​The umbrella organization for Reform Sisterhoods (including ours) is the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ). Here are some of the benefits from our Sisterhood's membership in WRJ.
 
WRJ Consultant Program: This program was created to provide WRJ-affiliated sisterhoods with access to WRJ leaders who are knowledgeable in topics that our affiliates often find challenging.

WRJ Events:  WRJ hosts a variety of events for affiliated members and women of Progressive Judaism from around the world, which are meant to educate, inform, inspire, connect and elevate women’s leadership and spirituality. Several of our members recently attended the WRJ Social Justice Conference. An upcoming event is the WRJ Women's Journey to Israel , Feb 20-28, 2020.

WRJ Speaker's Bureau:  This WRJ service aims to help develop leadership skills, provide education, and bring spirituality to sisterhoods across North America by sending experienced WRJ leaders to lead special events and workshops for local groups.

WRJ Programs: WRJ Programs to foster women’s Jewish growth include Chai Mitzvah (we have a Chai Mitzvah group in our Sisterhood) and Lilith Salons.
 
WRJ Support for other Programs: WRJ provides generous support for the PJ Library program, the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) and grants to Sisterhoods to help them develop "outside the box" programs. WRJ also partners with the Religious Action Center (the RAC) to promote social justice and civil rights, and to fight antisemitism.

To personally experience the kind of high-caliber programs that WRJ promotes and develops, we urge you to attend Area Day on July 14 at University Synagogue. Here's a link for more information about Area Day: https://www.wrjpacific.org/southern-california-area-day.html

Speaking of WRJ support for activism, social justice and the RAC, do you know the story of Anat Hoffman? 

Hoffman was born on a kibbutz near Jerusalem in 1954. As a youth, she was a champion swimmer and competed in the Maccabiah Games, winning titles in nine events. In 1974, after she completed her service in the Israel Defense Forces, she and her husband at the time, Michael, left for the United States to study. She graduated from UCLA in 1980 with a B.A. in Psychology. While at UCLA, she was exposed to Reform Judaism and realized for the first time that Judaism was not limited to Orthodoxy.

Returning to Israel, she became an activist for religious pluralism. In the late 1980s, she led a campaign for consumer rights with regard to Bezeq, the Israeli telecommunications company, and her efforts were successful. Anat Hoffman is chair of the Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem. She was the chairwoman of Women in Black, an international women's anti-war movement with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. She was a member of the group that started Women of the Wall in December 1988. She has been arrested multiple times for wearing a prayer shawl at the Wall. Since 2002 Hoffman has served as Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, which was founded in 1987 as the public and legal advocacy arm of the movement for Progressive Judaism in Israel. It is dedicated to promoting equality, justice, religious freedom.

The Jerusalem Post listed her fifth among its list of 50 Most Influential Jews, for forcefully and successfully bringing the issue of women's rights at the Kotel to the "forefront of the consciousness of world Jewry". 

2019-2020 dues for Sisterhood Members and Friends of Sisterhood will increase to $50 on July 1st. But if you renew on or before June 30, 2019 you can take advantage of last year's price.

Select one of the two easy options below to join or renew your membership today.
 
Option 1: Click here to view the Membership Form. Then print, complete and send it with your check payable to TAS Sisterhood, 18200 Rinaldi Pl., Northridge, CA 91326.
 
Option 2: Click on this link for easy on line registration: 
https://tassisterhood.org/join-us.html; complete the form and either hit “NEXT” to pay by credit card or Paypal; or send your membership dues to TAS Sisterhood and we will match your payment to your application. 

​The LOVE brunch Sunday was just "LOVE-er-ly"! The speaker was a lot of fun, Tracey, our Area Rep, did an awesome job installing the board, the waffles were VERY yummy, and the look on Carol Bizar-Morton's face when she found out she was this year's Woman of the Year was priceless!

Except for our MahJongg Tournament on June 23, our LOVE lunch was the last Sisterhood event for the 2018-2019 year. However, the 2019-2020 year is getting off to a fabulous start with the WRJ Pacific District event called Area Day on July 14. Area Day is a day of growth and development with workshops on leadership, spirituality and fun. The keynote speaker will be Ariella Loewenstein, Deputy Regional Director, ADL Los Angeles, who will be speaking on “Anti-semitism in our Contemporary Society” - what a timely topic! Workshops include an art project, a book discussion, martial arts, event planning, social justice, torah study, tech tools, and much, much more. Go to the Area Day website (https://www.wrjpacific.org/southern-california-area-day.html), click on the Individual Online Registration Form button, and see which workshops sound most interesting to you.

TAS Sisterhood knows that Area Day is an amazing day, and supports our members attending by reimbursing the registration fee. Contact Erika Barnathan for more information about Area Day.

Are you familiar with the ADL, the Anti-Defamation League? ADL is a leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of anti-Semitism and bigotry, its timeless mission is to protect the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment for all. Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of hate with the same vigor and passion. ADL is a global leader in exposing extremism and delivering anti-bias education, and is a leading organization in training law enforcement. ADL is the first call when acts of anti-Semitism occur. ADL’s ultimate goal is a world in which no group or individual suffers from bias, discrimination or hate.

Not only does the ADL fight anti-semitism both here and abroad, they promote immigrant & refugee rights, LGBTQ rights, women's equity, race and racial justice, Israel, and much more. In 2008, the ADL helped prevent an assassination attempt on President-elect Barak Obama. Ariella Loewenstein's keynote speech and follow-up workshop at Area Day are sure to provide an enlightening look at the current state of anti-semitism in today's society. We hope you can be there!