Thanks to Avi Eisbruch who reviewed the book The Ten Year War by Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation member Jonathan Cohn, in the April 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News.
The Health Care Debates Explained, in the April 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News
Blog
Passover Recap 5781!
A Month of Passover Workshops
By Gillian Jackson
Our congregation came prepared this year to make the best of the second Passover holiday during the pandemic. It was a true community effort, with a month of member-led enlightening workshops scheduled in an effort to support a meaningful holiday.
The month started off with a create-your-own-Haggadah workshop with Debbie Zivan and Deb Kraus. Once everyone had a chance to start building their own Haggadah, Sharon Haar and Patti Smith led a class that provided useful tips for navigating Zoom seders. Leading up to Passover, Idelle Hammond-Sass and Carol Levin led congregants in a reflection on the idea of dayenu, or ‘enoughness,’ using art-making as a tool of exploration. Days before Passover, Rabbi Ora taught participants about the meaning and ritual for getting rid of chametz, with a special pizza-making workshop following the lesson. The holiday wrapped up with a ‘Songs of Freedom’ musical hour with Laurie White and Paul Resnick.
It is a blessing that our congregation was able to make use of the myriad talents that our membership embodies. Thank you so much to all of our Passover volunteer workshop leaders. Our community is grateful to you!
Beit Sefer’s Locally Sourced Seder Plate Symbol Search
By Clare Kinberg, director of the Beit Sefer
Our AARC Beit Sefer students learned this year that the symbols on a seder plate, plus the matzah and grape juice/wine, are not only props to assist the drama of telling the story of the Exodus. Like everything we eat and use, the seder plate symbols come from somewhere and are made by someone. They symbols themselves can express our values such as regard for the environment. Combining this value with the school’s effort to get the kids outside, I devised a “Locally-Sourced Seder Symbol Search.” The requirement was for each seder plate symbol to be made in Michigan, and we succeeded:
- Matzah: Homemade by Rosh Clare from whole wheat flour grown in Grand Traverse and milled at Zingerman’s Bakehouse
- Horseradish: Grown at The Farm on Jennings and dug by the Ullmann/McLane family.
- Apples for Charoset: Grown organically in Michigan contributed by Moreh Mirel.
- Eggs: Lain in Ann Arbor on the Brenden and Diana Hayden Farms, and picked up by Brenna and Jack.
- Sparkling White Grape Juice: Produced and bottled in Paw Paw, and contributed by the Spindler/Nelson family.
- Greens and Parsley: Grown in Michigan and contributed by the Ball, Dieve, and Levin/Passey families.
- For the shankbone, I introduced my own tradition of using a Hamsa, the Jewish and Muslim hand of protection.
Exploring Shmita through a Modern Lens, in April 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News
Thanks to AARC member Carole Caplan for this article on Shmita in the April 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News.
Upcoming Events in April
As the days get longer and warmer and we welcome spring, we have many opportunities to gather together. We hope that you will be able to join us for this month’s events!
Songs of Freedom: Sunday April 4, 4-5:30 PM. We’ll close out our holiday of liberation singing classic freedom songs together, led by musicians Laurie White and Paul Resnick. To participate, sign up here.
Second Saturday Shabbat Morning Service. Saturday April 10, 10:30 AM. Ta’Shma Come and Learn 10 AM.
AARC Community Book Club: Sunday April 11, 1-2:30 PM. Rabbi Ora will lead a discussion of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, a compassionate and compelling book about unfair treatment by the American criminal justice system of those who are impoverished or Black.
EKAR Farms Shmita Series: Creating Justice for Immigrants: April 18, 12-1 PM. Sarah Jackson, Executive Director of Casa De Paz and Rosa Sabido, founder of Rosa Belongs Here speak about food justice in relation to immigration rights. To learn more and sign up for this months events, see the EKAR farms website.
Fourth Friday Shabbat: April 23, 6:30 PM. Come connect with community, rest, recharge, rejuvenate. Everyone welcome. Shabbat musical service with Rabbi Ora. Email aarcgillian@gmail.com for the zoom link.
