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Online Jewish Resources for Shelter-in-Place

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I cannot be the only person who spends way too much time online reading headline after headline about COVID-19. It is exhausting and mentally taxing to contemplate at length something as overwhelming as a global pandemic. In an effort to steer you away from the headlines and closer to an intellectually stimulating diversion, we have compiled a list of interesting Jewish programming available online in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

For Adults:

For Families with Children:

I hope you enjoy this list of resources! A big thanks to Rabbi Ora for her tireless work to gather these resources and be a source of both peace and levity for our community.

Please share any additional resources in the comments section!

Your Virtual Seder Resource!

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Passover is quickly approaching; the first night falls on Wednesday, April 8th. And this year, the holiday comes during an extraordinary time.

The central commandment of Passover—retelling the story of the Exodus–asks that we consider ourselves as if we, too, had journeyed from narrowness to openness and from oppression to liberation.

This year, more than any in recent memory, that narrative rings true. We are currently in a narrow place; and, for that very reason, we must take the opportunity to make this year’s holiday one of engagement, connection, and celebration.

In accordance with recent guidelines from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, we urge our community to restrict in-person seders to household members AND open up our seders to connect virtually with loved ones near and far.

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Below, you’ll find articles, classes, videos, and links to help you prepare for Passover 2020:

I want to host a seder. How do I plan for that?

Wonderful! If you’d like to try online hosting a seder this year, there are resources available to help you plan (see below).

While you’re planning your seder, please consider the holy mitzvah of welcoming others to your virtual table: Sign up here if you’re able to open your seder to members of our community.

I want to be hosted. How do I find a virtual seder to attend?

  1. Be on the lookout for an email later this week that will allow you to sign up to attend AARC members’ online seders.
  2. Sign up in advance to join Jewish Women International’s Virtual Seder on Thursday, April 9 at 8 pm EDT.
  3. Havaya (Reconstructing Judaism’s summer camp) is hosting a one-hour Virtual Family Seder on Thursday, April 9 at 7 pm EDT; sign up here to register.
  4. Join the Haggadot.com team, journalist Esther Kustanowitz, and other special guests for an everyone-welcome, fifth ‘night’ Virtual Seder on Sunday, April 12 at 2 pm EDT (join via Zoom or Facebook livestream).

How do I plan my own virtual seder?

  • Alma.com has a fantastically comprehensive guide for putting together a collaborative, meaningful seder — even when the guests are physically far away.
  • Watch the video ‘The Art of Virtually Gathering: Passover 2020.’
  • Attend a free online class this Thursday April 2 on ‘Practical Pesach Seder Ideas and Suggestions in Response to Corona’ (you’ll need to register in advance).
  • From OneTable, myriad resources for Passover 2020, including a Solo Seder Guide, Passover Recipe Guide, Passover Playlist, and links to a curated selection of haggadot.

Which haggadot should I use?

….And consider these of-the-moment additions:

How do I plan a kid-friendly seder?

  • AARC member Carol Levin has generously made her delightful Haggadah Regatta into a PDF for anyone to use.
  • Check out Reform Judaism’s many family-friendly Passover resources, including crafts, coloring pages, fun quizzes, 8 great haggadot for young people, a chocolate seder (!), and model seders for kids of all ages.

How do I prepare my home for Passover?

How do I spiritually prepare for Passover?

  • Attend a free online class next Monday April 6, ‘Soulful Passover Preparation’ (you’ll need to register in advance).
  • Explore some of the articles in this Passover 2020 reader from Uri Le’Tzedek.

Blessings for healthy, joyful, and connected zman cheruteinu (season of our liberation),

Rabbi Ora

New COVID-19 page on website with updates and resources

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By Mark Schneyer

AARC’s website now features a page on pandemic-related issues for the benefit of our community. It includes:

  • The latest updates on how we are shifting services and programming online and how you can participate;
  • Links to resources to get or give help in our community; and
  • A cumulative and continually updated list of Rabbi Ora’s links to music, meditation, chanting, and rituals, as shared in her emails.

