Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Tikkun Olam

High Holidays Call For Volunteers and Participation!

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By Deb Kraus

Long before the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation became a congregation, we were a very participatory and leaderless Havurah.  And as we entered our own rabbinic era, it was with the mindset that we would continue to be participatory, not only singing along, creating music and reading poetry, but in creating ritual and kavannot (intentions for prayers).

In the past year when we once again didn’t have our own rabbi to rely on, we all stepped up in amazing and fascinating ways, and as we enter into this new period with Rav Gavrielle at the helm, we are committed to continuing to offer opportunities for many voices, not only leader voices, to be heard.

I am once again recruiting volunteers for this year’s High Holiday services.  The slots range from candle lighting and ark openings/closings to reading pre-picked out poetry to writing your own drash for a part of the service.  

When people don’t volunteer I tend to choose people I know, which is a large percentage of the kahal, but by no means all of it.  So, before I go and do that, and risk leaving great people out, I want to put out this call for volunteers.  What I am hoping for is to hear from the people who don’t generally volunteer!  Almost all the opportunities can be shared with others, like a partner or a friend, or some sort of affinity group, like maybe your mishpacha.

SO here goes!

First, here is the call for kavannot/drashes:

  • The shofar service on Rosh Hashanah is made up of three sections:  Malchuyot (kingship/majesty), Zichronot (remembrance) and Shofarot (awakenings).  We want a drash for at least the Malchuyot section and would consider one for each other other two.  These are short, no more than 3 minutes (Other than our Yizkor service, this is where I have learned more about people in our congregation than just about anywhere else.  You get to tell a short story about something very meaningful to you).
  • On Yom Kippur day, Rav Gabrielle would like someone to share on the topic of “Gratitude In a difficult time.”  This can be a personal difficult time or ,you know, just the apocalyptic one we are living in.  Up to you.

Second, I need lots and lots of readers for poetry.  If you want to do this, send me the following info:

  • When you will for sure be at services
  • Do you want to read something more political?  More emotional?  More edgy?  More intellectual?  More meditative?  We even have an almost irreverent one on Kol Nidrei….

Third, here are the opportunities for other honors:

  • Candle lighting for Erev Rosh Hashanah
  • Candle lighting for Erev Yom Kippur
  • Lighting of memorial candle for Yom Kippur (if you have had a significant loss this year, this might feel like the place for you)
  • Ark openings for Rosh Hashanah day (2 in total)
  • Ark opening for Kol Nidrei (also if you want to hold the torah during the singing of the prayer, LMK)
  • Ark openings for Yom Kippur day (one still unassigned)
  • Ark openings for Neillah
  • Hagba (lifting torah) and G’lilah (dressing torah) for both RH and YK days
  • For havdallah at the end of Nei’llah, we need three volunteers, one to hold the candle, one to hold/pass the spices and one to raise the kiddish cup.  

Fourth, does anyone want to lead an afternoon workshop on Yom Kippur on the topic of Jonah?  This is what is the traditional haftarah for mincha, the afternoon service, and every now and then we like to revisit and reconstruct it.  If not Jonah, does anyone want to present on something else?  Keep in mind that we want to stay in a contemplative space, wrestling with a topic but not with each other.

Last, if anyone (who already knows how) wants to read 4 lines of Torah on Rosh Hashanah, because things are broken up differently due to it being on Shabbat, there is one portion unclaimed.  It’s part of what I do on non-Shabbats, so I can do it, but I thought I’d offer it up to someone else.

I seriously think that’s it.  I hope so anyway.  

If you are interested in one of these honors, please do let me know.  Each week I will let you know what’s still open, but wouldn’t it be less tedious for all of us if everyone volunteered by next MONDAY, August 28?  Please contact me via email at drdebkraus@gmail.com.

In addition to opportunities for service participation, we have a big signup sheet for behind the scenes helpers and greeters. We need everyone to sign up for at least one slot to make the High Holidays a success! Sign up Here!

Thanks in advance!

Happy Pride Month AARC!

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As Keshet’s opening Pride Month page says, ‘Welcome, You Are a Blessing!’ Happy Pride to the AARC LGBTQ community and its allies! Pride Month reminds us of the importance of welcoming everyone to the table and celebrating all that they are. This month also gives us the opportunity to shine a light on the LGBTQ community, advocate for them, and honor them. Jewish tradition specifically teaches that the infinite variety and diversity of humanity is a mark of Divine artistry and creativity (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). So we honor you, our LGBTQ community and celebrate you during this very special month!

If you would like to get out and celebrate Pride Month, check out the following events here:

Keshet has a calendar of in person and online Jewish Pride Events.

There are pride events happening all month in Ann Arbor, see the full calendar here!

Here are some resources on some interesting Jewish Perspectives on Pride:

Isaac Meadow Presents Benefit Concert for Ukraine  

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   Isaac Meadow, of the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation, will present a humanitarian aid benefit concert for Ukraine on Thursday, June 15, at Zion Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, at 6:00 p.m. The concert will feature music by multiple composers, played upon the piano and the organ in the church’s main sanctuary. Admission will be by free-will donation.

