Services This Month
Friday Evening Shabbat Services
Friday, April 7 at 7:00 pm
Join us for a meaningful and joyful Shabbat as we reflect with gratitude during Passover.
T'filah Together
Saturday, April 15 at 9:00 am
Please join us for T’filah Together, Shir Ami's version of Tot Shabbat, now on Saturday mornings!
Services are geared towards families with children ages 8 years and younger, but all are welcome!
This will include age-appropriate songs, prayers, and a PJ Library story.
We hope to see you there!
Saturday Morning Shabbat
Saturday, April 15 at 10:00 am
Please join us for Shabbat morning services led by Rabbi Reice! We plan to hold the ritual of the reading the Torah, if we have a minyan!
Save the Date! May Friday Evening Shabbat Services: Religious School Shabbat!
Friday, May 5 at 7:00 pm
Save the date for Services on May 5th! At Religious School Shabbat, our children will take part in leading services. This special Shabbat event will follow the Budget and Annual Meetings.
Upcoming Events
Rabbi Reice Office Hours
April Office Hours (At Shir Ami, until otherwise noted)
4 Apr 2023 (13 Nisan) 11am – 5pm (Zoom Only) 💻
11 Apr 2023 (20 Nisan) 9am – 3pm (Zoom Only) 💻
18 Apr 2023 (27 Nisan) 11am – 1pm (Zoom Only) 💻
19 Apr 2023 (28 Nisan) 8 – 10am (Zoom Only) 💻
19 Apr 2023 (28 Nisan) 2:30 – 4:30pm 💻 & 👫
25 Apr 2023 (4 Iyar) 11am – 1pm (Zoom Only) 💻
26 Apr 2023 (5 Iyar) 2 – 4:30pm 💻 & 👫
27 Apr 2023 (6 Iyar) 9 – 10:30am (LISD Only) 👫
3 May 2023 (12 Iyar) 1 – 4:30pm 💻 & 👫
4 May 2023 (13 Iyar) 1 – 3:30pm (Zoom Only) 💻
Days Off
3 Apr 2023 (12 Nisan)
10 Apr 2023 (19 Nisan)
14 Apr 2023 (23 Nisan)
20 Apr 2023 (29 Nisan)
21 Apr 2023 (30 Nisan)
24 Apr 2023 (3 Iyar)
28 Apr 2023 (7 Iyar)
1 May 2023 (10 Iyar)
2 May 2023 (11 Iyar)
Office Closings
5 Apr 2023 (14 Nisan) Office Closed - Erev Pesach
6 Apr 2023 (15 Nisan) Office Closed - Pesach I
12 Apr 2023 (21 Nisan) Office Closed - Pesach VII
13 Apr 2023 (22 Nisan) Office Closed - Pesach VIII
13 Apr 2023 (22 Nisan) Office Closed - Pesach VIII
Please email Rabbi Reice (rreice@shir-ami.com), or our administrator, Rachel McEwen (administrator@shir-ami.com), to schedule an appointment in advance.
Celebrating Birthdays and Anniversaries in April
Happy Anniversary:
Bonnie and David Cohen, April 17
Happy Birthday:
Trystan Stefanowicz, April 4
Julie Cohn, April 4
Sharon Cooper, April 5
Diane Stepakof-Fay, April 7
Andrew Cooper, April 9
Nicole Warshauer, April 11
Jim Tarsi, April 12
Laurie Simmons, April 16
Gideon Levinsky, April 25
Mary Whitlock, April 26
David Cohen, April 27
Julie Cohn, April 4
Sharon Cooper, April 5
Diane Stepakof-Fay, April 7
Andrew Cooper, April 9
Nicole Warshauer, April 11
Jim Tarsi, April 12
Laurie Simmons, April 16
Gideon Levinsky, April 25
Mary Whitlock, April 26
David Cohen, April 27
Second Seder Thursday, April 6 at 5:30 pm | Shir Ami
Friday March 31st is the last day to register!
Annual Member Meeting Friday, May 5 at 5:45 pm | Shir Ami
The Annual Budget Meeting followed immediately by the Annual Members Meeting for Congregation Shir Ami will be held on Friday, May 5th at 6:15PM, just prior to Shabbat Services. Dinner will begin at 5:45pm. Meetings and dinner will be held in the Fellowship Hall.
If you will be attending dinner please register by clicking the link in the email that was sent out to all members.
