Kol Kehilla
August 2019
The Newsletter of Kehilla Community Synagogue
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Dear Friends,
Welcome to the August issue
of
Kol Kehilla
, our monthly newsletter.
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Kehilla's Annual Retreat at Bort Meadow, July 12-14
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by Rabbi Dev Noily
Maybe you’ve seen our
recent postings
, looking to hire a ¼-time organizer to work with Kehilla’s POC affinity groups. I’m excited to share a little background about our
Belonging and Allyship: Racial Justice Initiative
, about how this position came to life, and about our hopes for the coming year and beyond. This hire marks a significant step in our work...
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by Aviva W
I’m not a member of your synagogue… but I could be. I am the daughter of a Rabbi from a long line of rabbis. I am the product of Jewish day school education, Jewish camps and summer programs.
I know Hebrew, am well versed in Jewish prayers, and feel deeply rooted in Judaism, but I’m not sure whether or not your synagogue would be a safe or welcoming community for my family...
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by Michael Saxe-Taller, Executive Director
Inclusion is one of our community’s central values. The latest opportunity that we have to live out our values is connected to our bathrooms.
Having a broad reach in our inclusion efforts often means addressing a variety of people’s needs at the same time. When it comes to bathrooms, we are thinking about the following needs...
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The Jewish Roots of Kehilla’s Values: Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Final Part
by Rabbi Burt Jacobson
During my interview with Reb Zalman in 2005, I asked him which of the Ba’al Shem’s teachings he felt held the greatest spiritual wisdom for seekers today.
“You know, if the Ba’al Shem were living today,
” he replied, “
he would be concerned about the future of our Earth. God so loved the world that She gave herself to it and became the Earth. Therefore, we must love and care for the Earth because She is an embodiment of the Divine.”
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Kehilla Board of Trustees Update
July marks the start of the board year. We are thrilled to welcome new members: Ori Tzvieli and Stephanie Hochman. We will miss the wise voices of Natalie Roden, Marjorie Cox, and Marcie Rubel.
The board meets the 4th Tuesday of each month (with occasional changes) at 6pm in the back classroom. All Kehilla members are welcome – encouraged!- to attend. Meetings last 2 to 3 hours. No worries if you come straight from work; dinner is served...
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Rebuild the world by helping to create a dozen or more homes for youth in Oakland. The build dates:
Saturday, Aug 17 and Sunday, Aug 18: Framing/Siding
Saturday, Aug 24 and Sunday, Aug 25: Siding/Electrical/Insulation/Sheetrock
Saturday Sept 7 and Sunday Sept 8: Windows/Doors/Flooring/Trim/Painting
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On July 12-14, we gathered in Bort Meadow for shabbat in the redwoods. Over 20 families camped, and about 120 people were at the meadow on Saturday, celebrating and building community. So many people pitched in to make it a magical weekend, among them the retreat committee members, who had been working on the retreat for weeks in advance. We asked some of them for their reflections – and here are a few to share...
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SERVICES, EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Dear Kehilla community,
You are invited to join us as at the following Shabbat morning services as some incredible humans become B’nei Mitzvah! Some of us may feel a little hesitant about coming to a Shabbat service when a young person we do not know personally is becoming B’nei Mitzvah...
The following Shabbat morning services will include the following young people becoming B’nei Mitzvah:
August 3- Moana Levenfeld
August 17- Adrian Alie
August 24- Rachel Bernard-Pearl
August 31- Sam Hokkanen
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Tot Shabbat
Saturdays, August 3 & 17 , 10:30-11:15am
Join us for Tot Shabbat with Jen Miriam and Alon Altman with their Puppet Friends. Geared towards babies and children up to age 5 with their grownups! Join us for songs, prayers, friends, puppets, and stories and end with challah and grape juice. Bring a snack to share if you’d like.
Learn more
(
August 3
)
and here
(
August 17
)
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Lamentations & Reparations: A Tisha B’Av Response to Ongoing Harms of Slavery and Its Legacy
Saturday, August 10, 6:30-8:30pm
Join our communities for a healing evening of prayers, conversation, and acts of Teshuvah/reparations in response to the darion call from descendants of the transatlantic slave trade for reparations. Location: Chochmat HaLev – 2215 Prince St., Berkeley, CA
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Kehilla Sings!
Upcoming dates:
A monthly gathering with Hazzan Shulamit to circle round and sing together!
Special focus on High Holy Day preparation in August and September.
We’ll nourish our bodies, minds, and spirits with nigunuim (wordless melodies), new tunes for ancient prayers, and songs to take out into the streets. Join us for a delicious time of tuning into our souls and to one another. Everyone’s welcome! Donations accepted at the door $5-15 (for gatherings at Kehilla).
