Shalom Rav From Our Rabbis

February 1, 2023
Shabbat Shekalim – Here I Am
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
This month on the Jewish calendar, there is an observance that is almost obscured by the call to celebrate Tu BiShvat and the annual Torah reading of Parshat Yitro. The former celebrates the new year of the trees which is currently taking on an ever more ecological significance while the latter includes the reading of the Ten Commandments, the ethical foundation of the Jewish tradition. Having to stand in time near those two significant calendared events, on the 27th of Shevat which this year coincides with the 18th of February, it is a moment easily ignored. But that day the calendar states is Shabbat Shekalim — which translates roughly as “The Sabbath of Shekels.”
Shabbat Shekalim recalls a time when in the ancient world they would take a census and each household would then pay a half shekel to be used in support of the work of the mishkan — and eventually the Temple — the centers of Jewish worship and spiritual life. The funding paid for the functioning of the spiritual centers, including keeping them in repair and maintaining the priests. In the prophetic reading of the day, it is noted that King Josiah realized the priests had failed in their duty to make the repairs and so set up a system of control. They engaged the larger community to both collect and protect the funds while also taking responsibility to maintain and repair the house of worship.
Today Shabbat Shekalim is observed just with a special Torah reading, but the work to fund our communal, spiritual, educational centers — synagogues — goes on. The Talmud has this famous verse “Im Ein Kemach, Ein Torah, …. If there is no flower (meaning, sustenance, or funds of support) there can be no Torah.” The essential work that we do as Congregation Emanu-El, from helping people through some of the most difficult moments of their lives, while creating frameworks of joy at other moments of the life cycle, the teaching of our children and our adults, the celebration of our culture as well as encouragement of cultural creativity and growth, the work for social justice, the building of Jewish community, the observance of the holidays, the interfaith work and opposition to antisemitism — which includes paying for the guards at the door — all depends upon the collection of shekels from people like you, who care about Jewish community and the Jewish future. As King Josiah found, we cannot depend upon the spiritual leaders for this work, we have to engage and depend upon the Jewish community.
At Congregation Emanu-El, our kemach, our sustenance, comes from the dues you contribute as well as your contributions to our Impact (annual) Fund. We are strengthened as well by people remembering us in their wills, helping to build up our endowment. Every shekel we get is put to good use and though we may be perceived as being a very blessed synagogue, our budget runs as a true nonprofit and in these times coming out of Covid and dealing with inflation — your gifts matter and are significant and so needed.
Fortunately, we have wonderful lay leadership in our community, guiding our financial direction, always thinking of better ways to ask your help funding us, that we might serve all Jews seeking welcoming, egalitarian Jewish community. The work is important, it is holy. And your help to keep Torah vibrant and engaging at Congregation Emanu-El makes a true difference.
Shabbat Shekalim asks each one of us to stand up and be counted and say, “Here I am,” at whatever level I may do, ready to help support Jewish life.
Thank you for doing so.

January 1, 2023
Recommitting to Dr. King’s Vision
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
Each year, our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pulpit Exchange weekend is second in attendance only to High Holy Days. Friday, January 13th, we hope to once again fill our sanctuary with congregants, guests from Third Baptist Church, and guests (Jewish and non-Jewish) from all around the City to reflect upon, reenergize and recommit ourselves to Dr. King’s vision.
This year, our service will focus on the topic of hate and hate crimes against different minority groups including Jews, Blacks, Muslims, AAPI people, Hispanic people, Native Americans, LGBTQAI+ people, people with disabilities, and women. We will name it. We will condemn it. We will commit ourselves to standing up to hate against any minority group.
I hope you will bring yourself and your friends and help us fill up our sanctuary, but not for the purpose of creating a large service, and not for the purpose of coming to a heartfelt service with great music and food, and not for the purpose of hearing Reverend Amos Brown’s rousing message (all good motivators).
Come because this year’s service will acknowledge the reality of crimes based on hatred of individuals because of their association with a particular race, religion, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity. Come because you are feeling disgusted with the
ongoing reports of hate crimes in this country and you want to publicly take a stand against hate. Come because you have had your own experiences with antisemitism and you want to stand together with others who experience hate for no other reason than that they are part of a minority group. Come because Jewish people (including Black Jews) and Black people have a historic allyship, and we reject any attempts to pit one against the other.
Services can be many things. They create space for us to take a much needed pause, a deep breath and to express deep gratitude for life, itself. Services create an opportunity to sit with community and feel less alone. When everything feels like it is falling apart, services remind us of the enduring nature of Jewish tradition, values and hope.
And to all this, our annual MLK Pulpit Exchange service gives us the opportunity to
open our doors wide to welcome in people of all faiths, sexual identities, abilities and disabilities, and ethnicities. Then we go in great numbers on Sunday, January 15th (Dr. King’s actual birthday!) to the 10:00 am Third Baptist service where Rabbi Jonathan Singer will deliver the message, Cantor Attie will sing, and our Temple President Ellen Fleishhacker will deliver greetings from Emanu-El. Rather than meet once a year for a feel-good service then go on our own ways, we partner with Reverend Brown all year long to fight antisemitism and racial injustice. Reverend Brown organizes all year long against hate, and so do we. We invite you to find the information online to join the Black and Jewish Unity Coalition that meets the second Thursday of each month.
When you join us Friday night, January 13 at 5:00 pm for dinner and 6:00 pm for services (MLK Late Young Adult Shabbat services at 8:30 pm), you are not just coming to services. You are making a statement against hate. See you in shul.

December 1, 2022
The Festival of Lights and Song!
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
To get ready for Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, besides putting the Chanukah menorahs from our collection on display, I will also search in the back of our closet for the Chanukah box. It is a gift box that contains a mixed multitude of those colored candles, some crumpled and tangled but still useable foil decorations, and a mélange of plastic dreidels and other chazerai.
For some of us, that box is not unlike our Christian friends’ Christmas boxes. We similarly work to bring the light of joy into our homes at the darkest time of the year. Each holiday has its decorations and foods, gift-giving and time for families to gather. And each has its story. It is inaccurate to argue that Chanukah is a Jewish replacement for Christmas, because it is based on an historic event and is established in the Talmud. And yet there can be no doubt that how we observe it was influenced — as has often been the case in Jewish history — by absorbing our neighbors’ practices that we found attractive.
At the bottom of my Chanukah box are applesauce-soiled sheets of music with the words of Chanukah songs printed upon them. Rock of Ages, Oh Chanukah Oh Chanukah, and Light One Candle are a joy to sing — and, yes, they were inspired by the Christmas practice of caroling. Take the story of one of the most famous of these songs: I Had A Little Dreidel. Just by reading those words, I am sure the melody of that little ditty is playing in your head. While one might know that this is not a song from Sinai — meaning that it is not ancient — its derivation is fascinating. This song, which we sing after lighting the candles, is actually related to Shalom Aleichem, the Shabbat song! Samuel Goldfarb and his brother, Israel, were both Jewish composers who grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City. Israel, who became a Cantor, composed the melody to Shalom Aleichem in 1918. Meanwhile, Samuel made his way to Seattle. There, while working as the music director of Temple DeHirsch Sinai, a Reform synagogue where Rabbi Beth once served, he popularized the Dreidel song that he had written back in New York. He introduced it, we are told, so Jewish school children would have a song to sing in the Seattle schools along with the Christian children. It was, as we all know, quite the Jewish musical hit!
As you prepare for your lightings this year, I hope you will put together some song sheets and join together in singing your favorite
Chanukah tunes. As simple as some may be, they are a way to celebrate Jewish particularity and culture while emphasizing the holiday’s focus on freedom and identity. Although we may have learned this practice from others, the joy these songs bring certainly adds to the blessing of the Chanukah lights.
Happy Chanukah!

