Sisterhood Speaks – May 2018

A Word from Sisterhood

Carole Lebental, Sisterhood President

Our lives, the lives of our families and our institutions are like chapters in a book. At the end of June, Temple Beth El will enter a new chapter with a new interim rabbi, a new educator and new governance. Sisterhood will have a new Board, and many jurisdictions throughout our nation will have new representatives. Will we designate the last 13 years as the Rabbi Briskin era, and the prior 30 or so years as the Rabbi Lieb era?

My own life has a new chapter since I was widowed in September. Many others will enter a new chapter when their first—or youngest— child leaves home for college. For me that was a very emotion-laden event.

The April book for our Sisterhood Book Club, Sapiens, discusses chapters in the life of humans and the earth’s flora and fauna. The author, Yuval Harari, has a very different perspective on the changes that occurred when homo sapiens went from being hunters and gatherers to farmers. His perspective is one of loss in quality of life—quite different than other anthropologists. A very interesting perspective, but rather pessimistic. We generally look at change in a positive, optimistic way. We see it as an opportunity for growth. Change is never entirely comfortable because we thrive on consistency and predictability. If we face change optimistically we are able to function better.

Spring symbolizes new life and hope. That’s why it is so celebrated in music and the arts. We, in Sisterhood, had our 4th Garden Tour on April 22. It’s our major fundraiser and always occurs in the spring. The Passover seder, chaired by Jodi Davidson and led by Cantor Ilan Davidson, was a great success. Many women helped to make it successful, but our special thanks goes to Jodi and Cantor Ilan who stepped up to make it happen.

All of our Sisterhood functions this year have been very successful, and they have been fun. Getting together as a community of women, having fun and contributing to the growth experiences of our young people is what we’re all about. If you’re not already an active Sisterhood member, give us a try.