From Rabbi Jeremy Why the Old Stories Matter - … appears with Moorish architectural elements that were common in Eastern Europe at the ... Foods, fashions, games, smells, school,

2/28/2018 Gmail - March/April Newsletter

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In This Issue

Help support a refugeefamily

Read about Macharfounder Millie Goodmanor the Jewish Museum ofMaryland trip

Check out photos from thePurim Party and theCoffeehouse

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From Rabbi Jeremy...

Why the Old Stories Matter

Rabbi Jeremy Kridel---Who is King Ahasuerus from the story of Purim? We don’t know. There is aseries of Persian kings with names that are kind of like Ahasuerus: there were two Xerxes and twoArtaxerxes, and the story could be about any of them -- or none of them. Which Pharaoh was the Pharaoh from the Exodus and the story of Passover? Again, we don’t know.The Pharaoh of the Torah has no name; he’s just called “Pharaoh.” Despite Cecile B. DeMille’sinsistence in The Ten Commandments that Pharaoh was a Yul Brynner-like Rameses, we don’tknow which Rameses it would have been. There were at least 11 different Rameses who ruled Egyptduring the biblical period! And in any case, the timelines in the Bible just don’t work out when comparedto historical events. And even if we knew who Ahasuerus and John “Pharaoh” Doe were, are the stories really believable?There is no archaeological evidence that any of this happened. For the Exodus story to be true, half thepopulation of the known world would have to have traveled into the Sinai desert! In other words, the stories of Purim and Passover are, as best we know, fictional: unprovable storiespeopled with unknown and unknowable characters. Even so, in February this year, we celebratedPurim, and in March and April we’ll celebrate Passover. And so we do every year: Purim in February orMarch, and Passover in March or April. Why? READ MORE

Machar News

Communications UpdateWe are trying out a new "e-newsletter," which we hope will complement existing online resources likeour website and Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as serve as a printable communications tool forour "more traditional" members. Please let newsletter editor Tricia Schnell know what you think via e-mail at [email protected] or phone at 703.300.3552. You can modify your subscription anytime viathe links in the footer. Thanks!

Machar Welcoming RefugeesOur congregation, in conjunction with the Lutheran Social Services Good Neighbor Program, willbe supporting a refugee family settling in the DC area shortly. Machar volunteers will set up anapartment for the family, welcome them on their arrival, and provide ongoing support for their first sixmonths in the U.S. You can sign up HERE to donate new or used items for the apartment setup, and/orto help on setup day, or HERE if you're interested in providing ongoing support for a family during theirfirst six months. This may include help with English, transportation to appointments, communityconnections, employment, etc. Contact Sara Baum or Larry Lawrence with any questions.

Board News

Machar Newsletter <[email protected]>

March/April Newsletter 1 message

Machar Newsletter <[email protected]> Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 12:19 PMReply-To: Machar Newsletter <[email protected]>To: Machar <[email protected]>



Here's the latest from the Machar Board: A podcaster is interviewing some Machar members and will produce 90-minute podcasts for us topost on our website or use in other ways to tell the public and prospective members about ourcommunity in a more personal way.

We are shouting out in new ways about our values and commitment to tikkun olam:The rainbow splash background, originally from SHJ, was customized for Machar and added toour homepage with our welcome statement.

Our Statement Against Hate has been added to the Machar website: http://www.machar.org/community/social-action-committee/

Our Facebook and Twitter presence is being enhanced by having page administrators posting atleast once a week, carrying out two Facebook "boost" ad campaigns, and responding quicklywhen people send messages to Machar via Facebook. This has resulted in increased clicks to theMachar website, more mentions of Machar by other orgs (SHJ, Secular Social Justice Conference,etc.) on their social media pages, and new "likes" and "follows." Please be sure to follow us ifyou are online!

In early March, the Board and other Machar leaders will meet with Paul Golin, Executive Director ofthe Society for Humanistic Judaism, to discuss and formulate a short-term (1-3 years) plan forMachar. The Board will report to the membership at the Annual Meeting on April 22.

Machar celebrated its 40th anniversary in November 2017, and received notes of congratulationsfrom the Society for Humanistic Judaism, the American Humanist Association, and DC Mayor MurielBowser's office.

Check out Rabbi Jeremy marching for refugees in a recent outreach video from

HAIS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society)!

