HEArtbeat

Yom Kippur’s Best Kept Secret:

The Healing Service

The Bimah Team: Eitan Kantor, Rabbi Sarah Shulman, Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald

Loosen, loosen baby
You don’t have to carry
The weight of the world in your muscles and bones
Let go, let go, let go.
 
Holy breath and holy name
Will you ease, will you ease this pain?
- “Loosen” by Aly Halpert

Asking for healing has become such an important part of our community since the outbreak of COVID-19 that our morning minyan made the radical and empathetic decision to recite a mi sheiberach for healing not just on Torah reading days, as is traditional, but on every single day of the year. There is inexpressible power to asking for healing aloud and together as a community. For the very act of praying for healing is, in itself, healing.
 
We invite you to join us on Yom Kippur afternoon for a Healing Service of song and story, conversation and prayer outside on the HEA Sukkah Patio at 4:00 p.m. Whether you come to ask for healing for yourself, for another, or to support the healing of those around our circle, we know your presence will be healing. We want to thank you for bringing light into dark places, expansiveness into narrow places, and healing into moments of pain for so many in our community.
 
We look forward to spending the holidays with you.
 
G’mar Chatimah Tova – May you be inscribed for good and for healing

HEArtbeat: Welcoming the High Holidays

Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald, Rabbi Sarah Shulman,

& Eitan Kantor

Check out our video message for the High Holidays!

HEArtbeat: Back-to-School

Rebecca Paradis, Preschool Director 

Amanda Eckert, Education Director

It has been a busy back-to-school time at HEA for both Preschool and HEART. 

At a recent directors’ meeting, I suggested Amanda and I co-author this week’s Heartbeat, focusing on the similar approaches we take to meaningfully educating children. 

As a preschool, we take a play-based approach to early education, where children explore their world with natural curiosity and sensory experiences. With Rosh Hashanah just around the corner, preschoolers will crunch juicy apples dipped in sticky, sweet honey. Their small arms will knead dough, the play kind, to create round challah. They will hear the loud blast of the Shofar and peaceful Shabbat melodies. When we bring tangible Jewish practice to young children, we leave memories that will last them beyond their preschool years. Last Sunday before the picnic, I found joy in seeing our preschool “graduates” in new HEART classrooms, curious about the new ramp wall in the hallway, making new connections, and being ambassadors in our building. 

When children graduate from preschool, you may ask yourself, what’s next? How do I continue my child’s or grandchild’s Jewish education and continue growing their sense of Jewish community? At HEArt Religious School, we are the bridge that takes up where preschool left off. We welcome students into our laboratory of Jewish learning experiences to continue exploring their Jewish identity while building on friendships from preschool. With a focus on experiential learning and value-based programming, students will deepen their understanding of Judaism while finding joy in it and with each other.  

How do we do this? We immerse students in an Israeli shuk to taste different foods from the area. We explore prayer through an interactive scavenger hunt from the Torah to the garden. Our middle school students not only learn about concepts of tzedakah and tikkun olam but also put them into practice by volunteering at a local organization. Through chugim (electives), we offer students the opportunity to explore different topics of art, music, and movement, all through a Jewish lens. In our upcoming year, we are framing a Sukkot program with a social justice theme that explores the topic of “what is a home” that is applicable to a child’s everyday life. On Simchat Torah, we will be dancing our Torah down the street to celebrate and learn with students from Sinai Temple. And this is just to name a few!  

HEA’s Preschool and Religious School work in partnership to ease the transition for children as they move into Elementary School. While kids move to different schools and can experience the anxiety of change, we want them to know they always have a home and family at HEA.  

If you are interested in our programs, please reach out. 
 
Shabbat Shalom!

HEArtbeat: Elul in the Shul - A Year of Shabbat

Prepare your spirit for the holidays as we kick off the season with Elul in the Shul, August 18-20, featuring scholar-in-residence Rabbi Corey Helfand. Join us for spirited music and learning on the value of Shabbat in our lives.   

Click HERE to view Rabbi Helfand's message to HEA

Shabbaton Schedule

Friday, August 18
Azamra Kabbalat Shabbat, Dinner and Tish – 5:30 p.m.
(Registration required for dinner)
 
Saturday, August 19
Traditional and Shir Hadash Services – 9:30 a.m. 
Adult Learning with Rabbi Helfand - 10:30 a.m.

