From 6:45 pm Until Midnight

Join us to welcome Shabbat and honor Earth Day as we explore what we need to live sustainably within our means and in harmony with the planet. Led by Rabbi Copeland and Micah Lubensky. D’rash by Maggid Elias Ramer. Register Here. Meeting ID: 452 290 988.

Our interactive morning services are led by Sha’ar Zahav members Ron Edelman and Alan Gordon. Join the Zoom Meeting. Meeting ID: 365 434 855 and Passcode: 068575.

To join by phone for either service, dial +1 669 900 9128 or find your local number.

Drawing on her skills as a communication coach, Kathy will facilitate a conversation about cultivating a more inclusive community, and offer some tips about speaking and listening that can support deeper connections. People of all races and ethnicities are welcome. Questions? Please contact Sue Bojdak.

Registration Required Here.

Join us for Erev Shabbat and stay for a conversation with Donnovan Yisrael, Senior Health Educator, Mental Health and Wellbeing at Stanford’s Vaden Health Center, and completed his conversion with Sha’ar Zahav. You can view a short clip of Donovan and other locals here about their conversion journey.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

Ultimately, when we can, we'd love to meet for in-person activities, and maybe some will meet their Bashert (soulmate), who knows?? For all ages, all genders, all sexualities and abilities. Questions, feel free to email Tamar Gershon.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

Action Alert! Let's show up for "A Vigil for Respect and Dignity for All San Franciscans" this Friday at 3 pm at 1 Van Ness, supporting those who are facing eviction and can't get rent relief - most of whom are Latinx and Black.

(Please attend if you feel safe. This is an in-person, masks-required event)

Launch event on Wednesday, April 28

The Religious Action Center (“RAC”) is starting a Racial Justice Campaign as a continuation of their Civic Education Campaign. The launch event will provide a deeper insight into what is planned for this year and how we can get involved to fight voter suppression and dismantle systemic racism, one policy change at a time.

Register for the event here.

The Social Action Committee is working on advancing the “Equality Act” (federal LGBT rights) and the “For the People Act” (assuring national fair elections). Want to join us? Contact Nancy Wecker or Geri Kahn.

Calling all small landlords: Do you know about the covid Tenant Relief Act which can provide delinquent rent benefiting landlords and tenants for stable communities? For information see Faith in Action Bay Area Small Landlords Website or contact abby@faithinactionba.org.

Be part of an Accompaniment team for a newly arrived gay Russian asylum-seeking couple. For information, contact Nancy Wecker.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

Mussar is a very practical and flexible spiritual discipline to help you balance soul-traits (Middah/Middot) such as Humility, Loving-Kindness, Generosity, and Silence. Drop-ins are always welcome! For more information, contact Mark Pressler.

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Study the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Copeland and lay leaders. For the first half hour, we’ll talk, learn and share thoughts about the portion. In the second half, we will practice our Hebrew reading skills in a compassionate environment! Join for either or both parts of the study.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

Jews love to say we are “God-strugglers,” so let’s explore the rich Jewish landscape of God-talk, from the classics like Buber, Kaplan, Heschel to feminist and queer Jewish theologies. We will explore how theology, pantheism, and atheism attempt to answer the most profound questions of our time.

Sign up for the whole class or drop in when you’re able. We'll be counting the omer. Open to all.

Free to Members and $15 for Non-members. Register Here.

Adult B’Mitzvah Program

Many of us did not become B’Mitzvah as children and feel like it might be time to make that connection. Our Adult B’mitzvah Program (ABP) is a monthly group educational program, which runs for approximately 8 – 12 months. In the ABP you will learn about the history of the ritual and explore what it means to become an adult B’mitzvah. You will have practical classes in giving a D’var Torah, reading/chanting from the Torah, leading services, and learning the prayer service.

There will also be sessions on the who, what, and why of prayer, different perspectives of G-d, everyday spirituality and much more. The process culminates in either an individual or group B’mitzvah on a Saturday morning at Sha’ar Zahav.

Contact the coordinator Mark Pressler to let us know you are interested or would like to hear more!

Va'ad meetings are open to everyone in our member community. We meet the third Wednesday of every month. Join us!

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Drop in for a joyful hour of free art-making and connection. Everyone is welcome! The group meets every Thursday. For more information, contact Paisha Rochlin, Barbara Cymrot or AJ Turpen Fried.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

We Read "The Book of V." by Anna Solomon and Will Discuss it Tomorrow, April 22

We read "The Book of V." by Anna Solomon as part of the One Bay One Book project of the Jewish Community Library. In this new novel, rooted in the Book of Esther, three characters’ stories in different time periods overlap and ultimately collide. The book is filled with feminist themes and we can't wait to discuss it tomorrow. If you read the book, join us!

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

Join to meet others with disabilities and work towards a more accessible Sha'ar Zahav on Zoom and when we go back to the synagogue building. We are also looking forward to starting programs and events centered around queer, Jewish, and disabled identities. Want to join? Have questions? Please email Eliana Smithstein.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

Songs and prayers to set our hearts and minds! This service takes place every Tuesday morning, and is led by community lay leaders and Cantor Bernstein. For more information, contact Cantor Bernstein.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

We have re-launched the theatre/movie chavurah and our second play is "Dara" available on National Theater at Home. Watch on your own, and let's gather to discuss it on Zoom.

To join the chavurah, please email Yvette Adida or Liliana Peliks. We will watch something new every month, and will decide together on dates, genres, etc.

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You are invited to a twice-a-month Shabbat morning exploration of yoga and Judaism that integrates mind, body, and spirit. Stuart Dick and Rabbi Mychal Copeland will alternate leading the first and third Saturday of every month.

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Everyone is welcome. And you will not regret it! A typical session includes a short and longer silent sit, with chanting, movement, and a short teaching. The group meets on the first and third Saturday of every month.

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Hitch a ride on the wayback wagon for a trip down memory lane. Let’s reminisce about the 40’s thru the 70’s together! Different topics each month. Everyone is welcome! Questions? Contact Marv Lehrman.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

During this time of immense loss and grief, we are holding regular Kaddish Memory Circles to support each other. Rabbi Mychal Copeland, Ora Prochovnick and Martin Tannenbaum will alternate leading these circles twice a month.

Join the Zoom Meeting: Zoom link

Twenty years after the initial publication of Queer Jews, the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion is hosting a symposium in honor of the role the book played in re-imagining the American and global Jewish worlds, and in memory of David Shneer’s many gifts and contributions to queer Jewish life.

B’Tzelem Elokim: A Mother Discusses Her Fight for Transgender Rights. Co-presented by the Jewish Community Library and Sha’ar Zahav.

Mimi Lemay, author of "What We Will Become" will speak about her journey away from the ultra-orthodox community, and her own family's journey in affirming the chosen gender of their son, Jacob.

Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing financial assistance for COVID-19 -related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. 

More Funeral Assistance Information and answers to FAQs

Contact sharonh@shaarzahav.org to sponsor a Shabbat

Programs at Sha’ar Zahav are supported by the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, the Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus Initiative for Immigrant and Refugee Justice of the Religious Action Center, San Francisco Humanities, and the National Center to Encourage Judaism.

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