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Home > Membership > The Voice - December 2024 - Cheshvan/Kislev 5785

The Voice December 2024

Services This Month

Shabbat Services
Friday  |  December 6  | 7:00 pm
 
 
Join us for Shabbat serviecs led by Rabbi Reice!
Torah Study
Saturday |  December 14  |  10:30 am
 
 
VAYISHLACH, Transformation GENESIS 32_4−36_43, Jacob Stops Running:
You can make the story yours by asking questions:
            What am I running from?
            What are my demons, my fears, my scars?
            What heavy emotional baggage am I carrying, burdens that unnecessarily weigh me down?
            Who am I afraid of? Who am I estranged from?
            How can I change for the better and reach out to others?

Enjoy a lively discussion starting at 10:30 with Carole Wood and David Cohen in the Shir Ami Library. Shabbat Shalom!

Please join us for Torah study!  Please click here to register!
Members check out our Torah Study Facebook page for topics and discussion!
Save the Date! January Shabbat Services
Friday  |  January 10  |  7:00 pm
 
 
Join us for Shabbat services led by Rabbi Reice.

Upcoming Events

Rabbi Reice Office Hours
 
December and January Office Hours
4 Dec 2024 (3 Kislev) 8 – 10am (Zoom only) 💻
4 Dec 2024 (3 Kislev) 1 – 3:30pm (LISD only) 👫
5 Dec 2024 (4 Kislev) 12:30 – 2pm (Shalom Austin only) 👫
10 Dec 2024 (9 Kislev) 9am – 1pm (Zoom only) 💻
11 Dec 2024 (10 Kislev) 2:30 – 4:30pm 💻 & 👫
17 Dec 2024 (16 Kislev) 12 – 3pm (Zoom or Shalom Austin only) 💻 or 👫
18 Dec 2024 (17 Kislev) 1:30 – 4:30pm 💻 & 👫
7 Jan 2025 (7 Tevet) 1-4pm 💻 & 👫
8 Jan 2025 (8 Tevet) 1-4pm 💻 & 👫
14 Jan 2025 (14 Tevet) 9am – 1pm 💻 & 👫
15 Jan 2025 (15 Tevet) 2:30 – 4:30pm 💻 & 👫
21 Jan 2025 (21 Tevet) 1 – 3:30pm 💻 & 👫
22 Jan 2025 (22 Tevet) 1 – 4:30pm 💻 & 👫
29 Jan 2025 (29 Tevet) 1:30 – 6pm 💻 & 👫
30 Jan 2025 (1 Shevat) 12 – 1:30pm (Shalom Austin only) 👫
 
December and January Days Off
2 Dec 2024 (1 Kislev) - comp for 11/25
3 Dec 2024 (2 Kislev)
9 Dec 2024 (8 Kislev)
13 Dec 2024 (12 Kislev)
19 Dec 2024 (18 Kislev)
20 Dec 2024 (19 Kislev)
23 Dec 2024 (22 Kislev)
26 Dec 2024 (25 Kislev)
27 Dec 2024 (26 Kislev) - comp for 12/6
30 Dec 2024 (29 Kislev)
2 Jan 2025 (2 Tevet)
3 Jan 2025 (3 Tevet) – comp for 1/10
9 Jan 2025 (9 Tevet)
13 Jan 2025 (13 Tevet)
17 Jan 2025 (17 Tevet)
23 Jan 2025 (23 Tevet)
24 Jan 2025 (24 Tevet)
27 Jan 2025 (27 Tevet)
31 Jan 2025 (2 Shevat)
 
December and January Office Closings
24 Dec 2024 (23 Kislev) Office Closed - National Holiday
25 Dec 2024 (24 Kislev) Office Closed - National Holiday
31 Dec 2024 (30 Kislev) Office Closed - National Holiday
1 Jan 2025 (1 Tevet) Office Closed - National Holiday
 
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, Alan Kook, immediately for more urgent matters.)
 
Please email our administrator, Rachel McEwen (administrator@shir-ami.com), to schedule an appointment in advance.

Celebrating Birthdays and Anniversaries in December

Happy Anniversary:
12/18    David and Tish Dashefsky
 
Happy Birthday:
12/1    Dmitrly Belyl
12/5    Jennifer Ballow
12/5    Robin Coleman
12/8    Sara Goodman
12/12    Tiffany Weisbrod
12/12    AJ Tarsi
12/13    Kay Moore
12/13    James Smallwood
12/18    Breanna Rigney
12/20    Kimberly Stefanowicz
12/21    Sklyar Stefanowicz
12/23    William Lenz
12/25    Madalyn Simmons
12/25    Paul Clift
Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting
Sunday  |  December 15  |  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, Alan Kook, at alankook.atx@gmail.com.
Women's Mah Jongg
If you are interested in learning or playing, contact Maxine or 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 Book Club
Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Book: The Rabbi's Wife, The Bishop's Wife by David Jacobson, Chayuta Deutsch
Hosts: TBA
 
 
 
About the Book
The moving story of Joana Halevi – a brave woman willing to give up the most precious things in her life to maintain her faith.
Based on a true story, The Rabbi’s Wife, the Bishop’s Wife addresses human behavior and condition: true and false alliances, betrayal and loyalty, destruction and redemption.
 
