Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

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Time to think about Camp Tavor

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Thanks to Shani Samuel for sharing her thoughts on Camp Tavor.

My name is Shani Samuel and I help out at the AARC Beit Sefer on Sundays as a teachers assistant and tutor for the 3rd and 4rth graders of the AARC. Although my role is as a teacher, I am still in the process of learning. It might sound a bit strange, but a lot of that learning comes from my summer camp, Camp Tavor.

Tavor-Shani2Tavor provides a framework for informal education where kids between 3rd grade and college age can discuss and learn about Judaism, and topics related to it, in a way which engages and encourages each child to think about and develop their own Jewish identity.

Tavor is my home away from home, and the friends I made there are some of my best. It is an open and accepting environment, where people can really be themselves, and can connect to each other without all the cliquishness and pretension that they face at home.

For more info on Camp Tavor, please visit the Camp Tavor website.

All are welcome at either of two upcoming Ann Arbor info sessions on Camp Tavor

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015,  4:30pm-6:00pm
at the Home of Dana Horowitz and Avram Kluger
2510 Kimberley Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
or
Monday, Feb. 9, 2015,  3:00-4:00
Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor
2937 Birch Hollow Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Questions?  Call Brittany, 224-619-5969

Also feel free to ask the Lessure/Engelbert family,  Zivan family,  Lowenstein family,  Samuel family,  Deb Kraus, Eisbruch family or  Salzman/Newell family about their kids’ Tavor experience.

Connecting Food & Faith

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Thursday, Jan. 22, 7 pm
Panel Discussion at Ann Arbor District Library, downtown (343 South Fifth Avenue)
Multi-Purpose Room

Chuck Warpehoski, the Director of Ann Arbor’s Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice, will moderate a discussion among a variety of different faith perspectives, about how, and why, people of faith link what, and how, they eat to their values and beliefs.

Panelists will include:

  • Reverend Kristin Riegel, First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor
  • Cathy Muha, Mindful Eating Coalition leader, First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor
  • Carole Caplan, Jewish Alliance of Food, Land & Justice / Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation
  • Mansoor Qureshi, President, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Michigan
  • Julie Ritter and Colleen Retherford, Jewel Heart Ann Arbor

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Friendly folks, snacks and more at Sunday Morning Community Learning

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Playing the part of roving blogger, I dropped in on the AARC Community Learning group at the JCC on Sunday morning, Jan. 18, 2015.

Community Learning at the JCC on Sunday, Jan. 18. 2015
Community Learning at the JCC on Sunday, January 18. 2015

What I found was a lovely, welcoming group (they had even brought three different kinds of delicious snacks) and a lively, thoughtful, enjoyable discussion. The topic of the day was mitzvot (commandments), a topic chosen to parallel the Beit Sefer students in their learning about mitzvot. Led by Rabbi Michal, the group explored a range of interesting angles, from the abstract to the concrete. These included the concept of holiness as a Jewish thing and a universal thing, ways of attempting to build Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and Tzedakah (giving) into our lives and our family patterns, and how we feel about lighting Shabbat candles if we need to blow them out to leave the house before they burn out.

The discussion was based on a few chapters of reading from the book Living Judaism, by Rabbi Wayne Dosick. CommunityLearningBook-Wayne-Dosick Due to busy schedules, not everyone had completed the reading, yet everyone was able to jump in and share their thoughts.

The next Sunday morning Community Learning is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015 at the JCC.  Please Contact Rabbi Michal for more info. All are welcome.

Interfaith Musical Chairs: Learning About Our Religious Community

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By Ellen Dannin

Ellen-Dannins-candlesticks3On Sunday afternoon, January 11, I was one of about 30 people – each of whom was leading a small circle of up to 4 people in an introduction to one of Ann Arbor’s religions. It was part of an event sponsored by the Interfaith Council of Washtenaw County and the dynamics were a bit like speed dating. The person leading each group got twenty minutes to provide information about the religion to the rest of the circle. Proselytizing was forbidden. Giving people information and bringing in some item that is important to the religion was encouraged.

My personal information focused on lighting shabbat candles on the candlesticks that my great-grandmother brought with her when she left Turkey in 1915.

The item I brought was my personal copy of the Reconstructonist siddur. I showed people how it reflected values important to Reconstructionist Judaism — in particular, the high priority we place upon inclusiveness. Our siddur lets people be on the same page literally and figuratively. It invites us all to participate, even if we cannot read Hebrew. It gives us ways to be creative with services. On many pages it provides information that increases our knowledge and enhances our practice. And it is a beautiful book with lovely and creative images. In short, it is a perfect example of hiddur mitzvah — expanding on and beautifying each mitzvah.

