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UID:76@machar.org
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251205T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251205T210000
DTSTAMP:20251203T141918Z
URL:https://www.machar.org/events/humanistic-friday-evening-shabbat-progra
 m-celebrating-marlene-cohen/
SUMMARY:Humanistic Friday Evening Shabbat Program Celebrating Marlene Cohen
DESCRIPTION:"I'm Going to Be There -- You Can\, Too" - Rabbi Jeremy Kridel\
 n\nWe open our Yom Kippur day services each year with a reading that state
 s\, "Our congregation is more than a congregation.... It is more than a ca
 sual assumption. It is a family of choice\, a fellowship of like-minded pe
 ople."\n\nWritten by Humanistic Judaism's founder\, Rabbi Sherwin Wine\, i
 t reminds us that Machar isn't only Machar: we are connected ideologically
  and institutionally to a broader movement\, which includes about 30 other
  congregations and havurot (smaller fellowship-type groups). But for that 
 larger movement\, there actually would be no Machar\, nor would I likely b
 e at Machar.\n\nAnd like other Machar members (though for different reaso
 ns)\, along with the existence of a broader movement\, there's another re
 ason I'm at Machar today: Marlene Cohen.\n\nI first met Marlene in 2014\, 
 when I was a rabbinical student. Marlene was enrolled as a lay leadership 
 student in a class that I was enrolled in as a rabbinical student\, Philos
 ophic Guidance and Counseling. For those keeping track at home\, this is t
 he name for what at other seminaries is usually called "pastoral care\," a
  term inherited from Christian seminaries. But you're not sheep\, and I'm 
 not a shepherd! The difference between a lay leadership student and a rabb
 inical student was pretty straightforward: I had a lot more homework\, an
 d I had to volunteer to go first during every role-playing scenario. (Neit
 her of those was an unfair expectation\, of course!)\n\nMy memory of that 
 class\, 11 years ago\, is more than a little foggy. I was a spouse and a p
 arent\, practicing law\, teaching graduate and undergraduate law classes f
 or a state university\, and taking rabbinical school classes (and doing th
 e accompanying reading and homework)\, and within a year or so would becom
 e the editor of Humanistic Judaism magazine for a few years. There was a
  lot going on.\n\nBut I remember Marlene\, because how could I not? Her en
 ergy\, enthusiasm\, and commitment were obvious\, and stood out even in a 
 room full of people who were all committed to the ideas of Humanistic Juda
 ism.\n\nThis December\, in about a month's time\, our movement will be rec
 ognizing Marlene with the Sherwin T. Wine Lifetime Achievement Award\, whi
 ch recognizes leaders "who have 'over the years\, exemplified extraordinar
 y dedication\, devotion\, adherence to\, and activity in the Secular Human
 istic Judaism Movement and the philosophical doctrines enunciated by the M
 ovement’s founder\, Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine.'" Marlene will be the lastest
  of a number of Machar members and leaders over the years to win the award
 \, including Larry Lawrence (2017)\, Deb Godden (2011)\, Bert Steinberg z"
 l (2005)\, and Devera and Michael Witkin (2023). (See https://shj.org/org
 anize/movement-advocacy-and-news/sherwin-t-wine-lifetime-achievement-award
 /.)\n\nWant to attend the ceremony? I will be -- and you can\, too! There 
 will be a Humanistic Friday Evening Shabbat Program on December 5 at 7:30 
 pm EST. It will be hosted by the Society for Humanistic Judaism on Zoom\, 
 and many of those with whom Marlene has worked in our movement will be inv
 olved with the ceremony. Sign up to attend via Zoom!\n\nMachar isn't just 
 Machar\, and we aren't alone in the world of Humanistic Judaism. Marlene h
 as been essential in so much of what Machar has done\, and in so much of w
 hat the broader movement has done as well. I hope you'll join us in celebr
 ating Marlene!\n\nJeremy Kridel
CATEGORIES:Special Events
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