Mazal tov! Announcing Twinkie!

A truly heart-felt mazal tov to my two dear friends, Y. & J., on the birth of their beautiful baby code-named ‘Twinkie’. Ain’t she cute? 🙂

Bay Area Birthright Israel Next: The Re-Launch of the Bay Area Tribe

Oyster recently had the pleasure of catching up with Eli Raber, the Director of Birthright Israel NEXT San Francisco (nee, the Bay Area Tribe).

Eli Raber has been able to join Birthright Israel NEXT as the San Francisco Director, leaving behind his work in the corporate world and now being able to focus 100% of his time on Bay Area Tribe and Birthright Israel NEXT in San Francisco.

Oyster: So, aside from the snazzy new moniker, what does this change translate to?

We just moved into a new place which will serve both as a very cool and funky event space, a place to do Taglit-Birthright Israel trip orientations, and a place to have one-on-one meetings with Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni and Bay Area Tribe members.

We used to put on 1-2 events per month on a very modest budget, and it was me working to exhaustion to do it, while working 50 hours a week as a legal recruiter, relying on generous volunteers who would donate their time and energy. NOW, I can concentrate solely on this AND we’re bringing on five Birthright Israel NEXT Fellows who will do most of the event planning and build out our program so we have something happening almost once a week.

The Fellows will concentrate on 20-30 person events, maybe a wine tasting class, a hike, art projects, weekend camping trip, discussion series, LGBT group, Russian speakers events, and so forth. They basically have free reign to plan any event and help shape the community they think our members will enjoy. This is meant to be a peer-driven community building effort.

Oyster: Wow, paid staff! Always a plus. 🙂 With all of these Jewy hands making light work, what will you be doing?

I will direct these Fellows and concentrate on our major event during the year such as our Napa Wine Tour, Hanukkah Party, Salsa Dancing. I will also meet with members and to make sure we are meeting their needs and to help further a sense of community.

Our Fellows will come online likely in September, and we are looking to have a “re-launch” party at our new space and unveil the expanded event schedule and new and improved Bay Area Tribe & Birthright Israel NEXT San Francisco some time in October.

Oyster: One of the reasons that I kvell about the Bay Area Tribe is the fact that (aside that I grew up with some of the founders) it’s a completely grass-roots organization that was created from the bottom-up from outside the Jewish establishment (reminds me of some blogs that I know…). Will your strategic partnership with Birthright Israel affect that spirit?

One of our chief focuses during this expansion will be retaining that uniqueness of Bay Area Tribe, keeping true to what has made us one of, if not the, most popular young adult group in the Bay Area. We remain committed to always putting on interactive events, keeping it non- ‘meat markety’, with an emphasis on making first-timers feel welcome and be accepting and open to all.

Even with me being full time and the 5 Fellows, Bay Area Tribe & Birthright Israel NEXT San Francisco remains dedicated to utilizing volunteers, staying true to the practice of anyone can plan an event, and become a leader in the group. All inquries are more than welcome.

As mentioned, part of my role is to be connected with members, and I’d like to set up coffee dates or chats over appetizers with anyone interested in hearing more about the group, or finding out how they can get involved. The invitation is open, so anyone interested please contact me.

Our re-laucnh party will likely be in October, but we have two MAJOR events we are planning right now:

Sunday, Septmber 21 – Jewish National Fund, Birthright Israel NEXT SF and Bay Area Tribe are teaming up for ECO FARM NIGHT
– Tour of working Organic Farm, run by fellow Tribe member David Retsky. Who was recently featured in 7X7 magazine for his County Line Harvest Farm serving Organic Produce to many top San Francisco restaurants.
– Wine and Beer Tasting
-Students from the Arava Institute in Israel will speak about Organic Farming, sustainability and environmental cooperation towards peace in Israel.
-Then we will dine on banquet tables set up in the fields as a chef will prepare dinner for everyone will fresh produce from the farm.

