Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | 17th of Adar II 5784

This week at Women's League:

To the Membership of WLCJ,

PLEASE VOTE!
Part of the fabric of American society is racism, and our Jewish values tell us to fight it.  

Criminal justice reform deals with the results of intolerance, including mass incarceration, a two-tiered bail system, disproportionate sentencing structures, and other issues.

You have an opportunity to vote on this Criminal Justice Reform resolution until April 15.

To read the Criminal Justice Reform resolution, click HERE.

Thank you,  
Laurie Silverblatt

Laurie Silverblatt

lasilverblatt@gmail.com

Public Policy & Resolutions Chair

Thirteen Years. Now what?

How will you include all members of my interfaith family in the bar/bat/b’mitzvah ritual?

In this interfaith inclusion program, we explore ways to bring full loving, celebratory acceptance to all families embarking on their child’s Jewish ritual.

Ariana Burrows
ariana_b@verizon.net
WL Keruv Co-Chair

Ellie Kremer
Tel. (610) 724-6612

WL Keruv Co-Chair

Learn from our speakers about ways to promote interfaith ritual inclusion

Dr. Keren R. McGinity, USCJ’s Interfaith Specialist

Raba Kaya Stern-Kaufman,

Temple Israel,

Portsmouth, NH

Barbara Glickman, Executive Director at Ohev Shalom of Bucks County

Minyan Ahavah reaches out to people with memory loss and their caregivers. The next virtual Kabbalat Shabbat (welcoming the Sabbath) service is on Friday, March 29, at 5 pm Cantor Josh and Rabbi Judith Hauptman will lead the service. You can log in at 5 pm, or even better, at 4:45 pm, for a schmooze. A really nice way to begin the Sabbath is with a bit of chat with others. So join early! Zoom link is below.

Link: https://wlcj2.org/u/?V1c6432m

Meeting ID: 212 673 2096

Passcode: 2126732096

Want to bring a friend or relative? Please do! Just forward them the link. Here’s a way for you to participate in the service: please hold up something in your bedroom and tell us about it. Can be anything at all that you are able to hold up and show.

During the Mi Sheberach prayer for healing, you will be able to type in the names of the people for whom you are wishing a speedy recovery. I will read them aloud. We look forward to greeting you on Friday March 29, at 5 pm, or a few minutes earlier.

Rabbi Hauptman
juhauptman@jtsa.edu

Join us as we have a conversation with Dr. Rochelle Walensky, former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She will share her own personal journey into public health, what it was like to get “the call,” what were some of the hardest days/things, lessons learned, morale of the agency, preparedness for the next pandemic, and more.

Debbie Bettan

Health and Wellness Chair

dbettan@wlcj.org

Please join us to our next WL Reads selection, “Exile Music” by Jennifer Steil.

Based on an unexplored slice of World War II history, "Exile Music" is the captivating story of a young Jewish girl whose family flees refined and urbane Vienna for safe harbor in the mountains of Bolivia... continue reading.

Karen Block

WL Reads Chair

kblock@wlcj.org

Women’s League is now a partner with the Neve Shalom Sisterhood Loom Room program. Each time someone comes to weave as a referral from Women’s League, they will have the incredible experience of creating a beautiful Judaic item (and Women’s League will also receive a referral fee). Whether you come to weave yourself or have their volunteers weave the item after you have designed it, you will take enormous pride and joy and satisfaction in your performance of hiddur mitzvah. It will be a seminal moment in your life.

There is also a Women's League Hiddur Mitzvah Google Group. If you want to join the group, please email Esta Lichtenstein, WLCJ Communications Chair at elichtenstein@wlcj.org to be added.

Rabbi Margie Cella

mcella@wlcj.org

WLCJ Educator

For the past 80-plus years, the Torah Fund Campaign of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, the dedicated philanthropy of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism, has been supporting scholarships and programs in the worldwide Conservative/Masorti institutes of higher Jewish learning, The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, Schechter Institutes of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano in Buenos Aires, and Zacharias Frankel College in Potsdam.

The 2023-2024 / 5784 Torah Fund General Campaign is Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Ba’Zeh, All the people of Israel are responsible for one another. Arevut, responsibility, will be visible on our new, silver heart-shaped charm which can be worn as a pendant or pin.

The WWOT, the Weekly Words of Torah, each week through the end of June 2024, will delve into the idea of arevut, responsibility.

Parashat Tzav | Leviticus 6:1-8:36

March 30, 2024

This second parashah of Leviticus continues to define seven different types of offerings that one could bring. For each one we learn what was offered and by whom, what motivated the sacrifice, what was eaten by the individual, what was eaten by the priests. The people are strongly warned not to eat the blood or the fat of any sacrifice. Doing so would cause them to be cut off from the nation because the blood contains the life, and the fat was reserved for burning, allowing its pleasant aroma to reach up to God.

