******************    WARNING!!!!  WARNING!!!!! WARNING!!!!!!**********************

This President’s Monthly letter may be a tad bit long ☺

 

 

May 2026

 

Well this is it.  My final newsletter for my 4-year term as the President of our Jewish Community of Ojai.  What a ride it has been.

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When I took office way back when, I vowed to myself that I would never take credit solely for the things that transpired during my term (which became two terms).  The pronoun of “I” was not going to be used to take credit for any activity that occurred at JCO.  First, I came standing on the shoulders of the ones that came before me.  To this day, I stand on my dad’s shoulders, a man who loved to mingle with others and make jokes (practical and otherwise); a successful businessman; a man who knew he didn’t stand alone; a man who remembered being a young child in Russia and dealing with the pogroms and the family making their way to Chicago no matter what it took.  I stand on my mom’s shoulders who was nurturing, yet forceful (she had to be-after having 2 sons and later in life having twin girls!).  She knew how to make people feel included; she knew how to give to her community which, in the course of things, benefited her children.  And I stand on the shoulders of my twin, yet it feels as if I’m standing with her next to me, joined at the ribcage, who showed me how important our Judaism should be; not necessarily via reading the Torah, but living the Torah through keeping our culture and traditions embedded for others and standing up and being proud to be Jewish.  First and foremost, it is those three sets of shoulders that have given me the beginning of whatever this insight/power/endurance it has taken for me wearing the President’s name tag for the past four years.  Their memory, has been my blessing.

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But I also know that if it weren’t for the people who sit on the Board of Directors who have supported all of my brainiac ideas and helped me put them into place…well JCO wouldn’t be where we are today.  First, Dr. Shlomo Raz lived up to his surname, in a sense.  About 5 years ago, he raz’d (get it?) me with saying I would be a good president, and then chuckled.  But after a while, his lightheartedness became serious and his encouragement got me to thinking.  The then sitting president was concluding his 6th year in the position and no one else was opting to step up.  I started thinking that, since Ojai was my home and JCO was becoming my center, someone had to lead the business of the congregation; may as well be me!!

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I put my game plan into play (in my head) and thought, I can do this!  I CAN do this!  I think I can actually do this!!  I put my hat in the ring only to find out it was the only hat there and (with your blessing), I became president.

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At that moment of acceptance, I knew that the first thing I was going to implement is the understanding that the Board of Directors, as a whole, would get full credit of what transpires.  What I wanted to give to our members was a deeper reason to be members.  In my view, just Friday night services, the High Holydays, Chanukah and Passover were just not enough.  We needed to become a thriving community.  Afterall, our forefathers were all about being community’d!  They lived together, ate together, went on long hikes together, partied together and received laws of living together. (Yes, I did watch the Ten Commandants a few times).

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That’s what I wanted for my community…a sense of belonging and wanting to belong.  I did bring Dinner with the Rabbi to JCO when I was Vice-President and I’m really proud to say that it’s still going with thanks to Stephanie Goldie-Brasacchio.  I created the Ambassador Program at the same time (for those who don’t know what that is, our membership has been divided up between several people to make calls to you periodically and let you know important stuff---& create a relationship with you so you have someone to call if you have questions, etc.)  The Ambassador Program is still active today.  

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Programs that I introduced after I took office were The Red Tent (our women’s social group); The Men’s Group (that was formed when Larry Steingold said “Hey!  If the women have a group, the men should too!”  I totally agreed with Larry by saying “YES!!  And you’re in charge of it!!)  Speaker Series came on the scene that I had arranged many different programs and then Barbara Nelson (z”l) took it over—it is still active today.  Louise Winheld brought a very successful Book Club to JCO; Bunco is played every month (including dinner & laughter).

That’s the ‘fun stuff’ that has started at JCO in the past four years.

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Our long-time committees are still functional:  The Finance committee headed by Dave Wertlieb; the Religious committee chaired by Emeritus Board Member Sheila Cohn; Rick Bloom leads the Facilities committee; Publicity is divided between Leah Hecker (Bravo to Leah who keeps us all informed via our website & newsletters) and Sherrill Kushner with her creative writing skills and connecting with the OVN weekly; Larry Steingold brought us our security guard, “Officer” Jeff Shumaker who has been with us for almost 4 years; and our building’s interior wouldn’t be clean and ready for us to pray in if it weren’t for Sara Woleslagle (full disclaimer: Sara is my niece from decades ago and helps us in the kitchen too!)

