Children move through a variety of developmental stages. How can we support their identity development and family attachment in age appropriate ways? Children in interfaith families are integrating multiple traditions and family heritages, we will look at how to weave together disparate backgrounds into one whole “self.” The discussion will be led by Dawn Kepler.

Marin Brandeis Hillel Day School
180 No. San Pedro Rd., San Rafael
Monday, Oct. 11 at 7 to 8:30pm
Marin BHDS offers this program free to the community.
For information call Dawn at 510-845-6420 x11.

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Food plays a big part in Jewish culture and holidays. What if you’re not Jewish but want to create a wonderful festive meal for your family and friends? What if you are Jewish and you want to make the holiday more joyous, meaningful and delicious? Then come cook and chat with us!

Food alone doesn’t make a family meal or holiday complete. You have to put more into the day. Recipes and rituals come together to build memories and strenghen family bonds.

Let’s get together to make latkes & a delicious Israeli vegetarian meal and discuss the ways to use food to build relationships and memories.

Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2pm to 3:30pm
Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Rd., Los Altos
Cost: $25
For more information call Dawn at 510-845-6420 x11.

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I’m going to invite you to think about “being” Jewish and what that means. Either you or your partner is Jewish. You may be raising your kids Jewish. “Being” Jewish holds questions about identity and action and how they intersect.

Being Jewish is both entirely effortless and requiring of work to make anything of it. It’s like being born with a high IQ. You can walk through life a genius, but if you never learn to read, write or do math, if you never put your brains to any task, then your intelligence is wasted. If you are born a Jew, then that identity belongs to you effortlessly. (If you convert to Judaism, you create your own door into Judaism.) Now what to do with it?

Let’s take a familiar Jewish practice, kashrut (eating kosher food). If all you know is, don’t eat pork, then it seems pointless and stupid. If you learn more you find it is a dietary system. You control what you eat, you think about what you put in your mouth before you put food in there. What? Another form of Weight Watchers? Some foods are not eaten at all – yup, sounds like a diet. Some foods are not eaten together, yes, I’ve seen those diets too. You bless the food and thank some cosmic force for providing it. Hm, I’m not sure I believe in that cosmic force so why say thank you to it?

These are all beginner’s concepts. Let’s go deeper.

The concept of kavanah (intention) is working here. Rather than stuff food in your face, think before you eat. Have intention. I am going to eat what is good for me, I am valuing this, the only body I will occupy in this lifetime, I want to keep it healthy and able to sustain my spirit/consciousness.

I want to be grateful that, unlike the majority of the planet’s occupants, I have sufficient and delicious nutrition. I am grateful that someone else stooped in the fields to pick this. I won’t rush through food that they gave sweaty hours to harvest. Nor will I undervalue the fact that an animal died in order for me to eat this steak.

What if each time you ate you gave 30 seconds to thinking about how you are nourishing yourself and how that plays into the world around you?

Have you ever thought about meditating? It’s scientifically proven to do loads of good things for you. What if kashrut is an ancient way of creating a meditative moment? Sure, many people aren’t thinking of it that way. But who said you had to do things their way?

I didn’t make this stuff up. Talk to modern practitioners of kashrut and you’ll learn even more about connecting body, soul, and actions.
To get the most out of being Jewish takes effort – learning, practice (as in doing it over and over again until you’ve got it right for you) and it doesn’t hurt to have some fellow explorers (just like those gym buddies who suggest you take spinning with them).

If you’re going to BE Jewish, make it work for you.

EVENTS
The Outdoor Sanctuary (San Rafael)
Torah on the Trails (San Rafael)
Book Club (San Rafael)
Chocolate Chip Challah! (El Cerrito)
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story film (Berkeley)
A Film Unfinished film (Berkeley)
Let’s go to the Movies: Saviors in the Night (Berkeley)
Bagels and Blocks (Walnut Creek)
Bagels and Babies (San Francisco)

The Outdoor Sanctuary
Shabbat in Nature
Does being in nature make you feel connected to something bigger? Come and celebrate Shabbat outdoors this summer at China Camp State Park. We will be there at 5:30 pm and services will begin at 6 pm. All you need to do is bring your blanket, some lawn chairs, a picnic dinner, your readiness to participate, and a dessert to share. We’ll bring the challah.

Directions: We will be picnicking and praying at China Camp Village, just down the road from Rodef Sholom (4.6 miles), on the upper grass meadow adjacent to the parking lot and above the water. There will be a small fee for parking.