Tot Shabbat – 10:30 a.m.
 
 Sunday, August 20
Congregational BBQ (free) – 12:00-3:00 p.m.

High Holiday Guides will be hitting mailboxes this week and tickets will be mailed starting the following week. Remember to Log onto your member account to renew your membership, fulfill your dues commitment and review your contact information to ensure you receive your High Holiday information packet and your family’s tickets for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. 

Remember your loved ones in the 2023 Yizkor Book, order your lulav & etrog for Sukkot, and check out the High Holiday schedule of services and programs at www.HEAdenver.org/high-holidays.

Shabbat Shalom!

HEArtbeat: HEA Leadership News

Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald 

Rabbi Sarah Shulman

Because we value an informed and engaged community, we want to update you about the process of hiring for open positions at HEA and preparations for the High Holy Days. Here is a summary, followed by more details:

We are pleased to announce that the HEA Board has approved the hire of Caryn Osterman as Interim Executive Director. Caryn, who has for the past several months been serving as our Director of Finance, will take over the duties of Executive Director temporarily through the end of January 2024 while the search for a permanent Executive Director continues. At the same time, we are accepting applications for a new Director of Engagement. Finally, to aid in the transition, HEA’s former Executive Director, Neal Price, will coordinate logistics for the upcoming High Holy Days. 

Executive Director Search 
In May, we initiated a search for a new Executive Director to help lead HEA. Under the leadership of co-chairs Beth Toth and Stephanie Geller, the search committee received several applications and identified three potential candidates. We conducted a thoughtful and thorough interview process, which included lay committee members and staff. The committee’s deliberations came to the conclusion that we had not yet found the right fit for the job.   

The search process yielded fruitful lessons and we are currently updating the job description, with a plan to repost the position soon. While the search process continues, Caryn Osterman has agreed to step into the role as Interim Executive Director, through January 2024. We are immensely grateful to Caryn for stepping up at this crucial moment. Caryn Osterman brings to the position a wealth of experience in non-profit management, having earned an MBA in Finance from CU Denver and from her most recent role at the ACLU of Colorado, where she served as Director of Operations. Caryn’s steady leadership in this interim period allows HEA the time needed to conduct a successful search for a permanent Executive Director.   

If you have questions or concerns about your membership, dues, or donations, please contact Caryn Osterman at 303-758-9400 or caryn@HEAdenver.org.   
 
Engagement Director 
We have commenced our search for a new Director of Engagement. The Director of Engagement ensures that HEA is a warm and welcoming community, and plays a crucial role in connecting members to one another. The job is currently posted on our website and on JewishJobs.com. We have updated the job description, with an even greater emphasis on member relationships, as well as a significant role in marketing and fundraising. You can help HEA by sharing the job posting widely on social media and among your friends. We will be accepting resumes through Friday, August 25, when we expect to commence interviews.  
 
High Holy Days 
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are fast approaching, and the coming months are our busiest time of the year.  To assist during this season of transition, Neal Price – HEA’s Emeritus Executive Director – is coming out of retirement for a couple of months to coordinate logistics for the High Holy Days.   

In August, all members in current standing will receive an informational guide to the High Holy Days along with High Holy Day passes. Please log on to your HEA member account as soon as possible to update your account information and check that you are current with your dues contribution to ensure you receive your holiday packet. Our office staff is always available to assist you.   

HEA is in an exciting period of growth and vibrancy. Our dedicated team of volunteers and staff are energized. Our members tell us they love the renewed spirit and engaging programming at the synagogue. We are looking forward to celebrating the High Holy Days with your family and we hope that in the coming year you will take the opportunity to feed your soul by taking part in our many services and programs. As always, our clergy is here to care for your family.   
 
If you have any questions or concerns about the staffing transition at HEA or if you would like to learn more about how you can get more connected to our community, please contact our office or email us at the addresses at the top of this email.   
 
With blessings for a happy and healthy new year, and Shabbat Shalom!

HEArtbeat: The Online HEA Member Directory

Our website provides our members with more than good looks and accurate information. It’s also a membership data system that gives every member access to their own account. Once you're logged into the website (something you'll only have to do once), you can control everything related to your account, and a "Welcome [Your Name]" button will be visible in the upper right corner of the website homepage. Click that button, then click "My Account," where you will be able to update your personal information, including address, phone number, family relationships. You'll also be able to make donations or payments and register for events and classes directly from the website, and you will now have access to the HEA Member Directory.

