Voices of WRJ: B’haalot’cha

by Diane Kaplan B’haalot’cha means “when you bring up”. Well, the people of the Exodus brought up a lot! This week’s Torah portion, concerns the beginning of our journey from Mount Sinai toward the Promised Land. Much of the content, interpreted for modernity, could be the basis for Women of Reform Judaism’s by-laws, policies and procedures and the everyday workings of our individual sisterhoods. The first unit of the parshah 8:1-9:14 describes the laws of sacrifice and offerings as well as the responsibilities of the Levites. “Thus you shall set the Levites apart from the Isrealites…the Levites shall be qualified for the service in the Tent of Meeting”. (8:14-8:15) Our WRJ leaders are not G-d appointed but they are chosen…elected by us to lead our organization. They sacrifice personal time to attend to the workings of their sisterhoods, women’s groups, districts and the Board of WRJ. They offer up their best. They are our most qualified and committed members. In the second section we are on the move, having left Mount Sinai for the promise of a new life and a new land. The image of Adonai as a cloud by day and a pillar fire by night has always been my favorite. B’haalot’cha (9:15-9:23) describes how the people knew when to set camp and when to break camp by the appearance of the cloud or the fire. So in WRJ we listen and we watch as our leaders model, for us, the behavior we might want to emulate. Their experience helps them to help us make the best decisions for our future. Autumn may be the best time for you to have your Membership Campaign while January in Minnesota is not necessarily the best time to hold your biggest Fundraiser! Metaphorically pulling up stakes and moving forward, planting ourselves in a new place is a part of growing. We decide that what we used to do is not working and it is time to try something new. Maybe we should be holding book reviews and Lilith Salons because our working women don’t always have time to read a whole novel! In the final section of B’haalot’cha we see conflict and dissent in the ranks. Moses is ready to quit! The people are unhappy (no meat, cucumbers or melons) and even Aaron and Miriam give Moses a hard time (because he married a Cushite woman). “The people took to complaining bitterly before Adonai”. (11:1) “Moses said to Adonai, Why have you dealt ill with your servant…?” And Adonai said to Moses, “Gather for me…elders and officers of the people…let them take their place here with you.” (11:16-17) I believe any one of us who has ever held a position of leadership knows what Moses was feeling, well kind of! We don’t have G-d telling us what to do but we have our friends and the members of our boards and our leaders in WRJ who help us see what we can do. We do not bear the burden alone nor should we. We all mentor new members so they can step into roles of leadership with confidence in their expertise. In really difficult situations we enlist experts in conflict resolution. We may even call on the help of our clergy. Most of our women’s groups are installing new boards and beginning new administrations. I wish you all a great new year of exploring where those new travels will take you. Women of Reform Judaism has also begun a new journey. We have revised our by-laws, and decided not to meet at an Assembly connected to the URJ Convention. The Fried Leadership Conference in March 2017 will be our first big step on this new adventure. So far so good! Everything will not always go  smoothly or as planned but we will travel together, this new exciting journey, always…STRONGER TOGETHER. Diane Kaplan has been an active member of Temple Israel Sisterhood in Minneapolis for over 40 years. She is currently serving her 14^th year on the WRJ Board of Directors. Diane has served in many capacities on the board and is particularly proud to have been the Co-chair of WRJ’s Centennial Celebration.