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It's turned out that through all of these ideas and efforts, I’ve found a ‘partner in crime’.  Sheila and I have put our energy together on the major events but they couldn’t happen without Sheila’s expertise.  In particular, our Passover Seder is a big endeavor and each year it ends up flawless.  And together, we put a desire we shared into a growing entity with our Torah School, that is led by our amazing and loved Morah (teacher) Hayley Silvers.

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You might recall when Ojai had torrential rains back in January 2025.  I don’t;  Rick and I were in Spain enjoying brisk, yet dry weather.  I did, however receive a call letting me know that the tree in front of our shul had blown down; the tree would be removed and the hole would be filled.  My reaction?  “NOooooo!!---remove the tree, but put a barrier in the hole.  I want a Peace Garden there.”  True story.  It took a year of fundraising with a great team I put together (thank you Barbara Hirsch, Dave Wertlieb, Mike Swimmer and Rick Bloom) and together we made it happen.  It’s a very nice show peace (okay piece), and a place of comfort, if I can say so myself.

Let me also add that building a rapport with our clergy, Rabbi Lisa and Cantor Mitzi, has been nothing less than heartwarming and fulfilling.  I believe we’ve grown together and our common thread has always been the betterment of our congregants of JCO.  I cannot thank each of them enough for their unwavering support in my role as President.

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A lot has been accomplished in the past 4 years.  It didn’t come without sacrifices…ask my husband Rick!  JCO was first on many occasions.  I’ve said ‘no’ to many family events because of my desire to make sure things at JCO were running smoothly.  (My grandkids missed me—and I them—my choice.)  

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It’s been fun; it’s been invigorating; it’s been confidence-building; it’s been educational and I loved every moment of it (except for some middle of the night communications!)  It’s also been strength building---I’ve had to learn that I can’t get my way all the time (and coming from being the baby of the family of 4 kids, that was a big pill).  It made me realize that I can sit on my mom’s shoulders and do what’s right for the entire ‘family’ and I can do it with a sincere smile as my dad would have.  And to do it so Jewish life in the Ojai valley will thrive---a major tip of the hat and heart to my twin Carol.  <3  <3

 

So, with the end of May sneaking up quite fast, ballots are being sent out for our May 28th annual meeting where new Board of Directors’ votes will be tallied.  Please join us at 7pm to thank the outgoing Board members who have been so instrumental in JCO’s success and welcome the new Board.

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But before we get there, ladies our Red Tent event is scheduled for May 17th hosted by Lauren Davis.  Please see details in the newsletter or on our website.  This event is open to members and prospective members.  And it’s based on getting community’d…so please join us as we celebrate Mothers together.

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Bunco is scheduled for the evening of the 20th in the Social Hall; registration is required in advance. 

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Guys, the Men’s Group happens the 3rd Thursday of the month (21st of May).  It’s a great time for getting together and checking in with each other, no matter what the activity is.

 

Torah School is in session each Sunday, with the exception of May 24th, Memorial Day weekend.  The concluding session will be June 7th…’school’s out for summer!!” after that.

Incidentally, one of our parents of the Torah School has graciously accepted filling in Barbara Nelson’s (z”l) BoD position until the end of her term.  Ryan Firestone brings fresh ideas from a younger perspective and the Board is looking forward to working alongside Ryan.

 

I’ve got a secret to share with you…we are planning on a special event with the Jewish Federation of Ventura to find out what the heck is going on at the corner of El Roblar and LaLuna in the horse field.  A verified ‘rumor’ has it that an olive tree orchard is going in.  This will be an all community event for all ages.  We are looking at May 31st, so keep that day open and more details will follow.

 

Once again, Jeff Weinstein and Wendy Wilson are opening their gorgeous home for our Shabbat Under the Stars event.  This shabbat always proves to be a warm and wonderful acknowledgement to the beauty of nature around us as we are surrounded by trees, stars, the setting sun and the delicious and fulfilling dinner that we each bring a part of for the potluck to share with members of St. Andrews who share this event with us each year.  I really hope you will be with us on June 5th —a special tribute to our outgoing Board members is planned.

 

Well, peeps, this concludes my Presidential monthly letter.  It’s been a total pleasure serving you in this capacity…..