KERUV KORNER

“Keruv” = Hebrew for “to draw closer”

The Keruv Committee’s mission is to help make Beth El Synagogue’s diverse members and visitors feel welcomed, included, and comfortable. Our subcommittees focus on different areas of inclusion and have all been very busy! Here is a snapshot of some recent activities and how you can get involved. • Disabilities Inclusion: In February 2022, for Jewish

Disabilities Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), we hosted Rabbi Lauren Tuchman for a virtual talk entitled “The Power of Voice: Human Dignity &

Inclusion in the Jewish Community.”Rabbi Tuchman spoke about her journey to the rabbinate as the first female and blind rabbi, and taught Torah that speaks to the power of human dignity as a pathway to broadening our inclusion efforts. Watch a replay of this program at www.bethelnr.org/pastlivestream. • Racial Inclusion: In October 2021, we hosted a virtual program “Jews of Color: Who Are We?” in which Heather

Miller and Kendell Pinkney shared their experiences as

Jews of Color. There is a link to the replay of this program and to a list of related educational sources at www. bethelnr.org/pastlivestream. The program inspired us to revise our committee’s mission statement to include color in the many forms of diversity that we value and embrace. • LGBTQ+ Inclusion: Save the date June 26, 2022 for

Pride Shabbat! Please let us know if you wish to read

Torah, Haftorah or otherwise participate in this service. • Intermarried Families Inclusion: “Let’s Talk About

It” is a warm, social-worker-facilitated support group where members discuss issues related to intermarriage and interdating. Upcoming meetings are March 29th and

June 2nd. • Technology Inclusion: If anyone is having technological difficulty joining virtual programs, we can arrange for a tech buddy to help. Teen Michael Sulman also created a terrific 14 minute video demonstrating how to install

Zoom, set up an account, and use Zoom basic features. The video is available on Beth El Synagogue’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3CndGgt

If you are interested in getting involved with Keruv, please email Carrie Fox at csfox99@gmail.com or join our next meeting. The meeting link will be on www.bethelnr.org/ upcomingevents and all are welcome!

Carrie Fox Ellen Hollander