Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Tikkun Olam

Opportunity for AARC co-sponsorship of refugee family

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Co-Sponsorship Program for resettlement and support of refugees – initial call for AARC volunteer(s)!   

We have the opportunity to participate with Beth Israel Congregation (BIC), Temple Beth Emeth, Jewish Cultural Society (JCS) and Pardes Hannah to sponsor a refugee family through Jewish Family Services’ (JFS) Co-Sponsorship Program.

JFS was established to support community resettlement efforts, and since 1993 they have resettled more than 1,000 refugees and other types of immigrants from all over the world.  JFS is the only resettlement agency in Washtenaw County.  It is one of very few resettlement agencies that provide a continuum of services from pre-arrival all the way through naturalization. The JFS services are holistic and focused on addressing all critical needs and long-term success of each client.

The Co-Sponsorship Program matches community sponsor groups with newly arriving Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, refugees, and humanitarian parolees.  Community sponsor groups will provide resettlement services in partnership with JFS with the goal of establishing a robust community of volunteers and a mechanism for refugees to develop long-term (12-month) supportive co-sponsor relationships.

Committed co-sponsoring groups will provide reception and placement services to new arrivals, which include: securing and furnishing housing, welcoming families upon arrival and ensuring basic needs, finding employment, conducting cultural orientation, and more.  Upwards of 30 volunteers will be needed for the first 2 months of the family’s arrival.

Organizing for this co-sponsorship is just beginning, and at this time we are looking for one or two AARC members to serve on the initial organizing committee.  If you are interested in serving as a point person for AARC, please contact Rena Basch (rena.h.basch@gmail.com).  Also, please note if you are interested but not able to serve on this initial organizing committee there will be many other ways to get involved, many support committees and volunteer roles to fill.

Today the words of the Haggadah are as poignant and vital as ever. “In every generation, a person is obligated to see themselves as though they came forth from Egypt.”  

Image from Antoine Merour

AARC Mitzvah Corps – an Essential Ingredient of a Caring Community

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“Mitzvah comes from the root word tzavta, which means connection. There are 613 mitzvot, and therefore, 613 way to connect to G-d.”
– Rabbi Zushe Greenberg

I appreciate this definition of mitzvah, which goes beyond doing a good deed or following a commandment, and adds connection as an essential ingredient.  The AARC Mitzvah Corps strives to create for its members a feeling of connection and support that can then be brought forward to meet the needs of members of the congregation with compassionate caring. Towards that end, we hold quarterly meetings that begin with a personal sharing of a blessing and a challenge since we last met. In this way we have supported each other through health challenges, losses, changes in career or living situations, family stresses.  Through that feeling of being connected it is easy to feel moved to connect to others when they are in need. Connection is the heart and soul of our mission – “to mobilize support when needed” and our vision – “to create a non-judgmental community in which it is natural to ask for and receive help.”

Much of what we have mobilized to do has been to help individual members in need. This has encompassed needs that arise from joy – setting up the worship and celebration areas for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, and needs that arise from sorrow – helping the bereaved host a Shiva. We have organized meal chains for families bringing home a newborn and for individuals moving through significant illness. We have provided rides to medical appointments, and organized daily support calls during these times of increased isolation created by the pandemic.

Currently, we are interested in receiving input from the community on several important factors as we move forward into 2022. We have created a survey that will take just a few moments of your time so that you can tell us what you might be available to offer, what you might use the offerings of the Mitzvah Corps for, and whether you want to join us. Please help us out by going to either of these links:

https://forms.gle/QgFCfDuVUYrc5kGV6

bit.ly/AARC_Mitzvah

Thanks for your time and support, 

Anita Rubin-Meiller, Mike Ehmann,  Caroline Richardson, Sharon Haar, and Idelle Hammond-Sass

The Interesting Intersection of Tu B’Shvat and Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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Often times the long list of social justice issues that need addressing seem like an insurmountable mountain to climb. But when social justice movements converge, it provides unique opportunities for us to collaborate and scale these high peaks of injustice together. Racial justice and environmental justice are not mutually exclusive; in truth, you can not have one without the other. The intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Tu B’Shvat are full of meaning and lessons to be learned if we study them together on this double holiday!