The page can be reached from the menu throughout the site and directly at https://aarecon.org/covid-19-information-resources/. I hope you’ll check it out soon and continue to seek it out whenever you need it during this challenging time.

Purim Fun 2020

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AARC experienced a long weekend of Purim fun!

Beit Sefer students began their celebration with a collaborative Purim party with the Jewish Cultural Society. The children enjoyed Purim-themed games and crafts, savored delicious snacks, and created Mishloach Manot for those in need in our community. It was a joy to celebrate with new friends from JCS; we look forward to further collaborations!

Alan Haber displays his Megillah housing.

The fun continued Monday evening with the rest of the congregation, beginning with a Megillah reading and ending with a dessert potluck. This year’s theme was “Make Some Noise!” After a parade to display the many creative costumes, members shared stories of when they had “spoken truth to power,” during a Moth-style improv storytelling exercise.

Many thanks to the Festival Committee for their hard work in putting together this evening’s events.

Ringmaster Rabbi!
Drake reads the Megillah.

Bring a Friend Shabbat!

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AARC hosts ‘Bring a Friend’ Shabbat on March 27th at the JCC of Ann Arbor.

Being together in holy community is an integral part of Judaism. The community, or kehilla, is the crucial element that has sustained us as a people over years of diaspora. It is such an important part of our religious practice, that we are not even allowed to study Torah without a minyan, or ten people of the community.

AARC is blessed with a warm, loving, and intellectually vibrant membership. Nothing beats welcoming Shabbat in a room filled with friendship, prayer, and joyful song!

Your friends and acquaintances might well be waiting for an opportunity to explore a congregation like ours. ‘Bring a Friend’ Shabbat provides an event just for them. They may feel more comfortable knowing there will be others there who are unfamiliar with the congregation attending along with them. Or perhaps you have been talking to a friend about AARC, but haven’t found the opportunity to bring them to services – this is your chance!

Members will benefit from meeting one another’s friends from outside AARC. We may in fact discover that even more connections within the Ann Arbor Jewish world than we imagine!

I look forward to seeing everyone and their new friends and loved ones on March 27th at the JCC of Ann Arbor. If your friends have young ones, please encourage them to attend Tot Shabbat at 5:45pm. Regular Shabbat services will begin at 6:30pm, followed by our usual potluck. (It wouldn’t be a bad idea to double our recipes for this potluck!)

Get Ready for Purim 2020: Make Some Noise!

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Written by: Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner

Purim is a story of revolution and social transformation. The megillah recounts how two Jews worked within an oppressive system to allow victims of persecution to rise up, defend themselves, and claim their rights.

One of these Jews was called Esther; the other was Mordechai. Both of them were inspiring (and not-uncomplicated) ancient radicals. 

So who are our modern-day Esthers and Mordechais? 

On Monday, March 9 at 7 pm, we’ll celebrate Purim 2020: Make Some Noise. In addition to megillah-reading, noshing, laughing, and noise-making, we’re planning a Moth-style storytelling moment, and asking YOU to tell us a (1-minute) tale of when YOU took a stand, made some noise, got the attention of people in power, or nudged a community one step closer to justice. 

Give us a forshbeis (a nibble/appetizer) of your story in the comments below! 

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Looking forward to celebrating Purim 2020: Make Some Noise with AARC? We’re looking forward to celebrating with YOU! Sign up here to read a chapter of the megillah in English, bring hamantaschen, or contribute to our dessert potluck.

How else can you prepare for Purim 2020: Make Some Noise?

  • learn more about Purim-as-revolution
  • prepare a costume on the themes of Speaking Truth to Power, Which Jew Are You, or Big-Topsy-Turvy 
  • craft your most creative noisemaker
  • start thinking of yourself as your own personal Purim hero!