Let's See Each Other
A member directory can serve as a reference for new congregants, staff, and clergy to get to know everyone. I checked: as of right this minute, I am the only James McKeon in the directory, so it's easy to find me (and the groovy photo of me and my sister circa 1969). But some folks are not so lucky, there's a chance that you and another member share the same first and last name. So having your picture there will help your friends know that you are you and not, for instance, the other Steve G... Our member directory allows us to place names with faces, and is just one more tool we're employing to make our shul feel like a loving and supportive community.

So I'm asking you to do one thing today: please upload a picture of yourself or your family to your directory listing. 

And if you do this today, or if you've already uploaded a picture of yourself or your family, you will qualify for a chance to win a SHABBAT FAMILY DINNER FROM COHEN'S CUISINE.

I can't wait to see all your faces!

Shabbat Shalom!
____________________
MINI HELP SECTION:

How to Add a Photo to the HEA Directory
If you are a member of HEA and logged into your account, search the directory for your name to find and open your listing. 
Click the EDIT button on the bottom right side.
Scroll down and next to the word PICTURE, click UPLOAD A FILE.
Search your computer files for a photo you want to UPLOAD.

I can't log-in or I forgot my password. What do I do?
Easy-peasy. Please email me at james@HEAdenver.org, and I will send you a a password reset link from ShulCloud. I may not be able to reply until after Shabbat, but will reply back to everybody by Monday.

HEArtbeat: A Message From Our New President

Evan Kline, HEA President

president@HEAdenver.org

I am deeply honored to serve as President of the Board at the HEA. I am constantly amazed by how many people in the community are touched by our shul in one way or another. The more I visit the HEA, the more I see how the building is busy virtually every day with school, services, music, adult classes, or a million other things. We serve a lot of constituencies with diverse needs and the clergy and staff serve those diverse groups with amazing skill and grace.

I encourage all of you to find your group; find your community within the broader community that is HEA. Come learn with us, join us on Shabbat morning, bring your kids or grandkids to a children’s service or come to morning minyan. The skill and care employed by the staff and clergy to bring meaningful educational, and joyful experiences to all of us is inspiring.

Our clergy and staff are stable and performing extremely well. Caryn Osterman has taken on the role as Finance Director and has worked extremely hard to bring our accounting and financial procedures up to date. Our internal financial procedures are solid, we have an excellent handle on our financial picture, and we are headed in the right direction.
We are actively interviewing for a new Executive Director, and we will update the congregation each step of the way. I hope to be able to announce a new Executive Director soon. Our membership numbers have increased in the past year and continue to climb toward our pre-pandemic high. Our lay and professional leadership will continue to face the challenges ahead together--focusing on membership development, fundraising and assessing our dues structure.

One of the major opportunities facing our shul, and every shul, is to deliver real value to members and to prove the value proposition of membership to all of you. We recognize that there are many options available to you, and we are committed to proving to you that being a member of the HEA is of real value to you individually, to your family and to the community. My wife, Ellen and I, have been blessed to watch our children grow up in the shul, and now we get to experience the joy of seeing our grandchildren in shul! For my family, HEA is a place for simchas—a place where happy memories begin. I believe HEA can be that kind of place for you too. 

I am genuinely excited to begin my term as President of this vibrant synagogue community. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Shabbat Shalom!

HEArtbeat: Equal and Unique
Celebrating Pride at HEA

Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald

rabbig@HEAdenver.org

Rabbi Sarah Shulman

rabbishulman@HEAdenver.org

In the Book of Genesis, we read about how God created the heavens and earth and populated the world with every variety and species of plants and animals. But when it came to creating humanity, God started with just one individual – from whom all other human beings were fashioned. Why, asks the Talmud, would God initiate the entire human species from one person rather than populating the world with many individuals (Sanhedrin 37a).  The Talmud answers: “In order to ensure peace among people – so that no one can claim ‘my ancestors are better than yours.’” We all come from the same source and therefore we are all fundamentally the same. 

