New Blogs, News & Notes
We are now a blog, actually two...
We originally thought of starting "A Community of Families" to help foster a sense of community based on what seemed common interests among us - family and how being Jewish can help us and our families. In the 21st century we are finding that the notion of community has changed and continues to change - what worked before might not work so well today and new mechanisms are being developed to better serve those needs. For many of us these days, the only time we really get to breath, think and interact as human beings is late at night near a computer screen (when the kids are finally safe and fast asleep in bed).
With this in mind, we have created two blogs which we hope will inform, entertain, and help folks connect and create community in a way that best reflects our realities as families and parents today:
1. www.acommunityoffamilies.blogspot.com : News and information about this group, future events and the chance to talk to one another and interact on topics of common interest to us and our families as a community of families online
2. www.acommunityofparents.blogspot.com: A more general blog (not justabout this group) offering Jewish parenting resources and an onlinecommunity focusing on how Jewish values and ethics can help inform andguide us in our challenges as parents in the 21st century.
We hope you check these blogs out, and we welcome your feedback and input.
-------------------
Coming Up For A Community of Families
*We are trying to arrange a matzah factory visit (a mobile matzah factoryby Chabad). If it works out we'll let you know. If you are interested let us know. Details hopefully to follow.We are also working out the details of an inter generational horticultural event with our project partners at the Prospect HeightsCare Center in Hackensack. It is intended to be the first of a series of inter generational activities we hope to share with them. Let us know if you and your family would be interested in participating.
*We are planning a couple of "Spring Hikes" - one country and one urban.The "country" hike will take place over Passover week vacation, theurban hike later in the Spring in NYC - again details to follow.
Looking ahead.......
- Next December: December 25th Community Service Day - Details to follow.
- Ask A Rabbi- Ways to Be Jewish- "Wandering Jews" - Chance to visit various synagogues together as agroup for Shabbat service
- A Persian Purim....and more.
What Do You Think ?
- Shortly you be asked your opinion about "A Community of Families" this past year and your suggestions as we look to next year. We hope you will take a moment to share your thoughts. Did it work for you. If so, why ? If not, why not ? Either way, how can we best be relevant to you and for you ? By the way, if you are interested in helping to work on this dialogue of community evaluation and selfimprovement, please let us know.
-------------------------
Paying Attention to the Larger World....
Finally, We are a group of families. Our concern starts with our respective families. But we must not fail to loose site that we live in a larger world - a world that demands our attention. We try not to be political here, but there events occurring in Darfur,Sudan (and now surrounding Chad) that demand our attention.
As a people and families whose world view has been formulated by being Jewish, and the events of World War II, we remain speechless when contemplating what the world might have done to save millions of Jews ,but did not do. We have often vowed as individuals and as a people to never let anything like that happen again. But the fact is that something like that is happening again in Darfur. Too many have died and too few have acted. We hope it is not too late, and often feel helpless that we cannot do anything that matters. So this announcement is one small way I am trying to help. I am reminding you of two activities being publicized to rally support to the cause of ending the atrocities in Darfur, Sudan and neighboring Chad :
1. There is a national postcard campaign to Washington, speaking outagainst the situation in Darfur. You can join in with a message that theatrocities there must stop ... and the US must help. There are postcardsat various area synagogues and online (see below) that you can pick up, fill out, and send in.
2. A rally in Washington on April 30. The Rally to Stop Genocide willfeature leading voices in the effort to stop the genocide in Darfur,including a broad spectrum of prominent faith leaders, politicalfigures, human rights activists, celebrities, survivors of theHolocaust and genocides in Cambodia, Kosovo, Srebrenica, Rwanda, South Sudan and Darfur.
For more information you can go to the website: www.savedardfur.org.
---------------------------------
That's all for now. Regards to you and your family.
Eric
We originally thought of starting "A Community of Families" to help foster a sense of community based on what seemed common interests among us - family and how being Jewish can help us and our families. In the 21st century we are finding that the notion of community has changed and continues to change - what worked before might not work so well today and new mechanisms are being developed to better serve those needs. For many of us these days, the only time we really get to breath, think and interact as human beings is late at night near a computer screen (when the kids are finally safe and fast asleep in bed).
With this in mind, we have created two blogs which we hope will inform, entertain, and help folks connect and create community in a way that best reflects our realities as families and parents today:
1. www.acommunityoffamilies.blogspot.com : News and information about this group, future events and the chance to talk to one another and interact on topics of common interest to us and our families as a community of families online
2. www.acommunityofparents.blogspot.com: A more general blog (not justabout this group) offering Jewish parenting resources and an onlinecommunity focusing on how Jewish values and ethics can help inform andguide us in our challenges as parents in the 21st century.
We hope you check these blogs out, and we welcome your feedback and input.
-------------------
Coming Up For A Community of Families
*We are trying to arrange a matzah factory visit (a mobile matzah factoryby Chabad). If it works out we'll let you know. If you are interested let us know. Details hopefully to follow.We are also working out the details of an inter generational horticultural event with our project partners at the Prospect HeightsCare Center in Hackensack. It is intended to be the first of a series of inter generational activities we hope to share with them. Let us know if you and your family would be interested in participating.
*We are planning a couple of "Spring Hikes" - one country and one urban.The "country" hike will take place over Passover week vacation, theurban hike later in the Spring in NYC - again details to follow.
Looking ahead.......
- Next December: December 25th Community Service Day - Details to follow.
- Ask A Rabbi- Ways to Be Jewish- "Wandering Jews" - Chance to visit various synagogues together as agroup for Shabbat service
- A Persian Purim....and more.
What Do You Think ?
- Shortly you be asked your opinion about "A Community of Families" this past year and your suggestions as we look to next year. We hope you will take a moment to share your thoughts. Did it work for you. If so, why ? If not, why not ? Either way, how can we best be relevant to you and for you ? By the way, if you are interested in helping to work on this dialogue of community evaluation and selfimprovement, please let us know.
-------------------------
Paying Attention to the Larger World....
Finally, We are a group of families. Our concern starts with our respective families. But we must not fail to loose site that we live in a larger world - a world that demands our attention. We try not to be political here, but there events occurring in Darfur,Sudan (and now surrounding Chad) that demand our attention.
As a people and families whose world view has been formulated by being Jewish, and the events of World War II, we remain speechless when contemplating what the world might have done to save millions of Jews ,but did not do. We have often vowed as individuals and as a people to never let anything like that happen again. But the fact is that something like that is happening again in Darfur. Too many have died and too few have acted. We hope it is not too late, and often feel helpless that we cannot do anything that matters. So this announcement is one small way I am trying to help. I am reminding you of two activities being publicized to rally support to the cause of ending the atrocities in Darfur, Sudan and neighboring Chad :
1. There is a national postcard campaign to Washington, speaking outagainst the situation in Darfur. You can join in with a message that theatrocities there must stop ... and the US must help. There are postcardsat various area synagogues and online (see below) that you can pick up, fill out, and send in.
2. A rally in Washington on April 30. The Rally to Stop Genocide willfeature leading voices in the effort to stop the genocide in Darfur,including a broad spectrum of prominent faith leaders, politicalfigures, human rights activists, celebrities, survivors of theHolocaust and genocides in Cambodia, Kosovo, Srebrenica, Rwanda, South Sudan and Darfur.
For more information you can go to the website: www.savedardfur.org.
---------------------------------
That's all for now. Regards to you and your family.
Eric
posted by eric model at 7:36 AM
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