Virtual Tour of Jerusalem’s Silwan/City of David with Emek Shaveh: Sunday April 25, 12:30-1:30 PM. When thinking about the political issues of Israel-Palestine, we may not think about the way politicized archaeology plays a role in the shifting of facts and narratives around land, history, and access. Join Emek Shaveh for a virtual tour of Silwan/City of David, an area of Jerusalem where this matter is at the forefront. The program includes a virtual tour from archaeologist Yonathan Mizrahi, as well as time Q+A. Zoom link will be sent out the week prior to the event on our mailer.
We hope to see you at one of this month’s exciting events!
A Year into the Pandemic, Food Reminds Jews of Scarcity and Abundance, in April 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News
Thanks to Etta Heisler for this article in the April 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News.
Take Part in a Socially Distanced or Virtual Afikomen Hunt This Weekend!
There are two opportunities for a fun addition to the Afikomen Hunt portion of your Seder this weekend! If you are having a virtual Seder and would like to engage your guests with a ‘virtual’ Afikomen hunt, we have a hid an Afikomen on our website!
The Afikomen hidden on the website will look like the image below. Comment at the bottom of the blog if you found it!
If you would like to get outside with your guests this weekend, AARC has partnered with other area congregations to host a geo-cache outdoor Afikomen Hunt.
If you take part in either Afikomen Hunt, tell us how it went in the comments below!
Local and Online Resources for Passover
This time around for our ‘virtual’ seders, we have compiled a list of COVID-safe options for catered meals, curbside pickup grocery, and online haggadot. Enjoy the list and if you have any suggestions, please add them in the comments!
Restaurants Catering Passover Meals:
Plum Market: Visit plummarket.com/springcatering to see their Passover Menu.
Zola Bistro: Visit https://www.bistrozola.com/family-passover-celebration-menu/ to see their catered meal and seder plate.
Zingermans Deli: Visit https://www.zingermanscatering.com/passover/#Passover-Menu to see Zingerman’s catered seder plate, seder meal for one, and seder meal for the family.
Cornman Farms: Visit https://shop.zingermanscornmanfarms.com to see their catered meal for two.
Grocery Stores with Passover Supplies:
Plum Market North and West has your regular Passover fare including matzoh, gefilte fish, and Manischewitz cookies in a can!
Kroger on Washtenaw has an online Passover selection you can find here.
Meijer locations in Ann Arbor are currently having a sale on many Kosher for Passover items. You can order these items online and pickup curbside!
Online Haggadah Resources:
If you’re looking for something simple and ready-made, download this Zoom-gaddah, a ready-to-use Powerpoint Haggadah!
Haggadot.com has an online tutorial and many resources for creating your own Haggadah online.
Clare Kinberg compiled an excellent list of creative themed Haggadot in 2018, and Avodah put together an extensive list of Haggadot and seder supplements for adults and kids; the list includes rituals and readings for COVID, immigrant rights, food justice, racial justice, gender justice, and more.
And of course we would be remiss to discuss Haggadot without mentioning our own Carol Levin’s beautiful family Haggadah.
If you have some resources you would like to add to the list, please comment below!
Environmental Education at AARC Religious School, in March 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News
Thanks to Gillian Jackson for this article in the March 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News.
Appreciation For The Mitzvah Corps
By: Barbara Boyk Rust
Reading Anita’s blog post about the Mitzvah Corps spurred me to write this appreciation of the generosity I am receiving from the group.
I am recovering very well from a major surgery that I had in the autumn of 2019. It has been a more extensive process than initially anticipated and my needs for assistance have surpassed anything I have experienced yet in this life. For many of us who take joy in giving care, it is a new challenge to allow ourselves to be cared for, especially when it is more care over a longer period of time than we imagined possible.
For the last few months and ongoing into the future I need rides to attend the physical therapy that is helping me with one of the key aspects of my healing, attaining structural balance and increasing freedom of motion.
Friends and family are helping me in many ways, and I need even more help as this is an extended period of healing. Also, given the world condition with the pandemic, I am not comfortable using public or private transportation like Uber, etc.
The congregation members, in particular, Anita Rubin-Meiller, Claudia Kraus Piper, Mike Ehmann, Janet Greenhut and Rebecca Kanner are helping me enormously.
First there’s the ride itself, their vehicles are clean and safe and feel appropriately tended given the pandemic, all these are stress relievers for me.
