Have you ever wondered Sisterhood how makes so many contributions to Congregation Brith Shalom?

Our dues are $36.00 a year per member. These dues are only about 27% of our total income. Of that income, $10.00 goes to our national organization, Women’s League for Conservative Judaism (WLCJ.org).

You will see below that we give back much more than that to our beloved Brith Shalom. That explains why we need to carry out multiple fundraising events throughout the year to cover our numerous financial commitments. Here is just a short list we want to share with our congregation:

• Religious school donations
• Scholarships
• Provision of an engraved sterling silver Kiddush cup for each Bar or Bat Mitzvah (Jointly underwritten with the Men’s Club)
• USY Donation
• High Holiday babysitting
• High Holiday Break the Fast
• Kitchen equipment
• Weekly Shabbat Onegs to cover times when there are no special events
• Additional donations made to CBS as funds become available through other special fundraising events we may hold during the year.

Additionally, we raise funds during the Torah Fund Campaign for our national organization. These funds go to the Jewish Theological Seminary (New York, NY), Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies (Los Angeles, CA), and the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies (Jerusalem). This is where our Rabbis, Cantors and educators are trained.

Sisterhood uses our funds for the Congregation in other ways, as well. Annually Sisterhood provides funding for our numerous programs that occur throughout the year. We operate and maintain the library, and sponsor Mitzvah Corp, which provides a Shabbat dinner to families experiencing a life event. We also sponsor the Simcha Fund, which reaches out to CBS members for births, deaths and anniversaries. Further, we fund the Sisterhood Shabbat, Sisterhood Installation, and the Torah Fund event. We contribute some assistance with sponsorship of a speaker at the JCC Book Fair and we try to cover part of the expenses of any member who would like to attend a sisterhood conference.

Where does the remaining 74% of our income come from to do all of this? Besides our dues, we also raise income from our Judaica shop, Fall Holiday Bazaar, High Holiday parking project, High Holiday Flower Fund, the Sisterhood general fund, and Mishloach Manot, where bags of goodies are collected, packaged and distributed during Purim.

Sisterhood also sponsors many additional events during the year through programming and volunteer services. Examples include the annual membership dinner, a series of dynamic informal and formal programs, a special event for new members and our Monday morning study club.

There’s room for everyone to be involved through both monetary and non-monetary volunteer contributions. We need everyone’s help to make all of this work.

Women’s League

• Allows our many voices to join to make a difference. Members of CBS Sisterhood are part of Women’s League, the world’s largest network of synagogue women. Women’s League is grounded in Jewish observance and tradition and is committed to repairing the world in which we live.
• Endeavors to help you continue to learn, apply and perpetuate Jewish traditions in your home, synagogue and community, support those in need locally and nationally, and make connections between women around the world.
• Serves as an active arm of the worldwide Conservative/ Masorti Movement with close ties to the Jewish Theological Seminary in NYC, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in LA, and Schechter Institute in Jerusalem through contributions to Torah Fund.
• Unites us with women in other Conservative Synagogues in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Israel and other parts of the world seeking to develop and translate the teachings of Judaism to practice.