Spain, 1391. Joana, wife of Shlomo Halevi, the Rabbi of Burgos, mother of five, and daughter of a wealthy and respected family, is living a comfortable, carefree life. Until her world is shattered without warning. When husband Shlomo, now Pablo de Santamaria, joins the Catholic church and takes their family with him, Joana is left with an unrelenting yearning for her children.
Jerusalem, 2020. Ruth is struggling with personal conflicts when the COVID-19 pandemic shakes her world, adding loneliness and isolation to her struggle. With her new online friend, she embarks on a voyage that will free Joana Halevi’s memory from oblivion.
 
About the Authors
Chayuta Deutch. Chayuta Deutch was born Tel Aviv, and now lives in Neve Daniel in Gush Etzion. She is married, a mother of five and grandmother of nine. Dr. Deutch lectures on cinema and legends and is an editor of prose and translated books. She holds a PhD from Bar Ilan University in Midrash Literature. Her published books include: Nechama, the life story of Nechama Leibovitz, 2008; A Sunray in the Forest, 2008; and If I Hear Another Voice, 2015.
 
David Jacobson. Dr. Jacobson was born in Beer Sheva, and now lives in Elazar in Gush Etzion. He is married, a father of six and grandfather of 16. Dr. Jacobson has worked in diverse occupations: high tech mechanical engineer; diplomat (Israel’s Consul in Boston); investment banker; Business Management lecturer, Johns Hopkins University; researcher, University of Graz in Austria; and lecturer on innovations and business, the Galilee Institute. He also guides Jewish Heritage tours in Europe. David Jacobson holds a PhD from the Hebrew University in Economics History and degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Finance from Ben Gurion University. His published works include: A Jew on the Camino, 2018; Adoption of Innovations as a Driving Force in History, 2013.
 
About Happy Bookers
The Happy Bookers book club is open to Shir Ami members. Interested prospective members should contact the Shir Ami Membership Committee.

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.
 
Bill Bitner, Ralph Burdett, Rene Castiglione, Pamela Caulder-Fine, Ron Christopher, Glen Fine, Leora Forstein, Janet Friedman, Linda Friedman, Lynn Gelber, Carol Goldmark, Robin Gordon, Juliet Clare Grabish, Harry Green, Pearl Kopita, Ron Kopita, Gail Lary, Peter Lary, Rabbi Mark Levin, William Lenz, Eric Maginniss, Nikki Maza, Geri Meyers, Carol Moon, Kay Moore, Dominae Petrosini, Emory Plum Schlanger, Skylar Stefanowicz, Trystan Stefanowicz, Anthony Tarsi, Cindy Tarsi (Chasye Chana bat Laya Raizel v’Avraham Yitzchak HaLevi), Jim Tarsi, Esther Thomas, Dominic Wood, Bonnie Zimmer
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!
Holiday Gift Wrapping
December 7, 8 & 22  |  8:00am
 


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

The Scourge and the Surge
Tuesday  |  January 7  |  7-9pm  |  Dell JCC
 
Hadassah Gift Bazaar
Sunday  |  December 15  |  10:00am  |  Shalom Austin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Order your 2025 Mah Jongg Cards Now
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Attention Mah Jongg Players!
 
Order your 2025 Mah Jongg card now through Austin Chapter of Hadassah and let Hadassah benefit! If you've ordered a card before, you will eventually receive your reorder notice directly from the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL). If you send your order and money directly to the NMJL, Hadassah will not benefit at all from your order.
 
When you order through Austin Chapter of Hadassah, it will not cost you a penny extra! The cost is the same - $14 for a standard card or $15 for a large print card - AND $5 of every card purchased will come back to Hadassah. You will receive your card before they are available in stores - around April 1, 2025. Your card and other NMJL mailings will still go directly to you and you will be registered as a member of the NMJL.
For National Mah Jongg League Membership Renewals Order online at: https://go.hadassah.org/mahjongg2025
 
To order by check, make checks payable to Hadassah and mail with this printed form (click here to print this flyer) - to Linda Weiss (contact lweiss18@yahoo.com for the address). Don't forget to include your phone number, email address AND mailing address. No shipping charge or sales tax applies.
 
Please forward this email to everyone you know who plays Mah Jongg. It doesn't matter where they live in the US as it costs the same to mail an order to the NMJL as it does to mail an order to me.
Questions or need additional info? Please contact Linda at lweiss18@yahoo.com.
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
 
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 hosted by Shir Ami 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? Loans can be made available within a week or even same day in emergencies! Contact info@hfla.org or visit https://hebrewfreeloanofaustin.org.
Wed, January 15 2025 15 Tevet 5785