Trip to the Jewish Museum of Maryland

Norman Hall---In January, a group from Machar toured both of the two synagogues that were built bythe first Jewish community in Baltimore, with the first building constructed in 1845. The Lloyd StreetSynagogue is the third oldest existing Synagogue in the U.S. Its exterior was built so as not to be readilyidentified as Jewish (there was a nearby Friends House with a similar style) and a model inside anexhibit room allowed hands on exploration of its basic architectural elements. We learned about howacceptance of changes brought on by the Reform movement were too much for many members whowalked out at one point to form the B’Nai Israel Synagogue 100 feet away, built in 1876. ThisSynagogue appears with Moorish architectural elements that were common in Eastern Europe at thetime. Meanwhile, the Lloyd Street Synagogue served one Catholic immigrant community in addition totwo immigrant Jewish communities. We learned about the history of mikvahs and the matso oven on thelower level and how both synagogues were built to keep males and females separate during services. Beyond this, we enjoyed seeing museum exhibits that depicted immigrant life in the Jewishneighborhood centered on Lombard Street. Foods, fashions, games, smells, school, all were on display.In addition, I noticed a list that at one time showed over 20 synagogues from which to choose in



Baltimore. Far from Baltimore, we learned about Jewish life in Bagdad, thanks to a special exhibit onloan from the National Archives that is based on artifacts that were preserved after being founddamaged as a result of the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime during the Iraq War in 2003. While many of us were pleased with lunch at Attman’s Deli afterwards, we realized that this deli has onlybeen in existence since 1915, so a relative newcomer. But even older than the synagogues is thelandmark Phoenix Shot Tower, which marks the northwest corner of the old Jewish neighborhood. Whenit was built in 1828, it was the tallest structure in the United States and remained so until Trinity Churchwas built on Wall Street in 1846. Whenever I see that tower in East Baltimore, rather than think abouthow it and others like it were used to produce “shots” for guns and cannons to shoot, I prefer to thinkabout how seeing it means that I am close to historic Jewish Baltimore.

Black, Jewish, and Politically Active: Interview with Machar Founder Millie Goodman

B'nei Mitzvah Student Juliet Franklin---Mildred Goodman, an 89-year old founder of Machar, has avery sharp memory. During a recent visit with her, she told me about her extraordinary life. She was amother, wife, and civil rights activist for theNAACP, all while struggling against prejudiceand racism and working in the federalgovernment. More importantly, she is aninspiration to young people today. I had the opportunity to talk with Ms.Goodman, Millie as she is known to friendsand family, as part of my B’nei Mitzvah projectlooking at the role of Jews in the civil rightsmovement. As an African-American womanwho left her Southern Baptist roots andconverted to Judaism after trying many Christian denominations, Millie provided a unique perspective. Millie was born deep in the segregated south. She was involved in the civil rights movement from thestart to the end. Millie said that it was an intense time. Any time anything could happen to anyone. Still,she never questioned whether she should be involved. Millie went to Duquesne University before moving to Washington, DC. She started her career as a clerkand typist in the federal government during the 1950s. Early on, she recognized the challenges of beingan African-American woman in the government. Having started her career in the secretarial pool, shewatched white secretaries advance quickly to assigned secretariat positions while African-Americansecretaries remained in the pool. She decided to leave. However, before she had a chance to leave, anoffice administrator stopped her and told her how he tried to help black people but did not think theyappreciated it, and that he could not take a chance to promote her. She “went blind” with rage and threwher notes, inkwell and paper on him, ruining his shirt. Her friend pulled her into the next building to seeher supervisor, who remained calm and put her arms around her while she cried. Although the officeadministrator tried to get her fired, her supervisor, a white woman from Texas, did not fire her. Despite these challenges, Millie ultimately had a highly successful career, moving from an entry levelposition of GS-3 to GS-15, the highest level for a career civil servant, retiring as Deputy Director for CivilRights at the US Department of Transportation. She was active in politics, running the DC arm ofMichael Dukakis’s 1988 presidential campaign and serving as Mayor Sharon Dixon's deputy campaignmanager. She also served as national president of Blacks in Government, a nonprofit organizationsupporting African Americans in public service. Throughout her career, Millie volunteered with the NAACP. Having grown up in the South, she knew therole of the NAACP in supporting the African-American community, and she felt it was natural to beinvolved. On weekends, she helped out at the DC branch and gave speeches throughout DC, Maryland,and Virginia area. She also participated in civil rights activities, including the 1965 march from Selma toMontgomery. It was scary and dangerous but she knew she had to stand up for her family and her race.Her first husband and her mother worried that she would die and leave her then 14-year-old daughterCheryl without a mother. But Millie felt that she had to do it for her daughter. While Millie had been born a Southern Baptist, she converted to Judaism because she felt that it let herbe free. In 1966, Millie met her second husband, Joe Goodman, in Los Angeles, California, while visitinga friend who was Joe’s sister. Millie and Joe found that they shared a lot of common interests. Theycalled each other a lot and then, one day, Joe called and said, "I’m coming to DC to marry you." Millie and Joe tried several synagogues but found what they were looking for in Machar. At that timeonly a few families belonged to Machar. The congregation supported social justice and nontheism,which were important to Millie and Joe. Many early Machar meetings were even hosted at their house!While she is now unable to come to many meetings or events, Machar remains an important part of herlife. Millie is important to me as a B'nei Mitzvah student this year. She is very inspirational and she told me alot to help my project. She explained that -- because of the leadership of the Jewish community -- manyJews were active in the civil rights movement. She said that Jews themselves had experienceddiscrimination, and many believed that if people were discriminating against one group, it was as if theywere discriminating against all groups. She also taught me the importance of determination andcommitment. She said: “You don’t know what you can do until you do it.” Looking back at Millie’s life, Ihave realized that one person can certainly do a lot. With resilience, persistence, and passion, peoplecan do whatever they put their mind to.