Finally, Moses is instructed to bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting to anoint them to the priesthood in the presence of all the people. Carefully and methodically, he places each of the priestly garments on his brother and then his nephews and anoints the head of each with oil. How awesome it must have been to witness this event. The final step was to offer a bull and two rams as a burnt offering. Each of the newly anointed priests placed his hands on the animal’s head, acknowledging that he himself needed to atone for his own sins before he could take on the responsibility of atoning for others. In so doing, they served as an example to us all. Before accusing someone of wrongdoing, we must be willing to honestly examine our own behavior, for none of us is blameless. Becoming a people holy to God requires each of us to perfect our own character so that we can better work together to improve the world around us. Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Ba’Zeh - All the people of Israel are responsible for one another. 

A virtual service for our WLCJ Sisters to recite Mishaberach, the Prayer for Healing, recite the Psalm of the Day, study and recite Kaddish together.

Zoom link can be found in WL Week. Please email info@wlcj.org if you are not in our mailing list.

A virtual background is available for Makom B'Yachad! DOWNLOAD HERE

Want to sing, teach, help with technology, and more during Daily Psalm Study and Kaddish?

Let Us Pray - composed by Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields

VIEW PRAYER

Jill Tomar

jill.tomar@gmail.com

WL Programming Co-Chair

Toby Maser

tmaser@wlcj.org

WL Programming Co-Chair

Sandy Blumenthal

sblumenthal@wlcj.org

Consulting Services Chair

Anise Parnes

aparnes@wlcj.org

Consulting Services Vice Chair

Women’s League for Conservative Judaism sponsors Mothers of Olim, a group founded prior to the emergence of Zoom. Initially the members helped each other ship packages to their children who had made Aliyah, immigrated to Israel. With the dawn of Covid and Zoom, Mothers of Olim became a lifeline to women around the globe when we weren’t permitted to visit... continue reading

Renee Seal

BubbyRenee18@aol.com

Mothers of Olim Chair

Our ongoing WLCJ Inclusion Committee is looking to expand. The purpose of our committee is to make our members aware of the great strides in Inclusion in our Sisterhood affiliates and synagogues. Our Women’s League Inclusion Committee is working towards expanding the culture of our synagogues to create an environment that makes all of us, no matter our unique identities and needs, feel welcomed and embraced in our Jewish community. We work to initiate programs with and support programs for the Inclusion committees in your synagogue/Sisterhood affiliate to make all underserved communities feel seen and encourage improvement of Inclusion practices and policies. If this interests you, please contact Karen Winer.

Karen Winer

karen.winer@comcast.net

Inclusion Co-Chair

Vicki Isman

vicki.isman@gmail.com

Inclusion Co-Chair

War in Israel | Find more Israel-related resources on our website

Daughters of Yisrael | Streaming Now - a song for WLCJ by Rabbi Aviva Shira Funke

WLCJ App | Available for download

WLCJ-FJMC Inclusion Initiative | Learn more

Kolot BiK’dushah | Learn categories and guidelines

WLCJ Convention 2023 | Learn more and view photos

WLCJ PrezNet | Learn more and who to contact

WLCJ 5784 Calendar Diaries | Clearance Sale

Keshet | Learn more about the equality project for LGBTQ in Jewish life

Women of the Wall | Support WOW by purchasing a tallit

Rabbinical Assembly | Visit the website exploringjudaism.org

Published Shabbat messages | Learn more

Schechter Institutes | Community Learning

Jewish Theological Seminary | Events & Learning

American Jewish University | Online Jewish Learning

Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano | Learn more

Zacharias Frankel College | Learn more

Learn more about Creating New Spaces Campaign: We Need YOU to Make It Happen!

Download the Torah Fund Campaign Flyer

Give to Torah Fund

Legacy Society | Learn more

Download the Torah Fund Ecards Flyer

Purchase Torah Fund Ecards | for USA members

Purchase Torah Fund Ecards | for Canadian members

Chadashot | News from Torah Fund

Tuesday, April 2

at 7:30pm ET

INTERNATIONAL NORTHEAST

ONLINE

Please register for the Zoom link. 

Do you have any upcoming programs that are virtual/hybrid?

Send it to info@wlcj.org to add it in WL Week.

Hillel International Scholarships for Jewish Students | Learn more

Nefesh B'Nefesh | Learn more

Reshet Ramah Poland Journey | Learn more

Announcing the new Yuval Yisrael summer program for teens | Learn more

Women's Study Group with author, Naomi Graetz | Learn more

MERCAZ USA | Give

Women's League Google Groups | Learn more

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New York, NY 10018

Office: (405) 870-1260