Jewish Gateways, an open community, invites all to explore and connect with Jewish traditions.
Our “come as you are, no experience necessary” environment encourages wandering and wondering Jews and their families and friends to discover what is personally meaningful.
Rolling out the Torah for Simchat Torah
Rabbi Steph and Rabbi Bridget at High Holiday services 2023
Adult discussion during our Community Shabbat Gathering
Rolling out the Torah for Simchat Torah
GROWING TOGETHER JEWISH FAMILY LEARNING
Saturdays, 10:00 am-12:30 pm, twice a month
September 2023 - May 2024
Growing Together Family Learning offers a welcoming and inclusive environment for families to explore Jewish values and traditions together. An alternative to traditional Hebrew or religious school, it offers supportive community, connection, and learning for the whole family.
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JEWISH GATEWAYS' B-MITZVAH PROGRAM
Two year program
Three meetings per month
September 2023 - May 2024
Jewish Gateway’s unique two-year program, rooted in family learning, is about more than just the ritual. Our B-Mitzvah program supports students as they become teens, engaging them with Judaism that is relevant and meaningful.
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Upcoming Events
CELEBRATE HANUKKAH: LIGHT UP THE NIGHT!
Friday, December 8, 6:00 - 7:00 pm PT, online
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Share the light and warmth of Hanukkah with our community! Bring your menorah and candles and join us on the second night for singing, blessings, and candle lighting with Rabbis Bridget Wynne, Steph Kennedy, and Ruth Adar on Zoom. Following our Hanukkah celebration, we'll light Shabbat candles and sing blessings over wine or juice and challah, with an opportunity to say Mourner's Kaddish. All are welcome!
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TORAH FOR EVERYONE: WHY IS IT SO HARD TO "LOVE THE STRANGER" IN REAL LIFE?
Wednesday, December 13, 7:00 - 9:00 pm PT, online
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Each year at Passover we retell the story of being slaves in Egypt. We are reminded that we must "see ourselves as though we had come out of Egypt," so that we will have empathy for those who are vulnerable, oppressed, and excluded, and treat them as we would want to be treated. Even so, most of us repeatedly fail to see "strangers" as people like ourselves, deserving of care, compassion, and justice. Why is this? And what can we do to change it? All are welcome. No experience in Torah or Hebrew is necessary.
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CELEBRATE SHABBAT: KEEP THE LIGHT BURNING!
Friday, December 15, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Epworth United Methodist Church
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Experience the joy of good company, delicious food, and Shabbat blessings. Talented musician Isabel Grossman-Sartain will lead us in Shabbat singing. We will also be celebrating our incredible volunteers, the heart of our community, whose dedication makes all our events possible. All are welcome!
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VIRTUAL SHABBAT GATHERING
Fridays, 6:00 - 7:00 pm PT, online
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Join other Jewish Gateways community members for an online Shabbat gathering for Shabbat blessings, songs, and community. Bring your own challah and juice or wine. There will also be an opportunity to say Mourner's Kaddish. All are welcome.
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Get a Taste of Our Rabbis' Teachings
The Virtuous Cycle of Teshuvah
Sermon for Erev Yom Kippur
2023 • 5784
Rabbi Bridget Wynne
Most of us would like to be better people and live more in keeping with our deepest values. How do we do this, in the midst of life’s pains, difficulties, annoyances, and all we cannot control?
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We may resist looking at the actions, or inactions, we regret. Who wants to feel guilty? And we do hear a lot about “Jewish guilt".
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But does Jewish tradition really teach us to feel guilty? I don’t think so. The guilt many Jews joke about comes not from Judaism, but from a particular immigrant culture that many of us are descended from.
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Rediscovery and Return:
A Rosh Hashanah Reflection on Teshuva and the Joys of New Beginnings
2023 • 5784
Rabbi Stephanie Kennedy
On Rosh Hashanah, and throughout the month leading up to the High Holidays, we are called to engage in a profound act of returning.
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To do teshuva is to embark on a pilgrimage back to the core of our being — to that space within us that remains hopeful, and pure. It's in this journey that we rediscover potentials that may have lain dormant amidst the hustle of our daily lives — dreams unchased, passions unexpressed, or connections overlooked.
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Get to Know the Rabbis of Jewish Gateways: Recording from the November Salon
Thank you to all of our wonderful participants who
embody our values of inclusion and personal connection!
If you are interested in co-creating our community, learn more here.