Purim Party Photos



For more Purim party photos, click here.

Macharniks Gather for Food, Fun, and Fundraising

Betty King and Sue Zwicker perform a folk tune.

Renee Weitzner reads one of the poems shehas written.

Jason Lubin and Marco Gonzalez perform avintage comedy sketch from "The Tonight ShowStarring Johnny Carson."

Harry Appelman delights the audience with jazzpiano.

Joyce Frieden Rosenthal---On Saturday, February 10, Macharniks gathered at the Wisconsin PlaceCommunity Center in Friendship Heights for the third annual Machar Coffeehouse. The audience wastreated to an amazing variety of performances, ranging from poetry to song -- including vocal, guitar,and jazz piano -- to comedy. A highlight this year was Jason Lubin and Marco Gonzalez's re-creation ofa comedy sketch from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. As usual, thanks to all the volunteers who made the evening possible: the performers, the setup andcleanup crew, everyone who brought food and drink, and the audience for buying the tickets! Allproceeds from the concert (a fundraising total should be available soon) go to supporting Machar. Clickhere for more photos from the event!

"Spotlight" on the Seigel-Baum FamilyPatricia Meeks Schnell---Have you heard that Machar is “adopting” a refugee family that will bearriving shortly to the United States? If not, Social Action Committee Co-Chair and Machar BoardMember Sara Baum is happy to tell you aboutmore about Machar’s new tikkun olam project,and let you know how you can sign up to help.(“Psst… let’s add links for apartment set-updonations here and other support there,” shesaid!) Thanks to Sara’s efforts, along withfellow Macharnik Larry Lawrence and manyothers, Machar has partnered with LutheranSocial Services (LSS) under the GoodNeighbor program to set up the new refugeefamily’s living quarters with necessaryfurnishings, kitchen supplies, and more, and tohelp the family with a variety of needs duringtheir first few months, such as English tutoring,transportation, and job search assistance. Participating in the Good Neighbor programwill be a lot of work, but Sara is no stranger to labor. In fact, as a former childbirth doula for close to 10years, she is well versed in the matter! Jokes aside, Sara and husband Jonas Siegel have three childrenof their own: 10-year-old Lucy, born in a hospital; 8-year-old Frida, born at home; and 4-year-oldReuben, born at a birth center. Sara and Jonas wanted to name each of their children after someonespecial, so Lucy is named for her great grandmother Celia; Reuben is named in honor of Jonas’s dad,Rick; and Frida’s namesake is Sara’s childhood tooth fairy, who would leave a scrawled note under herpillow after pocketing each baby tooth. Sara is pretty sure she recognized her dad’s handwriting, butwho knows… Unlike many DC-area residents, Jonas is a native, born in DC and raised in Montgomery County. Hemet Sara, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, during their college years at the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign where they both majored in sociology. They got to know each other when they wereplaced on the same community service project in Harlem via the university’s Alternative Spring Breakprogram; however, Sara notes, “We remained just friends for quite a while before getting together.”Nevertheless, 10 years later they were married at Chicago’s City Hall with 2-month-old Lucy in tow. “Thewedding was a real bargain,” chuckles Sara. “It only cost us $30, for the parking garage!” Before moving to Maryland 9 years ago, Sara did graduate work in urban planning and public policy /disability studies at University of Illinois at Chicago. At the same time Jonas earned a master’s in



