Events
We look forward to seeing you!
Celebrate the Jewish New Year in a Way That's Right for You!
Whether you want to attend a service, or an open New Year's celebration, Jewish Gateways will help you find what you're looking for.
The New Year begins Sept. 29, 2008.
Thinking of going to a service, but not sure where? Want to find holiday services where non-members are welcome? Jewish Gateways can help.
When: Rosh Hashanah (New Year) begins the evening of Mon., Sept. 29.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) begins the evening of Wed., Oct. 8.
Where: A variety of locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
How: Contact Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8140 or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org as early as possible and tell her what you’re looking for!
Like the Passover Seder, there's a traditional New Year Seder. Share a festive meal, with participatory learning and song.
When: 6 pm on Sun., Sept. 28 OR 6 pm on Mon., Sept. 29 (pick one)
Where: Jewish Gateways' cozy home, near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station just north of Berkeley
How: Space is limited, so RSVP is required, and early RSVP is recommended. Childcare is available free by reservation. Contact Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8140 or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org for info and to RSVP.
On Yom Kippur, Jewish tradition invites us to reflect. Where are our lives going? How are we spending our precious time? Do we need to shift direction in order to live as our best selves? We also take time to remember those we have lost, and to consider how we might honor their memory. We will explore these questions through learning, discussion, song, and time for introspection.
When: 12-3 pm, Th., Oct. 9
Where: Jewish Gateways' cozy home, near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station just north of Berkeley
How: Space is limited, so RSVP is required, and early RSVP is recommended. Childcare is available free by reservation. Contact Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8140 or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org for info and to RSVP.
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A Jewish Holiday That's Like Decorating a Christmas Tree?
Yes. Ornaments hanging from branches,
... fragrant leaves,
... sparkly lights
-- it's... Sukkot!
All are welcome.
Sukkot marks the fall harvest, and commemorates our ancestors dwelling in makeshift booths as they wandered 40 years in the desert. The tradition is to build a hut outdoors called a sukkah. We decorate it with ornaments, paper chains, gourds, strings of lights, fabric, branches, and whatever else you can think of.
It's traditional to eat in the sukkah, and even to sleep in it!
You're invited to join us in our Sukkah for dinner. We'll begin our meal there, then go inside to finish before we get too cold.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion about this fun and often-overlooked holiday
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Why Do Jews Pray?
Does prayer really "work"?
How do we know if God hears our prayers?
What is it alright to pray for?
Date: Friday, November 14, 2008
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive introduction to Jewish mysticism
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Jewish Events For Very Young Children and Their Grown-ups
Open to all children 0-5 years
... and the grown-ups who love them,
whether you’re Jewish or just curious.
When: Saturday, October 18, 10:30 AM-noon
Where: Jewish Gateways' cozy home, near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station just north of Berkeley
How: Contact Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8140 or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org for info and to RSVP.
When: Sunday, November 23, 10:30 AM-noon
Where: Jewish Gateways' cozy home, near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station just north of Berkeley
How: Contact Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8140 or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org for info and to RSVP.
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Past Events
How Can Jews Who Don't Believe in Bible Stories Still Believe in God?
Maybe God didn't really part the Red Sea . . . or save Noah and his Ark
. . . does that mean there is no God Jews can believe in?
Join us to explore these questions Friday, September 12.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on whether belief in the God of the Bible is necessary for Jewish faith in God
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
What is Jewish Mysticism?
Is spirituality a basic part of Judaism?
How about...
... Kabbalah,
... meditation,
... or finding God within?
Join us to explore these questions Friday, August 8.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive introduction to Jewish mysticism
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited, so RSVP is required.
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Is Being Jewish a Birthright?
If you're "born Jewish," are you automatically a Jew?
Who's considered to be born Jewish, and who is not?
Can you choose to be a Jew?
Join us to explore these questions Friday, July 25.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on what it means to have a Jewish birthright -- or not -- and whether you can choose to be a Jew
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
What is the Jewish Bible?
Have you ever wondered?
