Category: Uncategorized

California Mass Shootings:
Acting Together to End Gun Violence

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Over the past 72 hours, gun violence ripped through our communities in Monterey Park as the Asian American Pacific Islander community gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year, in Half Moon Bay as people worked to provide for their families, and in Oakland as young people gathered. 

We grieve for the lives lost and shattered. We stand with the families who lost loved ones and those facing the painful recovery ahead.  

The gun violence epidemic continues to devastate our communities. We all celebrate together, work together, and gather in our neighborhoods together. “We cannot treat gun violence like it is somebody else’s issue,” says SFF CEO Fred Blackwell.

Unless we act together, the gun violence epidemic will continue to rob our communities of the sense of safety that we need to thrive. And we know that we must change the systems and laws that make mass shootings like these not only possible, but far too common. Without transformative change, there will always be another tragedy coming. 

How to help: 
To help those affected by the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, we have made a contribution to Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund. This fund is working with local organizations in Half Moon Bay to provide support to those impacted and their communities.  

SFF grantee Puente de la Costa Sur is organizing support for the families affected in Half Moon Bay. As a community resource center for the South Coast, Puente is working with local partners that are providing direct assistance. 

In addition, SFF’s philanthropic advisors curated this give guide of local and national organizations imagining and building safer communities. 
 
SFF donor advised fund holders can recommend a grant on Donor Center with the following information: 
Grantee Name: Silicon Valley Community Foundation 
Short Purpose: to support the Emergency and Disaster Relief Fund  

Grantee Name: Puente de la Costa Sur 
Short Purpose: to support direct relief for families impacted by the Jan. 23 shooting in Half Moon Bay 

Tu B’Shvat

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Tu B’Shvat is the perfect example of how change allows the continuity of Jewish life. The holiday is an ancient one, originally a tax day for fruit trees. When this became unusable (Jewish sovereignty over ancient Israel/Judah lasted only about 80 years), the holiday morphed into a celebration of the trees coming into bloom in the land of Israel, a place far from the Jews who observed this holiday. With the establishment of the Jewish settlements in Palestine in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the holiday became an occasion for donating to plant trees. This kept up after the establishment of Israel and in some communities continues to this day. But in more modern, non-Zionist communities, Tu B’Shvat has become our Earth Day – a day to celebrate nature and to recommit to its preservation. Our tree-planting is to save the environment for the whole world. It’s new wine in old bottles. The reason we can celebrate the ancient holiday of Tu B’Shvat is that we continually reinterpret it to fit the needs of those celebrating in every time and place. Jewishness is a living tradition – and life means constant change. Our Secular Humanistic Judaism, with its embrace of the power of reinterpretation, is helping to keep the Jewish People alive.

Philospher’s Cafe

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 Join us for Philosophers’ Cafe, our friendly discussion multigenerational disucssion group – an hour free of daily tasks.  We regularly meet the first Thursday of each month to talk about a a topic chosen by a different participant each month.  We never know what’s coming up so there’s no homework!  Our next session is February 2 from 7-8 p.m. on zoom.  Write culturaljews@gmail.com for an evite with the zoom ID.

TVCJ Tu B’shvat

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Celebrate the birthday of the trees with us at our Tu B’shvat Seder and Pot Luck. Join us on February 5th at 10:30am at Creekside Park in Pleasanton for nature crafts and some schmoozing. Please bring a dish to share.

Masks are optional outdoors when social distancing is possible. Free to members, $15 per non-member adult if you are able.
You can make donations to TVCJ through Paypal or Venmo. Our handle is Tri-Valley Cultural Jews.

Email us at culturaljews@gmail.com or call (925) 399-8029 if you have questions. Find us at www.trivalleyculturaljews.org

Hanukkah Party

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Hanukkah Party

Come celebrate the oil, the lights and the season at the TVCJ Hanukkah Celebration! We’re making latkes, having an upcycled Menorah competition, singing and playing games. Join us outside for a safe, festive Hanukkah celebration.

Cooks will be required to mask indoors. Masks are optional outdoors when social distancing is possible.

Email us at culturaljews@gmail.com or call (925) 399-8029 for location and further details. Free to members, suggested $15 donation per non-member adult if you are able.

Crafty Shabbat

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Spinning Yarns, Stories, Stitching & Knitting

Join us for an outdoor afternoon of crafting with friends. Bring a project you’re working on and a story to share. 

Face masks optional outdoors when social distancing is possible. 

Email us at culturaljews@gmail.com or call (925) 399-8029 if you have questions. Free to members, suggested $10 donation per non-member adult if you are able.

You can make donations to TVCJ through Paypal or Venmo. Our handle is Tri-Valley Cultural Jews.

Sukkah Raising 2022

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What a beautiful day to gather under the Sukkah! We built a beautiful one this year decorated with lanterns, pinecones and branches. We made an Ushpizin paper chain with all the people we want to invite under the Sukkah with us. Many thanks to Jesse, Minta and their family for being such wonderful hosts, to Sarah and Mark for the gorgeous Suminagashi activity, to Jazz for bringing fruit and organizing the lantern activity, Judy for bringing supplies, and to everyone who came and made our Sukkah beautiful!

Yom Kippur 2022

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It was a beautiful night to gather outside for poetry, introspection and music to honor our Yom Kippur traditions. Many thanks to everyone who joined, either in person or via zoom, and to Sophia for blowing the shofar, Judy for creating another amazing program, our readers: Jeff, Jesse, Solomon and Jazz, music by Judy and Jazz, and to Derek and Amy Greenberg for adding their moving song of remembrance.

Tri-Valley Cultural Jews Sukkot

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Tri-Valley Cultural Jews Sukkot celebration

Join us for our annual outdoor sukkah building! Please bring a branch to put on top of the sukkah, and a fruit to hang as decoration. We will have games and crafts and fun for all. In light of the current COVID conditions, we will forgo our potluck this year.

Masks are required for all attendants. Please bring your own folding chair and water bottle if possible.

Day: Sunday, October 9

Time: 10:30am-12:30pm

Cost: Free to members, $10.00 suggested donation for non-members.

Contact us for an Evite at culturaljews@gmail.com or call 925-399-8029.

Rosh Hashanah Celebration

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We gathered together to celebrate the new year in community with a reverse Taschlich (we picked up trash to heal the world), readings, songs, and many blasts from the shofar. Wishing everyone a sweet new year!

So many people helped make the gathering so lovely. Readers: Jazz, Jeff and Mary Frances Colvin, Solomon, Rachel, Bret. Zoom access: Bret for setting it up and Kelly for hosting the zoom. Setup: Elsa, Ira, Sophia. Shofar blower: Sofia. Leading tashlikh: Jamie. Bakers and song leaders: Judy and Jazz. Organizer Supreme: Jazz. Master program author: Judy. And everyone who attended for 2 clean-ups – the tashlikh trash clean-up and the schlepping of chairs back into the building.