journalism, and he is currently working as an academic researcher at the Center for International andSecurity Studies at Maryland, part of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. Jonasinvestigates how nuclear energy development in China is affecting regional security risks. Sara owns atranscription business called Sharp Copy Transcription. She transforms audio (e.g. conversations,interviews, focus groups, podcasts , etc.) into transcripts for researchers, journalists, and others. Someof Sara’s clients include the Carnegie Foundation, Democracy Now!, and the Michelle Smith PerformingArts Library at the University of Maryland. In all their free time, Sara and Jonas enjoy cooking, reading (Sara just read Becoming Ms. Burton, abouta formerly incarcerated woman who became an activist), watching quirky TV shows (they bothrecommend The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), scouting out great vegetarian restaurants, and engaging inpolitical advocacy in its many forms. They also enjoy taking road trips, mostly to the midwest to visitfriends and family. When Sara was growing up, her family in Cincinnati attended Beth Adam, a humanistic synagogue, soshe was already generally familiar with Machar’s paradigm and practices. The Siegel-Baums checkedout a few DC-area congregations but decided to come to Machar in August 2016 because it has,according to Sara, “just the right mix of really lovely and interesting people.” The couple alsoappreciated Machar’s focus on humanist values and social activism, and its commitment to providingeducation in Jewish culture and history to the whole family. “Adult Ed was one of the most compellingparts of Machar for me when we were considering joining,” says Sara. Well, what goes around comesaround, as they say… and Macharniks now appreciate the Siegel-Baum family’s leadership inestablishing a new compelling reason for prospective families to join Machar: the refugee family supportproject. Thanks, and welcome to you all, Siegel-Baums!

Calendar and Upcoming EventsCheck out the official calendar, or just take note of these important upcoming events:

Sunday, March 4 -- JCS/Adult Ed, Milton School, 10-11:30 a.m. Paul Golin, Executive Director, Society for Humanistic Judaism Throwing Out the Bathwater and Keeping the Baby: Judaism, Humanism and Community

(Golin will also speak at 2 p.m. on The Future of Liberal Judaism at the Bender JCC of GreaterWashington, 6125 Montrose Rd., Rockville, MD.) Sunday, March 18 -- JCS/Adult Ed, Milton School, 10-11:30 a.m. Jerry Muller, History Professor, Catholic University Capitalism and the Jews Saturday, March 24 -- March for Our Lives, Washington, DC, time TBA Machar will have a presence at the march in coordination with Secular Student Alliance members fromacross the country. Check the listserv for more info or e-mail Marlene at [email protected]. Sunday, April 1 -- Community Passover Potluck Seder, Cedar Lane, 4:30-8 p.m. Highlights of the evening will be reading of Machar’s Humanist Haggadah, telling of the Passover story,asking the “Four Questions,” and hunting for the famous afikomen. For more information and/or topurchase tickets click here. (For those who prefer mail, call 202.686.1881 and leave a message.) Sunday, April 8 -- JCS/Adult Ed, Milton School, 10-11:30 a.m. Karen Batshaw, Author The "Orphan" of the Holocaust: The Jews of Greece Sunday, April 22 -- JCS/Adult Ed, Milton School, 10-11:30 a.m. Annual Member Meeting Visit our website for more info on Adult Ed topics!

Machar Locations"Milton School" -- Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School (formerly JPDS), 4715 16th St NW, WashingtonDC "Cedar Lane" -- Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda, MD "Schweinhaut" -- Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center, 1000 Forest Glen Rd, Silver Spring, MD

Jewish Cultural School (JCS)In each issue we'll hear from one or two of our JCS classes...

