Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Margo Schlanger

Hanukkah – Six more nights to go! (by Carol Lessure)

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Menorahs

Hanukkah! Whether you spell it with an H or Ch, this little festival always provides my family with much fun and delight. What better way to illuminate our path into those long winter nights than with a communal candle lighting? We have three upcoming opportunities at AARC to celebrate together.  We return to the JCC this year for a latke dinner and musical Hanukkah party; plus two hosts are offering home based celebrations for all to enjoy. Click on this google document to register and for more information on locations: just scroll down and add your name to the event you plan to attend.

Erev Shabbat Dinner (12/19)
Host: Mike Ehmann, mtehmann@comcast.net
Please let Mike know that you are coming and what you plan to bring to share.

The AARC Hanukkah Party and Latke Feast (12/20)
We will start with Havdalah around 5:45 (a great way to practice what we learned at Shabbat Seder). Then we’ll have a  communal lighting of our chanukkiahs. There will be latkes and a light meal, live music by band members Paul, Laurie and Jesse, dreidel  (of course) plus other games from the Lessure Engelbert family.

Please RSVP so we can have enough latkes, salad, fruit and chocolate gelt!  (Pst: there will be some wine for grownups too.) All you need to bring is your appetite, chanukkiah with 6 candles, and helping hands.  Dinner is $10 for adults/ $5 for children under 12.

The Last Night of Hanukkah (12/23)
Hosts: Rav Michal, Jon and Sima
Your hosts will prepare donuts, and you can bring a dish to share. Contact Rav Michal for more details and be sure to sign up so they know who is coming.

Hanukkah 2013 at Michal's House

Rabbi Michal, Jon, and Sima Travel to Duluth to Talk Intermarriage

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From member Emily Eisbruch and Rabbi Michal:

Rabbi Michal, Jon Sweeney and their daughter Sima recently traveled to Duluth, MN to participate in a Friday night presentation and a Sunday morning discussion on Intermarriage.  They were sponsored by Temple Israel in Duluth, which is affiliated with both the Union for Reform Judaism and Jewish Reconstructionist Communities.  We thought it would be great to learn about their experience in Duluth. They have kindly agreed to participate in a bit of Q&A for this blog.

JonAndMichalPhoto
Jon Sweeney & Rav Michal

Q: We know that you have spoken in the past on intermarriage and it was  the theme of your 2013 book “Crazy Mixed Up Love.”   How did the trip to Duluth come about?

A: Rabbi David Steinberg is a Reconstructionist colleague of mine and a friend of ours with an interest in the topic. The synagogue has an annual interfaith themed funded lecture program, which was officially our host.

Q: What were you expecting and what did you find in Duluth? Any surprises concerning the city or the congregation?

[Read more…] about Rabbi Michal, Jon, and Sima Travel to Duluth to Talk Intermarriage

Mazel Tov, Avi!

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Avi became Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, December 6.  Here’s his thoughtful d’var torah, on Jacob and Esau and their reconciliation.

Avi
Avi, at his Bar Mitzvah

Shabbat Shalom!

My parshah is VaYishlach (and he went), set in the book of Genesis. And he went refers to Jacob leaving Laban’s house to slowly work his way home again after “being paid” and accruing a lot of wetalth, including loads of goats and sheep from Laban, two wives, a large family, and lots of slaves.

The Parshah is about the Jacob and has three small stories within it:

First, Jacob wrestling with the being, where Jacob bumps into some being in the night and wrestles it. As the day is breaking, the being asks to be let go, and Jacob says he will let it go only if it will give him a blessing. He gets the blessing and the name Israel.  By the way my haftorah, Hosea 11-12 references this moment, connecting it to my parshah.

The middle of the parashah describes how Jacob, on his way home after running from Esau twenty years earlier, realizes that he will now have to confront his brother.

The end of the parashah tells the story of the possible rape of Dinah. I am not going to discuss this in my D’rash today, but if you don’t know about it then you should read it yourself. It is interesting and important.

Let us begin with the story of the wrestling. [Read more…] about Mazel Tov, Avi!

