Thanks to AARC member Carole Caplan for this article on Shmita in the April 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News.
Exploring Shmita through a Modern Lens, in April 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News
Blog
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)
Hamantaschen Reflections From Past and Present
By Gillian Jackson and Carol Lessure
Spending time in the kitchen making food together is one of those particular situations that no matter who you are with, good conversation and connection are surely to come. Some of my fondest memories are of time spent in the kitchen with loved ones. Last weekend’s Hamantaschen workshop did not disappoint! Etta Heisler and Laurie White provided some invaluable tips and techniques to help their fellow bakers perfect their Hamantaschen craft. In addition to their priceless anecdotes, members were given the opportunity to simply spend time together in the kitchen, and what a privilege this seems to be during this time of isolation!
Carol Lessure wrote a lovely reflection on the community that is built around times in the kitchen in ‘normal times.’ Enjoy!
AARC has always enjoyed silly, fun times during Purim. We have had many a Megillah reading, and lots of spiels, tons of costumes and of course yummy food enjoyed together. Last year, we had two face to face celebrations – crazy right?
When Gillian reached out to me about a Hamantaschen-baking workshop online, it reminded me of the many years that the Lessure Engelbert family hosted Hav families and friends to bake cookies in our home.
It all started with a call for homemade Hamantaschen for dessert at a catered luncheon followed by a Purim spiel a decade ago. Then, the Beit Sefer requested some to fill Mishloach Manot. I thought it would be more fun to tackle the big baking task together. What followed was a 7-year tradition of baking cookies at our home. At first, the little ones needed lots of supervision and quickly tired of the task; a few years later and the tweens took over and the adults could visit over coffee and snacks. Then families with younger ones came over and the teenagers showed them how to do it.
We figured out that people just liked hanging out – so we started popping pizzas into the oven after the cookies baked. Each family would bring a side dish to share for dinner. Our boys were happy to host and soon the tweens and teens would gravitate downstairs for Wii games while adults hung out on the main floor.
One year, I woke up with a fever and chills. I kept to our bedroom and the cookie-baking went on without me. It is truly a testament to our community spirit that not only did the cookies get made, but our guests left the main floor and kitchen cleaner and tidier than they found it! Not only that, but no one came down with whatever I had. Obviously, this happened long before we’d heard of COVID-19.
We thought it would be fun to share these memories and some vintage photos – may we be together again next year!
Carol’s “Best Hamantachen” (recipe is from Leva Lessure – aka Carol’s mom). Published in “Nobody Cooks Like Jewish Women” – NCJW National Capitol Area Section, 1992:
1 cup shortening (butter, margarine)
3 eggs (or make flax “eggs” with 1 tablespoon of fresh ground flax with 3 tablespoons of water for each egg you are substituting)
1 cup sugar
Cream sugar and butter together, add eggs one at a time
1 tsp of vanilla
3 tablespoons of honey (or agave for the vegans)
2 tablespoons of orange juice
Add these ingredients and mix well
4 cups flour
3 tsp of baking powder
½ tsp of salt
Sift the dry ingredients together – esp. baking powder so it doesn’t clump
Slowly add in dry ingredients into the blended wet ones
Once all the ingredients are well blended, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Take out only a small amount at a time and keep dough refrigerated – it will become very sticky when warm and difficult to roll and cut.
Cut two inch circles with a juice glass or cookie cutter, add a small spoonful of filling in the center and pinch the sides to form a triangle – leave a hole in the middle so that filling can be seen.
Baked on greased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until edges begin to brown. Cool for 5-10 minutes because filling stays hot longer than the cookies.
We prefer Solo brand fillings: Poppyseed, Prune and Apricot are traditional in our family. Cherry, chocolate and sweet cream cheese are good too!
A Mitzvah Committee Update
By: Anita Rubin-Meiller
Dear Chevre,
For many years, the Mitzvah Committee has been functioning to meet the needs of AARC members in a variety of ways. These include offering rides to services or medical appointments; providing meals during an illness or after the birth of a child; assisting with shiva set-up, and with preparing the space for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. There are currently 7 members on the committee.
In the year prior to pandemic lock-down, we met once a quarter for personal sharing, reviewing how the committee was functioning, and considering new ideas. Just before lock-down, some of our members were gearing up to offer new support groups, one for folks with aging parents and one for parents of teens. These were put on hold, as were the quarterly meetings.
On January 31, we had our first virtual gathering and noted that although we hadn’t been seeing each other in person, we were still functioning. Our members helped to organize and provide ongoing phone support for congregants; took part in providing meals for new parents; helped connect former members with Rabbi Ora for shiva support; and helped with groceries here and there for folks who felt too at risk to get to a store.
We continue to be open to looking at new ways to serve the AARC community, increase involvement from other members, and perhaps extend beyond our congregation with a community project. We welcome your requests for assistance and your interest in volunteering. Please fill out this mitzvah committee form if you feel ready to be part of the team. Initial contact can be made with Anita Rubin-Meiller, the committee chair, at anita1018@sbcglobal.net. Our next quarterly meeting will be on Sunday, April 25th.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ― Leo Buscaglia