Edible Home Landscapes: From saving seeds to harvesting from your trees

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Edible Landscapes

Sunday, February 1, 2015, 1 pm – 3 pm, at the JCC
Join us in honor of Shmita and Tu B’shevat

Think beyond grocery stores, farmers markets, and CSAs – what if healthy foods were right outside your kitchen door?

Local plant guru Erica Kempter from Nature and Nurture Seeds will educate us on soils, seeds, and trees needed to create edible landscapes at home.

Dialogue, text study, hands-on learning, and refreshments.

Admission is free, but please pre-register!

Event is at the JCC, 2935 Birch Hollow Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.

Organized by the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation, Pardes Hannah and the Jewish Alliance for Food, Land, and Justice.

This event made possible in part with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor.

Tu B’Shevat Potluck/Seder (Tues. Feb. 3)

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Tree-with-animals-(green-tint)Tu B’Shevat, the 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar, marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees. This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. An ecological approach to this holiday considers human interaction with the natural environment, a mystical approach considers human interaction within a spiritual environment.  After a potluck dinner at 6:30 pm, we will explore both through a Tu B’shevat seder of fruits, nuts, wine, and juice.

It’s all happening at Carole Caplan’s house.  Please RSVP to Carole (caplan.carole@gmail.com or 847-922-9693); she’ll send you the address and directions.

OR, if you’d like to have your own seder, here’s a guide you might use, from member Ellen Dannin.

The Dopp/Berman family gets profiled!

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Dopp-Berman Family
Deb & Rich, Ian & Jordan

Deb Berman and Rich Dopp joined AARC several years ago, but haven’t had a member profile yet.  So find out much more about them in this lovely piece at MGoBlue.com; turns out they were serious gymnasts in college and have been doing fascinating things since.  (Nice throwback Thursday pictures, too.)  Their kids, Ian and Jordan, will have a b’nei mitzvah with us in November 2015.

January Community Learning–Sunday morning

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Everyone is invited to join the Beit Sefer students in their learning about mitzvot/commandments. Our study will dovetail with the second session of the guided reading series that began last week (yes, you can still join this!) We will explore the nature and history of Judaism’s system of laws and ethics, its evolution over the centuries and what our own relationships with this concept in our lives.

Join us at 10am on Sunday, January 18th at the JCC. Preparatory reading materials will be available via email in advance or at 9:30 that morning.  To receive/reserve study materials or for any other questions about learning at the AARC contact Rav Michal.

Never a Bystander: Free Screening Followed by Q&A

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Filmmaker Evelyn Neuhaus and film subject Irene Butter at the premiere in May, 2014.
Filmmaker Evelyn Neuhaus and film subject Irene Butter at the premiere in May, 2014.

AARC Member Evelyn Neuhaus has created a documentary about Irene Butter, who has spent nearly 30 years visiting schools and inspiring countless children to find the courage to take compassionate action and transcend obstacles.  The film is about making courageous choices in the face of injustice.  It’s 30 minutes long and will be screened this Sunday at the JCC, followed by Q&A with Evelyn and Irene Butter.

Sunday, January 11, 4pm at the JCC (2935 Birch Hollow Drive).  Admission is Free

More information about the film is available at its website.  A flyer for the screening is here.

Fun AARC outing to Asian Legend and Michigan/State Theaters

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By Emily Eisbruch

Enjoying Chinese dinner and a movie turned out to be the perfect way to share a great time with AARC friends on Christmas 2014.  Thanks to Mike Ehmann for graciously and efficiently coordinating a group of 33.

The Chinese dinner kicked off at Asian Legend Restaurant on East William Street about 5pm.  That place was hopping, both when we arrived and even more so when we left about 70 minutes later.  The dinner was buffet style, making it quick and easy to get firsts and seconds! (Appreciation goes to the staff at Asian Legend for welcoming our group and making everything quite seamless.) As you can see from the photos, there were plenty of smiles and lots of schmoozing.

In addition to Rav Michal and Jon and Sima joining, we had a fun surprise visit from our former Rabbinical Intern, Aura Ahuvia, now a Rabbi at Woodstock Jewish  Congregation in NY.

Along with quite a few others, my husband Avi and son Gil and I headed to the Michigan Theater after dinner to see  “The Imitation Game” about Alan Turing.  What did we think of the film? Glad this movie got made, glad we saw it, though at times it seemed overly produced to be clever and even cute. Is it ridiculously geeky to wish they had revealed a bit more about code breaking and the way the bombe (the cryptanalytic machine at Bletchley Park) worked?  Okay, I guess that’s what Wikipedia is for.

Thanks again to all the friends who made Dec. 25, 2014 special and fun.