Dear Life, Slow down!
The High Holidays followed quickly by Sukkot and Simchat Torah always make me a little crazed. MASSIVE CELEBRATIONS! My synagogue’s sukkah went up the day after Yom Kippur and the next day mine went up. One of the nice things about Sukkot is that it lasts 8 days (here in the USA). So if you miss the first night, just celebrate another night.
A REMINDER: The J-weekly’s list of Where to Celebrate Sukkot and Simchat Torah in the Bay Area
My next class is online/Zoom and will be November 12. The subject is What Makes a Home “Jewish”? I hope you’ll join me.
EVENTS
Tot Sukkot (Pleasanton)
Gan Katan (Lafayette)
Sukkot Street Festival Celebration (San Francisco)
What REALLY Happened on Simchat Beit Hasho’eva (Online)
Erev Shabbat Simchat Torah: Pizza Dinner (San Jose)
Erev Simchat Torah Service (Lafayette)
Simchat Torah (San Leandro)
Ecstatic Jewish Dance Group (San Rafael)
Judaism and Democracy: A love story (San Leandro)
Sherith Littles Tot Shabbat (San Francisco)
What Makes a Home “Jewish”? (On Zoom)
Tot Sukkot
Enjoy the CBE sukkah with friends! We will be celebrating sukkot by learning about the holiday and eating lunch with friends. Advance registration is requested but not required. This program is made possible through a grant from the Contra Costa Jewish Community Center.
Date: Saturday, October 19
Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm
Place: Beth Emek, 3400 Nevada Ct, Pleasanton
https://www.bethemek.org/
Register here
Gan Katan
Gan Katan (Little Garden) is a monthly Jewish playgroup for parents with their babies and toddlers ages 0 through 18 months who are looking to engage in Jewish community and early learning. It includes free play time, activities, singing, and learning related to infants and toddlers. It is for anyone raising Jewish children (including couples with one Jewish parent and one non-Jewish parent).
Date: Sunday, October 20
Time: 11:30am to 12:30pm
Place: Temple Isaiah, 945 Risa Rd., Lafayette, in the Adult Lounge
Register here to let us know you’re coming!
Contact Joy Plummer, Assistant Director of Engagement, at joyp@temple-isaiah.org for more information.
Sukkot Street Festival Celebration
Join us for a fun Sukkot Street Festival!
Street will be closed off for the event!
– LIVE Music
– Children Activities
– Fire Juggler
– Barbeque
– Soups and Desserts
– Moon Bounce
– Rock Climbing
– Balloon Art
– Lulav and Etrog
– Sukkah on Site
Timeline:
4:30PM – Food and Children’s Activities
6:30PM – Fire Juggling Show
6:45 PM – Live Music & Dancing
Hope to see you all there!
Date: Sunday, October 20
Time: 4:30 to 8pm
Place: 10th Ave and Geary Blvd, San Francisco (The street will be closed for the event)
Hosted by Chabad of Cole Valley and others https://www.chabadcv.org/
What REALLY Happened on Simchat Beit Hasho’eva
Simchat Beit Hasho’eva (“The Rejoicing at the Place of Water-Drawing”) takes place during Sukkot. The Talmud says: “He who has not seen the rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing has never seen rejoicing in his life.” This “Water Holiday” brought thousands to the Temple courtyard for a water libation ritual followed by music and dance, burning-torch tossing, handstands, feasting, and a bit of mayhem as men and women mingled.
Prof. Daniel Boyarin will offer his original interpretation of the Talmudic text.
Date: October 22
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Place: on Zoom
Free, but you must register
Offered by New Lehrhaus https://newlehrhaus.org/
(I’ve always been fascinated by this ritual! I looked on YouTube to see how it is done now.)
Erev Shabbat Simchat Torah: Pizza Dinner
Come to our Family Service as we wrap up the High Holy Days! You are invited to join us for a free pizza dinner in the Sukkah, followed by the unrolling of the entire Torah, as we welcome in our new Religious School students.
