To join our Kabbalat Shabbat on - line Zoom Shabbat Friday March 22nd , 7 PM service with Special Guest Hazanit and Teacher Cyrise Beatty- Schachter

click HERE

Shabbat Morning led by Rabbi Jonathan on - line Worship and Torah Service March 23rd at 10 AM

click HERE

Mi SheNichnas Adar Marbin B'simcha - The Person who enters Adar meets increased happiness!

PURIM CELEBRATION

SATURDAY March 23rd

beginning at 6:30 pm

The Minyan is doing a hybrid Purim again with Temple Beth Sholom in San Leandro, CA.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85766347588

In-person at the historic "Little Shul" in the backyard of Temple Beth Sholom, 642 Dolores Ave, San Leandro, CA. 

There is a parking lot in the back on Juana street (after google maps tells you you have arrived, turn right onto Bancroft and another right onto Juana, the parking lot is just past the condos). Ring the buzzer on the back gate and someone will let you into FORTRESS TBS.

Those coming in person are invited to wear costumes and participate in the hammentaschen bake-off. BYOB. RSVPs are kindly encouraged at https://www.tbssanleandro.com/event/Megillah2024

All the times below will be strictly enforced. Anyone arriving late will be forced to eat a hammentaschen-on-matzah sandwich while standing on one foot and screaming "Praise Haman! Curse Mordechai!"

6:30pm - Megillah reading - HYBRID - Little Shul and online

7:45pm - Purim Shpiel - In-person but streamed on Zoom8:15pm - Havdallah

8:30pm - 10:30pm - SPLIT - In-person Dance Party, Online Cabaret .

Link for the Cabaret is the same as the one mentioned above

It's not too late to display your talents. Join the online cabaret, contact:

Ami Goodman 

If you would like renew your membership and/or make a contribution to the Aquarian Minyan or help us celebrate the Jubilee anniverary and help us move into the Sacred Future with a solid YESOD in the realm of financial sustenance . If you would like to donate in memory of a beloved relative or friend, let us know their name and your gift will be noted here.

click HERE

Yeshivah Classes

New Classes for the Spring

Israel / Palestine: A Parallel Narrative Approach with Eleanor Shapiro, Ph.D.

March 21, March 28, April 4, April 11, 2024

Thursdays 12pm Pacific / 3pm Eastern

*There is a suggested minimum donation of $60 for all four sessions of this class. Recordings will be provided to all who register.

REGISTER HERE

The current war between Israel and Hamas can make the situation feel too complex and painful to contemplate. Addressing the roots of the conflict, this multimedia history course introduces a perspective that ultimately offers an alternative to the despair that comes with hopeless headlines. All levels of learning are welcome. Students are encouraged to watch the film “1913: Seeds of Conflict” (available on Youtube and PBS.org) before the first session of this class to prepare for the discussion.

Week one will cover the period 1920-1947 British-Controlled Palestine. Week two will address the period 1948-1966 Israeli Independence / Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe) to the Six Day War. Week three will cover 1967 – to the present occupation of today. The fourth and final week Points of Hope - Breaking the Cycle of Violence will explore possibilities for the future.

About Eleanor Shapiro

Eleanor Shapiro received her Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union in 2018, focusing on Jewish music in contemporary Poland. Prior to that, she directed the Berkeley-based Jewish Music Festival for fifteen years. From 1982-1990 she lived and worked in both the Arab and Jewish sectors in Israel as an English instructor and subsequently as a freelance journalist. She covered the first Palestinian Uprising 1988-1990 primarily for the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, and as a researcher/ interpreter for the Miami Herald and New York Newsday. Upon her return to the Bay Area, she did graduate work in Middle East Studies at UC Berkeley.

