Reflecting on the Civil Rights Trip

Outside the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama

Risa’s opening remarks and the reflections were shared at MLK Shabbat (1/13/24). Participants in the November 2023 Civil Rights trip were asked to share one powerful and specific impression from their experience.

Risa Bernstein

As most of you know, a group of 33 Shomrei members traveled together to the deep South this past November for a Civil Rights Educational trip. How fitting that we, as we gather again on this special MLK Shabbat, we remember that it was LAST year’s MLK Shabbat, and the moving sermon from Rabbi Justus around issues in Black and Jewish relations, that inspired us to travel.

In listening to some of Rabbi Justus’ insights from trips with similar itineraries, many of us were moved … and thinking how impactful it would be for us to take part in a like-minded learning journey. Continue reading

The Greening of Shomrei, Parts 2 and 3

Shomrei Emunah took one of its first steps toward becoming a greener community earlier this year, when four small metal compost buckets were purchased for the Shomrei kitchen (See The Greening of Shomrei Part 1). The compost buckets are used as waste containers for vegetable and fruit scraps resulting from Kiddush and MESH meal preparation. Initially, when the metal buckets were full, they were emptied at the outdoor compost bins maintained by Linda Ariel and me on our respective properties. Continue reading