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May 2006

In This Issue:

What's Happening New Ideas We Were There Bragging Rights

Around the USCJ On the Agenda With Just One Click Movement News

What's Happening

Advocacy Day - The United Synagogue and the Rabbinical Assembly are going to Washington, D.C., for Advocacy Day, May 23 to 25. Join us as we lobby our elected officials on issues important to us as Americans, as Jews, and as members of the Conservative movement.

• More information

Lekhk Lekha - Honoring Our Graduates - With graduation season upon us, now is a good time to think about honoring your graduates in shul. Lehkh Lekha: A Ceremony of Going Forth provides you with such an opportunity. The brief ceremony is designed for Shabbat morning and can be adapted for use at other times, and it includes parts for clergy or other service leaders, parents and students. For camera-ready copy, email Koach's college outreach department at koach@uscj.org.

Project Reconnect's Going to Israel in June - We invite all graduates of Conservative movement youth programs, no matter how long ago you graduated, along with your friends and all friends of the movement, to come with us. We'd love to have you join us on this unusual trip.

• Learn about Project Reconnect
• Find out more about the trip's highlights
• Registration form

USY Offers Trips for Teens And Parents - USY once again offers an exciting opportunity for parents of USYers to experience Israel - to tour, study, and see Israel the USY way.

• More information about the Summer Parent Pilgrimage to Israel

By mid-March, more than 700 USYers signed up for the 2006 summer program in Israel, but there are still a few spaces open in a few programs. Sign up now to be sure of finding your space in the summer of a lifetime!

Imun - Imun, the seminar leadership program for synagogue lay leaders, is designed to strengthen lay leaders' skills. Imun participants learn the basics of reading Torah, leading services, and presenting a d'var Torah. This year, Imun will be held at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires in Wingdale, New York, from August 6 to August 14. For more information, call Rabbi Paul Drazen at (212) 533-7800, ext. 2612, or email him at drazen@uscj.org.

United Synagogue’s Conservative Yeshiva Summer Program - The Conservative Yeshiva’s 2006 summer program provides studentsof all ages and backgrounds with the opportunity to study the classic texts and ideas of Judaism, including Talmud, Tanach, halacha, tefillah, and Jewish thought. The two three-week sessions are scheduled for July 2-July 20 and July 23-August 10; coursework does not repeat and students may attend either or both. For more information and an application email Yeshiva@uscj.org, call 011-972-2-622-3116, or click here for more information.

United Synagogue’s Conservative Yeshiva Year Program - The Conservative Yeshiva at the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center offers Jews of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to study classic Jewish texts in a vibrant, open-minded, egalitarian community. Study can be full-time or part-time, on a short or long-term basis; some scholarships are available. For more information and an application, email Yeshiva@uscj.org, call 011-972-2-622-3116, or click here for more information.

New Ideas

New Directors' Institute - Serene Victor, United Synagogue's education consultant, who was a synagogue religious school director for almost two decades, has a passion for teaching what she learned to fledgling directors. Here, she talks about the program she created to do exactly that, United Synagogue's New Directors' Institute.

• Read earlier New Ideas

We Were There

Never Again - End Genocide in Darfur - On Sunday, April 30, thousands of members of United Synagogue-affiliated congregations and USY groups joined throngs of others at a rally against the genocide in Darfur.

The situation is dire, the need is great, and we must do all we can to help stop what the United States government has labeled genocide.

We are proud of the members of our community who showed up, but we cannot stop now. Our task has just begun. We must continue to send postcards, write letters, make phone calls, and let our elected leaders know that the genocide in Darfur must stop now.

For more information on how you can help, go to the American Jewish World Service or savedarfur.com.

Bragging Rights

Medinat HaGan - Last month, United Synagogue's New Jersey region held its annual awards dinner, Medinat HaGan. Here, the region's president, Marc Perlman, at left, and its executive director, Barry Mael, at right, flank award winners. From left, they are Rabbi Richard Hammerman of Toms River, Rabbi Gerald Zelizer of Metuchen, LisaHarris Glass of Livingston, Jules Gutin, the director of United Synagogue's youth department, and Gary Rosenthal of Summit.

Around the USCJ

Schechter On Line - Check out the Solomon Schechter Day School Association's new website for the latest news about affiliated schools, as well as information about the overall education policy behind the movement.

United Synagogue's Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center - If you are planning a trip to Israel, be sure to look to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center for travel help, learning and volunteer opportunities, help in planning bar and bat mitzvah services and celebrations, learning and volunteer opportunities, accommodations, and more.

• Learn more about the center's programs and services

On the Agenda

Moving Toward Yom Yerushalayim and Shavuot - As we continue to count the omer as we move through the weeks from Pesach to Shavuot, we pause occasionally to mark other days, including Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, which falls this year on May 26. Shavuot begins the evening of June 1.

The Shavuot Anthology by Philip Goodman uses biblical sources and other commentary to help the reader understand the holiday's meaning. $22.

In Celebrating Israel in our Lives, Shalom Orzach uses source texts and exercises for insights into Israel's presend and future. $7.00.

In The Jew Within: Self, Family, and Community in America, Dr. Arnold M. Eisen, the next chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and co-author Dr. Steven M. Cohen worked together on this important study of American Jews, and offer evidence of a trend toward religious individualism. 27.95

For more information, call United Synagogue's Book Service at 212-533-7800, ext. 2003, email booksvc@uscj.org, or go to www.uscj.org/booksvc.

With Just One Click

• "Family Rhymes for Family Times" showcases Jewish family life, both at holiday times and during the rest of the year
• 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!

Movement News

SSDSA Meeting - The Solomon Schechter Day School Association’s lay and professional leaders meet for the group’s biennial conference in Boca Raton, Florida, from December 10 through December 12. The conference theme will be Commitment, Covenant and Community; the conference will include a discussion on recruiting and supporting new heads of school. At the conference, at the Boca Raton Renaissance Hotel, participants will have the chance to network and learn fromeach other as they look at the challenges that face Schechter day schools. For more information about SSDSA, go to its website, www.ssdsa.org.

• More information about the conference

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