Beber Camp switches to Friendship Circle challah
Beber Camp, a non-profit Jewish overnight camp in Mukwonago, has contracted with Friendship Bakery to provide all challah each week during Summer 2021.
In the past, the camp baked its own challah, but because of the pandemic and a change in staffing, the camp decided to explore using a bakery to supply its challah, according to Trudy Sirkis, spokeswoman for Beber Camp.
“We were so impressed with what Friendship Bakery does, and because we have an inclusion program at Beber Camp for campers with special needs, we thought it was a perfect fit,” Sirkis said. “While Friendship Bakery was a little beyond our original budget plans, we had a generous donor sponsor purchasing the challahs from Friendship Bakery and so we are so excited to announce that this is happening for summer 2021.”
The Beber Camp inclusion program includes workers who have aged out of the typical camper program. Friendship Bakery is a Chabad of Wisconsin organization that trains and employs people with special needs.
Friendship Circle café open for seating
If you’ve been vaccinated, are feeling newly free, and are looking to get out, you’ve got an option in the Friendship Circle Café. The café has been open with seating for much of the pandemic, except for a period of about four months.
Inside seating is available and there’s a heat lamp for outside seating. All food is certified kosher. The café is operated by Friendship Circle of Wisconsin, which seeks to provide support, friendship, and opportunities to include people with special needs in our community.
Current hours, at 8649 N Port Washington Road in Fox Point, are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday. Visit Fcwi.org or call 414-755-5855.
Sam’s Place Jazz Café is open
Sam’s Place Jazz Café opened to the public in February, close to the Bader Philanthropies building in the Harambee neighborhood of Milwaukee.
Bader Philanthropies moved to its Harambee spot from its prior headquarters in Milwaukee’s Third Ward in 2018, as part of a commitment to a revitalization of the neighborhood. Sam’s Place Jazz Café is the latest in a series of moves to that end and it has opened with assistance from Bader Philanthropies. The nonprofit has deep ties to the local Jewish community.
Sam’s Place Jazz Café, 3338 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Milwaukee, is open 7 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday – Sunday, with live entertainment from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Call 414-837-512 or visit SamsPlaceJazz.com. Sam’s Place Jazz Café is not certified kosher.
Weekend celebrates Rabbi David Cohen
Congregation Sinai is celebrating Rabbi David Cohen’s 25 years as spiritual leader with a weekend of virtual events open to the community. Congregation Sinai, a Fox Point congregation, is also celebrating its 65 years of existence this weekend.
The weekend begins Friday, April 30, with a Shabbat of Tribute, with former Sinai cantors and educators participating. It is free and open to the community.
On Saturday, May 1, at 7 p.m., there will be a Celebration of Song, a paid concert event. Sunday, May 2, features a morning of learning with scholar of residence Rabbi David Stern; it is free and open to the community.
To register, visit CongregationSinai.org/Sinai65.
Rabbi Woll joins interfaith fellowship
Rabbi Michal Woll has been named a Rukin rabbinic fellow by 18Doors, a national nonprofit that assists interfaith families.
Woll is the spiritual leader for Congregation Shir Hadash, of Milwaukee’s east side. She is part of the second group to enter the 18Doors Rukin Rabbinic fellowship program, which launched with a virtual kick-off retreat in February.
Fellows hone their skills to work with interfaith couples and families. The curriculum includes webinars, small group learning and one-on-one mentoring. Fellows will each offer programs and workshops for interfaith couples in their own communities and virtually for a national audience, according to a press release from 18Doors. They will also work individually with couples seeking Jewish clergy to officiate a lifecycle event through 18Doors’ referral service, answer questions and connect couples to existing inclusive resources and organizations.
Twenty-one communities across the United States and Canada have Rukin Fellows, where interfaith couples and families can receive:
- One-on-one consultations with a rabbi who can provide support and answer questions.
- Referrals to local organizations friendly to interfaith couples and families.
- Programming for seriously dating, engaged and newly married interfaith couples and/or parents with young children to talk about how they want to bring religious traditions into their lives together.
18Doors, formerly InterfaithFamily, is at 18doors.org.
Public schools foundation launches RBG Scholarship
Fred Tabak, a local member of the Jewish community, is spearheading the creation of a new Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation scholarship fund, to provide more access to the field of law for women of color.
The Milwaukee-based law firm that Tabak founded in 2006, Tabak Law, has already put $25,000 toward the fund and Fred Tabak is seeking additional donations.
In collaboration with the Milwaukee Bar Association Foundation, Marquette University Law School, and the University of Wisconsin Law School, the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Scholarship program will provide scholarships to women of color pursuing undergraduate and graduate law degrees, according to a news release.
Fred Tabak is a graduate of Riverside High School in Milwaukee and is on the board of the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation. He was partly inspired to name the scholarship for Ruth Bader Ginsberg (z”l), because his daughter Shana Tabak, also a lawyer, once introduced the renowned jurist at an event in Georgia.
Fred Tabak holds Ginsberg’s journey in great esteem, including her work before she joined the court: “She took cases to the Supreme Court, fighting for equality for women. Her philosophy is ‘we’re not going to change the world overnight, but one step at a time.’”
Ginsburg was a history maker, a passionate litigator, a pioneering jurist, and most importantly, an inspiration to generations of women and girls who want to make the world a better place, according to the release.
For undergraduate studies, scholarship recipients will receive $2,000 for each year of study. For graduate school, recipients are eligible for up to $10,000 per year while attending the University of Wisconsin Law School or Marquette University Law School.
Apply or donate to the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Scholarship program at Mpsfdn.com.
Nominate someone for a social justice award
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Milwaukee Jewish Federation is seeking nominees for its seventh annual Robert H. Friebert Social Justice Award.
The award will be given to an individual who has demonstrated leadership, courage and compassion as a social justice advocate, while working to eliminate discrimination and injustice in the greater Milwaukee area. Attorney James H. Hall, Jr., won the inaugural award in 2015, Danae Davis in 2016, José A. Olivieri in 2017, Reggie Jackson and Fran Kaplan in 2018, Pardeep Singh Kaleka and Arno Michaelis in 2019, and Anita Johnson in 2020.
The honoree will be recognized at the JCRC’s Virtual Annual Meeting on June 17. Nomination forms can be found online at MilwaukeeJewish.org/Friebert. The deadline for submission is Friday, April 16.
This award was created in memory of Milwaukee attorney and activist, Robert H. Friebert (1938-2013). He was driven to pursue social justice through the law and public service, and he believed deeply that everyone deserves equal social, economic and political rights. Friebert dedicated himself to the pursuit of social justice and the Jewish value of tikkun olam (repairing the world).
For more information, contact Allison Hayden, Israel and Jewish Community Relations Council program associate, at 414-390-5724 or AllisonH@MilwaukeeJewish.org.