Sisterhood Activities
In addition to offering many activities to the community, Sisterhood has many activities that are available only to Sisterhood members. Most of these are offered with no fee, and are run by Sisterhood members for the benefit of other Sisterhood members. These include:
- Sisterhood Circles -- which cover many different interests, and are constantly increasing
- Rosh Chodesh -- which celebrates the beginning of each month
- Annual Membership Supper
- Sisterhood Weekend Away
- Thursday Study Classes with the Rabbis
- Yoga in the Light
- WRJ's YES Brunch
Sisterhood Circles
Are you interested in board games? Books? Dog walking? Walking? Mah jongg? Special needs? Yiddish? "Circles” provide us with opportunities to connect with other Sisterhood members while doing activities that we enjoy. Here’s what’s happening and how to participate.
For privacy, we are publishing contact names only. Please refer to the Sisterhood Directory and/or the Temple Isaiah Directory for phone and e-mail contact information.
GAMES
Meets every other Wednesday 12:30 p.m.
Please join Sisterhood members in the Temple meeting room for about an hour and half of games. We play Taboo, Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit, Apples to Apples, Encore Celebrity, Set, Speed Scrabble, Boggle, toname a few. New members encouraged and we will teach new comers. It is lots of laughs and is good to stretch the mind as well!!
The contact person is Abbe Smerling.
DAYTIME BOOK GROUP
Meets Mondays monthly from 10 am to Noon.
All are welcome. We choose our books and meeting times as we go along.
The contact person is Carole Goldberg.
EVENING BOOK GROUP
Meets Mondays monthly, with coffee at 7:30 pm; discussion from 8:00-9:30 p.m.
Our next meeting is January 25 to discuss “Out Stealing Horses" by Per Pettersib. All are welcome. Please see the December 2009 Sisterhood Newsletter for details and the complete winter schedule.
The contact person is Carol Sacerdote.
DOG WALKING
Will resume in May.
WALKING GROUP
Meets Tuesday and Friday Mornings at 9:15 am.
We enjoy each other’s conversation plus scenery and gardens on residential streets, conservation land and the bike path. This group meets at Peet’s in Lexington center and walks for about an hour, weatherpermitting, year round. Walk with us whenever you’re available. Please contact Carol Sacerdote to be on the email list, or to be matched with walkers interested in other dates/times.
MAH JONGG
If you would like to learn to play or brush up on rusty skills, please contact Eileen Asarkof.
TAKING CARE OF LOVED ONES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
A group for wives, moms, grandmothers, sisters, aunts....who may share very different but similar experiences in parenting or caring for a family member. The women in the group may be in a caring or supportive role for an adult or for a child at home or not at home. The loved ones represented have an array of diverse special needs. Resources, stories, laughter and tears can be shared in a relaxed setting.
The group will meet once a month on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.. Days and times may vary in order to accommodate everyone.Contact Karen Arbetter.
YIDDISH ANYONE?
Meets monthly at various houses. Learn some grammar, vocabulary, and popular Yiddish expressions you may remember from parents or grandparents. Practice speaking Yiddish with friends, share laughs, share stories. Contact Elly Edelstein.
NEW CIRCLES FORMING
A number of new groups are forming to provide opportunities for us to get together and share our interests. Please get in touch with the contact person and join in the fun. If you have a new idea that isn’t listed here, and you’d like to put together a new circle, please contact Carol Sacerdote.
BIKING — New Group
Will resume in the spring.
BRIDGE - New Group
Forming a group to meet on a to-be-determined weekday evening. Contact Carrie Gale.
DAYTIME BRIDGE — New Group
Experienced players wanted to play bridge on Wednesday afternoons, twice a month. The meetings will be on non-GAMES weeks. Please contact Marilyn ("Max") Baker (e-mail contact preferred).
GOURMET - New Group
For information about forming a new group, contact Sally Huebscher.
DANCING – New Group
Would you like to learn Salsa or Zumba, Israeli or Greek dancing? Let Pam know your interests and she’llput a group together for you. Contact Pam Awrach.
MOVIES – New Group
Love the movies? Looking for other women to see/discuss them? Contact Pam Awrach.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES (snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, etc.) – New Group
Do you love the outdoors? Would you like to find others who are interested in high-energy outdoor activities? Contact Pam Awrach.
Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh (“Head of the Month”) is the celebration of the new moon – the first of each month of the Jewish calendar. This observance, dating from Biblical times, is recognized as a woman’s holiday; a day associated with women’s renewal and celebration! Rosh Chodesh groups, meeting monthly, offer contemporary Jewish women this special space in time; a time to gather for learning, ritual, spiritual exploration, and to mark life passages.
From October through May, monthly, and near the time of the new moon, Sisterhood women gather at each others’ homes at 7:30 in the evening. Alternating between Mondays and Wednesdays (to afford people the opportunity to come), we take turns hosting and facilitating these meetings, exploring a breadth of subjects on themes related to Judaism or womanhood, sharing learning, ritual, spiritual exploration, and marking life passages. With a new theme each month it is easy to decide to attend at any time, so attendance each month is fluid and varied.
Rosh Chodesh Tevet / December
On Wednesday, December 16 Amy Wolfson facilitated a session on “Cherished Objects” and Chanukah. Come with your stories and memories of how we celebrated Hanukah as children with our parents, grandparents and extended families. Women brought menorahs or other holiday items that may have been passed down to them that conjure up memories of this holiday time from childhood. Mementos from other holidays, family heirlooms that were been brought over Europe, Russia, Poland, etc. and passed down, and photos from relatives that are long gone are also welcome as we
explore how these memories have shaped our feelings about this holiday.