This Tu B’Shvat Seder written by Rabbi Arthur Waskow provides a wonderful opportunity to explore this relationship. This Seder explores climate change, our communal responsibilities to each other, the battles over fossil fuel pipelines running through native communities, and more. If you are planning a Tu B’Shvat seder this year, it is worth a look! Rabbi Waskow says, “But there is a life-giving way, a sacred way, a way of love: At the same moment when we honor the rebirth of trees, the rebirth of the Tree of Life, we honor the birthday of Martin Luther King and the rebirth of the energy he symbolized.”

Hazon has made a few Tu B’Shvat Haggadahs that provide interesting insight for us this year. Here is a family Tu B’Shvat Seder. This Seder asks meaningful questions that families can discuss together and provides a shopping list for ritual objects that you will need! This Hazon Seder from 2019 would be a good one to use this year because the holiday coincided with MLK Day that year as well; it focuses on the moral imperatives of our time as a segue into the double holiday.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is often used to beautify communal spaces. It is not uncommon to find people cleaning parks or rivers on MLK Day. Combining a social justice environmental project is a great opportunity to celebrate MLK’s legacy of taking action to make our world a better place and celebrating nature and trees for Tu B’Shvat. Here are some service opportunities in our area that speak to these double meanings:

I hope that your MLK Day and Tu B’Shvat is full of meaning and purpose this year. If you take part in any of the activities shared here, please take a picture and share with us!!

AARC Mitzvah Corps – an Essential Ingredient of a Caring Community

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By Anita Rubin-Meiller written for the Washtenaw Jewish News

“Mitzvah comes from the root word tzavta, which means connection. There are 613 mitzvot, and therefore, 613 ways to connect to G-d.”
– Rabbi Zushe Greenberg

I appreciate this definition of mitzvah, which goes beyond doing a good deed or following a commandment, and adds connection as an essential ingredient. When I became chair of the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation (AARC) Mitzvah Corps several years ago, I knew that what we could offer to the larger community would best be generated by what we offered each other to build connection, support, and a sense of being known. Towards that end, we began having quarterly meetings, which moved to Zoom during shutdown and have been in person since the availability of the vaccine. The meetings begin with a personal sharing of a blessing and a challenge since we last met. In this way we have supported each other through health challenges, losses, changes in career or living situations, family stresses.  Through that feeling of being connected it is easy to feel moved to connect to others when they are in need. Connection is the heart and soul of our mission – “to mobilize support when needed” and our vision – “to create a non-judgmental community in which it is natural to ask for and receive help.”

Connection is the heart and soul of our mission – “to mobilize support when needed” and our vision – “to create a non-judgmental community in which it is natural to ask for and receive help.”

Early on the Pandemic showed us that support might have to arrive in ways that we were unaccustomed to. We were placed in lockdown in March, 2020 and a month later, a former beloved member of our congregation notified me that she had just lost her mother and was seeking support for one night of Shiva. She and her family had other resources for Shiva as well, but it was especially important to her during this time of “virtual only” contact to be with people who knew her, her family and may even have known her mother. She had been an active member of the congregation for many years and had celebrated the Bar and Bat Mitzvahs of her children with us. It was a certain joy to be able to connect her with Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner and know that her needs in the midst of grief would be well tended to. The Mitzvah Corps notified  the congregation of the chance to offer support, and our first Zoom Shiva was manifested. While a Zoom Shiva could never substitute for the in-person hugs, warm personal exchanges, and provision of food that happen in person, for this woman, seeing familiar faces, in a religious context that meant a lot to her, “felt like home”.

Another request prompted by the societal circumstances we found ourselves in was from a long time AARC member with chronic health issues that impacted her mobility and sense of safety. At the start of the pandemic, she was experiencing greater physical difficulty, and had had a couple of falls. It was also just barely a year since she had lost her beloved husband, and her loneliness and isolation was acutely felt. At the suggestion of a good friend, she contacted the Mitzvah Corps and explored what support could be offered. We created a chain of daily phone calls with a combination of AARC members and personal friends, that continues to this day. She says she is “so thankful” and that through these calls she has come to trust that “someone cares about me”.

