Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Margo Schlanger

Caleb’s drash

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Mazel tov to Caleb on his becoming Bar Mitzvah! Here is his d’var torah, on Parashat Yitro

Caleb, on the day of his Bar Mitzvah
Caleb, on the day of his Bar Mitzvah

 Welcome, Shabbat shalom.

This week’s Torah portion is called Yitro, Exodus 18 through 20. The Israelites have just left Egypt, and crossed the Red Sea, and they are in the wilderness. In the first part of the portion, Moses meets up with his father-in-law Jethro (His Hebrew name is Yitro, thus the name of the portion). Jethro notices that Moses is carrying too much responsibility by solving everyone’s little arguments and disputes. Jethro suggests that Moses should have other people solve the Israelites’ minor disputes and bring only the big problems to Moses. Moses follows Jethro’s advice.

Meanwhile, God tells Moses to tell the Israelites to prepare for God to come down to Mount Sinai to talk to the people. The people follow God’s wishes and wait for God to come down. When God comes down in a theatrical show of thunder, lighting and the trembling of the mountain, God makes a set of rules that are now known as the ten commandments.

I will read the ten commandments in my Torah portion today. [Read more…] about Caleb’s drash

Meet Laura Shpiro and Justin Edmondson

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Laura wrote last week about the thoughts on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. But we haven’t yet introduced her, and Justin, to the congregation, although they joined a few months ago.  So here’s Laura’s profile of the two of them.  Welcome!

Laura & Justin Shpiro

Justin and I moved from Los Angeles to Ann Arbor in October 2011.  Justin was in Los Angeles completing his post-doctoral fellowship in Theoretical Heliophysics at Jet Propulsion Labs.  I was born and raised in LA, except for the four years I spent at Brandeis, and even attended law school in my beloved city of Los Angeles.  Justin and I met on JDate (and I am a big proponent of the site!), and fell in love pretty darned quickly.  When his fellowship ended, it made sense for him to choose a position at the University of Michigan, where he obtained all three of his degrees.  Plus, Momma Mary Lou (Justin’s mom) lives in Ann Arbor, making the moving to Ann Arbor a no-brainer. Since every region has use for social justice attorneys,  I had little excuse not to pick up and move.  Plus, you know, I love the guy.

Although it took us three years to join AARC, we knew it would be our home within a month of moving to Ann Arbor.  We are rather political, extremely liberal, and believe the answer to a better world lies in tikkun olam.  Indeed, our most heated argument is over who is further left, politically.  Obviously, the answer is that I am.  (The writer of history is she who wields the pen!)

Our first experience with AARC was attending High Holiday services; looking around the room, we knew we had found our home.  The more AARC congregants we meet, the more we fall in love with the congregation.  We’re looking forward to many years together!

Shalom, ahava v’tzedek (peace, love and justice),
Laura

Welcome to the Burokers!

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BurokersPlease welcome our newest members, the Burokers!  They (well, ok, Sherri) write:

Hello!  We are the Buroker family – Sherri, Lyle, Morgan (13), and Shae  (10).  We also have 3 cats, whom we adore!  I (Sherri) grew up in Miami, FL, and Lyle grew up in Syracuse, NY.  I currently work as a substitute teacher.  I am also a health & fitness instructor, which is where my passion lies.  Lyle works for Ford Motor Credit.

We moved to Canton, MI in 2011.  Previously, we lived in West Palm Beach, FL; Franklin, TN (girls born here); and San Jose, CA.  We are happy to now call this beautiful state of Michigan “home!”  I always say we live like tourists, after moving so much!  We have explored a bit of the lower peninsula, and look forward to visiting up north this summer. I enjoy activities outside (doing my best in the winters), planning and spending time with family and friends, and reading. I am also an active volunteer at our elementary school.   Lyle enjoys riding his road bike and playing golf.  As a family, we love to ride bikes, play games, explore our (and surrounding) communities’ activities, or just hang out.  Morgan and Shae both play travel soccer, with other recreation sports sprinkled in.  They love creative projects, and spending time with friends.  Morgan will be celebrating her Bat Mitzvah this coming August!

We were drawn to AARC because of the welcoming and inclusive atmosphere.  We are delighted to get to get to know and grow with this dynamic community.

Hope lives when people remember

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From member Laura Shpiro:

Today is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. I’ve read many articles about this, but none of them truly captured the sentiment I wanted to share with you.

My grandfather, his mother and his sisters survived the trip to Auschwitz. (My grandmother’s mother died in the cattle car on their way to a different camp.) When they got off the car, my grandfather was separated from his mother and four sisters. They were sent to the gas chamber, and that’s the last time he ever saw them.

Even though I grew up with the stories in my blood, it’s still impossible to comprehend the massive number of people who were murdered. There are about 4.2 million Jewish people throughout the USA. That’s still 2 million fewer than were murdered. There are about 13 million Jews in the world. The population would be at least 50% greater if not for the Holocaust (figure many of those who were murdered would have reproduced).

I read a survivor’s quote today. Her best revenge on the Nazis was surviving. Surviving and thriving, I say! My late grandparents have four great-grandchildren today, and that’s only from 2 out of 6 grandkids! Our lives are their revenge.