Our past topics have included the women who inspired us growing up, Jewish genealogical research (led by a couple of our members who are experts), when we first felt Jewish, the relationship of the moon and the feminine in art and poetry, Jewish cooking traditions, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law (based on the Book of Ruth), light, the book “A Bintel Brief,” interesting magazine articles, and learning Yiddish songs from one of our older members. Some of our best discussions have been when women were invited to bring something with them to the gathering—such a photo of mother/grandmother, a poem or prayer of Thanksgiving, a favorite Jewish ritual object, and so on.
The schedule is partially planned for the coming year, but there are opportunities to add your voice! Below is the schedule for December through March. We still need topics, facilitators, and hosts, where it is noted, or in the event of a sudden change in plans. If you have a topic of interest that you would be
interested in suggesting or facilitating, or would like to host a gathering, please let Barb Levine know. Please mark your calendars with these dates and plan to attend these warm and interesting evenings. Please RSVP to the hostess prior to each event.
See the Sistehood Newsletters for detailed schedules.
Membership Supper
The Membership Supper was well attended, and a good time was had by everyone. Entertainment was provided by Jewel Tones. The delicious, healthy meal was catered and served by Nourish. Thank you to all the Sisterhood members who graciously baked and provided the appetizers, and who helped with registration and set-up. Thank you to Lauren Weiss for the enormous task of taking the reservations and assembling the membership directory.
Sandi Rosenfeld & Lynne Fisher
Sisterhood Weekend Away
February 5-7, 2010
Rabbi Carey Brown, Facilitator: Sheraton Harborside, Portsmouth, NH: Renewal of Body and Soul
Judaism teaches that the body and soul are separate yet indivisible elements of human life. Rather than imprisoning or corrupting the soul, the body is a God-given tool for doing sacred work in the world. It requires protection, care, and respect, because it is holy. Women especially have had a unique relationship with body and soul in Jewish life. In both ancient Jewish texts and modern social contexts, issues of body image, sexuality, and health are infused with sacred meaning.
Join us as we allow our bodies time to relax, nourish our souls with spirit and friendship, and learn about Jewish attitudes toward both body and soul.
Celebrate Shabbat and Havdallah and study with Rabbi Brown. Make new friends and reconnect with old friends. Relax with yoga. Take a walk or shop in historic Portsmouth. Swim in the indoor pool or work out in the fitness center. Learn, talk, laugh, sing, read, play games.
Thursday Study Classes with the Rabbis
“Making Meaning out of Jewish Personal Practice” will begin on Thursday, January 21.
The flow of life offers us the opportunity for countless forms of Jewish expression through personal practice. While each of us carries our own approach to personal practice, we can learn a great deal about the meaningfulness of practice by listening to the stories of others, learning from the texts in our tradition as well as the layers of meaning brought by generations of Jews who came before us. This semester we will examine various expressions of Jewish personal practice and how such practice can bring meaning to our lives. We will also explore how contemporary Jews have creatively reinterpreted personal practice for our own time. Topics for discussion will include: Kashrut: Eating Jewishly; Kippah and Tallit: Clothing Ourselves in Splendor; Shabbat: Making this Day Truly Different; Daily Prayer: Sanctifying Everyday Moments; Talmud Torah: Engaging in Regular Study.
The classes will be held on Thursday mornings, at 9:30 a.m. on January 21, January 28, February 4, February 11, February 25, March 4, March 11, and March 18 (note no class on February 18).
Please contact Rebecca Shahmoon to sign up.
Yoga in the Light
Esther Isenberg leads a gently paced meditative practice, including rejuvenating and relaxing postures that steadily stretch and strengthen major and minor muscle groups and increase the flexibility of hips and spine. The practice focuses movement around the flow of breath as the breath draws together the energies of body, mind, and spirit. Bolsters, pillows, and yoga props can be used for comfort. We will draw upon the weekly Parshah for the focus of the practice. We will work with poses to open the heart, poses that bring forth the centered warrior, and poses that create an opportunity to find the peaceful center within.
Esther leads us in yoga, once a month, on Friday mornings, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at her home. All levels, ages and genders are welcome. Mats and props will be provided.
Scheduled mornings:
December 18, January 15, February 5-7 (at Women's Weekend Away), March 19
If you want to attend, please let Esther know. (Cancellations will appear in the e-mailed Temple Weekly Digest.)
YES Brunch
Just as our Sisterhood supports the Religious School, LEFTY, college students, and special programs and projects within Temple Isaiah, WRJ provides financial support for similar programs throughout North America and around the world through the Y.E.S. Fund (Youth, Education, and Special Projects).
WRJ’s Y.E.S. Fund represents the collective efforts of local sisterhoods to meet the needs of rabbinical and cantorial students on campuses of Hebrew College-Jewish Institute of Religion and overseas through the World Union of Progressive Judaism and to support high school and college-age youth activities, the Jewish Braille Fund, programs in Israel, and institutions of Reform Judaism.
The Circle of Service is the way individuals can make personal commitments to the Y.E.S. Fund. Membership is $36 per year. A $1,000 contribution entitles the donor to a Lifeline membership. You can join today.