Monday, January 29, 2007
Cantorial Recital
Jamie put on a great concert last Thursday night called A Few of Our Favorite Things. It was all musical theatre and classical music. All of the cantorial students sang solos, duets and ensemble pieces. Everyone had a great time and we raised over $500 for the FSU Pesach Project (or "Seders Across America"). I designed the program and am pretty proud of myself. Click the links to see the outside of the program or the inside of the program. Here are some pictures from the big event:
 Jamie singing "Agony" with Josh |  Jamie singing "All I Ask of You" with Melanie |
 All of the cantors singing. They did 2 ensemble pieces: "Blackbird" and "Seasons of Love" |  Our friend and rabbinical student, Jaimee Wilans, accompanied the whole show |
 The Cantors: Josh, Dave, Jamie, Luke, Mary, Cheryl and Melanie |  The cantors with the director, Cantor Eli Schliefer, and Jaimee Wilans |
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Surprise!
Yesterday, we had a relaxing day at home, enjoying the quiet of Shabbat and sleeping in. After getting up, we got dressed, made a salad and headed over to our friend Josh's house for a Shabbat lunch. I got to his house and went to his room to put down my jacket when . . . . . . . . . . . SURPRISE! A birthday party for me! We had a really fun afternoon with most of my friends, just visiting and lots of eating. A very few of us stayed and ate all of Josh's leftovers for dinner (he really did ask us to) and finally made our way home around 9. That was a way to spend a birthday. Thanks Jamie, love ya!
Jamie and I are hard at work on his recital/fundraiser coming up on Thursday night. We'll let you how it goes. In the meantime, here's a picture I've wanted to share for a while, but couldn't fit it in with anything. You can learn a lot about Israeli and Arab culture from this shot:
Sunday, January 14, 2007
FSU Pesach Project
Many of you have already received a letter about this, but we wanted you all to hear the details of our next adventure. We are participating in a program called the FSU Pesach Project, which my mother has renamed "Seders Across Russia."
This April, 38 rabbinical, cantorial and education students and their spouses will travel to the Former Soviet Union (FSU) on a mission to lead Passover seders for thousands of underserved Jews. The Former Soviet Union is the second largest Jewish population in the diaspora (non-Israeli). During the time of Soviet rule, very few Jews were able to practice Judaism or teach their children about their heritage. Today, thousands of Jews want to have a connection to their roots, but know little about Judaism. The major Jewish force in the area is Chabad, an Orthodox organization, which does not recognize progressive Jewish sects. However, many of these Jews want a modern life and to freely practice Judaism.
As part of the Reform Movement's efforts to provide services to these Jews, HUC sends their first-year students to the FSU in teams of two or three to lead Passover seders in many communities, varying in size, age, etc, during the week of Passover. We will likely go to synagogues, retirement or nursing homes, youth programs, young family programs, and everything in between!
Jamie and I have requested to be sent to Ukraine. Although we won't know for a while to which cities we are going, it is very likely that we will head to a synagogue outside of Lvov, which is only an hour's drive away from the shtetl (village) where his great-grandparents are from. Hopefully, we actually see the shtetl in Ukraine where he comes from!
As you have probably guessed, we need the support of our family and friends back in the States to help make this trip possible. The entire cost of this trip is fundraised each year by the participants, including airfare, transportation, translators, hotel stays, food, etc. But the fundraised money goes so much farther than that. Any money raised beyond the travel expenses for the students goes directly towards gifts for the communities we visit. Some gifts are simple and some are quite large. Last year, the group was able to pay for a new bathroom for a synagogue, where they had previously had to walk through snow in the winter to use an outhouse, they were now able to have a working toilet right in the building. Another year, they were able to raise enough money to buy a synagogue their first Torah, which was carried personally by one of the students.
If you are interested in learning more about this program, or making a tax-deductable donation, please go to www.pesachproject.com. If you receive our posts as emails, you can also always go directly to our blog, where there is a link on the left side panel. We're happy to share more information with you and can't wait to show off our pictures when we get back!
This April, 38 rabbinical, cantorial and education students and their spouses will travel to the Former Soviet Union (FSU) on a mission to lead Passover seders for thousands of underserved Jews. The Former Soviet Union is the second largest Jewish population in the diaspora (non-Israeli). During the time of Soviet rule, very few Jews were able to practice Judaism or teach their children about their heritage. Today, thousands of Jews want to have a connection to their roots, but know little about Judaism. The major Jewish force in the area is Chabad, an Orthodox organization, which does not recognize progressive Jewish sects. However, many of these Jews want a modern life and to freely practice Judaism.
As part of the Reform Movement's efforts to provide services to these Jews, HUC sends their first-year students to the FSU in teams of two or three to lead Passover seders in many communities, varying in size, age, etc, during the week of Passover. We will likely go to synagogues, retirement or nursing homes, youth programs, young family programs, and everything in between!
Jamie and I have requested to be sent to Ukraine. Although we won't know for a while to which cities we are going, it is very likely that we will head to a synagogue outside of Lvov, which is only an hour's drive away from the shtetl (village) where his great-grandparents are from. Hopefully, we actually see the shtetl in Ukraine where he comes from!
As you have probably guessed, we need the support of our family and friends back in the States to help make this trip possible. The entire cost of this trip is fundraised each year by the participants, including airfare, transportation, translators, hotel stays, food, etc. But the fundraised money goes so much farther than that. Any money raised beyond the travel expenses for the students goes directly towards gifts for the communities we visit. Some gifts are simple and some are quite large. Last year, the group was able to pay for a new bathroom for a synagogue, where they had previously had to walk through snow in the winter to use an outhouse, they were now able to have a working toilet right in the building. Another year, they were able to raise enough money to buy a synagogue their first Torah, which was carried personally by one of the students.
If you are interested in learning more about this program, or making a tax-deductable donation, please go to www.pesachproject.com. If you receive our posts as emails, you can also always go directly to our blog, where there is a link on the left side panel. We're happy to share more information with you and can't wait to show off our pictures when we get back!
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Jamie and I went on vacation this past week. Here are some pictures!
Happy New Year!
 Before we left, HUC had a second talent show where Jamie sang a medley of pop songs. |  He also did some improv. |
 It snowed in Jerusalem! |  You have to see it to believe it. |
 We spent 3 days in Tel Aviv, the big city in Israel. |  We were really excited to be around big buildings and pretty lights. |
 Tel Aviv is famous for its wide walkways in the middle of the streets. |  This is the plaza in Old Jaffa where Tel Aviv first started. |
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 Next we made our way to the North. This is Tzfat, the mystical city of Israel. |  These are two famous synagogues; The Caro Synagogue and the Abuhav Synagogue. |
 Another shot of Tzfat. Lots of things are painted blue which has a superstitious value, but also an asthetic value that comes from neighboring Arab influnces. |  In Israel, artists paint recycle bins and similar things, but they're prettiest in Tzfat. |
 Then we went to Nazareth where Jesus comes from. This is the Church of Annunciation where some believe that Mary was told she was carrying Jesus. |  Around the courtyard and the inside of the church are huge, beautiful mosaics, each sent from a different country. |
 This is a mosaic of Mary and baby Jesus from Japan. |  Jamie and I have the maturity of 10 year olds and thought this sign was very funny. Apparently you can take the people out of San Francisco, but you can't take SF out of the people. |
Happy New Year!
