvan/Kislev 5769

SHIR HAYAM EVENTS

See member’s calendar
or call 206-855-7924 for event details.

HIGH HOLIDAYS

THANK YOU to all of those who helped make this year’s High Holiday services another wonderful experience for Shir Hayam.

Thanks, of course, to Rabbi Hanna Tiferet Siegel who worked with such heartfelt joy to connect us with the services, who spoke so thoughtfully about important issues we face as a nation and as spiritual people, and whose theme helped connect us with one another and with her. Thanks also to Julie Rosenblatt, David Kotz and their family for hosting Hanna throughout the High Holidays and went on to hold our Sukkot/Simchat Torah festivities at their home. Thanks to all those on Ruach who worked so hard in helping plan the services and all the logistics involved, to all those who came early to set up and those who stayed late to clean up, to those who brought fabrics and flowers and candles and delicious food, to the Kugelettes whose music bring such heart to our services and to Joan Cowan and Priscilla Lavry, Carol Shakow and Terry Cowan whose voices helped lift us through Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur, to Sue Steindorf and her hardy band who enacted the tale of Jonah, to Linda and Dick Golden who led such a beautiful meditation and moving simple memorial service in their home, and finally, to Jeff Brown, Dick Golden, Jon Garfunkel, Aaron Levine and Nina Rogozen who shared their profound stories with us.

Thanks also to those in the Torah Study Group and to Sue Steindorf and Robin Hruska for taking the lead in our Simchat Torah and Sukkot celebration. These were all amazing and powerful days, beginning our New Year together.

TIKKUN OLAM CORNER

Project Wishbone
On Bainbridge Island, hundreds of families regularly find themselves without adequate food to put on the table. This past year, nearly 600 families used the Helpline House food bank.

Project Wishbone is a Helpline House project that matches the generosity of our community with those Bainbridge Island families in need. Due to our limited space and facilities, we don’t serve a hot Thanksgiving meal, but we try to make it possible for anyone who wants one to cook their own.

How Can We Help?

• Assemble a box containing “fixings” for a complete Thanksgiving meal and deliver it to Helpline House
• Arrange a mini-food drive for holiday foods or basic foods for the food bank

• Donate cash or grocery gift cards to defray costs of fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy items.

We will have special hours on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Donations will be gratefully received 9:00 am to 2:00 pm on November 22 as well as during our regular food bank hours, Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 4:30.

If you are a group doing a food drive for Project Wishbone, please check with our food bank manager, Marilyn Gremse, to schedule delivery of your food donations.

If your household or one of your neighbors is in need of assistance, confidential help is available at HELPLINE HOUSE. Please visit our office Monday – Friday from 9am to 5pm or call us at 206-842-7621.

Sample Thanksgiving Meal

* Frozen Turkey (10-12 lb; $15 is best) * Stuffing mix * Potatoes and onions * Fresh celery, carrots * Green beans or salad * Fresh or canned yams * Apples * Oranges or satsumas * Canned vegetables * Canned fruit * Cranberry Sauce * Rolls or biscuits * Butter or margarine * Pumpkin or apple pie * Whipped cream or Cool Whip * Foil roasting pan * Extras, such as * Olives and pickles * Jello * Nuts and/or candy, marshmallows * Sparkling cider or juice * Broth for turkey soup

Feel free to include items such as holiday decorations, candles, as your personal touch will enrich the holiday for recipients of your gift. But please, no alcoholic beverages. Thanks!

WORK SESSION AT FURRY TALE FARM
We will be scheduling the work party soon to build two pig feeding areas and probably a later project to build a horse-proof fence. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Paul Kerbrat at kerbfam1@comcast.net.

If you have lumber you can donate – we need:
4 – 8’ 4×4 cedar
4 – 10’ 4×4 treated
16 – 8’ 2×4 cedar
20 – 8’ 2×4 treated

We will also be needing corrugated metal roofing and misc hardware.

ADOPT-A-ROAD
The more folks we have the less work it is! We will meet at the Rotary Welcome Park at Seabold Road and Komedal (the north end of Komedal) at 10:00 am on Sunday, November 16th . Please put it on your calendars now. We can park there, don our vests, grab some bags and split up into teams. DON’T FORGET YOUR GLOVES. If you have any questions, please call Denise, 780-0931. See you there!

JLC SCHEDULE

JLC Session – 3 11/9/08
JLC Session – 4 1/23/08

ADULT ED

Are You A Joiner, a Learner, a Kibbitzer, or a Coffee Drinker?
…Well then you’ll love Sunday Morning Adult JLC!

Paul Travis and Sue Steindorf are creating a blueprint/format for adults to rotate through, much like the three-year curriculum that the youth use now. We’ll be watching 4 great titles and reading 3.
• “The Lemon Tree” by Sandy Tolan (Israeli-Palestinian land issues)
• “Night” by Elie Weisel (Holocaust and moral issues raised in the subsequent issues of Jewish refugees and statehood), and
• “A Tale of Love and Darkness” by Amos Oz (author’s early years in Jerusalem in the years leading up to statehood).
There is ample time for reading one, two, or all three — Sharon has arranged with Eagle Harbor Books to have them on hand and they’re at the library as well. The books are all available in audio book versions.