A quorum is required for business to be conducted and we ask all members in good standing, as of Record Date: April 5th, to please attend. All votes by proxy must be received at Administrator@shir-ami.com by May 5th at 12pm (noon).
At this year’s meetings, we will vote on the amended version of the Constitution, the Budget, and the Board of Trustees Slate of Officers.
We very much look forward to seeing you on May 5th!
Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting Sunday, April 16 at 10:30 am
All members are invited to attend the Board of Trustees meetings. If you would like to attend this meeting, or wish to speak at the meeting, please contact our President, Eloise Potter, at congregation@shir-ami.com.
Happy Bookers Book Club
Saturday, April 22 at 10:30 am
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Time: 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Book: The Bee Keeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
About the Book
The Beekeeper's Apprentice: Or, on the segregation of the Queen (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes Book 1) by Laurie R. King 370 pgs.
The Beekeeper's Apprentice: Or, on the segregation of the Queen (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes Book 1) by Laurie R. King 370 pgs.
Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection. Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes's pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. But when an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is the first of a dozen Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes novels, tracing the pair over several years and many mysteries.
About the Author
“New York Times” best-selling author Laurie King grew up reading her way through libraries like a termite through balsa before going on to become a mother, builder, world traveler, and theologian. She has now settled into a genteel “life of crime,” in her native northern California. She has a secondary residence in cyberspace, where she enjoys meeting readers in her Virtual Book Club and on her blog.
In addition to the Mary Russell books, Laurie King has written two other mystery series, The Kate Martinelli series and the The Stuyvesant and Gray books. She also has written stand-alone novels including A Darker Place, and two loosely linked novels, Folly and Keeping Watch--and a science fiction novel, Califia's Daughters, under the pseudonym Leigh Richards.
“New York Times” best-selling author Laurie King grew up reading her way through libraries like a termite through balsa before going on to become a mother, builder, world traveler, and theologian. She has now settled into a genteel “life of crime,” in her native northern California. She has a secondary residence in cyberspace, where she enjoys meeting readers in her Virtual Book Club and on her blog.
In addition to the Mary Russell books, Laurie King has written two other mystery series, The Kate Martinelli series and the The Stuyvesant and Gray books. She also has written stand-alone novels including A Darker Place, and two loosely linked novels, Folly and Keeping Watch--and a science fiction novel, Califia's Daughters, under the pseudonym Leigh Richards.
Laurie King has won multiple Edgar Awards and the Creasey Award. Her nominations include the Agatha Best Novel Award, the Orange, and the Barry. She has received an honorary doctorate from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.
Women's Mah Jongg Tuesday, April 11 from 1:00-3:00 pm
Mah Jongg will be hosted by Leslie Schwartz for the month of April. We will meet at her home. If you would like to play or learn how to play please contact Leslie, (email in the directory).
Yom HaAtzmaut
April 30
Volunteers needed! Shir Ami will have a table with Israel Trivia. To support this event please contact Rabbi Reice, or send a message to administrator@shir-ami.com if you are available to help!
Register for the biggest Yom HaAtzmaut Israel’s 75th Independence Day celebration in Central Texas on April 30 at the Shalom Austin JCC. Explore the flavors of Israel with Israeli-themed food vendors, shop the Israeli marketplace, enjoy hands-on activities for folks of all ages and much more.
Grief Support
May 4 - June 6, Tues, 7-8:30 pm
Meeting at Shir Ami, faciliatated by Rabbi Reice with a counselor from JFS. Click here to register!
Shir Ami News
Mi Shebeirach
Our Prayers for the Physical, Spiritual and Emotional Healing for those named and any others in need.
Please email Rabbi Reice at rreice@shir-ami.com to enter a name on the list or remove a name from the list.
Mona Bailey, Jodie Billings, Sam Billings, LeRoy Bitner, Kirsten Block, Darin Burdman, Maple Cohn, Lisa Coopersmith, Anne Ditlefsen-Smallwood, Sandra Dietz, Julie Eaton, Glen Fine, Lynn Gelber, Carol Goldmark, Juliet Clare Grabish, Yarrow Halstead, Barry Henthorn, Jo Ella Henthorn, Pam Henthorn, Tom Henthorn, Molly Jacobi, Bill Kurtz, Liana Lawrence, William Lenz, Rabbi Mark Levin, Kay Moore, Skylar Stefanowicz, Trystan Stefanowicz, Cindy Tarsi (Chasye Chana bat Laya Raizel v’Avraham Yitzchak HaLevi), Jim Tarsi, Miles Ward, Julian Ward, Carole Wood, Bonnie Zimmer
Purim
Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate Purim with us! Special thanks to everyone who volunteered in a booth and to Craig Kurtz and Nicole Warshauer for their efforts in organizing such a fun event!
