Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv/Darfur Teaching/Potluck April 28th in DC

check this out!


--feel free to forward--

TIKKUN LEIL SHABBAT April 28 at 7 pm
with DC Reform Chavurah

A songful, soulful Sabbath service including a teaching about a social
justice issue and followed by a potluck vegetarian dinner.

Religious Action Center: 2027 Massachusetts Ave NW in Dupont Circle
Red line Metro to Dupont Circle, north exit (see below for more specific directions)

Services will be Egalitarian and follow a/the traditional liturgy.

Kabbalat Shabbat: Eli Staub

Maariv: Sarah Beller and Rob Levy

Dvar Tikkun: Jacob Feinspan of American Jewish World Service & Elizabeth Cohan, recently returned from Darfur Sudan
(you can find more info on these guys at the bottom of the e-mail)

Organized by Z... Teutsch

For more information or with specific concerns please contact us at
tikkunleilshabbat@yahoo.com. Really we mean it, if you have questions or concerns e-mail, we'll get back to you promptly.


Stay tuned for a Saturday night gathering downtown

=====METRO DIRECTIONS

Walking Directions + Map

* Come up from Dupont Metro north exit.
* Turn almost 180 degrees to your left and walk one block.
* Massachusetts Avenue will be on your right.
*
The Religious Action Center will be on the right at the corner of 21st and Massachusetts.
* Enter via the lower level door to the Religious Action Center which is directly under the main entrance.

=======SPEAKER BIOS

Elizabeth Cohan will be speaking about her experiences
in Darfur, Sudan, where she spent 8 months working as
a Gender-Based Violence Manager for the International
Rescue Committee in 2005. Elizabeth was responsible
for setting up services - both psychosocial and
clinical - for women who survived sexual violence as a
result of the conflict. She also worked closely with
United Nations representatives and African Union
troops to advocate on behalf of displaced women,
particularly rape survivors, and to set up protection
measures for women living in IDP camps.

Elizabeth graduated from Williams College in
Williamstown, MA in 2002 and has spent the last four
years working in humanitarian aid and international
development in Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Washington,
DC. Elizabeth will share photos from the Darfur
region, and is happy to answer any and all questions
about her experience living in Darfur and about
gender-based violence, especially as it is used as a
tool of war and genocide in Sudan.

Jacob Feinspan is a senior policy associate and responsible for AJWS
advocacy work on Darfur, global AIDS, and international debt cancellation
in Washington, DC. In addition to representing AJWS on Capital Hill, he
coordinates grassroots advocacy. Prior to joining AJWS, Jacob worked
for a year at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and he
continues to advise the Reform Movement's disaster relief grant
making. Jacob graduated from Wesleyan University in 2002 with a B.A.
in government and sociology.

=====TLS FOOTNOTES FOR THE PERPLEXED

> What does " Tikkun Leil Shabbat" mean?

First, some vocabulary:
l'taken (v) = to repair or heal
tikkun olam (n) = Jewish term for the holy work of repairing the world
tikkun leil Shavuot (n) = The name of this summer series is a play on
this term, which refers to the annual all-night Torah study session
which spiritually "heals" the world on the holiday of Shavuot.
Shabbat (n) = Jewish day of rest from sundown Friday to sundown
Saturday, when we stop running around trying to accomplish things and
make some time to breathe and bless, eat and love.

So "Tikkun Leil Shabbat" is a welcoming, restful, songful community
where we could glimpse redemption at dusk on a Friday evening, eat
things with tofu and noodles in them, learn from each others' thoughts
and experiences, and educate ourselves about the good work people are
already doing to make our city a gentler and fairer place for everyone
who lives here.

> What style of services will these be?

All TLS services are fully egalitarian with much singing. The
services vary in other ways. Some TLS services will feature
full Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv, while on some other occasions, the
leader may make some innovations in the liturgy. On April 28, the
service will be a capella, and on other dates the service may be
accompanied by instruments. If you need to know more about the
specifics of a particular evening's service to decide whether or not
you'd feel comfortable joining us, please ask:
tikkunleilshabbat@yahoo.com

> What siddur (prayerbook) will you be using?

We will provide some copies of Siddur Chaveirim Kol Yisraeil ("the
purple siddur"), which contain the text of the evening service in
Hebrew, in English, and transliterated phonetically in English
letters. We encourage you to bring a siddur of your own if you can.

> Can I come just for services and then leave? Can I show up just for
dinner?

Yes, and yes. We'll probably be starting dinner approximately 1.5
hours after the posted start time.

> What kind of food should I bring?

Please bring a vegetarian entree or salad to share. Your dish
should fit into one of two categories:

1. Option One: Bring a vegetarian contribution (dairy and eggs are
fine). There will be a table where you can place that contribution.

2. Option Two: Prepare your potluck contribution in a hechsher-only
kitchen, or purchase a hechshered potluck item. There will be a
designated table where you can place that contribution. (If you don't
totally understand Option Two, don't stress; just go with Option One,
above.)

> I keep kosher in a particular way. Will I be able to eat dinner at
TLS?

There will be one table of vegetarian food, and another table of
vegetarian food that is hechshered or prepared in hechsher-only
kitchens. We hope this will make it possible for everyone to eat and
for everyone to contribute food.

> I'm not Jewish. Can I come?

Yes!

> I am Jewish, but I'm probably not "Jewish enough" to come to
something like this. Can I come?

Yes, you are, and yes, please come!

> I'm not in my twenties. Can I come?

Yes!

> I'm not a member of the inner circle of Jewish cool people in DC.
They all know each other already. Can I come?

Yes! These gatherings will gain strength from each person who joins
us. (If an inner circle of Jewish coolness exists, we're not in it,
either.)

> Can I help? I'd like to get involved.

Yes! Email: tikkunleilshabbat@yahoo.com .

> What is the American Jewish World Service?

This meeting of Tikkun Leil Shabbat is co-sponsored by the American
jewish world service. AJWS is an independent not-for-profit organization
founded in 1985 to help alleviate poverty, hunger and disease among the
people of the world regardless of race, religion or nationality. It breathes
life into Judaism's imperative to pursue justice and helps American Jews
act upon a deeply felt obligation to improve the chances for survival,
economic independence and human dignity for all people.

======Did you really get this far?
If you really got this far you totally have to come. Seriously, this was a long e-mail...see you on the 28th.