Yonina Schlussel was looking to build bridges in the Milwaukee Jewish community.
As program coordinator for the Milwaukee Kollel Center for Jewish Studies, her goal is “to connect people to Judaism [and] to have them come at it in their own way, not necessarily the Orthodox way.”
And last year, at a convention for the Association for Jewish Outreach, Schlussel saw a model that she thought just might work in Milwaukee. Thus was born the first Milwaukee Conference for Jewish Women to be held at the Wyndham Milwaukee Center Hotel on Sunday, May 23.
Taking her cue from a women’s conference in Houston, Schlussel started by initiating contacts with local women outside the observant community. She talked with potential participants about the conference as she met them, wherever she went, and e-mailed everyone she could think of.
Schlussel’s friend, Dianne Spector, said that Schlussel already had some connections in the non-Orthodox Jewish community as she belongs to a Rosh Hodesh group that includes Orthodox and non-Orthodox women. Spector, is a founding member of the 10-year-old group.
Spector said that since the group has included women from across the spectrum from the beginning, Schlussel was very excited about her goal for the conference to be for people from all streams of Judaism.
“When she started talking about it with great enthusiasm, I asked her if I could be in on the initial discussions. She had this vision and I wanted to meet with her and her committee because I was concerned that if the program was spearheaded by the Kollel, then women from more liberal backgrounds might see it as not being for them.”
The women decided to “have various women’s organizations support the conference so that their members and supporters would identify with and feel connected to the event,” Spector explained.
The five sponsoring organizations represent women from across the Jewish spectrum. They are the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation; Hadassah; the Kollel; the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Women’s Division; the National Council of Jewish Women-Milwaukee section; and Tikkun Ha-Ir of Milwaukee.
‘ Need each other’
“What I like about this conference,” said Ruth Wallace, section spokesperson for NCJW, “is that there are lots of Jewish options.
“It is important to continue to search for common ground. Some of our views nationally are not necessarily in keeping with what the Orthodox community believes, but we are all women, many of us are mothers with children and our mission nationally is to serve women, families and children.”
“Organizations like ours, that are progressive in their views, are always looking for connections that we can make in the Jewish community,” she said in a telephone interview.
Susan Angel Miller, past president and current treasurer of NCJW agreed that the conference is a powerful precedent. “It’s nice to collaborate with the entire women’s Jewish community. Hopefully this will spur more of these types of events and personal connections.”
Susie Fono, president of Hadassah, also responded with interest when she initially received a request for Hadassah to be a sponsor of the conference.
“I am trying new things at Hadassah,” she said. So, she decided she must go to the meeting and find out what this event is all about.
Fono also expressed excitement about the coming together of a varied group of women. “We need to meet each other and get to know each other and not be afraid of each other. It is a good thing to learn from one another.”
Each of the five sponsoring organizations will offer two workshops that fall into the general categories of: women’s health, creativity/self fulfillment, relationships, Jewish thought and tools for living.
Keynote speaker will be Lori Palatnik, author with Bob Berg of the new book, “Gossip: Ten Pathways to Eliminate it from Your Life and Transform Your Soul.” An author, motivational speaker and Jewish educator, she will speak on the topic, “Gossip Anyone?”
The conference will begin with registration at 9:30 a.m. The Keynote address is at 10 a.m. and each participant can choose two one-hour workshops, at 11:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be served at 12:15 p.m. and the conference will conclude with a dessert reception with Palatnik.
Class size is limited, so early registration is encouraged. Individual registration is $45; mother and teen daughter registration is $54
Participants can designate a sponsoring organization to receive a portion of the registration fee.
For more information, visit www.discoveryproduction.com/milwaukee or call 414-447-7999. To register, call 888-883-4726.
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