This article appeared in the May 2023 Washtenaw Jewish News.
Music Builds Community at AARC article in May 2023 Washtenaw Jewish News
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Beit Sefer Mitzvah Day at the Humane Society!
The AARC Beit Sefer religious school spent a super fun Sunday morning at the Humane Society learning about the Jewish value of taking care of all earth’s creatures. Guided by the Humane Society staff, the students learned about the mission of the Humane Society as well as what it means to be a good caregiver to your animals. Part of the kids service project was to spend time with the animals, reading to them and keeping them company. They took turns in the cat rooms and the dog rooms sitting by the animals cages, calmly reading to them and showing them the pictures. The animals really liked it!
In preparation for this Mitzvah Day, the students baked and sold kosher style dog and cat biscuits to members of the congregation. The students used the proceeds from the sale to give a donation to the Humane Society. Families also brought blankets and towels as a donation to the facility.
It was a lovely morning and such a joy to watch the kids spread their love to all of the creatures at the Huron Valley Humane Society!
Counting the Omer between Passover and Shavuot
One of the ways that my children were taught to calm down and take a break when they were processing their feelings was to count. Count 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can tough, 2 things you can smell, one thing you can taste. Or count your fingers and your toes while taking deep breaths. There are many ways that marking the passage of time, either by minutes or days, can make us feel calm, connect us to our bodies, and help us to feel a part of something larger than ourselves.
Counting the Omer began as an agricultural holiday that has its roots in the first barley offering and the first wheat offering in the Temple Era. The observance was a way of offering prayer for a good harvest. As Jewish civilization transitioned out of the temple period, counting Omer moved into an exercise to mark the passage of time between Passover and Shavuot. It is an existential exercise that asks us to reflect on the movement from enslavement, to liberation, to the giving of Torah both in the liturgical sense an also the change in perspective within our minds. The omer is counted every day for 7 weeks, ending with the holiday of Shavuot.
In Michigan, we’re far away from the wheat and barley harvests of Israel, as well as far from the experience of being enslaved. But as spring unfolds for us, counting the omer can help us shake off the stiffness of winter and recommit to the work of tikkun hanefesh (healing the soul) and tikkun olam (healing the world).
Some resources for counting the omer:
- Resource for Counting the Omer
- Counting the Omer: Taylors Version
- Weekly Omer Sessions with Rabbi Rachel Levy
- Learn more about where counting the Omer comes from
- Listen to this beautiful melody, it’s a kavannah before counting the Omer
- Learn about the connection between Kabbalah and counting the Omer
- Explore this reflection from Keshet: Counting My Genders: A Neo-Kabbalistic view of the Omer
Zeitouna in April 2023 Washtenaw Jewish News
Thanks to Leora Druckman for this article in the April 2023 Washtenaw Jewish News.
Congregational meeting to vote on rabbi candidate Gabrielle Pescador!
The congregation will meet via Zoom on Sunday, April 16, 10-11:30 am for discussion and a vote on rabbi candidate Gabrielle Pescador. Read on for a summary of this year’s search process.
Rabbi Position Posted
AARC posted our half-time rabbi position with the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). In a subsequent meeting with the RRC placement director, we learned that once again there were only six RRC graduates and again only one or two interested in pulpit positions. AARC then posted the opening to a broader community: Hebrew College, the Academy for Jewish Religion (in NY), the Academy for Jewish Religion (in CA), ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal, and the Reform and Conservative movements.
Candidate Interest and Shabbaton
The rabbi search committee received applications from three candidates, and after interviewing all three, scheduled a Shabbaton with Gabrielle Pescador. She is a cantor and soon-to-be ordained rabbi through the ALEPH Ordination Program. Sixty members completed a survey after attending events with Gabrielle during the Shabbaton weekend of March 17-19; 75% found her good or exciting.
Click HERE to watch videos from Gabrielle Pescador’s Shabbaton Weekend.
Search Committee and Board Approval
On the basis of the Shabbaton events, interviews, and your survey feedback, the rabbi search committee voted unanimously to recommend that Gabrielle Pescador be offered a contract to serve as rabbi of our community. The AARC Board voted unanimously in favor of this recommendation.
Congregation Vote
It is now up to the congregation as a whole to vote on the matter. Our bylaws require approval from a majority of member attendees in order for an offer to be made to the candidate.
If you are a member, please register HERE to join the Zoom meeting on Sunday, April 16, 10-11:30 am for discussion and the vote.
Passover Plans 2023!
Passover Seder Sign Up
One of the things that I love about our congregation is the way that opportunities are built in to be a part of a tight-knit community and make personal connections with people. One of the really special ways that we do this is to make sure that every member has a Seder table to join for the Passover holiday. Being invited to someone’s Seder table is a really meaningful opportunity to experience the Passover Seder through the perspective of another family. The way that everyone approaches the Seder is always different, getting to experience this can provide new insights and ways of looking at the Passover story.
How the process works is that two sign ups are created for people to offer seats at their Seder table and request seats at a seder table. Once that we have all of the information about available and needed seats, we will match families to each other and exchange contact information. If you are interested in participating, sign up here!
Saturday Shabbat During Passover
Second Saturday Shabbat Morning service will fall during shabbat this year. This service will be led by Brenna Reichman and Tara Cohen! These two soulful women will surely bring joy, insight, and lots of heart to your mid-passover week. You won’t want to miss it! The service will be held at the JCC of Ann Arbor and on Zoom at 10:30am, April 8th.