November 1, 2022
Giving Thanks
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
We Jews are named for the second-century biblical kingdom of Judah. Yehudi means “Jew” and Yahadut is Judaism. Yehudah — Judah — was one of Jacob’s children. When Judah was born, his mother, Leah, gave thanks. The root of the name of our people is the root of Hoda-ah, which means “thanks.” In other words, Jew/Jewish/Judaism is synonymous with Thanksgiving.
The American holiday called Thanksgiving has long been my favorite American holiday. My parents instilled in my sisters and me a strong sense of both Jewish and American identity. In addition to weekly Friday nightdinners and beautiful seders, they prepared a grand Thanksgiving feast every year. Since we lived near a Navy base, we often had young sailors in uniform at our Thanksgiving table and my little sisters and I could barely contain our giggles and crushes on these handsome young men!
While I will always love the idea that the American people set aside one day a year to focus on our sense of thanksgiving, I feel especially proud to be a part of a religious civilization where we are commanded and invited to give thanks every day from the moment we wake up, throughout our day, and until we go to sleep at night. We are a people of giving thanks.
Culturally, we have also been known to be a kvetchy (complaining) people! My favorite joke is about the Florida waitress who walks up to a table full of Jewish patrons and asks, “Is anything okay?” Kvetching is as old as the Torah. No sooner had God, Moses, Aaron and Miriam freed the Hebrews (as we were called a few appellations before we became the Jews) then people started complaining about everything from their aching feet to the lack of decent food. I, myself, am a great complainer. I complain when it gets cold and foggy in the summer. I complain when I run out of chocolate. And don’t even get me started
on the paucity of texts and calls from my kids. Beyond our petty complaints, Jews have a beautiful history of not sitting quietly in the face of injustice. When we experience antisemitism, racial disparity, gender inequity, wealth disparity and so many other wrongs, we complain and join coalitions of complainers in order to change the system for the better.
But just as Thanksgiving is a day dedicated to not complaining, so, too, Judaism is filled with daily, weekly and seasonal opportunities to express gratitude. Every morning, we thank God for restoring our souls and giving us another day. Tradition encourages us to say 100 blessings each day. Every Shabbat, we express thanks for creation and for rest. Judaism relentlessly pushes us to focus on gratitude. Do you owe a call to anyone to thank them for being there for you? Call them. Do you owe a note of thanks to anyone who helped you recently? Write them. Feeling like you live in abundance? Volunteer to help those with less. Helping others is a form of giving thanks that everyone can do. Need to change your proportion of kvetchy to grateful? Come to Shabbat weekly thanksgiving services. There’s a time to kvetch and a time to give thanks, but let’s mostly give thanks, ho’da-ah, for the many blessings in our lives.

October 1, 2022
Welcoming Sukkot – Let it Rain!
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
American music has so many songs about rain. “Let
it Rain, Let it Rain,” by Eric Clapton; “Here Comes
the Rain Again,” by the Eurythmics; and the musical
theater classic, “Singin’ in the Rain,” to name a few. Not
to be outdone, one of the first Israeli songs our children
learn is a rain song too — “Mayim Mayim Mayim,” a rain dance song composed by Emanuel Amiran-Pougatchov to celebrate water being found in the Negev in 1937, after a seven-year search.
Songs about rain remind us just how precious water is. Our lives depend on rains coming in their seasons
to help grow our crops, renew our forest, fill our rivers and lakes, and bring hope to our lives. Ancient Israel did not draw much water from the Jordan River but was dependent upon rainfall to help with agriculture. Our ancestors knew that, each year, they had to be concerned about water usage. As a community, they prayed and hoped for the blessing of rainfall. And so they developed ceremonies and prayers expressing this longing that also teach us about our interdependency and the need to care for the land and appreciate nature’s beautiful gifts and rhythms.
Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, which begins this month in the evening of Sunday, October 9th, is not just an agricultural celebration of the fall harvest. It also incorporates prayers for rain. Perhaps this year, with
the ongoing drought that is causing so much damage to our essential systems, those of us who have seen Sukkot as a minor festival to connect with lightly, after having fully engaged with the High Holy Days, might come and join together in hopes of bringing on a better rainy season.
The rain features of the holiday are manifold. The act of bringing together the lulav — a combination of a
pine, willow, and myrtle branches — with the etrog — a citron from the lemon family — and shaking them in four directions is a prayer movement meant to help bring on the rains. In ancient Israel, Sukkot was also celebrated with a water–drawing festival, during which the Levites would bring waters up to the Temple and pray for a good year of rain. And of course, at the end of Sukkot we change the second verse of the Gevurot prayer, praising God who “Moshiv ha’ruach, umorid ha’geshem — causes the winds to blow and the rain to fall.” We continue to say this prayer from the end of Sukkot all the way to Passover.
In a time of drought like this one, I wonder if the physical act of spiritual expression — shaking
the lulav and praying for rain — is needed more than ever. I ponder bringing the whole congregation to the Golden Gate Bridge for a lulav rain prayer. But maybe, really, what we need is for the time of Sukkot
to remind us of our essential connection to the earth, the fragility of our existence, and the work we must do to refocus ourselves on being caretakers of this earth, understanding and respecting the preciousness of water.
For too long we have acted as if we are above nature. Sukkot teaches us that we are a part of and dependent upon it. Maybe observing this holiday in a more intentional way will remind us to conserve water, share food with those in need, and work for a greener earth and against climate change so the rains will fall in their season and the blessing of the land may be shared by all.

September 1, 2022
Where We Find Hope
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
Is the relentless nature of the Ukraine War, the pandemic and mass shootings causing you to despair? When we wake up to another climate change reality or encounter more unhoused people as we go about our day, it is hard not to lose hope. Yet, we Jews know that hope is an essential component to change and to making things better.
As we prepare ourselves individually and as a community to greet the Jewish year 5783, let’s pool our go-to’s for our greatest sources of hope. Here are just a few:
Esah Einai el-he-harem. The psalmists invite us to turn to nature. That’s right. Take a break from doom scrolling. Stick your device in a drawer for two hours. Get thee into nature and lift your eyes up to the mountains and trees. Gather with our community at the water on Tashlich and contemplate the vastness of our Pacific Ocean that connects us to the other continents and people. We can hike among soaring redwoods and giant sequoias and ponder their endurance and what they have seen in their time on earth. Ma’ayin yavo Ezri. Opening our eyes to the jaw dropping WOW of nature is a source of our hope. Spending time in nature compels us to advocate for a future of environmental sustainability. On Wednesday, October 5, join Rabbi Sydney Mintz and myself as our congregation spends part of Yom Kippur in the redwoods, refreshing our individual and collective sense of hope.
Another source of hope: recently, I wanted to help a wonderful conversion student of mine who told me he has a hard time reading history books but needed to do so for his conversion process. Rabbi Jason Rodich to the rescue! Rabbi Rodich told me about David N. Myer’s Jewish History: A Very Short Introduction. At just 115 pages, I recommend it to you as an antidote to despair. This gem of a book reminds us of so many times when our people not only endured unspeakable tragedy but continued to create and evolve. We were expelled. We were massacred by the hundreds of thousands, then by the millions. We were made the scapegoat for pandemics and for every bad event. Reflecting on our sustained capacity not merely to survive but to live to see better times can give us all hope that there is much we can do to serve those in our society who are most vulnerable, and to be voices of resistance and for change.
More hope, closer to home: in just two years, our building will celebrate its 100th birthday, even as we collectively give it the remodel it so richly deserves. And our San Francisco Emanu-El community gathered for the first time in 1849, 173 years ago. So, when you renew your membership, as I hope you have done or will do, you are not “only” supporting the holy work we do right now. You are not “only” making sure you have any lifecycle service you need and access to our wonderful clergy. You are not “only” supporting the Jewish future. You are also a significant part of this magnificent redwood tree, planted over 170 years ago, that we call Congregation Emanu-El. When you become an official member or renew your lasting membership, you are expressing hope by acknowledging the deep roots of our history, our resilience, and our plan to help people find purpose and meaning in their own lives for many more centuries.
Looking for hope? BE WITH US THESE HIGH HOLY DAYS! Come in person. Watch our streamed services. Join us on the beach, in the redwoods, or in our magnificent, historic, enduring Main Sanctuary. Come virtually or in person to our Teen Services. I guarantee you will leave them feeling more hopeful. These are just a few sources of hope that have served me well. If you are struggling, therapy can be so helpful, and be sure to take time on Zoom or in person with one of our clergy. It really helps. Wishing each of you a renewed sense of hope in 5783 — and please share with me the sources of hope in your own life.

