​It is with sadness that I write this email to inform you that Marsha Sheff, long-time Temple Ahavat Shalom member and Past President of the TAS Sisterhood (2003-2005) died yesterday, November 22, 2018 after a long illness. Marsha's funeral will be held on Sunday, November 25, 2018 at 10:00am at Mount Sinai, Simi Valley.

If you would like to send a tribute to Marsha's family please contact Mel Birken.

Upcoming Sisterhood events:

• Thursday, November 15, 7pm - Wine and Wisdom: Conversations with God, moderated by Rabbi Kalfus
• Saturday, November 17, 7:30pm - Jewish Women's Theater: The Accidental Activist
• Thursday, December 6, 7pm - Sisterhood Chanuka Party & gift exchange

We hope to see you at these events! For more information, see our website (www.tassisterhood.org)

Last month, 12 TAS Sisterhood members went to the WRJ-Pacific District convention in San Diego. The weekend was wonderful, filled with excellent speakers, workshops, services and entertainment. Special moments included watching our own Erika Barnathan and Jackie Zev being installed on the WRJ-PD Board, and a gathering of friends of our dear past president, Ellen A. Pollack, to raise a glass in her honor. But best of all was the camaraderie - sharing the weekend with TAS sisters drew us all closer together. WRJ-PD conventions only happen every other year, so you will have to wait until 2020 to go to the next one. It will be in Orange County, practically in our backyard, so it will be very affordable.

Featured Jewish Woman - Penina Moise (1797-1880)
Most synagogue attendees know that Debby Friedman (1951-2011) wrote many of the songs used in modern Jewish services. But long before Debby Friedman there was another Jewish women that made a big difference in Jewish liturgy. Penina Moise (1797-1880) is considered the first Jewish American woman to contribute to the worship service, writing 190 hymns for Congregation Beth Elohim in Charleston, S.C., a synagogue founded in 1749 and considered the birthplace of many ideas that later became important in the founding of the Reform movement. By 1932, the Reform Movement’s Union Hymnal still contained 13 of Moise’s hymns.

Growing up in the presence of a diverse, vital, and well-integrated Jewish community, Moise devoted herself to Jewish issues. Her work appeared in both the Jewish and general press. Her 1833 collection of poems, Fancy's Sketch Book, was the first by a Jewish American woman. Moise also wrote columns for newspapers throughout the United States. Her poetry covered a variety of topics, including current events, politics, local life, Judaism, Jewish rights, and Jewish ritual reform.

Thank you for supporting the TAS Sisterhood.

​Here are two dates to remember:
7pm Thursday, November 15
7:30pm Saturday, November 17

Being November, we are thankful that we have the opportunity to attend two great events. 

The first is called "Wine and Wisdom: Conversations with God (moderated by Rabbi Kalfus)." Bring your questions and curiosity, and we will see where the discussion leads us. This event is Thursday, Nov 15 (7pm) in the Social Hall. Click here for more information.

The second is Jewish Women's Theater at TAS. Jewish Women's Theater is an *amazing* readers' theater, often held in people's homes. Several TAS members saw JWT and were so impressed by this moving and powerful show, that they were motivated to bring it to TAS and share with the TAS community. It may be called Jewish Women's Theater, but men are welcome and would enjoy the performance. The show is Saturday, Nov 17 (7:30pm) at the Temple. Tickets are only $25, so it is very affordable. Bring your friends! Click here to view the flyer.

Remember that it is easy to find Sisterhood's upcoming events on our website: http://tassisterhood.org/upcoming-events.html (be sure to put ".org" - ".com" will take you to the website for the Temple Ahavat Shalom Sisterhood in Florida!) You can bookmark http://tassisterhood.org/upcoming-events.html for easy access to all our planned events.

We continue our series of incredible (and sometimes little known) Jewish women with the story of Phoebe Yates Pember, who was the first woman appointed as administrative matron (in 1862) to Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. This hospital had remarkable size of nearly 5000 beds during the Civil war and treated 76,000 patients. Pember was the fourth of six daughters born to a prosperous Jewish family of Charleston, South Carolina. Her husband had died of tuberculosis at the age of 36, and as an energetic supporter of the Confederacy, she welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the care of the wounded. Her reception was less than cordial, with one of the ward surgeons complaining to a friend in disgust that “one of them had come.” But with the support of the surgeon-in-chief, James McCaw (who later became Dean of the Medical College of Virginia), she was able to improve the food and care of the patients, ignoring the opposition and prejudice. Her biggest battle was for control over the most popular medication, whiskey. This commodity was costly and at $4 million, was 20% of the Army Medical Department’s appropriation in 1865. It was also a symbol of authority in the hospital and there was constant friction over its control between male and female contingents. To make matters worse, a few of the patients were contemptible malingerers. One day at the end of the war, one of them tried to force her to give him more whiskey. He called her an indecent name and grabbed her shoulder, but then beat a hasty retreat when he heard the click of a pistol she had concealed in her pocket. She was not very happy about having to ration the supply of alcohol, and as she wrote, “there were some doubts afloat as to whether the benefit conferred upon the patients by the use of stimulants counterbalanced the evil effects they produced on the surgeons”; as she described it, “when the patient was being made ready for an amputation, it was customary for the surgeon to match the patient drink for drink.”
We are thankful for powerful women like Phoebe Pember who made a difference!