Secondly, they’re all great drivers! I am not able to drive at present and this loss of control is not easy for me. Being driven by individuals who are at ease and competent at the wheel offers a calming feeling of being cared for and protected.
Third, as healing is my full-time preoccupation, I am not seeing many people outside of my household in a given week. With the pandemic this is even more the case for all of us. When the driver comes to get me, I have the enjoyment of pleasant company and interesting conversation over the time we are together. Since this is an ongoing healing project for me, our relationships are developing gradually as our conversations evolve over the weeks and now months of our connecting in this way.
What’s the hub of the wheel of community? Connection. And the spokes of that wheel head out in many directions. The spoke that is helping me heal, giving me blessing, and affording me safe and consistent transportation over months to a vital part of my recovery is the spoke of generous giving of time and effort every Monday and Thursday at about 12:30 pm, when someone shows up at my home and takes me to PT. I am grateful and appreciative beyond words for all that it takes in order for this gifting to me to occur.
These mitzvah doers have a spoke of connection to me, yes, and through their goodness, to the One that connects us all. It’s a blessing.
March Events at AARC
As we mark a full year of life during a pandemic, the ability of this congregation to rally its resources in order to create robust programming is evident. Each weekend this month we have programs to help us process the past year and prepare for our next holiday celebration–Passover! All events are on Zoom, and links will be sent out in the AARC mailer the week before the event. If you would like to attend and do not receive our mailer, please email us for the link; everyone is welcome!
Make your Own Haggadah Workshop, Sunday, March 7, 1-2:30 pm.
Two of our congregation’s most creative Debbies, who have collaborated on many a seder through the years, will host a discussion about creating your own haggadah for this year’s sederim.
Topics that will be covered:
Five things you need to consider before embarking
Knowing your audience
Helpful resources
Consistency of content and message: how to balance tradition and innovation
What elements you shouldn’t mess with
Join us for what should be a free-wheeling conversation on Zoom!
Tech Tips from Teachers on Leading Your Zoom Seder, Sunday March 14, 2 pm.
Teachers Patti Smith and Sharon Haar will lead a workshop on how to plan a virtual seder with friends and family over Zoom.
Havdalah and Healing: Marking One Year of the Pandemic in Our Lives, Saturday March 13, 6:30-7:30 pm.
Join AARC to mark the one-year anniversary of the pandemic with a ritual to hold our personal and collective losses and our hope for healing. We will mourn the loved ones we have lost, acknowledge the changes in our lives, and set hopes and intentions for healing and better days to come.
Community Melave Malkah: Saturday March 13, 8 pm.
Author Menachem Kaiser will read from his debut memoir Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (out March 16, 2021 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). The memoir is an incisive and engaging ‘3G’ story of a young man returning to his family’s ancestral home on the Polish-German border in search of a connection with a grandfather he never met—and the relatives he never knew he had. AARC is co-sponsoring this event: Register Here.
‘Dayenu’ Art Workshop, Sunday, March 21, 3- 4:30 pm with Carol Levin and Idelle Hammond-Sass
Join us on a journey into Dayenu (‘Enoughness’) through images, discussion and art-making:
- We’ll explore Dayenu pages from a selection of haggadot chosen for their uniqueness and appeal to different audiences. Dayenu!
- We’ll discuss how the Exodus story and seder themes resonate with us. Dayenu!
- We’ll reflect on everyday miracles from our own experiences. Dayenu!
- We’ll take time to make art, write, and share. Dayenu!
Bring your art materials to the workshop. Bonus: Turn your art into an e-card, social media post or a page in your own Haggadah!
Getting Rid of Our Chametz: A Spiritual and Gastronomical Exploration, Wednesday March 24, 7-8:30 pm
The pre-Passover ritual of bedikat chametz is a kind of leavened-product treasure hunt, where we search for hidden chametz in order to be able to enter into Passover—our freedom holiday—a little less encumbered. In this 2-part workshop, we’ll:
1. Learn about the bedikat chametz ritual with Rabbi Ora, and use its framework to reflect on what we can spiritually leave behind as we enter a new season (7-7:50 pm)
2. Get rid of our literal chametz with a Napolitano-style pizza-making workshop led by Rabbi Ora’s partner, Asa, a dedicated pizza hobbyist (7:50-8:30 pm)