Is it the Old Testament? The Torah? The Christian Bible? And who decided what is in it?
Join us to explore these questions Friday, July 11.
We will share a delicious, no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on what's in the Jewish Bible, what it is called, and how and by whom it was put together
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Heretical Jews: What Can We Learn From Them?
Think your Jewish beliefs might be heretical? Throughout history, mainstream Judaism has shunned, and later embraced, some of the most brilliant and creative Jewish thinkers.
Join us Friday, June 27 to learn from their ideas, and perhaps share some of your own.
We will enjoy a delicious, no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on Jewish heretics, their stereotype-shattering ideas, and how we can learn from their experiences and teachings
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Who Wrote the Torah?
Was it God? People? Does it make a difference?
If people were involved, who were they?
Join us to explore these questions Friday, June 13.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on what tradition and history have to say about how wrote the Torah -- and why this does or doesn't matter to us
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Does Jewish Tradition Require Us to Forgive?
"Forgive and forget," the saying goes -- but is it always wrong to hold a grudge?
What wrongs -- if any -- are truly unforgivable?
Join us to explore these questions Friday, May 23.
We will share a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on Jewish teachings on forgiveness, and how we might -- or might not -- apply them to our lives
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Arguing with God: It's Basic to Jewish Tradition!
Jews have struggled with God for thousands of years...
... about justice -- and injustice
... about suffering
... and faith
... and all life's big questions.
Join us Friday, May 9 to explore this history and offer some arguments of our own.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on arguing with God, and how it is basic to Jewish tradition
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more information, and to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Why Don't Jews Believe in Jesus?
According to Jewish tradition he is not the messiah.
Why did Judaism and Christianity part ways on this issue?
Join us to explore these questions on Friday, April 25.
We will share a delicious, no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on why Jewish tradition does not see Jesus as the messiah
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited, so RSVP is required. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
More than Four Questions: A Seder for those seeking connection to Jewish life
Are you seeking connections to Jewish life and community?
Do you want to explore Jewish identity in an open environment?
Then this Passover Seder is for YOU!
- tell the Passover story,
- carry out the rituals, and
- enjoy the seder meal.
No experience necessary!
Date: Sunday, April 20, 2008
Time: 5:45 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
Cost: potluck or donation
Space is limited, so RSVP is required.
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $10 toward the dinner.
Want a TASTE OF FREEDOM?
Jewish Gateways invites you to join us April 11 for pre-Passover tasting & teaching
Passover starts April 19. In preparation, we want to offer you various tastes of freedom!
All are welcome.
Join us for this delicious, no-experience necessary Shabbat dinner that will include laughter and learning. We'll try different versions of favorite Passover foods and explore their meanings.
Date: Friday, April 11, 2008
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
You'll go home with recipes and handouts so you can enjoy your favorite foods and teachings later on.
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner, during which we'll explore the meanings of Passover foods in lively and interactive discussions with Rabbi Bridget
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited, so RSVP is required.
Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Looking for a Passover Seder? Rabbi Bridget welcomes your call or email and will be glad to help you find the best match.
Did Judaism Invent the Internet?
Are virtual conversations across space and time something new?
Or did Judaism begin a version of the worldwide web thousands of years ago?
We will share a delicious, no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn.
All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on ways we might see Jewish tradition as a paradigm for the internet
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
The Hidden Self: Who Are We Behind our Masks?
Each of us has aspects of our selves we hide, from others, even from ourselves.
On the Jewish holiday of Purim it is traditional to reveal the hidden, to look beneath the masks.
Join us to reflect on our hidden selves, and make masks that reveal the parts we'd like to bring to light!
We'll gather Friday, March 14, for a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, plus learning, laughter, and mask-making.
All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on the self behind the mask, and we will each make our own mask that reveals whatever we choose to bring to light
8:30 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Belief & the Ballot: Do Jewish Values Affect Your Decisions in this Election Year?
What Jewish values are most important to you?
Do they help shape your decisions about who and what you support in this election year?
Should they?
Join us to explore these questions on Friday, February 8.