Mimouna Pizza Party Bonfire
We will also be hosting a Mimouna Pizza Party Bonfire at Jeff and Rena Basch’s house at the end of Passover. Mimouna is a Sephardic tradition that celebrates the end of Passover as well as the harvest. Learn more about Mimouna here. Its a really fun way to mark the end of the Passover holiday. Come enjoy pizza, donuts and other chametz at the end of Passover at Rena and Jeff Basch’s house. The party will Friday, April 14th, 6pm-8pm. Address will be sent out to registrants. Sign up to attend HERE!
We hope that you will find an opportunity to connect with each other during the passover holiday this year. As always, let us know if you have any questions!
Shabbaton With Rabbinic Candidate, Gabrielle Pescador 3/17-3/19!
Gabrielle Pescador is a hazzan and soon to be ordained as a rabbi. She serves as Interim Spiritual Leader of Temple B’nai Israel of Petoskey MI and as guest cantor in synagogues throughout the country. In 2018 Gabrielle founded and continues to lead the Rosh Chodesh Online Minyan, and is a regular prayer leader and teacher for Pardes Hannah of Ann Arbor MI. From 2019-2021 she was cantorial soloist for the high holy days for AARC. Gabrielle is a harpist and composer of liturgical music, and considers the harp an instrument of healing. Before entering the ALEPH Ordination program, Gabrielle spent several years working on documentary films and community art projects focused on issues of social justice.
SIGN UP TO ATTEND SMALL GROUP SESSIONS HERE!!!
FRIDAY 3/17/23
-5:30 pm Dinner – sign up here to join a small group for dinner with Gabrielle. Meet promptly at 5:30 at Desi Ruchulu Indian Cuisine
-7:00 pm Hybrid Kabbalat Shabbat services at JCC (Zoom link)
-8:00 pm Dessert Oneg
(Please note differences in this Friday night services than our typical fourth Friday – small group gathering for dinner beforehand, later start time, dessert and schmoozing time afterwards.)
SATURDAY 3/18/23
-10:30 am Hybrid Shabbat Morning Services at JCC (Zoom link)
-12:00 pm Catered lunch at the JCC ( be sure to RSVP here ASAP!)
-1:00 pm Hybrid Adult Education Session (Zoom link)
-2:00 pm Informal Q & A with Gabrielle
-5:00 pm Dinner – small group at Jeff & Rena’s house – sign up here. Menu TBD
-7:00 pm Havdalah, singing, desserts & schmoozing at Paul & Caroline’s house – sign up here. (Desserts are pot-luck.)
SUNDAY 3/19/23
-10:00 am Gabrielle to meet with Beit Sefer parents
-1:00 pm Lunch – small group salad-bar lunch at Debbie & Jan’s house – sign up here.
Purim 2023: Join Us For Purim Fun!
March 6th, 5:30pm–7:30pm at the JCC of Ann Arbor and Online Via Zoom
Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me…It’s Purim!
Hosted by Peter Chagall (not Peter Sagal), the Megillah reading will be woven between bursts of Jewish-themed trivia and antics in the style of NPR’s famous news quiz.
Don’t forget to get festive! Come in costume and bring your graggers- you can dress up as anything, or just come as you are!
The Purim Spiel will be followed by a Pizza and Hamantaschen Oneg. If you feel inspired, feel free to bring a veggie dinner dish or a beverage!
There’ll be lots of all-ages fun: facepainting, festive games, a very contemporary Purimspiel, music from Twas Brillig and the Mazel Tovs (with AARC’s own Daniel Pesach!), triangular potluck, and….
Our annual HAMANTASCHEN CONTEST! There’s no need to register! Just bring 6-12 of your best sweet, savory, or original hamantashen on the plates, and our panel of judges will do the rest! And yes, there are prizes for the winners!
Beit Sefer will also be sharing delicious and lovingly prepared mishloach manot to our seniors at the party– we can deliver these to your homes in Ann Arbor! Please let Marcy know you’d like one by emailing dr_marcy@hotmail.com.
From Treetown to Ethiopia, in the March 2023 Washtenaw Jewish News
Thanks to AARC Beit Sefer (religious school) director Marcy Epstein for this article in the March 2023 Washtenaw Jewish News. For a clearer view of the article see the Washtenaw Jewish News online, page 9.
Refusing to Be Enemies Film Event and Panel
April 23rd, 2:00-4:00pm at the JCC of Ann Arbor and online via Zoom
AARC will be hosting a film showing and speaker panel featuring the groundbreaking documentary, Refusing To Be Enemies: The Zeitouna Story directed by AARC member, Laurie White! The film showing will be followed by Q & A from members of Zeitouna featured in the film. The women will talk about their experience and answer questions about the evolution of the conversation over the past 20 years.
The film showing will be held at the JCC of Ann Arbor on April 23rd at 2pm. The event will be hybrid so that those unable to attend in person can join us via Zoom. Attendees at home and online can participate in the Q & A. Light snacks will be provided. Attendance is free and open to the public. Please sign up to attend below.
Refusing To Be Enemies: The Zeitouna Story Trailer
“REFUSING TO BE ENEMIES: The Zeitouna Story is a 58-minute long 2007
documentary film that profiles … a self-formed group of twelve ordinary women
calling themselves “Zeitouna,” the Arab word for “olive tree.” These six Arabs and
six Jews living in southeast Michigan weave an unusual and intimate tapestry of
sisterhood. Some of the women are American-born, others are immigrants; one is a
Holocaust survivor, another is a survivor of the Nakbah’s terror; their ages span 40
years. Filmmaker Laurie White is a founding member of Zeitouna. Her camera
became an invisible member of this sisterhood, capturing the interior of this sacred
space without ever upsetting and altering the fragile process of the group’s
awakening. The film does not attempt to answer questions of right and wrong, or
how to break the deadlock of the Middle East relationship. Instead, it offers living
proof of how the journey of personal transformation may pave the way to socio-
political transformation and peace.”