Some needs met by the Mitzvah Corps, such as helping families host services for B’nei Mitzvah have been unnecessary during these past 2 years. Other needs have remained the same. We have organized meal chains for families bringing home a newborn and for individuals moving through significant illness or injury. We have provided rides to medical appointments and assisted with grocery shopping. We have been grateful that when a need is made known, many members of our congregation rise to the occasion to pitch in.

As it is designed now, the five Mitzvah Corps members carry the responsibility to mobilize support when and where it is called for. All requests come through the chair person and are either met by her, or assigned accordingly. We have been glad to be available during these difficult times, but at times have also felt the strain of higher demand, as when two of our members were significantly injured and another’s family was ill with Covid. 

The pandemic also thwarted initial efforts from some Corps members to start new offerings, a support group for families caring for their elders and a support group for parents of teens. Hopefully these will happen in the future.

“You don’t always think of yourself as someone who will need something, but we are all vulnerable and there are times we will need help.”

At our most recent quarterly meeting we began to address the issues of increasing membership in the Mitzvah Corps and being better able to know, and meet, what the needs of the congregation’s members truly are. As we puzzled over what we’d want others to know about our efforts, one member, Caroline Richardson, observed: “You don’t always think of yourself as someone who will need something, but we are all vulnerable and there are times we will need help.” Our board liason, Debra Gombert, observed:” the act of bringing a meal to congregation members in need was about connection, not cooking; about being in community and creating community.”

It seems that the Covid pandemic and other factors in the past few years have highlighted great need in many areas for many people. It can be overwhelming to know where you can have an impact that matters, if that is your desire. But, as it says in the Mishnah, “Anyone who saves a life, it is as if they saved an entire world.” The AARC Mitzvah Corps offers an opportunity to lighten the burden of one individual, or family, and by doing so increase your own sense of well -being and joy. 

If you would like to learn more about the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation please visit aarecon.org, or contact Gillian Jackson at aarcgillian@gmail.com or Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner at rabbi@aarecon.org.

To see this article in the December 2021 Washtenaw Jewish News, scroll to Page 19 here. https://washtenawjewishnews.org/PDFs/WJN-12-21-web.pdf

Heartfelt Connections Blossom within AARC’s Mishpocha Groups

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At the beginning of the pandemic, congregation members expressed a need to build connection while they were at home during quarantine. Thus ‘Mishpocha Groups’ were born! Mishpocha groups consist of 5-10 members each and represents AARC members of all stripes. Most groups meet weekly on zoom, though some meet every other week or monthly. The groups have been a profound source of support for most in this time of isolation. New friendships have blossomed and old friendships have grown stronger through the connections that have been built within the Mishpocha groups. As we enter into the darker and colder months of winter, let’s hear from members about how these groups have warmed their hearts.


“When the pandemic hit, I’d been attending services at AARC for just over a year, and had started seeing familiar faces and meeting people at Friday services, but hadn’t had time to form closer connections. Joining a mishpocha group seemed like a fun idea but I had no idea how it would go. I certainly didn’t expect that I would look forward to our calls every week, and miss them each time I couldn’t make it; I didn’t expect these people to go from vague acquaintances to some of the closest emotional connections in my life; I didn’t expect to have an hour every week to feel loved and supported and seen. It’s an aptly named group! They’re my family now.”


“As somebody who lives alone this mishpacha group means a lot.  The Wednesday night congregation gatherings at the start of the pandemic, with breakout rooms, were also fantastic, in the way they allowed personal interaction.  The process of getting to know one another and creating closeness can be profound and powerful.”
 


“We have made good friends. It’s a very interesting group of people. We have talked about a lot of things, including recipes, travel, misinformation, challenging issues happening at the University of Michigan, 9/11 memories and reflections.”


“The mishpacha group meeting every week was helpful in dealing with the isolation
at the start of the pandemic.  We got to know each other, and it’s been nice to check in every week.”


“The mishpacha group every Monday at 7:30pm became a point of stability during the week.”

There is a new Mishpocha group forming! If you would like to include this important ritual in your life this year, email us and we will connect you!

A Mitzvah Committee Update

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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

High Holidays 2020 Was An Epic Team Effort! Thank You To All Of Our Volunteers!!!