We will share a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on basic Jewish values and how they may -- or may not --relate to our election-year decisions
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Jewish American, or American Jew?
Which are you, or would you like to be? Do you have to make a choice?
A PBS TV documentary series, "The Jewish Americans," is now exploring "the struggle between being an American and . . . trying to preserve some part of your heritage or your religion," as one of its producers says. You can watch on Wednesdays Jan. 9, 16, 23 at 9 PM. Whether you see it or not, come discuss how these issues affect you.
Explore these questions, and a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, on Friday, January 25.
Come eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on being an American Jew or Jewish American
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Not to Worry?! The Jewish Tradition of Worry, When it Helps, and When it Doesn't
Do you have what's been called the Jewish "genius for worry"? (It doesn't require being Jewish!)
Why is Jewish culture known for worry and angst?
Is there a positive use for Jewish worry?
If you want to explore these questions, then Friday, January 11, 2008, is for YOU!
Join us to share a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead a lively interactive teaching on Jewish worry
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
My Grandmother's Suitcase: A Family Memoir
Before Jim Van Buskirk's mother turned 80, she told him a secret: "You are Jewish." She then showed him the contents of his grandmother's suitcase, filled with photographs, letters, and documents. Not long before this, Jim had published an essay exploring his mysterious, lifelong attraction to Judaism. He continues to look for answers to his family's history -- and his identity -- by researching his genealogy, talking to previously unknown relatives, and re-examining the contents of his grandmother's suitcase.
Join us Friday, Dec. 14, for a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, and Jim Van Buskirk's illustrated talk about his ongoing discovery of his history and identity.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: Available by reservation
Space is limited, so early RSVP is recommended
We gather at 6:15, and then continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Jim Van Buskirk presents "My Grandmother's Suitcase: A Family Memoir"
8:15 - Dessert
Contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to RSVP and get directions and your food assignment for our potluck dinner. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 towards the dinner instead.
Are There Limits to What Jews Can Believe?
Want to be a practicing Jew -- even though you don't believe in Bible stories?
Want to celebrate Jewish holidays spiritually -- but without believing in a supernatural power?
Then this evening, Friday, Nov. 30, is for YOU!
Join us to share a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Our special guest, Rabbi Jay Heyman of Kol Hadash Community for Humanistic Judaism, leads a lively, interactive teaching on what it means to be a Jewish humanist
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Sponsored by Tri-Valley Cultural Jews, Kol Hadash Community for Humanistic Judaism, and Jewish Gateways.
Ten Questions for Rabbi Bridget
What have you always wanted to ask a rabbi?
What do you "not get" about Judaism and Jewish life?
Rabbi Bridget will answer the first ten questions submitted!
Join us Friday, Nov. 23 for dinner and the answers --
Come eat, laugh, and learn at our no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner.
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Childcare: available by reservation
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Lively, interactive discussion with Rabbi Bridget, as she answers your ten questions
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, with your question and your RSVP, and get directions and your food assignment for our potluck Shabbat dinner. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
That's Funny, You Don't Look Jewish - Who's a Jew and Why
Join us Friday, Nov 9 for Shabbat dinner and conversation.
Our topic... That's Funny, You Don't Look Jewish - Who's a Jew and Why
We'll eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, Nov 9, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Lively, interactive discussion with Rabbi Bridget, exploring the amazing diversity of "who is a Jew"
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment for our potluck Shabbat dinner. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner instead.
I'm Jewish But Not Religious - What Does it Mean to be a Cultural Jew?
Looking for a way to be culturally Jewish? Want to connect with Jewish values, history and ethics? Then this evening, Friday, Nov. 2, is for YOU!
Our topic... I'm Jewish But Not Religious - What Does it Mean to be a Cultural Jew?
Join us to share Shabbat dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, Nov. 2, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Judith Seid leads a lively, interactive teaching on what it means to be a cultural Jew
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Co-sponsored by Tri-Valley Cultural Jews, the Northern California Community for Humanistic Judaism, and Jewish Gateways.
Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Jewish Ghost Stories for "Challah-ween"
Want to explore Jewish identity? Would you enjoy a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner? Then this evening, Friday, Oct 26, is for YOU!
Our topic . . . JEWISH GHOST STORIES for "Challah-ween"
Dybbuks, golems . . . get ready for some fun Jewish spookiness!
Join us to share a potluck dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, Oct 26, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget shares Jewish ghost stories in an lively, interactive format
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Jewish Ambivalence - What's It All About?
Want to explore Jewish identity? Would you enjoy a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner? Then this evening, Friday, Oct 12, is for YOU!
Our topic: JEWISH AMBIVALENCE - WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
Why are so many Jews ambivalent about being Jewish? There are lots of good reasons. Let's explore this together!
Join us to share a potluck dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, Oct 12, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion on Jewish Ambivalence - What's it All About?
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
A Jewish Holiday That's Like Decorating a Christmas Tree?
Yes. Ornaments hanging from branches, fragrant leaves, sparkly lights -- it's... Sukkot!
Sukkot celebrates the fall harvest, and commemorates our ancestors dwelling in makeshift booths as they wandered 40 years in the desert. The tradition is to build a structure, sort of a hut, in the backyard, called a sukkah. We decorate it with hanging ornaments, paper chains, gourds, strings of lights, fabric, corn stalks, and whatever else you can think of.
It's traditional to eat in the sukkah, and even to sleep in it!
You're invited to join us in our Sukkah, and for Shabbat dinner. We'll enjoy the beginning of our meal in the Sukkah, then go inside to finish before it gets too cold outside. We hope you can join us, and feel free to share this invitation with others who might enjoy our Sukkot celebration.
Join us to share a potluck dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, Sept 28, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion about this fun and often-overlooked holiday
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Re-jew-ve-nate!
[ri-joo-vuh-neyt]
-- verb
1: to celebrate the Jewish New Year as you choose.
Thinking of going to a service, but not sure where? Want to find holiday services where non-members are welcome? Jewish Gateways can help.
...to gatherings in a homey atmosphere at Jewish Gateways. Celebrate the New Year with food and song at a High Holiday “Seder in September.” Reflect on where your life is going, and honor those you’ve lost, at a Yom Kippur Return/Reflect/Remember gathering.
Explore one or more of these options . . .
When: Rosh Hashanah (New Year) begins the evening of Wed., Sept. 12. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) begins the evening of Fri., Sept. 21.
Where: A variety of locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
How: Contact Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8140 or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org as early as possible and tell me what you’re looking for!
Like the Passover Seder, there's a traditional Rosh Hashanah (new year) Seder. Share a festive meal, with participatory learning and singing. Reflect together on the year now ending and our hopes for the new one.
When: 6 pm on Wed., Sept. 12 OR Thurs., Sept. 13 (pick one)
Where: Jewish Gateways, near El Cerrito Plaza BART, just north of Berkeley
How: Space is limited, so RSVP is required, and early RSVP is recommended. Contact Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8140 or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org for info and to RSVP. We'll ask you to bring a potluck dish to share. If your schedule doesn't allow this, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
On Yom Kippur, Jewish tradition invites us to step back and reflect. Where are our lives are going? How are we spending our precious time? Do we need to shift direction in order to live as our highest and best selves? We also take time to remember those we have lost, and to consider how we might best honor their memory. We will explore these questions through learning, discussion, song, and time for introspection.
When: 12-3 pm, Sat., Sept. 22
Where: Jewish Gateways, near El Cerrito Plaza BART, just north of Berkeley
How: Space is limited, so RSVP is required, and early RSVP is recommended. Contact Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8140 or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org for info and to RSVP. No charge.
Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Is "Sin" a Jewish Concept?
Want to explore Jewish identity? Would you enjoy a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner? Then this evening, Friday, Aug 10, is for YOU!
Our topic: IS "SIN" A JEWISH CONCEPT?
Join us to share a potluck dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, Aug 10, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion on: Is "sin" a Jewish concept?
