January 2022

President’s Message

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I’ve always been interested in having a plan to reach a goal I valued.  So, when I first became a grandparent, I was excited to start a 529 College Savings Plan. I wanted to make the vision of my grandchildren’s college education become a reality. Today, I’m grateful to have four of these plans.  Believe it or not, the next time I got really excited about a plan was when I learned about Hadassah’s Annual Giving.  It just made sense to me.

Q.  “Why Annual Giving? I give a bit here and there to Hadassah. This past year l was happy to make a donation for the Nurses’ Station at the 2021 Gala Fundraiser.”

A.  First, thank you so much for your generous donations.  Like other  Annual Givers, I am so proud of what Hadassah has accomplished and the life-saving and life-changing work it continues to excel at offering. I wanted Hadassah to count on me for continuous support. I also like to have my Annual Giving—a comfortable amount I’ve chosen— set up for monthly installments rather than one time before year’s end.  It’s your choice.

Q.“Say, I wanted to be an Annual Giver.  What would my money support?”

A. Whether you’re a Keeper of the Gate, starting annually at $1,000, or a Chai Society donor, starting annually at $180, you choose which of the 4 Hadassah initiatives you want to support:  Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), Youth Aliyah, Young Judea Scholarships or Greatest Need.  You can even change your preference each year. 

Q.  “How do I find out more information?”  

 A. I’m happy to mail a brochure to you.  Please call and leave a message:  425-467-9099 (ext 1).  You can also refer to the General Annual Giving page: https://www.hadassah.org/donate/learn-more/annual-giving 

The best person to ask is Ian Merles, Hadassah Annual Giving Officer, West Coast:  imerles@hadassah.org  or  T619.884.1475.  It’s important to get your plan set up correctly with Ian.  When I told Ian about my vision for 2022 —an Annual Giving campaign with a goal to increase the number of donors from 71 to 100—he said,  

    “There is so much generosity and caring in Seattle 
         that you can easily reach your goal.” 

The 2022 campaign is just starting.  Could this be your year to turn your own goal into a plan?  For current Keepers of the Gate or Chai Society donors, if you’re not sure whether you’re all paid up for 2021, please contact Ian.

Looking forward to an outdoor Annual Giving Celebration this summer,

Seattle Chapter Programs

Thank You

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Hadassah Magazine November 2021:  

Making the desert bloom by planting a tree in Israel? Classic. Adopting an olive tree and savoring its oil on salads all winter? Very 2021.

While American Jews have long cherished the tradition of sponsoring a tree in Israel—most notably through the Jewish National Fund—a new olive tree program, My Tree in Israel, personalizes the concept for the farm-to-table era. For $220, My Tree in Israel facilitates the one-year adoption of a mature olive tree in a grove near the Jezreel Valley and, in return, the sponsor receives six bottles of custom-labeled kosher oil from the fall harvest.

“It’s a more personal way to connect people who love Israel with the land,” said Yishai Gelb, who founded the company a year ago with the father-and-son team of Yaakov and Ofir Asaf.

For oenophiles, there is a similar initiative that promotes the sponsorship of grape vines in Israel. Depending on the level of giving, Wine on the Vine, a project of the Israel Innovation Fund, sends donors a certain number of bottles of wine produced from grapes sponsored by their gift.

By September 2021, the Haifa-based My Tree in Israel had brokered more than 500 tree adoptions. Gifts and memorials are popular motives for tree investment, as is the desire to counteract the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, according to Gelb. He especially includes in that group religious Zionists—both Jews and evangelical Christians.

Modern opportunities for tree sponsorship in Israel foster personal engagement with the land and offer something beyond a certificate. My Tree in Israel encourages sponsors to visit their trees and is rolling out a program for North American Jewish day schools that emphasizes Israeli agriculture, geography and environmentalism. Already, school tours of the olive groves have been conducted over Zoom during the pandemic, and Gelb says in-person visits are scheduled for this winter.

Olive oil is, of course, a popular food and a Hanukkah staple. But Gelb points to greater resonance. “Olive trees are indigenous to Israel. They’re mentioned in the Bible,” he explained. “The olive branch is an emblem of peace worldwide. It’s a tree that symbolizes so much about Israel.”

Beyond     Seattle

THE POWER OF PURPOSE

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9, 2022 • 8 AM – 2:30 PM PT

**Seattle Hadassah is excited to announce that Immediate Past-President Susan Adler  has been invited to facilitate one of the most thought- provoking Advocacy Workshops at National’s January 9, 2022 Power of Purpose virtual conference.   If you select Susan’s session when you register, you will have the chance to hear from, and interact with, African American Rabbi Tamar Manasseh.  Rabbi Manasseh’s passion to prevent any more Chicago South side neighborhood children from being killed by gun violence, led to one of the most courageous and creative approaches one could possibly imagine.  Her story was captured in the documentary movie, “They Aren’t Ready for Me”, shown recently at the Seattle Jewish Film Festival  (To view, click on http://theyaintreadyforme.com/).  Susan and Rabbi Tamar will be exploring with workshop participants questions such as:
-What defines your purpose and how do you get there?
-What barriers have been in your way and how did you overcome them?
-How can we build on our experiences and our scar tissue to achieve our sense of purpose?
Susan Adler and Rabbi Tamar Manasseh’s workshop is one of 12 that will be offered on January 9.  These small discussion opportunities are the very heart of what will make this day resonate with you.  Register below…..We help women break barriers, raise their voices and make an impact. Now, let us help you activate your purpose! Join us for The Power of Purpose, Hadassah’s one-day virtual conference focused on empowering women, and learn how to engage your voice, body, soul and mind to effect change.