August 1, 2022
The Jewish Holiday of Love
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
Jewish Valentines Day (believe it or not, there is such a thing) falls this month. Of course, it has a different name with no reference to a Catholic saint. It’s called Tu B’Av. The name is taken from the Hebrew pronunciation of the date, the Fifteenth of Av. On that day, during the time of the Second Temple, according to the Mishna, “the daughters of Jerusalem would go out, dressed in white, and dance in the vineyards. And they would call out, ‘Young man, consider who you would choose to be your wife!'” I love that image of romance, being sought just outside the walls of the Temple. The Talmud is reminding us that love and the holy are intertwined. Our tradition wants us to find love in our lives- not just romantic love, but love of life, of being, of giving, and of connecting with wonder.
If you peruse the Siddur, the prayerbook, the word Ahava, the Hebrew word for love, is expressed multiple times describing both how we should feel a connection with the holy and appreciate this beautiful aspect of human expression. Love is built into the fabric of our religious sensibility. So Heschel taught when he said, “A religious individual is a person who holds God and humanity in one thought at one time, at all times, who suffers harm done to others, whose greatest passion is compassion, whose greatest strength is love and defiance of despair.” The Hebrew word for love is built of the Hebrew word for give, implying that love is built on giving an aspect of the self to others.
It would be great to celebrate Tu B’Av at the synagogue and help make a space for singles to meet each other, if they so choose. Now and then, I try to make Shidduchim, matches between people, because the tradition teaches that you are helping God bring joy to creation. With our engagement department in the near future, we may set up a few speed dating opportunities and you can always write me to help tryto make a connection.
But as we think about the coming year, and what it means to be part of a spiritual Jewish community, take a moment, and consider the various ways that our connection to this minyan called Temple Emanu-El is grounded not just in responsibility, or obligation, but in Ahava — a sense of love, joy, friendship, and a giving of the self so as to be open to true meeting.
This Temple is one place to experience joy whether celebrating a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, wedding, standing under the Sukkah with the starlight shining through the roof, welcoming Shabbat with the beautiful music of our Cantors, or standing at the edges of Baker Beach with hundreds of people gathering for Tashlich.
It is here that we hope you will find friendship in the minyan in a time when so many are missing a sense of community. Of course to do so, you have to be willing to come and gather with us and give of yourself- whether at services, helping in our schools, volunteering on our Tzedek Council or studying in one of our adult education classes.
We know that it is an act of love to bring your children to learn with us, enrolling them in our schools and youth programs and joining hands with other parents, our clergy and teachers as we pass Jewish values and love of Torah on to them. Just as it is an act of love as an empty nester to help keep Jewish life flourishing by engaging with us all the days of your life.
It is our hope that in the year to come we will continue to build an even deeper sense of community, based on joy, love and friendship as we work to support Jewish values and passionately see the wonder in life, even as we try to bring tikkun to a broken world. So come be with us in loving and joyful community, and make a friend, ground your life in meaning, and maybe even fall in love outside of the walls of this great Temple.

June 1, 2022
Summer Reading for the People of the Book
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
Summer is just around the corner. Seasonal slowing down is our mandate. Of course, we will gather for services every Friday night at 6:00 pm. You can join Torah study on Shabbat morning. There will be programs. If you have to deal with something difficult, your clergy will be here for you. But we hope you take some time to relax, get outdoors, travel and read a few good books!
What will you read this summer? Perhaps you will immerse yourself in a stack of good novels, or some thought-provoking nonfiction. Maybe you will finally read the classics you never got around to in college. Looking for a good Jewish read? I recently read Daniel Matt’s “Becoming Elijah” and loved it. This coming year, author Dara Horn will join us. An Emanu-El book club will read her wonderful fiction, “A Guide to the Perplexed.” Then, there is her most recent provocative title, “People Love Dead Jews.” I enjoyed one of her earlier novels, “The World to Come.” (Sign up information for the Book Club can be found by clicking here).
Speaking of great books, there is one that never grows old, and that is our Torah. I don’t think we realize just how stunning it is that the Torah has endured through the millennia. Our thirteen-year-olds, Torah study students and rabbis find new meaning in the classic teachings each week. Is there any other book that we can say with confidence will still be read, studied and treasured 3,000 years from now? Even more than the wonder of its endurance and its depths of interpretation, the most powerful aspect of Torah is that it connects all Jews in the universe, regardless of movement affiliation.
From the most liberal to the most orthodox, Torah is the center of our faith and belongs equally to all of us. Decades ago, a Jewish artist from the Bay Area traveled to the Gondar region in Ethiopia. In a remote village, he walked into a hut where the Jewish villagers opened the Torah scroll and read the same Torah portion his congregation in Berkeley was reading on that Shabbat.
On June 5th, we complete our biblically inspired count of seven weeks times seven days. It will be 50 days post-Passover. On the Hebrew calendar, the date is the 6th of Sivan, Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of Torah to the Jewish people. Early on, Reform Jews stopped the practice of carrying the Torah around the congregation in a Hakafa because the ritual struck early Reform Jews as idolatrous. Not only did the ritual return, but it is beloved by congregants to this day because it reminds us that the Torah, our greatest of all books, belongs equally to all of us.
On Shavuot, it is traditional to stay up late into the night studying Torah with friends, and also to eat ice cream and cheesecake. Who can argue with these excellent traditions? We are, after all, a people of the book.

