Julie McKee and Deb Kratzer, Co-Chairpersons
Prayer is reaching. It is reaching out to each other, in to ourselves and up to God.
In truth, all three are the same direction for when we reach out to others we find
ourselves and God, when we reach into ourselves we find others and God and when
we reach up to God we touch ourselves and others.
~ Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav
The mission of Temple Adath Israel's Caring Connections Committee is to fulfill the mitzvot of Gemilut Chasadim , performing acts of lovingkindness . Come, actively engage with our Temple family and let yourself be transformed by your volunteer experience.
Currently we are gathering a database of volunteers including those willing to keep in telephone contact with homebound congregants, members available to provide occasional transportation to medical appointments, Shabbat services and Temple events, and those who would like to share in the preparation and /or delivery of meals when needed.
If you would like to answer the call to compassionate action by adding your name to the database, please call the Temple office at 269-2979, Julie McKee at 225-5646, Deb Kratzer at 223-8601 or e-mail Deb at ckratzer@insightbb.com . We'll contact you as the need arises.
Caring Connection Activities
· Delivery of Break-the-Fast Meals to Homebound Members
Each year congregants prepare and deliver a delicious Break-the-Fast meal to homebound temple members . The feedback from recipients is always enthusiastic and appreciative!
Thank you to those who cooked and/or delivered a "Shana Tova" and the festive meal on behalf of our congregation -- Deb Nelson, Adrianne Nelson, Ruth Poley, Ray Archer, Janice Newman,Jann Geddes, Ben Swanson, Rachel Swanson, Nancy Schoenberg, Susan Cantor and Austin Cantor.
· Comfort Food
Providing meals for one another during times of illness, bereavement and joy is a mitzvah. Thank you to the many cooks who have nurtured fellow Temple members in this way.
Using our Mitzvah Meal system , we form groups of cooks well ahead of any need. Each group, headed by a contact person, agrees to provide meals when contacted by the committee chairs . This system allows us to respond to needs quickly and efficiently, while sharing the responsibility throughout the volunteer population.
· Chavurat-Chochma (A Friendly Gathering of Wisdom)
Chavurat-Chochma meets the fourth Monday or Friday of most months in order to offer our older Temple members the opportunity to socialize, nosh, be entertained and educated. We meet in the Temple Social Hall. Come join us!
During our years together, Chavurat-Chochma has hosted a wide variety of learned speakers and performers. Our thanks to those who have shared their time and expertise:
Sept. ’05 Rabbi Kline - Everything You Wanted to Know About Israel and Now Have the Chance to Ask
Nov. ’05 U.K. Donovan Scholars Readers Theatre - A Thurber Carnival
Jan. ’06 Raphael Finkel - Yiddish Literature
Feb. ’06 Stephanie Barrett & Carl Schreiber - Israeli, Yiddish and American Folk Music
Mar. ’06 Dianne Bazell - Issues in Education Reform: A Personal and Global Perspective
Apr. ’06 Greg Davis - Crime Scene Investigation: What Kind of Job is this for a Nice Jewish Boy?
May. ‘06 Joe Engelberg - Stem Cell Research: The Science and the Ethics
June ’06 Cara Richards - We're All Anthropologists! Who Knew?
July ’06 Greg Davis - Spellbinders and Spellbinding Storytelling (Lexington Public Library)
Etta Pollan Barbara Barr
Sept. ’06 David Feinberg - Everlasting Love
Oct. ’06 Mark Simpson - Crime and Punishment: Observations of a Prison Psychologist
Dec. ’06 Moshe Elitzur "Our Place in the Universe"
Mar ’07 Jim Geddes "Repairing the Injured Brain and Spinal Cord"
Apr ’07 David Shraberg and Ben Baker "Our Trip to Egypt and Jordan" ~ The Exodus - Sites and Cites from Tanach : Then and Now
May ’07 David and Carolyn Schneidt "Faith and Persistence Can Persevere" *presentation of Holocaust Museum to Chavurat-Chochma
June ’07 Randall Roorda - Story and Style in Thoreau and Successors
July ’07 Marilyn Moosnick - Kibbutz Ketura : A Jewish Mother Reports on Life and Research in the Arava Desert
Sept. ’07 William Y. Adams - Religion and Adaptation
Oct. ’07 Daniel Chejfec - A Briefing of Current Events in the Jewish World
Nov. ’07 Greg Davis - Chanukah: It's Not Just For Kids!
Jan. ’08 Dianne Bazell - In the Deep Midwinter - Reflections on a Summer's Fortnight in China
Feb. ’08 Jon Waltman - The Healthcare Crisis in America
Mar. ’08 Ned Rosenbaum – Exodus: What Really Happened
Apr. ’08 Carol M. Cottrill , MD – Patient Stories From the Heart
May ’08 Jane Grise – You Be the Judge: Does the Second Ammendment Permit States to Ban Handguns?
Aug. ’08 Rabbi Marc Kline – A Summer Conversation with the Rabbi
Sept. ’08 Dr. Greg Davis – A Brief Look at Jewish Medical Ethics
Oct. ’08 David Shakib – The Life of a Jew in Iran
Dec. ’08 Rabbi Marc Kline – Hanukkay Fun Facts
Jan. ’09 rescheduled due to ice storm
Feb ’09 Dr. Jon Waltman – Why Ashtrays Don't Cause Cancer – Making Sense of What You Read
Mar. ’09 Jann Geddes – Passage to India … Who Let the Cows Out?
May. ’09 Jane Grise , J.D. – You Be the Judge: What Constitues Aggravated Identity Theft? With a Look Forward to the June Supreme Court Decision
June ’09 Betty and Lowell Nigoff – A Hands-on Approach to Helping Israel: Our Experience Volunteering with the Israel Defense Forces
Aug. ’09 Rabbi Marc Kline – What's a Good Reform Jew Doing in a World Like This?
Sept. ’09 Lauren Howard -- Wellness for All Ages
Oct. ’09 Rabbi Helen Bar-Yaacov -- Going Rogue: How the Child of Atheist Holocaust Survivors Became Ordained at Age 56
