Services This Month
Shabbat Services
Friday | January 10 | 7:00 pm
Join us for Shabbat services led by Rabbi Reice!
T'filah Together
Saturday | January 25 | 9:00 am
Please join us for T'filah Together, Congregation Shir Ami's Tot Shabbat program for families with kiddos up to the age of eight years old. We will be meeting in the Fellowship Hall where Rabbi Rebecca Reice will lead a Shabbat program specifically geared for kids and their families. This will include age-appropriate songs, prayers, and a PJ Library story. Click here to let us know if you are coming!
Shabbat Morning Services
Saturday | January 25 | 10:00 am
We need ritual Jewish adults to help to make and maintain the minyan for Torah reading at 10am! Join us for morning Shabbat services led by Rabbi Reice! Click here to let us know if you are coming!
Save the Date! January Shabbat Services
Friday | February 7 | 7:00 pm
Join us for Shabbat services led by Rabbi Reice.
Upcoming Events
Rabbi Reice Office Hours
January Office Hours
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) 👫
January Days Off
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)
January Conference Days (limited availability by email and phone)
5 Jan 2025 (5 Tevet) PARR
6 Jan 2025 (6 Tevet) PARR
7 Jan 2025 (7 Tevet) PARR
8 Jan 2025 (8 Tevet) PARR
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 January
Happy Birthday:
1/4 Allen Kaplan
1/5 Ashley Wilgoren
1/6 Alyssa Gladstone
1/10 Ed Bailen
1/10 Jason Fay
1/13 Sarmi Stewart
1/14 Robb Wilgoren
1/16 Sarah Belyi
1/17 Leslie Schlanger
1/23 John Liberty
1/23 Julia Ballow
1/23 Rebecca Ballow
1/24 Aaron Coleman
1/26 Grant Rose
1/27 Eloise Potter
1/5 Ashley Wilgoren
1/6 Alyssa Gladstone
1/10 Ed Bailen
1/10 Jason Fay
1/13 Sarmi Stewart
1/14 Robb Wilgoren
1/16 Sarah Belyi
1/17 Leslie Schlanger
1/23 John Liberty
1/23 Julia Ballow
1/23 Rebecca Ballow
1/24 Aaron Coleman
1/26 Grant Rose
1/27 Eloise Potter
Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting Sunday | January 19 | 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, January 18, 2024
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Book: A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Book: A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
Hosts: Ron and Linda Weiss
About the Book
NEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLER • “A powerfully imagined novel . . . [a] profoundly moving book that engages the heights and depths of human experience.”—Los Angeles Times
In September 8, 1943, 14-year-old Claudette Blum and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to find safety now that the Italians have made a separate peace with the Allies. The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it quickly becomes an open battleground.
In September 8, 1943, 14-year-old Claudette Blum and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to find safety now that the Italians have made a separate peace with the Allies. The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it quickly becomes an open battleground.
A Thread of Grace traces the lives of a handful of characters—a charismatic Italian Resistance leader, a priest, an Italian rabbi’s family, and a disillusioned German doctor—telling the little-known story of the vast underground effort by Italian citizens who saved the lives of 43,000 Jews during the final phase of World War II.
About the Author
Mary Doria Russell has been called one of the most versatile writers in contemporary American literature. Her novels are critically acclaimed, commercial successes, and are studied in literature, theology and history courses in American colleges and universities nationwide. She is also a popular guest lecturer in the U.S. and abroad. Her debut novel, The Sparrow, is considered a classic of speculative fiction. Other novels include, Children of God, Dreamers of the Day, and Doc, the story of the friendship between Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Known for her exacting research, Mary Doria Russell holds a Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Michigan.
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, Dorie Mickelson, Carol Moon, Kay Moore, Dominae Petrosini, Emory Plum Schlanger, Skylar Stefanowicz, Trystan Stefanowicz, Cindy Tarsi (Chasye Chana bat Laya Raizel v’Avraham Yitzchak HaLevi), Jim Tarsi, Esther Thomas, Laura Wildeman, Carole Wood, Dominic Wood, Bonnie Zimmer
Cookies for First Responders
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Cookies fo First Responders event! On Decemer 25th we brought cookies to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, the Texas Children's Hospital North Austin ER, Cedar Park Police Department, and Cedar Park Fire Department Station 2! We appreciate everyone for coming together to spread joy in our community!
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.
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.
Community News
Crackpot Conspiracy Theories
Monday | January 6 | 6:30-8:30pm | Shalom Austin
The link in the flier is not working. Please click here to register!
The Scourge and the Surge
Tuesday | January 7 | 7-9pm | Dell JCC
New Programs from Jewish Family Services
Classes are ongoing, click fliers for more information
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
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
Congregation Shir Ami
P.O. Box 3716 | Cedar Park, TX 78630-3716
512-843-3539
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