We loved it and we love you! Rabbi Shai Held's Shabbat with us.
11/13/2024 04:44:03 PM
Dear Shir Hadash,
After having enjoyed a Shabbat full of learning with Rabbi Shai Held we are so full of love for our community and for the quality of our experiences together. We heard from many of you about how meaningful this experience was.
What a great success it was! Crowds were...Read more...
An Intention for Election Day
11/05/2024 07:22:12 AM
Dear Shir Hadash,
As we enter this Election Day and celebration of democracy, let us acknowledge the fear and anxiety many of us are feeling. The stakes are indeed high, and the outcome matters deeply. And yet, regardless of what happens, we must appeal to our higher selves. We must stay committed to the ongoing work of strengthening our democracy and healing our painfully divided nation.
Let us bridge our differences with...Read more...
Reflection on the Hadar Intensive
08/12/2024 09:17:19 PM
At the Hadar learning intensive, I participated in a daily group study track entitled “G-d and Chosenness.” Key questions broached at the outset were: what does it mean for us as a Jewish people to choose G-d? What does it mean to be a chosen people by G-d?
Through the inclusive and dynamic...Read more...
Hadar in New York - Learning Together
07/24/2024 09:33:14 AM
“From learning more about the structure of the Service to analyzing Jewish texts I’ve been able to learn at my level and stretch a little. I think others have had a similar experience. I am also enjoying the bonding experience with other Shir...Read more...
Onward, to Hadar in New York!
07/18/2024 11:35:55 AM
A group of Shir Hadash congregants are off to the Hadar Institute in New York City for their three-day "July Learning Seminar." I surprised my wife and myself by deciding to go, too!
I've been to Torah study, enjoyed talks by visiting rabbis, and attended Rabbi Nico's "Seekers" class series during...Read more...
Our Preschool Summer News: Expanding & exploring!
06/27/2024 02:46:14 PM
Our preschool, the Shir Hadash Early Childhood Center, is growing! Get ready to help us welcome toddlers as young as 18 months of age! This new program coming soon will give families the opportunity to enroll their young children in our nurturing community where they can play, explore and...Read more...
Songs of Israel: successful choir concert!
06/26/2024 02:58:06 PM
Dear Shir Hadash,
“Music plays a central role in making temple a place of sacred encounter. We acknowledge that music is vital to our Jewish worship experience, our commitment to lifelong Jewish learning and our Jewish cultural values.” This excerpt from the URJ’s music vision statement is a reflection of how we experience music at Shir Hadash.
Read more...
Mazel Tov to B'nai Mitzvah Students & Families!
06/26/2024 11:22:10 AM
We're so proud of our young people and seeing them called up to the Torah as the next generation of Jewish leaders is a simcha (joy) for all of us to be part of - let's celebrate these wonderful milestones!
Make sure to say "Mazel Tov" if you see them and their families around the Shir Hadash campus! Our B'nai Mitzvah students recently include Owen Greenfield, Nathan Brodsky, Max Carlinsky, Jacob Laponis, Winston...Read more...
The Rabbi's Corner
06/18/2024 06:32:51 PM
Dear Shir Hadash,
It’s summer time! While I cannot predict the weather and promise comforting cooling breezes, I can assure you that lots of naches (Yiddish for...Read more...
Shavuot Festival photos and fun!
06/17/2024 10:54:17 AM
THANK YOU to the volunteers and staff whose hard work led to an incredibly festive, joyous, delicious, successful and meaningful Shavuot Festival enjoyed by over 150 people of all ages.
We are grateful to our event sponsors: Orla Colgan, Heidi Eisips, and Linda Wolf.
From our cheesecake-making bakers (led by Mitchell Wunsh!) whose flavorful cheesecakes delighted during dessert time, to our teen volunteers who led wheat...Read more...
Peace is our highest aspiration. D'var Torah 6/15
06/15/2024 02:09:16 PM
Watch the video below of Rabbi Nico's D'var Torah from Saturday, June 15. If you prefer to read the text instead of watching the video, the full text is below the video.
The Priestly Benediction, one of the most powerful blessings in the entire Torah, appears in this Torah portion, Parashat Naso:
“May...Read more...
Man of the Year: Kevin Pringle!
06/13/2024 10:19:09 AM
Watch a video highlight from the 6/7 Shabbat Service, featuring the D'var Torah from David Bamberger and Award Presented to Kevin Pringle by Marshall Heller:
The Shir Hadash Men's Club proudly recognizes Kevin Pringle as its 2024 Man of the Year. Kevin has been a member of Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos, California since 2005 and joined the Men's Club in 2007.
He has served on the Board of the Men's club in...Read more...
Israel Solidarity Mission: Our stories!
