Growing My Circle of Sisterhood

When I think about the three pillars of WRJ, it is difficult to assign a level of importance to one over the others. That said, I will write about the one that brought me to Women of Reform Judaism in the first place, “sisterhood.” 

When we moved to Maryland from Forest Hills, New York, in 1984 my daughter, Rachel, was two and a half years old and I was pregnant with my daughter Sara. My husband, David, left for work, and I was home getting used to our new life. I returned to school in 1982 and earned a teaching certificate in Home Economics from Queens College. I completed my student teaching and was expected to take a position in the New York City Public School System. Moving to Maryland eliminated that choice.

I told David that we needed to join a synagogue to meet people. We attended a family service at Temple Solel in Bowie, Maryland and by the end of the night, I accepted a religious school teaching position for the fall. My journey to find friends through WRJ had begun. Shortly after my daughter’s baby naming, I joined the oneg committee. Over the years, I held many positions in the Women of Temple Solel including president. I also gained a wonderful group of local sisters.

Fast forward to 2013. I retired from teaching and had more time to travel to Mid-Atlantic District events. I attended a District Kallah in Richmond where now WRJ Immediate Past President Sara Charney was the weekend guest. She and I bonded over our understanding of the importance of budgets. I enlarged my circle of WRJ sisters and by the end of the weekend, I accepted the position of district auditor. 

2015 was an exciting year for me as I traveled further from home by attending Fried Leadership Conference in Austin and the Biennial in Orlando. Praying and singing with so many women opened my eyes to the pillar of spirituality. Encouraged by my sisters, I also danced on stage with the band at the restaurant Bongos, which is a memory for another time.

At the 2017 Fried Leadership Conference in Charleston, several women suggested I apply for a position on the North American Board. I promptly continued my WRJ journey, and I was installed on the board in Nashville in 2018. That event expanded my circle of sisters to a level I never imagined. The Parkland High School shootings had just occurred, and I was seated in a row that included members from that area. We were addressed by a young woman who painfully discussed the situation. The social justice pillar also became a larger part of my world. I left Nashville wearing my silver lifeline pin.

While acquainting myself with the Whova App in preparation for FLC in 2021, I came across someone who I didn’t know at the time would become one of my dearest friends. 

Patty Glascom reached out to me on the Whova App in 2021 because she saw that I was from Temple Solel. She was a good friend of my rabbi, Steve Weisman. Her late brother and his family had been members of the congregation and I also taught both of her nephews in religious school. We continued to play Jewish geography after we became Facebook friends. 

When I decided to go “Off the Beaten Path” in 2023 I searched for a roommate in the Yammer Israel group. Patty reached out to me, and we made plans to room together. We bonded immediately and as Patty said, “It was Beshert.” I have so many memories captured in pictures and my mind, but one of my favorites came from making the best of a difficult situation. Patty fell and the easiest way for her to get around Tel Aviv was in a wheelchair borrowed from the hotel. We both were looking for t-shirts to bring home for our favorite sports fans and knew we could find them in the market. We pushed through the crowds and found the perfect stall with custom shirts. We followed that with what might have been the best thing I ate in Israel, Sabich.

After registering for the Fried Women’s Conference in New Orleans, I reacquainted myself with the Whova app. Chai Society co-chair Becky Markowitz started a thread that allowed me to share my favorite “Sister Story.” I wrote about meeting Patty face-to-face in Israel and how I was looking forward to sharing lots of hugs in New Orleans. 

Looking back at my time at that conference, and at my WRJ journey so far, I know my “sister stories” will continue to grow. I now proudly wear my gold Lifeline pin, serve as communications chair for my sisterhood, and am honored to be known as Rachel Nathan’s mom as my daughter is currently sisterhood president in the only congregation she has ever been a member. She continues her WRJ journey and proudly stands as a woman of Reform Judaism.