Chai Lines
International Northeast Region
Women's League
for Conservative Judaism
Networking to Engage, Enrich and Empower
Conservative Jewish Women 
   March 8, 2018                                                               Volume 2, Issue 75    
SAVE THE DATE FOR SPRING CONFERENCE 2018 save
 
INR SPRING CONFERENCE
"PORTRAIT OF SISTERHOOD"
WHEN: April 29 and 30, 2018
WHERE: Temple Beth El, Rochester, New York
WHO: All Sisterhood Members from IN Region 
WHY: Time to Meet and Learn from Each Other 
WOMEN'S LEAGUE CONSULTANT: Michele Garber 
CO-CHAIRS: Marcia Nabut and Ruth Shapiro
 
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
SUNDAY
12:00-1:00    Pre-Conference Lunch (optional, extra charge)
1:00-1:30      Registration; Greetings
1:30-3:00      CHOOSE ONE
Presidents' Session (available to all): Michele Garber 
Ask the Expert:  Various Topics:  Toby Maser  
3:15-4:00    Torah Fund: Marilyn Cohen
4:15-5:15    Putting Your Program Together Panel­­--
Regularly Held Large Events and Rummage;   
It's All Small Stuff 
5:15-6:15    Hotel and Get Ready
6:30-7:00    Installation    
7:00-7:30    Mincha/Maariv    
7:30-9:30    Dinner
Keynote Speaker: Michelle Garber 
From Rochester With Love-100 Years of Film:  Lois Silverman 
9:30    Party at Hotel for All
MONDAY
8:00-9:00      Shacharit
9:00-9:15      Torah Study with Rabbi Bitran
9:15-9:45      Breakfast
9:45-10:30    Community Service/Education-PAD Initiative
10:30-10:45  Sisterhood Displays : Community Service
10:45-11:15   Shop to Learn: Where did you get it?
Judaica Shop-Lynda Axelrod 
11:45- 12:30  Rosh Hodesh Sampler: Tevet:
Dr. Joy Getnick, Terri Rosenhouse, Barb Savage      
12:30-  1:00   INR Board Meeting
  1:00  1:30    Lunch and Wrap Up

For Conference details including meal costs and hotel reservation, click here.
 
MEET THE CONFERENCE CONSULTANT Consultant

FROM THE REGION PRESIDENT President

Today March 8 is International Women's Day. This internationally celebrated event marks the contributions of women while renewing our efforts to achieve full rights. It is a day of recognition of our accomplishments but also a reminder that full gender equality has yet to be reached.
 
In Canada, equality between women and men is enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. All provincial governments and the federal government are committed to upholding gender equality in all sectors of Canadian society. Clearly, legally and constitutionally, women have made great strides. In areas such as education and workforce participation, the changes in the last few decades have been impressive.
 
Nevertheless, important challenges remain. Women in leadership roles, especially in the corporate sector, are significantly underrepresented; in many countries, women are shut out of senior political positions; women are still very much responsible for child-rearing and care giving; in most workforces, women still earn less than men; and women continue to experience spousal abuse at an alarmingly high rate.
 
Although the road to equality seems infinitely long, there are things we can we do as individuals to accelerate the journey. Each day, we have to challenge the sexism and discrimination that perpetuates inequality. These may be subtle attitudes that we encounter daily or larger behavioural issues that need to be addressed.
 
We can use our Region as a vehicle to ensure that our daughters and granddaughters have the opportunity to reach their full potential in our synagogues and in society. We are looking for women to take leadership roles. You can make a difference by applying your experience, knowledge and talents to good use. For information on how to get involved, contact Linda Steinhorn at 716-634-6330 or oralin330@aol.com .
 
Hope to see all of you at Conference. If you haven't already done so, please reserve your hotel room and send in your meal payment. For more Conference information, contact Marcia Nabut at 585-271-4189 or go to our region's website by click here.
 
Shabbat Shalom,  
Eleanor
514-458-6204
FROM THE REGION EDUCATION VP, LOIS SILVERMANeducation 
 
Today Thursday, March 8 is International Day of Women. My daughter asked on Facebook "Why do women need a special day to recognize their existence?"
 