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Judaism on the Joys of Sex
Want to explore Jewish identity? Would you enjoy a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner? Then this evening, Friday, July 27, is for YOU!
Our topic: JUDAISM ON THE JOYS OF SEX
Join us to share a potluck dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, July 27, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion on: Judaism on the Joys of Sex
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Why Do Jews Argue So Much?
Want to explore Jewish identity? Would you enjoy a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner? Then this evening, Friday, July 13, is for YOU!
Our topic: WHY DO JEWS ARGUE SO MUCH?
Join us to share a potluck dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, July 13, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion on: Why Do Jews Argue So Much?
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Who Wrote the Bible?
Want to explore Jewish identity? Would you enjoy a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner? Then this evening, Friday, June 22, is for YOU!
Our topic: WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?
Join us to share a potluck dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome.
Date: Friday, June 22, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we'll continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion on: Who Wrote the Bible?
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
The "Chosen People": Arrogance or Opportunity?
Join us to share a pizza dinner and delve into this HOT topic & HEAVY issue together.
Wed, June 13, 6:30 PM
Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead an interactive teaching and lively discussion. Bring your opinions -- but be ready to change them!
Time: Gather at 6:30 for dinner, followed by teaching and discussion from 7-9
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Cost: Suggested donation of $5
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions, or for more info.
Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: I Feel Like a Fool in Shul*!
Seeking Jewish connections? Want to explore Jewish identity? Would you enjoy a no-experience-necessary Shabbat dinner? Then this evening, Friday, June 8, is for YOU!
Date: Friday, June 8, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM * "Shul" is Yiddish for "synagogue".
Join us to share a potluck dinner, eat, laugh, and learn. All are welcome. Our discussion topic will be: I FEEL LIKE A FOOL IN SHUL!
After gathering at 6:15, we will continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion on: I Feel Like a Fool in Shul because... I don't understand?... Don't believe? ... Aren't sure I belong? Let's talk about why and what to do!
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Did the Bible Really Happen?
We invite you to join us to share a potluck dinner - laugh, eat, and learn!
Date: Friday, May 25, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we will continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget leads a lively discussion on: Did the Bible really happen?
8:15 - Dessert and schmoozing (time to hang out and chat)
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we offer you the option of contributing $7 toward the dinner.
Free Full Night of Learning... Including "I Feel Like a Fool in Synagogue" Workshop
Party All Night on Tuesday, May 22, 2007!
Join hundreds of local folks at the Jewish Community Center of the East Bay for free learning with over 40 rabbis and Jewish teachers. No background is required, and all are welcome. The teachers range from secular to Orthodox, and will address topics of all sorts.
Rabbi Bridget Wynne of Jewish Gateways will lead a session at 11:30 PM called "I Feel Like a Fool in Synagogue."
This special event night celebrates a not-so-well-known Jewish holiday called Shavuot, which commemorates the Jewish people receiving the Torah. It is called a Tikkun Leil Shavuot (learning session for the night of Shavuot).
DATE: Tuesday, May 22
TIME: 6:45 PM -- Musical Shavuot Service
Followed by full schedule of learning sessions all night til dawn Wednesday!
Also followed by special program for children.
RABBI BRIDGET'S WORKSHOP: 11:30 PM-12:30 AM -- I Feel like a Fool in Synagogue: Because... I don't understand? Don't believe? Aren't sure I belong? Let's talk about why and what to do!
PLACE: Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley
Snacks available, and a quiet room for napping -- bring sleeping bags and pillows if you want.
If you have questions, feel free to contact Rabbi Bridget at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org. Feel free also to contact Liz Lucas of the event sponsor, the Center for Jewish Living and Learning, at 510-839-2900 ext. 235 or liz@jfed.org.
Shabbat Dinner & Discussion: Creating Community in a Disconnected Culture
Join us for Shabbat dinner and conversation - we'll eat, laugh, and learn!
Date: Friday, May 11, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
After gathering at 6:15, we will continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - In a lively, interactive discussion with Rabbi Bridget, explore how Jewish tradition can help us create community in our disconnected culture.
