Category: Uncategorized

JCS Happenings

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We cWe covered so much ground in JCS! We talked about the migration of Jews from Eastern Europe to the U.S. and what it was like to go through Ellis Island. The Jews leaving Eastern Europe were looking for a safe place to live. We tied that into our upcoming celebration of Purim—our yearly holiday reminding us that tyrants have always existed and that there is always a need to speak truth to power. We made food that immigrants might have enjoyed—soft pretzels with optional yellow mustard (yum!)–and played some games their kids probably knew: hopscotch and Shimon Zogt (Simmon Says in Yiddish). 

TVCJ Rabbi Judith Seid Signed the Rabbis for Repro Pledge

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We’re proud that the Secular Humanistic movement has always supported the right to bodily autonomy and that our rabbi has signed on to this effort.

We must not remain idle while barriers to health care place any individual’s health, well-being, autonomy, or economic security at risk. And rabbis can help lead the fight for reproductive health, rights, and justice by educating their communities.

Will you join us and take the pledge to speak about reproductive rights in your rabbinic capacity this year?
The pledge can be found here.

How Is Social Justice Related To Humanism?

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Tuesday, February 22
Nadya Dutchin, the new executive director of the American Humanist Association, details the relationship between humanism and social justice. Building on the rich legacy of the humanist movement, we ensure the next generation of humanists have a powerful, active network that demands policies to ensure that safety, dignity, justice, equality, and agency are equally accessible to all people.

RSVP Today!

JCS Happenings

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Our Jewish Culture School students wanted to share this blurb from their 2/13/22 class:

Jews might have fought on both sides of the Civil War, but one thing remained the same: hardtack is pretty terrible! While most Jews did not support the South, we talked about how some Jews were able to justify slavery (hint: just because people did it in the Torah, doesn’t make it a good idea), baked some hardtack that really lived up to its name, and sang some freedom songs.

Interfaith Interconnect Religion Chat

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Dear Interfaith Friends,

You are invited to our next virtual
Interfaith Interconnect Religion Chat
Wednesday, March 9, via Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86485915504
Presentations: 5-6 p.m. Optional breakout discussion groups: 6-6:30 p.m.
We will present the 3rd program in our series,
“What holy books or other texts are important to your religion?” 

Speakers: Pastor John Bost,  Holy Cross Lutheran Church Livermore and Dr. Asad Tarsin, Muslim Community Center East Bay Pleasanton. 

Zoom room will open at 4:45.
All are welcome!
The series will conclude on April 13, so be sure to save that date too!

If you missed the February 9 Religion Chat with speakers Rev. Ellie Kilpatrick of Unitarian Universalist Church Livermore and Mr. Bruce Bird, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, here is the link to the recording. https://youtu.be/lDGJ3XcpGKw

We look forward to seeing you on March 9!
Ruth Gasten and Marcia Elchesen
Interfaith Interconnect Leadership Committee

Action items from the National Council of Jewish Women:

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The Issue: Justice Breyer is retiring from his lifetime appointment to the US Supreme Court, creating a new opening on the bench. 
The Good News: We can make our voices heard to ensure President Biden nominates and the Senate confirms a qualified judge to our highest court. 
Our Task: Tell your Senators to nominate a fair, independent, and qualified judge to the Supreme Court. 
TAKE ACTION NOW

The issue: Due to the global threat of increasing antisemitism, Congress updated the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004, elevating the role of the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism to the rank of Ambassador and granting authority to coordinate efforts across the entire federal government to combat antisemitism abroad.
 The good news: President Biden nominated noted Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt in August 2021 to fill this important role.
 Our task: Sign the petition to urge the Senate to prioritize filling this position!
 TAKE ACTION NOW

27th Annual East Bay International Jewish Film Festival

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East Bay International Jewish Film Festival from March 12-26, check out eastbayjewishfilm.org for ticket information. We are co-sponsoring With No Land:

Operation Solomon brought 15,000 Jews from Ethiopia to Israel in under 24 hours. Hailed as a military operation that few countries could have mastered, the contributions of Ethiopian Jewish activists have remained mostly unknown. Using firsthand testimonies and archival footage, this documentary reveals the clandestine and often dangerous activities of the Ethiopian Jews themselves.

Guest Speaker: Yonatan Eyov, an Israeli emissary (shaliach) serving at Stanford University, will share his own story of immigrating to Israel at the age of six from Ethiopia and the present situation facing the Beta Yisrael community.

CSJO Affiliate Meeting

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Are you interested in becoming more involved in CSJO, Cultural and Secular Jewish Organization? Join them for their Affiliate and Associate Member Committee Meeting virtually on Saturday, February 26, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST (10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. PST or 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. CST). Contact Karen Knecht at Knechtfour@aol.com no later than February 21, 2022, if you would like to be included.

Explore a New Exhibition at The CJM

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OPENING FEB 17, 2022

This February, help us welcome Tikkun: For the Cosmos, the Community, and Ourselves to The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM)—an exhibition featuring works by thirty Bay Area–based contemporary artists reflecting on the Jewish concept of tikkun (Hebrew for “to repair”). The twelfth iteration of The Dorothy Saxe Invitational at The CJM, this exhibition re-examines tikkun as a phenomenon of care and interconnectedness that is grounded in personal action, environmental responsibility, and community, unfixed from its evolving meanings throughout history. Taken together, the works in this exhibition consider how the concept of tikkun can help us look critically both inward and outward, guide us through change, and build resilience for the ongoing work of repair.