General Community Announcements
Rabbi Weiner's Sabbatical
Part 1: From the Chesed Committee
Dear JCA,
In preparation for Rabbi Weiner’s sabbatical, the Chesed committee is putting some things in place. Please read and keep this email, as it contains valuable information!
The Chesed Committee has seen an increase in requests for meals, rides and visits. To best address these needs we are forming 3 sub-groups of members willing to make meals, provide rides, and do friendly visits. When we receive a request from a member of our Community, Chesed will contact the appropriate sub-group to provide the needed assistance.
HOW TO OFFER HELP
Would you like to do a Mitzvah for the JCA community?
—Meal makers will prepare a lunch or supper for members who are sitting shiva, are ill or recuperating from a hospital stay.
—Ride providers will transport elder members to JCA events and services, and occasionally to local (no further than Northampton) medical appointments.
—Visitors will spend time with elder members at home or in a nursing facility, offering companionship and support.
If you would like to be included in one or more of these groups, please fill out THIS form and indicate your preferences with your phone number and email. Thank you so much for helping us to care for those in need in our community.
HOW TO REQUEST & RECEIVE HELP
—We can’t help if we don’t know you need help! For all types of assistance, please call the office (413-256-0160) or email chesed@jcamherst.org
—Since we cannot always provide rides, we have developed a relationship with Amherst Neighbors (with parts of Pelham and Shutesbury included). To become a member of Amherst Neighbors, simply complete this form: www.amherstneighbors.org/content.aspx?page_id=230&club_id=428578
—If you need a pastoral care visit because of an illness or other serious issue in your life, please email Keren Rhodes: kerenrhodes@jcamherst.org
—If there is a death, please email Keren Rhodes: kerenrhodes@jcamherst.org (email will receive a faster response then a phone call in most cases).
Thank you,
Chesed Committee
Part 2: From the Rabbi
Dear friends,
It's hard to put into words all of the thoughts and feelings going through me as I get ready to go on my six month sabbatical--which will begin after this coming Shabbat.
Under normal circumstances, I could simply say I was looking forward to resting and recharging, having more time to spend with my family and on my farm, and the opportunity I will have to reflect on the next phase of my work at the JCA. All that is certainly true, and, at the same time, I admit that I depart for sabbatical burdened by a pervasive sense of unease at the state of our world, socially, politically, and, maybe most of all, ecologically, which I am sure I share with many of you. So, I think, what I may be looking forward to most of all is the extended chance to meditate and sift through what it means to live, in all facets of my being, in these profoundly uneasy times.
Certainly, my opportunity to have the time to do this is a privilege, which I am grateful you have given me. I hope this investment in the spirit of your spiritual leader will somehow end up being of value to you.
I allow myself the immodest thought that, especially in this difficult moment, there might be some degree of "separation anxiety" on some of your parts, as well. But I have such confidence in the JCA--from lay leaders, volunteers and professional staff to the very texture of our everyday lived experience with each other. I know our beloved community is so much more than just its rabbi. I know, too, that you will continue to care for and nourish each other as you have cared for and nourished my family and me.
So, let's all keep putting one foot in front of the next, holding our fear and sadness against the beating heart of our joy--celebrating with each other this Shabbat and also, god willing, when I return in May.
I will miss you. And I am grateful for you.
b'shalom,
RBW
Part 3: From the President
Dear Community-
The time has arrived when we will say farewell to our spiritual leader for 6 months. Sadly, I scheduled myself to be out of town this weekend many months ago and I will miss this coming weekend’s events.
The board created a Sabbatical task force to help bridge the gap left by Rabbi Weiner’s absence. Helena Donovan is working with the Religious Life Committee to ensure leadership of our Services. Diana Brewer and our rabbinic intern Max Davis will provide some service leadership as well as lay leaders and invited guests. Jena Schwartz has been working with the Chesed committee to consider how to provide the support we can offer to one another. I have included a letter from the Chesed committee with information about how to ask for support. We strongly urge you to reach out and let us know if you are in need.
Please know we will have a limited capacity to provide Pastoral care in Rabbi Weiner’s absence, but you have a need, please reach out. We have made provisions to be able to offer this kind of support.
May we continue to go from strength to strength.
Warmly,
Mara Hahn
JCA President
JCA Member Portal - Access Your Own Account!
Dear JCA Members,
We are excited to roll out our online member portal. Through this new online system you can keep your JCA account up to date, easily see your payments to the JCA for donations, dues, tuition and more, and access the online member directory.
**How to Log In**
1. Click the following link: { https://jcoa.easyshul.com/ }
2. Enter your email address.
3. Use the one time code sent to your email as a password.
Click HERE for a short video tutorial on logging into the new members portal.
**How to Use the Portal**
Click HERE for a video with brief instructions on how to navigate the new portal. Including how to update your contact information and indicate which information you want included in the online directory.
You DO NOT need to remember your password. You will enter your email and get a new password every time you go to the online portal.
**PLEASE NOTE: Any financial data that was brought over from our old system may have some errors that have to do with the different ways the two systems enter information. This means your account may show you have a balance due, a credit amount, or some other error. Please don't worry. Any transaction from before February of 2022 was entered in the old system and any inaccuracies can be ignored. We are working on a technical fix for this issue, but did not want to delay the release of the online directory while we figured it out.
