There are many ways in which we use our communal voices to strengthen our relationship with God. We will look at three very different instances of using our voices for Tikkun Olam, repairing our world, while imploring God to hear us and support us.
The Shoah (Holocaust), October 7, and September 11 – three of the most traumatic events of modern history. We will hear personal stories from both Israeli and American survivors of these events and learn how important it is to preserve their stories for future generations.
Sunday | October 11 | 12:00 pm ET | Zoom
Guest Speakers:
Ordained in 2007 by the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, Rabbi Rowen Baker has served, since her ordination, as the rabbi of Kehillat Ramot-Zion in French Hill, Jerusalem. Ramot Zion, a flagship Masorti congregation, is home to many Israelis in search of a meaningful connection to Jewish tradition in a rapidly changing world.
Much of Rabbi Rowen Baker’s work was done outside of the synagogue space, with individuals who were not accustomed to synagogue life, so as to make a vibrant Jewish approach and practice accessible in all different aspects of life.
She holds an M.A. with Distinction in Talmud and Jewish Thought from The Schechter Institute, and a B.A. in Jewish History and Archeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is a fellow at the Honey Foundation for Israel and a member of the Rabbinical Assembly Executive Council. In 2015 she was the first Masorti rabbi – and the first ever female rabbi – to be invited to teach Torah at the Israeli President’s residence.
Rabbi Rowen Baker lives in French Hill, Jerusalem with her husband Etai, their four children and their dog Hummus.
Irene was born in Poland in 1937 and deported to the Warsaw Ghetto with her family at the age of five. Her father was murdered by the Nazis, and after four years in the ghetto, her mother managed to flee to Paris with Irene. She studied in the US and moved to Israel at the age of 25, where she became the youngest professor at the Hebrew University. She recounts her experiences in her book “I Won Against Hitler.” Irene Shashar spoke before the European Parliament in 2024 on the occasion of the official commemoration of January 27 and in 2020 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Leni Wesley was born in the Netherlands in 1936. She survived the Holocaust in hiding. In 1971, she made Aliyah with her husband and three children from Denver, Colorado. Leni is a graduate of social work and psychotherapy. She has worked at Shalvata Hospital in Hod Hasharon, Israel, as well as a private practice for over 40 years. She is a grandmother of nine children and one great grandchild.
Mandy Book, who joined the JCRC in April 2023, runs the award-winning Student to Student peer education initiative and assists in responding to school-based antisemitic incidents. She also coordinates JCRC’s Holocaust remembrance and education programs, fulfilling the agency’s sacred responsibility to preserve survivors’ testimonies and share their narratives with younger audiences.
Mandy is a licensed attorney who has specialized in aiding vulnerable populations, having served as a Guardian ad Litem and court-appointed advocate for children. Originally from Baltimore, she has worked with teens in numerous capacities, teaching Street Law and Hebrew school, engaging in Jewish teen programming with a Jewish Scout troop and serving on the Board of Directors of a local Jewish Day School. She has also been a realtor for more than 20 years in Northern Virginia, where she passionately advocates for Jewish issues.
Mandy holds a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola College in Maryland and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Chicago.
Sandy Goldwasser Berenbaum was born in 1946 in a Displaced Persons Camp in Pocking, Germany. Her parents were Holocaust survivors who endured unimaginable hardships during World War II. Her father, originally from Mlawa, Poland, was a prisoner in a Nazi slave labor camp in Komi SSR, Siberia, while her mother was from Kiev, Ukraine (formerly part of Russia).
Determined to build a new life, her father led the family to the American sector in Germany, facilitating their emigration to the United States, where his only surviving brother lived.
In 1949, at the age of 2 1⁄2 years, Sandy arrived in the U.S. with her family. They landed in Boston, later traveled to New York, and eventually settled in Brooklyn. The family arrived with very little and lived in a boarded-up storefront with windows painted black for privacy. Despite their hardships, her parents attended night school to learn English, laying the foundation for a better future.
Sandy later married her husband, Dave, and settled in Philadelphia, where she became a devoted member of the Jewish community. She is a member of Congregation Tifereth Israel of Lower Bucks County and an international board member and consultant for Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. In addition to her international work, she actively supports her local community, serving on the Shared Meals Committee to help feed the food-insecure population in Lower Bucks County.
Sheila Kaufman is an immediate Past President of the Garden State Region of WLCJ. Currently she is on the WL Board of Directors Region Services and has spent the last 20 or so years on the Region/Branch board in different capacities. And has been quite active with her synagogue sisterhood. Sheila has been employed for the past 36 years at the Port Authority of NY & NJ, Architectural Unit in the Engineering Department as a Senior Graphic Designer, working on Wayfinding and Signage programs as well as producing reports and organizing architectural photoshoots. She is a survivor of both WTC bombings, February 1993 and 9/11 in 2001. She lives in NJ with her husband of 33 years, Stu. They have two adult children and a rescue dog named Bailey.
Margie Miller is a past International President of Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. She has served as a vice president of Mercaz, and as a board member of JTS, Ziegler, United Synagogue and American Friends of Neve Hanna. Margie is a Women’s League consultant and Region Advisor. She was a Lead Trainer at 26 Leadership Institutes, was the Women’s League 2014 Convention Chair, and was a delegate to the World Zionist Congress in Israel in 2023.
If you are a member of Women's League, register for Session 1 here:
If you are not a member of Women's League, register for Session 1 here:
Sunday | November 22 | 12:00 pm ET | Zoom
Our voices form such an integral part of our worship, through singing, talking, and studying. But what about those among us who are non-verbal? We will look at how, using new technological advances, we can enable those who are non-verbal to fully engage in religious life.
If you are a member of Women's League, register for Session 2 here:
If you are not a member of Women's League, register for Session 2 here:
Sunday | December 20 | 12:00 pm ET | Zoom
This year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first ordination of women cantors at JTS. We will look at the halachic process involved in bringing that to fruition, as well as how the role of cantor has changed over time. We will also speak with some Israeli women who serve as shlichot tzibbur (prayer leaders) in their Masorti congregations.
3080 Broadway, Suite K900, New York, NY 10027 | Phone: 405-870-1260 | info@wlcj.org
Copyright © 2026 Women's League for Conservative Judaism. All rights reserved. | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Website by Addicott Web