1st/2nd Grade (Kita Gimmel)Teacher Noa Banayan---This school year, there are six lively and creative first and second graders atMachar! Our class goals for the year are to learn more about Jewish values as they revolve aroundgratitude and doing good (tzedakah, mitzvot, tikkun olam, etc.)and have the students incorporate them into their daily lives.Most recently, we learned about Bal Taschit (don't waste ordestroy) in honor of Tu B'Shvat. The students offered greatexamples of practices they currently keep at home and in school,and then designed their ideal community on paper where BalTaschit is woven into everything. That in particular gave me a lotof hope for the future of the planet, seeing how they are soacutely aware of and concerned about environmental issuesboth locally and globally! Another great activity was the"gratitude trees" they created at the beginning of the year -- itwas great to learn more about their individual interests, likesoccer and art, and watch them find things in common with theirclassmates. Although mostly unrelated to JCS, this class is really interestedin football! They often share updates about their favorite teams with each other and bond through theirshared interest. Even though we had a small class the day of the Superbowl, the students really enjoyedFlying High, a PJ Library book by New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, although theyclearly are not all Pats fans!



3rd Grade (Kita Dalet)

Teacher David "Dubi" Bernstein---Although our wonderful third grade class only comprises fivediverse and energetic kids, with just four present on any given Sunday, we make up for it in excitementand competitive spirit! We have continued to concentrate on Jewish values this year and very oftenbring these values to light through some of the cheerful and yes, challenging bible stories that so manyof us are familiar with. Whether it’s the lessons learned by Joseph and his Brothers (family love,friendship, respect, jealousy, anger and fairness) or studying the Twelve Tribes (learning from othergenerations), the class always enjoys competing against each other in a tough game of "hangman"using all the subjects that we have learned. During our Chanukah class time frame, the class made amagnificent, “Louvre”-worthy piece of artwork out of raw pasta and nuts/acorns. Our class goal is tocontinue to learn more about Jewish values, and practice them as well.

JCS in the Press!

Check out this November2017 Washington Jewish Weekarticle about Lola, one of lastyear's b'nei mitzvah studentsand her project investigating thelives of young Jewish women allaround the world.

Committees and Clubs

Book Club

Tricia Schnell is interested in reviving the Book Club, to focus on fiction and non-fiction relating toJudaism, Humanism, or social or humanitarian issues in the same vein as Machar's Adult Ed program.Please e-mail her at [email protected] if you are also interested, along with times that might workfor you. She is considering a meeting spot in Bethesda or DC.

Community Service Committee

The Community Service Committee is leading Machar's ongoing work in support of a local refugeefamily. Join us and help Machar to help others!

Mishpachah Committee

Mishpachah is Machar’s committee to support community members in good times and bad, be it with acard to encourage recovery or in some other way. If you know of someone who needs a helping hand orhas an important life event to celebrate, please contact Renée Weitzner at [email protected]. Pleasealso let us know if we can share your news, happy or sad, with the congregation.

Nature Club

The Nature Club goes on monthly outings in local parks and wild areas in the spring, summer, and fall.E-mail Alberto Grosmark at [email protected] for more info on the next "field trip" scheduled forApril, date and location TBD.

Neighborhood Havurot

Neighborhood Havurot are a great way to have fun and meet fellow Macharniks. Please consideropening your home for a Shabbat or Havdalah potluck dinner. Or maybe you’d like to bring folkstogether to enjoy a restaurant outing, game night, or BBQ. It’s easy and fun! We can work with you tofind a date and help with the sign-ups. Ideas? Questions? Ready to host? E-mail [email protected].

Social Action Committee

Machar is an official sponsor of the upcoming Secular Social Justice Conference, hosted by theAmerican Humanist Association. Machar members are encouraged to attend -- please let us know if youplan to go! Machar has also joined the HIAS Welcome Campaign, a network of congregationsresponding to the refugee crisis. Rabbi Jeremy attended a meeting with other DC-area WelcomeCampaign congregations on February 4th. See if you can spot Rabbi Jeremy at the #NoMuslimBanEvermarch in this HIAS video, which gives an overview of what the Jewish community has done to supportrefugees in the last year. Visit the Machar Social Action Committee webpage to get involved!

Teen Group

The Teen Group is gearing up to go to the 2018 HuJews Teen Conclave in Philly March 23-25. [email protected] for more info. Volunteers from the teen group recently sorted and organized donated clothing and bedding at A WiderCircle, an organization in Silver Spring dedicated to helping families in poverty.