May 1, 2022
Yom Ha’atzmaut: Celebrating Israel’s Achievements
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
The other day I was sitting at lunch with Tali Zisman, a member of the temple who grew up across the street from Golda Meir, with Ben Gurion’s house just a few blocks away. It is so fascinating to talk with someone who was there at the founding of the state — whose family had immigrated from Vilna and Warsaw as a part of the yishuv. As a young man he served in the IDF as Israelis organized themselves to stand up against attempts to wipe out a country that like so many others was carved out of the remains of the Ottoman Empire.
This month as a part of our celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day), I plan to interview him and have him share his experience growing up as the State of Israel was just growing up. It is such a gift to have a window into this aspect of Jewish history and celebrate the blessing and the miracle that we Jews today often take for granted. We Jews who are committed to the messianic vision of creating a world reaching towards perfection, so want Israel to be what the Torah envisions — an “or l’goyim,” a light unto the nation. At times though, we are so good at seeing what is wrong with something, that we forget to celebrate and appreciate what is right with it, and the blessings we have achieved. We know Israel must keep working hard on extending the hand of peace, of making sure it is a place that welcomes the rainbow diversity of Jewish identity, that treats its minorities equally with the majority, that works to restore balance to the economy so all Israelis live with dignity and hope as she pushes back against her extremes. But everything I just wrote could also be said about our country. We are not wrong to point out what is broken and needs true tikkun — to be repaired — in either place.
But Yom Ha’atzmaut asks us to step back and celebrate with full vigor what has been achieved so far. And there is much to celebrate. Israel is today home to the largest Jewish population in the world, a population that is diverse in color and religious expression, that is young and vital. It is still the startup nation that is helping to bring technological miracles to the world. With the help of our Israel Action Committee led by Jordan Hymowitz, she is bringing in the rest of Ethiopian Jewry as they seek to make aliya, and just hosted an incredible array of Arab/Muslim nations who as part of the Abraham Accords want to not just seek peace and pursue it but also partner together with Israel to create a safer, more economically vibrant Middle East. Israelis are in Poland and Moldava helping with the Ukrainian refugee crises and welcoming in Ukrainians as part of their efforts to offer refuge even as Prime Minister Bennet serves as a conduit with the Russians in attempts to bring an end to that awful, most horrific conflict. She is a country with health care for all, colleges that are accessible and well respected, and a culturally dynamic place. Who knew that in this little strip of land, so much talent could be concentrated and despite the ongoing conflict expressed as she strives not just to survive, but to thrive.
Yes, we join with those who want the state to be better, and we as a synagogue support that effort. We work hard to be a center of loving and diverse dialogue about Israel, creating a safe place for people for speakers from different ends of the political spectrum to express their opinions about how it might be an even greater reflection of the vision expressed by the founders in the Declaration of Independence. We also understand that there are some who subconsciously or not reflect an antisemitism that denies nationalism only to Jews and therefore embrace an anti-Zionism. Wanting our children to have the tools to stand up against such a perspective and be well educated about Israel, we have expanded our study opportunities in our religious school and are working to try to restore the annual Emanu-El teen trip to Israel so they might witness firsthand both its miraculousness, help affirm their own Jewish identities, understand that which can be made better, and see themselves as partners in helping those working on it, join together to create the Jewish future. Now that COVID-19 seems to be lifting, we are continuing our various adult trips there as well, and encourage you to join us.

April 1, 2022
Responding to Antisemitism
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
This past January, San Francisco residents found fliers strewn all over town claiming that Jews are responsible for everything to do with COVID-19. Those same fliers showed up in Marin in February. It turns out that one group is distributing variations of this accusation flier all over the country. During these past few months, a Jewish woman riding the Manhattan subway was threatened with the words, “you little Jewish girl better get off this train before I hurt you.” Jewish businesses in parts of the country have been vandalized. Swastikas were etched on schools and synagogues. Orthodox Jews have been physically assaulted. Each one of these incidents happened in 2022.
I shared these concerns with you in a sermon I delivered this past February. If you missed it, I want to assure you that there are numerous things we can do to respond to antisemitism. As Jewish households and as a Jewish community, it is our obligation to respond to attacks on our people and to the spread of misinformation for the purpose of fomenting violent hate against us.
How can we respond? Here are just a few and I would love to hear your own thoughts on how you, we and our community can effectively name and respond to the rising antisemitism of this time.
- If you experience or witness an antisemitic incident you can report it to the ADL’s online portal at adl.org/reportincident. It takes less than 2 minutes to fill out the form. It is important to have a single place where every antisemitic incident is catalogued. I encourage you to go to the ADL’s antisemitism tracker and read what is being reported around the country.
- Get involved and support our local JCRC, which does a fantastic job bringing Jews and our many allies together to respond to antisemitism. JCRC is at the forefront, representing all of us whenever there is an instance of antisemitic incitement.
- The single most powerful way you can respond to antisemitism in our time is by increasing your own Jewish pride, practice and identity, both publicly and privately. Our website, eblasts and the monthly Chronicle provide hundreds of options for participating in Shabbat, learning, a small group, an outdoor activity, a holiday, or numerous Jewishly organized social justice opportunities.
Antisemitic activity in the United States is on the rise, but so, too, is a plethora of creative and deeply meaningful opportunity for Jewish expression. The very presence of Congregation Emanu-El–the building and the people– for over 170 years is our best of many responses to antisemitism. From all around the city, I look up and see our beautiful dome shining on the horizon proclaiming, “We are here to be great Jews and great citizens of this region and this country. And we’re not going anywhere.”
March 1, 2022
Celebrating 50 Years of Women in the Rabbinate
This year, we celebrate 50 years since the ordination of the first female American pulpit rabbi: Rabbi Sally Priesand. We are excited to host Rabbi Priesand, alongside Emanu-El’s women rabbis, to reflect on how the rabbinate has changed for women over these past 50 years. See page 7 to learn more about how to attend this virtual program. Congregation Emanu-El has benefited enormously from a talented group of women rabbis and cantors. In celebration of 50 years of women in the American rabbinate, we have asked each of our current and emerita rabbis and cantors to share a reflection on the 50th anniversary of Rabbi Priesand’s ordination.

When I was newly ordained, I regularly visited the temple preschool. On a day off, I stood at an intersection, waiting for the light to change so I could cross the street. Waiting directly across the road was a dad with his toddler. The preschooler saw me and shouted excitedly, “Daddy, look! There’s the rabbi!” The dad looked in my direction and said to his daughter, “Where, honey? I don’t see any rabbi.” Slowly, people everywhere are starting to see women rabbis and cantors. In my earliest years, Jews constantly remarked, “I’ve never before met a woman rabbi!” I rarely hear that comment anymore. Google “rabbi” right now and click open the images. Still nearly all male faces. Google “doctor” images and note the difference. We have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go so that everyone sees women rabbis and cantors.
— Rabbi Beth Singer, Ordained 1989 (she/her)

Sally Preisand forged the way for female rabbis, and Barbara Ostfeld did the same for female cantors. I entered Hebrew Union College just seven years after her investiture, and my class was the first all-female cantorial class to be invested (now Ordained) as Reform Jewish clergy. I was not always convinced that women should be rabbis and cantors, as I was the product of an Orthodox cheder education — but it didn’t take long for me to change my outlook. In fact, I believe women contribute a very unique perspective to Jewish thought and worship — we add our voices to the interpretation of texts that have overlooked us; we have insisted on the inclusion of the ‘imahot’ into our male-centered liturgy and have adopted the songs of Debbie Friedman, Nurit Hirsch and others into our worship. I am proud to have been a part of this revolution and have gained so much both personally and professionally from my role as Senior Cantor (now Emerita) of this distinguished, historic congregation.
— Cantor Emerita Roslyn Barak, Ordained 1986 (she/her)

In 1997, I was hired as the first “out gay” Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El. The JWeekly (aka “The J”) headlined “EmanuEl’s new role model: Lesbian, Woman, Jew, Rabbi” which was big news 25 years ago and today could be the name of my next One Woman Show. When I entered Rabbinical school 30 years ago, it was radical to come out of the closet. Today, most congregations would not only warmly welcome a Queer Rabbi, but many feel that it is actually an asset to their clergy team. We still have a long way to go when it comes to equality, but I am filled with hope when I meet our newest Rabbis and Cantors who are being ordained in a very different world than the one I lived in 25 years ago. If I had signed my signature she/they in 1997, no one would have any idea what that even meant. Today, I hope you do.
— Rabbi Sydney Mintz, Ordained 1997 (she/they)

It was 1984 when I began to lead our people in song and prayer. In a role that had been traditionally occupied by men, I didn’t know many other women doing what I was doing. I had heard of Debbie Friedman but didn’t meet her until many years later. But surely, I stood on her shoulders and on the shoulders of other women (including our own Cantor Roslyn Barak) who paved the way for a female guitar playing spiritual leader of song. It was exciting to be at the vanguard of bringing new styles of prayer and music to synagogue worship. I was ordained as a cantor in 2014 and today I look around and see so many young women cantors who remind me of myself. It is with pride and joy to see how much the Jewish world has embraced the music of women. We are a long chain of tradition, L’Dor V’Dor, and I am proud to be one of the sweet singers of Israel.
— Cantor Marsha Attie, Ordained 2014 (she/her)

