The new website, www.hadassahstl.org, is a new way to access news from St. Louis Chapter Hadassah. Programs, meetings and other events will be posted on the website calendar. Cards and tributes may be viewed and purchased as well.

The website is currently featuring an online auction to benefit heart health research at Hadassah Hospital. The auction will run through noon Friday, Feb. 10. Items available include: spa services, limousine, fitness, home improvement, tickets to premier venues, photography, fine jewelry and more.

NA’AMAT hosts tour

NA’AMAT USA, Aviva Chapter will host a tour of the Holocaust Museum on Wednesday, February 15, at 12 p.m. followed by a short business meeting. Guests are welcome. For reservations, call 314-993-3033.

NCJW offers widow group

A 12-session support group for recently widowed women is set to begin in the spring of 2006. The Wife-Widow-Woman group, sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis Section, will meet from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. every other week at the NCJW office, 8350 Delcrest Dr., University City. The sessions are open to all women, regardless of religion, race, or age. They are confidential and private. For more information, contact the NCJW office at 314-993-5181.

OWL honors women

The Older Women’s League has honored two women with connections to Gateway Elder Services for their work with older adults.

OWL recognized Alice S. Handelman, Gateway past president who now serves as honorary chair of the board of directors, and Ellen Livingston, of Gateway’s Advisory Council, with 2005 Women of Worth awards. Both women honored have been dedicated to leadership in Gateway Elder Services for many years.

Groups target racism

Two very different groups of people are working together to build bridges and reduce fear and mistrust. The collaborative, called “Breaking the Cycles of Prejudice and Racism”, is sponsored by St. Alphonsus Rock Church and Congregation Shaare Emeth. It will meet again on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2006, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Rock Church, 1118 North Grand. The focus of this interfaith initiative continues to be a dialogue on race relations.

For more information contact Paula and Norman Hertel at [email protected] or 636-227-4967.

Aliyah group is coming here

Nefesh B’Nefesh (www.nefeshbnefesh.org), an organization dedicated to the revitalization of North American immigration to Israel, will hold an information seminar in St. Louis for short- and long-term aliyah planning on Wednesday Feb. 15, 2006. The event, which will take place at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, 12 Millstone Campus Drive, at 7:30 p.m., will cover topics such as “How to find a job in Israel,” and “What benefits and rights you receive as a newcomer.”

The seminar will be led by Nefesh B’Nefesh’s associate director of Overseas Programs, Ari Schuchman, a veteran Aliyah expert. He will fly in from Jerusalem to offer professional and personal advice to participants. Wendy Keter, the Israel Aliyah Center emissary based in Chicago, will also be on hand. The seminar is being co-sponsored locally by the Central Agency for Jewish Education and the St. Louis Chug Aliyah.

The seminar is designed for those who are either actively planning aliyah or are contemplating a move in the long-term. Pre and post-aliyah strategies will be discussed as well as Nefesh B’Nefesh services and benefits. The St. Louis event, which will include video and other presentations, will also focus on specific issues such as children, families, education and networking in Israel.

From its inception in 2002, Nefesh B’Nefesh, working in close cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel, has brought over 7,000 new immigrants to Israel. More than 3,000 North American Jews made the move in 2005, which became a record-setting year, with more newcomers arriving than any other year since 1984.

For more information, contact Oz Ben-Shmuel at [email protected] or 314-727-2123.