Your weekly JUF update

During these uncertain times, it's more important than ever to stick together as a community. With this weekly email, we hope to provide you with resources, moral support and other ways to adjust to this temporary “new normal.”  

We’ve created a new JUF Coronavirus Community Resource Page! You’ll find links to more resources, info on JUF initiatives and ways to help or donate. And be sure to check JUF's Facebook page for daily updates.

Teaching tools for parents doing double-duty

PBS Learning Media has curated a special collection of resources organized by grade and subject area. Find videos, lesson plans, and activities that support learning at home. (And here’s to the teachers who make it look effortless every day!)

Come on, get happy with Yale's free course

Yale’s mega popular course, The Science of Well-Being is now free to audit online. Professor Laurie Santos reveals the science that shows contentedness stems from repeatedly doing simple tasks, rather than herculean achievements. You’ll engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits.

Larry David's prett-ay good tips on doing nothing

For tips on staying home and doing nothing, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd turned to an expert – Larry David. The self-proclaimed germaphobe talks about his “isolationships” with family and friends, plus other humorous corona-centric anecdotes.

Adam Sandler's ode to the medical community

Sandler hails doctors, nurses and essential workers, while poking fun at life during coronavirus with “The Quarantine Song”.

Holocaust Remembrance Day is Monday, April 20

Light a memorial candle on the eve of Yom Hashoah and help tell the stories of those who perished. OurSixMillion.org lets you print a label for a candle with the name and story behind a Holocaust victim chosen from their database—or add information about someone you want to honor. Plus, here are 12 Meaningful Ways to Commemorate Yom Hashoah, including virtual programs, social media frames, compelling videos and more.

A moment of Passover reflection with Rabbi Debra Newman Kamin

Every day of this quarantine I say to myself: "Today is day 18 of the quarantine, that makes two weeks and four days of the quarantine." This is how Jews count the period of the Omer between Pesach and Shavuot. A favorite verse from Psalms is “Teach us to number our days so that we may attain a heart of wisdom” (90:12). It is not enough to count each day as it occurs, I need to make each day count. Every day I express gratitude for what I still have and think about what I can do to help others during this frightening, challenging time. 

Rabbi Debra Newman Kamin, Am Yisrael Conservative Congregation