RSVP HERE
Co-sponosred by Eco Jews of the Bay (Bay Area Hazon)

Saturday, December 27- Birthright Israel NEXT with Bay Area Tribe and the Bill Graham Foundation are putting on this years best Hanukkah Party!
At the Mezanine club in San Francisco, with TAINTED LOVE as the headliner. More details to follow….

Oyster: As any self-respecting muck-raker must ask, who’s footing the bill for all this?

Well, I’d like to thank the Jim Joseph Foundation for making this expansion of the Bay Area Tribe and Birthright Israel NEXT possible. And also all of you who have come to Bay Area Tribe events, who have supported us and who have believed in us. Your support and your attendance has made the program into what it has become and has allowed us to expand to better serve the young adult Jewish community in the Bay.

Welcome ShanaMaidel, the newest Oy Bay’ster!

The Jewish New Media Network & Oy Bay are very happy to welcome ShanaMaidel to the team! She’s a college intern who will be helping us with many things, from business development to content creation. See below for a little more about her. –Oyster

Originally hailing from one of those Frum suburbs outside New York City, she now resides in the South Side of Chicago, on the University of Chicago campus, where she is currently a Visual Arts student. With her far ranging interests, it is easy to engage her in a conversation, though right now she is focusing on escaping Marxist critiques of modern society, being very Jewish, and art involving light and light bulbs that does not look hokey. She also is really passionate about law, the Internet, and media interact with people and people use them as tools in their daily life. She is also occasionally known for asking that ditzy question, her super high pitched voice that is extraordinarily loud, and the mass of curly hair that floats around her head. She is still trying to meet someone with an equally dorky/serious sense of humor who will cook, bake, and go shopping with her. And she is looking forward to seeing the best of the Bay!

The Jewish New Media Network

Some of you might be wondering where I’ve been as of late. I haven’t written much lately. And I have so much to tell! With a recent trip to Brazil, and participation in this year’s ROI Summit in Jerusalem, I have no shortage of stories to impart upon our loyal readers.

The short answer is that I’ve been working hard to try to take Oy Bay to the next level. A year and a half ago, I was discussing the state of Oy Bay with some close colleagues of mine. I realized that I had reached a cusp where at the same time that our readership & significance as a news source in the Bay Area Jewish community was growing apace, so was the responsibility and time-commitment involved. I realized that either I had to do something to make Oy Bay a more substantial organization, or I would just maintain the status quo, the site wouldn’t grow and I would most likely lose interest as some other project won my attention, and allow the site to slowly die.

Thankfully for you, the former prevailed. 🙂

I haven’t been writing because with the paucity of time I have to moonlight on this (yes, sports-fans, I do have a day-job!), I’ve been devoting more & more of my time to what might be called “business development”. Though don’t get any hasty notions; we are non-profit (queue the broke jokes) and strongly believe in carrying on a mission of Jewish news media that is independent, non-profit, and in a digital medium.

The so-called parent organization for Oy Bay is known as the Jewish New Media Network. From there we will blog about new blogs & websites that are joining our team, along with any updates about our organization. We might even throw in a few articles that do some belly-button gazing about the state of Jewish journalism (especially of the online kind). What is the point of the JNMN? Well, imagine it like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but for heebs.

One of the goals of the JNMN is to create “Oy Bay-like” sites in different Jewish neighborhoods & regions throughout the US (and eventually in other countries). With that in mind, we are aggressively seeking out new talent in those markets to help us establish legitimate & authentic local media. If you can write or can manage a mean website, definitely drop us a line at jnewsie<at>jnmn.org.