Nonetheless, the Talmud responds: how do we account for the differences between people? Answer: “God is not like human beings.  A person can mint a coin from the same mold and all the coins come out alike. But when God forms a human being out of the mold of Adam and Eve, they all come out different.” This teaches us that every person is of immeasurable worth – both equal in value and also unique and different from everyone else.  This means every person is worthy of dignity and respect as having been created in the divine image, possessing a spark of the divine. It also implies that human diversity is a strength and part of God’s plan. No single individual can claim a monopoly on holiness, but together – in all the many ways we are different from one another – humanity represents the many facets of the divine. Thus, says the Talmud, each person should feel as though the world was created just for them. 
 
If you visit the HEA this month, you will see a lovely display in the lobby that celebrates the idea that each person is created in the divine image (b’zelem elokim) – both radically equal and immeasurably unique. Created by Mordy Kadovitz, the display honors National Pride Month, dedicated to promoting the dignity and equal rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. And at HEA we are proud to support our diverse community in all the ways people express their gender and sexual identities. 

We invite you to join us this month for Pride events sponsored by HEA and the larger Denver Jewish community. 

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Shabbat Shalom!

HEArtbeat: Gabbaim – Helping People Rise​​​​​​​

Like all of our holidays, Shavuot is not so much a commemoration as it is a reenactment. On Passover, we reenact the moment of liberation from slavery in Egypt. On Sukkot we relive the experience of dwelling in temporary shelters in the wilderness. And, on Shavuot, we once again stand at the foot of Mt. Sinai, prepared to receive the Torah.

The Torah describes how we were arrayed at Mt. Sinai. Moses went to the top of the mountain and the rest of the people stayed at a distance from the base of the mountain. But, there was another important group of people. The Torah describes how the Priests, Levites, and Elders were stationed part of the way up the mountain – in between Moses and the people (Exodus 24).

Indeed, every week when we read the Torah in synagogue, we imagine ourselves ascending the mountain. That’s why we call it an “aliyah.” And, like the Israelites of ancient times, we need people to help us make that ascent. At synagogue, the person who assists the clergy is called a gabbai (pl. gabbaim). In some synagogues, this person is called a Shamash. Since the time of the Talmud, gabbaim have served the community by facilitating ritual life.

Being called up to say the blessings over the Torah or to perform the lifting and dressing of the Torah can be intimidating. Otherwise confident and capable adults can become quite frazzled by the experience of being on the bima. At HEA our gabbaim play an important role at Shabbat morning services by assigning roles, like aliyot, and helping to direct people who are less familiar with the customs and rituals.

We have a wonderful group of volunteers who serve as gabbaim, but we need many more people to share in this task. Please consider volunteering to be a gabbai. It is a fun way to meet people and be part of making our synagogue warm and welcoming.

We will be holding a training for new gabbaim on Sunday, June 4, at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary. Click HERE to RSVP.

HEArtbeat - Sing a New song to the Divine

“‘Sing a new song to the Divine:’ Refresh the melody to the Divine, always.” - Radak commentary on Psalms 33:3, found in The Torah of Music by Joey Weisenberg.
 
Rabbi Sarah Bracha Gershuny, our guest musician and teacher for tonight’s Azamra Kabbalat Shabbat service, will lead us in three tunes we have not previously used at Azamra. At rehearsal for this service, Miles Cohen (one of our service leaders) said, “I’m sure I’ve never heard these three new tunes, but I feel like I know them!” 
 
I recently had the opposite experience. I stumbled on an old recording on YouTube of the Sim Shalom tune that I sing in the traditional service almost every single week. The recording featured Cantor Jacob Goldstein, the composer of the tune and the father of Cantor Marty Goldstein, HEA’s long-time musical leader. Hearing the tune sung by the composer completely renewed my excitement about this melody. His creative twirls and accents delighted me and made me feel like I’d never really heard the tune before, even though I’d sung it dozens of times. 
 
I’ve now worked at HEA for just over one year, and the biggest musical question in my brain every day is, “How should I balance musical newness with the power and comfort of tradition?” We live in an era of rapid composition and recording of stirring new Jewish melodies, and I feel compelled to share some of those melodies with HEA. At the same time, I have the voice of my teacher Joey Weisenberg in my head, reminding me that to “Sing a new song to the Divine” does not necessitate singing a brand new melody. Refreshing our relationship with an old melody is also a way of singing a new song. 
 
