USCJ eNews: The United Synagogue Electronic Bulletin
In This Issue:
Shabbat Hazak - On January 6 – that’s 16 Tevet – synagogues across the movement will celebrate the achievements of members of Hazak, the group for people 55 and older. To learn more about the program and about Shabbat Hazak, call Dr. Morton Siegel at 212 533-7800, ext. 2234, or email him at siegel@uscj.org.
Early Childhood Directors Meet - As the Jewish Educators’ Assembly meets in Teaneck, New Jersey, from February 4 to February 7 for its annual conference, the first annual United Synagogue Early Childhood Directors’ Conference will meet there as well, holding its own conference-within-a-conference. For information, email Maxine Handelman at handelman@uscj.org or call her at 847-641-9963.
Help Fix the World in February - Tzohar Biloxi, United Synagogue’s program to help clean up the hurricane damage in Biloxi, Mississippi, one ruined house at a time, will send a group of volunteers there from February 18 to February 21. The program is spearheaded by our New Jersey region; everyone, from all over the continent, is welcome to join us. We will arrive on Sunday and work until Tuesday; on Wednesday we will tour the storm-struck area. We’ll stay at a hotel and meet members of Congregation Beth Israel, which is affiliated with United Synagogue. For more information call Dr. Richard Lederman, the head of our public policy and social action committee, at 301 230-0801, or email him at lederman@uscj.org.
Project Etgar - Our education department and the Melton Research Center of the Jewish Theological Seminary offer the movement’s congregational schools Project Etgar, a modular curriculum for middle school students. The application is due January 12.
Koach Kallah - The 2007 Koach Kallah is set for February 22 to February 25 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Students from across North America will gather for a Shabbat full of ruach, study, music, davvening, and lots of fun. Rabbi Pamela Barmash, the director of Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern studies at Washington University in St. Louis, will be scholar-in-residence; Aaron Freeman and Sharon Rosenzweig are artists-in-residence. For more information, go to www.koach.org or email koach@uscj.org.
Act Now, Study in Israel with Hazak This Summer! - Conservative Jews 55 and older are invited to study at the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center this June.
Sulam - Sulam, the training program that helps new synagogue leaders climb the ladder of Jewish knowledge and practice, will be held twice in 2007. Mark your calendars and plan to join us March 8-11 in Newark, New Jersey, or March 15-18 in Toronto, Ontario.
Imun - Imun, the week-long retreat where newly emerging lay leaders can hone their synagogue skills, including layning and writing and delivering a dvar Torah, will meet at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires from July 8 to July 16.
USY Looks Ahead to Summer - United Synagogue Youth has begun to accept registrations for its 2007 summer programs. USY’s summer programs provide the very best in staff, security, transportation, lodging, and sightseeing, and participants come back home with a strengthened sense of themselves and of their identity as Conservative Jews. USY programs include Classic USY on Wheels; USY on Wheels, Mission: Mitzvah; USY on Wheels, East; Outdoor Adventure, Pacific Northwest; Summer in the City; Israel Adventure; Eastern Europe/Israel Pilgrimage, Israel Pilgrimage/Poland Seminar; Spain/Israel Pilgrimage; and Etgar! Outdoor Adventure, Israel.
USY High in Israel - USY High in Israel, a joint project with Ramah Israel Programs, is now accepting applications. Participants spend two months living and learning in Israel, using the country as their classroom, and earn high school credit while doing so.
Next Year in Israel - Registration has begun for 2007 at Nativ, USY’s College/Leadership Program in Israel. Participants spend the year between high school and college in Israel. Half of that time they work on a kibbutz or volunteer in a development town; the other half is spent living in Jerusalem, studying at the Hebrew University or the Conservative Yeshiva at the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center. Throughout the Nativ program, students engage in special religious and leadership training experiences.
Join Us in Orlando For Our International Convention! - United Synagogue’s international biennial convention is planned for November 29 through December 3 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort and Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. Please plan to be there with us!
Tzedek Hekhsher - The United Synagogue and the Rabbinical Assembly are considering the possibility of establishing the tzedek hekhsher, which would certify kosher products as being consistent with Jewish social values. We are beginning by looking at the conditions for workers at meat-packing plants.
Halakhic Status of Gay Men and Lesbians - We respond to the December 6 decisions of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.
- More information (includes links to the teshuvot and to a video of panels we held before the vote)
Solomon Schechter Awards - Synagogues are urged to apply for Solomon Schechter awards, which reward characteristics or achievements that go beyond what is expected of synagogue programs.
When Do I Light the Candles? - United Synagogue has updated its candlelighting information. Learn more.
