Blog

Summer Camp, Refugee Shabbat and more Events!

You may be thinking, it’s still ONLY JANUARY! Who the heck is thinking about summer camp for kids? The camps are! So they are sharing information about their programs. There are many sleep-away camps but there are also the synagogue camps right there in town. Read more about it here and then go call Maytal. Thinking ahead…

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Shir Joy Shabbat Service

(The Shir Joy musicians) Another in-person and online opportunity to celebrate Shabbat! Join B’nai Tikvah of Walnut Creek for a musical service. This unique service, Shir Joy, occurs the third Friday of every week. —– Tonight’s service (January 20) is sponsored by the Membership Committee to welcome our new members and families who have joined…

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Is Friday the 13th bad luck in Jewish tradition?

The short answer is a resounding NO. You might even say 13 is an auspicious number in Judaism. Gematria is the Jewish practice of assigning a numeric value to each letter in the alphabet. Through this method a word gains numbers and vis versa. For 13 you get the Hebrew word for “one” אחד. In…

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Antisemitism around us

There was a good article in the San Francisco Chronicle about the surge in antisemitism in the Bay Area titled, Even in Bay Area, Jewish residents face ‘drumbeat’ of antisemitism. But you can only read it if you are a subscriber. You can, however, read many articles about the issues on the website of the…

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If YOU ask me, I’ll try to make it happen

If a member of my email list asks me to share an event I will do everything I can to do so. Here are a couple of additions that you may be able to attend. First, a lovely woman with a fascinating story is deeply involved in her Danville synagogue, Beth Chaim. She emailed me that there…

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Hanukkah Around the Bay 2022

(Menorahs burning photo from Beth Emek) You may be doing Hanukkah from home, or you may be ready to venture out. I’ve got both options for you below. I had a wonderful chat with the receptionist at Rodef Sholom today. I’ve referred a couple to her shul and I wanted to verify the date of…

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