Dear Interfaith Families and Friends,
I pulled names out of the hat and drew out the winners who have been notified. If you are coming to dinner and the movie with us on THIS SATURDAY in Berkeley at the Jewish Film Festival we are seeing STRANGERS at 8:15pm. Buy your ticket! I’ve asked a member of this list who is a restaurant professional to recommend someplace to eat – not to pricey. Email me if you are coming to dinner with us!!
Dawn@buildingJewishBridges.org
August time
August is here and that always signals the end of summer. That means you have just about a month to do some shopping around if you want to join a synagogue this fall. If you want a buddy to go with you, just email me. I’ll set it up – I have friends everywhere.
Why look for a synagogue?
Because there can never be too many people looking out for you. I told you that I would ask my synagogue’s women’s group to bake with me for my nephew in Iraq. I did. Some came to my house, some delivered cookies. Some gave me sheets to sent to his unit (they don’t have enough), some brought me tuna packs and cup-of-soup. Some just sat and chatted. I got comfort, my nephew got eight boxes of goodies. My friends did a mitzvah. Win-win-win.
Can we understand why we are here?
Packing those boxes made me wonder, what should I be doing? Should I quit my job and devote myself to ending war on the planet? Should I fly to Texas to take care of his young wife and baby? Just why am I here? I don’t have an answer but I got some help from Rabbi Larry Raphael’s comments on last week’s Torah Portion, Masei. What he said is eternal so I am sharing it with you:
Tradition provides ways to arrange and understand our lives, which can often be understood through the struggles and successes of our predecessors. Gradually we watch as out of our own deeds a design emerges.
Kierkegaard writes that life must be lived forward but can only be understood backward. To put the insight differently, we might recall the poignant words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who writes that God speaks slowly in our lives, a syllable at a time; not until we reach the end of life can we read the sentences backward. Judaism offers us a way to understand God's words in our lives so that they are meaningful, even eloquent.
You can speak to Rabbi Raphael yourself if you go to services at Sherith Israel in San Francisco. Or you can email him at rabbiraphael@sherithisrael.org.
www.sherithisrael.org
Read to your kids with PJ Library
The Jewish Federations are distributing free of charge, age-appropriate Jewish-content books and music on a monthly basis to families with children from 6 months to age 5½. I love this program! Reading to children improves everything - their reading skills, their bonding with you, their listening and learning skills. Go for it!
To sign up for this free service --
In the West Bay call Gail Green at 415-777-4545
In the East Bay sign up online at: http://63.151.43.13/pjlibrary/index.html
Looking for a Jewish Humanistic Education for your Child in the Fremont area?
Registration is now open for Jewish Culture School, a non-religious Jewish Sunday School sponsored by the Tri-Valley Cultural Jews. Jewish Culture Schools meets two Sundays a month and is open students from 5 - 13. Students from non-traditional and mixed-culture families are welcome.
Jewish Culture School concentrates on a sense of community based on family, history, culture and progressive social action. In a hands-on interactive curriculum, students learn songs in Hebrew, Yiddish and English, folk dance, and cook Jewish food from various countries and times in history.
To register for Jewish Culture School or obtain more information about TVCJ, please call (925) 485-1049 or e-mail JCS@Tri-ValleyCulturalJews.org.
Events
Tot Shabbat (Oakland)
Family Shabbat Service and Potluck Dinners (San Francisco)
Young Family Services (Los Altos)
Tisha B'av Ritual (Piedmont)
Ashkenaz and In Search of the Bene Israel (San Francisco)
The Chuppah and Beyond-for Engaged and Newly-Married Couples (San Francisco)
Erev Shabbat Dinner and Musical Service (Walnut Creek)
Let’s Go out to the Ballgame! (Oakland)
Love is Law? A Glimpse into Jewish Tradition (Berkeley)
Rebirthing the Divine: a Journey to Kabalah (Berkeley)
Sunday Play Days with Kindergym and Dawn Margolin (Oakland)
3rd Annual Hazon Food Conference (Monterey, CA)
Tot Shabbat
Welcome in Shabbat with singing and story telling. Babies, toddlers, kids, moms, dads and grandparents are invited to this fun filled service. Tot Shabbats are held on the second Friday of each month.