Recent Website Additions
Be sure to visit our website to stay up to date on all the exciting things going on at Shir Ami! Recently added pages to check out:
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Alice Brendzel Library - A new page with a description of our library and a link to its online catalog. The library is named in honor of Alice Brendzel, one of our most beloved members. She passed away in 2014. The photo displays the library's memorial plaque and the cover of the photo book created for Alice by Dorie Mickelson.
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Shabbat Services - This page links to video recordings 14 Shabbat and High Holy Days services that were live streamed during 2022.
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Celebration on the 10th Anniversary of Rabbi Reice's Ordination - This collection of photos taken during the celebration on May 21, 2022 can be found on the Member Galleries page. (Website login required)
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Shir Ami's First Five Years (June 2001 - May 2007) - These seven moving videos document Shir Ami's first five years and are worth watching. They were created by Jason Faye for, and debuted during, Shir Ami's five year anniversary celebration. (Website login required)
Shir Ami and Drive a Senior Northwest – Partners in Supporting our Older Adults
Volunteer Drivers Needed
Please consider becoming a volunteer driver for the Drive a Senior Northwest program. By offering to drive someone just one or two short trips a month, you will be an unbelievable help to our many older adults still living at home in the northwest Austin/Cedar Park/Leander area. Driving an older adult is incredibly rewarding and very much appreciated. Please go online to driveaseniornorthwest.org to read about the program, then print a volunteer form, fill it out, and mail it in. Or ask Sara Goodman (sgoodman123@gmail.com) for more information about the program.
Please consider becoming a volunteer driver for the Drive a Senior Northwest program. By offering to drive someone just one or two short trips a month, you will be an unbelievable help to our many older adults still living at home in the northwest Austin/Cedar Park/Leander area. Driving an older adult is incredibly rewarding and very much appreciated. Please go online to driveaseniornorthwest.org to read about the program, then print a volunteer form, fill it out, and mail it in. Or ask Sara Goodman (sgoodman123@gmail.com) for more information about the program.
Services to Adults 60+
If you or a loved one is 60+ and needs help to stay in your/their home, Drive A Senior Northwest is here for you. Services include rides to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, community activities, etc. as well as minor home repair, telephone reassurance, and a twice monthly senior day out. Contact Drive a Senior Northwest at driveaseniornorthwest.org or (512) 250-5021.
If you or a loved one is 60+ and needs help to stay in your/their home, Drive A Senior Northwest is here for you. Services include rides to doctor’s appointments, the grocery store, community activities, etc. as well as minor home repair, telephone reassurance, and a twice monthly senior day out. Contact Drive a Senior Northwest at driveaseniornorthwest.org or (512) 250-5021.
The Caring Circle - Care to Get Involved?
Lending a helping hand to members in times of stress is a vital part of any congregation; kind and caring volunteers in this group help provide support to other Shir Ami congregants in times of life's challenges such as illness, death, divorce, and birth. Specific activities include helping to secure a minyan for a memorial or shiva service, sending notes to members on the loss of a loved one, arranging transportation for a member to attend services or other Shir Ami events, and providing meals, visiting or calling congregants during times of illness or post-hospitalization.
If you are experiencing any of these challenges and wish to be contacted by the Caring Circle, please contact Rabbi Reice. If you wish to be a Caring Circle volunteer, please contact Sara Goodman at CaringCircle@Shir-Ami.com. All are welcome!
Community News
Yom HaZikaron Community Ceremony
April 24
Join together with Rabbi Reice and your community for Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for those who lost their lives in the struggle that led to the establishment of the state of Israel and for all military personnel who were killed while in active duty in Israel’s armed forces. Click here for more information!
Short Films and Discussion: Tracks: From Amsterdam to Colleyville
April 20 7:45 pm
A special free event in partnership with ADL and Shalom Austin. Starting with the new 11 minute short film “Tracks” exploring the laying of Stolpersteine, memorial stones honoring Holocaust victims which are installed in front of the homes along the central canals in Amsterdam. Filmmaker Dani Menkin will present the sizzle reel for his new project “Colleyville” about the 2022 hostage crisis at the Texas synagogue. Following the presentations, Michael Potter, Executive Producer of “Tracks”; Dani Menkin, filmmaker of “Colleyville”; and Jeff Cohen, President of the Colleyville synagogue and former hostage will participate in a live Q&A panel following the screenings.