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We help women break barriers, raise their voices and make an impact. Now, let us help you activate your purpose! Join us for The Power of Purpose, Hadassah’s one-day virtual conference focused on empowering women, and learn how to engage your voice, body, soul and mind to effect change.

‍Our newly announced addition is Lesley Stahl, legendary broadcast journalist and co-editor of 60 Minutes. You’ll also hear from Jenna Bush Hager, co-host of NBC’s TODAY Show and best-selling author, alongside an all-star roster of incredible speakers.

Be inspired by our diverse lineup of powerful women leaders! Amy Spitalnick, executive director of Integrity First for America, Tamar Manasseh, founder of Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings (MASK), and Erin Zaikis, founder of RISE by Sundara, are among the many speakers who will lead panels on advocacy, women’s health, Israel and women’s empowerment. During each panel, these women will open up about their personal challenges, their motivation and success, and how each of us can take action and make a difference.
View our speakers: /www.hadassah.org/powerofpurpose#speakers>      
View the schedule: /www.hadassah.org/powerofpurpose#schedule>‍
Register here

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Join us virtually on Zoom for a live interactive discussion
with a panel of distinguished Rabbis.
Rabbi Naomi Levy is the founder and spiritual leader of Nashuva in Los Angeles, California. She was ordained as a Conservative rabbi in the first class of women to attend The Jewish Theological Seminary’s Rabbinical School in New York City. The Jewish Forward identified Levy as, “one of the nation’s 50 most influential Jewish leaders.”
Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg is currently the Spiritual Leader at Beth Tfiloh Congregation in Baltimore, Maryland and the Dean of the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School. Chosen as one of Baltimore Magazine’s “most powerful clergy,” he was also the recipient of the prestigious United Jerusalem Medallion from Israel Bonds in 2012.
Moderator Rabbi Serena Eisenberg serves as the Director of the American Jewish Committee in Northern California. She is a Reconstructionist rabbi who previously served as Executive Director of Hillel both at Brown University and Stanford University.
REGISTRATION IS FREE.
Additional Donation Levels:
Hopeful future $18 •  Optimistic future $36  • Bright future $54
Promising future $72 •  Brilliant future $108
Donations benefit Hadassah.
Click here to register: 
 https://events.hadassah.org/americanjewry

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Date:  Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Time:  4:00 PM – 5:00 PM  PT
Location:  Online

49 years after the landmark Supreme Court decision the fight for reproductive rights rages on. Don’t sit by waiting for another court to decide–join us to get energized and take action! Hear from pioneering advocates, policymakers, medical professionals and Hadassah leaders about wheat’s at stake for our right to choose and how to make our voices heard. 

Register here at no cost

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Community

 

 

 

Join us at the virtual Seattle Hadassah table for the Jewish Federation of Seattle “Connections” event—it will be fun!

https://jewishinseattle.secure.force.com/donate/rc_connect__campaign_designform?id=7015b000005B6hbAAC&form=00P5b000010WrP3EAK

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The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle is excited to announce the passage and release of its consensus statement, Racial Equity and the Jewish Community. The JCRC adopted the statement with overwhelming support. Rooted in timeless Jewish values, it honors the American Jewish community’s historic and continued dedication to civil rights and empowers the JCRC to create a more inclusive Jewish community and build a more just and equitable society.

Seattle Hadassah is one of 33 member organizations of the recently recreated Puget Sound area’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).  Marci Nemhauser, Seattle Hadassah’s representative to the JCRC, was proud to cast our Board’s overwhelming vote in support of the Racial Equity statement.

Membership Report

Welcome New Members

• Sarah Perna
• Pamela Davidah Moore

Welcome Transferring Members

• Rachel Dimakis
• Susan Kendal

Welcome Transferring Associate Members

• Alan Kendal

We Mourn the Passing of

• Olga Butler, wife of Henry Butler, mother of Ron Butler (Karen) and Steve Butler (Debbie).
• Alvin Stemmer Pearl, husband of Carole Pearl, father of Tad (Margaret) Pearl, Craig (Joy) Pearl, and Tracey (Shanin) Specter.
• Gerald Katz, brother of Larry (Diana Brement) Katz.

 

Tributes to Hadassah can be made online here Do you have news of family events to share with us? We are happy to include announcements about weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, birthdays, births, and passings in the Membership News section of our monthly newsletter. Please send notices to Seattle@hadassah.org