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Committee Connection logo (left) with a wintry mountain scape and blue sky (right)

August 24, 2023 • 7 Elul 5783

We are giving Hillary, our Editor-in-Chief, a break for this issue, so you’re hearing from me instead! I want to share a bit about my role as Managing Editor, and some of the things you can expect to hear from me should you decide to contribute…

Women with long black hair, glasses, and a black shirt reunited with her daughter who has a pink shirt at airport baggage claim

Rollercoaster of Reunification

This happy photo shows mother and child reunited at JFK International Airport in New York, after many years apart. Daughter Michelle was last in school in Venezuela in early 2022…

A group of 13 people around 1 person cutting a cake

New Feature: The Scoop

In addition to providing coverage on Kehilla’s member-led teams and one-by-one introductions to member leaders, Committee Connection now also aims to be a place to get quick updates…

13 masked people and one person standing in the back sitting in chairs in front of green trees, with a music stand, microphone on a stand, and an amplifier on a table in front of them.

Many Teams to Join at Kehilla

The second annual “playshop,” titled “Many Ways to Get Involved in Kehilla,” was led by the Committee Leaders group at the annual community retreat on July 8 at Lake Temescal. 

Committee Connection logo (left) with a sunset (right)

June 22, 2023 • 3 Tamuz 5783

… Also, I have much more patience now than I did at 20, and I want to ask for your patience too. When asking for things from us news editors, keep in mind that Committee Connection itself is a Kehilla committee and does not have paid staff. We’re only two people keeping it going…

Chesed Lessons from my Broken Arm

Several months ago while playing pickleball, I fell, breaking my wrist, requiring surgery, and, as challenges have the potential to do, it allowed me to open the door to some very profound life learnings…

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April 27, 2023 • 6 Iyar 5783

… It doesn’t matter if you’re not a member of a Kehilla member-led team. … You might know someone who is active and would like you to interview them—or maybe you do a lot of member-led volunteering and could ask another Kehillan to interview you, so that all you have to do is talk. Or maybe you have great photos of a committee event or …

a yellow hardcover book, They May Not Mean To, But They Do by Cathleen Schine, lying on a granate-like surface

Book Group a Great Way to Connect

Back in 2008, Joseph and Rita Sklar, along with Jay and Ruth Koch, were looking for ways to connect with other Kehilla members. The organizers landed on the idea of a book group and picked a book that Ruth suggested …

A black person in headscarf, sunglasses, black T-shirt, blue pants and black boots walks as she talks into a megaphone in front of a chain link fence with a sign that reads, Alameda County Jail, No Trespassing

Making Noise Together at the County Jail

At this time last year, I didn’t expect to find myself banging on a pizza pan outside Santa Rita, Alameda County’s jail. It had been a long time since I had been active politically. …

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February 23, 2023 • 2 Adar 5783

As a kid, I watched the TV news with my mom nightly as she made dinner, and I remember seeing late 1970s network news coverage on Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization and hearing the word “terrorist” for the first time. …

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Rabbi Brant Rosen Zoom Talk: from Non- to Anti-Zionist

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“I would dare say that the creation of an ethnic Jewish majority state in historic Palestine has not made Jews any safer and it has also made things considerably less safe for Palestinians, to put it mildly… … and that is not to downplay the very real history and current reality of antisemitism throughout the world…

Happy salt 'n' pepper bearded widely smiling white person in a cap and necktie, holding a bouquet

Phil from Face-to-Face

I’m inspired by Palestinians who demonstrate *sumud* (steadfastness) every day as they resist Israeli oppression and dispossession. Rabbi Burt inspires me as he continues to suggest different ways for us to think about this difficult work and how we can best support our Palestinian brothers and sisters…

Committee Connection logo and date of issue (December 15, 2022 21 Kislev 5783 above bees on lavender flowers

December 15, 2022 • 21 Kislev 5783

It is with great excitement that I welcome you to Committee Connection: a new format of the Kehilla committee newsletter now available on the web. Our incredible social justice, community care, and affinity groups are Kehilla’s special sauce…

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A Chaplain on Death and Chevra Kadisha Rituals

Being a part of the Chevra Kadisha, having clear practices and rituals, touching, cleaning, dressing and caring for one who has passed, in community… It has been one of the great honors of my life…