Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

community

Passover Recap 5781!

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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
Photo of locally-sourced seder plate items: Photo Credit Clare Kinberg

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.

Take Part in a Socially Distanced or Virtual Afikomen Hunt This Weekend!

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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!

Appreciation For The Mitzvah Corps

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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.

Hamantaschen Reflections From Past and Present

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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!

AARC Bands Together for Comfort and Comradery on Election Day

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As most of America settled in for a night of watching poll numbers roll in, a pensive bunch of AARC members opened a night of song with ‘Stand By Me’ by Ben E. King. As the numbers trickled in, comfort was found in classic Jewish songs such as ‘Oseh Shalom’ and ‘Olam Chesed,’ as well as old favorites such as ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’ and ‘If I had a Hammer.’ Old friends and new shared thoughts, checked in about what support they might need, and found solace in community.

On the day after the election, the community was welcomed to the weekly Wednesday check-in to discuss how they are doing and what they would like from the community going forward. It is such a blessing to have a community of people invested in providing care for each other during this challenging time! Some ideas for future programming were Jewish learning groups, explorations of Judaism and social justice, interfaith work, and opportunities for personal growth and connection. If you have ideas for programming during the winter months of the pandemic, please email us!

See below for some of the music we enjoyed on Tuesday night.

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!)