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The WRJ Heartland District November Face-to-Face Cincinnati Weekend

01/29/2025 10:48:23 AM

Jan29

By Leslie Coff, TBE Sisterhood WRJ Liaison

It was an early November weekend in Cincinnati when the WRJ Heartland District held their Heart-to-Heart and Face-to-Face weekend.

Almost one hundred women from all over the Heartland District (from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, South Dakota, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio) met to share experiences and build relationships, spending four meaningful days together. 

I would like to acknowledge first how impactful this trip was. Just after the U.S. election, this weekend provided a stable sense of a North American community of Jewish women, sharing similar values. It was warm, welcoming, and supportive. It felt like home.

There was the opportunity to go to Hebrew Union College (HUC), and among other things we did, we saw the Sisterhood Dormitory, built by the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods (now known as Women of Reform Judaism, WRJ), which has housed generations of rabbinical students since 1925. So many of us didn’t realize that many of the rabbis we know and love had their rabbinic educations funded by WRJ scholarships. It was wonderful to hear from them—and learn how WRJ had impacted their lives.

We were so fortunate to enjoy the warm and welcoming community of Valley Temple in Cincinnati, where we spent Shabbat dinner and shared in their Sisterhood Shabbat, our Heartland District community singing and praying together with them. It was a very moving experience.

For me, one of the more impactful experiences was our visit to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (https://freedomcenter.org), on the banks of the great Ohio River, at the John H. Roebling Bridge, across the river from the State of Kentucky. 

Here we were on one of the major sites of the actual Underground Railroad crossing, where hundreds of thousands of slaves were smuggled across the Mason-Dixon Line (the Ohio River) to Ohio—and then to Canada to freedom.

Here, the phrase attributed to Rabbi Hillel “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” was projected on the wall. The halls were named “The Pavilion of Courage” and “The Pavilion of Perseverance.” For just a few days after the election, this felt timely and incredibly touching.

While we also enjoyed other local Cincinnati experiences, it was incredibly special to all be together. There were many who had not seen each other in a long time—there were embraces and there was laughter.

We found points of connection at breakfast, in the elevator, in the train station eating popcorn. And for some of us, we met some very old friends—for the first time.

The Women of Reform Judaism are a vibrant, impactful group of women whose work has changed many lives.

I am so looking forward to the March 21–23 Lev el Lev Heartland District retreat weekend at OSRUI in Oconomowoc.

I hope that you will join me.

Registration materials are forthcoming. Reach out to lesliecoff@gmail.com with questions.
 

February 14, 2025 16 Sh'vat 5785