Services This Month
Friday Evening Shabbat Services
Friday, March 1 at 7:00 pm
Join us for joyful Shabbat services led by Rabbi Reice!
Save the Date! April 5th Shabbat Services
Friday, April 5th at 7:00 pm
Join us for joyful services led by Rabbi Reice!
Upcoming Events
Rabbi Reice Office Hours
Office Hours
5 Mar 2024 (25 Adar I) 9 – 11am (Zoom only) 💻
5 Mar 2024 (25 Adar I) 12 – 3pm 💻 & 👫
6 Mar 2024 (26 Adar I) 10 – 11am (Zoom only) 💻
19 Mar 2024 (9 Adar II) 11am – 2pm (Zoom only) 💻
20 Mar 2024 (10 Adar II) 11am – 2pm (Zoom only) 💻
26 Mar 2024 (16 Adar II) 11:30am – 2pm (Zoom only) 💻
27 Mar 2024 (17 Adar II) 1 – 4:30pm 💻 & 👫
Days Off
4 Mar 2024 (24 Adar I) - Comp For 2/22/24
7 Mar 2024 (27 Adar I)
8 Mar 2024 (28 Adar I)
14 Mar 2024 (4 Adar II)
15 Mar 2024 (5 Adar II)
21 Mar 2024 (11 Adar II)
22 Mar 2024 (12 Adar II)
28 Mar 2024 (18 Adar II)
29 Mar 2024 (19 Adar II)
2 Apr 2024 (23 Adar II)
CCAR Convention Days
10 Mar 2024 (30 Adar I) - CCAR Convention 2024 (Day 1/4)
11 Mar 2024 (1 Adar II) - CCAR Convention 2024 (Day 2/4)
12 Mar 2024 (2 Adar II) - CCAR Convention 2024 (Day 3/4)
13 Mar 2024 (3 Adar II) - CCAR Convention 2024 (Day 4/4)
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 March
Happy Anniversary:
3/24 Linda & Ronald Weiss
Happy Birthday:
3/01 Asher Lazarus
3/03 John Potter
3/06 Rosanne Levbarg
3/06 Leo Dashefsky
3/08 Amy Clift
3/10 David Dietz
3/11 Pamela Caulder-Fine
3/16 Ron Kopita
3/16 Navya Roos Kirkpatrick
3/23 Stephen Thomas
3/24 Aaron Roos Kirkpatrick
3/25 Esther Thomas
3/26 Hettie Schultz
3/28 David Dashefsky
3/29 Mark Wilson
3/30 Sara Wilgoren
3/30 Claire Bitner
3/03 John Potter
3/06 Rosanne Levbarg
3/06 Leo Dashefsky
3/08 Amy Clift
3/10 David Dietz
3/11 Pamela Caulder-Fine
3/16 Ron Kopita
3/16 Navya Roos Kirkpatrick
3/23 Stephen Thomas
3/24 Aaron Roos Kirkpatrick
3/25 Esther Thomas
3/26 Hettie Schultz
3/28 David Dashefsky
3/29 Mark Wilson
3/30 Sara Wilgoren
3/30 Claire Bitner
Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting Monday, March 18 at 6:00 pm
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 president@shir-ami.com.
Member Meeting and Dinner Friday, March 1, before Shabbat Services
Mark your calendars for a membership meeting and dinner, March 1st, before services.
Your voice is important and we need your input!
All members are strongly encouraged to attend and share their thoughts.
All members are strongly encouraged to attend and share their thoughts.
At this meeting we will be reviewing the constitution, bylaws, and budget for 2024. All of these documents can be viewed ahead of time on the Shir Ami website.
Shir Ami T-shirts are Back for a Limited Time!
Shir Ami t-shirts are available for purchase at this time. If you missed the first order opportunity, there is still time to get one. Sizes and quantities are limited so don't wait too long. To find out how you can get your Shir Ami t-shirt contact Eloise Potter and she will arrange to get the shirt to you.
A Night to Remember
March 24, 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Women's Mah Jongg
If you are interested in learning or playing, contact Maxine or Leslie
Happy Bookers Book Club
Date/Time: Saturday, March 23 @ 10:30 a.m.
Book: Hotel Cuba by Aaron Hamburger
Book: Hotel Cuba by Aaron Hamburger
About the Book
From the award-winning author of The View from Stalin's Head, a stunning novel about two sheltered Russian Jewish sisters, desperate to get to America to make a new life, who find themselves trapped in the sultry, hedonistic world of 1920s Havana.
Fleeing the chaos of World War I and the terror of the Soviet Revolution, practical, sensible Pearl Kahn and her lovestruck, impulsive younger sister Frieda sail for America to join their sister in New York. But discriminatory new immigration laws bar their entry, and they are turned back at Ellis Island. With few options, Pearl and Frieda head for Havana, Cuba.