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One of the qualities that makes our congregation a warm and welcoming organization is the sense of family and responsibility that we hold for one another. When someone gets involved in the workings of AARC, it becomes apparent to them that each and every member brings something valuable to the table, be it music, writing, community building, law, activism, education, technological expertise, etc. We could not be who we are without every single one of us. It is a rare honor to be a part of such an organization, one that everyone believes in and values.

In this spirit, we would like to take time to recognize the list of wonderful volunteers that helped make the High Holidays happen this year. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you!!

Haftorah readers: Melissa Meiller, Molly Kraus-Steinmetz, Carl Gombert, Rose Basch, Ruby Lowenstein, Tommy Cohn, Noah Resnicow, Ari Basch, Otto Nelson, Miriam Stidd, Jacob Schneyer, Eli Kirshner, Sam Ball, Jasmine Lowenstein, Brayan Zivan, Lillie Schneyer, Elliot Bramson, Zander McLane

Zoom Gabbais: Hannah Davis, Rebecca Kanner, Brenna Deichman, Debbie Gombert, Jeff Baasch, Deborah Fisch, Mark Schneller, Amy Tracy Welles

Discussion monitors: Clare Kinberg, Debbie Field, Emily Eisbruch

Tishrei Bag Committee: Laurie White, Carol Levin, Jen Hall, Evelyn Neuhaus, Clare Kinberg

Tishrei Bag Construction Crew: The Meadows Family, The Reichman Family, The Levin Family, The Dieve Family, The Jackson Family

Welcoming remarks: Deborah Fisch, Sam Bagenstos, Dave Nelson

Tech Committee: Mark Schneyer, Erica Ackerman, Stephanie Rowden, Hannah Davis

Haftarah Video: Stephanie Rowden and Andy Kirschner

Torah readers: Deborah Fisch, Evelyn Neuhaus, Tara Cohen, Deb Kraus, Molly Kraus-Steinmetz, Amie Ritchie, Rena Seltzer, Tommy Cohn, Gabrielle Pescador, Keith Kurz, Jonathan Weinberg, Avi Eisbruch, Janet Kelman, Lori Lichtman

Children’s services: Clare Kinberg, Laurie White, R. Ora

Poetry readers: Stacy Dieve, Kira Berman, Debbie Gombert, Laurie White, Evelyn Neuhaus, Vicki Goldwyn, Janet Greenhut

Singers/Musicians: Etta Heisler, Hannah Davis, Debbie Gombert, Margo Schlanger

Shofar Blower: Etta Heisler

Equipment: Dave Nelson, Stephanie Rowden, Andy Kirschner, Hannah Davis, Clare Kinberg, Gabrielle Pescador, Peter

Workshop Leaders: Anita Rubin-Meiler, Idelle Hammond-Sass, Alan Haber, Lori Lichtman, Emily Eisbruch, Deb Kraus

Community Yizkor: Claudia Kraus-Piper and Leora Druckman

Board: Deborah Fisch, Rebecca Kanner, Stacy Dieve, Rena Basch, Eric Bramson, Erica Ackerman, Carol Ullman, Sam Bagenstos,

Logistics/Planning Team: Dave Nelson, Deb Kraus, Gillian Jackson, Clare Kinberg, Deborah Fisch, Rebecca Kanner

Of course, if we accidentally omitted anyone’s name, we beg your forgiveness! The comments are open to anyone who would like to offer more gratitude to our amazing community.

AARC Celebrates Pride Month

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Written by: Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner

June is Pride Month in this country: a month when LGBTQ+ voices are amplified, LGBTQ lives are celebrated, LGTBQ losses are mourned, and when we renew our commitment to creating a world of justice and equality for all.

Naomi Goldberg, an Ann Arbor Jewish activist and co-parent with her wife Libby of 7-year-old Nathan, wrote on Sunday May 30th:

“I always look forward to Pride Month, but it feels heavier this year – because of the killings of black people and the painful and important wrestling with how far we still have to go as a country (and as white people); because of the pandemic with hundreds of thousands dying and sick and millions losing jobs and millions struggling with social distancing; and while we’re anticipating rulings from SCOTUS that could jeopardize workplace protections for LGBTQ people.”

We don’t celebrate Pride this year in spite of overwhelming loss and revealed injustice:

We celebrate because the first Pride Parade was the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a protest against police violence led by queer and trans people of color.