KABBALAH AND SCIENCE: INTERSECTION AND DIALOGUE - FOUR GREAT THINKERS.

with Rabbi Dr. Jeff Amshalem 

April 9, 16, 23, (no class Pesach) and May 7th

Register HERE

*There is a Suggested minimum donation of $60 for all four sessions of this class. Recordings will be provided to all who register

In this series we will look at the fascinating interplay of Kabbalah and science in the 17th and 18th centuries. Following the scientific revolution, most Westerners, not only Jews, were reconsidering the relationship between religion and science, as some people tried to categorically separate the two, others to unite the two, and others to put them in dialogue. Over four sessions we will learn from four Kabbalists who, each in his own way, can also be seen as scientists: Yehudah Loew ben Bezalel, better known as the Maharal of Prague, made famous as the creator of the golem but actually much more interesting for his thoughts on God and nature; Avraham Yagel, a physician, kabbalist, and naturalist who lived in northern Italy, a center of cosmopolitan learning and discovery; Pinhas of Korets, an early Hasidic master whose kabbalistic teachings and observations about nature as revealing God earned him the nickname "the divine philosopher"; and Pinhas Hurwitz, whose book Sefer ha-Brit, both a scientific encyclopedia and a kabbalistic treatise, is credited with bringing modern science into the orthodox world and the orthodox world into modernity. The series will combine background knowledge with focused study of these kabbalists' works.

About Rabbi Dr. Jeff Amshalem



Rabbi Dr. Jeff Amshalem has been in Jewish education for over twenty years in a variety of roles, and has done much of his learning and teaching in pluralistic environments such as Pardes and Beit Midrash Elul in Jerusalem and at Hebrew College in Massachusetts. He earned his PhD in Jewish Thought from Ben-Gurion University and has orthodox rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes and Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg of Jerusalem. He now teaches in the Religion Department at Tufts University and lives in Sharon, MA, with his chef wife, Ariella, four children, a dog, a cat, and a flock of chickens

LEARNING AND SINGING OUR WAY THROUGH PIRKEI AVOT

with Ami Goodman

Wednesdays, March 6, 13, NO CLASS March 20 (Abigail's Funeral) resumes March 27 and an additional class will be held on April 3.

12pm Pacific Time

*There is a suggested minimum donation of $50 four all four sessions of this class. Recordings will be provided to all who register.

REGISTER HERE

In this multi-session class, we’ll have fun delving into the rich moral, ethical and practical teachings which comprise the unique Talmudic tractate known as Pirkei Avot, or Chapters of the Sages. It is no wonder that a large number of these famous selections (mishnayot) and phrases have been set to music over the years. We will explore the wisdom of the verses and learn the melodies that accompany them. In this holistic approach to learning with singing, we’ll certainly exercise both sides of our brains! No stellar singing ability or reading knowledge of Hebrew are required. Materials will be provided in English and Hebrew with English transliterations of the Hebrew.



About Ami Goodman

Ami Goodman has had a lifelong love of Jewish music, especially the myriad genres of Jewish and Yiddish folk and liturgical music. He enjoys uncovering and sharing new melodies for the t’filot, most always leading to new connections and insights into the prayers and texts. He is a ba’al tefilah and enjoys leading the community in prayer journeys. Ami is a retired physician, helps lead the Jewish Folk Chorus of San Francisco, and lives with his wife Abby and their cat in San Francisco.

Signs, Symbols and Somatics: Embodied Amulet Magic in the Jewish World

with Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Seidel, Aquarian Minyan Rabbi-in-Residence

Mondays April 29 May 6, 13 and 20, and June 3

12pm Pacific Time / 3pm Eastern



REGISTER HERE

*A minimum donation of $60 is suggested for all five sessions of this class. Recordings will be provided to all who register.

Amulets have been a significant part of Jewish identity and life for thousands of years. This course examines Rabbinic discourse and law concerning amulets, their properties, sanctity and use and the mounting evidence of physical ritual objects worn on the body for healing and protection. We examine both literary and archeological materials in our overview, covering the “media” of amulet making, the magical formulae found on them, as well as their relationship to medicine and healers. 