I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in a generation where it has always been a given that women could — and should — be rabbis. From childhood I was surrounded by a positive female rabbinic role model in my own family: my aunt, Rabbi Deborah Joselow, served a congregation while I was young and has gone on to serve as a leader at the Union for Reform Judaism and UJA-Federation of New York. In rabbinical school I was fortunate to learn from outstanding female faculty at HUC-JIR’s Los Angeles campus and I am especially grateful to have developed a deep network of talented fellow female rabbis around the country whom I lean on daily as we navigate the rabbinate together. I am keenly aware how lucky my peers and I are to stand on the shoulders of past female clergy who paved the way for our generation to serve the Jewish community in new and different ways.
— Rabbi Sarah Joselow Parris, Masters in Jewish Nonprofit Management 2016, Ordained 2017 (she/her)

February 1, 2022
Every Day is Justice Day
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
When we were little, our parents observed all the Hallmark Holidays, including Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. We asked, “When is Children’s Day?” They always replied, “Every day is Children’s Day.”
Last month we celebrated Tu B’Shvat. On that one day, the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shvat, we considered the implications of climate change from a Jewish lens and from a social justice lens. Coincidentally, Tu B’Shvat fell on the same day we honor the legacy of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. We gathered virtually with our brothers and sisters and we celebrated the power of coming together for racial justice. We celebrated alliances against racial hatred and against antisemitism. This entire month of February is dedicated to a celebration of Black history. March is Women’s History Month.
Judaism teaches us what my parents taught me: Every day should be environmental consciousness day. Every day should be Commitment to Stand Up Against Antisemitism Day, and every day should be Racial Justice, LGBTQ+ Rights and Women’s Equality Day.
Judaism teaches us to think about and protect all the things that God creates: a natural world of fragile beauty that sustains us, people of all skin colors and faiths, and all the different ways there are to be a human being on this planet. Judaism demands a daily Tzedek consciousness of each of us at home, in our work and in our community. Judaism imbues us with a purpose on earth as God’s sacred partners. Our purpose is simply this: to make the world a more just place. Tzedek! Tzedek! Tirdof. (Justice! Justice! Every day it is our purpose to pursue it.)
Concerned about rising antisemitism? Get involved with our Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and other groups that are always on the front lines. Want to stand up against systemic racism? Get involved in our Black and Jewish Unity Coalition. Want to be sure that we continue to create a world that is safe for people of all sexual and gender identities? Support the work of organizations like Keshet. Worried sick about the health of our planet? Find a group like the Jewish Climate Action Network, the Natural Resources Defense Council, or one of many effective environmental organizations. Support Congregation Emanu-El and visit our website regularly. Emanu-El is a social justice organization every day, not just a few Fridays and Sundays throughout the year. The Emanu-El Tzedek Council webpage is filled with opportunities to be a practitioner of justice every day.
It’s great to plant a tree on Tu B’Shvat. We love connecting with our Black sisters and brothers on MLK weekend. We gather to call out antisemitism when an antisemitic event occurs. But let’s remember that we are commanded to wake up each and every day, to thank God for restoring our souls and giving us another day — and then to celebrate each day with action. Judaism challenges us to make every day Tzedek Day.

January 1, 2022
Hearing Each Other
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
“Bersheet Bara — In the beginning, creation unfolded” is one translation of this opening text of the Torah. Another, promulgated by Ibn Ezra, an 11th century Spanish commentator, begs to differ. The Masorites who added the helper vowels to the printed version of the text, he reminds us, made a choice. Their rendering produced the approach that many take — but he points out that it is also correct to read it not as “In the beginning,” but “In a beginning,” creation unfolded. I love that approach and the fact that I can encounter a radically different understanding of the creation story in almost every traditional Torah commentary. When you open such a commentary, called a Mikraot Gdolot, you see on the page many opinions supporting the well-known thesis “two Jews, three (if not more) opinions.”
I think this Jewish encouragement of multiplicity of perspectives while still embracing a strong sense of community is important as we consider what it means to be a synagogue today. That the synagogue serves as a “third” place in this time of alienation and atomization, especially as we learn to live with COVID-19, is to me more important than ever. It needs to be a place where Jews can discuss and hear different ideas, including those that may make each of us uncomfortable. But lately, I have heard from more than a few of you that you worry that the bully pulpit is used by us clergy, at times, for exactly that purpose: to bully from the pulpit. I appreciate that concern because I know what a privilege it is for us as clergy to have freedom of the pulpit and teach Judaism from our varying perspectives. And I recognize that it can be a burden at times to hear words with which you disagree as you sit respectfully in the congregation.
I want to convey to you that we as a clergy team do understand that it is our essential duty to teach Torah and promote a deeper understanding and love of Judaism. As I look back at the sermon flow this past year, many were not politically or policy focused, but were spiritual or Torah focused messages. And yet we as clergy are also charged to promote Jewish values that reflect a living Torah and are applied to our lives today. Those values of loving the stranger, caring for the poor and for the earth, seeking justice, or promoting Zionism, are not the bastion of either the Democratic or Republican parties, but in our politically charged day each of us can reach such a conclusion after hearing a particular sermon.
I acknowledge having worked as a rabbi for over 30 years that people often hear either what they want to hear or attach to one part of a teaching and don’t focus on the totality. Certainly, we clergy have our political perspectives, but we are a diverse bunch and do want to engage the whole community. And if you as congregants disagree with something we have taught, we all welcome your response and engagement in respectful discussion.
What is most important is that we both promote the beauty of Torah and its call to reach higher in our lives, and then not be afraid to engage in dialogue as community.
The synagogue is not just a big tent, but a center of Jewish dynamic creativity and, like a page of Torah commentary, needs all of us to share our piece of Torah with each other and not shy away when we disagree. God loves diversity and we at Emanu-El love and respect all our members whether you are right, left, center or, like me, at times a mix of all of the above.
We are learning to live with COVID-19 and Emanu-El is striving to be a place that is welcoming, that is safe, but that is also a center of meaning and a home to the Jewish people. I encourage you to come daven with us, hear us, and engage us if you agree or disagree — for that is what we Jews have always done!
Happy Secular New Year!

December 1, 2021
Judaism at Home
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
First, let me wish you a very Happy Chanukah. Throughout my childhood, we always put our menorah on the dining room table, said the blessings and ate the most delicious hand-grated potato latkes. These days, we place our Chanukiah in the window to proudly “proclaim the miracle” to everyone. We run the potatoes through a food processor.
And then there are the community celebrations. We donate to JFCS to help other families. We went to Golden Gate Park and invited anyone, Jewish or not Jewish, to bring in the light. We’re gathering Friday night, December 3rd, all ages, to enjoy a Chanukah service led by our teens. On Sunday, December 12 we will participate in our annual Light of Giving tradition. But mostly, Chanukah is celebrated in our homes.
What makes a home a Jewish home? I ask this question to each of my Bat and Bar Mitzvah students. They tell me about the mezuzah on their front door. Their shabbat candles. Their Chanukiah. Their family Seder traditions. One student recently told me of a particular drawer in her home, filled with Judaica items. I love hearing about the different ways our families observe Judaism at home.
If evidence of your Jewish identity is scarce in your home and you like it that way, I am not here to change your ways, I promise! But for those of you who would like to up your game in the “what makes a home a Jewish home” department, it is both easier and more life altering than you might imagine.
I love Reform Judaism’s idea that we each choose those practices that add meaning and grounding to our sometimes chaotic lives. Jewish home practice centers on values of gathering, celebrating and shifting our focus from material gain, to a cultivation of gratitude via religious/spiritual/cultural contemporary ritual. Judaism is not anti-pursuit of material goods, but it does provide a counterbalance to a secular culture of materialism. Not only a counterbalance, but a balance. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to build a more deeply Jewish home, but it takes some thought to adapt Jewish practices to our own sensibilities. Rather than thinking of Shabbat practice as onerous, it can be as easy or as complex as you choose. You can order a large box of Shabbat candles online. You can light them 18 minutes before sunset or at 9:30 PM when you return home from work Friday night. You can bake or buy challah. You can make a special meal or order in. You can Zoom with your loved ones wherever they are. The idea is to create a pattern that works for you and your household. When our children were little, we put a bottle of Martinelli’s sparkling cider on the table only on Friday night. That was one easy way to get our kids excited for Shabbat.
Increasingly, young adults are starting to invite vaccinated friends over for Shabbat dinner, for latkes at Chanukah, and for Seder this coming Spring. We need to think together about how to support our wise elders in their home Shabbat celebrations. It would be great for more empty nesters to take turns hosting others for Shabbat potluck dinner and conversation. Too many B’nai Mitzvah kids admit that they rarely do anything for Shabbat at home. We are depriving them of a practice now that will impact them as adults looking back at what made their home Jewish.
We all do so many things that make our homes comfortable and uniquely ours. All of the clergy are here to support you if you decide to “redesign” your Jewish home and answer the question in a satisfying way for your own self: What makes my home a Jewish home?”