And we are thankful for your support of the TAS Sisterhood.

Have you joined Sisterhood, or become our Friend already? Have you RSVPed for our free dinner for members and Friends on Thursday yet? If you haven't RSVPed yet, send an email to Cherie mannmcherie@yahoo.com or call 818-368-5058 right away, because an advanced RSVP is necessary to attend.

An RSVP is not required to attend our Holiday Boutique on Sunday 10am to 3pm - what an easy way to take care of your holiday shopping needs (and maybe even get something nice for yourself.)

On November 17, Sisterhood is bringing Jewish Women's Theater to TAS. The show is called "The Accidental Activist" and it is amazing! Both men and women will love it. Bring your friends to this memorable performance, which starts at 7:30. Tickets are only $25 each. Send a check payable to TAS Sisterhood to the Temple to attend. 

Featured woman of the week
Rebecca Longo (born March 17, 1999) is an American football kicker who became the first woman to earn a college football scholarship to an NCAA school at the Division II level or higher when she signed a letter of intent with Adams State University. She attended Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona and started playing football competitively her sophomore year. In 2014, she was a junior varsity kicker at Queen Creek High in Arizona, but after transferring to Basha High she was forced to sit out her junior year.
In her final year of high school, she converted 30 extra points on 33 attempts and was successful on her lone field goal attempt of the season of 30 yards. She is listed as 5 foot 11 inches tall and 140 pounds.

​The first Sisterhood Maj Jongg tournament of the year was a huge success. A big thanks goes to Phyllis Bigelson and to all of the people who volunteered their time and talents to make the day go smoothly.

This coming month is filled with great Sisterhood events. Starting with Sunday morning, October 14th. Join us in the TAS Sanctuary at 9:30am (come early for coffee and bagels) to hear Fran Lapides from the League of Women Voters demystify the November Ballot Measures. Click here to view the flyer.

On Thursday evening, 6pm, October 25, 2018 get ready for a yummy meal, entertainment and practical information on organizing - all of that and more at the Sisterhood Paid-Up Membership "Brunch for Dinner". Your Paid-Up Sisterhood Membership or Friends of Sisterhood Membership is your ticket to the event. Please click here for more information. You don't want to miss this event. So if you aren't a Sisterhood member or a Friend of Sisterhood or if you haven't renewed your membership yet, there is still time - sign up or renew your membership online today.

Make your holiday shopping list and mark your calendar for Sunday, October 28th, the Sisterhood Holiday Boutique. With lots of vendors to choose from you can find something for everyone on your holiday list.

Notorious RBG
“I am a judge, born, raised and proud of being a Jew. The demand for justice runs through the entirety of Jewish history and Jewish tradition. I hope that in all the years I have the good fortune to continue serving on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States I will have the strength and courage to remain steadfast in the service of that demand.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

This week we proudly feature Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, brilliant jurist, champion of women’s rights and gender equality.

Joan Ruth Bader was born in 1933 in Brooklyn, NY to Jewish American parents whose families immigrated from Russia. She graduated first in her class from Cornell University. She attended Harvard and then Columbia Law Schools, made Law Review at both schools and graduated Juris Doctor from Columbia, tying for first in her class. Ginsburg began her career as a research associate at Columbia Law School, and she eventually became the first woman to be hired there with tenure. During that time, she campaigned for women’s rights and became active in the American Civil Liberties Union. In 1972 she became the first director of the ACLU's Women's Rights Project.  In 1980 President Carter appointed Ginsburg Judge of the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and she remained there until 1993 when President Clinton appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she continues to work for women’s rights and civil liberties.

Ginsburg wrote the Supreme Court's landmark decision in United States v. Virginia in 1996. The decision held that Virginia Military Institute, a state-supported school, could not refuse to admit women. In 1999, she received the American Bar Association's Thurgood Marshall Award for her contributions to gender equality and civil rights.

Ruth Ginsburg has received much recognition and many awards. One of the lesser-known honors was given to her by the scientists at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History when they named a species of praying mantis “Ilomantis ginsburgae” after her. The name was selected because the neck plate of the Ilomantis ginsburgae resembled a ruffled collar, which Justice Ginsburg is known for wearing. In addition, this was the first time that a new species was identified based on characteristics of the female of the species and not only those of the male.  And so the species name also honors Ginsburg's "relentless fight for gender equality," according to a press release from the museum.

There are some great opportunities for you to help your Sisterhood and have some fun while doing it. The Holiday Boutique and Bake sale (Sunday, October 28) need more volunteers to help either by cashiering, staffing the Bake Sale table, or by providing donations of baked goods to sell.
 
