Sisterhood Health Fair arrives May 5!

Sisterhood Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee for the 2013-2014 Sisterhood Board of Officers and Trustees has been formed in accordance with Sisterhood by-laws. The Committee consists of Sheryl Bernhardt and Vera Rabino from the Sisterhood board, plus a member at large. Please contact Sheryl or Vera if you would like to serve your congregation through the Sisterhood organization. 

Sisterhood Shabbat, March 1

Sisterhood Movement Celebrates 100th Anniversary

The very first Reform Sisterhood convention was held in January 1913. Although our own Temple Shir Shalom Sisterhood is much younger, we are proud to be a part of such a grand celebration. A very special Sisterhood Shabbat will be observed on Friday, March 1, 2013, beginning at 6:00 with pre-service refreshments. The service will begin at 6:30. Please join us as we welcome Shabbat and celebrate a true milestone. 

Chanukah party

Temple Shir Shalom held a grand celebration of Chanukah on Saturday, December 15, sponsored by the Sisterhood. This was the BEST CHANUKAH PARTY EVER! Over 100 people attended the dairy potluck dinner and festivities. Attendees were served an array of delicious refreshments. Rabbi Joseph led a havdalah service, and the many menorahs brought by our families were lit with candles provided by Sisterhood. The families attending were treated to music by the Klezmer Katz band, including our own David Pawliger, and Elaine Jacobson on vocals. Impromptu dancing added to the merriment. Children participated in activities where they created edible menorahs and played games. All this, and 170 pounds of non-perishable food items were collected and delivered to Bread of the Mighty. A good time was had by all! 

Sisterhood Shabbat

The Temple Shir Shalom Sisterhood helped the congregation celebrate a very joyous Shabbat on Friday, April 27, with the annual service led by its members. Sisterhood president Erica Bilsky delivered a beautiful d'var Torah for the event, printed here:

As I began preparing for this evening, I was thrilled to learn that this week’s Torah portion was Tazria-Metzora.  Tazria gives detailed instructions on the purification of women after childbirth.  I couldn’t have planned a more appropriate Torah portion for Sisterhood Shabbat.  Since women are no longer thought to be unclean after giving birth, I am not going to dwell on the purification instructions.  Instead, I think this week’s portion gives me a wonderful opportunity to speak to you of women and nurturing.
All of us who are mothers are constantly nurturing our families----whether they want it or not!  We are active in our husband’s careers, active in our children’s lives, and active in our religious community.
Seven years ago, a group of Temple Shir Shalom women decided that our temple needed a unified organization to support and nurture it.  They contacted WRJ, the Women of Reform Judaism, and our Sisterhood was born of that effort.  Every activity and event we plan is to benefit Temple Shir Shalom in some way.  Our members assist in every Temple activity, and we have a strong presence on the Temple Board of Trustees.  At our Annual Sisterhood meeting, the funds Sisterhood makes during the year are disbursed to the Temple and Religious School.  For example, Sisterhood helped provide the picnic tables for Religious School, and the PA system used each Friday evening.  Sisterhood has accomplished a lot of good over the last seven years, but just think how much more we could do if YOU were a part of us.

This is my tale of four Sisterhood daughters: The wise one, the wicked one, the simple one, and the young one.  (Kind of reminds you of Passover, right?) The wise daughter wants to know about Sisterhood and what it does, because she wants to be a member. To her I say, “WRJ Sisterhoods started in 1913 when 156 women from fifty-two Reform congregations met to form an organization to meet the needs of Reform women’s groups in North America. Since then, the organization has grown to 65,000 women representing 500 groups all over the world. Together, we work to ensure the future of Reform Judaism.” The wicked daughter thinks Sisterhood has no relevance to her. To her I say, “The rabbi you rely on received an excellent education because of WRJ Sisterhood support. The social justice issues you should care about are given a loud and clear voice because of WRJ involvement. The Reform Jewish summer camp benefited from funds WRJ provided for camp projects and scholarships. I could go on and tell you how much the Sisterhood women of our temple do for our congregation, but suffice it to say that WRJ has been a relevant factor in your life as a Reform Jew whether you know it or not.” The simple daughter does not know how to ask about WRJ and Sisterhood. To her I say, “Please come and join us. We want you to be part of this important group that supports our congregation and Reform Judaism everywhere. We want you to enjoy friendships not only within our local group, but also those you can make on a district and worldwide level. We want you to experience the pride of being part of an organization that keeps Reform Judaism thriving.” The last daughter is the young one. To her I say, “The future of WRJ and Sisterhood is in your hands.  We give you a solid foundation, the result of ninety-nine years of commitment to training future WRJ and congregation leaders, to educating future clergy, to advocating for social justice, to supporting our youth, and to raising funds to run our programs.  We hope you will continue this work and build upon it as you guide WRJ through the 21st century. Our motto is, ‘Stronger Together.’ We hope you will remember it as you make our organization yours. It will serve you well.”  Without you, we are one woman short. Shabbat Shalom.