From the President

Hi Everyone…

Its always interesting to me to hear how non-Jews learn\experience Jewish events…
Today, a long time friend relayed a story of tasting some of the traditional wine served at seders.. Or course, he was talking about Manichewitz super sweet kosher for passover wine! An acquired taste to say the least. Luckily for us, our community seder had a lot more going for it then just the Manichewitz. Thanks to Barry Lerich for putting out the call, and to all who stepped forward and helped organize, set-up, participate in, and clean up the Masonic Lodge last month. A wonderful evening and seder, shared with both members and non-members. As we transition into summer, Bet Shira’s activities continue.. with monthly Shabbat Services leading the way. Please review our calendar for upcoming dates. Looking forward to seeing you.

~Jonathan

UPCOMING BET SHIRA EVENTS

Friday, May 11th
Erev Shabbat Service
6:30 PM at St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Led by the kids! Please come celebrate Shabbat and the hard work that the religious school kids have done to learn the prayers and songs.

Thursday, May 24th
Shavuot Celebration
5PM, in private home

Saturday, May 26th
Shabbat Morning Torah Service
10AM at St. Paul's Episcopal Church

see the calendar for details

Religious School

Another religious school year is winding up and we can't believe it's happened again! It's amazing how busy a big group of kids can be!

This year we put a strong emphasis on Hebrew and it has really paid off. The kids have grown in leaps and bounds and also had tons of enthusiasm for their learning. We actually have five different groups of Hebrew learning happening. Amy leads our oldest group, the middle group is huge so we divided them into three with Debbie, Paula and Lynne teaching, and Kathryn has taken the youngest group. They have all benefitted from the very personalized attention.

read more...

Community Passover Seder

Thanks to everyone who helped to make our participatory Passover seder such a success. Read more...

*Soundly Jewish: Life Around the South Puget Sound & Olympic Peninsula
A great website resource of news and events in our area.  http://soundlyjewish.org/

Aging with Choice: Determining Your Own Path
Saturday, May 12, 2012, 2:00 p.m.
Congregation Kol Shalom
9010 Miller Road, Bainbridge Island
Karen Klein, CEO of Silver Planet and Dr. Pat Borman, Family Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Medical Home Visits will be discussing the legal, financial and medical issues that should be considered as we plan our lives. This event is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, please contact mailto:mkklein@silverplanet.com or call 206-842-9010.

Music of Remembrance Upcoming Concerts:

Spring Concert: Another Sunrise
Time: Monday, May 14, 2012 - 6:30pm
Venue: Benaroya Hall
Another Sunrise, our second commission from composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, tells of the day-to-day survival of Polish dissident Krystyna Zywulska. With her mother in tow, Krystyna walked out of the Warsaw ghetto in broad daylight in 1942, and joined the Polish...
More info at:  http://musicofremembrance.org/~musicofr/upcoming-concerts

A weekend of Quantum Physics and Kabbalah
You're invited to a weekend of reflection, learning and community on beautiful Vashon Island
Nothingness and Sacred Time:
Running and Returning
July 6-8 on Vashon Island, WA
more info in a pdf flyer HERE

Membership

All who have not done so already, please renew your membership for 5772. It would be a great help for our budgeting if those remaining could submit their renewal as soon as possible.
A link to the new membership form for 5772 can be found on our Membership Page.

Website
We hope that you will like what you find here, and welcome your comments. Please email: betshira@yahoo.com for general comments. info@amymook.com for website comments.

Submissions will be evaluated by the Board of Bet Shira prior to publication.  Submissions must be germane to the purpose of Bet Shira and www.betshira.com.  Commercial solicitations cannot be published. Please send your submissions in digital format.