Thanks to our Technology Chair Jackie Zev we have an online signup at:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d45aba92aa1f49-holiday1

To volunteer, click on the above link. You will see a line for each shift available and for donations of baked goods. If you have already volunteered, your name will be there. If not, choose the shift you want to sign up for, click on the blue "Sign Up" button next to that shift, and then click the blue "Submit and Sign up" button at the bottom of the page (below the advertising) to go to the next page. On the next page, enter your first and last name. Entering an email address is optional - you will receive a reminder if you do. If you chose the Donations of Baked Goods line, enter what you are bringing on the comment line (above where you enter your name). Finally, click the blue "Sign Up Now" Button.

If the online signup doesn't work for you, simply reply to this message or give Robyn Blachman a call at 818-970-5632 and let us know how you would like to help.
​
Thanks for supporting the TAS Sisterhood.

The month of October is full of interesting and fun Sisterhood events. So clear your calendars, and get ready to spend some quality time with your sisters and friends.

We will start off the month with the Sisterhood Board meeting on Thursday, October 4, 7pm at my house. Although this is of more interest to Board members, any TAS member who wishes to attend is welcome. If you aren't a Board member and would like to join us, please let me know (email or call) so that I can borrow enough chairs from Jackie to seat everyone.

Here are the rest of the activities for October:
MahJongg Tournament: Sunday, October 7 email Phyllis Bigelson at phyllis@bigelsoncpa.com for details.
Ballot Proposition Presentation by the League of Women Voters: Sunday October 14, 9:30 am - $5 fee (waived for Sisterhood members and Friends of Sisterhood). 
And while only paid members and paid Friends of Sisterhood are invited to our 
Paid-up "Brunch for Dinner" on Thursday, October 25 at 6pm, everyone will find something of interest at the Holiday Boutique on Sunday October 28 (10am-3pm). Make time for one or more of the October events.

Sisterhood membership packets were emailed to all Temple members on September 26. The packets include a one page calendar of events, a flyer for the Paid-up event, a Membership Form you can print and mail back, and a link for easy online registration. The online Sisterhood membership registration link is http://www.tassisterhood.org/join-us.html

Within the next few days you will be receiving another email from me with links and information on how you can sign up to help out at the Holiday Boutique. So please watch for that email.

​Thanks for your support of the TAS Sisterhood.

As we give thanks for the harvest and the bounty of nature, please consider joining your sisters and friends in celebration of Sukkot on Thursday, September 27. If you haven't already done so please RSVP to efratyg@yahoo.com today! Check out the Sukkot flyer.

This week our featured Jewish woman scientist is Ruth Arnon, an Israeli biochemist, immunologist and co-developer of the drug Copaxone®, a medication used to treat multiple sclerosis. Ruth was born in Tel Aviv in 1933. She studied chemistry at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, receiving her Master of Science from there in 1955. Ruth then served two  years in the military as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces. She continued her education at the Weizmann Institute where she studied for her doctorate under Michael Sela. The working relationship that formed between Arnon and Sela led to the two inventing the first synthetic antigen. Together with Devorah Teitelbaum, Arnon and Sela discovered that this synthetic antigen could suppress a disease, similar to multiple sclerosis, in animals. After 30 years of research and experimentation the antigen was approved for medical use as Copaxone. It is considered to be Ruth's largest contribution to science so far, and her contributions are still being made. Ruth Arnon is currently a Professor of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute. She continues to work on the development of anti-influenza and anti-cancer vaccines.

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Sisterhood's first event of the 2018-2019 year is our annual Sukkot celebration.
Enjoy our traditional harvest festival in Jo Schwartz's sukkah with Sisterhood, Cantor Ken and a few surprises on Thursday, September 27 at 7pm.This is always a fun (and yummy) event. 
A-L please bring dessert; M-Z please bring an appetizer. 
RSVP by September 20 to efratyg@yahoo.com. Address will be provided upon RSVP.
Here is a link to a flyer for the Sukkot event
Continuing the series of bios on amazing Jewish women, this week I bring you Rosalind Franklin. Franklin had an incredible mind. Born in 1920, she grew up in London. She graduated from Cambridge in 1941 and earned her Ph.D. in 1945. She became an accomplished X-ray crystallographer and worked on X-ray diffraction studies, which would eventually facilitate the double helix theory of the DNA. Her work led to the discovery of the DNA double helix for which James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962. Watson suggested that Franklin would have ideally been awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with Wilkins, but the Nobel Committee does not make posthumous nominations, and unfortunately, Franklin died in 1958 of ovarian cancer. After finishing her work on DNA, Franklin led pioneering work on the molecular structures of viruses. Her team member Aaron Klug continued her research, winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1982. Wow! Two Nobel prizes came out of Franklin's work!

Hope to see you at Sukkot!

L'Shana Tova - Happy New Year 5779!
Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy and the very sweetest new year.
May you be inscribed in the Book of Life!
Thank you for being a part of the TAS Sisterhood.