Erev Shabbat Friday, February 16 Erev Shabbat Service, 6:30 pm Hybrid Our Shabbat services, on Zoom and in person! Join us to light candles and gather in community to celebrate Shabbat.
Mussar Torah Study, Online Mussar is the Jewish school of thought which seeks to root personal character development and right behavior in Jewish tradition and text. We meet monthly to learn more about this tradition and how it may benefit our lives. Led this month by Rabbi Seth.
Growing Shabbat Havdalah at Camp Solomon Schechter Saturday, February 17, 3:00 pm In Person @ Camp Solomon Schechter
Join us for some learning, dinner and havdallah out at Camp Solomon Schechter. Registration has closed.
PJ Playdate Sunday, February 18, 11:00 am In Person
On the third Sunday of every month, all kids ages 0-6 and their grown-ups and families are invited to join us for PJ Playdate. This is a social gathering opportunity for families, and will typically have a story walk, including craft time and snack.
COMING UP AT TBH
Book Group Tuesday, February 20, 7:00 pm Online
The Color of Love by Marra B. Gad is a memoir by a mixed Jewish/Black child adopted by a loving Jewish family on her struggles growing up in Chicago and her journey reaching out to her blood father’s Jewish family. Contact Linda Rubin at linda.rubin23@gmail.com with questions.
The Mourner's Path: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s Heartache Sunday, February 25, 7:00 pm Online
Presented by Hawai'i Inter-Island Chevra Kadisha and co-sponsored by TBH Chevra Kadisha. In times of turmoil, we are held together by the wisdom of our tradition that is embedded in our rituals. We will explore the Mourner's Path that existed in the time of The Temple in Jerusalem as well as a contemporary understanding of the journey through the wilderness of loss. Using holy Hebrew words to reframe our understanding of the tasks and stages of grief, we will traverse the landscape of loss and visit the places in which mourners must dwell in order to do the holy work prescribed by Psalms and "turn mourning into dancing."
Song as a Channel for Blessing Workshop with Batya Levine Sunday, March 3, 1:30 pm In Person
Drawing on the concept of aliyot - being called up to bless and be blessed by the chanting of the Torah - we will interweave song with ritual in a co-created group space to call our prayers into the song, and call the song into our prayers. We will explore the concept of blessings, learn melodies, and have space to give and receive the blessing of song together. This workshop is free for members and $36 for non-members. Register here>>
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! Growing Shabbaton @ Schechter Friday-Saturday, March 15-16 In Person
We will celebrate Shabbat together from beginning to end! Join us Friday for our normal Growing Shabbat dinner and service. Stay overnight in a cabin. Enjoy the the whole next day of camp Shabbat experiences! We'll have tefillah, learning, and plenty of time to eat, schmooze and play. After havdallah, we'll head on home.See the full program here Register>>
COMMITTEE UPDATES
Reparations Task Force Update: ABC Reparations Housing Campaign
The TBH Reparations Task Force are sharing information about the ABC Reparations Housing Campaign, which launched at the start of the month. The ABC Reparations Housing Campaign is a project based in mutual aid, community care, and reparations for racialized harm, with a commitment to raise $250,000 for a
family who have been profoundly impacted by racist police violence and housing discrimination in Olympia, WA / on Squaxin land. The Chaplin-Thompson family are a multi-generational Black family who have lived in the Pacific Northwest for the past decade. (The ABC stands for André, Bryson, and Crystal.) Their lives were forever changed on May 21, 2015, when Olympia police officer Ryan Donald shot both André and Bryson multiple times as they were walking home carrying their skateboards. Instead of Officer Donald facing charges, André and Bryson were both charged with and convicted of assaulting a police officer, both spent time incarcerated, and both now have permanent disabilities (including a bullet in Bryson’s back). Learn more about their justice struggle here.