We celebrate because LGBTQ equality is a branch of the same tree that roots the Black Lives Matter movement, the #MeToo movement, disability activism, and the ongoing struggle to teach our political leaders that human lives must be valued over financial profit.

We celebrate knowing that joy is important; that learning our LGBTQ Jewish history is important; that highlighting LGBTQ heroes in our community and beyond is important; and that hearing and witnessing our LGBTQ members, particularly during this time, is important.

We celebrate because celebrating is an act of joyful defiance against those who would have us believe that we are not all created b’tzelem Elohim.

How will AARC celebrate Pride Month this year?

On Friday June 26th, join us online for Pride Shabbat, beginning at 6:30 pm. If there are readings, poems, or personal reflections you’d like included in the service, email Rabbi Ora (rabbi@aarecon.org) by Friday, June 19.

What else will happen? We have some ideas, but we need YOU to make them happen!

  • A virtual Pride ‘Parade,’ kicked off by a kid-centered virtual sign-making party. After creating the signs, take a photo of your family holding these signs in your front yard, or stick them in your windows and take a photo of that! We’ll share them all together as a virtual Parade. Are you willing to coordinate this (with help)? Email Gillian at aarcgillian@gmail.com
  • Host an online discussion based on a podcast episode. Keshet has a new podcast video series called Joy and Resilience: Jewish LGBTQ Leaders on What Sustains Us All, while the podcast Making Gay History has a number of episodes that focus on past and present Jewish LGBTQ activists. Invite folks to watch or listen at their leisure, then plan a Zoom call to talk about it. Want to facilitate this (with guidance)? Email Rabbi Ora at rabbi@aarecon.org
  • Are you an LGBTQ member of our community? Consider writing a paragraph on what Jewish community means to you, and we’ll feature your words in a special blog post this month. Have something to share? Please email Judith Jacobs (judithjacobs@mac.com) with your reflection by June 11
  • Do you have pictures of yourself and your family or friends attending Pride parades in past years? Email Gillian your photos

Other ideas for how we can celebrate and learn together? Please email Rabbi Ora, Gillian, or Judith so we can support you in making your vision a reality.

Finally, I want to remind you that starting this year, AARC celebrates Pride Month in the context of a larger commitment from our leadership to increase LGBTQ inclusion in our congregation through leadership training, programming, policy, and shifts in culture. If you have ideas on how to contribute in any of these areas, please be in touch.

I look forward to celebrating with you.

Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner 

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!

AARC Attends LGBTQ Advocacy Training with Keshet

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On Thursday November 7th, Rabbi Ora, Gillian Jackson, and Judith Jacobs joined congregations and Jewish organizations from all over Metro Detroit to learn how to be more inclusive and how to advocate for LGBTQ communities. The training was led by Keshet, a national organization working for the full equality of LGBTQ Jews and families. Emily Saltzman, dynamic leader from Keshet, was joined by representatives from Nextgen Detroit Pride and Stand with Trans. The training provided a framework for understanding LGBTQ core concepts such as sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Participants also learned about the history of LGBTQ inclusion in Jewish communities and the challenges that LGBTQ-identifying people face in our culture. The seminar concluded with an opportunity for each organization to form goals to improve its LGBTQ advocacy.

The training in Michigan grew out of a 2018 survey, the “State of Equality Index,” that reviewed areas of the US for positive policies supporting LGBTQ equality. Michigan scored as an area of high priority; this means we have many areas of law, health and safety measures, and religious recognition that must be updated to include protections for LGBTQ individuals.

As our blog about welcoming remarked, Judaism has a rich history of gender diversity and inclusion. However, modern Jewish culture still has a long way to go until our organizations make LGBTQ individuals feel safe, welcomed, and respected. Keshet suggested that organizations provide leadership on LGBTQ inclusion through programming, policy, and culture. AARC has taken steps to improve our organization on all of these fronts.

The AARC action plan includes the formation of a LGBTQ inclusion policy, a new LGBTQ welcoming section of our website, visible LGBTQ welcoming signs at our welcome table, and the organization of a new annual Pride Shabbat. If you would like to take part in the planning or implementation of any or all of these new initiatives, please email me or speak with Rabbi Ora. We look forward to hearing from you!