The question is a good one. Women make up more than 50% of the population, but until the early 20th Century women were subjected to total control by fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons. They could not own property or control their own property or even their own bodies.
 
Yes, things have changed but too slowly for many of us. The basic aspirations of women all over the world stays the same. Women want freedom from want for themselves and their families as well as dignity and respect for what they do.
 
In December, 1911, James Oppenheim wrote a poem "Bread and Roses" and was first published in The American Magazine. Although the phrase "Bread and Roses" is commonly associated with the successful textile strike in Lawrence, MA, during January-March 1912, it could also refer to the universal needs of women all over the world. Certainly the slogan pairing bread and roses is a strong lyrical demand for both fair wages and dignified conditions that still finds resonance.
 
The struggle continues, but now all our daughters are closer to achieving both bread and roses.

Below are the words of one version with a link to the version with music by Mimi Farina from the 2014 film Pride based on the true story of how a group of activists raised money to help families affected by the British miners' strike of 1984.
 
BREAD AND ROSES by James Oppenheim (1911)
 
As we go marching, marching, in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses,
For the people hear us singing: Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!
 
As we go marching, marching, we battle too for men,
For they are women's children, and we mother them again.
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses.
 
As we go marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient call for bread.
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.
Yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too.
 
As we go marching, marching, we bring the greater days,
The rising of the women means the rising of the race.
No more the drudge and idler, ten that toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life's glories: Bread and roses, bread and roses.
 
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
hearts starve as well as bodies; bread and roses, bread and roses.
 

Shabbat Shalom
FROM WOMEN'S LEAGUE FOR CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM WLCJ fromWL
 

Networking to engage, 
enrich and empower
Conservative Jewish women 
  
 
   
 
WL President's Shabbat Message:
"When Did 'Speaking Up' Become Political?"
Many months before I became Women's League President, it was suggested to me that I censor my Facebook postings so as to not appear too political. Although I have strong thoughts about national and world issues, my postings were almost always about the issues and not (too often) about the people in leadership positions.
 
Every year on Election Day, my posts encourage everyone to vote. Of course, I would like everyone to vote for my candidates, but I never write that....just get out there and vote. Voting is a privilege denied to many.
 
After each school shooting, especially the most recent in Parkland, I feel the need to say that we must not only talk about our children's safety, but we must do something about it. Is it political to talk about gun violence? Do I sit by because it's become a polarizing political topic? Which is an acceptable thing to talk about...gun control, gun safety, or neither?

Is speaking up about human trafficking politically safe, but is speaking up about sexual discrimination and harassment now a political issue?

I thought that, because we are Jews, because we have been the victims of persecution and poor treatments for centuries, and that we, above all others, would never accept that our voices shouldn't be heard.

I try to be respectful in my speech. I am honest and thoughtful in my opinions and my chosen words. When did my voice become taboo? When did my right and responsibility to speak up become polarizing and political?

Not speaking up doesn't work for me.