8:15 - Dessert
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home at 409 Liberty Street near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. RSVP required. Contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment for our potluck Shabbat dinner. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we'd like to offer you the option of contributing $7 towards the dinner instead.
Shabbat Dinner
Are you seeking Jewish community and connection?
Would you enjoy Shabbat dinner with good food and conversation?
Please join us Friday, April 13, 6:15pm for Shabbat Dinner at Jewish Gateways.
Welcome Shabbat with candles and conversation. All are welcome to this evening of laughter, learning, and food. Space is limited, so RSVP early!
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Time: 6:15 - Gather
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - "Life After Freedom?" Join a lively discussion with Rabbi Bridget on what comes after the freedom we celebrate on Passover, and the opportunities this offers us.
8:15 - Dessert
Cost: Dish for potluck dinner or $7 contribution
For your reservation, food assignment, & directions, please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org. We look forward to seeing you!
Meet Me in the Matzah Aisles!
THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2007
Rabbi Bridget of Jewish Gateways will offer tastes of Passover foods, free entrance in a Passover raffle, plus holiday recipes and materials to take home. Please drop by, and tell your friends!
PLACE: table inside Andronico's Market
1850 Solano Avenue (between Colusa and Fresno Avenues), Berkeley
TIME: 11 AM - 4 PM
Questions? Want more info? Call Rabbi Bridget at 559-8140, or email rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org.
Want a TASTE OF FREEDOM?
Jewish Gateways invites you to join us for pre-Passover tasting & teaching
Passover starts April 2. In preparation, we want to offer you various tastes of freedom!
Come for one or both of these Shabbat dinners that will include laughter and learning. At each one we'll try different versions of favorite Passover foods and explore their meaning to us personally.
Dates: Friday, March 9, 2007 and Friday, March 23, 2007
Time: 6:15 PM
You'll go home with recipes and handouts so you can enjoy your favorite foods and teachings later on.
After gathering at 6:15, we will continue with:
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Taste Passover foods and explore their meaning in a lively and interactive discussion with Rabbi Bridget
8:15 - Dessert
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home at 409 Liberty Street near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. RSVP required. Contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment for our potluck Shabbat dinner. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we'd like to offer you the option of contributing $7 towards the dinner instead.
HOT Topics & HEAVY Issues
Wed., Feb. 28, 2007, 6:45 PM
Our question for this month is: What do you have to do -- or believe -- to "be Jewish"?
Join us to share a pizza dinner and delve into this "hot & heavy" issue together.
Rabbi Bridget Wynne will lead an interactive teaching and lively discussion. Bring your opinions -- but be ready to change them!
Time: Gather at 6:45. Dinner and discussion 7-9.
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Cost: Suggested donation of $5.
Please contact Rabbi Bridget at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, for more info or to make a reservation and get directions. For info you can also go to www.jgate.org
Shabbat Dinner
ARE YOU SEEKING JEWISH CONNECTION?
If so, Jewish Gateways invites you to join us . .
. . . to greet Shabbat, day of rest, day of community. We'll share dinner, light candles, do some singing, some laughing and some learning, and enjoy each other's company. All are welcome!
Date: Friday, February 23, 2007
Time: 6:15 - Gather
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget will lead a lively discussion about Jewish teachings on: Intentional Living: Exploring Our Basic Values.
8:15 - Dessert
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home in El Cerrito, near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we'd like to offer you the option of contributing $7 towards the dinner instead.
Shabbat Dinner
ARE YOU SEEKING JEWISH CONNECTION?
If so, Jewish Gateways invites you to join us . .
. . . to greet Shabbat, day of rest, day of community. We'll share dinner, light candles, do some singing, some laughing and some learning, and enjoy each other's company. All are welcome!
Date: Friday, February 9, 2007
Time: 6:15 - Gather
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget will lead a lively discussion about Jewish teachings on: What Happens After We Die?
8:15 - Dessert
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home in El Cerrito, near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to make a reservation and get directions and your food assignment. If your schedule doesn't allow you to bring a dish to share, we'd like to offer you the option of contributing $7 towards the dinner instead.
