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Thursday September 6, 2007

Shorts: Bay Area

Bay Area teens take part in Young Judaea year course

Eleven teens from the Bay Area’s Jewish community will take part in the annual year course, a 50-year-old program sponsored by Young Judaea, America’s oldest Zionist youth organization. Nearly every region of the Bay Area is represented, from Palo Alto to Berkeley to Santa Rosa.

The course is a nine-month volunteer and study abroad program in Israel for recent high school graduates. Participants may volunteer for Magen David Adom, harvest dates on a kibbutz, teach English to Israeli teenagers, hike through the Israeli countryside and more, all while earning up to a year’s worth of college credit through the University of Judaism College-in-Israel.

For more information, call (212) 303-8014, or visit www.youngjudaea.org.

New Hebrew School opening in Oakland

Chabad Jewish Center of Oakland opens its doors for a Sunday Hebrew school Sept. 9.

The school is open to children ages 5-11 of any Jewish background and affiliation.

It will feature interactive lessons and a curriculum centered on the holidays, Hebrew and Jewish lifestyle, with the intention of cultivating Jewish knowledge, pride and values.

Classes meet from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sundays at Chabad, 889 Sunnyhills Road in Oakland. Tuition for the school year is $575 per child.

Chabad of Oakland joins the ranks of other area centers offering a Hebrew school: Pleasanton, San Francisco, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale and San Mateo.

For more information, or to enroll at Chabad Hebrew School in Oakland, call (510) 444-6770.

East Bay lecture series announces new line-up

The East Bay Jewish Forum — formerly known as the Multi-Interest Day Lecture Series — kicks off a new season with a special Sunday lecture on Sept. 9.

The regularly scheduled Thursday lecture series begins Sept. 20 and runs through March 13. The Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay sponsors all the lectures.

The Thursday talks begin at 10 a.m. at Congregation Beth Sholom in San Leandro. Each will cost $10, and no advance registration is required.

The first session on Sept. 20 will be led by Riva Gambert, community programs director at the federation, as she speaks on pre-state Israel and the Third Reich.

The lecture series is bigger this year, with three special Sunday sessions, the first of which begins at 4 p.m. Sept. 9 at Congregation Beth Jacob in Oakland. Fred Rosenbaum, the founding director of Lehrhaus Judaica, will talk about the relationship between Israel and Germany following World War II and covers the issue of reparations paid to those who were hurt by the genocidal policies of the Third Reich.

An all-inclusive season pass costs $120. Sunday forums range in cost from $10 to $15. For a complete list of programs, call Liz at 510.839.2900 ext. 235.

Emanu-El expands Talmud classes

Congregation Emanu-El will expand its downtown and midtown text study this year.

Rabbis Peretz Wolf-Prusan and Jonathan Jaffe will lead weekly Talmud study sessions, while Rabbi Lawrence Kushner will explore the art of midrashic commentary.

Some sessions will meet at the Mechanics’ Institute, 57 Post St., S.F., while others will meet at the S.F. Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St., S.F.

All classes meet from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. The sessions range in cost from $10 to $80, which covers the cost of accompanying books. For a complete class schedule and to register, visit www.emanuelsf.org or call (415) 751-2541 ext. 212.

ADL offers reward in hate crime

The Anti-Defamation League is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of a racist hate crime in Brentwood.

On Aug. 22, a home belonging to a black family was ransacked and vandalized with racial epithets spray-painted throughout the house.

Anyone with information regarding the crime should call Detective Kelly Couch at (925) 634-6911. For more on the ADL, visit www.adl.org.

Mothers Circle forming in S.F.

Not Jewish, but raising Jewish children?

A new group is forming in San Francisco for non-Jewish mothers of interfaith children.

The Mothers Circle will be run by the Jewish Outreach Institute at Congregation Sherith Israel. It is sponsored by the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.

Participants will meet twice a month on Fridays with a Sherith Israel congregant who is a psychologist specializing in interfaith family dynamics. They’ll also learn some “how tos” regarding the holidays and Shabbat, becoming part of an email discussion/support group and taking part in organized activities, said Mothers Circle coordinator Carrie Rice.

It’s beginning on Oct. 5; for information contact Rice at (415) 346-1720 ext. 18, or visit www.themotherscircle.org.

Got an extra $1.8 mil? How about synagogue seats?

In what is likely the first eBay auction of its kind, Miami Beach’s Temple Emanu-El is selling off two memberships for life to the highest bidder.

The temple has set the minimum bid at $1.8 million. That’s a hefty chunk of change but, when you think about it, it’s only $900,000 a chair.

“Charitable contributions are a big part of any religious organization, and we thought this would be a fun way to go,” said Rabbi Kliel Rose.

“When your synagogue sits in the middle of South Beach, you’re always inspired to do things a little differently.”

As of j.’s press time Wednesday, no bids had been made.

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