Following the shooting, their family was demonized by the media, and have faced ongoing housing discrimination and instability. The compounding stress of anti-Black racism and violence is causing Crystal and her sons serious health problems. They have identified safe, stable housing as their number one priority. This is where we need you to get involved!
We are asking for solidarity in the form of donations of any size, knowing that mutual aid often relies on many small donations. For those with housing stability, we ask: Can you commit the amount of one housing payment? You can pay it all at once or in installments, out-of-pocket or by mobilizing resources from your community.
The ABC Reparations Housing Campaign has been organized by a group of white Jews in Olympia, building on relationships of solidarity that have been developed with the family over the past eight years. We are putting out a call to our national community to do right by this family, by creating a fund for them to purchase safe, sustainable housing. This campaign is fiscally sponsored by the Anti Police-Terror Project , and supported by Olympia SURJ, POOR Magazine/Prensa Pobre, and Sins Invalid.
Jane Herman Seth Hendler Thomas Kaufmann Sylvia Strasberg Phil McLaughlin Tammy Roth Richard Simons Martha Organek Betty Blum Jackie Madlem Elaine Gross Richard Green Pearl Janowitz Rey Rodrigues Nancy Phillips Lidman Betty Denitz Bertram Hacken Donald Schwartz Sam Alfasso Joseph Mollan Raymond Franklin Janet Hansen Harry Pollock Harry Sahanow Kurt Kleinberger Larry Ross Gretchen Neff Samuel Lubarr Albert Kitmacher John Turner Marilyn Sidel James Wolfhagen Yenta Rome Frances Reichlin
Happy Birthday!
14 Stephanie Hoffman 18 Marcia David 18 Melinda Holman 20 Cora Littauer 20 Matthew Madlem
Yahrtzeit Updates & Additions
Members are able to view, edit, and add Yahrtzeits on the member portal of the TBH website here (requires log in). If you need assistance, please feel free to send any updates to tbh@bethhatfiloh.org.
COMMUNITY EVENTS/RESOURCES: Note: These are not necessarily officially sponsored or endorsed by TBH, but they are listed as they have Jewish content and/or may be of interest to our community.
Jewish Community Relations Council: Jewish Community Lobby Day Thursday, February 15 In Person
Join us in Olympia for our first in-person Jewish Community Lobby Day since 2020! At a time when antisemitism is at record levels, it’s more important than ever to have a strong turnout from our community to advocate for our top priorities. Please share information about lobby day widely with your networks.
“What is My Responsibility?”: Four Jewish Perspectives, presented by The Evergreen State College Wednesday, February 21, 3:00 pm Online
Two rabbis and two Jewish Evergreen professors will each explain how they think about their responsibilities right now. Audience members will be invited to submit questions for the panel to address. Speakers:
Julie Levin Russo, Moderator, Evergreen faculty in Media Studies
Rabbi David Basior, Kadima Jewish Community, Seattle
Peter Bohmer, Evergreen faculty emeritus, Economics and Political Economy
Rabbi Seth Goldstein, Temple Beth Hatfiloh, Olympia
Nancy Koppelman, Evergreen faculty in American Studies and Humanities
HFLA: Education Assistance Programs Applications open in April
Need help paying for college? HFLA can help! We offer interest-free, no fee loans of up to $7,500 for postsecondary education and need based scholarships. Scholarship applications open April 1st, Loan applications open May 1st. Informational webinars Mar 20th at 7pm and April 16th at 7pm. Put it on your calendar. Contact office@hflawa.org (206) 397-0005
Tivnu Summer Program March 3 Info Session June 23-July 4 Program
Tivnu is partnering with the BJE of Phoenix to bring together rising ninth- through twelfth-graders from across the country in Portland, Seattle, and the Oregon Coast, June 23-July 4, 2024. Help build up homeless tiny house communities, address food insecurity, and bring supplies and resources to people living on the streets. We’ll stop for whitewater rafting, waterfall hikes, and plenty of other adventures along the way. Sign up now for all the details and / or to join our March 3 online info session.
