The Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) was introduced to the women of Bergen County by Julie Farkas in 2011. With the support and encouragement of Rabbi Yaakov and Peshi Neuburger of Beth Abraham Synagogue in Bergenfield, 20 women joined the national and international JWRP Mission to Israel that year. The goal is to ultimately strengthen and inspire the core of Jewish life, the Jewish home, through its central figure, Mom. To date, 75 women from Bergen County have joined more than 4500 women worldwide in this monumental trip to Israel.. The organization is driven by its mission:
“Inspire a woman, you inspire a family. Inspire enough families, you inspire a community. Inspire enough communities, you can change the world.”
We would like to share the thought and perceptions of one of our women, Robin Baer:
Life changing… It’s a phrase that is used quite often. In our case, our individual trips to Israel with the JWRP have changed the lives of our family. For all of us, it was life changing… or should we say, life improving.
I was the first one who became involved with the JWRP. Some women I knew went on a trip, and it was amazing. They told me it was not just amazing because it was Israel (which is amazing) but because it was about being with other women, bonding and learning about family and Torah values. They told me that there were classes at the General Store in Teaneck on Sundays run by Julie Farkas where we would learn about the upcoming holidays and customs, or something about the week’s parsha. I quickly saw that it was much more than that. There was this bond among the women, even though we were from different places, different backgrounds, and did different things for a living. Then there was “the trip.” At first I thought there is no way I can go. I can’t leave my job or my family. The women that had already been on the trip said, you can’t not go on the trip. It’s hard to put it into words, but it’s a gift to yourself to go on the trip. It’s a time for a spiritual tune-up. During the trip you are given tools to reveal how relevant the wisdom of the Torah is to our daily lives in the 21st Century. Despite the fact that we traveled as a group of women and shared experiences together, it was certainly a time to reach into yourself in order to become a better person, a better woman, a better wife, and a better mother.
After I came back from the trip, our family life began to change. We began to focus more on Jewish rituals. I had lit Shabbos candles since I was a little girl with my mother, but I realized that I often forgot. Now, I see it as a beautiful way to say goodbye to the work week, and welcome in the Shabbos and time with my family. I want my daughters to see how beautiful it is so they will someday light Shabbos candles in their own homes.
What is so wonderful about JWRP is that there are so many opportunities to learn about Judaism. On Thursday nights, I go to challah baking in the home of Esther Friedman and my daughters often come with me. Not only do we get to bring home a delicious challah to bake and make our home smell like Shabbos, partake in the mitzvah of making challah, we also hear a short Dvar Torah which is always very relevant to our lives and inspiring.
Michael, my husband, found it difficult to fully comprehend and understand my Israel trip. He went along with all my talking about it, and bringing all the things I had heard during the trip into our lives because he knew it was good for our family. When Michael was on the men’s trip, he understood. He heard Lori Palatnik and Charlie Harary speak and began to have numerous “ah ha” moments. He kept saying that he could not wait to get home and share his experiences with our family. He found it very difficult to express his feelings over the phone, but I knew what he was feeling, because I was there and I experienced the same things. Since coming home, Michael has been studying on a regular basis and bringing all the inspiration and values he spoke about on the trip into his daily life.
Please join us for our annual fundraising to Celebrate Inspirational Journeys featuring Dr. Mark and Dena Levie, Stories from Rwanda and Stacey Krakower Sharing Stories About Her Israel Journey, Sunday evening April 26, 7:30 at Congregation Rinat Yisrael, 389 West Englewood Ave., Teaneck, NJ. For more information call Dena Levie at 917-334-0937.
By Phyllis Krug