      The concert will be performed as a “mitzvah project” ― a community service associated with Isaac’s Bar Mitzvah.  Isaac was inspired to take on this particular effort by the confluence of compassion, love of music, and familial ties to Ukraine. 

      At the age of five, when Isaac first received money as a present, he wanted to give it away to a beggar he met in the streets.  In the following years, he has remained empathetic to people in distress, particularly the homeless. When Isaac started following the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he knew he wanted to act. “I was horrified,” he said, “particularly by the violence against children ― children being killed, or forced from their homes.” A benefit concert, he thought, might be a way for him to raise money to help.

      Isaac has a long-standing love of music. He has studied the piano since the age of five under the tutelage of Renée Robbins, and recently has started to study the organ with Carol Muehlig. He is looking forward to an intensive organ study at Interlochen fine arts camp later this summer. He has played piano for the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation’s High Holidays services, and looks forward to serving the congregation musically again in the future. The concert will feature pieces that Isaac has learned especially for the occasion, as well as several pieces that he has been playing for longer. The concert will also include a brief demonstration of the types of sounds and musical techniques achievable on the piano and organ.

      Isaac’s family has a current connection to Ukraine because Isaac’s grandmother befriended Vladimir Sayenko, now a Ukrainian lawyer, when he was studying at the University of Michigan in 1993 and 1994. Sayenko later hosted Isaac’s grandmother, and mother on a visit to Goroshina (alternatively, Horoshyne), the Ukrainian village Isaac’s great-great-grandfather fled in the early 1900s to come to the United States.

      All proceeds will go to “Breathe” (Ukrainian: “Dyhai”), a charity originally founded in 2020 to provide equipment for hospitals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Sayenko is an associate of one of Breathe’s founders, Isaac looks forward to keeping a close conversation going about the charity, and to seeing the good that the benefit concert proceeds will be able to accomplish. Thus far, Breathe has provided supplies to Ukrainian hospitals, winter clothing for the elderly, and electronic chargers and other equipment to families, for lighting, communication and for continuing children’s education in the wake of wartime disruptions. Isaac said, “It’s really good to be able to help people – even from so far away!”

Announcing Jewish Congregations Organized for Resettlement (JCOR)

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Most of our family histories include stories of caring people who stepped up to help our great-grandparents, grandparents, or parents resettle in this country.  Today we are challenged to step up and help another generation of refugees.

You have seen the news:  The United States initially expected to admit 125,000 refugees this year.  Then 80,000 more arrived from Afghanistan. Now, an additional 100,000 Ukrainian refugees are expected.

Jewish Family Services (JFS) is working tirelessly to do its share here in Washtenaw County and is requesting OUR help.  

To this end, representatives from Beth Israel Congregation, Temple Beth Emeth, the Jewish Cultural Society, the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation, Pardes Hannah, and the Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan have come together to form Jewish Congregations Organized for Resettlement (JCOR), whose purpose is to support resettlement of a refugee family.  Also, the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor will provide fiduciary oversight for all funds donated and disbursed in support of this purpose.  And now we need YOU!

Volunteers are needed for committees that will work in partnership with JFS staff to help refugee family members reestablish their independent lives here and orient to American culture.  With training from JFS staff, we will do this by helping refugees with:  housing, transportation, and employment; healthcare and financial planning; and childcare, schooling, and adult ESL classes as necessary.  We also need a cadre of on-call volunteers to help with short-notice critical needs, like last-minute transportation or child care coverage. 

Altogether, we are seeking 30 to 50 volunteers, who can be available up to three hours per week during the first two months after the family’s arrival. The time commitments will decrease gradually as the family members become more independent during their first year in the United States.

Of course, we need help with fundraising.  JFS recommends collecting $7,000 to $20,000 over the course of the family’s first year.  Of this, $4,000 should be available upon the family’s arrival to help cover initial costs. 

No one congregation will be singularly responsible or individually committed to provide a specific number of volunteers or a specific amount of funding.  But we believe that collectively our Jewish Community can make a difference for our new arrivals and help JFS meet its decades-long dedication to resettlement.

Click here to access JCOR’s on-line volunteer sign-up form, where you will find more information about the volunteer committees and choose the one in which your expertise, your experience, and your passion for Tikkun Olam will have the greatest impact.  

Additionally, all JCOR volunteers will complete the JFS volunteer form which will facilitate the required background check for all JCOR volunteers. Please complete the JFS form now. 

Click here to access the secure Federation/JCOR donation website.

Thank you!  The family members we help resettle today will be the grandparents of tomorrow.  As a volunteer in this effort, YOU will make a difference to their future generations!

For more information, please contact our AARC lead on JCOR: Alice Mishkin at alice.mishkin@gmail.com

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