Holiday Dates Change - The Israeli government has moved the dates for Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut this year so none begin as Shabbat ends. This year, Yom HaShoah will be marked on Monday, April 16, Yom HaZikaron will fall on Monday, April 23, and Yom Ha’Atzmaut will begin on Tuesday, April 24. Please note that our art/engagement calendar shows those dates correctly, but the government decision was made too late to change our calendar diary.
Schechter Leaders Meet For In-Depth Talks - In December, lay and professional leaders from the Solomon Schechter Day School Association met in Florida to talk about the challenges and excitement they face as they educate the next generation of Conservative Jews.
USY Convention - More than 1,300 USYers and staffers met in Boston for an exhilarating, boisterous, thought-provoking, ruach-filled convention.
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Empire Region - Regional executive director Howard Goldberg and Norma Feldman, president of Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas in DeWitt, New York, pay attention to a speaker at the Empire region’s recent convention. |
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METNY Region - United Synagogue’s international president, Dr. Ray Goldstein, stands between Metropolitan New York’s president, Irwin Scharf, left, and its immediate past president, Jerry Klibanoff, at the regional convention. |
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Mid-Continent Region - A group of leaders of the Mid-Continent region stood together at the recent convention. From left, they are Ferne Farkas, Andrew Farkas, United Synagogue’s Honorary President Judy Yudof, Scott Cobert, Cheri Weiss, Mid-Continent Regional President Richard Helfand, Seme Dewes-Cooper, Louis Kaiser, Susan Luskey, and Lon Werner. |
Songs of Hanukah - Cantorial students Yakov Chodosh, Matt Klein, Jonathan Schultz, and Sidney Ezer sing songs of Chanukah at the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center’s Moreshet Yisrael on the Monday Night Forum there. Professor Edwin Seroussi of the cantorial faculty accompanies them on violin and Hazan Marlena Fuesterman, who coordinates the cantorial student program in Israel, is the pianist.
Fuchsberg Center Posters - Conservative Jews visit Israel on synagogue trips and they travel on their own. No matter how they go, they can find help or connection at United Synagogue’s Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center. These two posters show the range of possibilities available for each group. As always, bulletin editors are invited to use the posters in their synagogue newsletters.
Read Fuchsberg eNews - The Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center has a new e-newsletter!
Learning at and about our Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center - The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is immensely proud of its Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center, Conservative Jews’ home in the homeland.
- View a poster about the center
Remembering Michael Levin - Sallai Meridor, center, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, honored Harriet and Mark Levin at the embassy in Washington during Chanukah. The Levins’ son, Michael, z’l, had belonged to USY, gone to USY High and Nativ, and was a Ramah camper. Later, he made aliyah and joined the IDF. Michael became the only North American-born soldier to die in last summer’s war against Hezbollah. Harriet Levin is the administrative assistant in USY’s Hagesher region at United Synagogue’s Mid-Atlantic regional office.
Convention Update - Our international biennial convention is just a year away, and preparations are ramping up. This convention will be held over Shabbat, letting us experience the beauty and wonder and joy of that day together. To learn more about the convention, which will be held from November 29 to December 3, 2007, in Orlando, Florida, take a look at our convention e-newsletter. As our plans develop, we’ll keep you posted.
Israel Commission Update - Our new Israel Commission is now up and running; so far more than 260 congregations have sent us the names and email address of their Israel Affairs committee chairs. If your synagogue has not yet done so, please be sure to appoint someone to this important position, and send the information to Rabbi Paul Freedman.
The commission is looking forward to working with every one of our member congregations on atrip to Israel. If your congregation is planning such a trip, or is even just thinking about thinking about it, please email Rabbi Paul Freedman.
New From United Synagogue’s Book Service:
Gift of Soul, Gift of Wisdom. Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson discusses how both professionals and laypeople can use their own life experience, as well as their knowledge of our sacred texts, to mentor others. $22.
Hear Her Voice: Twelve Women Who Changed the World. Miriam P. Feinberg and Miriam Klein Shapiro tell the stories of a dozen Jewish women, ranging from the prophet Deborah to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. $18.95.
God’s To-Do List. Dr. Ron Wolfson presents 103 examples of people who had a difference in other people’s lives, and so eventually in their own. $22.
- Take advantage of free Internet hosting services to affiliated synagogues, USY chapters and afternoon/day schools
- Get suggestions for building a Jewish home library; great ideas for gift giving as well!
Save the Date - Mark your calendars, update your PDAs, fill in your datebooks. United Synagogue’s next biennial convention will be held from Thursday, Nov. 29 - Monday, Dec. 3, 2007, at the new Rosen Shingle Creek Resort and Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. We look forward to seeing you there. The convention will be chaired by Carole Korowitz and co-chaired by Rochelle Baltuch.
- Read the Convention e-Newsletter for more information
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Rapaport House
155 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
212.533.7800, ext. 2601
info@uscj.org
