Mishpachah Matters
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Mishpachah Matters Issue 76.9 and 76.10 Mishpachah Matters Iyar - Sivan - Tamuz 5776 The Newsletter of Bet Mishpachah, Founded in 1975 by Members of the Washington, DC, Gay Community May and June 2016 www.betmish.org It’s Bet Mishpachah’s Bet Mishpachah Celebrates 40th Anniversary Brunch at the Pride Week and Shavu-ot in June Donovan Hotel, Sunday, May 22 Pride Week 2016 is coming on June 5 through 12. This year’s Pride Week will be especially celebratory for Bet On Sunday, May 22, from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm, join Bet Mishpachah because it coincides with the Festival of Shavu- Mishpachah as we celebrate our 40th Anniversary year with a ot, making the Week the perfect opportunity to celebrate our festive and fabulous brunch at the beautiful Donovan Hotel. religious and cultural heritage with the LGBT and Jewish We will celebrate our past and toast our future with fantastic communities. We’ll be participating as a congregation in food and drink, a song or two from our wonderful choir, and events throughout the Week, including the following: some reminiscing with old and new friends. Tickets are $40 and include unlimited Champagne (technically, it’s sparkling On the evening of Tuesday, June 7, at 7:30, Bet wine, but it is definitely unlimited), making this a true “40 for Mishpachah will participate in the Pride Week Interfaith 40” celebration. Space is limited, so get your tickets right Service at the Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ away so you don’t miss out. The Donovan Hotel is located (3845 South Capitol St SW). right on Thomas Circle at 1155 14th Street NW in Washington and is close to several Metro stations. For more On the evening of Friday, June 10, at 6:30pm reception/ information, including information on how to RSVP and how drinks/snacks, 7:15 pm services, and dinner afterwards. to take advantage of the occasion by making a special 40th Bet Mishpachah will cosponsor the National Pride Erev Anniversary contribution to Bet Mishpachah, go to Shabbat Service at Sixth and I Synagogue. Rabbi Laurie betmish.org. Green of Bet Mishpachah will co-lead the service with Rabbi Shira Stutman of Sixth and I. The service will be preceded by a reception and will be followed by dinner. Table of Contents: Tickets are required for the dinner (but not for the service) and may be purchased through the Sixth and I website Page 2: Page 7-8: (sixthandi.org). You’re Invited to the Rabbi’s May and June Calendars Daughter’s Covenant Page 9 On the afternoon of Saturday, June 11, a contingent Ceremony! Thanks to Our March and from Bet Mishpachah will march in the annual Pride NOVA Chavura, Saturday, April Oneg Shabbat and Parade, which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm from 22nd and P Streets NW. June 4 Kiddush Luncheon Rock ‘N Scroll Switched to Sponsors The evening of Saturday, June 11, is Erev Shavu-ot, and May 13 Thank You to Our March Bet Mishpachah will be a cosponsor of the DCJCC’s Theater Outing, Sunday, and April Service Leaders “Tikun Leil Shavu-ot” study program at the DCJCC. June 5 Belated Thanks Finally, during the afternoon of Sunday, June 12, Bet Page 3: Page 10: Mishpachah will have a booth at the annual Pride Festival Ten Commandments May and June (although we won’t be selling t-shirts or merchandise this for Celebrating Pride Member Birthdays year because this is also the date of Shavu-ot!) and Shavu-ot and Anniversaries Volunteer Shabbat and Mazal Tov! More details about these and other events will be released as Congregational Awards, Special Thank You June approaches, so keep checking betmish.org, as well as the Friday, May 6 to Bet Mishpachah website for Capital Pride 2016 (capitalpride.org), for the most Page 4: Members up-to-date Pride information. Our 40th Anniversary . Page 11: Page 5: Donations Tsav 2016, d’rash Page 11-13: Page 6: Member Yartzeits Save the Dates: Page 15: Washington DC’s Rosh ha-Shana Starts Directory on Sunday, October 2 Egalitarian Synagogue Embracing a Diversity of Sexual and Gender Identities Mishpachah Matters Iyar - Sivan - Tamuz 5776/May and June 2016 Page 2 You’re Invited to the Rabbi’s Rock ‘N Scroll Switched to May 13 Daughter’s Covenant Ceremony! Bet Mishpachah’s popular Rock ‘N Scroll musical Who: The entire congregation and their chosen family service, usually held on the first Friday of every month, has been moved from May 6 to May 13 due to What: Solveig Green’s Zeved HaBat scheduling issues. This is a one-time switch; Rock ‘N When: Rosh Hodesh Iyar Scroll will return to its usual first Friday schedule on Sunday, May 8th June 3. 