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Chanukah is coming up on December 14th already! We are very happy to share some lovely artwork by 4 year olds made this week in preparation for Chanukah, thanks to Dale Sides Cooperman, Director of Early Childhood Education at Congregation Albert Early Childhood Center. For more information about the ECC, contact EC Director Dale Cooperman at 505.883.0306, ecc@congregationalbert.org.

This coming Sunday, December 14th, is the first night to light candles. There will be a Community Chanukah Celebration at the JCC in Albuquerque from 12:30 to 3 with food, music, gift shopping and community wide candle lighting. Come by our booth and say hi! to the NM JEWISH JOURNAL, we'll be there! ✡️ 😸🖖

HELP US MEET OUR MATCH!

We need to raise $6,000 during December to unlock our $12,000 match, and we're just getting started!! The New Mexico Jewish Journal has a Triple Match campaign, made possible by a $6,000 NMLNF grant and $6,000 from 12 community members, our Match Pool Mensches, who have stepped forward. Now is the time to SUBSCRIBE, CONTRIBUTE , and DONATE. A $36 annual (or JUST $3/month) subscription becomes $108! A $324 contribution becomes $972. A $500 donation through our fiscal sponsor, $1,500. You can also make DAF donations with the Jewish Community Foundation, contact Sarah Winger at 505-348-4472, and tax-deductible donations through your financial institutions. ALL details on our DONATE PAGE. Questions? Contact Diane editor@nmjewishjournal.com

*be sure to let us know if you send a donation through our fiscal sponsor, the New Mexico Foundation, so we notify you of its progress and can thank you, at editor@nmjewishjournal.com

Watch this critically important, brilliant, and unsettling lecture direct from Israel to Santa Fe, on how the political situation is affecting the status of women in Israel now, by one of the World's Top 100 leaders in Gender Policy : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVL9D3mqEzo

Ruth Halperin-Kaddari on the Status of Women in Israel

Did you read everything in our WINTER ISSUE YET??? We'll be voting on your favorite articles!:

The BBYO (B'nai B'rith Youth Organization) traces its roots back to the 1920's and provides Jewish activities for young people in grades eight through high school. Eighth grader Max Berger has recorded his first impressions of his introduction to this organization, and we invite you to read his essay and see this experience through his eyes.

From Friendship to Leadership: The BBYO Experience 

By Max Berger 

When I first stepped into a BBYO event, I felt uneasy. Maybe even scared. I did not  know most of the people, or  what to expect. In BBYO my perspective on my Judaism has changed, even in the few months I have been involved. I am an 8th grader in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I joined BBYO in August. I quickly  became a BBYO member, joined the board, and went to my first regional convention. BBYO, is an international Jewish teen movement that has chapters globally for 8-12 graders. In New Mexico, there is one active chapter in Albuquerque. BBYO is split into two sections, the boys and the girls. AZA (Aleph Zadik Aleph) is for the boys, and  BBG (B’nai Brith Girls) is for the girls. Our Albuquerque chapter, which we lovingly call Alby, is a combined chapter of David Klein Shalom B’ahava AZA #1298 and Las Hermanitas de Judith Adina Simon BBG #1458. Alby is pretty small, so that’s why we have a combined chapter. Alby is part of RMR, or Rocky Mountain Region. RMR consists of chapters in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. 

My first event was chapter elections, where we elected a board  to plan events, host fundraisers, and lead the chapter. I agreed to run off the floor, when no one was running for my position, Rakazito. The board is made up of a N’siah/Godol (President), S’gan/S’ganit( Vice President of Programming), Yehudi/Yehudiah (Vice President of Judaism), Moreh, Morah (Membership, Recruitment, Retention), Mazkir/Mazirah (Secretary), Gizbor/Gizborit (Treasurer), and Rakazit/Rakazito (Photographer, Outreach). All these positions are essential to making each BBYO chapter what it is and what it may become. In my position I have learned  how to communicate, recruit, and how to really reach and celebrate everyone in the chapter. After elections, I officially joined  BBYO and became a board member. 

Right away, we started planning events, and at that time we had about 12 official members, with those of  us on the board being the most active. We needed to plan amazing events to get more members, and we did just that. Over the past few months, we have gained 8 new members, through events such as bowling, game night with ice cream, pizza making, a balloon fiesta event, and pumpkin carving. We are even planning to have a Holocaust survivor speak at a Shabbat dinner in the future! These BBYO events that we have created have led me to meet so many new people, make so many new friends, and just really explore my Judaism in a new way. BBYO members, adult advisors, and friends, are always so welcoming, nice, and always want to help you in any way you need. These past few months planning and attending events in Albuquerque were really fun, which led me to want to expand my horizons in BBYO. 

Then I learned about Fall Con. Fall Convention is a BBYO convention that is held in each region in mid-November. RMR’s Fall Con was held in Denver. This was a three-day convention in a hotel in Denver where almost every chapter in RMR is represented by members. We did Jewish activities such as services, Havdalah, and Israeli dancing, met new people, and really just had an amazing time. It was a terrific Jewish way to have a great time, and it was a couple of days away from your parents. And believe me, Fall Con lived up to its hype. I had the time of my life there. We had Jewish services, had Maccabiah (Color War), and had so much spirit. I met many new people and made new friends, and now I can do even more in BBYO, like being on the Regional Board, going to summer programs, and being a more active member in my chapter. Being at this Fall Con just really taught me about Jewish life. I had fun, met Jewish teens, and really celebrated my Judaism. 

Joining BBYO and going to this convention taught me so much, from leadership, to outreach, to how to really connect with my Jewish identity. BBYO has changed me in the past few months, and I can’t wait to find out what else it has in store for me.

Did you read everything in the OCT-NOV ISSUE - : Ron Duncan Hart's A Hidden Voice from the Spanish Inquisition; How Shalom House and the JCC came to Be; Personal Essay of Filmmaker Marisa Fox of "My Underground Mother:

And the FALL ISSUE? Like, The Inside Story of the Return of Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo (President Richard Nixon); Clergy Retirement as Re"wire"ment by Cantor Finn; The Most Famous Jewish Mother in the World by Judith Fein:

VIEW MORE AT PAST ISSUES

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Shabbat with Friends: Recapturing Together the Joy of Shabbat
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Where the North Ends, A Novel by Hugo Moreno 

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