Shabbat Shalom,
Margie Miller
WLCJ President
 

Thank You for Supporting Israel!
The following sisterhoods have contributed to the Masorti WL Days of Study in Israel. We encourage every sisterhood to join this growing list. ALL contributions are welcome. Supporting our Kehillot in Israel, as well as the fabulous Days of Study, enriches the educational experience for our Israeli sisters.
Flushing Fresh Meadows Jewish Center, Flushing, NY
Hewlett-East Rockaway Jewish Center /Etz Chaim, East Rockaway, NY
Hillcrest Jewish Center, Flushing, NY
Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills, Kew Garden Hills, NY
Midway Jewish Center Sisterhood, Syosset, NY
Plainview Jewish Center, Plainview, NY
Temple Gates of Prayer, Flushing, NY
Temple Israel of Great Neck, Great Neck, NY
Agudath B'nai Israel Synagogue, Lorain, OH
Congregation Ohave Sholom Sisterhood, Rockford, IL
Bet Shira Congregation, Miami, FL
Temple Beth El, West Palm Beach, FL
Temple Emanuel of Pascack Valley, Woodcliff Lake, NJ
Conservative  Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale, Bronx, NY
Or Olam East 55th St Synagogue Women's League, New York, NY
Yorktown Jewish Center, Yorktown Heights, NY
Temple Beth Sholom, Cherry Hill, NJ
Temple Sinai, Dresher, PA
Beth Sholom B'nai Israel, Manchester, CT
Temple Beth Torah, Holliston, MA
Temple Emeth, Chestnut Hill, MA
Adat Shalom, Los Angeles, CA
Beth Israel, Owings Mills,  MD
Distance Workshops
T he next free Women's League Distance Workshop is "Family," on Monday, March 12, at 8:30 p.m., Eastern time. Explore new sisterhood approaches to changing families. This workshop is perfect for sisterhood membership, social action, and programming chairs who would like to tie sisterhood activities to community families.  Sign up here. Call-in information will be e-mailed the day of the workshop.
 
The following workshop, "Top 10 Questions about Torah Fund," will be held Tuesday, April 17, at 8:30 p.m., Eastern time. Register here.
Our Next Book Club Pick!
 
Women's League Reads is pleased to announce its latest pick:
Eternal Life by Dara Horn. An interview with the author will be held on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 8:30 p.m. EST.
 
The novel's protagonist, Rachel, lives the first of her many lives in Roman-occupied Jerusalem and witnesses its destruction. She's imagined here as the mother of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, whose disciples sneak him past Roman guards in a coffin so that he may establish the continuity of Torah study in exile. Rachel's desperation to save him from a fatal illness as a toddler leads her and her lover to take a vow in the Temple-the child will live but the pair is cursed with the unbearable weight of immortality.
 
Reborn in each life as an 18-year-old Jew, Rachel raises hundreds of beloved but mortal children. Her old lover stalks her through the centuries, in a torturous but mutually needy relationship. All the while, Rachel desperately tries to escape the roulette wheel of immortality.
 
By turns philosophical, funny, satiric and heart-rending, the novel depicts how women experience life as an ever-renewing cycle. For Rachel, every cultural trend repeats, and every generation's favorite child has an earlier doppelganger. Author Geraldine Brooks found this novel to be "An elegant musing on sacredness, history, and purpose that is at the same time, a deliciously romantic, highly suspenseful page-turner."
 
Dara Horn is an observant Conservative Jew and mother of four. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Comparative Literature, with a specialty in Hebrew and Yiddish modern fiction. Join Women's League Reads here. Visit Dara Horn's official website here, and l earn more about Eternal Life from  Jewish Book Council and Publishers Weekly  
Stay Connected...Join our online chat groups!
  • PREZNET - A discussion group for sisterhood Presidents
  • WLCJNet - A discussion group for members
  • American Mothers of Israeli Olim - A discussion group for those with friends and family living in Israel
  • Judaica Shop - A discussion group for Women's League Judaica shop managers
To join any of these discussion groups, contact Lois Silverman at lsilverman@wlcj.org.
 
FROM THE TORAH FUND VICE PRESIDENT
MARILYN COHEN


Contact me with any questions concerning the Torah Fund Campaign 2017-2018:
Marilyn Cohen
VP Torah Fund - International Northeast Region
416-5 18-1860  
 

Check out the New Torah Fund Guide and all the other materials to run a great campaign!
   
FROM ACROSS THE REGIONkvell
TORAH FUND PROGRAMS TO KVELL AND SHARE
The Best Torah Fund Programs in Our Region

This space is being reserved for Torah Fund programs that have worked for YOUR sisterhood.  Please send Lois Silverman at lsilverman@wlcj.org a summary of what you have done to support Torah Fund.  It just might inspire other sisterhoods to do similar events.
 
NEED HELP? help
HELP IS AVAILABLE ON THE WLCJ WEBSITE.

Programs, membership ideas, education material, and more available at wlcj.org

 
INR OF WLCJ | ltsilverman@gmail.com  | Website Click here