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Home > Membership > The Voice - December 2025 - Kislev/Tevet 5786

The Voice - December 2025 - 5786

Services this Month

Ma'ariv Shiva for Glen Fine
Monday | December 1 | 7:30 pm
 
 
Members will gather again for Ma'ariv Shiva on Monday, December 1st at 7:30pm. That Shiva gathering will also be at Pamela Caulder-Fine's home. Some light refreshments may be available that evening after the services. Members please click here to register for Ma'ariv Shiva.
Caring Circle Shabbat Services
Friday | December 5 | 7:00 pm
 

Join us for joyful Shabbat services led by Rabbi Rebecca Reice.
Save the Date! January Shabbat Services
Friday, January 9  |  Services 7:00pm
 

Join us for joyful Shabbat services led by Rabbi Reice.

Upcoming Events

Rabbi Reice's Office Hours
 
Office Hours
2 Dec 2025 (12 Kislev) 11am – 5pm
8 Dec 2025 (18 Kislev) 11:30am – 1:30pm
10 Dec 2025 (20 Kislev)12:30 – 4:30pm
15 Dec 2025 (25 Kislev) 11am – 5pm
 
During Office hours, Rabbi Reice will be answering the phone, answering emails, and meeting with those folks who have scheduled an appointment (in person, over the phone or a video call). Please feel free to call or email Rabbi Reice during these times. (Of course, contact her, or our President, Cindy Tarsi, immediately for more urgent matters.)
 
Please email Rabbi Reice (rreice@shir-ami.com), to schedule an appointment in advance.
 
Upcoming Days Off
1 Dec 2025 (11 Kislev) - comp for 11/12
3 Dec 2025 (13 Kislev) - comp for 11/17
11 Dec 2025 (21 Kislev) - comp for 11/19
12 Dec 2025 (22 Kislev) - comp for 11/24
18 Dec 2025 (28 Kislev) - comp for 11/25
19 Dec 2025 (29 Kislev) - comp for 12/2
22 Dec 2025 (2 Tevet) - comp for 12/8
23 Dec 2025 (3 Tevet) - comp for 12/10
26 Dec 2025 (6 Tevet) - comp for 12/15
29 Dec 2025 (9 Tevet) - comp for 12/17
30 Dec 2025 (10 Tevet) - comp for 12/22
2 Jan 2026 (13 Tevet) - comp for 12/23
 
Upcoming Office Closings
24 Dec 2025 (4 Tevet) Office Closed - National Holiday
25 Dec 2025 (5 Tevet) Office Closed - National Holiday
31 Dec 2025 (11 Tevet) Office Closed - National Holiday
1 Jan 2026 (12 Tevet) Office Closed - National Holiday
Celebrating Birthdays and Anniversaries this Month!
 

Happy Anniversary:
12/18     Tish & David Dashefsky 
 
Happy Birthday:
12/06     Dmitriy Belyi
12/07     Rob Coleman
12/08     Sara Goodman
12/12     AJ Tarsi
12/13     Kay Moore
12/13     James Smallwood
12/18     Jessica Kovacevich
12/20     Kimberly Stefanowicz
12/21     Skylar Stefanowicz
12/23     William Lenz
12/25     Madalyn Eve Simmons
Time to Register for the Chanukah Party!
Sunday, December 14  |  5:30pm
 
Women's Mah Jongg
If you are interested in learning or playing, contact Leslie.
 
 
The women in our group meet once or twice a month to play Mah Jongg, kibbitz, nosh and enjoy a relaxing afternoon. Our members volunteer to host these afternoon games at their homes. Members who would like to make a donation at the end of each game may do so. At the end of the year the group makes a donation to Shir Ami and chooses another worthy Jewish charity.
Happy Bookers
Date: Saturday, December 20
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Book: When Angels Left the Old Country by Sasha Lamb
 
 
 
About the Book
When Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb https://sachalamb.wordpress.com/
For fans of Good Omens ― a queer immigrant fairy tale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure.
 
Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl, which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl. The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.
 
Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans needing their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams -- and demons-- at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold. 
.
About Happy Bookers
The Happy Bookers book club is open to Shir Ami members. Interested prospective members should contact the Shir Ami Membership Committee.
 
2025 SCHEDULE
12/20: When Angels Left the Old Country by Sasha Lamb
1/2026: Here All Along by Sarah Hurwitz
 

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.
 
Alison Austin, Mona Bailey, Bill Bitner, LeRoy Bitner, Phyllis Byrd, Pamela Caulder-Fine, Carlos Cisneros, Leora Forstein, Janet Friedman, Linda Friedman, Ingrid Gabriel, Lynn Gelber, Yehudit Leah bat Gitel, Carol Goldmark, Joyce Heil, Bill Kurtz (Zev ben Frieda Elka v’Chaim), Elgin Koons, Rabbi Mark Levin, Linda Lewis, John Liberty, Geri Meyers, Linda Mickelson, Kay Moore, Dominae Petrosini, Randall Robbins, Tobey Ramirez, Delia Rodriguez, Emory Plum Schlanger, James Smallwood, Yehudah Zev ben Shaindle Leah, Cindy Tarsi (Chasye Chana bat Laya Raizel v’Avraham Yitzchak HaLevi), Jim Tarsi, Esther Thomas, Marsha Weiss, Larry Whitlock, Laura Wildeman, Carol Wood, Carole Wood, Dale Wood, Dominic Wood, Bonnie Zimmer
iAct Interfaith Day of Thanks
 
 
Rabbi Rebecca Reice and Shir Ami member, and past president, Alan Kook recently participated in the iAct Interfaith Day of Thanksgiving! Alan sounded the shofar to start the ceremony and Rabbi Reice was Jewish prayer representative. You can see her singing at the time stamp 48:38-52:36 in the video HERE.

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 Shir Ami members volunteer in this group to 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, sending cards, 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 more active Caring Circle volunteer, please contact Sara Goodman at CaringCircle@Shir-Ami.com. All are welcome!

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.
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.

Community News

Kid's Club
December 7  |  9:30am  |  Shalom Austin 
 
 
Join Kid's Club to learn about Chanukah! We will make holiday cards, decorate candles, play dreidel, and enjoy sufganiyot.
Kid's Club of Hadassah is a free monthly event for families in the Austin area. Click here to register!
Questions? Contact austin@hadassah.org.
If spots fill up and you are interested in joining the waitlist for this event, please email austin@hadassah.org with subject line "Kids Club". This program is made possible due to a generous grant from Shalom Austin.
Hadassah Happy Hour
December 11, 2025  |  5:30PM  | 
 
 
Please join us for our monthly happy hour at a wine bar in the Northwest Hills. We'll get to know one another over drinks and grow sisterly bonds through our shared passions.
 
Join us each month!
Thursday, December 11
 
Click here to register! Questions? Contact Sarah Swernofsky at sarahswernofsky@gmail.com
Light Up the Night: Latkes & Spirits with Austin Hadassah
December 7  |  5:00pm - 9:00pm 
 
 
Join us for spirits, music, dinner, and a silent auction honoring: Michal Ilai, One of Hadassah's 18 American Zionist Women You Should Know
Michal Ilai is the senior Israel educator at Shalom Austin. Her 30-year career has focused on Jewish identity, Israel-diaspora relations and Zionism, and she has founded programs, facilitated workshops and designed curricula to strengthen Jewish peoplehood.
Register here by December 1st • Registration includes Kosher dinner
Questions? Contact hadassahaustinorg@gmail.com
Art Show and Play
November - February  |  Palace Theater, Georgetown 
 
 
Shir Ami member, Leora Forstein, has a piece being exhibited in the Georgetown Palace Theater! (You can see her painting at the top left of the above image!) Click here for more information about the play.

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? Loans can be made available within a week or even same day in emergencies! Contact info@hfla.org or visit https://hebrewfreeloanofaustin.org.
Fri, November 28 2025 8 Kislev 5786