Refreshments for erev zikaron

Thank you once again to all those who have generously offered to bring refreshments to the erev zikaron for Rivka. To everyone who would like to help out with this, please enter your name alongside what you can bring in this spreadsheet.

A special thank you to Idit Amir, who is organizing the refreshments.

Shabbat shalom,

Moshe

Erev zikaron for Rivka

We will be holding an erev zikaron (memorial evening) for Rivka on the evening of the second anniversary of her passing.

Dr. Aviva Cayam will give a shiur in Rivka's memory, on the the topic of "Parenting in Jewish Sources".

The shiur, as well as the rest of the evening, will be in English.

Everyone who is interested is welcome and invited to attend.

Here are the details:

Date: Monday evening, 21 Marheshvan / 5 November
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Beit Boyer synagogue
Rehov Efrata 35
(at the end of the street on the right side)
Talpiyot, Jerusalem
(See here for a map.)

In addition, we will be making an aliya l'kever (visit to Rivka's grave) the following morning (Tuesday, 21 Marheshvan / 6 November), at 9:00 am. Details regarding the location and prayers can be found here.

Please pass along this message to anyone who might be interested.

I look forward to seeing all of you who will be coming.

Hodesh tov,

Moshe

P.S.: Several people have already asked me about volunteering to bring refreshments. Thank you! I will post a link to a spreadsheet for that soon.

Also, I am looking for someone who can lend us a microphone (with a stand, preferably) and speakers to use for the evening. If you can help with this, please let me know.

Eden’s team for the Komen Race for the Cure in memory of Rivka

The following is from the Eden Center, which is dedicating its team in this year's Komen Jerusalem "Race for the Cure" in Rivka's memory:


2012 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure - Thursday, May 3, 2012

What: Join Eden’s team for the Komen Race for the Cure in memory of RivkA Matitya
When: May 3, 2012
Where: Jerusalem, Gan Sacher to the Old City
Why: To have a great time, raise awareness and support a good cause
How: Contact Abby Sacks at abbysacks@gmail.com, 0544481461; register online for Eden’s team http://www.komen.org.il/UserRegistration/StepGroups.aspx?l=he
Or donate at https://www.israelgives.org/amuta/580521185

RivkA was a woman of great passion and inspiration. Outgoing and upbeat, RivkA tackled every task with a sense of purpose and a love of life. These qualities shined through and infected those around her in everything she did, from her advocacy of breastfeeding and involvement in La Leche, to her Tupperware sales, to her three years of blogging on her Coffee and Chemo blog. When RivkA passed away just over a year ago, not only was she missed, but her life left its mark on all of us.

The day before RivkA passed away, Komen -- an international organization that promotes breast cancer research, prevention activities and finding a cure (www.komen.co.il) -- held its first ever event in Israel. Many of RivkA's friends participated on her behalf as a way of praying for her recovery. Despite her former differences with Komen, RivkA was happy they came to Israel and comforted knowing that so many friends were at the race supporting her and raising awareness.

Komen is again holding a 3-4K “Race for the Cure” event in Jerusalem this year. The date of the run/walk is Thursday, May 3, 2012. It's a fun day, and great way to raise awareness about breast cancer.

The Eden Center has dedicated its team participation in memory of RikvA. Eden (www.theEdenCenter.com) is an organization whose aim is to empower and enrich women’s lives around the mikveh. Eden eventually hopes to build a mikveh center in Jerusalem, but is presently focusing on programming that facilitates a welcoming and enabling mikveh experience and promotes a holistic sense of wellness for women. One expression of this is Eden’s sponsorship of the Meneket RivkA breast pump lending center (see www.meneketrivkA.org).

RivkA shared with Eden a strong belief in the importance of women’s body awareness and health, and encouraged the vision of creating a center around mikveh. Thus, participation in Eden's Komen team is a way of remembering RivkA and supporting the Eden concept (as RivkA did).

We would love for you to join the team and run/walk with us! Feel free to also invite friends along.

If you can't make it on the day, you can still show support for RivkA by registering online to participate virtually.