05/14/2024 09:00:26 AM
On February 19, 2024, eighteen members of the South Bay Jewish community arrived in Israel for a mission of solidarity. Rabbis and professionals, past and current lay leaders from synagogues, schools, Unexeptable, and Jewish Silicon Valley joined together to bear witness, visit the sick and comfort the mourners.
February...Read more...
Rabbi Michael's insight on essential Jewish perspectives.
05/03/2024 11:38:20 AM
This text is from a d'var given by Rabbi Michael on Friday, April 26.
Let me read a section from the Haggadah to you:
הגדה של פסח, ברך, שפוך חמתך מוזגים כוס של אליהו ופותחים את הדלת: שְׁפֹךְ חֲמָתְךָ אֶל-הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְדָעוּךָ וְעַל-מַמְלָכוֹת אֲשֶׁר...Read more...
2024 Congregational Seder: AMAZING
04/24/2024 12:31:58 PM
What an incredible, successful, and joyous time we had together at our 2nd Night Congregational Passover Seder yesterday! THANK YOU to all our table lead volunteers, to our staff (especially Jennifer and Rachel for organizing the delicious food), and Kol HaKavod to Rabbi Michael leading the...Read more...
Reflections from our Tzedek America Teen Service Trip
03/25/2024 12:15:10 PM
Note: this blog post is adapted from a drash Rabbi Michael gave in February.
Recently, I was privileged to join our Shir Hadash Teens for the inaugural travel journey of our experiential and immersive Jewish teen education program.
Camille Panish, Noah Siegel, Quinn Hathaway, and Ben Laponis joined me as we traveled to the...Read more...
Rabbi Nico: Israel Solidarity Mission Reflections
03/03/2024 11:11:54 AM
As many of you know I just came back (in late February) from visiting Israel as a part of the “South Bay Solidarity Mission” that gathered a group of 19 members of our community at large, among them 4 Rabbis, the JCRC director, the founder of the organization Unacceptable and 9 members of our own Shir...Read more...
Podcast featuring Rabbi Aron!
02/28/2024 09:25:31 AM
Thank you to Rabbi Melanie Aron for sharing her words of wisdom related to end of life care on the Fixing Healthcare podcast. Everyone is invited to go listen to the entire podcast episode online.
Rabbi Aron covers many important topics during the interview, including religious...Read more...
Mazel Tov to B'nai Mitzvah Students & Families!
02/28/2024 09:02:22 AM
We're so proud of our young people and seeing them called up to the Torah as the next generation of Jewish leaders is a simcha (joy) for all of us to be part of - let's celebrate these wonderful milestones! Make sure to say "Mazel Tov" if you see them and their families...Read more...
Solidarity Mission to Israel: Update #2
02/23/2024 12:25:11 PM
Yesterday we heard aspects of hope. Today was more difficult. We headed south from Tel Aviv to the Gaza envelope. Here we met people who were grieving. At the same time, we saw acts of heroism.
Since this will be a long post, I want to start by describing the emotional conditions. In many ways, no...Read more...
Solidarity Mission to Israel: Update #1
02/19/2024 04:05:50 PM
Picture a beautiful sunset and the promenade on the beach in Tel Aviv, with a group of 19 travelers singing Eli, Eli and Shecheheyanu. This is how we began a week of mitzvot and connection, of listening and engaging our Israeli mishpachah (family). The beauty and the pain, the love and the...Read more...
Shir Hadash Women: Recent events!
02/14/2024 03:04:22 PM
On December 17th, 45 women gathered together to celebrate Shir Hadash Women (SHW) and the Beginning of Something New. We enjoyed delicious charcuterie boards and bubbly beverages.
We each met someone new and then introduced one another...Read more...
Kol Tefillah in Los Angeles
01/31/2024 11:58:53 AM
In January of this year, Rabbi Nico, Cantor Felder-Levy, Trista Bernstein, and I headed south to Los Angeles to participate in a Shabbaton focused on worship innovation and music. The event, called Kol Tefillah, was held at Congregation Beth Am in Los Angeles. This is the same congregation that my wife...Read more...
Mitzvah Day 2024: Amazing success!
01/19/2024 01:27:50 PM
Our Shir Hadash 2024 Mitzvah Day on January 14 was a huge success thanks to the 125 volunteers who put their energies together to make a difference in our community.
THANK YOU to our volunteers! And a huge thank-you to lead event organizer Michelle Wolf-Bloom, and project leads Davida...Read more...
SHECC Play Yard Renovation
01/18/2024 09:31:48 AM
For the past two months, the Men’s Club has been working with SHECC (preschool) staff to renovate the SHECC Play Yard. The work started with a $4,000 donation by the Men’s Club to the Temple with a restriction that the funds be used to upgrade the SHECC Play Yard.
On December 17, 2023, a work party was organized that...Read more...