And, as anti-Semitism rises around the globe, we must quell it in the name of tolerance and peace. “Hope lives when people remember.” Remember, always

We are their legacy.

Connecting Food & Faith

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Thursday, Jan. 22, 7 pm
Panel Discussion at Ann Arbor District Library, downtown (343 South Fifth Avenue)
Multi-Purpose Room

Chuck Warpehoski, the Director of Ann Arbor’s Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, will moderate a discussion among a variety of different faith perspectives, about how, and why, people of faith link what, and how, they eat to their values and beliefs.

Panelists will include:

  • Reverend Kristin Riegel, First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor
  • Cathy Muha, Mindful Eating Coalition leader, First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor
  • Carole Caplan, Jewish Alliance of Food, Land & Justice / Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation
  • Mansoor Qureshi, President, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Michigan
  • Julie Ritter and Colleen Retherford, Jewel Heart Ann Arbor

honey

Edible Home Landscapes: From saving seeds to harvesting from your trees

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Edible Landscapes

Sunday, February 1, 2015, 1 pm – 3 pm, at the JCC
Join us in honor of Shmita and Tu B’shevat

Think beyond grocery stores, farmers markets, and CSAs – what if healthy foods were right outside your kitchen door?

Local plant guru Erica Kempter from Nature and Nurture Seeds will educate us on soils, seeds, and trees needed to create edible landscapes at home.

Dialogue, text study, hands-on learning, and refreshments.

Admission is free, but please pre-register!

Event is at the JCC, 2935 Birch Hollow Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.

Organized by the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation, Pardes Hannah and the Jewish Alliance for Food, Land, and Justice.

This event made possible in part with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor.

Tu B’Shevat Potluck/Seder (Tues. Feb. 3)

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Tree-with-animals-(green-tint)Tu B’Shevat, the 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar, marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees. This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. An ecological approach to this holiday considers human interaction with the natural environment, a mystical approach considers human interaction within a spiritual environment.  After a potluck dinner at 6:30 pm, we will explore both through a Tu B’shevat seder of fruits, nuts, wine, and juice.

It’s all happening at Carole Caplan’s house.  Please RSVP to Carole (caplan.carole@gmail.com or 847-922-9693); she’ll send you the address and directions.

OR, if you’d like to have your own seder, here’s a guide you might use, from member Ellen Dannin.

The Dopp/Berman family gets profiled!

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Dopp-Berman Family
Deb & Rich, Ian & Jordan

Deb Berman and Rich Dopp joined AARC several years ago, but haven’t had a member profile yet.  So find out much more about them in this lovely piece at MGoBlue.com; turns out they were serious gymnasts in college and have been doing fascinating things since.  (Nice throwback Thursday pictures, too.)  Their kids, Ian and Jordan, will have a b’nei mitzvah with us in November 2015.

Never a Bystander: Free Screening Followed by Q&A

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Filmmaker Evelyn Neuhaus and film subject Irene Butter at the premiere in May, 2014.
Filmmaker Evelyn Neuhaus and film subject Irene Butter at the premiere in May, 2014.

AARC Member Evelyn Neuhaus has created a documentary about Irene Butter, who has spent nearly 30 years visiting schools and inspiring countless children to find the courage to take compassionate action and transcend obstacles.  The film is about making courageous choices in the face of injustice.  It’s 30 minutes long and will be screened this Sunday at the JCC, followed by Q&A with Evelyn and Irene Butter.

Sunday, January 11, 4pm at the JCC (2935 Birch Hollow Drive).  Admission is Free

More information about the film is available at its website.  A flyer for the screening is here.

Fun AARC outing to Asian Legend and Michigan/State Theaters

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By Emily Eisbruch

Enjoying Chinese dinner and a movie turned out to be the perfect way to share a great time with AARC friends on Christmas 2014.  Thanks to Mike Ehmann for graciously and efficiently coordinating a group of 33.

The Chinese dinner kicked off at Asian Legend Restaurant on East William Street about 5pm.  That place was hopping, both when we arrived and even more so when we left about 70 minutes later.  The dinner was buffet style, making it quick and easy to get firsts and seconds! (Appreciation goes to the staff at Asian Legend for welcoming our group and making everything quite seamless.) As you can see from the photos, there were plenty of smiles and lots of schmoozing.

In addition to Rav Michal and Jon and Sima joining, we had a fun surprise visit from our former Rabbinical Intern, Aura Ahuvia, now a Rabbi at Woodstock Jewish  Congregation in NY.

Along with quite a few others, my husband Avi and son Gil and I headed to the Michigan Theater after dinner to see  “The Imitation Game” about Alan Turing.  What did we think of the film? Glad this movie got made, glad we saw it, though at times it seemed overly produced to be clever and even cute. Is it ridiculously geeky to wish they had revealed a bit more about code breaking and the way the bombe (the cryptanalytic machine at Bletchley Park) worked?  Okay, I guess that’s what Wikipedia is for.

Thanks again to all the friends who made Dec. 25, 2014 special and fun.