Date: Friday, July 16, Aug. 20
Time: 6pm
Place: China Camp State Park
Sponsored by Congregation Rodef Sholom, 170 North San Pedro Rd., San Rafael
For more information call the synagogue at 415- 479-3447
www.rodefsholom.org

Torah on the Trails
Join Cantor David Margules for some soul-lifting Torah and a short hike, weather permitting. Please meet punctually in the Rodef Sholom parking lot.

Date: Saturday, July 17
Time: 8:30am
Place: Rodef Sholom, 170 North San Pedro Road San Rafael
For more information call the synagogue at (415) 479-3441

Book Club
The Women of Rodef Sholom’s book club will be discussing The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson at the next gathering.

Date: Wednesday, July 21
Time: 7:15 pm
Place: Osher Marin JCC, Lefferts Community Library (2nd floor), 200 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael
For more information about joining this dynamic club, contact wrs@rodefsholom.org.

Chocolate Chip Challah!
Join other families with young children to make and take home your own decorated bread, a yummy Jewish treat. We’ll also enjoy puppets, stories, and songs. You’ll take home your challah, the recipe, plus ideas about how to make Shabbat — the Jewish Sabbath — a special time for your family.
Open to all children age 0-5 years and their grown-ups.
Our gathering will be led by beloved early childhood specialist Mimi Greisman and Rabbi Bridget Wynne.
Feel free to invite friends who might be interested!

Date: Sunday, July 25
Time: 10:30am-12:00pm
Place: Jewish Gateways, 409 Liberty St., El Cerrito
For more information call 510-559-8140
www.jewishgateways.org

Temple Sinai of Oakland is co-presenting two films at the SF Jewish Film Festival.
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, this film celebrates the contributions of Jewish major leaguers and the special meaning baseball has had in the lives of American Jews. More than a film about sports, it is a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry and the shattering of stereotypes.

Date: Sunday, August 1 at 2:15pm
Place: Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley

AND
A Film Unfinished
Filmmaker Yael Hersonski discovers that the Warsaw Ghetto footage that we’ve seen in countless documentaries was actually staged by the Nazis using the actual Jewish inhabitants of the Ghetto as “actors.” This film is a rigorous and profound documentary that simultaneously exposes the perversity of Nazi image-making, honors its victims and pays tribute to the resiliency of the filmmaker’s own grandmother and the other survivors of the Ghetto.

Date: Sunday, August 1 at 4:15pm
Place: Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley

For ticket information, please contact the box office at 866-55-tickets or visit the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival online at www.sfjff.org.

Let’s go to the Movies: Saviors in the Night
Let’s go see “Saviors in the Night” at the SF Jewish Film Festival. Saviors is a true story about a German Catholic family who hid a Jewish family during the Holocaust.
Go online and buy your ticket at: www.sfjff.org
How about meeting at 5pm for a quick pizza around the corner from the theater? Email me if you want to join me for dinner before the film.

Date: August 7
Time: 7pm
Place: Roda Theater, Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison, Berkeley
Info: Contact me at 510-845-6420 x11 or email me at dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org

Bagels and Blocks
A Jewish Family Play Group with Sizzling Summer Fun!
Come join us as we explore, make crafts, sing and learn in a family environment.
Please bring towel and change of clothes for water play. The summer program designed for families with children 0-3 years. Siblings welcome! Bring a Friend!
Free and open to the community.
A light breakfast will be served at 10:15.

Date: Thursday, August 19
Time: 9:30-10:15am
Place: B’nai Shalom, Room 1, 74 Eckley Ln., Walnut Creek
For more information contact sarah@speigel.com or rabbijen@bshalom.org

Bagels and Babies
Join us for an opportunity for parents to interact with others while spending time with their little ones. We provide bagels, fruit and juice…there is some schmooze time, a circle time/discussion, and we always have a “guest” like one of our rabbis or it could be Andrea Alban, a children’s author.

Date: Friday, Aug. 20
Time: 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Place: Congregation Emanu-El, Two Lake Street, San Francisco
For more information contact Leslie Ticktin at (415) 751-2541 x167 or LTicktin@emanuelsf.org

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Children move through a variety of developmental stages. How can we support their identity development and family attachment in age appropriate ways? Children in interfaith families are integrating multiple traditions and family heritages, we will look at how to weave together disparate backgrounds into one whole “self.”

Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit St., Oakland
Oct. 17, 2010
1pm to 2:30pm
Free to Temple Sinai members; $7 for non-members. (No one turned away for lack of funds.)
For more information email Dawn at dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org or call 510-845-6420 x11

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Are You Curious?
A Taste of Judaism has been around for more than ten years and literally tens of thousands of people have taken it. It is aimed at the adult learner who has little knowledge of Judaism, but a curious mind. The class covers the three pillars of Judaism:
Jewish spirituality — Jewish views of the divine
Jewish ethics — the source of the Jewish way of life, the teachings
Jewish community — the community that Jews create in every generation to sustain Jewish life.
The three session class is free but pre-registration is required.

Dates: Thursday evenings, Oct. 7, 14, 21
Place: Netivot Shalom, Berkeley
Call to register at 510-845-6420 x11.

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Last week I talked about the things we will do for our children – essentially the power that our love for our children will teach us to do. On the other side of our lives are our parents. Parents too do more teaching than simply the words they speak – do your homework, don’t tease your sister, stand up straight, tell the truth, be respectful of your teachers. Parents demonstrate love, sacrifice, devotion. In doing so, we see how to be better people. We love and respect them; we hope to emulate them. In a healthy parent – adult child relationship each person understands the limits. The adult child must make their own decisions about child-rearing, religious observance, family balance. But after these decisions are made, and hopefully respected, we can have compassion for our parents sense of loss when our choices are not theirs. The grandchild who will not be raised in the same religion as the grandparent, the child who chooses to convert from their birth faith, the family that no longer spends certain holidays with the grandparents – these are painful and unexpected losses for our parents.

What can we do?
Remember to express love and respect.
“Mom, my love for you will never fade.”
“Dad, I hope to be a good a dad as you have been to me.”

Affirm what is good, sincere, decent, and honorable about your parents. Point out the things that they taught you and that you value.

“Grandma, I really and truly learned to stop and smell the roses from you. Remember when we walked past that big climbing rosebush in front of the hardware store and you said, smell this! I learned to value every bit of nature from you.”

Let them know that you carry a part of them in you. A hug, a kiss, a handwritten card, these all can ease a parent’s fear that they are losing you. In years to come you will be glad you took a moment to express your love.

EVENTS
Shabbat Unplugged (Oakland)
Evening Book Group (San Francisco)
Israeli Folk Dance (Palo Alto)
Fridays at the Midrahov (Street Fair) (Palo Alto)
Music Together (San Rafael)
Let’s go to the Movies: Saviors in the Night (Berkeley)

Shabbat Unplugged
These services will be accompanied by Rabbi’ Bloom’s guitar, a number of singers, and, occasionally, a few of the other instruments as well. Come prepared to sing and participate in a meaningful way. This service lasts approximately one hour and is held in the chapel. We will be outdoors in front of the chapel

Date: Friday, July 2
Time: 6:15pm
Place: Temple Beth Abraham, 327 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland
Info: (510) 832-0936
www.tbaoakland.org

Evening Book Group
Join the JCCSF Evening Book Group at any time, or drop in to discuss a book you enjoy. Contact Cecily Rogers at 292-1262 or email crogers@jccsf.org to join the mailing list or inquire about upcoming book selections.

July 20: A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick
August 17: Girl From Foreign, by Sadia Shepard
September 21: Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin

Dates: 3rd Tuesday of the month, July 20
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Place: San Francisco JCC, 3200 California St., San Francisco
Free
www.jccsf.org

Israeli Folk Dance
All ages and levels are invited to join in these fun and easy modern dances from Israel
Karina will introduce basic repertoire dances of different styles, and will show us some Israeli line dances.

Date: Thursday, July 22
Time: 6:30pm
Place: Jessica Lynn Saal Town Square, Palo Alto JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto
FREE
For more information contact Katie Chapin at 650-223-8622 or email her at kchapin@paloaltojcc.org

Fridays at the Midrahov (Street Fair)
Come out and enjoy an array of activities on the beautiful Saal Family Midrahov!
We’ve got falafel, pizza, and pastries, live music, the Israeli Scouts Caravan, an Israeli-style Kabbalat Shabbat and lots of artisans and vendors displaying and selling their wares such as Shakuf Design, Ceramics by Marcelle, Hartstring Jewelry and Studio 618.

