Israel in San Francisco Gardens, A birthday party June 1

Israel in the Gardens
ישראל בפארק -

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Birthday Cake, Anyone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYb_VfoNpx4

If you weren’t lucky enough to experience Israel's 60th birthday in Israel this year, come to the next best thing: Israel in the Gardens. The Sunday, June 1 event at Yerba Buena Gardens closely resembles the actual Israeli celebration, featuring all-day music, ethnic food, entertainment and fun for all ages.

New features have been added to this year's festivities:

11:00 a.m. - 12:3 p.m. Children Performances
Students of Jewish day schools, with support from the Israel Education Initiative (IEI), will present music, dance and drama interpretations of Israel@60.

11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Let’s celebrate Israel with music with Isaac Zones

Let’s celebrate Israel with music… a music session at Israel in the Gardens for the little ones!

For children ages newborn to 4

(Older brothers and sisters welcome as well!)

Bring your little ones and join Isaac Zones at Yerba Buena Gardens in the East Garden on the grass, for a special music class of Israeli and Jewish songs.
Music sessions
at
11am and 1pm

30 minutes of singing, dancing and fun!

Bring a picnic or grab a falafel and enjoy the many wonderful activities at Israel and the Gardens with the entire family!

ABOUT ISAAC:

SF native Isaac Zones is a music specialist at the Osher Marin JCC ECE as well as with Golden Gate Music Together. He also does Shabbat services and other special events with congregations Beth Shalom and Sha'ar Zahav - both in San Francisco. Last but not least, Isaac works at least part of every summer with the organization that got him his start - Camp Tawonga. Isaac attended Brandeis Hillel Day School as a child and prior to making music his full time work was the director for the highly acclaimed Jewish Young Adult Program - Moishe House - in addition to being one of the founding members of the house. Isaac is a dynamic and fun filled teacher that all the kids love ! We hope you’ll join us!

• "A Taste of the Best of Israel," a fascinating interactive exhibit and comprehensive display of 60 years of Israeli achievement, including:
• Elaborate mind games from the Weitzman Institute
• A Lego irrigation project demonstrating how Israelis make the desert bloom
• A replica of Israel's Independence Scroll inviting visitors to add their signatures to those of David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir – and to suggest improvements!
• Exhibitions that challenge participants to:
• Design aid missions to the world's needy
• Join arts and crafts workshops spotlighting Israel's multicultural society
• Compete in a game of Israeli Trivial Pursuit incorporating the exhibit's information
• Silent auction of Israel @ 60 birthday cakes baked by celebrity chefs, benefiting the Atzmaut Project in Sderot

Other attractions for the day include:

• Main music headliner – The Idan Raichel Project, ethnically diverse Israeli band that blends Biblical psalms, Ethiopian melodies, Yemenite chants and Sephardic-North African-Mediterranean sounds with cutting edge production techniques.
• Shuk-style open air market, creating an authentic Israeli atmosphere, offering Israeli jewelry, art and crafts
• Teen Zone and popular teen group, Strong Black Coffee – Café Shachor Hazak – with its unique blend of Hebrew hip-hop, rap and reggae
• Mini Israeli film festival
• Children's interpretation of Israel @ 60 through music, dance, theatre, posters
• Israeli fashion show
• And, of course, flavorful temptations of both traditional Israeli and Mediterranean food and American-Jewish favorites

Bring your family and friends and join us from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Yerba Buena Gardens for the largest Israel Independence Day celebration and Jewish cultural event in the Bay Area. Sponsored by the Federation's Israel Center. www.israelinthegardens.org

From JACTS Director, Rabbi Sara Shendelman

Dear JACTS Families,

We have had an amazing year in our
curriculum with our students. Really brilliant teaching
and art and music, Hebrew and more. I am told by
parents that students are loving it, and so am I.

The JACTS class that Av and I have been teaching week-
days has also been amazing. Contact me about classes,
Sundays or weekdays for next year.

I am so grateful to all of our teachers, and all of our
students and all of our parents! May we hold to
spiritual community and love more fully and feel
the embrace of each other!

Contemporary Jewish Museum Opening Celebration!

Date/Time:
Sunday, June 8, 2008, 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM Buy Tickets
Admission:
Free
RSVP/Reservations:
Reserve your FREE ticket online
Location:
Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission Street (between Third and Fourth streets) San Francisco, CA 94103

---

About the Program

Come celebrate the opening of the new Contemporary Jewish Museum at the first Target Family Day, a community-wide celebration where visitors will enjoy admission-free access to the new Daniel Libeskind-designed facility, lively music performances, family-friendly hands-on activities, storytelling, and more.

Ongoing activities will include:

• Drop in Art Studio - Discover the Museum in our new Education Center by making your own art!
  • Embellish a special edition Opening Day architectural souvenir poster.
  • Create wearable art using art and architecture images from the new Museum.
  • Join the rest of our community in creating a fantastic mural of faces.
• Gather your family to enjoy musical performances by Jonathan Bayer and interactive theater — scheduled throughout the day!

