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B'nai Shalom is located at:
74 Eckley Lane
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Office: 925-934-9446
FAX: 925-934-9450
School: 925-934-9510
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About Us
Professional Staff Hadashot Articles
Rabbi Elon Sunshine's Hadashot article – July/August 2010
It is always good to come prepared.
If you look at young parents with their babies and small children on an outing, you will invariably find strollers and large bags full of toys, food, clothing and other equipment to be prepared for any situation. Smart international travelers bring reading material and activities, extra clothing, and food to make the journey easier. Attorneys prepare for trial, physicians prepare for medical procedures, and teachers prepare for class.
Coming unprepared is ill-advised, at minimum, and dangerous, at worst.
While most of us are likely to prepare for those things that we see as important in our lives, we typically do not consider attending services as one of those things. So I want to make a special appeal, and it begins like this:
SERVICES CAN BE BORING.
There, I said it. There is nothing wrong with that, and it is really nobody’s fault. The High Holy Days can be the most challenging. The order of the service and the contents of its prayers are foreign to us – even to regular shul-goers, because some aspects appear only once during the year. Indeed, services can be long and sometimes difficult to follow; the words and concepts may not resonate personally; we may not really even understand what draws us to the synagogue on these “important” days (what is it that makes them important, anyway?).
THERE IS A SOLUTION.
Come prepared! You can begin now, of course, but know that our tradition has long understood that the High Holy Days require preparation. Thus, Elul – the twelfth month on the Hebrew calendar – has been designated as the month for anticipating the arrival of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Beginning this year on August 10-11, Jews customarily begin to reflect on the year gone by, asking for forgiveness from those whom we have hurt and resolving to do better in the coming year. After all, it is simply impractical to show up at services and assume that you can “do” all of your repentance without first planning for it. Furthermore, this is an opportunity to study the traditions and prayers of the High Holy Days so that we have some orientation to what we are saying in services.
HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO:
First, spend some time thinking about yourself, your life, and your relationships. Specifically: Are you happy? Are you reaching your goals? How are your personal relationships? Are you satisfied professionally? Focus on those aspects of your life in which you feel successful, and then turn to those which do not seem successful. Then the hard part: What can you do to transform the negative into positive? Which of your relationships need repair, and what can you do to make it happen?
Second, prepare – even in some minor way – for services. Attend our High Holy Days seminar in August, where you can choose from a variety of learning opportunities focusing on the themes and prayers of the High Holy Days. Read a book or article on the High Holy Days that gives insight into the meaning of these important days. You might begin with Entering the High Holy Days, by Reuven Hammer, or a brand new book, Who by Fire, Who by Water: Un’taneh Tokef, by Lawrence A. Hoffman. The first will give you a good overview to the High Holy Days, while the second focuses in on a particular theme – inscription in the Book of Life. Alternatively, you might read the Torah readings for Rosh Hashanah in Genesis 21-22 – two wonderful and extremely moving stories that we will certainly discuss further during services. Finally, you may wish to read the synopses of my sermons in the High Holy Days guide that you will receive separately in the mail and pursue some of the suggested readings that I offer for you.
AND FINALLY:
Look out for something new this year. The Conservative Movement’s brand new mahzor (prayer book) for the High Holy Days will make its debut at Congregation B’nai Shalom, one of the first Conservative synagogues in the country to adopt it. Published just this summer, it is newly updated, and while the prayers themselves have not changed much in centuries, the translations, explanations, and transliterations are much improved! I hope you will enjoy reading through it during services and discovering all that it has to offer.
Don’t let this year be like every other. Come to services prepared, and you will most certainly have a meaningful experience. You will leave satisfied that you have made the most of your time, and you will begin a new year on the right foot.
Have a great summer. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Hazzan
Marc Dinkin's Hadashot article – July/August 2010
As July and August approach, and bring with them my vacation, I have a most pleasant challenge. It is difficult for me to find a part for all interested congregants during my absence at Shabbat services. Every year we add more capable personalities to our roster, both B’nai Mitzvah graduates and other adult participants. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect for me is the desire of this group to be counted upon as service leaders.
The summer Shabbat service schedule at CBS usually does not include a B’nai Mitzvah ceremony. Having then little or no time constraints, we are able to add features of the prayer outline that don’t make it into play often.
One of my favorites in this category is the Anim Z’mirot, the hymn of glory. Attributed to the 12th century Kabbalist, Yehudah Hehasid, the text presents references to Torah, Prophets, and Writings, therefore drawing from all parts of our Bible. The author is aware that no language can do more that touch upon the majesty of God, and this quest to discover is a most worthwhile journey.
I also enjoy sharing aspects of the liturgy with the congregation. In a more official language, the siddur also inspires us to reach a level of enjoying this search. We don’t “know God,” yet we are aware that some force greater than our own is responsible for our very being. Starting the day with this attitude can be most uplifting!
Have a safe and healthy summer.
Director of Congregational Learning Rabbi Jennifer Flam's Hadashot article – July/August 2010
The (Not-So) Secret Formula
By Rabbi Jennifer Flam
“School’s out for the summer. School’s out forever…”
Yes, it’s true. School is out. Summer is in. After being bombarded with tons of homework, tests, quizzes, book reports, and class projects, your children may wish the words to the classic song quoted above were indeed the truth. However, we as parents and educators know that in reality, school will be back in session at the end of August. That’s about two months for you. A lifetime for your children.
Of course, summer seems like a forever of barbeques, swimming pools, vacations, stay-cations, and taking time off from your occupations. As for your kids, many of you enroll them in day camps, overnight camps, art camps, science camps, Boy Scout Camps, Girl Scout Camps, and of course, Jewish camps. Camp is about campfires, friendships, creative activities, physical activities, cheers, teamwork, bonding, a lifetime worth of incredible memories, and of course, s’mores.
What about the educational value of school versus camp? Kids clearly are learning in both environments. School is an important part of shaping us as young individuals who will grow into successful adults. However, school has a certain formality to it. The “Mr. and Mrs. Teacher” component. Uniforms in some cases. While there certainly is a lot of creativity involved in elementary and secondary education these days, the bulk of it lacks well, “the summer camp fun factor.” Camp, in essence, is learning by way of a good time. Of course, there is such a thing as too much fun.
So where does that leave religious school? More specifically, the Congregation B’nai Shalom Religious School?
Here’s the not-so secret formula…
SCHOOL + CAMP + JUDAISM = CBS RELIGIOUS SCHOOL!
Sounds simple? It is. At CBS Religious School, we pride ourselves on providing a top-notch “ed-Jew-cation” for our students in an environment that fosters innovation, creativity, games, drama, art, music, “the fun factor”, while giving them all of the essential components of Judaism: prayers, tradition, holidays, culture, history, Israel, ethics, B’nai Mitzvah prep, Tzedakah, Tikkun Olam…
Granted, this is all just skimming the surface of an all-new innovative curriculum (available on the CBS website or in my office). A curriculum fully designed to educate your children through an immersive experience where they won’t get lost in an “ocean of formality” or drown in a “swimming pool of decadence.” Instead, it will give them an enjoyable, engaging, enlightening dip into the “Mikvah of Jewish Learning” that is the CBS Religious School. A school that when it gets out for the summer, the experience lasts forever…
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
L’Shalom,
Rabbi Jennifer Flam
Visit our News page to read Preschool
Director Liz Kaufman's article from this month's issue of Hadashot.
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