November 1, 2021
Chanukah: A Celebration of Religious Freedom
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
For many American Jews, the explanation for the popularity of Chanukah lies in its proximity to Christmas. The seemingly fickle rules of Jewish calendaring resist this easy explanation. Since the calendar is a lunar/solar, it fails to always line up with our expectations. Instead of falling in mid- or late December, this year Chanukah falls at the end of November, coinciding with Thanksgiving weekend. Those Jews anxious for a Jewish expression of lights to compete with that most Jewish boy’s birthday must find another means to satiate that desire. I recommend, as have so many, plentiful portions of Chinese food and a good movie, though this year I encourage you to join us that eve for what will be a beautiful Shabbat service.
The proximity of Chanukah with Thanksgiving this year does cause one to ponder the fact that, at least in American folklore, these holidays are both connected to religious freedom.
Chanukah, which means rededication, is not directly connected to the Maccabees having defeated the Assyrian Greeks who were working to unite their empire by forcing all the religious centers — including the Temple in Jerusalem — to practice a religious syncretism that embraced worshiping the Greek gods along with so-called local deities. No, Chanukah is not declared as a result of military victory, but celebrates the Maccabees retaking control of the Temple, cleansing it of the Assyrian idols, and rekindling the lights of the menorahs in the Temple precinct. Victory over the Assyrians would take a few more years of struggle. When we kindle our Chanukah menorahs we are celebrating that they cast the light of religious freedom.
In terms of Thanksgiving, we are taught that the Pilgrims, like many other European groups, came here in search of religious freedom for themselves as well. They were religious Puritans of a sect that was fleeing persecution and came to these shores to escape religious hatred. The feast they participated in with Native Americans was a festival of gratitude for the harvest and for survival.
Chanukah, too, involves a feast. We are taught to eat foods rich in oil just as the lights of the Temple in Jerusalem were kindled with olive oil. In your homes that week, I hope you will embrace both the Ashkenazi tradition of eating latkes (potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce) and the Sephardi custom of eating sufganiyot (jelly donuts). Like Thanksgiving, this is not a low-calorie holiday!
I hope you also join us in our outdoor Chanukah lightings. We’re having a major one on the third night of the festival, Tuesday, November 30, at the Bandshell in Golden Gate Park. We do so to publicly and joyfully express our Jewish identity as a religious and cultural minority in this great country that embraces religious freedom for all. Maybe it is good that this year these two holidays fall together. In a time when some might want to promote a monolithically religious America, let our celebration of Chanukah be a reminder that each of us in our own beautiful way — Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist and all others — cast our particular light of blessing with the hope that all may share in it and be warmed by it.
Happy Chanukah and Thanksgiving!
Rabbi Jonathan Singer

October 1, 2021
How Community Cares for Each Other
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
Every morning when I wake up, before I even get out of bed, I engage in the beautiful Jewish practice of saying: “Modah Ani.” I thank God that my soul was restored to me for another day and that I get another opportunity to live on this planet, to feel the love of my family and friends, and to try and do something good for others. I love the way another Jewish daily prayer zones in on the workings of our bodies. Because, the prayer reasons, if any internal organ that is supposed to open can’t open, or other body parts that should stay closed, don’t stay closed, we would not be well enough to get up every day and express our gratitude to God for life itself.
As many of you heard from our President, Alan Greinetz, in August, I was diagnosed with a spinal tumor. Thanks to a skilled neurosurgeon, it was removed and found to be benign. As I recovered, I started to think about what I learned about what helps us when we are ill. Knowing that everyone’s needs vary, here are a few thoughts, fresh from my time of diagnosis and recovery.
- Joining Temple and finding your group(s) can be powerful. Feeling a strong sense of community is right up there with the “right” pain meds. Every text, email, voicemail as I prepared for and came out of surgery, made me feel connected and less alone.Those loving and encouraging words were a balm. The Emanu-El community response was so helpful.
- Send a note. Leave a voicemail. Email. Text the person you know who is sick. Do not assume they know you are thinking of them. Do not expect any responses to your messages, phone chats or personal visits if they are ill. They may not have the strength. But texts, emails and voicemails (preferably left as voicemail, after 9:00 am and before 5:00 pm) along with old fashioned US Postal service notes are easy for a recovering person to read, listen to and enjoy on their own time during recovery. If you are ill and recovering, do not ever feel obliged to answer the phone or to text anyone or everyone back. Those reaching out simply want you to know you are in their thoughts.
- Do you have a very concrete way of helping your friend/family/fellow Emanu-El Congregant? Do they need help with an errand? Groceries purchased? A meal? Hundreds of times, I have said to others, “Just let me know if you need anything,” and I think that conveys the sentiment of caring but ultimately, it can be too vague. Sometimes, a sick person may need nothing but to be left alone. Or they may need a meal. Or a ride to the doctor, a walking companion or simply more sweet texts/emails/voicemails. If you want to help, try to be as specific as possible with your offer.
- Remember, it is easier for most of us to offer help than to ask for it. Many of us, no matter how much we need it, have a very hard time accepting actual offers of help. “Oh, I’ll be fine,” is our auto-response.
- If you are recovering from illness or have needs, learn how to graciously accept genuine offers of help from others. If, at first, you automatically respond, “Oh, I’ll be fine,” it is always ok to take a few hours or days and write back, “I thought about your kind offer and here is something that would be helpful to me. If you can do it, great, and if you cannot at this time, I completely understand.”
Please email me with your own guidance for people who want to help, especially if your needs and preferences are different than mine!
When I received my diagnosis and learned that I would need the surgery very quickly, I patiently explained to my surgeon that I had too many upcoming important Jewish events that I could not miss. A rabbinical colleague and the surgeon patiently explained to me that, when it comes to our health, it doesn’t work that way! My clergy colleagues all stepped up so I could take care of myself.
Your health always comes first.
Judaism emphasizes health in our daily and Shabbat prayers. When we pray to God the Healer, we don’t mean a Surgeon in the Sky who cures some of us, but rather — a powerful unseen Force that supports our healing. We sing mi shebayrach for those who need healing. These prayers matter, whether or not you believe in God.
By the time you read this, I will be back on my feet doing the holy work I love most in the world. I will have woken up this morning and thanked God for restoring my soul.
Who is sick? Who is struggling and in need of community? I want to be there for that person, and I bet you do, too.
Happy Cheshvan,
Rabbi Beth Singer

