Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

 News from Chesapeake Region of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation,January 2011!   read more »

As I write this newsletter, we are hard at work preparing for the Chesapeake JRF Annual Celebration.  This year the Annual Celebration is on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at Oseh Shalom in Laurel from 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.  We are excited to be honoring members of our congregations and Havurot and special members of our region.  The national theme for this year is Ohel: Together Under One Tent.  All of our honorees have contributed to creating a “Big Tent” for Judaism or securing the ohel/tent in their congregations and havurot. 

JRF is thrilled to welcome Kol HaLev as our newest and second Reconstructionist community in Baltimore, Maryland!  read more »

Pushing for Better Wages, Not Necessarily Giving Them: Conservative Leaders Support ‘Living Wage’ and Magen Tzedek, but So Far Little Change at Shul

Published October 07, 2009, issue of October 16, 2009,

“As an economist I thought it would break the bank,” Gelman said, looking back.

Scherlinder Dobb did not give up. His board calculated that paying two janitors a living wage would cost $8,000 extra a year — 1% of their annual budget, or $35 per member each year. For the janitors at the time, this meant $10.20 an hour with health insurance, or $11.80 without. The congregation ultimately reached this standard by raising more revenue and reshuffling its budget priorities.

The executive director at Adat Shalom, Sheila Feldman, said that she tried to promote what Adat Shalom had done at meetings of executive directors from synagogues across the Washington area — but she always heard that the other synagogues could not afford it.

“Believe me, my synagogue was in no better shape than theirs,” Feldman said.

One person who was eventually convinced was Gelman, the economist and executive director. She said she was surprised by the benefits that the move brought to the synagogue — most of all the quality of the employees who were attracted, and the lack of employee turnover. She also heard from one janitor who went to a doctor as soon as he got health insurance, and ended up catching a life-threatening illness early.

“To this day,” Gelman wrote in an essay about her experience, “he says that the congregation saved his life.”

See

http://jrf.org/living-wage,

http://jrf.org/omer/2006/4/living-wage-handbook,

http://jrf.org/resources/files/Tikkun%20Olam-Liebling.pdf,

http://jrf.org/files/PEARL%20-%20Tikkun%20Olam.pdf,

Contact Nathaniel Popper at popper@forward.com

On September 9th I was part of a truly joyous simchah – the wedding of Richard Ruth and Jim North, two members of Kol Ami, our Northern Virginia affiliate. It was a perfect day in every sense – the weather was warm and sunny and there was enough joy and ruach (spirit) to fill the whole world.  read more »

Rabbi Leila Gal Berner conducted a beautiful wedding service, which, in the best tradition of Reconstructionism, took the “traditional” marriage service and perfectly adapted it for this sacred occasion -- Richard and Jim publicly, Jewishly affirming their love for each other and their commitment to take their two separate lives and combine them into one, new life.