Biennial 2013 with Holy Blossom Temple: Part 1
Biennial is a gathering of lay and professional leaders, every two years, to learn, share and socialize with people from other synagogues and organizations. This year there are 4475 participants, including 149 from NFTY and many hundreds from Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ).
Our official proceedings began on Wed. Dec. 11th, but a number of our Holy Blossom Temple members started their meetings on Tuesday. I am sure there were more, but I know that Sara Charney came early for WRJ Board meetings, as did Elliot Jacobson, Carole Sterling, Joan Garson, David Baskin and Mark Anshan who are proudly representing Holy Blossom on national and international boards and committees related to Reform Judaism.
I started my day on Wednesday getting to know the neighborhood where my hotel was located. I walked for about an hour as a sun and warmth starved northerner, enjoying the walking path along the water most.
At noon I met up with wonderful women, leaders of WRJ nationally, as well as regional presidents, as we fondly remembered the whirlwind Israel trip we had together last March. It was interesting to hear about the WRJ Assembly (that is their name for their gathering, taking place concurrently and often sharing sessions with the URJ), and how their sessions have been so far. Their perspective was definitely different as many were running the show!
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Phyllis, what a pleasure as I start to read your daily blogs!
We were certainly blessed with beautiful weather when we had lunch together outside with our friends from the WRJ Mission to Israel and Berlin. Thank-you for so eloquently reliving these experiences.