Beit Sefer Celebrates Tu BiShvat at the Botanical Gardens

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Beit Sefer spent last Sunday morning enjoying the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. AARC member Drake Meadow led the group on an informative tour. Students learned about many of the beautiful and bountiful plants at the Botanical Gardens. Drake described three categories of fruits that feature in Jewish lore: Beriah (fruits with soft cores), Yetzirah (fruits with a pit) , and Asiyah (fruits enclosed in an inedible shell). The students enjoyed categorizing the different fruits they found around the gardens.

After the tour, families gathered to eat a special Tu BiShvat snack of trail mix, fruit, and hot cocoa, accompanied by Jewish folktales told by Clare Kinberg and Drake.

What a lovely way to celebrate the “birthday of the trees,” with both fun and learning! If you know of a family that might like to participate in similar events with our lively Beit Sefer program, please direct them to our website.

Please enjoy the photos below!

“Jews Wandering In The Desert.” Photo credit: Fred Feinberg.
Drake teaches AARC students and families about the edible plants at the Botanical Gardens. Photo Credit: Clare Pritchard.
Marcy adds some interesting tidbits of knowledge to Drake’s tour! Photo Credit: Clare Pritchard.
Drake shares a story about using the low view when making plans for environmental sustainability.
Clare shares Jewish folktales with Beit Sefer students during a special Tu BiShvat snacktime.

AARC Attends “Stop The Bleed, Save A Life” Training

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Most of us do not expect to encounter a situation in which we will be required to provide care a life-threatening injury. Yet these injuries, although rare, can occur anywhere– including places where medical help may not be quickly accessible.

To bridge this gap, several AARC members attended a “Stop The Bleed, Save A Life” training last week offered by St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor and the Community Security Committee. The training was developed by the American College of Surgeons together with a coalition of medical groups following the Sandy Hook and Boston Marathon shootings, with the goal of educating civilians on rapid response to blood loss.

Uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death from trauma. An injured person may experience life-threatening blood loss before an ambulance is able to arrive. If a bystander is able to stop or even slow the flow of blood before the ambulance arrives, the victim’s life may be saved.

The training went over the ABCs of bleeding trauma care: Alert 911. Find the Bleeding. Compress the injury. Using an artificial arm made of foam, we learned various methods of compression, such as wound packing (shown below), applying a tourniquet (shown above), and applying pressure on top of the wound.

AARC keeps a wound care emergency kit supplied by Safety Liaison Dave Nelson in the welcome table supply basket. It contains all the supplies we would need to provide Stop the Bleed care.

Now that a few additional members of our congregation are educated in the best methods to control bleeding in a life-threatening situation, we can take pride in having learned another way to take care of one another. While we cannot be prepared for every eventuality, this training constitutes a good start. The Federation and the Community Safety Committee hope to organize further trainings on related topics.

For more information on “Stop the Bleed, Save A Life” trainings, please visit stopthebleed.org.

Participants from the AARC and the JCC practicing wound packing.

Tu B’ishvat 2020: Let’s Take Stock of Our Environment

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The function of Tu B’ishvat in the ancient world was to mark the season of taxation and accounting: farmers would count their olive trees in order to measure their wealth and then tithe accordingly. In modern times, Tu B’ishvat has been reimagined as an environmental holiday during which we celebrate nature and all that it provides.

This weekend, the sun emerged to remind us that the short days of winter are limited and spring is on the horizon. Eager gardeners are readying their seed trays and surveying their gardens. Hikers and runners are reacquainting themselves with favorite trails. Nature appreciators of all kinds are looking forward to reveling in the joys of spring. So often we partake of nature’s gifts without taking time to give thanks for the fragile ecosystem that grants us life.

Now, in 2020, the connection between our collective actions and the state of our environment is at a critical point. Tu B’ishvat’s origins as a reminder to account for our use of nature are strikingly relevant. How can we now make use of our natural resources while still maintaining accountability? Can we find ways in our lives and communities to counteract the measures of our policymakers that are hostile to our environment?

In this year’s celebration of Tu B’ishvat, let us reflect on the current state of our environment and find ways to make positive change for our communities. Do you have any ideas for environmental work? Please share them below!