I created a YouTube playlist of some of my favorite new and old tunes for Shabbat and Holidays. To listen to the playlist, click HERE. I hope that this playlist will give you an opportunity to become familiar with some of the newer tunes, and I also hope these recordings will help refresh your relationship with older melodies. I want to acknowledge that the tunes that feel “old” to me may not be familiar to you at all - we come from diverse cultural backgrounds, and I don’t want to alienate folks by assuming familiarity with the tunes I grew up with. I hope this playlist will help us continue to build shared familiarity. 
 
This is not the only playlist I’ve been working on. To help HEA’s youth get Jewish music in their kishkes, I recently created Spotify playlists of the Jewish music we use in the HEA Preschool and in HEArt Religious School. Please feel free to send me songs that you think I should add to any of these lists!
 
Now sit back, relax, put in your earbuds, or set up your favorite speakers, and enjoy this tiny fraction of the wealth of Jewish music accessible on the internet. Maybe your listening time can feel like a mini-shmita - a sabbatical where you can let your brain rest. 

Shabbat Shalom!

HEArtbeat - For the Young at Heart

One of my favorite Saturday morning Shabbat services here at the HEA is the Youth-Led Shabbat. The youth study and prepare to lead our congregation in meaningful prayer. I am always amazed at how well-poised, confident, and engaged our youth are during these services. I got a little verklempt during this past one as it was the last one that my son, Sam, participated in before leaving for college in the Fall. Both of my children, Emma and Sam, have partaken in Youth Shabbat over the years, from leading musical prayers to having aliyot honors. It is always joyous to watch these young leaders shine in the moment.  My husband and I are now preparing to become empty nesters. Cue the tears in August when I drop Sam off at college (University of Indiana-Go Hoosiers!) Thankfully, Jason and I are looking forward to becoming involved in the HEA Connect group, SLAK (Social Life After Kids).
 
I’ve been a Jewish Professional for the past 24 years. 18 of them (can I get a Chai Five) have been here at HEA in the preschool, first as an early childhood educator and now Judaic Coordinator and part of the administrative team with Jamie and Rebecca. Some know me as my alter ego, Mrs. Goldwynn, who dresses in yellow and is a ray of sunshine who is passionate about Judaism. 
 
I am proud to watch many, including my own children, begin and continue their Jewish journey as they grow into young adults. This is truly, L’dor v dor, from generation to generation. For many of these children, their Jewish journey started off in our preschool, participating in weekly Shabbat sing, going to weekly Shabbat services, Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, and more.
 
While many of these HEA programs are commonly associated with families with young children, these events are not just for kids. Parents, grandparents, and anyone young at heart are always invited and will benefit from many of our HEA offerings. We are building and maintaining community connections, spiritual renewal for our souls, joyful celebrations, and meaningful learning opportunities. Have you seen Rabbi Shulman’s Tibit of Torah? Each week, Rabbi Shulman records a 3–5-minute short video that pertains to the weekly Torah portion. This little tidbit is meant to give adults a snapshot of how to make a relatable connection to the Torah, making it more accessible to everyone. 

What do you love about Shabbat? Answers by the Pomegranate Pre-K class:
-I love to eat challah and drink grape juice at home - JoJo
-I love the Shabbos Shake - Harold
-I love the prayers, eating challah and juice - Giddy
-I love when we eat the challah - Jonas
-I love the grape juice - Andy
-When I have grape juice at my house - Marley
-I love coming to school and seeing the challah held up high - Connor
 
Can’t wait to see what the future holds for these young leaders and all of our young at-heart members.
 
Wishing you and your families a Shabbat Shalom!

HEArtbeat of Remembrance of the Shoah

As a young girl growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, I have many wonderful memories of my time at synagogue in Charlotte, North Carolina. In fact, since my mother was the religious school director for many years, I was at the synagogue almost as much as I am at HEA now. There are mundane memories, funny and fun memories, and memories of moments that remain so impactful to me today that I am brought back to the room where they occurred, stale 100-year-old synagogue smell and all.