Date: Friday, July 16
Time: 3 to 7pm
Place: ?
FREE
Contact Michelle Weintraub, 650-223-8692 or email michellew20@yahoo.com

Music Together
For children (birth – 5 years). A joyful musical experience for children with their parents or caregivers. Singing, dancing, and more.

Dates: Mondays, July 12 – August 16
Time: 10:30 – 11:15 am.
Place: Jewish Family & Children’s Services, A Parent’s Place, 600 Fifth Ave, San Rafael
Cost: $140 per child for six sessions; $93 per additional sibling. (Fees include a book and two CDs). Hurry! The class is filling fast.
Go here to register: http://www.parentsplaceonline.org/marin/classes/music-together-marin-birth-5-0
415-491-7959

Let’s go to the Movies: Saviors in the Night
Let’s go see “Saviors in the Night” at the SF Jewish Film Festival. Saviors is a true story about a German Catholic family who hid a Jewish family during the Holocaust.

Go online and buy your ticket at: www.sfjff.org

How about meeting at 5pm for a quick pizza around the corner from the theater? Email me if you want to join me for dinner before the film.

Date: August 7
Time: 7pm
Place: Roda Theater, Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison, Berkeley
Info: Contact me at 510-845-6420 x11 or email me at dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org

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The 2010 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is underway! Come with me to see Saviors in the Night. Saviors is a true story about a German Catholic family who hid a Jewish family during the Holocaust.

Go online and buy your ticket at: www.sfjff.org

As usual I’d like to get together for a dinner of pizza before the film around the corner from the theater. Email me if you want to join me for dinner before the film. We always have a great time chatting.

Date: August 7
Time: 7pm
Place: Roda Theater, Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison, Berkeley
Info: Contact me at 510-845-6420 x11 or email me at dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org

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So often we will do for our children things we don’t make the effort to do for ourselves, no matter how valuable. Recently I read a string of emails on the Berkeley Parents Network in response to a mother asking for help in building a community for her child. One mom replied that she has lived in the bay area 12 years and has made no ongoing friends since finishing college. She wisely says, “I think ideally community for children would extend naturally from a community that you join for reasons other than kids.”

Are you familiar with these stages of expectation?
As a new mom, won’t I meet & bond with other moms in a mom’s group?
At the preschool stage, surely here we’ll bond with other parents at the preschool.
Or school age, we’ll go to PTA meetings and make friends with the other parents.

But the years slip away and we may or may not make a circle of friends that form “a community.”

Community forms when people have a common goal, repeated interaction, and a commitment to be mutually sustaining. It takes time to bond. And it takes more, it takes that a common goal.

The advantage to being Jewish is that joining a JCC or a synagogue is not about your religious beliefs. You can believe or not in God, in the story of the bible, heaven, reincarnation, souls, global warming. To quote one rabbi, “Jews have one God… or fewer.” After that you’ll basically buying into the idea that people are better off together than apart.

A synagogue or JCC has the structure to sustain and nurture their existing community, you just get on board.

How? It still takes time and commitment because you are creating a relationship. You have to BE PRESENT – it could be attending Shabbat services, joining the Men’s baseball team, baking for the oneg (reception after services), singing in the choir, serving on a committee, taking a class. In the midst of these activities you will meet people, laugh, eat, sing, and develop a relationship. They will care for you because you care about them.

Summer is a great time to cruise the options. Call if you need help planning your exploration.

EVENTS
Saturday Night SplashDowns (Walnut Creek)
Wrestling with God: Homosexuality in Jewish Tradition (Berkeley)
Tot Shabbat (Redwood City)
Celebrate Pride at the LGBT Pride Parade (San Francisco)
First Friday Night Potluck & Shabbat Service (San Leandro)
Pool Party! (Walnut Creek)
The Outdoor Sanctuary (San Rafael)
Torah for Tots (Palo Alto)
Baby Shabbat (Palo Alto)
Kalman’s World: Celebrating Art of the Everyday (San Francisco)
Let’s go to the Movies: Saviors in the Night (Berkeley)

ONGOING
Saturday Night SplashDowns
At the JCC Aquatics Complex!
Saturdays are perfect for spending a day with the family! Why not join us at the JCC Aquatics Complex this summer? Bring a picnic dinner and enjoy a pool-side evening with your family and friends! We’ll provide the tables, chairs, and barbecue grill — you provide the rest (including the charcoal). Just let us know in advance and we’ll have the barbecue ready for you to use! Seating is first-come, first-served.