Come join us 10 am – 12:30 pm on November 9. We’d like to have enough people commit for the season ($20/family) to build critical mass and cover the cost of the room. Email SSteindo@bainbridge.wednet.edu with any questions and to RSVP!

Purpose:
o Build community – get to know fellow chavurim
o Exercise our minds – far beyond the Sunday comics
o Expand our knowledge of, connection to, and personal definition of, Judaism
o Set an example for our youth that adulthood isn’t a plateau one reaches and then fades from, but involves lifelong learning
Format:
o 10:00 am opening circle with youth, every other Sunday, October through May
o 10:15 am ~ 12:15 pm, sunny south classroom of the Island Music Guild (with Sue’s espresso machine!)
o Schedule involves variety of videos/discussion, print/audio book discussion, guest speakers, and sharing personal stories/roots
o This complements the Sunday night Hebrew Bible Study group

Main Block 90-min
Secondary Block 30-min

11/9/08 Watch “The Jewish Americans” Part I (90 min) Video discussion and First Curriculum Block – Birth of Israel Part I (RobinS)

11/23/08 Watch “The Jewish Americans” Part II (90 min) Video discussion and First Curriculum Block – Birth of Israel Part II (RobinS)

12/7/08 Watch “The Jewish Americans” Part III (90 min) —- Break early for Roots Fair—-

1/11/09 Discuss book “Night” Video discussion and personal roots sharing: Joan Cowan

1/25/09 Watch “Arab and Jew: Return to the Promised Land” (2 hours) NA due to length of movie

2/8/09 Watch “Hester Street” (90 min) Video discussion and personal roots sharing: Rebecca Rockefeller

2/22/09 Watch “The Jewish Americans” Part IV (90 min) Video discussion and second trimester curriculum block Part I (TBD)

3/8/09 Discuss book “The Lemon Tree” —- Break early for Purim —-

3/22/09 Watch “A Life Apart, Hasidism in America” (90 min) Video discussion and second trimester curriculum block Part II (TBD)

4/5/09 Guest speaker: Ronen Levari
[Nancy inviting] Third trimester curriculum Part I (SharonR)

4/19/09 —- Earth Day —- —- Earth Day —-

5/3/09 Guest speaker: Hannah Edey
[Sharon inviting] Third trimester curriculum Part II (SharonR)

5/17/09 Discuss book “A Tale of Love and Darkness” —- Break early for Graduation —-

COMMUNITY NEWS

A LOSS TO OUR COMMUNITY

Junkoh Harui of Bainbridge Island and Bainbridge Gardens founder.
A celebration of Junkoh’s life will be held at Sakai Intermediate School at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 8, 2009.

Junkoh was such an integral part of so many islanders’ lives, bringing beauty, thoughtful kindness, innovation, and incomparable knowledge about our surrounding environment to us. He was always one of the first to lend his compassionate support to the Jewish community when antisemitism appeared on the island, hosting and helping community members craft strong responses to these episodes. He was very interested in Judaism, and sought to understand the mutual shared suffering of Japanese Americans World War II internment experiences and the Holocaust of European Jewry, and the consequences of these experiences on surviving generations. The beauty and repose of Bainbridge Gardens that he and Chris restored has brought much pleasure and serenity to so many, and is a place where islanders often bring
guests so that they, too, can experience the beauty and spirit of our land. We are grateful and enriched for having had such a life lived with grace touching ours.

IFC NEWS

IFC Thanksgiving Service
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25th at 7 p.m. “Care of the Earth” is this year’s theme of the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service sponsored by the Interfaith Council at Bethany Lutheran Church. Dick Golden from our chavurah will be one of the speakers, and will give a Jewish perspective on caring, healing, and repairing the earth.

HAPPENING IN SEATTLE

Walking the Abrahamic Path
Sponsor: Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue
When: 11/08/2008 at 10:30am

Rabbi Ted Falcon, of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue, will take you along Abraham’s Spiritual Journey during three programs the weekend of November 7-9, including this morning of Torah Study. His focus comes from Lech L’cha, the Torah portion in which Abraham is called to “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. . . .” Rabbi Falcon will talk about the challenges, the risks and the essential nature of the spiritual path that all individuals face in their own journeys.

Location: Bet Alef Office 12351 Lake City Way NE, Suite 201 Seattle, Washington 98125

Event Contact: Aleah Robbins Phone: (206) 527-9399 info@betalef.org

Kristallnacht and American Jewish Filmmakers
Sponsor: WA State Jewish Historical Society
When: 11/09/2008 at 3:00pm

Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht. The program will include a fascinating look at how Jews made the American film industry their own in the early years of the twentieth century and how Hollywood films have reflected – and helped to shape – images of Jews in the minds of Americans. The presentation combines selections from classic Hollywood films, stimulating commentary and lively discussion. Presenter Art Feinglass is a writer, producer and adjunct professor at NYU. He teaches Jewish Literature and Film at the Hebrew Union College Kollel and the JCC of Manhattan. Refreshments will follow, $5.00 charge

Location: The Council House 1501 17th Ave Seattle, Washington 98112 Cost: Admission $5.00 Pay: At Event

Event Contact: Lori Weinberg Phone: (206) 774-2277 info@wsjhs.org

Nov 2, 05:16 PM