Stop complaining! It’s Free!

Heard the news? Sheldon Adelson, the 5^th richest man in the world, coincidentally a Jew, has pledged $30,000,000 to the birthright program. Wow, huh? And interesting article in Jewsweek about this news said “birthright is no magic bullet against assimilation. But clearly even a fleeting exposure to the achievements of the Jewish state does create a window of opportunity for strengthening Jewish identity.” This is what I want to focus on. There are so many critics of birthright, and while I can see how some of their claims are warranted, on the other hand…From personal experience, birthright gets people in the door (of the Jewish world) and that makes all the difference. One of my dear friends was an unaffiliated Jew before birthright, now: she is an intern at Hillel and attends reform shul every so often. If there is a Shabbat dinner, she is there. She is proud to say, “I’m Jewish!” Where Hillel fails, due to cliques and awkwardness, birthright succeeds. Where Chabad fails, due to religiousness, birthright succeeds. It’s the right amount of everything, culture, religion, and fun. And it’s packaged brilliantly, spend 10 days with college students, in Israel! The year I signed up, Hillel was handing out condoms, and the logo on the packages: “Israel, it’s still safe to come.” I’ve seen few better marketing strategies. So now to my last point, the money! While many sit and criticize birthright as a waste of money, a good business man named Nachum once told me, “Rich people don’t spend money on something that won’t work or isn’t a good investment.” If the 5^th richest man in the world is willing to put his money into it, then you know what? Enough said.

Live-Blogging from the Feast of Jewish Learning!

With my trusty ethernet cord saving the day, this is Oyster: live-blogging from the Feast of Jewish learning! I’ll be trying to put up some pictures and text as this happen here at the SF JCC Bureau of Jewish Education’s 2nd Annual Young Adult Feast of Jewish Learning. I’ve already met Mariana, Sarah, and even Jewlicious Laya! I have to go and photograph some of this great crowd in the atrium, before I have to usher people into the main lecture hall. At 4:30 PM we’ll be having the opening session, complete with a Y-Love performance. Stay tuned! 🙂 Oh, and check out my nifty t-shirt!

Snow in San Francisco Shabbat Shalom

I unfortunately couldn’t join the Hillel Grad Student Ski Trip at the last minute ( ), so here’s an image of people skiing in San Francisco. 🙂

So, will I see you tonight at the CBDYAG Shir Shabbat outing?

Shabbat Shalom! 🙂

This Weekend: Double-Feasting!

We got two- yes, two!- Feasts of Jewish Learning goin’ on this weekend for you. One in the South Bay, and one in San Francisco. You might have read about Sarah Lefton’s project on such illustrious blogs as Jewlicious, JewSchool, and… there was another one… (Jewlicious? JewSchool? Wait, didn’t I already mention those?) … oh yes! Oy Bay!

I already pimped the SF one a few times over, so let’s give some lovin’ to the one at the Silicon Valley JCC:

The South Bay Institute for Jewish Living and Learning (SBI)
announces the 1st annual Night of Jewish Learning in the South Bay

Date: Saturday, February 24, 2007
Time: 7-10 pm
Place: Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center (JCC), Los Gatos
Cost: Free!

Join us for a night of Jewish learning, featuring over 10 classes with
your favorite rabbis and teachers from the South Bay.

Cantor Devorah Felder-Levy will begin the evening with a community
havdalah, with each person making their own spice box. Participants
will choose from a delectable smorgasbord of “spicy” topics for two
class sessions, such as “Living in the Land: Can Anything Taste as
Sweet Outside of Eretz Yisrael,” “The Spices and Seasons of the Year,”
“Spice of Life: Sexuality in Judaism,” “Spice of Social Justice,”
“Beginning the Week with Spice: Havdalah,” “The Spice of Shabbat:
Nurturing and Reconnecting on the Day of Rest,” and “Finding Your
B’shert; Jewish Matches in the Modern World.”

Local rabbis, cantors, and teachers participating in “Jewish Learning:
The Spice of Life!” include: Rabbi Leslie Alexander (Jewish Federation
of Silicon Valley), Rabbi Shalom Bochner (Santa Cruz Hillel), Rabbi
Aaron Mier Cunin (Chabad of San Jose), Mr. Adam Dorsay (Relationship
and Life Coach), Cantor Devorah Felder-Levy (Congregation Shir
Hadash), Rabbi Joey Felson (Jewish Study Network), Rabbi Joel Fleekop
(Congregation Shir Hadash), Rabbi Eitan Julius (Congregation Sinai),
Rabbi Lisa Levenberg (Congregation Shir Hadash), Rabbi Dana Magat
(Temple Emanu-El), Rabbi Avi Schochet (South Peninsula Hebrew Day
School), Rabbi Aaron Schonbrun (Congregation Beth David), and Rabbi
David Zitter (Eitz Chayim Academy and Congregation Ahavas Torah).

* * *

The South Bay Institute for Jewish Living and Learning (SBI) is a
consortium of synagogues and Jewish agencies who work together to
promote adult Jewish education in the South Bay.

All lectures will be held oat the Addison-Penzak JCC, 14855 Oka Road,
Los Gatos. For more information see http://www.svjcc.org, or contact Lisa
Ceile Goldfus, at lisacg@svjcc.org or (408) 357-7492.

Lemme bury some trenchant commentary at the bottom of this post. You see people? There’s a really big problem in the fact that our Federations don’t talk to one another. Oy Bay itself was born out of this frustration. How could the both plan such large Jewish Learning evenings on the same weekend? Unlike the upcoming Purim Party Parity Problem, they were nice enough to plan them on different days of the same weekend. Thanks, guys! Grrr… okay. Enough kvetchin’, it’s almost Shabbes…

Wait, one last one! Why are they doing these festivals now? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate (and by that, I mean Jewish) to do them around Shavu’ot? As in, Tikkun Le’il Shavu’ot?