September 1, 2021
Connections to Our Past Under the Sukkah
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
The last act one is taught to do as Yom Kippur concludes is to begin building your own sukkah. As a person disinclined to engage in picking up a hammer and nails, nonetheless each year I build our sukkah even though I am tired after having welcomed in the New Year. The sukkah is a fragile booth with an open wall and partially open roof so one might welcome guests and also see the stars. It is constructed for two reasons: First, we celebrate the Fall harvest festival as we decorate with a cornucopia of fruits of the field and invite guests in for food and drink — connecting us to the natural cycle, which, as we continue to experience drought made worse by global warming, is so important to do. Second, we remember that our ancestors dwelt in these temporary booths as they wandered through the wilderness making their way to the Promised Land.
Though my sukkah handiwork may leave something to be desired, I love that we get to rejoice in our blessings in a simple way, connecting with nature by being outside in a sukkah during this time together with friends and family, while also embracing the reminder that we come from humble beginnings. Yes, we were once a homeless people, wandering in the wilderness, erecting temporary shelters, hoping that God’s presence would inspire us to keep journeying forward and not lose hope of reaching our promised land.
This year as we continue to struggle with the effects of COVID-19, and even as we gather for High Holy Days, having been vaccinated or tested, it may be easier for some of us to embrace the open air shelter of the sukkah as a place to greet friends and gather with family. There is a plethora of homemade sukkah building examples on the web and one can easily still go to the hardware store and procure materials to build such a booth for there are no material limitations — just the requirements of being open and of a temporary nature. Put one in your backyard or on your deck, decorate it and then safely have friends over for a l’chayim, or plan a sleepover with your children, gently basking in the starlight and comfort of that cozy space. You are also invited to come join in our Sukkah celebration in Emanu-El’s courtyard and shake the lulav and etrog and make new friends as part of our vibrant community.
Now it is especially important to acknowledge that the pandemic has put even more pressure on those seeking housing. Homelessness, as you well know, is a complex issue and, in many cases, tied in with drug addiction and mental illness. But it is also the result of profound poverty, housing shortages that have been amplified by the last recession as well as this most recent one, and opposition to increasing housing density by NIMBY activists. The lack of housing is affecting the entire state, not just San Francisco. Let Sukkot remind us that we too were once homeless and be less judgmental of those in dire straits while also working to help them realize their promise by making an even greater effort to increase the housing supply. Great cities like ours have to make room for people to live in dignity and it is time for San Francisco to welcome more housing density.
The Torah tells us that we traveled by stages through the wilderness to make it to the Promised Land. We, too, will have to go by stages as we deal with the effects of COVID-19 that have amplified other problems in our society. May this new year and the experience of Sukkot help us renew our resolve to work on the essential problems facing us by caring more for our environment and caring more for each other.
Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Jonathan

August 1, 2021
Jewish Rituals in the Month of Elul
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
As I love to remind you, we often pen these messages one to two months in advance of publication and, as you already know, post-pandemic, our reality changes slowly and quickly at the same time. Are you still feeling the lingering effects of shelter-in-place? Have you been to the theater? Ball game? Services in the Main? Some in our community leapt back into activities as fast as the rules allowed, while others continue to practice great caution or have even decided that Home is Best!
As I reflect on this past year, which was “more different” than any other year of my previous 32 years in the rabbinate, the thing that strikes me is how Jewish rituals came through the pandemic in flying colors. Even more than that, you, our congregants showed a flexibility and resilience that held us all together during a challenging time. You showed up online. You watched us lead High Holy Days from a mostly empty Main Sanctuary. You rescheduled your treasured life cycles. You did outdoor, everyone-masked B’nai Mitzvah in the courtyard. You sat at a distance in small numbers in the Chapel and Main. You showed up in decent numbers for every service, holiday, speaker and educational program. You dropped tool kits off at Temple for homeless, pregnant women, and joined the Temple in doing so many different acts of loving kindness. You even drove up to the Temple entrance and celebrated holy moments from your cars! YOU are the reason Judaism evolves, thrives and persists.
Monday, August 9th, is the first day of the Hebrew month of Elul. This month is designated for spiritual preparation for the High Holy Days ahead. There are countless ways for you to engage and renew. Here are just a few to consider: Each Friday in Elul for the entire month, starting Friday, August 13th, we use a special prayer book with beautiful readings at our One Shabbat 6:00 pm service. Join us. Spend more time in nature throughout Elul. Engage in acts of tzedakah. (Check out our Tzedek Council page for ideas.) If you meditate, find a mantra from the High Holy Day machzor (prayer book); any rabbi or cantor is happy to assist you with finding your mantra. Subscribe to Jewels of Elul. Sign up for Reboot’s 10Q. Pick up a copy of Preparing Your Heart for the High Holy Days: A Guided Journal by Rabbis Kerry Olitzky and Rachel T. Sabath. Add to your Jewish library by picking up a copy of Rabbi Alan Lew’s (of blessed memory) This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared. Post-pandemic, this book is likely to resonate more strongly.
This past year was a year like no other in our lives. But the coming of Elul has happened throughout Jewish history.
It was there to help us shift our focus from the material to the spiritual way back when, and it continues to present itself to us with all its possibilities.
Happy Elul,
Rabbi Beth Singer

May 1, 2021
Lessons on Solidarity from the Book of Ruth
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
This month we celebrate Shavuot, which commemorates our receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. Some of our customs for this holiday include holding a Tikkun Leil Shavuot (a night of learning) and reading the Book of Ruth.
The Torah tells us that it was a mixed multitude, a diverse Jewish people, that followed Moses out of Egypt and ultimately into the promised land. And our tradition illustrates that, from its inception, we were not the “chosen people” without also being those who chose to enter into a covenant. The very first Jews, the matriarchs and patriarchs, chose to connect to the ways of Adonai. Those who followed Moses into the wilderness chose to leave the known oppression of Egypt and venture into the unknown, and they became members of the people Israel at Sinai as they chose to accept the Torah. While receiving the Torah, they recited the words: Na’aseh v’nishmah—“we will do and we will hear”—thereby binding themselves as a holy community based on a covenant, not on race.
As we read the Book of Ruth, we are reminded that the gates of the Jewish community are always open to those who choose to join us by entering into that same covenant. The story of Ruth tells of a Moabite woman who converted to Judaism with these words spoken to her mother-in-law: “whither thou goest, I will go, thy people will by my people, thy God, my God.” Our tradition teaches that Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David, meaning that the messianic line runs through a Moabite convert!
I mention all of this because I think it is important to understand that Judaism, from its first formation and continuing into the present day, does not reflect a unified genetic or racial perspective. Instead, we the Jewish people are made up of a beautiful diversity that reflects the dynamism of God’s creation. We are of all genders, all colors, standing together as one people united by our values, learning from our history, supported by our rituals and love of learning and community. We are also supported by those who travel with us, who do not choose Judaism, but who do choose Jewish families; for that choice, we are indeed made better and we are grateful for it.
We are hurt when any member of our community (or a person of any community), because of their color, gender identity or sexuality, is discriminated against. An attack on them is an attack on all of us. Over the past few months, the fact that Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans are threatened by a racism that has become more pervasive must alarm all of us. In my conversations with some of our children of color, they have shared with me their fear of going to school or expressed that they’re trying to figure out how to pass and not be bothered.
This is an unacceptable situation and there are some things we can do. We have to keep demanding safety and support for communities of color. We have to speak out against all forms of hatred. But we ourselves also have to change our self image of who is a Jew. When we gather again in person, do not assume that the Asian person in front of you wasn’t born Jewish. Don’t think that the African-American congregant is just a guest. Ever since Sinai, we have looked like a mixed group, not just European, and that diversity continues.
We will be working as a congregation to find ways to stand up against this most recent expression of racism. Our Jews of Color (JOC) group, led by board member Paul Pretlow and member Kristin Posner, has been organizing along with Rabbi Parris. Also, Rabbi Rodich is working with JOC group leaders as well as Asian members and their families to determine the best ways that Emanu-El can continue to support our community and stand up for Jewish values.
Let us keep working on the ongoing process of celebrating the receiving of Torah together, sharing its blessing and values that ultimately make us the Jewish people.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Jonathan Singer