A heartbreaking, epic family story, Hotel Cuba explores the profound courage of two women displaced from their home who strive to create a new future in an enticing and dangerous world far different from anything they have ever known.
About the Author
Aaron Hamburger is the author of the novels Nirvana is Here, Bronze Medal winner, the 2019 Foreword Reviews Indie Awards; Faith for Beginners; nominated for a Lambda Literary Award; and Hotel Cuba, published in May 2023. His short story collection, The View from Stalin's Head, won the Rome Prize from the Academy of Arts and Letters and was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award.
His writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post; The Chicago Tribune; The Village Voice; Michigan Quarterly Review, O, the Oprah Magazine; Out; and The Massachusetts Review. He has won fellowships from Yaddo; Djerassi; the Civitella Ranieri Foundation; the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; and the Edward F. Albee Foundation; and has won first prize, the Dornstein Contest for Young Jewish Writers. Aaron Hamburger has taught creative writing at Columbia University; George Washington University; New York University; Brooklyn College; and the Stonecoast MFA Program.
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, LeRoy Bitner, Jeffrey-George Bogart, Ralph Burdett, Darin Burdman, Pamela Caulder-Fine, Susan Chisum, Marcelina Cisneros, Elana Clift-Reaves, Charlotte Cohn, Lisa Coopersmith, Anne Ditlefsen-Smallwood, Glen Fine, Janet Friedman, Linda Friedman, Lynn Gelber, Carol Goldmark, Robin Gordon, Juliet Clare Grabish, Pearl Kopita, Kate Koons, Bill Kurtz, Rabbi Mark Levin, William Lenz, John Maes, Carol Moon, Kay Moore, Wendy Pravda, Sandy Sherwin, Emory Plum Schlanger, Skylar Stefanowicz, Trystan Stefanowicz, Anthony Tarsi, Cindy Tarsi (Chasye Chana bat Laya Raizel v’Avraham Yitzchak HaLevi), Jim Tarsi, Larry Whitlock, Mary Whitlock, Carole Wood, Dominic Wood, Bonnie Zimmer
Yom Ha’Atzmaut Celebration
Dell JCC Campus | Sunday, May 19 | 1:00 - 3:00pm
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| Mark your calendars! Shir Ami will be hosting a booth at the Yom Ha’Atzmaut celebration at the Dell JCC in May! And we need ideas and volunteers for our booth! If you have a desire to help plan, please contact Rabbi Reice ASAP before another organization takes your idea! |
The Caring Circle - Care to Get Involved?
Next Meeting | 3/5/24 | 1:30pm
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
Peace Family Housing Project
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Peace Lutheran Church, a small church on 620, is inviting the community to be part of creating four units of transitional housing on Peace's campus for families experiencing homelessness. Typically it takes about three months to find permanent housing for families, so this facility would serve about 12 families per year. Once the funds are raised, the construction will be done by Home Aid, an organization that works with non-profits to build needed housing, and finds discounted or donated materials and labor. Foundation for the Homeless has consulted on the design, and will be running the facility. All money donated will only be used for housing. No donations will be used for support of Peace Lutheran Church operations or ministry. Because of a generous legacy gift from Lord of Life Lutheran Church, and other donations and grants, about $550,000 of the needed $1.2 million has already been raised. As soon as the remaining funds are raised, construction will begin. The target is to have the facility built and serving families in 2025.
The even bigger dream is that Peace hopes to begin a movement where needed housing is built on other other non-profits' land, so more people could have safe housing. Please consider being part of this project, either through Amplify Austin - "I live here, I give here" campaign this month (under Housing) or via the Peace Housing Project website. More information is available on both of these links, including a floor plan. My husband, Ed Bailen, who is a member of Shir Ami, and I are excited to be so directly part of a local project to provide safe housing for families. We are happy to answer any questions you might have.
Irene Beattie & Ed Bailen
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Holocaust Remeberance Day
Free JCC Membership
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Get a FREE JCC Membership With Renew Active
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The JCC is the fitness center at Shalom Austin. Renew Active and Medicare One Pass will pay for your JCC membership! The JCC has partnered with UnitedHealthcare to offer Medicare insurance-covered memberships for seniors (65+) through a program called Renew Active.
To get started, email membership@shalomaustin.org or call 512-735-8001 with your Renew Active ID and phone number. |
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: BUT IN FEBRUARY 2024, it's going to be at NOON on February 13 at https://zoom.us/my/jfs.ehowitt but usually 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? Contact info@hfla.org or visit https://hebrewfreeloanofaustin.org.
Sun, April 28 2024 20 Nisan 5784
