Letter from the President

Friends,

I just came from another meaningful day at WJC and had to share with you some of the excitement. Today’s World Wide Wrap was incredible. This event is held every year on Super Bowl Sunday, to show our solidarity by putting on Tefillin. This year’s celebration had forty participants including a dozen young people and more than a dozen females, and many people wrapping their phylacteries for the first time. This was followed by a wonderful breakfast and presentations by the participants of our recent mission to Israel.

In case you missed it, just last week our SIR program featured Amy Spitalnik of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs who taught us about Antisemitism, how it undermines our democracy, and ways to help combat it. Her discussion about the successful civil litigation against the Charlottesville massacre provided a new perspective and effective, powerful responses open to us. It was an outstanding weekend.

Also in the last week Rabbis Arnowitz’s “Beyond the Bimah” series continued with his dear friend Reverend Dr. Antipas Harris, and our clergy shared “The Structural Why” expanding our understand of our prayer services at our Spiritual Life Committee meeting.

There are so many things happening at WJC and it is great to see the building full of people of all ages. Some big events are coming up that everyone should mark on your calendars:

• Purim arrives on Saturday, March 23. In addition to the Megillah reading and costume parades, the celebration will continue through a Purim Seudah (meal) and the Purimspiel on Sunday evening.
• WJC’s civil rights trip is planned for April 7th-10th. It is sold out, but I am told there is a waiting list, and possible future trips to look out for.
• Dr. Josh Kulp will join us as a Pre-Passover Visiting Scholar for the weekend of April 12 through 14
• The annual “fast of the first-born” siyum (study session) and chametz roast will be on Monday April 22nd
• …and I cannot wait until we will cap the year with our annual community celebration. This year we will gather together for a Yom Yerusalayim (Jerusalem Day) festival on June 9th. Stay tuned for more details.

Hope to see you at WJC!

L’hitraot,
Larry Thaler