We are on a down slope of the epidemiological curve. It may or may not be the only down slope as we hear reports of the virus taking hold again in the fall and winter. But while we ride our way down this current downward facing curve, we are seeing calls for returning to normal. I happened upon an article in The Stranger from Kadima member Greggory Scruggs who interviewed some of the protestors in Olympia who came out to show opposition to Gov. Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order. I saw the Now This news clip of a hospital worker faceoff with a protestor against Colorado’s stay-at-home order.
And here in Seattle, some are calling for a reopening as well.
I am reminded of the many podcasts I have listened to and conversations I have had that have told me that “zoom is the homeland of the disabled and chronically ill,” as Aurora Levins Morales put it while we zoomed this week about the Rimonim Liturgy Project. I am learning that “normal” has always been relative, and that my normal and the normal of someone with a chronic illness is and has been very, very different.
We put a spoon on the seder plate at Kadima’s virtual Community Seder 2 weeks ago, to honor the and elders and chronically ill “spoonies” in our community. As conversations began popping up immediately after Passover about whether or not High Holidays will be virtual, I instead ask us to slow down. Let us consider what normal was, personally and collectively. Before we rush back into it, or the debate, even, of whether or not we are safe enough from the virus to go back to it, let us reflect: Who are we leaving behind in the rush to “return to normal”? What better reflects the values of our community, and of the world we are working toward?

​~Rabbi David

I have never liked it when people say "there are two kinds of people in the world"* and yet, while having the deep pleasure of connecting with so many Kadima folks on zoom this weekend (about a third of our households), I have heard two main tropes:
I feel able and called to serve right now - with my money, my time, and my presence.
And,
I am overwhelmed right now, I am sick, I am losing income, and am deeply uplifted by a community showing care for me.
While we know that binaries are often imperfect, we present the following structures that can support and reinforce our sanctuary - our mishkan - in these times.

• Team Yitro**: Kadima's Pastoral Response Team; 
  
• Geo Groups: Kadima's Neighborhood Member Email Groups;
  
• Virtshul: Kadima's Online Community Events; and 
  
• Mutual Aid Kadima: Resource Sharing in these times;
  
• One-on-One Pastoral Care with Rabbi David: Use this link to schedule 
  

Each of these efforts will be most robust if you help us understand our needs and our resources - read below for how.
Team Yitro: Kadima's Pastoral Response Team
The Kadima Geo Group neighborhood list-serves are abuzz and it is amazing to see. A huge shout to Morgan who set them up and a huge thank you to everyone who has jumped into using that tool introducing themselves to Kadima neighbors, offering to help one another, and keeping the glue of our community - our relationships with one another -  strong.
Now, would you like to join Rabbi David's team for pastoral support for one another? Members of Team Yitro would be asked to take on a proportion of Kadima's households - hopefully no more than 10 - and make a call once a week to virtually visit, connect, breathe, and assess needs and resources. Additionally, the team will have a weekly check-in with Rabbi David and each other to learn and report out. With 15 people on the team, we could cover our whole membership - ideally making these connections as geographically local as possible. Want to join the team but can't make Tuesdays at 3:30pm? Let Rabbi David know.
Email Rabbi David to join Team Yitro, including availability on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for a team check in. Anyone with previous experience in counseling, case management, community organizing, and/or pastoral work particularly encouraged, but no experience necessary - wanting to do this work now is enough.
Geo Groups: Kadima's Neighborhood Member Email Groups
Kadima members are supporting one another, breaking the isolation, performing aid for one another, and expressing themselves in these neighborhood-based groups. If you believe yourself to be a Kadima member and would like to be added to a group, or if you need to update your address and change to a different group, email Morgan now and we hope to be able to add/move you by Wednesday, 3/25. New community organizing features are coming to the Geo Groups soon, so stay tuned!
Virtshul: Kadima's Online Community Events
We have many successful online Kadima gatherings under our belt already, and we are wanting to expand our opportunities to connect, share, cope, and stay healthy together in Jewish time and space. 
Do you want to bring Kadima+ folks together once or weekly for prayer, meditation, journaling, juggling, stretching, study, checking-in, young-people-connecting, karaoke, havdalah, or something else? 
See below in the "upcoming events" section for this coming week's offerings, and check our website calendar for the most up-to-date information as our offerings evolve.
Email virtshul@kadima.org to make an offering to our evolving calendar of virtual events. You will be asked to abide by guidelines for hosting, and potentially for flexibility as we fit your offering into a big picture of programming.
Mutual Aid Kadima: Resource Sharing in these times
(and all the time!)
Many Kadima members and beyond are experiencing huge economic loss, health crises, isolation, and more. Let us take care of each other. As we keep our eye on each other, visit our Mutual Aid Resources and stay tuned. 
One-on-One Pastoral Care with Rabbi David: Please click here to make an appointment. We all need personal pastoral care sometimes. We can show love for ourselves and others by reaching out for care.
*With respect and love to my first cousin, once removed, Wayne, who told me many years ago "there are kinds of people in the world: those who slice up their matzah ball before they eat any soup, and those who slice up their matzah ball with each spoonful of their soup." He may be right on that one.
**Named for the father-in-law of Moses, the Midian priest who told Moses he can't do it alone and suggested a system of delegating his leadership and community outreach.

​Do you or another community member need support with meals, transportation, yard work, errands, housework, or other needs? Do you want to connect with Kadima members through doing, so that we all are getting our needs met?