For more information e-mail aquatics@ccjcc.org, or call (925) 938-7800, ext. 229.
Contra Costa Jewish Community Center, 2071 Tice Valley Blvd. Walnut Creek
www.ccjcc.org

Wrestling with God: Homosexuality in Jewish Tradition
Scholar-in-Residence Shabbat with Rabbi Steven Greenberg
Rabbi Steven Greenberg is Director the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership Diversity Project. Steve is the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi and a founder of the Jerusalem Open House, the Holy City’s GLBT community center. He appeared in Trembling Before G-d, a documentary about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews and in 2001 joined the film maker, Sandi Simcha DuBowski in carrying the film across the globe as a tool for dialogue and community organization. In 2004 he finished a decade long project, a book entitled, Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition, which explores biblical, rabbinic, medieval and contemporary Jewish responses to same-sex relationships (University of Wisconsin Press.) In 2005 the book was awarded the Koret Jewish Book Award for Philosophy and Thought. Recently, Steve was in a new documentary on Christianity and Homosexuality entitled: For the Bible Tells Me So. He is also the scholar in residence for two cutting edge organizations, Hazon, a Jewish Environmental organization, and Keshet, an organization dedicated to GLBT inclusion in the larger Jewish community.

Date: June 25 & 26, 2010
Place: Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave., Berkeley
Check all the details for services and lectures on Netivot Shalom’s website, www.netivotshalom.org

Tot Shabbat
Supervised Shabbat-friendly play, indoors and outdoors (weather permitting), with a Tot Shabbat service starting at about 10:45 a.m. Tot Shabbat child care runs 9:00 a.m. thru the end of services, for ages 2.5 to 8. No prior registration or payment required.

Date: Saturday, June 26
Time: 9:00 am
Place: Congregation Beth Jacob, Redwood City, in the School Wing

Celebrate Pride at the LGBT Pride Parade
As is our tradition, Temple Sinai will have a contingent marching in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade. Exact information (time, location, contingent #) will be announced on in future emails and on our website (http://www.oaklandsinai.org). We will meet at approximately 10am in downtown San Francisco. The parade kicks off at Market & Beale Streets.

Date: Sunday, June 27
Place: San Francisco
Temple Sinai welcomes members and non-members to march with us.
Please contact the Temple Office at (510) 451-3263 if you have any additional questions.

First Friday Night Potluck & Shabbat Service
Join us for a fun dinner and service, kids are most welcome. The service begins at 6:30 p.m. It is a special child-friendly service.
For families whose last names begin with A-M, please bring fresh fruit, for about 6 people, especially watermelon! For families whose last names begin with N-Z, please bring PAREVE cake or cookies, for about 6 people – that means the dessert contains no dairy products.
Cost is $10 for adults, $5 for kids aged 6 to 13, kids under 5, free! Value can’t be beat. Have your money ready for collection so no work is involved.

Date: July 2
Time: Service begins at 6:30pm
Place: Temple Beth Sholom, 642 Dolores Ave., San Leandro
It is quite a fun event, so please RSVP today at 510.357.8505. Your reservation guarantees you a place at the table. Space is limited and this is a popular activity.

Pool Party!
Beth Chaim is having a pool part at the JCC! Bring towels, umbrellas, toys for the kids and yourself; to swim, eat and have loads of fun! Please RSVP by July 6 so that we can get a good count of attendees. We want you to come and have a good time! We want all congregants, friends and family!

Date: Sunday, July 11
Time: 1:00PM – 5pm
Place: Contra Costa JCC, 2071 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek
Info: Call 925-736-7146
Hosted by Beth Chaim, 1800 Holbrook Dr., Danville
www.bethchaim.com

The Outdoor Sanctuary
Shabbat in Nature
Does being in nature make you feel connected to something bigger? Come and celebrate Shabbat outdoors this summer at China Camp State Park. We will be there at 5:30 pm and services will begin at 6 pm. All you need to do is bring your blanket, some lawn chairs, a picnic dinner, your readiness to participate, and a dessert to share. We’ll bring the challah.

Directions: We will be picnicking and praying at China Camp Village, just down the road from Rodef Sholom (4.6 miles), on the upper grass meadow adjacent to the parking lot and above the water. There will be a small fee for parking.

