WELCOMING: wandering Jews • wondering Jews • those of Jewish heritage • non-Jews • multiracial relationships • families • interfaith relationships • couples • adult children of interfaith families • Jews by choice • people of color • singles • LGBTQIA folks
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.
Learning and discussing at an adult gathering
Listening to a story at a family gathering
Rosh Hashanah family service
Learning and discussing at an adult gathering
GROWING TOGETHER JEWISH FAMILY LEARNING
Saturdays, 10:00am-12:30pm, twice monthly
September 2022 - May 2023
Growing Together, an alternative to traditional Hebrew or religious school, offers restorative community, connection, and learning for the whole family. Parents say:
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I feel connected to more young families at Jewish Gateways with kind and empathetic smart discussions.
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Being in these families' presence melted away day-to-day mentally-draining conversations we have in the intense SF Bay Area.
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So grateful to have this special and unique form of Judaic support group!
Upcoming Events
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THE TORAH: QUESTIONING, DEBATING, AND INTERPRETING
Tuesday, December 6, 12:00-1:00 pm PT, online
Part of Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life--in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)
Renowned speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz was a typical “lapsed Jew” until she explored Judaism and discovered its richness. She wrote the book she couldn’t find, that reveals the most interesting, profound, and beautiful parts of Judaism. Rabbi Bridget Wynne leads an 8-session exploration of this fascinating and relatable book. Register for the series, or for this session and any others you select. All are welcome, and all questions are welcome!
Learn more and register here.
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RACIAL, CLIMATE, AND ELECTORAL JUSTICE CONVERSATIONS
Monday, December 12, 7:00-8:45 pm PT, online
Jewish tradition teaches, "We are not obligated to complete the task, but neither are we free to avoid it." Learn, explore, and share how to move forward with racial, climate, and electoral justice issues. Together we will find resources, ideas, and friends to support our individual efforts. Each little bit helps. They all add up. All are welcome!
To learn more or to register for the next session contact Adrianne Bank.
JOIN US FOR CANDLELIGHT, MUSIC, AND FRIENDLY FACES
Shabbat Candle Lighting
Fridays, 6:00pm PT, online
Set up your candles, wine or juice, and challah, and join Jewish Gateways musicians and community members online for singing, candle lighting, and blessings! All are welcome, adults or children, Jewish or not. The words to the songs and blessings will be visible as we sing them.
Get a Taste of Our Rabbis' Teachings
Justice and Compassion: The Fierce Urgency of Now
Sermon for Rosh Hashanah
2022 • 5783
Rabbi Bridget Wynne
How amazing it is to be together again, three long years since we last gathered here. It is moving and replenishing. And, what a difficult time these years have been.
Floods, fires, hurricanes, wreaking the greatest destruction and suffering on the most vulnerable. Dystopian laws forbidding abortion. Voter suppression, candidates committed to subverting the will of the majority. Police are still murdering Black people, antisemitism is rising... and so much more. The science-denying, profit-driven, power-craving madness that has taken hold of our culture, the rise of ethno-nationalism in our country and others, literally endangers our lives, our planet, our future.
Given all this, I would like to lift our spirits this evening, to greet you, ask how you really are. I want to share words that will help you sleep better, maybe mend a small part of your broken hearts. Maybe make you laugh. Definitely give you permission to grieve. And I want to encourage us to do this with one another, for we are here to seek what we can find only in community.
But first, I want to fortify you, to help us develop the strength we need now and in the days ahead.
Teshuvah and Rejuvenation
Sermon for Yom Kippur
2022 • 5783
Rabbi Stephanie Kennedy
Last Shabbat, my wife and I and our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter got lost. We went to a friend's place for lunch and then to a playground. As the afternoon wound down, we headed home. I should note, in an effort to have distraction-free family time, we had left our phones behind. We know the neighborhood fairly well, so I was confident we could find our way home. And, we started out on the right path ... after all, we knew which hidden stairs to take.
Looking back, I realized that we must have walked past a crossroads and missed a turn. All the while, our daughter was somewhere between falling asleep and having a tantrum. As a first-time parent, I’ve become increasingly aware of the special urgency ignited by a toddler on the edge of a meltdown. We picked up our pace ...
... Until we realized that we didn’t recognize the street we were on. A man wearing suspenders and looking at his phone was sitting on a wall: a sort of GPS fairy, I hoped. I asked him if he knew how to get to Park Boulevard. “You’ll hit Park Boulevard if you continue in this direction ... but there’s a big hill,” he said. I was not too concerned. My experience of the East Bay has involved stumbling upon many unexpected hills.