Welcome Rachel and Bryan

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Our newest members are Rachel Baron Singer and Bryan Singer. Here’s Rachel’s introduction:

“Bryan is a postdoctoral student in the Biopsychology Department at the University of Michigan, and I’m currently working towards a Masters degree at Wayne State University in Library and Information Science.

Bryan and Rachel
Bryan and Rachel

We moved from Chicago to Ann Arbor in January 2013 with our pet rabbits, Pierrot and LeFou, and have settled in relatively well, despite our firm refusal to switch allegiances from the Chicago Dog to the Coney.

Because neither of our hometowns had Jewish communities large enough to support more than one synagogue, we were both raised in the Reform movement by default. However, we’ve long identified with the tenets of Reconstructionism, and are very excited to finally belong to a Reconstructionist congregation.

Outside of his research, Bryan’s passions include hiking, photography, travel, and the Chicago Bulls. Meanwhile, I enjoy writing about film studies, collecting vintage Nancy Drew novels, learning about mid-century modern architecture, and supporting West Bromwich Albion F.C. in the English Premier League (don’t worry, nobody else has heard of them, either).

Pierrot and LeFou
Pierrot and LeFou

We very much enjoyed attending AARC services for the high holidays and look forward to meeting the other members!”

Welcome!

More on Shmita: December 7 Event

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Bus Tour Picture
From the last Shmita event, the Food, Land, & Justice Bus Tour (Sept. 14, 2014)

By AARC Member Carole Caplan, for the Washtenaw Jewish News

On December 7, 2014, the community is invited to gather at St. Joe’s Hospital to explore how the Jewish teachings of Shmita are coming to life through the impact of regional institutions and their commitments to local, healthy food.

Meet at St. Joe’s Women’s Health Center, 5320 Elliot Dr, Ypsilanti.
1:00pm-3:30pm.
Free.
For information, contact Carole Caplan at carolecaplan@livebychoice.com, or Idelle Hammond- Sass at Hammond_sass@msn.com

For the year’s Shmita activities, see this page.

The event is a continuation of an exciting year-long exploration of the teachings of Shmita, funded by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor late last winter. “For me, the commandments of shmita can be seen as a built-in seventh year wake-up call,” said AARC member Carole Caplan, who is co-chairing the event with fellow congregant Idelle Hammond-Sass. Caplan explains that “Shmita, which means ‘release’, is the opportunity to become conscious of our relationships with each other, with the environment, and with our understanding of true health, nourishment, and ‘enough-ness’. Just as Shabbat is an opportunity to re-set our ideas about production and consumption on a personal level, Shmita provides us with a unique and important opportunity to re-imagine and reset our practices regarding food production and consumption in and beyond our own homes out into our communities.”

AARC member and owner of Locavorious, Rena Basch, agrees. “Modern philosophy on how to celebrate and honor the Shmita years recommends we take the time to re-imagine society, re-lease the land and re-think farming”. Basch, who began working in the local sustainable food movement in 2006, founded Locavorious, a locally grown frozen fruit and vegetable CSA here in Ann Arbor. “Do you wonder how we, and our community, our congregations, our schools, and our institutions can support the values and intentions of this Shmita tradition?” Basch questioned. “This event will introduce us [Read more…] about More on Shmita: December 7 Event

Why another book club?

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By Judith Jacobs

When I first heard that the AARC was forming a book club, I thought it was a good idea. After thinking about it, I asked myself “Why join another book club, when you already belong to two?” I decided to give it a try and here is what I learned:

The book selection can be described as eclectic. We read about China’s reaction to protests and the tragedies at Tiananmen Square and how they have ben wiped from people’s memories and are not considered a significant part of China’s history. We enjoyed visiting The Worlds of Sholom Aleichem. I found that a particular delight because his world in Russia was my family’s world and he left Russia around the time my great uncle left. “The Seven Beggars was a disaster for me. I did not understand anything that Rebbe Nachman of Breslov was telling us. Our last book, The Dalai Lama’s Cat, was an absolute delight. What could be bad? Here was a book about a prescient cat and Buddhism.