Date: Friday, July 16, Aug. 20
Time: 6pm
Place: China Camp State Park
Sponsored by Congregation Rodef Sholom, 170 North San Pedro Rd., San Rafael
For more information call the synagogue at 415- 479-3447
www.rodefsholom.org

Torah for Tots
Join us for a service and a small, kid-friendly kiddush (reception) in Room 5/6. Guests are always welcome… feel free to drop by!
We hope to see families with children ages 2 to 5 years old.

Dates: Saturdays, July 17 & 24, Aug 14 & 21
Time: 11:15am to noon
Place: Kol Emeth, 4175 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto
www.kolemeth.org

Baby Shabbat
Please join us for singing and movement for little ones in a joyful Jewish context. Take a break from the courtyard and spend some time with your little ones and their friends. For babies (birth – 24 months) and their parents. (Please bring a small blanket for your child to sit on.) Followed by kiddush and parent schmooze with our Rabbis.

Dates: Saturdays, July 17 & Aug. 15
Time: 12:10 – 12:40pm during Shabbat Kiddush, in Room 5
Place: Kol Emeth, 4175 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto
For more information, contact Kara at littleones@kolemeth.org.

Kalman’s World: Celebrating Art of the Everyday
For Families
Bring the whole family to this free day at the CJM centered around the exhibition Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World).
Tour the Museum, including Maira Kalman
Design your own Kalman-inspired totes and handmade buttons
Enjoy the everyday genius of “Yes Sweet Can,” in a performance by San Francisco’s Sweet Can Productions, featuring dancing brooms, balancing teacups, and stairways to the sky!

Date: Sunday, July 18
Time: looks like it’s 11am to 4pm
Place: Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St., San Francisco
Free
For more information email info@thecjm.org

Let’s go to the Movies: Saviors in the Night
Hey everyone! Let’s go see “Saviors in the Night” at the SF Jewish Film Festival. Saviors is a true story about a German Catholic family who hid a Jewish family during the Holocaust.
Go online and buy your ticket at: www.sfjff.org
How about meeting at 5pm for a quick pizza around the corner from the theater? Email me if you want to join me for dinner before the film.

Date: August 7
Time: 7pm
Place: Roda Theater, Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison, Berkeley
Info: Contact me at 510-845-6420 x11 or email me at dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org

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Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads – Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Lutheran, Atheist, Pagan, whatever and whoever you are! I rejoice that I get to be on this journey with you — as you make your relationship strong, articulate the core values you want to teach your children, give back to the world around you. I am proud to know you.

I hope you get a bit of pampering and a lot of love this Sunday.

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A volunteer for the Jewish Literacy Coalition reads with a young boy

Finding Meaning in Life
If you asked the proverbial Man on the Street, where can you go to find Jews? The most common answer would be, a synagogue. But statistically you’d be better off going to a food pantry or a homeless shelter. The reason for that is that more Jews volunteer than join synagogues. Whether a Jew self defines as religious or spiritual, secular or just Jewish, they are highly likely to define their Judaism in terms of actions. Those actions are usually about repairing the world.

How do you define your Jewishness?
Does it include actions like feeding the hungry, collecting coats for the homeless, reading to kids in underperforming schools and donating to save an endangered species? I won’t lose any money when I say, I bet it does.

And what of the non-Jewish partners? Do-gooders stick together. I’ve noticed that the Christians, atheists, Buddhists and Hindus who come through my office are teachers, civil rights attorneys, nurses, and social workers by profession — and volunteers by inclination. All of you regularly impress me with your good works.

Here is one of those universal meeting places for interfaith couples and families – go out and do good things together. You may not be able to agree just yet on how you’re going to handle the December holidays, but you can agree that an afternoon making sandwiches at a feeding site makes you feel good.

A young couple I know has gotten involved in fighting human trafficking. They came through a Building Jewish Bridges class, went on to join a synagogue. When they decided to fight slavery they had a community willing to support them. Their congregation, Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, is hosting an event they are working on. When you ask yourself, why join a synagogue, one answer is, because they will help you change the world.

Here is Carly and Matt’s program. Read on below to see other ways to participate in Jewish venues for Tikkun Olam, Repairing the World.