Alternately, you can make a donation* or sponsor a friend’s walk to give support and pay tribute to the memory of RivkA at https://www.israelgives.org/amuta/580521185

How to register:
Email or call our team coordinator Abby Sacks at abbysacks@gmail.com, 0544481461, or register for the עדן team at http://www.komen.org.il/UserRegistration/StepGroups.aspx?l=he


[*] To clarify, Komen’s registration fee is ₪20; sponsorship donations will go directly to Eden.

2012 צעדת סוזן ג'י קומן - צעד גדול לבריאות (Israel Race for the Cure) - יום חמישי, 3 מאי, 2012

מה: הצטרפות לקבוצה של עדן ב"צעדת קומן- צעד גדול לבריאות" לזכרה של רבקה מתתיה

מתי: 3 מאי 2012

איפה: ירושלים, גן סאקר לעיר העתיקה

למה: כדי ליהנות, לתמוך, להעלות מודעות לנושא חשוב

איך: ליצור קשר עם אבי סאקס במייל abbysacks@gmail.com או בטל' 0544481461, להירשם לקבוצה של "עדן" באתר http://www.komen.org.il/UserRegistration/StepGroups.aspx?l=he

או לתרום כדי לתמוך דרך ישראל תורמת: https://www.israelgives.org/amuta/580521185

רבקה הייתה אישה מלאת מרץ והשפעה חיובית. חברותית ותמיד אופטימית,רבקה התמודדה עם כל משימה בשמחה, מתוך אהבת חיים ותכלית. תכונות אלו האירו את דרכיה בכל תחום, מתמיכתה בהנקה ופעילות ב"לה לצ'ה", למכירות טאפרוור שלה, לשלושת השנים שכתבה את הבלוג המפורסם coffeeandchemo.blogspot.com. כאשר רבקה נפטרה לפני כשנה, לא רק שהתגעגענו, אבל היא השאירה את חותמה על כולנו.

ביום לפני שרבקה נפטרה, קומן - ארגון בינלאומי המקדם מחקר,פעילויות מניעה ומציאת פתרונות לסרטן השד (www.komen.co.il) - ערך בפעם הראשונה אירוע בישראל. רבים מחבריה של רבקה השתתפו כדי לתמוך בה וכדרך להתפלל להחלמתה.

קומן עורך גם השנה צעדה בירושלים. תאריך המרוץ (כ3-4 קמ') הוא יום חמישי, 3 מאי, 2012. זה יום כיף, ודרך מצוינת להעלות את המודעות לסרטן השד.

מרכז עדן (www.theEdenCenter.com) הקדיש את השתתפותו בצעדה לזכרה של רבקה. עדן הוא ארגון שמטרתו להעצים ולהעשיר את חייהם של נשים סביב המקווה. עדן מתכנן בעתיד לבנות מרכז נשים ומקווה בירושלים, אך כיום מתמקד בפרויקטים שתומכים במועדות ובריאות (גופנית ונפשית) של נשים ודרכים להצמיח חוויה חיובית ומאפשרת במקווה. ביטוי אחד לכך היא החסות של עדן של מנקת רבקה, גמ"ח למשאבות הנקה לזכרה של רבקה (ראה www.meneketrivkA.org).

רבקה חילקה עם עדן אמונה בחשיבות של מודעות לגוף ובריאות האישה, ועודדה את החזון של יצירת מרכז סביב המקווה. לכן,השתתפות בצעדה בקבוצה של עדן היא דרך טובה להנציח את זכרה של רבקה ולתמוך ברעיון של עדן.

נשמח שתצטרפי לקבוצה ותשתתפי איתנו!ניתן גם להזמין חברים.

אם לא תוכלי להגיע באותו יום, אפשר לתמוך ע"י רישום להשתתפות וירטואלית.

לחלופין, אפשר לחלוק כבוד לזכרה שלרבקה ע"י תרומה* בכתובת https://www.israelgives.org/amuta/580521185.