Kadima's new program, Mutual Aid Kadima (MAK) is at your service, connecting community members with needed resources and support, both short and long term.

WHAT IS MUTUAL AID?
“Mutual aid is a term to describe people giving each other needed material support, trying to resist the control dynamics, hierarchies and system-affirming, oppressive arrangements of charity and social services.” (Click here for more information on mutual aid).

Bringing meals by after a surgery or when there is a death in the family are common ways that people in community often support each other. Those of us with disabilities can have more ongoing needs for mutual aid, and tend to be regularly looking out for each other because we understand how hard it can be to survive within the individualist ableist capitalist system.

Mutual aid is rooted in genuine care and need for our collective survival. Mutual aid can be organic, rooted in existing relationships and reciprocal. MAK aims to connect members of the Kadima community to grow and strengthen mutual relationships where we all get our needs met without hierarchy or a sense that support is somehow transactional.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
1. Fill out the MAK request form for yourself or someone who needs support (get their permission first!), or contact Rabbi David or Morgan Scherer that you would like to be reached out to.2. Morgan, Kadima's Operations Manager, will call you to either set up a meeting or go over your request on the phone, at your preference. At that time, we will clarify any details, and create a calendar of the recipient's needs.
3. We will discuss the options of how to fill requests. We can send task requests to any combination of the following:

• Your/the recipient's circle of friends and acquaintances, which you provide a list of;
• Kadima members who have indicated interest in filling MAK requests (approx. 40 people);
• All Kadima members (approx. 225 people);
• The entire Kadima community via the newsletter (approx. 1000 people). 

4. Once we have agreed on the level of privacy/openness you are wanting, the volunteer MAK Coordinator will email your request to the group(s) you have authorized. Individuals will be able to sign up for aid tasks via the email we send out (they will not need to create an account, but will need to enter their name, email, and phone number).
5. You can receive email reminders of upcoming filled requests, or not, at your preference.
6. The MAK Coordinator will keep contacting people until your requests are filled, and will update you on the status of your care calendar. 
WHO CAN REQUEST SUPPORT?
Any Kadima member can request support, on their behalf or the behalf of another Kadima member.

I WANT TO BE A MAK DOER!
HOW DO I SIGN UP TO BE ASKED TO DO TASKS FOR PEOPLE WHO REQUEST THEM?
Email Morgan! Morgan will add you to the list of people who are explicitly willing to be asked to do MAK requests. Requests range from rides, meals, and housework, to errands, childcare, and yard work. Being on this list simply means you will receive emails of requests. You have no obligation to sign up for any particular request.

If you are a member of Kadima. you will receive emails sometimes, if the recipient wants to reach out to the whole membership. If you sign up to be a MAK Doer, you will receive asks more frequently.

HOW CAN I SUPPORT MAK?
1. Sign up to be a MAK Coordinator! This is a 2-month commitment, and you will receive training on exactly how to do it. The amount of time per month will vary based on how many requests we receive that month, but expect each request to take a few hours of work setting up the care calendar (with training!), emailing prospective doers, and coordinating with the recipient. Email Morgan for more information or to sign up.
2. Join the Disability Justice Committee, which meets monthly on the third Thursday, from 6pm - 7:30pm at Kadima
3. Donate to Kadima to support Kadima's programs, and/or become a member.

The below liturgy was written and used by Rabbi David Basior for Simchat Torah 5780, the day most Seattle residents received their ballot in the mail. All 7 city council districts have open races in 2019 and the districts circle the city, just as we dance in 7 circles with the Torah on Simchat Torah. Using the style of an alphabetic acrostic (abecedarius) piyyut (liturgical poem), Kadima members were invited into the circle by city council district to dance with the torah while the rest of danced enthusiastically around them to the amazing music of Shpilkis!

District 1!
[A]ttention all you voters...Hatzlichah Na!
[B]allots are in the mail...Hoshiah Na!
[C]all your friends and family...Hatzlichah Na!
[D]on't delay participation...Hoshiah Na!

District 2!
[E]lect those who will not bow...Hatzlichah Na!
[F]ight for justice no matter who wins...Hoshiah Na!
[G]et out the vote in your neighborhood...Hatzlichah Na!
[H]old electeds accountable...Hoshiah Na!

District 3!
[I]nform yourself of the issues...Hatzlichah Na!
[J]ust don't vote and think we're done...Hoshiah Na!

District 4!
[K]ey us for true democracy...Hatzlichah Na!
[L]imit corporate spending...Hoshiah Na!
[M]agnify our voices...Hatzlichah Na!
[N]ot giving up or despairing...Hoshiah Na!

District 5!
[O]pen us to our neighbors...Hatzlichah Na!
[P]ut your money where your mouth is...Hoshiah Na!
[Q]uestion donor sources...Hatzlichah Na!
[R]un for city council yourself...Hoshiah Na!

District 6!
[S]triving for our dreams...Hatzlichah Na!
[T]ruth and justice to prevail...Hoshiah Na!
[U]ltimately, revela/ution...Hatzlichah Na!
[V]ictory for justice...Hoshiah Na!

District 7!
[W]hy not keep on dancing...Hatzlichah Na!
[X]ylophones not bombs...Hoshiah Na!
[Y]outh voices in the process...Hatzlichah Na!
[Z]ero non-participation...Hoshiah Na!

We then proceeded to unroll the entire Torah in the sanctuary and read from the end of Deutoronomy and beginning of Bereisheet!