Paper versions of the directory will be available soon. We want to give everybody the opportunity to update their contact information and decide which parts of their contact info to make public, before we created a printed directory.
Source to Sea Cleanup 2024!
Many JCA members joined the CT River Conservancy and Fort River Watershed Association and over 100 other Amherst area volunteers for the 2024 Source to Sea Cleanup.
From the JCA Hikers Havurah
Hi All:Yesterday, up Skinner was great. Perfect weather......great trail and terrific company. A picture of our intrepid gatherers is attached.
One clear highlight was Dennis Rosen's share that, for him, this hike was the 50th anniversary of his first hike up Mountainside Trail. Fun to share that memory with you, Dennis! Picture of Dennis is attached. Note, he hasn't changed a bit over the years!
Finally, Maggie, Shelley and I will be exploring some new trails in Mt. Holyoke State Park off Bay Rd. We will keep you posted!
Looking forward to more time shared outdoors!
Check out the Mah Jongg Havurah!
The Mah Jongg Havurah is open to adults who enjoy playing American Mah Jongg according to the rules of the National Mah Jongg League.
Prospective members must contact Judy Brodsky at judymasler1@gmail.com or Judith Loischild at jloischildrn@gmail.com for details.
Energy Transition Photo Update - Sanctuary A/C!
As part of the Energy Transition Project air conditioners are being installed in the JCA's Main Sanctuary so that we'll be able to gather in our beautiful space all year long.
Photo updates from JCA folk in Israel!
JCA Executive Director Keren Rhodes is in Israel doing a professional development program at Yad Vashem and JCA Board member and resident poet Jena Schwartz is also in Israel with Shalom Hartman as part of the Jewish studio project. They sent some photos of their intentional AND accidental meet-ups!
JCA Garden Summer Update!
Hello fellow gardeners and JCA garden appreciators, I thought this would be a good time to give you an update on the JCA garden and all the ways in which it is thriving.Thanks to all of our stalwart garden volunteers who have come weekly or occasionally to help with weeding, planting, mulching, weeding (did I say that already?), and just bringing good cheer and company to our efforts.
Shavuot Cheesemaking Workshop!
Thanks to everyone who came out for the cheesemaking fun on Wednesday, Happy Shavuot!
Thank You Volunteers!
Thank you to all our volunteers that helped us assemble over 400 boxes of treats to distribute to our community for Purim!
JCA Energy Transition (Solar) Project - Update and Additional Community Feedback
Dear community,On February 13th we held a community information session about proposed plans to transition the JCA off of fossil fuels and towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy infrastructure. Nearly 50 people attended the information session, and the recording was viewed an additional 71 times. After the information session we opened a community feedback form to collect the thoughts and concerns of the community to bring to the board.
To access the recording of the original information session along with the slide deck, click HERE.
The people who attended the info session, and those that completed the feedback form raised a variety of good questions. As a result of those questions and concerns, the Green Team has taken two actions.
The first is to rename the project to more accurately reflect the intention behind it, and the anticipated outcomes. Rather than calling it the JCA Solar Project, we are now calling it the JCA Energy Transition Project.
Second, the Green Team has put together an FAQ document, to address some of the most common questions and concerns, as well as to help clarify some of the aspects of the project that seemed to be unclear to many after the initial presentation.
The FAQ document can be accessed HERE.
The JCA Board of Directors is meeting next week on Thursday March 7th, and consideration of the Energy Transition Project is one of the items on their agenda. It is important to the Board to get as much community input and feedback as possible. Therefore, there is a second community input opportunity between now and Wednesday March 6th.
After reading the FAQ document, and viewing the original presentation (if you have not yet done so), please complete the new feedback form found HERE, to anonymously share your thoughts with the JCA Board.
I will compile all of the feedback from both forms to give to the board ahead of their meeting, so they may consider the feedback in their discussion.
As always, if you have additional questions, or have any trouble accessing any of the materials or links, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
Shabbat Shalom,
Keren Rhodes
Spring Adult Ed Offerings
Key Jewish Practices - with Rabbi Weiner
Imagining the “Day of Reckoning”: American Jewish Performance Activism During the Holocaust - with Maya Gonzales
Jewish Baking - with Sam the Baker
Adult Yom Ha’atzmaut Chorus - with Felicia Sloin
The 1948 Arab-Israeli War and Its Aftermath - With Aaron Berman
Passover Community Materials Share Out - with Jane Gronau and Ruth Love Barer
Intro to Jewish Texts - Exploring Sefaria - with Keren Rhodes
America’s Arab Nationalists from the Ottoman Revolution to the Rise of Hitler - with Aaron Berman
Last Call for Mishloach Manot Basket Assembly Volunteers!
2024 JCA Membership Drive
It's time to renew your JCA membership. Please click here for more information about our new sustaining partnership model and this year's form.Sukkot 2024
We set up the Sukkah as a community, ate pizza baked by Sam in the outdoor oven, pickled all kinds of veggies and shook the lulav together.
The Jewish Community of Amherst
742 Main St
Amherst, MA 01002
413-256-0160
www.jcamherst.org