4:00-6:00pm with the 20 minute ceremony beginning around 4:30pm Don’t forget Bet Mishpachah’s other special Friday night Shabbat services: On the third Friday of each month we Where: Home of Rabbi Gila and Dr. Paul Ruskin hold a “Text Messages: Torah for Today” discussion in 3515 Autumn Drive lieu of a sermon, and on the fourth Friday of each month Pikesville, MD we hold a “Classic Bet Mishpachah” Shabbat service. Less than a mile from the freeway Why: Because it’s a simcha and Rabbi Laurie and Mira and Along with our Shabbat morning services on the second Gus want to share their joy with you. And because the and fourth Saturdays of every month, we offer a variety brit includes all Jews, even girls, and those identified of service types and styles for our members and the wider community. as female at birth. How: Zeved HaBat is a Sefardic and Italian Jewish Whatever the style or format, all our services strive to be tradition dating back to the 17th century. Solveig’s warm, welcoming, accessible, egalitarian, participatory, covenant ceremony will combine traditional and thought-provoking and joyous celebrations for our Bet contemporary Jewish and feminist traditions. Mishpachah family and friends. We hope to see you at our services soon and often—bring your friends! Please RSVP to the Evite that went out to the congregation. If you need the Evite contact the secretary. If you have other questions or can offer rides to folks without cars, please Theater Outing, Sunday, June 5 contact the rabbi. Join us on Sunday, June 5 at 4 pm as we head to the Atlas on H Street NE to see Mosiac Theater’s production NoVA Chavura, Saturday, June 4 of When January Feels Like Summer. From the director of Bad Jews and The Apple Family Plays comes this The home of Batya and Belinda in Millsboro, Delaware is the romantic urban comedy about an unlikely pair of location of the next Northern Virginia Chavura. Havdala, drinks teenagers working at two different Burger Kings who and a potluck dinner, meet and greet old and new friends on become unexpected heroes, while an immigrant Saturday, June 4, starting at 6:00 pm. accountant struggles with visibility and sexual reassignment preparation, and two stifled romantics RSVP to Batya at [email protected] include how many in your begin to stumble toward each other during one strangely party and what you will be bringing. warm winter. Transported to Anacostia and H Street, this Off-Broadway hit follows five colliding lives as For further information and directions, send an email to change hums in the air and the many flavors of desire [email protected]. saturate the streets, conveniences stores and Metro stations of the city. Following the play, we will have dinner at a local restaurant. Mosiac has agreed to provide us with a 30% discount. When purchasing tickets, use the code JANUARY30. RSVP to social- [email protected] so we can keep track of who is attending. Mishpachah Matters Iyar - Sivan - Tamuz 5776/May and June 2016 Page 3 Ten Commandments 5. Never be ashamed again! When you daven Ahavah Rabbah (which you no doubt do for Celebrating Pride and Shavu-ot every day, or at least every holy day), be sure to linger over By Rabbi Laurie Green “v’lo nevosh l’olam va’ed—Then we shall never be ashamed, ever.” We Jews already knew that great love (ahavah rabbah) 10. Show up! Eat up! requires no shame (lo nevosh). This drash writes itself: Love Shavu-ot is a pilgrimage holiday, DC is the new Jerusalem, is a matter of pride, not shame. And you thought davenning and the Temple serves booze. Come one, come all. Come was meaningless… Out! Bonus, it’s the weekend, so you don’t have to take a day off work to go to synagogue, and they’ll give you cheesecake 4. Celebrate diversity! and ice cream and blintzes! Break your diet. Go vegetarian. Everyone counts. We all stood at Sinai—born and not yet Dairy on Shavuot is a fun custom. Yummy! born, Jews-by-birth and Jews-by-choice, Jews of all genders. Our tradition stresses that God spoke directly to the entire 9. Drink up! Jewish people, regardless of gender or other considerations Double the reasons to say ‘L’chaim – to life.” Make Kiddush, (Midrash Tanhuma, Midrash Rabbah). The midrash also and down a few beers…if you’re a drinker. Or maybe non- focuses on the value of converts, and we read the Book of alcoholic mixed drinks. Ruth, which is considered a paradigm of conversion. In fact, a literal reading of the Bible tells us that a sexually rebellious 8. Stay up! All night long!. woman from a hated ethnic group became a Jew, got a book Study Torah.