Human Trafficking: Global. Local. Stoppable.
From distant quarries to nearby restaurants, seedy massage parlors to sprawling plantations, the great evil of slavery is alive and well in our world. According to experts in the field, there are about 27 million slaves today.
Join Netivot Shalom as they host a night with Free is a Verb co-founders Nate and Laura Davis and several Bay Area organizations devoted to eradicating modern-day slavery. The Davises are soon to embark on a year-long visit to the Philippines in an effort to fight human trafficking, but there are many ways you can help locally. This event will include a description of the Davises’ work for the coming year, plus information from various Bay Area organizations committed to fighting human trafficking. Please join us for a night of light refreshments and loads of information.

Date: June 17
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Netivot Shalom Social Hall, 1316 University Ave., Berkeley
Admission is free. Contributions are appreciated
More information at freeisaverb.org

Bayview Connect
Almost a quarter of the population in the Bayview neighborhood is living below the national poverty level. Bayview has the 2nd highest number of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. Bayview is also home to many youth who are in the foster care system. Foster care youth are at high risk of becoming homeless; 50% who age out of foster care experience homelessness within the first two years.

This is the 3rd year bringing Project Homeless Connect to the Bayview. Come join in collaboration with Honoring Emancipated Youth, United Council for Human Services, Bayview Hunters Point Foundation and hundreds of others to help bring services to this community!

Date: June 11
Time: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
We need your help.To volunteer visit- http://www.projecthomelessconnect.com/volunteer/

HaMotzi
We prepare and deliver nutritious meals to homeless shelters every Sunday.

Next Sunday will be June 13
Newman Kitchen at Sherith Israel, 2266 California St., San Francisco
www.sherithisrael.org

Volunteer Right In Your Own Workplace
Inspire a Middle School Student in Their Dream Job!
Congregation Emanu-El partners with Spark, which matches students with one-on-one apprenticeships in professions of their choice at local workplaces, and complements this with a rigorous leadership development curriculum. What is required? Take on a middle-school Apprentice who dreams of working in your profession and help them to re-engage in their education as they learn about their dream career! Students come to you for their apprenticeship, getting real-world, hands-on experience in your field. Recruiting For the Summer Session Now!

Jun. 17 – July 22, 2 x each week for ONLY 6 weeks in the early afternoon. Scheduling is flexible (Spark will work around your vacation)!

Contact Spark at volunteer@sparkprogram.org or (415) 626-5470 x111 with questions or to sign up! Spark Volunteers receive comprehensive training and support, free marketing on Spark’s website, and many opportunities to network with other Spark apprentice teachers.

Jewish Volunteer Day at St. Anthony’s Foundation
Join the Jewish community in a day of service and solidarity with the St. Anthony’s Foundation. Volunteers will begin with a discussion on St. Anthony’s advocacy efforts on behalf of San Francisco’s homeless and poor, after which they will offer hands-on service to St. Anthony’s clients. The day is a tailor-made experience created to educate and inspire and is offered exclusively to volunteers of Jewish Community Volunteer Day.

Thursday, June 17
9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Hosted by Jewish Community Relations Council

http://www.jcrc.org/commout_ccevents.htm

Caring Community Seeks New Volunteers
We need volunteers to join the ranks of the Caring Community. We are expanding our program of visiting homebound seniors beyond The Jewish Home. If you would like to spend a few minutes a month visiting a senior, please let us know.

You can also help by writing notes or calling bereaved families, visiting congregants who are recovering from illness or surgery or delivering a gift to families with new babies. Our Shabbat Dinner Chefs work in teams of two or three to prepare meals for families in times of need. Please contact the Caring Community by calling the temple or speaking with one of our volunteers.

If you are interested, please leave a message at (415) 751-2541, x116.
Emanu-el, 2 Lake St., San Francisco

Jewish Coalition for Literacy Trainings
JCL recruits, trains, places, and supports tutors in public elementary schools and after-school programs throughout the Bay Area.

Date: Tuesday, June 15
Time: 5:45 – 9:00 pm
Place: 131 Steuart St. #201 San Francisco (JUMA office)
For other Bay Area locations and to register, please visit www.jclread.org

East Bay Training:
Sunday June 13, 10 to 12:30
Jewish Federation, 300 Grand, Oakland
You must register at www.jclread.org

Temple Sinai in Oakland throws a birthday party once a month for the residents of Ursula Sherman Homeless Shelter.

http://oaklandsinai.org/community/social_action.php?page=19106

What about giving money? Read Rabbi Janet Marder’s thoughts on Giving:

http://www.betham.org/builder/?p=11814#more-11814

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