One of the most fun things the Women of Reform Judaism does is to put on a Leadership conference every year.  The best part about it is that the women who attend are all *amazing*!  You get to meet and talk to incredible women for 4 days.  The speakers are always incredible, and the music and services are profoundly moving.  you come back energized and full of ideas.

Speakers & Performers for the upcoming conference include:
    Michelle Citrin, musician-in-residence
    Rabbi Rick Jacobs, keynote speaker
    Marian Wright Edelman, founder & president of Children's Defense Fund
    April Baskin, URJ Vice President and keynote speaker/ presenter
    Stacy Beyer, FLC choir director

The 2018 conference is March 1-4, in Nashville, TN.  Which has the advantage of being a fun place to visit, and the disadvantage of being a 5 hour flight away.  It's not cheap to attend - just the registration is almost $500, but there are some Sisterhood funds to help defray your costs, and one more person can stay for free if you are willing to share a bed with one of your presidents.
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If you want to join your presidents in experiencing the power and fun of the Fried Leadership Conference, then let us know - we hope you will say yes!

​We had a very successful Holiday Boutique last Sunday - We don't have all the expenses tallied yet, but it looks like we exceeded budget - and we budgeted to make more money this year than last year due to the tremendous success of last year's boutique. 

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all our volunteers - we couldn't have done it without you!   Also to MoTAS, for making sure that food was available for our hungry shoppers and vendors.  And speaking of "we couldn't have done it without you" - three cheers for everyone who shopped on Sunday and made the day a success!  Most of all, hats off to Robyn Blachman, who orchestrated the day.  Her attention to detail made all the difference and made the day run smoothly and efficiently.  We appreciate you, Robyn!
Speaking of shopping, Chanukah begins December 12th!  Need candles?  gelt?  dreidels?  Stop by the Temple Judaica shop, brought to you by Sisterhood, and view our latest treasures!   See our wonderful selection of holiday items to enhance your celebrations. Throughout the year we carry a versatile collection of Judaica -- jewelry, tallits, kippahs, mezuzahs, yads, candleholders, yahrzeit memorials, cards for every occasion and more!

The Judaica shop is open during Shabbat Friday evening onegs and Sundays from 9 am to 11:45 am.  If those times don't work for you, call Laraine Miller at 818-993-0796 or Linda Sculler at 818-701-7117 and we will find a time that does.  Credit cards, checks and cash accepted. Proceeds help fund the many Sisterhood projects and services provided to the temple.

We thought the paid-up luncheon speaker was fabulous!  Of course we had heard that perennial joke before:  "Why do Jews always answer a question with a question?" “Nu, how *should* they answer?”   But  we hadn't ever thought about how songs and music written by Jewish composers and lyricists incorporate questions into the music, and how this stems from the Jewish emphasis on the importance of asking questions.  And we loved hearing examples of how melodies from liturgy are represented in Broadway musical songs.  Wow!  She was great!  Jill said her book was on Amazon, and that it is expensive, which is true, but it's actually slightly less than she implied.   Amazon has it marked down to $58.89 (from $83).  Just go to Amazon and put "Jill Gold Wright" into the search engine if you are interested.

Speaking of "Wow!", next Sunday's Boutique is going to be fantastic too!   Here's a suggestion: call a friend and plan a shopping date Sunday at the Temple.  What a great way to connect with your friend, get your holiday shopping done early, and support your Sisterhood all at the same time!
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We announced at the paid-up that in March we have the opportunity to have a Women of the Wall representative come to speak to us from Israel.   Would you be willing to help make this event happen?  You can either help plan the event (which would involve attending committee meetings) or just help with publicity (which would not require attending committee meetings.)  If you would be willing to help out, reply to this email and let us know what level of support works best for you. 
Here's the LOL of the week:

​If you are coming to the paid-up luncheon on Sunday (Nov 12), would you be willing to come at 9 and help set-up?  Or stay after and help clean up?  If you want to come to the luncheon but have not RSVP'd, then reply to this email today and let us know.  Advance reservations are REQUIRED, but if you haven't paid your dues yet (or become a Friend of Sisterhood), you can bring your check on Sunday.

We also need volunteers for the Holiday Boutique the following Sunday (Nov 19).  We need people to help with the bake sale shifts (8:00-10:30,  10:30-1:00, and  1:00-3:30) and we need another cashier for the 9:30-11:30 shift.  And we need more baked good donations, too.  We made an online sign-up at http://signup.com/go/vNtZnAG, or just reply to this email. 

Speaking of volunteers, here are some awesome Sisterhood members who stepped up lately in big ways to make Sisterhood fabulous.  Irene Miller volunteered to become our third Friday Judaica Shop hostess when Jill moved to Northern California.  Laraine Miller made dozens of phone calls reminding members to send in their dues checks.  And Becky Breuer volunteered to make gifts for our new members and Friends.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

If you would also be willing to pitch in to make Sisterhood even better, let us know.  We have a couple of easy Fundraisers we would like to do that need chairs and committees.  The Volunteer Recognition Lunch in June could use your help.  And the Membership committee always needs new faces and new voices helping us be the best we can be.

Today's humor is, of course, on volunteering:

Ryan: Jim. I wanted to apologize... for how I treated you last year. I lost sight of myself and now that I've quit the rat race I've realized there's so much more to life than being the youngest VP in the company's history. I've even started volunteering. Giving back to the community.
Jim: Well that's great. You're talking about your court-ordered community service?
Ryan: I don't need a judge to tell me to keep my community clean.
Jim: But he did, right?
(From "The Office")

​Just a quick reminder that if you want to donate Judaica to Santa Rosa or Houston disaster victims, you should bring it to the Temple Sunday when you come for Mitzvah day.  Or bring it to the paid-up luncheon the following Sunday.  Or call Mel Birken (818-366-2397) and make arrangements to get the Judaica to her. She will ship it to the needy fire and hurricane victims.