General Information:
For general information about the Contemporary Jewish Museum
call 415.655.7800 or
email info@thecjm.org

Shavuot: Giving of the Torah!

Shavout Begins on June 8, 2008 6 Sivan 5768

Shavuot is a two day festival (one in Israel) it is to celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Shavuot falls on the fiftieth day after the beginning of Passover.

The Customs of Shavuot

(Much of the material in this section is adapted with permission, from Sefer HaTodaah of Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov)

What are the Customs of Shavuot?

Shavuot has a number of customs which are deeply ingrained in the celebration of the holiday. Among these are the following:

• Staying up all night to learn Torah on the first night of Shavuot
• Spreading greens and flowers in the synagogue on Shavuot
• Eating Dairy Meals on Shavuot

Staying Up (Without NoDoz)

There is a custom among the People of Israel to stay up all night to study the Torah on the first night of Shavuot. One of the reasons given for this custom is that it is to "make up" for the behavior of a large number of Jews who were present at Sinai, at the "main event," so to speak, yet they went to sleep that night. And Hashem had to wake them up with peals of thunder and Shofar blowing, to receive the Torah.

It is said in defense of those Jews that they slept "l'shem shamayim," with good intentions, for they felt that they would be better able to absorb and withstand the experience of Hashem's Revelation, which they knew was coming in the morning.

Those who stay up all night should wash their hands in the morning as usual, but without making the "brachah," or blessing, of "Netilat Yadayim," which is made each morning when one has had a regular night's sleep. Neither should they say the regular "Birchot HaShachar," the Blessings of the Morning, which contain blessings which correspond to the various aspects of "waking up:" opening the eyes, standing up, getting dressed, etc. On Shavuot morning, they should hear these "brachot" from someone who had slept during the night, but who came to "daven," to pray, typically at an early hour, with those who had stayed up to "learn."

Spreading Greens and Flowers

There exists a beautiful custom of decorating the synagogue on Shavuot with flowers and greens, because of the vegetation on Mt. Sinai. Some have the custom of adorning the Sefer Torah with roses. That, in particular, seems to have been an ancient custom, because Haman criticized the Jewish People to Achashverosh because of their observance of that custom.

The custom once existed to bring trees into the synagogue, but the Vilna Gaon basically banned that custom on the basis of it being "chukot ha'goyim," "adopting the customs of the gentiles," who have adopted the custom of celebrating their holiday by the use of trees.

Eating Dairy Meals

There is a tasty custom of eating dairy foods on the first day of Shavuot. Some simply eat a dairy meal. Many observe this custom by beginning with dairy foods, and following it by meat, to fulfill the commandment of "And you shall rejoice," and for most people, "there is no 'rejoicing' without meat."

In this case, one has to be very careful to rinse the mouth carefully, and to wait an hour between eating the dairy and eating the meat! In the other direction, of course; that is, meat first, then dairy, rinsing the mouth and waiting one hour is not sufficient (unless one is Dutch)! Then, one must wait several hours between meat and dairy. The number of hours is determined, again, by custom. The time interval varies from six hours to three hours (German Jewish custom) to one hour (Dutch Jews).

When having dairy followed by meat in relatively close succession, one must also say Birchat HaMazon (the blessing after a meal), spread a different table cover and reset the table for meat. A hint that this is the procedure to be followed is the Shavuot-related verse, "Bring the first fruits of your Land to the House of the L-rd - Do not cook a lamb in its mother's milk" (the three-fold repetition of the latter part of the verse being the source for the prohibition of the meat and dairy combination).

There are a number of reasons offered for this custom, but, whatever the reason, it is an established custom, and as long as it is not illegal, immoral or (very) fattening, we continue to abide by it. Some of the reasons given are as follows:

1. The day that Moshe Rabbeinu was pulled from the water by the daughter of Pharaoh, was the Sixth of Sivan, the day on which we celebrate Shavuot. And Baby Moshe refused to nurse from a non-Jewish woman, so that Miriam, Moshe's sister, was able to get Moshe's real mother, Yocheved, to be his nurse.
   
   
2. Until the giving of the Torah, meat was permitted to be eaten without ritual slaughter. Once the Torah was given, all methods of killing the animal for the purpose of eating other than "shechitah," ritual slaughter, were prohibited. Since shechitah could not be done on Shabbat, and everyone agrees that the Torah was given on Shabbat, the Jews had to eat dairy.
   
   
3. The "gematria," sum of the numerical equivalents of the Hebrew letters making up the word, of "chalav," milk, is forty (letter "chet" (8) plus letter "lamed" (30) plus letter "beit" (2) equals forty) which corresponds to the number of days that Moshe studied the Torah with Hashem on the top of Mt. Sinai.
   
   
4. Mount Sinai has eight names, one of which is "gavnunim," because its appearance resembles that of cheese, "gevina," in Hebrew.
   