כיצד להירשם:

ליצור קשר עם אבי סאקס במייל abbysacks@gmail.com או בטל' 0544481461. לאחר מכן, יש להירשם לקבוצה של עדן באתר של קומן: http://www.komen.org.il/UserRegistration/StepGroups.aspx?l=he

[*] דמי רישום של 20₪ מיועדים לקומן. כל שאר התרומות ילכו ישירות לעדן.

Refreshments for erev zikaron

Several people have asked me if they can help out with bringing refreshments to the erev zikaron this Thursday. If you would like to help with this (and thank you!), you can enter your name and what you can bring onto the spreadsheet at this link.

If you have any questions about this, you can contact Idit Amir, who is organizing it, at this address.

Shavua tov, and see you on Thursday,

-- Moshe

Erev zikaron for Rivka: Details and some thoughts

As previously announced, we will be having an erev zikaron (memorial evening) for Rivka on the evening of the first anniversary of her passing. Everyone who would like to participate is welcome and invited to attend.

Here are the finalized details:

Date: Thursday evening, 21 Marheshvan / November 17
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Shalom Hartman Institute
Main Beit Midrash
Rehov Gedalyahu Alon 11
Jerusalem
Directions are available here, and on Google Maps here.

In addition, we will be making an aliya l'kever (visit to Rivka's grave) on Sunday morning, 23 Marheshvan / November 20, at (tentatively) 9:00 am. (This is the date on which Rivka's yahrtzeit will be formally commemorated this year.) Details regarding the location and prayers can be found in the post about our last aliya l'kever, here.

I want to thank all the people who responded to my request for photos of Rivka, to be used in the presentation we're making. I apologize that I haven't had the time to thank everyone individually. And to anyone who has some good photos but hasn't sent them to me yet: I'm still interested, and would be very happy to receive them.

Finally, a few thoughts that I'd like to share about the upcoming evening:

All of us miss Rivka tremendously, so it is obvious (and fitting) that we will feel sadness and loss on the night that we gather to remember her together. But at the same time, I hope very much that there will be happiness as well, and an opportunity to smile and laugh as we remember all the good times that we had with Rivka.

In her blog post entitled No Droopy Eyes Please, Rivka wrote the following:

"Okay, so here is the deal: I don't want people to look at me with sad, 'droopy' eyes.
I don't want people to think of me and feel sad.
...
I know that when you first hear the news, it's a bit of a shock. So it's okay to be sad in the beginning... But don't stay there!
...
So here's what I want:
When you think of me, be happy.
When you see me, smile."

Of course, Rivka wrote the above words in reference to herself during her lifetime. But as all of us who knew Rivka understand, she would most definitely ask for the exact same thing after her passing as well.

Now don't get me wrong: On the evening of the erev zikaron, I don't expect that any of us will be able to fully comply with Rivka's request for "No Droopy Eyes". But even through our "droopy eyes", we can and should remember to also be happy when we think of her, and to smile when we see her (in photos, or in our memories).

I look forward to seeing you all in two weeks.

-- Moshe


P.S.: I am sending this message by email to a long list of Rivka's friends, but it is far from being an exhaustive list. So please, make sure to pass along this message to anyone who might be interested.

Save the date

As I mentioned a few days ago, there is going to be an erev zikaron (memorial evening) for Rivka. It is going to be held on Thursday evening, 21 Marheshvan (November 17). I have not yet finalized the location, but it will be in Jerusalem, and I will let you all know as soon as it's finalized (hopefully within the next couple of days).

Please pass along this message to anyone who might be interested.

Wanted: Photos of Rivka

Y and I are preparing a slideshow presentation of photos of Rivka, to be shown at the erev zikaron (memorial evening) that we will be holding in another month. (More info on that to come shortly.)

We are looking for good photos of Rivka. If you have any, we would very much like to use them. (We're particularly short on pictures of her from the old "frisbee chevra" days [late '80's and early '90's].)

Ideally, we'd like to get the photos in digital form. If you only have prints but are willing to scan them for us, you'd be helping us out tremendously. If you aren't able to scan the prints but can lend them to us, then we'll try to scan them ourselves.

So if you've got good pictures of Rivka for us to use, please send them (or links to them) to this address.

Thanks!

Moshe