Wimmin in Transition (WITs)

In December the wonderful women of WITs met at the home of Harriet Peck for our annual Hanukkahparty and gift exchange. A good time was had by all. In January the WITs women met at VickiWallshein's home where Vicki led us in a Humanistic Shabbat blessing and candle lighting ceremony.For more info re WITs, the March or April get-togethers, or to have your name added to the WITs e-maillist, contact Rose Levine at [email protected]. WITs welcomes new and long-time members ofMachar.

From Rabbi Jeremy, cont.Sometimes, it seems like enough to say, “Because we’re Jewish, and that’s what we do.” But we also know the fictional stories that are most “sticky” in our culture under another name. We callthem myths: stories that are about who we are or who we wish ourselves to be. The Greek myths of Hercules modeled bravery and persistence. The Odyssey’s stories about



Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, taught Greek views of women’s ideal virtues and the place of fidelity. Thestory of Odysseus itself teaches the value of cleverness, as do Aesop’s fables. What do we see in the Purim story? Courage? Certainly Mordechai and Esther represent bravecharacters, and ones who, in a fashion Humanistic Jews can admire, also represent self-reliance. Afterall, the biblical Book of Esther famously lacks any mention of a god, something that was so troubling tosome ancient Jews that additional chapters were written and added on, and are still part of the CatholicBible. But Mordechai and Esther represent something else important for Humanistic Jews. If you read theBook of Esther, ask yourself: do Mordechai and Esther live apart from other Persians? The answer? No!Esther marries a non-Jewish king. Mordechai works for the king. Haman argues for the destruction ofthe Jews not because they are separate and different: in an eerie precursor to modern antisemitism,Haman’s claim of a plot against the king works only if you believe that the Jews are dangerous becausethey are treacherous and wish to destroy Persia from within. Purim, then, isn’t a story encouraging us to remain separate: it also contains a reminder of the powerand the possibilities of a Jewish community engaged in and with its broader culture, even though thatengagement comes with some risks. Celebrating Purim lets us remember this model: engaged, ifcautious. And if the Passover story never happened, what about the Exodus? Even if the Exodus neverhappened, the idea of bondage and liberation is one that appeals to all humanity. The laws of the Torahare regularly framed in light of an experience of past bondage and present freedom: because theIsraelites were slaves, we read over and over again in the Torah, they understood what it meant to beoppressed and were forbidden to oppress others. They were to provide sanctuary to the foreignersamong them - without also being required to endanger themselves by giving solace to their enemies.Celebrating Passover lets us remember this model, too: aware of the gift of freedom, of the need forsanctuary, and the occasional dangers we still face. But these are reminders: these are not the only ways to understand these myths, just as the story offreedom from religious oppression isn’t the only way to understand the myth of the founding of ourcountry. There are dark sides to these stories, and we must tell those, too: stories of violence in theJews’ revenge upon Haman and his sons and in the Israelites’ mythic journey through the wilderness,reminders that we are human and as capable of evil as any others. The old stories are false. And yet they are also all too true. They define us as humans, and as Jews,and deserve the retelling and reliving they receive each year. For more from Rabbi Kridel, check out his blog at https://sjewindy.wordpress.com/.

Fundraising for MacharMacharniks got a special offer from our Board last year: a unique incentive to make an end of thecalendar year donation to our congregation. The incentive? The Board would match any donatedamount, dollar for dollar, up to $8,000. As a result, together with other donations made throughout theyear, we came very close to the goal set at the beginning of our budget cycle, enabling us to fund somany vital functions. Thank you to our members and our Board for their generosity, and to thevolunteers who made calls to encourage year-end giving. We will always strive to keep dues and feesas low as possible, so your donations mean so much to our Machar family. Remember that commemorative contributions for birthdays, b mitzvot, yahrzeits, anniversaries,graduations, and general expressions of gratitude are always welcome. SHJ also has a sharing programfor bequests. Please let us know if you have questions about ways to contribute -- you can contactfundraising chair Donna Bassin at [email protected]. You can donate to Machar anytime, or check out these great opportunities to raise money while youshop:

