Temple B'nai Jeshurun - Des Moines, Iowa

Our Congregation - RUACH

Calling all Des Moines Jewish Community 20's, 30's, and young at heart... RUACH wants your help and spirit! RUACH is the Temple's chavurah for young adults and families. Our goal is to provide exciting and fulfilling social, educational, and social action programming to the future of Des Moines' Jewish community. Past events have included parties celebrating Jewish festivals, Shabbat dinners, forums, and feeding Des Moines' homeless.

Future events are limited only by your imagination. Achieving this goal requires your help and participation. To find out how you can be a part of RUACH, e-mail TBJ_RUACH@yahoo.com or call Ross Daniels at 224-4883.

RUACH Summary for Temple’s Annual Report

RUACH is the group for Temple members between the ages of 20 and 39. RUACH had another very successful year and continued to grow, bringing in many new members both to the group and to the Temple. Some of RUACH’s events last year were the following:

RUACH Sukkah Party. More than 30 RUACH members came together last October at the home of Ross Daniels and Amy Ward to celebrate Sukkot under the sukkah. Rabbi Kaufman joined us to meet the RUACH members and to lead a brief service to help us celebrate being in the sukkah. Rabbi Kaufman described the meanings and uses of the lulav and etrog, which was particularly helpful in making non-Jewish partners and those new to Judaism feel at home during the celebration.
RUACH Dinner Club. This is an informal event now being held approximately quarterly. RUACH members, and anyone else who wishes to join in, go out to dinner after services at a local restaurant. This has been a great way to make new and potential Temple members feel at home in the Temple community.
RUACH Shabbat Service and Dinner. This June 3rd, RUACH led portions of the Shabbat service and sponsored a post-service pasta dinner attended by approximately 60 congregants and prospective members. After dinner, Rabbi Kaufman conducted a discussion entitled “Making Time for Judaism and Spirituality in Our Busy Lives”. Donations for the DMARC Emergency Food Pantry were encouraged in lieu of a charge for the dinner.

RUACH’s goal is to build upon the success of these events, and to put together an even better slate of events for 2005-2006. Events being planned include another RAGBROY (RUACH Annual Bike Ride Over Yonder), feeding the homeless at a local shelter, and more.

Ruach's Knit and Nosh Tuesday, February 28th,7-9 p.m.
Love to knit? Knitters of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to join Knit & Nosh for a fun evening of knitting in front of a cozy fire in the Social Hall. (Please note that we do not discriminate against those who prefer to crochet!) You bring your projects; we'll bring the treats. If you are working on a project and need some guidance, this is the perfect place to go for help. And knowing some of the active knitters at the temple, we expect to enjoy lively conversation while we knit! Please RSVP to Carla Herling at herlingcs@yahoo.com. If we have enough interested knitters, we plan to meet monthly. Sponsored by Ruach.

Thanks From Ruach
A big thank you to the Temple community for your generous contributions to the RUACH Toiletry drive for the Churches United Shelter. Thanks to the generosity of the congregation, over 450 toiletry and personal care items were able to be distributed to Des Moines’ needy just in time for the holidays.