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Like ants taking home a big piece of cake, all working together to pull off something that would be out of their league without collective power, our High Holy Days are an impressive feat of collaboration.
Whether you usually attend services or not,
this is a great time to step in and help for a couple of hours.
If the High Holy Days are important to you, this is a chance to be part of the project that is so meaningful to you, in whatever capacity you have – there are so many shifts that don’t get in the way of services. And if the High Holy Days are just another day for you – what a beautiful chance to help build something that really matters to people in your community by taking on tasks that people attending services or fasting cannot.
Go to
kehillasynagogue.org/VHHD
to see the shifts and sign up for one
. There are so many options. I know you’ll find one that works for you :) Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions, comments, weather updates, whatever strikes your fancy –
maya@kehillasynagogue.org
/ 510.547.2424 x 106.
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Invitation to Artists: Kehilla High Holy Days Art Show
Entry Deadline is August 30th!
Kehilla’s Art Committee is finalizing plans for our annual exhibit open to all members of the congregation. We invite you to share your creativity with the community as you reflect on your feelings, thoughts and hopes for the coming year. Get those artistic juices flowing and create a new piece for this show, or bring an old favorite. We are seeking two-dimensional art, ready to hang. The only other limit is your imagination!
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From April 20-25, 2020, Rev. Ben Daniel, Senior Pastor of Montclair Presbyterian Church will be leading a retreat in the cities of Granada and Cordoba in Southern Spain. The purpose of the retreat is to learn about and learn from the period of history known as the convivencia, when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together with varying degrees of cooperation and good will.
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Norah Needs You
Norah is an expert joke-teller, modern-dancer, ice cream-licker, and loving big sister. She's been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Fanconi Anemia (FA), and will need a bone marrow transplant - none of Norah's family members are a match for her. Joining the registry is simple and could save Norah’s life.
Join the registry!
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May Book Discussion Group:
Monday, August 12, 7-9pm
They May Not Mean to But They Do
by Cathleen Schine
All Kehilla members are welcome to join us for our customary meetings on the second Monday of the month at 7pm. See our selections for the next few meetings
here
.
For more information about the Book Group, contact Terry at mcglynnmandel@gmail.com.
Learn more here.
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Morning Meditation Sit
Wednesdays at 7:50am
With Rabbi Dev. In the Fireside Room (Enter through the Patio entrance on Fairview). Doors open at 7:50 a.m., short teaching at 7:55 a.m., silent sit from 8:00 – 8:30, mourner’s kaddish and announcements at 8:30.
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Liturgically Traditional, Radically Inclusive Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, August 9, 6-7:30pm
A more traditional davenning style of Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma’ariv, the Shabbat evening service: songful and in Hebrew, following the full liturgy. Please bring veggie finger food to share. Cosponsored by Kehilla and Glitter Kehilla.
Learn more here.
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Tikkun Ha-Nefesh (Repair of the Soul) Healing Racism, Unpacking White Privilege – Affinity Group
Sunday, August 18, 10am-12pm
This group is part of the community’s larger project of addressing racism and de-centering whiteness within and beyond our congregation. It is an outgrowth of Kehilla’s affinity group for those who identify as white or as benefitting from white privilege. This will be a safe space in which to engage in the emotional and spiritual journey of healing and repairing the soul around these critical issues. You do not have to participate in the larger affinity group in order to attend these sessions, and you are welcome to come to as many or as few sessions as will facilitate your healing journey.
Learn more here.
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Last chance to view the the art and photography of Lynn Lazarus and Glenn Shor!
Their beautiful and engaging work is on exhibit now in the Fireside Room. The show will be up through August - come by!
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Teens and Adults, let’s do this, one aliyah at a time 🙂 Join us for Shabbat morning services and share your skills and love of leynen with our community. If you’re interested but have never chanted torah before, or if it’s been a long time and you expect to need significant support, please contact Hazzan Shulamit first–
shulamit@kehillasynagogue.org
.
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If you are experiencing abuse in an intimate relationship,
please be in touch with one of our clergy members (Rabbi Dev, Hazzan Shulamit, Rabbi Gray, Rabbi David or Rabbi Burt), or with one of these organizations:
or (510) 845-SAFE
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Donate Supplies to Help
People Experiencing Homelessness
Please help Tayla Husbands-Hankin support our homeless population by donating tents, blankets, tarps & socks! A large box is located by the sanctuary door at Kehilla.
Please fill it with listed items only.
Talya will pick up the items periodically and deliver them to people who need them.Questions? Contact Jeanne Finberg, jeanne.finberg@gmail.com. Thank you!
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Thank You for Your Generosity
So many of you give to Kehilla - you give money, you give time, you give love and community in a wide variety of ways.
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