Rabbi Milder of Beth Emek in Pleasanton sent out an email to his congregation last Friday reminding them of the importance of food – as a gesture of hospitality, as a social mixer, as a gesture of caring. Here’s what he had to say: Shabbat services don’t feel complete without Oneg Shabbat. It’s like dinner…
Read More »A meaningful life
Cantor Jennie Chabon on Learning from Strangers
I love this article by Cantor Chabon of B’nai Tikvah in Walnut Creek. Have you ever heard of ‘lamed vavniks’? No? Read on. A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I took our boys on a family trip to Portland for a few days. We rarely have free weekends to travel together because of Shabbat,…
Read More »Marriage Equality is about Civil Marriages & it’s HERE!
What great timing! Last night I received the last email from my list of San Francisco bay area non-Orthodox rabbis replying to my question, “Do you officiate at same sex weddings for two Jews?” It was my belief that they all did. But I was challenged by a colleague who said that just wasn’t true….
Read More »No one really ‘has’ a Bar Mitzvah; No one ‘gets’ Bat Mitzvahed
It is common in Jewish parlance to say that someone is “having” or “getting” a bar mitzvah. But it doesn’t really work that way. I love Rabbi Milder’s article on this topic. He covers it while talking about celebrating bar/bat mitzvah as adults. Here’s what he has to say. Let’s talk about Bar/Bat Mitzvah. No…
Read More »Jewish Summer Camp
Here comes summer! I asked Liora, the Youth and Family Concierge for the East Bay Federation to share some thoughts about Jewish Summer Camp. I did so because she has a marvelous spreadsheet of summer camp options and I want you to feel welcome to give them a try. Here’s what she has to say…
Read More »Pride Month: JUNE
I’m not going to pretend that LGBTQ folks are our primary audience just because it’s Pride Month. BUT LGBTQ folks do show up at many programs we offer. Why? Because 11% of the US population identifies as LGBTQ and 2% identifies as Jewish. So if you’re gay and Jewish the chances of finding another gay…
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