Shabbat Message - April 19, 2024

The Sabbath immediately preceding Passover is traditionally known as Shabbat Hagadol - the Great Sabbath. One of several reasons it has been given this name is because of the Haftarah, read in synagogues on this day, from the prophet Malachi. It foretells of the return of Elijah the prophet to announce a "great and awesome day." That day could be tomorrow!

Tonight's Shabbat dinner begins at 6pm and the service begins at 7pm at Cheryl & David's in Moss Beach. We'll have a beautiful view of the sun setting over the Pacific. Click here for the address, or join us virtually at 7pm using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/862473039

Dear CJC members & friends,

The conflict in the Middle East is likely to intensify on all fronts now that Iran is directly involved. Meanwhile, protests on college campuses are also intensifying. Over 100 students were arrested yesterday at Columbia University, while students at University of Michigan and other colleges are being suspended and expelled for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.

One of our own Coastsiders is on the front lines, covering student protests at GW University in D.C. Sage Russell, son of CJC members Sara & Storm Russell, is working for GW's student newspaper and is credited for photos like this one - of protesters heckling the Dean of Students and chanting for her to quit her job.

We are living in a very chaotic and polarized climate, requiring each of us to bring sanity and civility to our interactions, and to ask difficult questions. A good place to practice this will be around our seder tables next week.

The Mishnah made this clear already almost 2,000 years ago, when our sages determined that a seder can only begin when at least one genuine question has been asked. They stressed that the rote recitation of the Four Questions doesn’t count. The Passover story — the story of our redemption from slavery — begins when we ask ourselves and each other honest questions.

This will not be easy, especially now when many communities and families are struggling with deep ruptures and divisions about the war in Israel and Gaza, and about what this moment demands of us as Jews.

The seder calls upon us to ask and to welcome serious, even challenging questions. But it also calls upon us to make sure that the questions we ask are offered in a spirit of genuine openness, in an effort to truly understand each other.

While I have heard an enormous amount of pain on the part of both parents and children (and teachers and students) over these last several months, I’ve also witnessed — and experienced — the ways in which an honest conversation can open the heart and allow the hard places between us to soften.

May this Passover be a time to soften the hard places, and to go forth from narrow spaces. May we be nourished by the offerings on our seder tables and by the conversations we have across the table, bringing more sanity and civility into our lives and our world.

Shabbat Shalom & Chag Pesach Sameach!

Reb Moshe

TONIGHT - Join Reb Moshe & Lissin for a vegetarian potluck Shabbat dinner at 6pm and a Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7pm.

Tonight's service will be at Cheryl & David's gorgeous and spacious home in Moss Beach with a spectacular view of the ocean. This will be the last service that Reb Moshe and Lissin will be conducting together for a while, as Reb Moshe will be out of town on May 17.

Come watch the sunset while listening to the calming melodies of your favorite Shabbat songs. It will be a beautiful and bittersweet tribute to what was and what will be - a perfect Kabbalat Shabbat.

For the address and to let us know what you can bring for the potluck, click here.

TOMORROW - Join Aryae and Wendy at 12:20pm for their virtual Torah Circle, when they will explore parashat Matzora. For more information and to RSVP, click here.

Register now for next week's Passover Seder. Seats are filling up fast. Registration deadline is Sunday, April 21. For info and to register, email Michal.

The seder will be totally kid-friendly with fun activities and a prize for whoever finds the Afikomen. Make your reservation now by emailing Michal.

Earth Day is Monday, April 22. Thanks to CJC's partnership with Interfaith Power and Light, we are able to offer you a free viewing of the powerful movie Common Ground.

By fusing journalistic expose’ with deeply personal stories from those on the front lines of the food movement, Common Ground unveils a dark web of money, power, and politics behind our broken food system. The film reveals how unjust practices forged our current farm system in which farmers of all colors are literally dying to feed us. The film profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy – before it’s too late.

Use this link and password to watch the movie:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/x8eenx0m2yf4zv3qzs90k/CommonGround_ROCO_Subtitles-EN-SP.mp4?rlkey=qqefxa89955t2cnzrk4qka5ls&dl=0

Password: roco0424 (For CJC members & friends only.)

Pride Seder hosted by CoastPride Multi-Faith Partners - April 26, 6-8pm in HMB

Join a diverse gathering of queer folks and allies to celebrate the LGBTQ community's "coming out" of bondage, with songs, readings and a delicious vegetarian dinner. The event is designed for adults ages 13 and up, though people of all ages are welcome.

The seder will be conducted by Rabbi Mychal Copeland, a queer rabbi who serves Sha’ar Zahav in San Francisco, one of the first synagogues established as an explicitly safe space for queer Jews.

The registration fee is on a sliding scale with a suggested amount of $10 to cover the cost of the vegetarian dinner. If you would like to help or be a reader, leave a comment when you register here.

Join us for our Shabbat service on May 3 with special guest Gen Slosberg

Growing up in China as one of very few mixed-race kids, Gen was frequently bullied and excluded. (Her father descended from Ashkenazi Jews from Poland and Lithuania.) After she moved to the US with her family when she was in high school, she connected with her Jewish roots. She now works as an organizer for T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.

Outside of her work as a Jewish professional, Gen is a researcher and analyst of China's role in the Latin America and relationship to the US -- she was recently a Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley. Would you be interested in hosting this service on May 3?

GRATITUDE SHABBAT SERVICE HONORING LISSIN LEV CHAYA

Plan to join us on Friday May 17 at 7:00pm at Holy Family Church in HMB as we celebrate Shabbat and the contributions Lissin has made to our community over the past 8 years she has served as a soloist and service leader, and the 12+ years prior she has been a member.

Special guests will include Rabbi Jane Litman and Rabbi Ted Riter, previous CJC rabbis who worked closely with Lissin as her mentors. Throughout her tenure, Lissin provided a sense of continuity and presence through a rapid succession of rabbis. A special presentation will be made by the CJC Board in appreciation for her many years of joyful service.

"I went to Israel and the West Bank and came back with a message: Let’s build together and stop screaming at each other" by Rabbi Paula Marcus in Santa Cruz

"...I am devastated by the pain I saw and heard from so many people we met. And it is clear to me that all of us who care for human life and safety must stop reacting from our fear and anger. The people we met are not asking for revenge. They are holding deep pain and trauma, and they are asking us to elevate their voices for peace and justice. For recognition of all.

"I firmly believe we need to support the messages from groups like Standing Together, Combatants for Peace and A Land for All. These groups are Palestinians and Israelis working together toward peace, coexistence and education. We need to model ourselves on them, learn from them and listen."  (Read the entire article here.)

The CJC family extends its condolences to Jill Brookner, Reb Moshe's partner, after the passing of her father, Sanford Bacon of Boca Raton, FL. Sanford passed away on April 12 at the age of 95. Graveside services were held at Montefiore Cemetery in St. Albans, New York. 

Wondering what else is coming up? You can always check our website and calendar here.

Rabbi Moshe Heyn serves as CJC's Spiritual Leader, along with our Sheli'ach Tzibbur, Lissin Lev Chaya. Tonight will be their last service together for a long while.

The Mission of CJC is to provide an inclusive community that supports connection to Jewish life, both cultural and spiritual, on the coast from Pacifica to Pescadero.

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