   
5. Until the giving of the Torah, the Jewish People were afraid that the milk of animals was prohibited under the category of a "limb from a living animal." This is one of the Seven Laws of Noach, which Noach transmitted to his sons, obligatory upon all of humanity, and which is the source of the prohibition of causing excessive pain to living creatures. Once the Torah was given, and "Chalav," milk, was included among the seven types of produce with which the Land of Israel is blessed, the Jewish People realized that milk was indeed permitted

The Story of Shavuot

Rabbi Sara Shendelman Brings Joyous Judaism Home

Bringing Joyous Judaism Home: Spiritual, practical and creative ways to connect with and live an extraordinary tradition
with Rabbi Sara Shendelman

Every Tuesday at 7pm,
May 20-June 24



Chochmat HaLev
2215 Prince St, Berkeley, CA 94705
510.704.9687 | US Toll-Free 888.383.HEAL (4325)
fax 510.704.1767
email: frontdesk@chochmat.org

Who are you as a spiritual being and how does Judaism impact this?
How do you help create your family's experience of Judaism?
There are a multitude of aspects to being Jewish—personal and interpersonal.

At the first session, subjects will be proposed and class members will choose what topics of Judaism are most relevant to them today and would most assist in their personal growth and bringing Judaism home. In co-creating a personalized class on Judaism, we will celebrate and transmit Jewish history, holidays, Hebrew, ritual, Jewish law, prayer, Torah, spiritual practice or meditation. We will also spend some time with Jewish songs, stories, Israeli dances, Jewish film, food, and making ritual objects (choosing from candles, mezzuas, challah covers, amulets and many more).

$98 tuition, $26 for materials
or $26 per class plus $26 for materials.
(No one turned away for lack of funds)

Happy Mother's Day! May 11, 2008

Gratitude and Appreciation

to Mother

To Mother Dear

Beloved Mother, you are appreciated

For everything you do

You constantly nourish

And protect me

Mother, Oh Mother

With love I say

Thank you the most

Of all the mothers

You are the best

Again I say thank you

bveh trkh
amal
hrqyh amal
hdot Kl dyga ,hrqy ama
hwoi taw Myrbdh lkl
yl hnton dymt ta
ykrx lk
yli trmow tav
ama oa ,ama
trmoa yna hbhab
yhl hbr hdt
ylybwb rcb a
vhw
hrqy ama
hdot dyga Miph doi
!!

Hakarat Hatov
LiEmah

LiEmah Hayikarah
Emah Yikarah, Ahgeed loch Todah
Lichole Havdivarim SheAhtt Osah
Att Tameed Notehneht Lee
Kahl Zarchai
Viahtt Shomeret Ahlai

Emah, Oh Emah
BiAhhavah Ahnee Omeret
Todah Rabah Lai
Shehoo Bachar Bishveelee
Emah Yikarah!
Ode Hapah-um Ahgeed Todah!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Text: A woman of valor, who can find? Her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and nothing shall he lack. She renders him good and not evil all the days of her life. She opens her hand to the needy, and extends her hand to the poor. She is robed in strength and dignity, and cheerfully faces whatever may come. She opens her mouth with wisdom. Her tongue is guided by kindness. She tends to the affairs of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness. Her children come forward and bless her. Her husband too, and he praises her. Many women have done superbly, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a God-fearing woman is much to be praised. Place before her the fruit of her hands. Wherever people gather, her deeds speak her praise.

Traditionally, this verse (`Eshet Chayyil', A Woman Of Valor ) from Book of Proverbs (31:10-31) is recited on the Sabbath by the Jewish husband to his wife. Enumerating her virtues, he honors her roles as housewife and mother of the family. Although `Eshet Chayyil' proclaims the importance of women in Judaism, the custom of reciting this passage originated among medieval kabbalah scholars who composed this poem as an acrostic in which the first letters of each of its twenty-two lines form the Hebrew Alphabet; thereby the illusrating their perception of the Divine Presence (Shekhinah) as the mystical wife and mother of Israel.

http://www.shabat.co.il/howto/eishes_chayil.htm

Women have served a vital role throughout Jewish history.

Israel was redeemed from Egypt by virtue of its righteous women - Talmud Sotah 11b

Women have greater faith than men - Sifri 133

The power of insight is greater in Women - Talmud Niddah 45b

The wisdom of a woman builds a household - Proverbs 14:1

Read featured articles about Women in Judaism or subscribe to the Torah.org email class Women in Judaism.

Israel@60: Dream/Promise/Reality - An Interactive Exhibit

In celebration of Israel's 60 years as a modern state, enjoy an interactive and educational exhibit depicting Israel through the generations as a promise, a dream and a hope. The installation is appropriate for all ages and includes elements of all learning styles, encouraging visitor involvement. This commissioned piece, created in conjunction with Gallagher & Associates, is an original work.

(I visited with my San Francisco school students - it is basically some well designed posters, not worth a trip just for this - but worth checking out if you're already at the JCC.)

Israel@60: Dream/Promise/Reality - An Interactive Exhibit

FREE Daily May 5 - Jun 10 All Day

Pottruck Family Atrium
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
Phone: 415.292.1200
Fax: 415.276.1560
Email: info@jccsf.org

The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco is the oldest Jewish center on the West Coast, providing educational, social, cultural and fitness programs to the community since 1877. Open to all, with the mission of building and preserving Jewish Identity.