Mr. Mond was everyone’s favorite teacher. He was also a businessman, father, and grandfather. He was also a holocaust survivor. Even though I am the granddaughter of a survivor, his was the first story of survival that I heard as a child. Irving Mond was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and took a dangerous journey to Lyon, France, where he was hidden under great peril for the remainder of the war. As many stories of survival, his was one of escape, danger, underground networks, and devastating loss before his eventual freedom. I must have listened to this story a dozen times as a child and never got tired of it. It was beyond my comprehension that anyone could survive such harsh and dangerous conditions.

Our beloved Mr. Mond’s story was only one of the numerous stories being told by Holocaust survivors in our Jewish Community in North Carolina, and we listened to each of them with shock and horror. Witnessing them share their arduous history with us was an honor.

Each year as Yom HaShoah approaches, it is our duty to remember the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust by bearing witness to the stories of survivors and of those who did not survive. As the years move along, there are fewer of these amazing stories told first-hand, and my own children, who are 12 and 14, have only heard a handful of them. I consider it a huge blessing that they have had these experiences because their children will never meet a Holocaust survivor.

Luckily for us, our wonderful member, Osi Sladek, who recently wrote a wonderful book detailing his story of survival, will be speaking about his amazing story of survival this Sunday at 4:00 p.m. at the HEA Holocaust Memorial program. We also will be presenting the heroic role of the Jewish Partisans in the war, with whom Osi and his family co-existed in the mountains during the war. This service will be full of music, poetry, stories, and dedication. You can find all the information for this program HERE. This program will be appropriate for middle schoolers through adults. We hope you all join us and consider bringing along your children and grandchildren to help them remember for generations to come. 
 
Shabbat Shalom!

HEArtbeat: Our Son's Bar Mitzvah

Through the whole process, our family grew closer as we attended Shir Hadash services twice a month and constantly had Hebrew prayers sung through our house as Brayden practiced every morning. I will miss those early morning song sessions but know that Brayden will not… maybe he will even be able to sleep in. 
​​​​​​​
The Bar Mitzvah preparation excited all of us and even encouraged me to read Torah for the first time since my own Bar Mitzvah. Who knows, HEA may now have two new Torah readers? 
 
We would not have been able to reach this celebration without the generations of our families who paved the way for this big day. The Bar Mitzvah is not only a celebration of Brayden’s coming of age, but is also a celebration of our families’ history and traditions. 

The HEArtbeat of G’milut Hasadim

A few years ago, I participated in a program that HEA was kind enough to house. The "Peanut Butter Plan" consisted of people gathering monthly to make thousands of sandwiches. The sandwiches were passed out to Denver's homeless on the streets and encampments. My hygiene bags, which are bags with basic hygiene products that those experiencing houselessness need, were also given out. Sadly, Covid began shortly after, and the program had to be paused.
 
Then, I realized the importance of hygiene bags and wanted to continue to put them together.  According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, nearly 7,000 people were homeless in the Denver Metro area in 2022, a 14-year record. Those that are experiencing homelessness typically don't have access to hygienic products, which can be a life necessity. Since the start of Covid, I'm approaching 4,500 bags made!  My bags are distributed nightly by staff at the Saint Francis Center in Five Points, a non-profit organization working directly with this population.  I've since learned that the bags are helpful and provide a "talking point" while the staff is passing them out. They encourage those homeless to visit the Saint Francis Center (no strings attached) and take donated shoes and clothing, use the shower facilities, and speak with their counselors who can help them find jobs, housing, and other much-needed assistance. 

​​​​​​​G'milut Hasadim is the Jewish value of acts of loving kindness that help others. Last December, my 5th grade Sunday School class was studying this concept.  For them to better understand its implementation, I explained to my students what I do and showed them what a completed hygiene bag contained. Then I asked my students to help me assemble the smaller bags (emery boards, large safety pins, towelettes, lip balm, etc.), which are then put into larger bags that contain shampoo, deodorant, mylar blankets, hand/toe warmers, etc. The students were excited about making these bags, and in a very short time, with lots of hands helping in an assembly line, we completed well over 100 bags!  The students talked about how good they felt about their participation and asked to help on a monthly basis. They truly understand the Jewish concept of G'milut Hasadim.
    