Are You Seeking Jewish Community and Connection?
Join us on Friday, January 26, 2007, to greet Shabbat, day of rest, day of community. We'll share a potluck dinner, light candles, do some singing, some laughing and some learning, and enjoy each other's company. All are welcome, so feel free to bring family or friends!
Time: 6:15 - Gather
6:30 - Candle lighting and dinner
7:30 - Rabbi Bridget will lead a lively discussion: "Do you believe in God?” is the wrong question!
8:15 - Dessert
Place: Jewish Gateways' cozy home in El Cerrito, near El Cerrito Plaza and BART station
Space is limited. Please contact Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways, (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to get more information, RSVP, and get directions and your food assignment.
Introduction to Judaism Course
10 Mondays, October 9-December 11, 2006
7:00-9:00 PM
What are Jewish ideas about God? Afterlife? The messiah? Sex? Good and evil? Reward and punishment? How and why do Jews pray? This course will address these and other questions. It is designed for Jews and non-Jews who want to deepen their knowledge of Judaism, and also for those considering conversion to Judaism. We'll learn together about Jewish life, faith, and practice, including Jewish holidays, their meaning and how they are celebrated; Jewish ways of marking the life cycle from birth to death; the Torah and other key Jewish texts; the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel; and varieties of modern Judaism.
Taught by Rabbi Bridget Wynne at Jewish Gateways
What's a Jew To Do... On Hanukkah?
Gelt . . . Without Guilt!
Does the holiday frenzy and focus on consumerism get you down?
Join us to prepare for a joyful, socially-conscious holiday season. Come browse fair trade and sweatshop-free gifts, taste delicious organic latkes (with recipes to take home), and reflect on how Jewish ethical traditions can help us have a meaningful Hanukkah.
Date: Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
Time: Doors open at 6:30 p.m., program begins at 7 p.m.
Location: Comfy living room at Lehrhaus Judaica, The Reutlinger Center
(same building as UC Berkeley Hillel)
2736 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
Rabbi Bridget Wynne will facilitate a brief discussion connecting social justice, Jewish values, and ethical consumerism. Following the discussion you will have a chance to browse and purchase gifts (at a discount) from local and online fair trade stores, so we suggest that you bring some gelt to get your holiday shopping done early! Beautiful artisan wares and fair trade food will be on site from Global Goods Partners, World of Good, Global Exchange stores, Thanksgiving Coffee, and others.
Sponsored by Jewish Gateways, the Progressive Jewish Alliance, the American Jewish World Service and AVODAH Alumni Partnership, and 510: Calling All East Bay Jews.
A Jewish Holiday That's Like Decorating a Christmas Tree?
Yes. Ornaments hanging from branches, fragrant leaves, sparkly lights -- it's . . . Sukkot! This is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the fall harvest, and commemorates our ancestors dwelling in makeshift booths as they wandered 40 years in the desert. The tradition is to build a structure, sort of a hut, in the backyard. It's called a sukkah, and is usually made of wood and decorated with hanging ornaments, paper chains, gourds, strings of lights, fabric, corn stalks, and whatever else you can think of.
It's traditional to eat in the sukkah, and even to sleep in it!
We'll decorate our sukkah at Jewish Gateways this coming Thursday evening, and you're invited. A week later we'll celebrate Shabbat together in and around the sukkah with a potluck dinner, Friday, Oct. 13. Here are the details. I hope you can join us, and feel free to share this invitation with others who might enjoy our Sukkot celebration.
SUKKAH DECORATING
Date: Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006
Time: 5-8 PM, with pizza dinner at 6:30 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' backyard. We're across the street from El Cerrito BART and Plaza.
Bring: * sweater or jacket in case it gets cold
* if you'd like, bring a picture of a family member, friend, ancestor, or role model you'd like to invite into your sukkah! We'll use these to create decorations.
