Sisterhood

It’s hard to believe that it’s April and time for another bulletin article written during COVID-19. I looked back to my past articles, and they began with: 1. Some say that life is Groundhog Day all over again.

My day is filled with daily tasks that seem to repeat themselves day after day. 2. Welcome to Sisterhood 2020 Part 2. I actually didn’t like Part 1, and I’m hoping part 2 is better! 3. Who would have thought that seven months ago when we were all introduced to Zoom that it would still be controlling our daily lives and we follow each other around our Emunah Zoom room!!

Although this bulletin article still has the COVID theme, I have a happier start. Sisterhood has hit it out of the park with wonderful and engaging programs/initiatives over the past few months. In fact, we hit a home run and maybe even exceeded our expectations.

Our winter months included many wonderful events including: • A Mitzvah Day initiative with the religious school youth and teens geared towards reaching our “senior friends” at Emunah. • We did a trial run to bring back the “Emunah Café” with a selected program called Tuna Tuesday @ Twelve.

We held a Zoom event with tuna and veggie sandwiches followed by a showing of a short film entitled GIFILTE, with a discussion of Passover and holiday traditions following the film. The event was sponsored by The Bess Ezekiel

Memorial fund. The success of this event shows that there is an interest in future Café Emunah opportunities. • On March 7 we hosted a Community Breakfast with guest speaker Phil Goff, who presented a program entitled “Tracking the Roots of the Jewish Diaspora in

Boston,” with a question and answer session following the presentation. Many thanks to Phil for bringing this program to our Sisterhood and the Emunah Community. • On March 14 we honored Marcy Lidman as our 2021 Light of Torah during our Torah Fund Chai Tea.

This event was postponed from March 2020. We made it up with a wonderful Zoom event that featured “Family

Matters,” a production by The Braid, for entertainment that was enjoyed by all. Sisterhood is a major contributor to the Torah Fund which is part of Women’s League for

Conservative Judaism. This fund provides financial support to students at the Jewish Theological Seminary and its affiliate schools. This year we once again exceeded our fundraising initiative with a successful campaign honoring

Marcy as Light of Torah.Special thanks go out to Rabbi

Lerner, Rabbi Kling Perkins, Barbara Posnick, Terri Swartz

Russell, and the entire Lidman family!

Our next planned event is a Community Breakfast on Sunday, April 11 when we will be joined by Rabbi Ed Rosenthal, Founder of Tikkun HaYam, for an interactive, virtual exploration about the “Spirituality of the Sea” via Zoom. Sisterhood is collaborating with the Climate Control Committee on this event and I promise this one is not to be missed.

Sisterhood is thankful that we have been able to provide our programming events this year without cost. Much of this is due to our membership dues and fundraising initiatives. I hope that you will continue to support us with opportunities to sponsor bimah flowers. This sponsorship is a vital Sisterhood activity, adding beauty to our synagogue and providing a steady source of funds to help us meet our annual financial obligations. We are continuing our weekly tradition, offering “virtual flowers” to help brighten these days and weeks when we cannot come together in our sanctuary. These flowers can be for any occasion – holiday greetings, yahrzeit or other remembrances, birthdays, anniversaries, or new babies – or simply to express appreciation and well wishes.

Flower sponsorship is ordinarily offered at $90. To keep Emunah and spring/summer blooming during this time, we invite your contribution of $36 (or any increment of chai).

Please email Sheila Kojm at Bimahflowers@gmail.com to arrange your sponsorship.

Finally, my hope is that everyone continues to stay healthy and that you are able to show your support in any way that you can to our community, your friends and family, as we continue to adapt to the changes in our lifestyles. As we start to put the winter months behind us with the beginning of spring, I hope that you will continue to participate in our events.

With fingers crossed, I hope that we will be able to resume a more normal Temple Emunah lifestyle in the near future. L ’shalom, Janet Goldberg, Sisterhood President

janet.goldberg2@verizon.net

Rabbi Lerner’s annual trip to Florida was virtual this year, as he Zoomed with Emunah-ites this winter.