Date: Wed., Oct. 23
Time: 5:30pm
Place: Temple Emanu-El, 1010 University Ave, San Jose
Register for dinner here
Erev Simchat Torah Service
Come sing and dance with the Torah scroll as we celebrate restarting our cycle of Torah readings. All ages come together to celebrate this fun and important holiday on Shabbat!
Date: Wednesday, October 23
Time: 6:30pm
Place: Temple Isaiah, 945 Risa Rd, Lafayette and on YouTube
Click here to watch the YouTube Livestream.
Simchat Torah
Which Jewish holiday has the most singing, dancing, and reverie? If you guessed Simchat Torah, you’d be right. You’re invited to cut the rug, get down, sing loudly, and just generally have a good time with the Torah scrolls and with our TBS community. Cantor Linda and Rabbi Josh will be joined by special musical guests Achi Ben Shalom and Asaf Ofir. Dinner will be provided, come on down!
Date: Thursday, October 24
Time: 5:30 – 8:30pm
Place: Temple Beth Sholom, 642 Dolores St., San Leandro
Register here
Ecstatic Jewish Dance Group
Join us for a wild & joyful gathering of movement, where we’ll dance our hearts out & experience the bliss of embodied & ecstatic movement. Come join us for a monthly Jewish embodied dance group, the last Monday of the month! Get ready to let loose, connect with your inner self, and dance like nobody’s watching. This in-person event is perfect for all levels of dance enthusiasts, from beginners to experienced movers and shakers. This is not a follow along class, this is a space to feel free and tap into your body’s movements.
Date: Monday, October 28
Time: 3:30 to 5pm
Place: Osher Marin JCC, 200 North San Pedro Road San Rafael
Cost: $13.65
Register here
Judaism and Democracy: A love story
From our foundations in Torah to today, Jews and Judaism have long had an allergy to kings and empires and an affinity for democracy. We’ll explore Jewish teachings that can inspire our engagement with the democratic process. This class is great for those who have never learned Jewish sources before and those who are very experienced.
Date: Wednesday, October 30
Time: 7:30-8:45pm
Place: Temple Beth Sholom, 642 Dolores Ave, San Leandro
Class will be in the Little Shul (Please enter through the back gate in the parking lot off Juana Ave. Ring the white bell to the left of the gate.)
RSVP: Please email me to RSVP — rabbi@tbssanleandro.org
www.tbssanleandro.com
Sherith Littles Tot Shabbat
Celebrate the joy of Shabbat at our monthly Sherith Littles Tot Shabbat.
Join us as we welcome in Shabbat by lighting candles, eating yummy Challah, playing games, singing with Melita and Rabbi George, enjoying a pizza dinner, and building community with other families with young children. Please RSVP online.
Date: Friday, November 1
Time: 5 pm
Place: Sherith Israel, 2266 California St., San Francisco
RSVP here
What Makes a Home “Jewish”?
A Jew may ask their spouse to agree to have a “Jewish” home. But what does that mean?
To a non-Jewish loved one it may simply mean that some of the people in the house say they are Jews. But our partners deserve a more in-depth answer. One Jew may say, a Jewish home has Jewish ritual objects – a menorah, Shabbos candlesticks, a ketubah on the wall. Another may add, but you need to do Jewish things in a Jewish home like observe Shabbat weekly or build a sukkah on Sukkot or recite the Shema before bedtime. Yet another will say we must act like Jews, give tzadakah, attend synagogue, and refrain from eating pork.
Each Jewish partner will have their own ideas about what they need in order to feel that their home is “Jewish.” Or, they may have no clear idea at all! Every non-Jewish spouse deserves a clear statement as to what they are signing up for.
Join other curious couples for an enlightening discussion and develop your own individualized plan.
Date: November 12
Time: 7 to 8pm
Place: On Zoom
Free, email me at dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org for the Zoom link.