What makes an amulet “Jewish?” Are amulets sacred? Do they “work”? How did the “rationalists” view amulets in the modern era after the Enlightenment? How are amulet makers evaluated and tested? What survives in medieval and modern history of the form and function of ancient amulets? Can amulets be considered as part of Jewish shamanic practice?

The contested nature of these embodied protective objects as well as their aesthetics will be the subject of our discussion as well. Sessions: 1. Ancient Amulets and Prayers; the Media of amulets 2. Rabbinic Discussions of the Legal Status of Amulets 2. Geniza collection of Aramaic and Hebrew amulets 3. Medieval Jewish amulets in Hebrew and early Yiddish 4. Early modern collections in magical books and the rise of the Ba’alei Shem (shamanic healers and scribes) 



Please support our teachers and help support our work at the Yeshivah

You can donate at

https://aquarianminyan.com/yeshiva

Aquarian Minyan Adjacent Community Program - Live in Person and Streaming in Pacific Grove

Passings

The Minyan is sad to announce the passing of Rabbi Ellen Bernstein who died on Tuesday Feb. 27th after a series of strokes and the revelation of un-treatable cancer. Ellen was an early Minyan member and pioneer in the Eco-Jewish activist world who recently published her last work on the Song of Songs and Theology pictured below. The Minyan will hold (pending discussion) an evening of tribute in memory of Ellen and her work which was so impactful for so many of us over the years. She spent most of her years based in Western Massachusetts and Philadelphia and was ordained as a Reconstructionist Rabbi. Yehi Nishmata B'rucha b'Tzror HeChayim . You can read a more lengthy obituary HERE

Rabbi Ellen Bernstein's z"l book Toward a Holy Ecology is now available. It is her last publication among many wonderful volumes. You can order it HERE (Amazon) or HERE (Afikomen Books) or HERE (Kobo)

Healing Circle

 with Rabbi Diane Elliot

Fridays 8:30am

Zoom link HERE

Sunday Night Minyan Sharing at 7 PM Pacific hosted by marty potrop - Join at this link HERE

 G'milut Hasadim (גמילות חסדים) 

Caring Committee. To actively help people with your time and energy is to perform "Acts of Lovingkindness" a complement to Tzedakah!

Are you up for performing a mitzvah or two?

The Caring Committee is looking for people available to help members in need, i.e. cooking and/or delivering meals, help with transportation, or making phone calls. We also need people who can serve as deep listeners on Zoom - if you have pastoral skills please be in touch with the Rabbi.

If you are interested, please contact Jonathan Seidel rabbiseidel@gmail.com or Hanna Cohen at HaCo@aol.com

Prayer / Misheberach List

If you want to add your name or another person’s name to the prayer list below, please contact Claudia Miller at thelisteningpath@gmail.com.or write to the editor of this newsletter at rabbiseidel@gmail.com

TIKKUN OLAM COMMITTEE NEWS TOC meeting on March 21st is now postponed until April 4th due to the Shiva Minyan on Thursday Evening

Our commitment to Tikkun haTevel, healing the Planet and stopping destructive global warming and burning continues:

Climate Action Alert from Our Partner: The Jewish Earth Alliance

Power plants are responsible for one quarter of US global-warming pollution. The US Environmental Protection Agency has been trying to regulate these dangerous emissions for two decades. Jewish tradition teaches that a vow should be fulfilled without delay. Urge Administrator Regan to act boldly and swiftly to fulfill the promise to finalize the strongest possible pollution standards for all power plants. A sample message can be found in the Action Alert from Jewish Earth Alliance.

Helping the Monarch Butterfly

Both the Eastern and Western migratory monarch populations have declined by more than 90% in recent years. The future of the monarch butterfly depends on local efforts to plant and restore native milkweed and nectar plants in home landscapes, public spaces, towns, and cities. Your local leaders can help by joining a network of hundreds of U.S. cities and communities that are investing in habitat restoration, community science, environmental education, and local policy change to benefit monarch butterflies. Sign online and send your message today: 

https://support.nwfactionfund.org/page/64142/action/1?locale=en-US

The Aquarian Minyan is proud to be a part of the Jewish Earth Alliance!

