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! 🙂

Victory for Pluralistic Judaism??

The Conservative Movement of Israel has been granted access to a small partitioned section of the Western Wall. They will be allowed to pray at in this area in an egalitarian fashion during Shacaris prayers. This is tremendous and I truly applaud their efforts to have a section of such a holy site where many Jews will be comfortable praying. I remember my own trip to the Western Wall, on birthright in December 2005. While I greatly enjoyed my experience as one I will never forget, many students on the trip were disappointed. They said that they felt the Western Wall didn’t belong to them, but to the Orthodox. I can understand this feeling, which brings me to my second point. While it is amazing the Conservative movement will be able to hold egalitarian services without causing tension with the Orthodox, I did not appreciate this statement: ‘The Conservative Movement called the agreement “a victory for pluralistic Judaism in Israel and a move towards total equality among Jewish movements in Israel.“’ Yes, I consider myself more towards the Orthodox side of the spectrum, but I greatly admire and am devoted to a pluralistic environment. I want a Conservative Jew to have a place to pray, but in turn, a Conservative Jew should want me to have a place to pray as well. While one might consider my form of Judaism “Non-Egalitarian”, implying that my form of Judaism is not equal, I prefer the term “Traditional”, thank you. I do not feel the need to defend my decision here, but then I would not ask anyone else affiliated with any other denomination to do so either. So let us thank G-d that we are taking steps towards making the holiest site in Judaism available to everyone to worship at in comfort, and let us not take steps towards making another group feel uncomfortable at the very same place.

This one’s for all the ladies

This promises to be a very cool event. It’s being run by Rebbetzin Miriam Hecht from Chabad of Sunnyvale and as she is an amazing cook, I can’t wait to see what she does with sushi.

 The Jewish Women’s Circle

In honor of the Jewish month of Adar and the holiday of Purim,
The  Jewish Women’s Circle will get together for an evening of

Sushi for the Soul

Learn the intricacies of the art of Sushi making with a master Sushi Chef and discover the deeper meaning of the Purim Story.

Sunday, February 25th @ 7:30pm

At Chabad of Sunnyvale
1110 Sunnyvale Saratoga Rd. Ste B, Sunnyvale

Refreshments will be served

RSVP Only – Suggested donation: $15;
Sponsorship – $180

For more information or to RSVP, please call Miriam at
(408) 720 8379 or email jwc@chabadsunnyvale.com

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Feed the Mind – Nourish the soul – Delight your senses

The Jewish Women’s Circle meets monthly for an energetic night out just for you – the Jewish Woman. It provides an opportunity for Jewish women to meet new friends, socialize, and truly discover the power of the Jewish Woman. Through innovative workshops, lectures, & creative activities, we will explore contemporary Jewish issues &  topics.

Most. Unromantic. Jew. EVER.

Oyster doesn’t know when to shut up, and thus secures his single status for eternity.

I am a Valentine’s Day grouch. I don’t like the holiday. For several reasons. Mainly, because I am a Jew, and this is a Christian holiday.

But Oyster, we’re just celebrating it as a secular day of love!

That might be true, but there’s also a Jewish day of love, called Tu B’Av (not to be confused with Tisha B’Av). The fact that so many Jews deign to celebrate the Christian holiday, and not the Jewish one smacks of assimilation / apologetics.

Secondly, I am literally ‘unromantic’. Why? The term ‘romance’ comes from a medieval nostalgic view of the Roman Empire. And while Western Civilization in general fawns over their Roman legacy, we Jews come from a different civilization. One that was almost crushed by the Romans. So I don’t find the term endearing or flattering.

Furthermore, what is the true story behind St. Valentine’s Day? Truth be told, even the Catholics aren’t quite sure. In fact, they removed the Feast of Saint Valentine from their church calendar during the Second Vatican Council in 1969, because they believe that the stories around Valentine are purely myth. If the holiday isn’t kosher enough for the Catholics, it sure ain’t kosher for me.

And finally, a real downer: 2,000 Jews martyred for their faith in Strausbourg, France, on February 14th, 1349. Burned to death in a Jewish cemetery for “host desecration”, or “ritual murder”, or some other Christian dementia. Awww shucks. Real Roman-tic of you guys! You shouldn’t have. No really, you shouldn’t have! Rot in Hell!