Date: Friday, August 8
Time: 6:30pm
Place: Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit St., Oakland
for more information call Gabby at 510-451-3263.
Family Shabbat Service and Potluck Dinners
Shabbat Services at 6pm.
Two potlucks to choose from:
Before Services at 5pm in Newman Hall -
for families with children 5 and under
After Services at 7pm in Newman Hall -
for all Shabbat Services attendees and children
Please don't bring any dishes with pork or shellfish, but feel free to bring a bottle of wine to share.
Date: Friday, August 8
Place: Sherith Israel, 2266 California St., San Francisco
For more information contact Nancy Sheftel-Gomes at nsgomes@sherithisrael.org or 415-346-1720 ext 28.
Young Family Services
This fun and interactive half-hour service is geared toward families with children ages 3 months to 6 years. Snack is provided following the service, as well as a special arts and crafts activity and time on the playground.
Dates: Saturday mornings, August 9 & 23
Time: 9:30 am.
Place: Chapel at Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, Los Altos Hills
For more information call: 650-493-4661
www.betham.org
Tisha B'av Ritual
Led jointly by Kehilla, Aquarian Minyan, and Chochmat HaLev
Join us to create sacred space and journey into Tisha B'av, a day that commemorates tragedies past and present, allowing us to explore both our sorrows and our hope through the Hebrew and English chanting of Lamentations. Read more about the day at:
http://www.chochmat.org/1_events.shtml
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 7:45-10pm
Place: Kehilla Community Synagogue, 1300 Grand Ave., Piedmont
For more information call 510-547-2424
Ashkenaz and In Search of the Bene Israel
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Israel, 2007, 72 min. Color, Hebrew, English, Yiddish w/Eng. subtitles
Ashkenaz, a pithy but panoramic view of Israel’s “white” Jews, undermines any preconceived notions of Jewish ethnicity. Director Rachel Leah Jones, a Berkeley native, flits from experts and scholars to just plain folks to reveal a non-homogeneous Ashkenazi population seen through the eyes of Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Israelis. It’s a fascinating study in diversity within a single word.
Followed by In Search of Bene Israel, about Jews in India.
Date: Sun, Aug 10
Time: 3:00pm
Place: JCC of San Francisco, 3200 California St., San Francisco
Co-presented by Congregation Sherith Israel and 3rd I San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival (SFISAFF)
For tickets and more information call 925-275-9490 or our website: www.sfjff.org.
The Chuppah and Beyond-for Engaged and Newly-Married Couples
Are you engaged to be married? Are you recently married?
CAFE Emanu-El (Community and Family Education) presents...
"The Chuppah and Beyond," a six week series for engaged or newly married couples. We are providing you with a great opportunity to meet other couples and share Jewish traditions together. Facilitated by our Family Programs Coordinator, Leslie Ticktin, and our Congregation Emanu-El Clergy, these classes will help you enhance your communication, learn the principles of good financial planning, and develop the necessary skills to foster a long, happy, loving relationship. Join us as we help you plan your future together!
Dates: Six Thursdays beginning Aug. 14
Time: 7 to 9pm
Place: Emanu-El, 2 Lake St., San Francisco
Cost per couple for the 6-week series is $48 for non-members.
If you are interested in learning more, please send an email with your names, wedding date (if you have one), phone number and mailing address to Leslie Ticktin at lticktin@emanuelsf.org .
Erev Shabbat Dinner and Musical Service
Contemporary & Inspirational Melodies with Musical Accompaniment. Dinner Reservations Required so we’ll know how much to make. All Welcome!
Dairy Oneg (reception) following the service
Date: Friday, August 15
Time: Dinner 6:15 p.m. .. Service 7:30 p.m.