Kneidalach’s floating in the Jewlicious soup

Some of my personal highlights from Jewlicious, starting from last to first:

Sunday

~Singing a morose melody while packing up and looking through the window to the exit.
~ “Unsettled” a movie by Adam Hootnick.
The movie follows 6 people through the settlement pullout from the Gaza strip.
for me, I was in tears the whole movie. The difficult psychological situation
that both the settlers and the soldiers were facing was very moving. To me, the
most moving part was to see religious Jewish settlements and communities. As
a newly observant Jew in a non Jewish environment, I came to appreciate
immensly the fact that we have a state where we can be openly observe our
religion.
~Matityahu
I have never heard his music before, unfortunately, and I’m glad I finally got to
hear him. He was amazing! His music, and his lyrics, is eternal and yet
relevant. Guess who was in tears and paralyzed? I think the Kneidalachs came
out really salty.
~LaJew
Don’t you guys think it would be a great name for a first-cousin-twice-
removed LA Jew blog? Oyster led a nice discussion about the future of Jewish
blogs in LA with about one or two native LAliens.

Saturday

~Late night Jammin’
Adam from Montreal lead an awesome 3am Jamming session with his Soprano
sax. If anyone has his contact info, I want it!
~Rock Concert!!
With Y-Love, Yuri Lane(beatbox), Rav Shmuel, and HaMoshav
Excellent music! Excellent dancing! (excellent dancing partner)
~Lovely Motzei Shabbos shower… mmm….
~Havdala with nigunim and a warm, 400 people group hug

~Shabbos!!! Food, people, praying, singing!!
and discussion panels.
~What to dowith anti-Semitic/Zionist professors?
Throw them to the garbage!
and if not, just document what they say in order to build a cause, and
become/stay educated and on top of things so you can thrust with your
sharp and knowledgeable Jewish tongue.

Friday

~Amazing Kabbalat Shabbat! The traditional Minyan had CRAZY dancing, and we, the
girls, had SO much fun! No wonder the puritans discouraged
dancing, it’s way too wild and it brings too much happiness.

~Hunington Beach, yay!

~Over night bus to Long Beach
ended up with 6 hours of sleep and a sore tail bone.

It was a remarkable experience! I’m very happy that I went and next year I’m going to nudge you personally to move your Tachat or Tush-tush southward (or Negba).

I find it sort of ironic that being a photographer, and all that, I practically didn’t take a single photograph.
Live in the moment, man! live in the moment *sniff*!

So next year, before we go to the built Jerusalem, let us stop by Jewlicious 5.0

Chanukah: Light Some Lights Party

Oy Bay’s new friends at the Roots Collective (don’t worry, you won’t have to collect any roots, it’s just the name of the Congregation Beth Am young adult group, that we introduced before), are throwing a phatty party tomorrow that we’re co-sponsoring. So you best be there!!!

Chanukah only comes around once a year. Might as well celebrate it in style, no?

Join other young adults from around the Peninsula for a night of fried foods, drinks, music and more!

Brought to you by: CBDYAG (Congregation Beth David), Hillel at Stanford, North Peninsula JCC, Palo Alto JCC, Oy Bay!, Roots Collective (Congregation Beth Am) and SV YAD.

Thursday, December 6th, @ 7 PM
Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, Los Altos Hills, CA

Mayn Yiddishe Velt: Young Jewish Songstress Graces Bay Area

Some of the Oy Bay crew recently had the pleasure of meeting soprano vocalist Heather Klein. And let us tell you, this Yiddish-speaking maidl is someone you won’t forget any time soon. In addition to her budding singing career (check out her sonorous voice on CDBaby!), she is also involved in the local Jewish community, and works part-time as a Jewish educator.

I recall her performance at the To Life! Festival last year, and I remember being impressed both by her musicality and her stage presence (not to mention being floored that she was singing in Yiddish). I could kvell about this Jewish songbird till you plotz, but you can check her out on West Bay Opera & Bay Area Classical Harmonies (BACH), her personal bio, and this review from the J Weekly for more goodies. The important thing for me to let you know about is about her upcoming performances, which you’re well-advised not to miss.

• JCC Chanukkah Concert– December 2nd – @ 4:30 p.m. – San Francisco JCC – San Francisco, CA -Chanukkah songs – Yiddish, Hebrew, and English

• Jewish Family and Children Services Chanukkah Concert– December 7th – 12-2 p.m. – Olive room – San Francisco, CA – Post St.

• Rhoda Goldman Plaza– December 10th – Post Chaunkah party – San Francisco, CA – Post St. – 12-2 p.m.

• Yiddish Recital– Mayn Yiddishe Velt – San Francisco JCC – San Francisco, CA — April 08′

• DEATH SONG RECITAL –Palo Alto JCC – Palo Alto, CA – Spring ’08

• Yiddish Recital– Mayn Yiddishe Velt – May 10th, 2008 – Temple Beth Am – Los Altos Hills, CA

Heather also has a number of performances coming up (this weekend, in fact!) as a classical soprano soloist. Check out her website for further event information!

Introducing: Congregation Beth Am Young Adult Chavurah

I’ve recently become acquainted with the young adult group over at Congregation Beth Am. This young adult Chavurah organizes meet-ups from Shabbat services & dinner, to bar-nights (pic above), to rip-roaring Hannukah parties. Powered by a plethora of good-looking rabbis (egalitarian), this looks like a group to make note of, and check out!

Visit their site for updates, and stay tuned for more Hannukah info. Shabbat Shalom!

ALERT: Missing Bay Area Jewish Teenager

[UPDATE] Emily has been found. Read below for more info.

Emily Cecilia Graeber was last seen on the afternoon of October 29, 2007, at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA.

Please view the attached PDF for more information on Emily’s disappearance. Emily Graeber PDF

From the SFJCF:

Dear Friends,

A 15 year old Jewish child is missing in San Francisco. We need your help to find her.

Please open this flyer her family has created and forward it to friends and family. Print it out, distribute it and do whatever you can.

Pray for speedy safe reunion with her family,

Shalom,
Rabbi Marvin Goodman, JCF Rabbi in Residence
“Whoever saves a single life, it is as if he/she had saved the whole world.“– Mishneh, Sanhedrin 4:5

כל המציל נפש אחת, כאילו הציל עולם ומלואו.” — על פי מסכת סנהדרין, פרק ד”

The saftety of Emily and concern for her family will be in the hearts of all of us at Oy Bay over this Shabbat, and until Emily is found.

May it be your will, L-rd our G-d and G-d of our ancestors, to guide us in peace, to sustain us in peace, and to bring us home in peace.

[UPDATE]: I received the following message at 10 AM on Fri., Nov. 16:

Thanks for sending out this important message — Emily has been found and is now

safe at home with her family. I work for a Jewish org. that has been very involved in this case, so I can say for sure.

Thanks again,

Elana

http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=134364

Apparently someone in the SF area saw Emily, became concerned about her, searched the internet and found she was a runaway. She back in St. Louis.

From: Central Reform Congregation, Rabbi Susan Talve
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 5:26 PM
Subject: Emily is on her way home

EMILY IS ON HER WAY HOME
Every once in awhile, the heart of the universe opens to prayer and acts of kindness. Thanks to all of the Angels that are part of this wonderful network of caring people across the country, Emily Graeber is on her way home.
The Graebers are so grateful for all that you have done and were willing to do for their family. I cannot say enough about the support of the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation.
Please continue to keep the Graebers in your prayers.

 

 

Flying Falafel Opening Friday

Flying Falafel has landed in Mountain View. This Friday, Oct 5th, they open their doors at 257 W Evelyn Ave. in Mountain View. You may recognize them from Summer Sizzle or Israel in the Gardens.

The menu includes 3 types of flying falafel, the option of whole wheat pita, and at least 10 different salads, and of course their signature Hummus Saucers, and Chocolate Frisbees.

They’ll offer pickup and delivery:
Monday-Friday
Pickup: 10:45 am-2:45 pm
Delivery: 11:00 am-2:30 pm

And will soon be on waiter.com. They’ll continue to do catering too.

Mazel Tov to them on their opening. Finally we have a new restaurant that is tech savvy. With a website, Facebook; MySpace and online ordering, and a mailing list.