WHY WE LIKE THIS FILM: A unique opportunity to see a new short film, to see the earliest footage of a film being created, and to hear from an exceptional panel.
Georgetown Public Library
April 23 2:00 pm
The Georgetown Public Library and Congregation Havurah Shalom are hosting a FREE event to commemorate Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). The presentation, “Arnold Fingerhut, from a Life in Hiding to Living the American Dream” will be led by Jack Fingerhut, Arnold’s son.
During the presentation attendees will also see and hear Arnold Fingerhut as he was in 1996 during his testimony which has been recorded and saved by Steven Spielberg’s 1996 'Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation’ project.
Film and Mental Health Discussion: Dolphin Boy
April 23 7:30 pm | Online option from April 24-May 7
Austin Jewish Film Festival, in partnership with Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service, is hosting a screening of Dolphin Boy on April 23rd at 7:30 PM in the Gloria and Harvey Evans Performance Center. The film is presented with English subtitles.
The documentary features a young man who experienced a severely traumatizing event and tells the story of his healing journey. The film's director, Dani Menkin, will be in attendance and participate in a panel about the topic of mental health. One of our very own JFS clinical staff will be on the panel!Learn more about the JFS food drive, virtual screening, and low vision accommodations here: https://austinjff.org/events/dolphinboy/
SUMMARY: Morad, a teenager living in an Arab neighboorhood in Israel, had everything a teenager could want; he was socially popular, loved by his family, an athlete, and a good student. But after a cruel beating by his classmates, he becomes catatonic and withdraws from life. Instead of interring him in a mental institution, his doctor suggests dolphin-assisted therapy down in Eilat. Desperate to help his son, Morad’s father sells everything, leaves his job and family, moves to Dolphin Reef on the Red Sea, and vows not to return until the boy fully recovers. But even when Morad begins to speak again, he’s changed beyond what anyone could’ve expected. A moving film about nature’s power to heal.
WHY WE LIKE THIS FILM: Dani Menkin is a Los Angeles-based multi-award winning writer, director, and film producer. He is a two-time Israeli Academy Award winner and the founder of film production company Hey Jude Productions. Menkin has been a speaker at distinguished panels at International Festivals around the world, as well as a juror and film professor at American and Israeli universities. The Austin Jewish Film Festival has exhibited a number of Menkin’s movies to popular audience acclaim including: On the Map (2016), Picture of His Life (2019), and Aulcie (2020). Menkin is currently making a new film about the 2022 Synagogue hostage crisis in Colleyville, Texas.
Jewish Family Services Caregiver Support Groups
Family Caregiver Support Group: This is an ongoing group and meets the first and third Thursday of each month. It is a safe place for family members caring for adult loved ones to discuss the stresses, challenges, and rewards of caregiving. To register, click here
Digital Mood & Mindfulness with Jewish Family Service
Tuesday, April 11 at 11 am
Via Zoom
Tuesday, April 11 at 11 am
Via Zoom
Do you feel distracted? Hurried? Preoccupied? This personal development workshop will teach mindfulness techniques that can help participants to be more present and aware in daily life. Mindfulness has the power to improve relationships, increase self-control, boost productivity and can lessen depression and anxiety.
Join Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service’s professionally-facilitated workshop to develop mindfulness skills and discuss common experiences together.
Second Tuesday of each month at 11AM
Via Zoom
Free to attend
Via Zoom
Free to attend
For more information and to register to receive the link, please contact Emma Howitt, LPC-S, LCDC at emma.howitt@shalomaustin.org.
Volunteer for Shalom Austin JFS Food Pantry
The Client Choice Shalom Austin JFS Food Pantry is always looking to engage volunteers in food drives, packing food bags, and making deliveries. Anyone interested in getting involved in any capacity, can email Joan Eisenberg Maniere at joan.maniere@shalomaustin.org.
Also, if you know of any community members who are facing food insecurity, please have them contact Joan, and she can get them enrolled into the program.
Interest Free Loans
Hebrew Free Loan of Austin provides short-term financial support for members of the Austin Jewish community through interest-free loans that springboard you to your next step in life. Could you or someone you know use a hand-up with an interest free loan? Contact info@hfla.org or visit https://hebrewfreeloanofaustin.org.
Operation Todah Texas
For more information about how to participate, please visit https://www.shir-ami.com/operationtodahtexas
Fri, April 26 2024 18 Nisan 5784