AmazonSmile

Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the non-profit of your choice (pickMachar!) whenever you shop using AmazonSmile. It's easy to set up, and it's the same Amazon youknow: same products, same prices, same service. eScrip

Under the eScrip program, participating businesses -- such as Safeway and American Airlines --contribute a percentage of your purchases to Machar. To sign up, visit eScrip and choose “Machar–Jewish Cultural School” as the benefiting group. Raise Money for Secular Humanist Judaism While You Surf the Web

Use Goodsearch instead of Google to search the Internet, and the Society for Humanistic Judaism (ourumbrella organization) will receive money every time you use it! To begin, log in to Goodsearch usingyour Facebook or other credentials, then select “humanistic judaism” as your favorite cause. DriversEd.com

With DriversEd.com, your teen can complete the required drivers education online — without everstepping in a classroom. Sign up, and DriversEd.com will contribute 5% of the tuition amount toMachar’s Jewish Cultural School.

Machar Community Announcements

BirthdaysMarch

Kira Appelman Zach Arney Joshua Castellano Will David Helena Dinerman Ava Figuerdo

AnniversariesMarch

Harry Appelman & Mimi Brody Marina Broitman & Tibor Roberts Tamara & Brett Grosko Kenneth Lederman and Helena Dinerman

April



Rebecca Guilfoyle Yael Hanadari-Levy Michael Kidwell Maddie Lubin Martha Mednick Susan Ogden Le Anne Steinberg Dan Tobocman Zach Williamson AprilJoel Block Lauren Brown Bouchra Chati David DeMocker Marco Gonzalez Kelly Hand Nancy Harris Peter Kahn Susan Warshauer Kahn Jeremy Lahn Roberto Levy Akiva Liberman Lauris Mason Rachel Popkin-Hall Marlene Pratt Ari Priniotakis Owen Ratay Pedro Rodriguez Joshua Rogin Jacob Royle Rochelle (Shelly) Schwab Roslynn Seidenstein Lydia Swartz Chuck Szymanski Andre Williamson Michael Zamore

Shel & Scott Lyons

Yahrzeits: We Remember...

March 3: Tome Kurtzman, relative of MichalFreedman and Jack Schwartz March 5: Wilfred Williams, grandfather of DanTobocman March 8: Juanita Green, mother of MichaelKidwell March 13: Nancy Tebelman, sister of LindaTebelman March 20: Sidney Levine, father of Rose Levine March 22: Joseph Mauer, father of Marc Mauer March 24: Rhoda Zwicker, mother of SueZwicker March 27: Dorothy Bassin, mother of DonnaBassin March 28: Ronald Bassin, brother of DonnaBassin March 30: Jules Abrams, husband of AnitaWillens April: Albert Seligmann, father of LindaSeligmann April 4: Frank Klein, father of Jill Grant April 13: Michael Carter, husband of RoseLevine April 14: Richard Popkin, father of Sue Popkin April 16: Rochelle Frank, sister of Myrna Frank April 17: Thurza Godden, mother of DavidGodden April 22: Enrique Lerdau

Donations in Honor and Memory of...

In honor of Jules Abrams -- Anita Willens In honor of Jules Abrams -- Renee Weitzner In honor of Renee Weitzner -- Emilie Lynton In memory of Malik Bernstein -- Heather Gale

Congrats to Harry Appelman who received a Maryland State Arts Council 2018

Individual Artist Award for music composition this winter!

Machar Listserv InfoMachar members can join two different Yahoo listservs:

Machar, which is for official communications such as program announcements and reminders, and

MacharCommunity, in which members can share information with each other, such as the details fora local, educational event or a link to an interesting article.

If you are a member and would like to be added to either list, or if you are not receiving your listservmessages at your preferred e-mail address, please send a note to [email protected] or correctyour Yahoo account information yourself online.

Copyright © 2018 Machar, the Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism, All rights reserved.

Secular Humanistic Judaism embraces a human-centered philosophy that combines rational thinking with a celebration of Jewishculture and identity. Machar affirms the power and responsibility of human beings to shape their own lives independent of supernaturalauthority. We are affiliated with the Society for Humanistic Judaism and the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews.

Our mailing address is:

P.O. Box 42014

Washington, DC 20015

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From Rabbi Jeremy Why the Old Stories Matter - … appears with Moorish architectural elements that were common in Eastern Europe at the ... Foods, fashions, games, smells, school,