This article by Amy Gottlieb first appeared in the March-April Bulletin.
For the past few years, Ronnie Zuckerberg, Diane Ehrlich and I have been leading the Sisterhood through a transition. With the evolution of our BIJ community and a desire to bring together women of all ages for social and community celebrations, we have worked really hard to develop interesting and engaging programs.
And we have…with some degree of success — whether it was the white elephant gift exchange and pot-luck dinner party, bowling and Havdallah by the beach, henna tattoo, sushi making, bingo or maybe one of the educational programs, speakers or book reviews — we’ve reached out and tried to appeal to all members of our community. And we have.
Just look at the proof. 24 members of our Congregation gathered in the BIJ kitchen to cook a 5-course “Jewish light” Mediterranean style meal. While the kids made their own pizzas and watched videos in the social hall, we gathered in the kitchen to cook – seniors, boomers, couples and singles, men and women, young and old. And the reward – besides sharing a great time learning some new recipes — was the pleasure of sitting down to break bread together and get to know one another.
Special thanks to Melanie Barsuk and Stephan Gaudreau for leading us in this event, Amy Gottlieb and Ronnie Zuckerberg for setting it up and the kids’ program, Beth Alberts for centerpieces and Diane Ehrlich for communications. It was truly a fun event. Check out the BIJ website for photos!
The Care and Concern Committee has been actively delivering meals to members of our BIJ community. We appreciate the efforts of Anne Fuchs-Chesney, Diane Ehrlich and David Zeff for coordinating and making deliveries, and Beth Alberts, Barbara Hammel and Remi Klein for their delicious cooking and baking. And we hope that the meals we delivered brought comfort to the members of our congregation!
So now is the time of year when the leadership of our organization should be transitioning. During this past “administration”, Sisterhood has been morphing into a new group, as is evident with our name change. The survival of Sisters-in-the-Hood will depend on a new approach to our leadership with more of a team management approach. We would at least want to continue having our annual tea party for paidup members as well as two communitywide events each year that can appeal to people of all ages. Our challenge is, and will be, finding sisters who are willing to take on the challenge.
We invite our sisters — the women of our Congregation — to join us and help us maintain our mission: To be a sharing and caring group of women working together to maintain a Jewish way of life and support the goals of the congregation. Help us to continue the Mitzvot.
By Amy Gottlieb Co-President, BIJ Sisters-in-the-Hood