"Community Decision Meeting"
Took place Tuesday evening, Nov 30th, at the home of Ethel Murphy. It started at 7:45. Hard stop at 9:30pm.
Quorum: Max, Vicky, Ethel, Paul
In the spirit of Taxi unlimited (whoever came to meetings, made the decisions. Because they rotated the
weekday for the meeting, many times, the Tues meeting revisited and undid the decisions made by the previous Weds'
meeting.)
Torah Service Plan is to pull the AqM pages
Healing circle chants: which ones should we include as text
options?
Vicky's going to type up including: Debbie Friedman Misha berach; ana elna; there may be other healing chants-- Let's
ask Carol or Mindy?
Sharing good news: we have adopted this tradition, but continued to experiment with placement. Max feels that it
should go after the Torah is put away (hagba and galilah). We discuss whether people even realize that it's intended to be
a counterbalance/complement to the healing circle? Let's try to make this connection more explicit. Max noted that the
original use of the mishberach was for people who were seriously ill, who faced death without intervention; it seems
to have drifted from this to people who have the sniffles.
Do we have any readings akin to the prayer for Peace, for Our Country, for Israel that we would like to include as options?
Max has strong objections to the content for the prayer for Israel, because the beginning "reshit tzmichat geulateynu" -- a
form of idolatry of the state. "Promise of redemption" in the Sim Shalom translation is more congenial. Vicky would like to
get more texts to review. Before the next meeting, I will send out a call to remind people to bring siddurim and other
texts with interesting prayers.
Numbering System: in order to keep our prayerbook modular, and to avoid some of the alphabet pagination we've
experienced over the years, I propose that the Torah service pages be numbered: Torah-1, Torah-2, etc.
Color-coding: I propose that the Torah service section be copied on buff colored paper to make finding it easy. Max
supports this, with a modest reservation. (Note on color: The colors should be sufficiently distinct that there's no
confusion about which section is "ecru")
Saying something after the Kaddish-- Ethel would like to add more options on the closing of the service (Adon Alom, Achad
Shahalti, or others that people should bring to the next meeting).
Possible co-sponsorship of the Tu B'shvat Seder (Jan 24). RHEB - reconstructionist. Mindy's in favor, and it's at her house.
Set further spring dates now
Feb 1 - next CDM (same time per usual, at Ethel's)
March 19 [Note: Berkeley spring break is 3.21 to 3.25]
April 16 [April 24 is pesach -- seder is Sat night 4.23]
May 21 [Lag B'omer is May 27]
Newsletter cycle and her availability -- she will probably go to Israel for April and May
Newsletters will be sent in mid-Feb and in early June
Website is up to date, and the Feb date for the next CDM will be added, as well as the dates for the Spring. Minutes are posted all the way back to the Decision about Decisions.
Listserv/Mailing List -- We haven't determined how often to distribute the update
Max is going to take the forms that were filled out when people sent in their "membership" checks. If there's any info not already known, then Max will inform us.
Previous Balance: $ 316,br />
Out go: $ 228 ($40 x 4 childcare, $68 newsletter)
Income: $ 740 (all donations)
Current Balance: $ 828
Future Agenda:
1- Vicky would like to address Decisionmaking.
2- Max proposes that we buy Robert Alter's 5 Books of Moses. Chumashim are missing (notably the Everett Fox translation).
Fundraising for book -- Etz Chaim. Where's our Plaut?
3- appropriate disposal of siddur pages from last update (we were to save them for a year and that will have passed)
4- second part of the proposed raise for childcare workers, since we will have received the bulk of the response to our
fundraising mailing.
5- Reimbursement for Tu B'shevat Berkeley bowling receipt