RSVP: to Rabbi Bridget Wynne at (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to get directions and reserve some pizza
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SHABBAT IN THE SUKKAH
Join us for Shabbat dinner, and enjoy candles, conversation, and food. It's a vegetarian potluck.
Date: Friday, Oct. 13, 2006
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: Jewish Gateways' backyard. We're across the street from El Cerrito BART and Plaza.
Bring: sweater or jacket in case it gets cold, plus your contribution to the potluck
RSVP: to Rabbi Bridget Wynne at (510) 559-8140, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, to get directions and your food assignment
A Seder... in September?
Yes, besides the Passover Seder there is a traditional (Sephardic) Rosh Hashanah Seder! Join us to celebrate the New Year. Eat, learn, sing. Reflect together on the year now ending and our hopes for the new one. Join us for a Seder dinner on Rosh Hashanah eve, or a Seder lunch on Rosh Hashanah day.
ROSH HASHANAH SEDER
WHEN: Friday, September 22, 6:00 PM
and Saturday, September 23, 12:00 noon
WHERE: Jewish Gateways' home across from El Cerrito BART
HOW: Space is limited. RSVP early for Friday or Saturday, to Rabbi Bridget at 510-559-8149, or rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org
What's a Jew To Do...
Featuring social justice "maven" Leonard Fein
Sunday, August 27, 2006
A salon series to ask, argue, and act on hot topics of the day…plus a backyard barbeque!
Come talk with Leonard Fein, the co-founder of the Jewish anti-hunger organization Mazon, the Jewish Coalition for Literacy, and Moment Magazine, about the critical social justice issues facing Jews today. Whether the problem is poverty or education or homelessness, chances are Leonard Fein has thought deeply and taken action on the issue. Join Jewish Gateways, Progressive Jewish Alliance, and Leonard Fein for this intimate conversation.
6:30 PM - Barbeque, weather permitting at Jewish Gateways, 409 Liberty Street, El Cerrito
7:30 PM – Conversation at Barnes & Noble, El Cerrito Plaza
RSVP to rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org or 510-559-8140.
Click here for a full biography of Leonard Fein.
What's a Jew To Do... About Immigration?
June 27, 2006 7:00 PM
A salon series to ask, argue, and act on hot topics of the day.
Join us for a unique evening of questions, answers and thought with Rabbi Bridget Wynne, Rabbinic Director of Jewish Gateways, and Robert Rubin, Legal Director with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. Together we'll explore Jewish perspectives on immigration, the debate about current immigration policy, and the major issues facing people in the developing world that may influence their decisions to leave their homes and come to the United States to live and/or work.
Hosted by Nelly Reyes, a participant in American Jewish World Service delegations in El Salvador and Peru, and an immigrant family advocate in San Francisco since 1991.
Inner Sunset, San Francisco
(address provided upon RSVP)
Light refreshments provided.
Space is limited, RSVP soon to rabbibridget@jewishgateways.org, 510-559-8140.
Co-sponsored by Jewish Gateways, Progressive Jewish Alliance, and American Jewish World Service
Jewish Gateways House-Warming
Come help us celebrate our new home!
Join Jewish Gateways, Progressive Jewish Alliance, and American Jewish World Service for our Hannukat Ha'Bayit (house-warming) to show off our new home, hang a mezuzah, and snack on wine and cheese.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
5:00 to 7:30 PM - stop by anytime
409 Liberty Street, El Cerrito
(between Fairmount and Central Avenues, and across the street from the El Cerrito Plaza BART station)
Jewish Gateways is an independent, grassroots group that reaches out to Jews, their families, and all who seek connections to Jewish life and community. We welcome you for Shabbat dinners and holiday celebrations, salons on Judaism and social justice, Jewish study sessions, and rabbinic mentoring. We are ready to help you find your “home” in the Jewish community.
American Jewish World Service is an independent not-for-profit organization that works to help alleviate poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the world regardless of race, religion or nationality.
Progressive Jewish Alliance educates, advocates and organizes on issues of peace, equality, diversity and justice, as a progressive voice in the Jewish community and a Jewish voice in the progressive community.
Photo by Linda Hanson Photography