This Weekend: Y-Love? Why not?!

Who is Y-Love? A black hasidic hip-hop artist from Brooklyn who is currently on the J-Dub Records Modular Moods record label. He busts a rhyme in Hebrew, Yiddish, and even ancient Aramaic! He’s also an avid blogger, contributing regularly to JewSchool.com and his own blog, ThisIsBabylon. You can try out his music on his MySpace page.

He’ll be hitting the Oy Bay Area this weekend, performing with Felonious in SF on Saturday night (after Shabbos, of course!), and at the Feast of Jewish Learning this Sunday (for free! With He’Brew beer!) that we blogged about earlier.

And finally, here’s a YouTube sample of the man’s talent:

Blogroll Update: The Hub

I can’t believe that I’ve been remiss in adding the Hub to our blogroll until now. I thought we added them a long time ago! Well, that’s being fixed right here, right now. Oh, and what is the Hub, you ask?

The mission of The Hub is to create an inclusive Jewish community for adults in their 20’s and 30’s who are searching for, questioning, defining, and celebrating their identities. The Hub presents cutting edge programs in the areas of arts, sports, recreation, Jewish life, and social action that foster the evolution of community and identity.

For more information contact Dan Wolf at 292-1267 or dwolf@jccsf.org

Their blurb doesn’t mention it, but they are based out of the San Francisco JCC. Be sure to check out their upcoming events, such as Y-Love, the Feast of Jewish Learning, and the Heather Gold Show!

Blogroll Update: Oy Bay Unilaterally Annexes Mid-California

In an unexpected turn of events, Oyster of Oy-Bay.org has annexed much of mid-California into the Oy Bay Area. With the pretext supplied by Ethan of the San Luis Obispo (SLO) AEPi, Oyster jumped at the opportunity to claim that juicy chunk of coastal real-estate in the name of the Jewciest J-blog this side of the Mississippi.

BJE presents: “Telling Secrets, Revealing Mysteries”

Oy Bay is proud to co-sponsor: BJE’s “Telling Secrets, Revealing Mysteries”

The Bureau of Jewish Education is proud to present:

“Telling Secrets, Revealing Mysteries”

The Second Annual Young Adult Feast of Jewish Learning.

At the JCC of San Francisco: 3200 California St.

Sunday, February 25, 4:00pm to 10:00pm

FREE OF CHARGE

RSVP with your full name to feastrsvp@bjesf.org so that we save you a seat, and know how much food to get!

 

Join 500 of your best friends for twenty-five free workshops on Jewish thought, text, life and love. It’s all free. All you have to do is show up, and we’ll supply the Bay Area’s most exciting Jewish faculty, free kosher food, the West Coast premiere of up-and-coming hip hop artist Y-Love, plus plenty of He’brew beer and schmooze time.

Whether you’re a little yeshiva bachur or a total newbie, there’s something here for you. The program features different branches of Judaism and totally different outlooks on life. Feeling texty? There’s lots of Talmud and Torah on the menu. More spiritually inclined? Learn about Hasidic practice, study Kabbalah, or sing the mystical songs called nigguns. How about something completely different, like yoga, theater, baking or film? Each participant can attend two 90-minute workshops.

Bring your friends and\npartners: this day of education is open to everyone 21-45. Get the full scoop at http://www.bjesf.org/feast.

Co-presented by the Taube Center for Jewish Life of JCCSF Taube Center for Jewish Life of JCCSF

Co-sponsored by: Chabad of SF, Chabad of Noe Valley, Congregation Adath Israel, Congregation Emanu-El’s YAC, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, Congregation Sherith Israel, Hadassah L’Atid, The Hub, JFCS’ 79ers program, Jewschool.com, Jewlicious.com, Oy-Bay!, Progressive Jewish Alliance, The Young Adults Division of the SF-based JCF, Schmaltz Brewing Co., 2nd Saturday @ the Cellar, The Bay Area Tribe, UCSF’s Jewish Students Association, YLD of the East Bay JCF, and your local MoisheHouse!

The Feast of Jewish Learning is made possible, in part, thanks to the Milton & Sophie Meyer Fund and Sinai Memorial Chapel.

Bureau of Jewish Education is a beneficiary of the SF-based Jewish Community Federation.

It’s not really mentioned here anywhere, but this whole production is being organized by the one-and-only Sarah Lefton. Mad props to her for putting together a night of authentic Jewish learning with such dynamic content! 🙂

Silicon Valley Connect, Adar Edition

Silicon Valley Connect

Cocktails and sushi appetizers.
$10 includes sushi and edamame appetizers.
Glatt kosher snacks will be served.

WHEN: Wednesday,
February 21st 6:30-8:30pm
WHERE: Blowfish Sushi at Santana Row.
RSVP: svyad@remove_me.jvalley.org

For pictures from previous Connects, take a look here .

Blogroll Update: Tim Barsky

Oy Bay Area-based Jewish performance artist Tim Barsky:

Tim Barsky is a traditional Ashkenazi storyteller and oral historian who has been getting increasing attention for his unique performance style, which blends hip-hop, street theatre, and Jewish folklore.
(more on performance)

He’s also the world’s first battle flutist. Using just a flute and a microphone, Tim can beatbox, “scratch”, manipulate beats, drop classics, and play up to 8 lines at the same time, without loops or sampling. Taking the aesthetic of the battle DJ and integrating it into the flute, Tim is pioneering the art form of woodwind percussion.
(more on flute beatboxing)

He’ll be at the Hub’s Purim Party as mentioned before.