Halt Dangerous Methane Leaks

Jewish law teaches that those who damage the public domain are responsible for reparations. Reducing the release of wasted methane gas is one of the most effective ways to repair our atmosphere and reverse climate change. Jewish Earth Alliance’s action alert explains how to submit a comment  HERE to the Environmental Protection Agency in support of a Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems

The Aquarian Minyan Book club will meet again Thursday March 21st at 1 PM -

The Book Club continues to read aloud “The Mystical Exodus in Jungian Perspective: Transforming Trauma and the Wellsprings of Renewal” by Shoshana Fershtman.



New members are cordially welcomed. For more information, please contact Shoshana Dembitz, sdembitz@gmail.com and check our Website for updates about the next meetings

CLICK HERE

If you want to add your name or another person’s name to the prayer list below, please contact Claudia Miller at the

thelisteningpath@gmail.com or to Rabbi Jonathan Seidel at rabbiseidel@gmail.com

Mi sheberach

Blessings and Continued Healing Prayers for

ALL the wounded Israelis and Palestinians that are suffering from the horrible violence and trauma of the last five months. We pray also for the healing of the wounded in the Ukraine/Russia conflict. We pray for the thousands that are injured. We are praying for those suffering from trauma and May the Divine send them medical care, emotional support and the World's blessings for healing. We are also sending our love and support to all those Californians who have suffered physical and emotional harm from the recent catastrophic storms that hit the State.

Hanna Cohen - Hanna bat Leib haCohen v' Bluma Betty Seidel Batya bat Leah v' Yaakov (Rabbi's Mother) Daisy James - Uriella Aziza bat Miriam v'Rav Yonatan (Rabbi's daughter) Alan Barkan, Susan Diamond, Shoshana Dembitz, Zakhariah ben Leah v'haRav Tsvi haCohen, Elaine Wolf-Blank, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, Uriella Mitchell, , Moshe Pesach ben Chanya Leah (Moiseh Geller), Susan Rose -Tzvia Chana Cantor Aviva Rosenbloom, Menachem Chayim Dov Ber haLavi Shima Ronya (Marty Potrop) Sarah Joy Walsh, Yehoshuah ben Aviva , Devorah Ruth bat Chana (Debby Barkan), Barry Barkan, Abigail Grafton, Sarah Leah Mazeltov bat Fayga, Rabbi Cantor Sara Shendelman, Barbara Zilber, Maury Zilber, Renee Benmeleh, Miriam bat Sarah (Margaret James) Jyl Cohen (Chaya Yehudit Bat Chana v'Chaim), Rachel Malka bas Sloiva (Dr. Rae Fishman), Rabbi Michael Lerner, Rabbi Burt Jacobson, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, Karen Broder, Elizabeth Hirshfeld, Richard Seidel, Joshua Seidel, Helen Annik Chiera, daughter of Elizabeth Hirshfeld, Shulamit Koenig, Suzanne Lingo, Alaina bat Shoshana , Brooklyn Corshem, Derek Wong, Paula Conrad, Miriam bat Tzippa Sarah, Chaia bat Golda, Golda bat Simcha, R. Leah bat Esther v Eliezer, Rivka bat Shoshana, and Aryeh Trupin. All the wounded in Israel and Gaza, The survivors (wounded and traumatized) of the Hamas attacks and subsequent battles in Gaza, the Maui Firestorm, the Japanese Earthquake, the Libyan floods and the Moroccan and Turkish earthquakes and many other disasters and wars. Rifa-aynu HaVaYah V'neiyrafeh. ...Heal us O Yah and we will be healed.

Newsletter Editor: Rabbi Jonathan Seidel PhD . Thanks to Jennifer Ganya, Julie Gilden, Shoshana Dembitz as well as all our regular contributors. Please email Rabbi Seidel with questions or comments: rabbiseidel@gmail.com