16
Federation Star
ORGANIZATIONS
November 2021
www.hadassah.org / 518.330.1559
COLLIER/LEE CHAPTER OF HADASSAH
Hadassah is about caring Joyce Toub Collier/Lee Hadassah President
L
ynn Wilner, twice Collier/Lee Hadassah President and one of the most caring, sensitive people I have ever met, is no longer with us. After fighting breast cancer for many years, she passed away on Sept. 18, 2021, just two days after Yom Kippur. Lynn was one of the first women I met when I moved to Naples in 2016. She was a dedicated, knowledgeable, inspiring woman, who was always ready to serve and help out. When you’re surrounded by wonderful people, such as Lynn and a string of other
wonderful role models, you see boundless possibilities of the good you can do in this world. For me, the vehicle is Hadassah — Lynn would want it this way. A Hadassah Perpetual Yahrzeit for Lynn was donated by many Hadassah members. A passage from High Holiday services gives us both a glimpse of the past as well as the future that I share with you: If we must face disappointment, help us to learn patience. If we must face sorrow, help us to learn sympathy. If we must face pain, help us to learn strength. If we must face danger, help us to learn courage. If we must face failure, help us to learn endurance. If we achieve success, help us to learn gratitude.
If we attain prosperity, help us to learn generosity. If we win praise, help us to learn humility. If we are blessed with joy, help us to learn sharing. If we are blessed with health, help us to learn caring. Caring is what Hadassah is all about! Please join us for our upcoming programs that will educate, enlighten and engage you. On Nov. 16, our program will feature Patricia Levinson, Hadassah International Communications Chair, who will give us an overview of Hadassah’s interventions globally and how they have handled the most recent COVID-19 pandemic. Levinson was born in South Africa and has a degree in biochemistry as well as an MBA. She has served on the National Board/National Assembly for Hadassah
for 31 years. I met Levinson about 40 years ago, and each year, her Hadassah involvement has increased. On Dec. 1, we’ll offer our symposium, “Body, Mind and Spirit,” a webinar on women’s health and wellness from 10 a.m. to noon. The interactive program will feature a panel discussion with three experts who will examine self-care for mental health, care for the caregivers and nutrition on women’s heart health. Our keynote speaker will discuss living a longer, more purposeful life. Interludes ranging from music to body movements and humor will be interspersed throughout. It is an event not to be missed. Please check our e-blasts and Hadassah Happenings for additional information.
www.jhsswf.org / 239.566.1771
JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SWFL
Champions of local Jewish history Marina Berkovich JHSSWF President
Y
ou may have noticed that we have this relatively new, catchy tagline. Because we are very into our mission, which includes an ongoing celebration of contributions Jews made in Southwest Florida and the positive impact they made on the entire community, we
AN EGALITARIAN PROGRESSIVE CONGREGATION MEMBER OF THE UNITED SYNAGOGUE OF CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM
FREE FIRST YEAR DUES
for
ALL NEW MEMBERS!
JOIN US TODAY AT
239.434.1818
1 4 59 PINE RIDG E RO A D , N AP L E S , F L BethTikvahNaples.org
like to garner as much support around it as we possibly can. It is said, locally, that people give more charitable support to organizations helping children. Are there any children on the receiving end of our work? Let’s make that connection together by preserving local Jewish history for the younger generations, piece by piece, by creating a historical trail they will one day be proud to share with their own children. Thus, we will ensure the continuity of passage that generations prior to ours did not have. In a recent interview, I was asked to comment on the very dark history of Southwest Florida as it relates to Jews, especially in Collier County and Naples. It is a fairly recent history, not even a half century old, and since JHSSWF was formed in 2010, we are on a mission to collect and maintain a positive record of Jewish accomplishments here. They are numerous and continue to accumulate faster than we can track them. The best and most important achievement of them all, is a vibrant, thriving, friendly and growing Jewish community – a result of the work of individuals, organizations and federations, who spent the last three decades investing in this effort precisely because of that dark, very dark and very ugly past. Our goal is never to erase the past – what happened, happened, and we have witnesses to testify to its veracity, anecdotally and substantively providing us with situations and dates of certain events. But we cannot, as a group of people, make ourselves victims of abuse, because that does not lead to a desired environment for adults and youth. We need to be proud of who we are at all times. We are embraced by non-Jews when we proudly stand together, and with Israel, unapologetically practicing
our faith and proudly teaching future generations the history of our local Jewish community, its interaction with the community at large, and its contributions of skill, knowledge, talent, resources and vision. This has helped our Jewish brethren in every corner of the earth.
Two Sunday brunch events On Jan. 16, 2022, we will celebrate Florida Jewish History Month with our own steel magnolia, Mrs. Rosalee Bogo, whose determination and perseverance have brought Collier County/Greater Naples Jewish community into its current upward slope. On Feb. 6, we partner with Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center to honor Mr. Jack Nortman and to raise matching funds for the FE and Jack Nortman Boxcar Education grant, so generously given by them. Please save the dates for these two fabulous Sunday brunch events, buy tickets online or call us. There are many sponsorship and donor opportunities.
Become a member Help us fulfill our mission of historical preservation and education. Family membership is $54, individual membership is $36 and student membership is $18. Join us online by entering the appropriate amount or mail checks to The Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida, 8805 Tamiami Trail North, Suite #255, Naples, FL 34108 www.jhsswf.org; Virtual Museum of SWFL Jewish History http://jewish historysouthwestflorida.org/ The Jewish Historical Society of Southwest Florida is a section 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Contributions are deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Stay connected at www.jewishnaples.org