Place: B’nai Shalom, 74 Ecley Lane, Walnut Creek
Cost: Adults $5/person, Children 12 & under FREE
RSVP by Aug. 11 – Call 925-934-9446 or email office@bshalom.org
Ph: 925-934-9446 .. www.bshalom.org
Let’s Go out to the Ballgame!
Join the guys of Temple Sinai’s men’s group for their annual outing to an A's Game will be on Sunday afternoon, August 17, 2008, at 1:05 against the Chicago White Sox led by former A's Jermaine Dye and Nick Swisher.
We've arranged for seats in Sections 209/210 (wheelchair friendly). Tickets are a mere $16 each.
While brought to you by the Brotherhood, this event is open to the community. Free peanuts!
Date: Sunday, Aug. 17
Time: 1:05pm
Place: Oakland Coliseum
Cost: your ticket costs $16
Please let Barry Dubin know how many tickets you would like. You may e-mail him at bdubin@cwclaw.com or call him at (415) 765-6252 (W) or (510) 658-9265 (H).
Love is Law? A Glimpse into Jewish Tradition
with Rabbi Creditor
Deeper than the details of Jewish living is the spiritual heart of Jewish community. How do the details point back to the heart? What does authority mean for a modern Jewish community? How can someone learn to belong to a community with so much history and so many interwoven stories? Is there still such a thing as "Jewish Law" today? This class will include conversation and gudied learning for participants.
No Hebrew/Jewish background necessary - Jews and those curious about Judaism are welcome!
Dates: August 19, 26; Sept. 2, 9
Time: 7:45-9pm
Place: Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave., Berkeley
Cost: A suggested $30 materials fee would be appreciated.
Please register through the Netivot Shalom office at office@netivotshalom.org or 510.549.9447 x101.
Rebirthing the Divine: a Journey to Kabalah
with Genine BarEl
In an original and powerful performance Genine BarEl takes audiences on a spiritual and emotional journey as she pursues a deeper connection to herself and her heritage. From New York to India to Israel - seeking wisdom but finding a husband (even better!) - Genine finally comes to rest in the holy city of Tsfat, raising a family and birthing herself as a woman and mother, a receptacle for the divine. Through story-telling and song, the audience travels with Genine on a poignant, touching and often humorous passage from Jewish American Princess to “woman of valor.”
Date: Wednesday, August 27
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince St., Berkeley
for more information call 510.704.9687
Sunday Play Days with Kindergym and Dawn Margolin
Sunday Play Days are for ALL children (and a parent or caregiver) ages 9 months to 3 years old. A sibling in that age group is welcome for no extra charge; the cost is $10 per family. The class is in a large room filled with tons of wonderful equipment, all matted. We have lots of slides and climbers, a big ball pit, rocking horses, crazy coupe cars, a see-saw, several little push cars for beginning walkers, a trampoline and more. We have 1 hour of unstructured fun on all of the wonderful equipment, then snack, songs, parachute play and bubbles for the last half hour.
Dates: September 7 and November 2
Time: 10:30am-12noon
Place: Temple Beth Abraham, 327 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland
Check our website for class info at www.tbaoakland.org/kindergym
Contact Dawn Margolin at 510-547-7726
You will love Dawn! Everyone does, especially little ones. Go look at her website.
3rd Annual Hazon Food Conference
Held at the Asilomar Conference and Retreat Center on the Monterey Peninsula. Along the white sand beaches and forests of the Monterey Peninsula, the Jewish food community will gather to celebrate and explore how we make food choices in light of our tradition and contemporary life.
The Hazon Food Conference experience will cover interests from health and sustainability to food justice and Jewish tradition.
Join hundreds of others from North America and Israel as this group of young, not so young, singles, couples, families, rabbis, farmers, educators, chefs, writers, students and enthusiasts gathers to celebrate Chanukah, Shabbat, and the new Jewish food movement. To register or find out more about the Hazon Food Conference, visit http://www.hazon.org/foodconference.
Date: Dec. 25 - 28
