I have a friend who plays the organ at an East Bay church and the piano at an East Bay synagogue. He marveled at how quickly the synagogue jumped into cyberspace. His church is still struggling with their website. Over the centuries Jews have learned to act fast. Make it work. There’s the joke that…
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(Image is of Temple Isaiah in Lafayette in their outdoor sanctuary in 2016. They currently have NO PLANS to have services here or in their building. You may join them online.) Can we have Jewish religious services out of doors? Several local synagogues have been using Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal’s Jewish values statement to guide their…
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(Image: Services at Beth Am) With COVID-19 impacting the entire world synagogues have moved rapidly to online services where ever possible. Orthodox congregations are not allowed to use electricity on the Sabbath. You can get on the email list for those synagogues and they will email members, and you, when they have programming available. They…
Read More »For those of us in the liberal bubble of the bay area we may need to put some extra energy into Pride this year. We may be feeling downtrodden and helpless. If you are wondering, what can I do?, read this empowering and succinct post from Rabbi Ruth Adar, the Coffee Shop Rabbi. If you…
Read More »Here’s autumn! Time to consider what we want to do in the upcoming Jewish year of 5777. Here are all the workshops and classes scheduled from Building Jewish Bridges. I hope you’ll find something you like. As always, feel free to email me (dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org) if you have a topic that you’d like to see offered….
Read More »I’ve often told you to look for musical services, outdoor services, and that sort of twist on a regular synagogue service to expand your own idea of what Jewish prayer can be like and to give your non-Jewish family members another way to access Jewish liturgy. Mizmor Shir is a good example of a Musical…
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