The real treat of the book club has been getting to know members of the congregation in a whole new way. People’s stories always are interesting and such a diverse group of people brings many different perspectives to the discussion.

Try the book club. It will be a different take on the AARC.

Books read so far in 2014 and 2015:

  • November: The Dalai Lama’s Cat, by David Michie.
  • October:  “The Seven Beggars,” a short story by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.
  • September: The Worlds of Sholom Aleichem: The Remarkable Life and Afterlife of the Man Who Created Tevye, by Jeremy Dauber
  • August: The People’s Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited, by Louisa Lim.

[Book club meetings are on the Calendar, and are included in the Monday Mailer–subscribe at the right on this page.]

See also  Happy 5th birthday to the AARC Book Club (Click Here) from October 2019  

Welcome Back, Ellen!

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Ellen Dannin, our once and now-current member, is back to Ann Arbor from State College, Pennsylvania.  She writes:

Ellen Dannin
Ellen Dannin

I first joined the Reconstructionist movement as a member of Congregation T’chiyah in Detroit (and was also then a member of  the National Havurah movement). Over the years, and many moves, I have been a member of Reconstructionist congregations of Dor Hadash in San Diego, the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Havurah, and now back to Ann Arbor after a stint in State College, PA. For many years, I’ve written liturgy, divrei Torah, rituals, and other work focused on Judaism. A year ago, I gave myself a challenge of searching for water in each week’s parasha. I figured that the story of people traveling around a dry area of the world was unlikely to have water as a theme. Little did I know that water in some form existed in almost every week.

In my non-Jewish life, I have taught labor and employment law at various schools and write on privatization, including infrastructure privatization.

I am so happy to be back in Ann Arbor and to reconnect with friends and make new ones.

 

 

Maxwell Street Klezmer Band Musician’s Workshop

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Earlier this month six or eight AARC musician-members and about 20 other local musicians joined at the JCC for a workshop with three members of the Maxwell Street Band.  We played for about 90 minutes, putting together two pieces, Freilechs fun der Hupe and Zol Zayn Gelebt.   Photos and audio are below.

Comments from participants

  • What an incredible morning. Hope there’s a chance to do it again!
  • What terrific fun to play music with these folks!  They took a couple dozen amateur instrumentalists, fired us up with enthusiasm, and helped us play with spirit and character. An amazing morning.
  • Alex expertly assessed the abilities of over 20 musicians – from novice to skilled – who had never played together before.  By the end of the workshop we were playing as a group; Alex, Don and Gail gave each of us a new challenge or musical gem.  What fun!!!  It was a real treat to play with Maxwell Street.  Participants were all asking when the band will come back.
Freilechs fun der Hupe

Zol Zayn Gelebt

 

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The Klezmer Concert & Workshop were organized in part by the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation with support from the Eastern Michigan University Jewish Studies, the JCC of Greater Ann Arbor, and an Impact Grant of the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, as part of the Ann Arbor Yiddish Festival.

Reflections on this year’s Sukkot Retreat

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By Deb Gombert

The kids are up to something.
The kids are up to something.

Carl in a tree
Carl in a tree

I’ve included two pictures to start this post off.  The picture from last year shows a group of children age 3 to 13 who have all joined together in a Very Important Quest of some sort. I wanted to share it because every year at the retreat I love the way the children play together in one group, the older and younger children joining each other in flashlight tag or other games created in the moment. This year was no different: the children created a community that mirrored the sense of community I feel at the retreat.

The other picture is a picture from this year. Carl is high up in a tree. He is alone, reading a book, enjoying a new sense of physical accomplishment in that he can climb higher than he could last year, and enjoying the near perfect weather. At the retreat this year I too found some time to be alone. I meditated, wrote in my journal and practiced accordion. Unlike Carl I was not personally aware of any new physical accomplishments since last year, but I was aware of other ways in which I have grown since last year. And as Carl did, I also enjoyed the weather – not by climbing trees, but by walking among them in the forest around the retreat center.

Last year we almost did not go to the retreat. Carl told me “Mom! We HAVE to go. It is the best weekend of the year!” I suggested [Read more…] about Reflections on this year’s Sukkot Retreat