And I won’t even go into the corporate Hallmark commoditization of the holiday. That’s a whole ‘nother post!

As for the perceptive reader, the above is not a “Jewish Valentine’s Day card” of any sort. But rather, it’s a traditional New Year’s card; Jewish New Years. Work with me people, work with me! Rosh HaShana, ring a bell? That’s an appropriate time to send your Jewish crush some lovin’. That, and on Tu B’Av.

Now that all of that is off my chest, I’ll just get ready to entertain my cats for the rest of my life.

P.S.- Looks like some Very Hot Jews ™ from LA also agree with my sentiments. If I’ve neglected to pimp them on Oy Bay thus far, then consider yourselves pimped.

P. P. S. – And who is Oyster’s Valentine? Why, Antisemitic nut-job Friedrich Braun, of course! I don’t want to run and hide from you, I’m your Jewy love-worm!

Hate Jews for the Right Reason…

Have you heard what happened to Eli Wiesel? He was assaulted in San Francisco, by a Holocaust denier. I was in a Torah study class when I heard this. The woman telling the story said the whole thing was to get Wiesel to deny the Holocaust, to which our rabbi responded, “Which he lived through…” Exactly the issue with Holocaust denial isn’t it? How can one deny something they lived through? It is not entirely unlike me denying that fact I was born. Wiesel was quoted as saying, “I feared for my life in a way that hadn’t happened to me since 1945, before the end of the war.” Holocaust deniers are anti-semites and/or anti-Zionists whose goal is usually to prove that the world is under the influence of the evil Jews who are using the Holocaust to take over the world.

Have you ever seen The Believer ? It is a tragic story (loosely based on fact) of a self-hating Jew, named Danny, who becomes a Neo-Nazi. In the movie he is discussing his anti-semitism with a group of Holocaust survivors and young Neo-Nazis. One of the troubled young men says, in response to a survivor’s tale, “The Holocaust never happened!” To which Danny responds, “Of course the Holocaust happened, if it didn’t happen why do we admire Hitler so much!?”

It’s so tragically true, you almost want to laugh. One can hate Jews if their ignorance tells them to, but do not take from the Jews a quintessential experience which can not and should not be erased from our history. Danny, in one of his anti-semitic tirades makes the most accurate statement as to why people are anti-semitic: “Do you want to know the real reason we hate them? Because we hate them. Because they exist. Because it’s an axiom of nature that just as man longs for woman, loves his children, and fears death, he hates Jews. There’s no reason. If there were, some smartass kike would try to come up with an argument, try to prove us wrong. And of course that would only make us hate them more. In fact we have all the reasons we need in three simple letters: J-E-W. Jew.” So go ahead, kidnap Eli Wiesel and try to disprove something which every Jew will always know in their hearts happened. Continue to hate the Jew and try to spread lies about what the Jewish people are and stand for. But you cannot take away our collective memory, and therefore there will always be proof.

 

JDate, Hillel of Silicon Valley, team up for Purim Bash

Looks like my friends (Longdong, you know who you are) at the Hillel of Silicon Valley weren’t joking that they were planning a phat Pour’em Purim party this year. And from what I’ve heard, JDate is pretty choosy about what events they’re willing to associate with their “sterling” name. What a coup! LchaimLover, do you know any more about this? Also, if you have any wild & crazy experiences as a result of this Jewish drunken revelry, be sure to hit up Queen Esther herself at JDaters Anonymous. 🙂

Daiyenu! “Now Join AEPi, Bee-otches!”

“The lovely ladies of the Weiner Circle want you to join AEPi” Warning, NSFW:

Once I stopped chuckling, I had to ask myself, “Self, where did she learn ‘Daiyenu’?” 🙂 Hat tip to the royal Esther.

Speaking of AEPi, we have one of the newest chapters in the country right here in Silicon Valley! There actually was a good deal of drama surrounding their founding, but I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say anything yet. And there are many other fine AEPi establishments in the Bay Area. Check them out!

• Cal AEPi
• San Francisco AEPi
• Santa Cruz AEPi
• Silicon Valley AEPi
• Stanford AEPi
• UC Davis AEPi

Human Rights: According to Jewish Sources

Here’s the dish on an event being held at Santa Clara and De Anza tomorrow. Please stop by if you can:

Aryeh Green, advisor to Natan Sharansky will be leading a discussion on Human Rights according to Jewish Sources in the context of current issues in Israel.