As I think back to when I first began to help with the hygiene bags, I never imagined that I'd be continuing this project so many years later. I've learned so much about the 7,000 people living on the streets of Denver. Some of the homeless are vets who became addicts while serving in the military. Some are people who suffer from psychiatric issues and cannot afford their medications or access to a doctor. Others may have lost their jobs or homes. Few choose to be homeless, and sadly, the numbers continue to increase, including more women and families.  
 
My most needed items are mylar blankets, hand/ toe warmers, gallon/quart size bags, individually wrapped healthy snacks, travel toothbrushes, dental floss, lip balm, warm gloves and warm hats. Also needed are travel-size toothpaste, soap, deodorant, kleenex packets, and shampoo. Please email me at fei31046@aol.com so you can help me fill these bags.
 
I hope that you'll join my fifth graders and me in enjoying the good feeling of G'milut Hasadim.

Shabbat Shalom

HEArtbeat: The HEArt of Rebuilding  

I write these words while in attendance at the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Alumni Institute held this year in Sanibel Harbor, Ft Myers, FL. This gathering brings together over 160 fellowship alumni and Jewish professionals of all kinds for learning and interaction around the topic of leadership in our varied Jewish communities. Covid brought our gathering to a halt. Three years since we last gathered in person, this year’s focus was simple; ‘Reconnect. Refresh. Reignite. Reunite.’ Let’s just gather, dwell for a few moments in one another’s presence, share our stories and our grief at what we missed and start to build a new future.

During one learning session, we focused on the words of Psalm 126, Shir HaMa’alot, Song of Ascents. “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy…” “HaZor’im b’Dim’ah B’Rena Yiktzoru”. The poetry of that psalm resonates deeply within me. I understand it that feelings of grief and loss can co-exist with feelings of joy. Even in sorrow, we can experience joy. Even as we weep for what was, we can dream about tomorrow. 

We all have genes. Genes carry the information that determines what traits we inherit from our parents. I get my blue eyes, my bone structure, and my hair color from my genes.

Some genes carry mutations, which may or may not be harmful over time. Jewish men and women of Ashkenazi descent have a much higher incidence of carrying a genetic mutation in the BRCA gene, causing greater susceptibility to cancers, including breast and ovarian. This past July, I tested positive for the BRCA 2 genetic mutation.

Thanks to a supportive family, encouraging friends, good health care and advanced medical science, I had choices. I chose to be proactive with my health, even though that would mean surgery to remove both breasts (a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy – ‘BPM’), ovaries and fallopian tubes (called a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy – ‘BSO’) – the very organs of my body that brought forth life for my four children and gave them sustenance in their most formative years. If you missed seeing me over the High Holidays this past year, I was undergoing that surgery.

When I researched the odds, my choice wasn’t hard to make. I’m over 60, my child-bearing years behind me, and didn’t want to carry the fear every day, waiting to know if I was one of the (up to) 75%* of women with BRCA 2 likely to get breast cancer in her lifetime, or the (up to) 50%* of women likely to get ovarian cancer. I didn’t want to worry that every mammogram or MRI would reveal a hidden cancer. I joined a Facebook group of other (mostly) women with BRCA 1 and 2 mutations, which grew to be over 17,000. I felt lucky to be able to make a prophylactic choice. Others in the group faced much harsher diagnoses. I struggled with what type of surgery and what kind of reconstruction, if any, I wanted. I kept checking and rechecking that page, looking for confirmation that I had made the best decision for me.

Each person’s choice is unique to that person. I did research and genetic testing. (If you were tested for BRCA before 2018, the test has since been refined and you should test again.) I let others help. Our community stepped up with meals and cards and good wishes throughout my surgeries and recovery, each touch aiding in my recovery. I am 8 weeks out from my second surgery and healing well.

My conference is in Ft. Myers, specifically Sanibel Harbour  - which was the epicenter of a devasting hurricane just a few months ago. The aftereffects can be seen everywhere, including the visual of building cranes, fallen trees and twisted limbs to the soundtrack of hammers, chainsaws and heavy earth-moving machinery. We packed hygiene kits for residents struggling to get back on their feet. It is a community still reeling and determined to rebuild.

That is what we do as Jews and as people – we rebuild. We plant even as we weep. We rejoice even as we reap. As we all reconnect, reignite, refresh and reunite following these last few strange and lonely years, I know that along with a mutated gene, I will also be carrying hope and joy into what comes next.

Shabbat Shalom!


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*Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicine