Spreading solidarity with Israel
Pizza, boxed wine and a dozen Jews sit in a living room to discuss the political situation in Israel…could be a recipe for disaster, but this first community sitdown in one of our Partnership cities, Toledo, was an amazing way to understand the mind set of everyday American and Israeli Jews living in the US.
Shirlee and I, along with our esteemed guest, Michael Aaronson, traveled to three cities to discuss Yom HaZikaron and Yom Haatzmaut. Together with local Israelis and those who served in the IDF, we represented Israel and spoke about our experiences serving Israel. “This delegation touches a very sensitive nerve in Israel, taking place during Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut,” said Michael Aaronson. “Having our American Jewish Brothers and Sisters be part of this Kiruv Levavot (connecting our hearts, or unity), and the fact that those in our partnership participated in solidarity with our homeland, warms my heart.”
Last month, we also hosted the greatly attended Yom Hashoah program, run in part by students and teachers from Discovery Middle School. For me, seeing the reflections of our young people who learned about the Holocaust only through school is a great insight into how some schools are doing when it comes to going above and beyond just teaching for the test.
With May flowers in bloom, we come to another amazing event in the middle of the month! On May 14th, our Mother’s Day Brunch & Concert invites our community to come with their friends and family to enjoy music, amazing kosher food, and community as we celebrate the important women in our lives. I’m beyond excited to hear the South Bend Symphony Orchestra’s String Quartet perform pieces created by Jewish composers. There will be activities for kids who get the jitters sitting still for the concert, and more surprises to enjoy!
Camp Ideal is just weeks away at this point, and we are hard at work to create the best summer ever! We are excited to see all of our Camp families again, and we want to see you as well! Every Friday starting from June 16th, our Shi’Shuk Market will be back with delicious Jewish foods (certified South Bend Kosher), as well as crafts made by the campers and handmade health and wellness products. All proceeds go to local organizations chosen by the campers at the end of each session. From 3:30-4:30 campers will be out in our new Shi’shuk cart selling merchandise and sharing with anyone who comes all about their days at Camp Ideal. Shirlee and Abbee have been hard at work testing new ideas like bath bombs, hand creams, lip balm and more, all made from simple ingredients like herbs and flowers from our community garden!
As always, my door is open, and my phone is ready to hear from YOU with any questions or ideas to make our community programming the best it can be.
Dan Ravitch
Programming Director
574-233-1164 x1819
DRavitch@TheJewishFed.org