De Anza College 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Room S-16.

Santa Clara University 4:00-5:30 in Campus Ministries in Benson Memorial Center

For more information contact Hillel of Silicon Valley  (408) 286-6669

History of CBDYAG, Part II: Jews on Ice!

By a2z

Young Adults braved the January cold spell by heading to the ice rink for an evening of schmoozing and fun. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever even ice skated before,” Jeremy recalls, “so at first I was clutching the wall as I tried to skate around the rink, afraid that I would fall. After making half a loop in what felt like 10 minutes or so, my friend Jeff taught me how to skate. I then had the courage to skate without holding onto the wall, and it was a lot of fun. I didn’t even fall!”

Phillip, who first joined the CBDYAG crew at our Ice Skating event in February of 2006, “enjoyed meeting up with friends I made from the first event I went to as well as new friends from this event. We had fun on the ice as well as conversing with everyone afterwards,” when we gathered at Stanley’s Bar, with its Tahoe lodge atmosphere.

It was a great evening for the almost 30 of us. Event organizer, Greg found it rewarding, “it was certainly a good feeling to see so many people show up and enjoy their Saturday night. This makes me want to get more involved in setting up similar events in the future.”

[Event Pictures]

Greg’s not the only one voluntarily planning events for their peers. His brother, Dmitry is organizing our assistance in building a San Jose Habitat for Humanity home to be, taking place on February 25. Contact cbdyag@gmail.com or look for the evite at http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/cbdyag@gmail.com/habitat to join in the fun.

Our Young Adult Shir Shabbat continues on February 23, 8pm at Congregation Beth David . Once again we’ll enjoy a separate oneg after the lively Carlebachi-style Friday night service. Young Adult Shir Shabbat happens every other month on the 4^th Friday of the month.

Dmitry as well as David are planning a Jewish SF adventure for March 25. We’ll meet at 11am at the Mountain View train station, enjoy kosher lunch at the SF New York (-style) Deli and tour the Contemporary Jewish Museum, before returning on the train. Please RSVP to cbdyag@gmail.com for more information and if you plan to join us so we know to look for you at the train station.

Thanks to these awesome volunteers and those working on other future events.

If you’re a Jewish 20 or 30 something we’d love to have you join us, find out the latest CBDYAG happenings by joining our Yahoo!Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cbdyag/ send a message to cbdyag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to join the list. Contact cbdyag@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you in the coming months.

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Hey, how come CBDYAG gets all the fun?! If you’d like your events advertised here, write to oyster[at]oy-bay.org ! You send me the advert or a write-up of a past event, throw in some links & pics, and you’re done! 🙂

Yitro was his Name-O

This week I attended Rabbi Avraham Hershel Levin’s class on Parsha Yitro. He told us the whole story of Yitro (a.k.a. Jethro & Father-in-Law of Moshe), and after an hour I realized Rabbi Levin hadn’t even mentioned the Ten Commandments, which is also in this week’s parsha. So I asked myself, why is a man so much more important then the Ten Commandments? Why is this week’s parsha, the parsha with the top ten, the Charelton Heston immortalized Ten Commandments, why is this parsha named after Jethro? Yitro was a priest of Midian, an idol worshipper, who has converted to Judaism. He had been around the block and seen a few things, and after all this he has realized that Judaism is the way to go. What does this say to us? At this point the Jews have come out of Egypt, but they still have the sand of Egypt on their backs. Even though they have heard that this is the greatest way, they have seen G-d’s miracles, they can’t quite let go of the fact that we came out of Egypt. But, that was that generation of Jews. They took a chance and, not knowing what the outcome was, they come out with an amazing prize. G-d, the greatest and foremost of all gods was on their (our) side. So how can we, the current generation of Jews, forget this? So this is what Yitro is all about, understanding that while there may be a lot of more interesting paths, at the end of the day, being Jewish ain’t so bad, in fact it’s the tops. So we need to learn the lesson of Yitro, shake the dust of Egypt off and embrace Israel and the future, and keep Egypt in the past.

(Alan Bates as Jethro, in “In the Beginning…”)