April 1, 2021
Musings on a Year of Judaism in the Pandemic
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
When I was in college, our Hillel rabbi led a weekly reflection during the Kabbalat Shabbat service; he would intone the days of the past week and ask us to take a moment to remember something that happened the previous Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc. In that spirit, this is a good time to think about one year ago in April, May, June, etc. Back in April 2020, still early in the pandemic, we thought we’d probably be gathering in the sanctuary for the High Holy Days. We had no idea. I remember hearing a scientist predict that the pandemic would last well into 2021; at that time, his forecast seemed overly dramatic.
A year ago, we managed to move all of our services and programs online. We conducted our last sanctuary b’nei mitzvah on March 14, 2020. We then scrambled to reschedule b’nei mitzvah, having students keep their original Torah portions but moving the dates to summer, as we felt sure the situation would improve by then. At a certain point, given the number of b’nei mitzvah students, we ran out of summer dates. So we did something we had never done before. We showed families how to set up a sanctuary in their own homes; we brought a Torah scroll to them and then led services via Zoom. Later, when the City changed some COVID-19 regulations, we were able to start conducting services in our outdoor courtyard (weather permitting), restricting them to only a small number of participants and having a precise setup that complies with every health regulation of safety, sanitation and distancing. As you read this, we continue to conduct all of our life-cycle ceremonies for congregants, either with a very small, spatially distanced setup in the Temple courtyard or via Zoom. To my knowledge, not one person has contracted COVID-19 as a result of attending a Temple event.
One year ago, Jonathan and I were invited to Zoom into a wedding as guests of a young man whom we had known since childhood. Like everyone, this couple had planned a big fat Jewish wedding, but ended up with a backyard ceremony in Chicago that included 15 spatially distanced guests plus hundreds on Zoom. Jonathan and I settled ourselves onto some outdoor furniture here on the west coast as we attended the wedding online. Jeff, whom we had known as a little boy, was attired in his suit and tallit. I was emotionally overcome when I saw him at the huppa. I cried and smiled throughout the ceremony, which we would not have been able to attend if it weren’t for Zoom.
April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April. Take a few moments and think about how you lived through each of these months. Schools were closed. Restaurants shut down. Emanu-El went online. But Jewish ritual endured! During each one of the past months, we welcomed babies; dozens of Emanu-El 13year-olds were called to the Torah; we officiated at weddings; and we stood at the graveside, often holding up a cell phone so that family members from afar could safely witness the mitzvah of burying their loved one. The ability of Jewish ritual to transcend even a pandemic is powerful. Reflect back. Biblical times. Rabbinic times. The Middle Ages. The Modern Age. The Tech Age. Throughout it all, Jewish ritual has endured.
Recently, a bat mitzvah parent, participating in her third child’s ceremony, reflected with me about how her family was focused much more on the ritual itself since there was no giant party to plan. We look forward to the day when it will be safe to gather in person, dance a Hora, hug each other, eat together, and celebrate our rituals with friends, family and the Temple community. It is a core value that, under normal circumstances, b’nei mitzvah services are celebrated in person in the sanctuary and all are welcome to attend as we officially accept each 13-year-old into the community. Until that time, you can hop online every Friday night at 6:00 p.m. for a warm service with music and a teaching; join Torah study at 9:15 a.m. every Shabbat morning with one click on our website; send your kids to Zoom or an outdoor Wilderness Torah experience; and celebrate holidays (and all of our Jewish rituals) in whatever way is deemed safest on any given day and week. Judaism has a long history of keeping the lights on. With our extraordinary Jewish rituals, we will continue to do just that.

March 1, 2021
Preparing for Passover
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
Ma nishtanah halaila hazeh mikol haleilot? — “Why is this night different from all other nights?” is the first of the four questions we will ask as we sit at our Passover seders this month. Well, after having lived through a pandemic over the past year, we might reply that “while everything is different, nothing has changed.”
Nothing has changed as we prepare for a second Passover under quarantine. Yes, our Zoom skills may have improved, but the need to remain isolated until more people are vaccinated means that we’re in the same place as we were last year. Like our ancestors near the border of the Nile, we are stuck in our homes awaiting a future redemption.
At the same time, everything is different because we understand that redemption is nigh as the vaccine is being distributed. With the onset of spring this year, we can realistically begin to make plans for going forward – as soon as we are released from the “Egypt” of this pandemic. Some of you have already received your first vaccination or even both shots. Others are still waiting. But don’t get carried away, as we learn at Passover that freedom unfolds over time, not all at once. Our ancestors journeyed forth in stages, just as we must do now.
Like many of you, I had hoped that once we were all vaccinated, we’d be free to go out into the world again, to simply return to life as it was. But we must remember that it took our ancestors awhile after leaving Egypt to be able to taste the true joy of freedom. The Torah teaches us that they couldn’t just break out and return to life as it existed before slavery, but rather they had to dwell b’midbar — “in the wilderness” for a period in order to adjust to their new life situation. While doing so, they subsisted on lechem oni — “bread of affliction,” what we now call matzah, as they gradually made their way toward the Promised Land.
While I pray that our post-vaccination “wilderness” won’t last for years, I think we’re going to be in an in-between place for a while; we’ll have to learn how to re-enter and re-experience the larger world in a safe and sane way, one step at a time, continuing to wear masks, still distancing from each other, starting to gather in small groups. Perhaps this year, the matzah we eat during Passover can represent that process of transition. We will taste the simple joys in life, that which can sustain us, as we continue to move toward the beautiful complexity of life that we previously took for granted.
Remember that the seder celebrates the beginning of our ancestors’ redemption from Egypt; it does not celebrate their having reached the Promised Land. On Passover, we celebrate our people’s willingness to hold onto our sense of self during difficult times and make our way forward, inspired by faith in the holiness we call God. The end of the Haggadah imagines an even greater redemption with the exclamation: “Next year in Jerusalem!”
Perhaps next year, we will be in that place of renewed freedom, having crossed over the wilderness of our current reality. For now, let us celebrate our fortitude, our ongoing sense of hope, and our determination to reach a better place by living our values and patiently moving forward to true freedom, not in a rush, but methodically and smartly, one step at a time, helping each other along the way.
Hag Pesach Sameach — Happy Passover!

February 1, 2021
Resilience: That’s What Purim Is All About
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
We are in the middle of a multi-session Temple series — “Building Resilience: Finding Meaning and Purpose in this Unusual Time” — for which you can still sign up on our website. As we wait for everyone to be vaccinated to give our bodies resilience in the face of coronavirus, we continue to wear our masks and practice social distancing. This month, our worlds collide with our annual celebration of Purim, a “Resilience holiday” (with a capital R!). On Purim, we wear masks and “inoculate” ourselves from the scourge of anti-Semitism by telling the story of our survival and our triumph over hate.
While most of us know about costumes, hamentaschen, and the Purim Spiel, there are two Purim traditions, less known among Reform Jews, that have the power to make us even stronger.
One of these traditions is called Matanot l’evyonim, which means “gifts to the poor.” You can fulfill this tradition by giving tzedakah during Purim to any organization that helps the vulnerable in our society. Among so many poverty-related issues, we know that food insecurity is an ongoing problem. JFCS and the SF Marin Food Bank are both worthy recipients for our practice of Matanot l’evyonim because they distribute food to those in immediate need while simultaneously advocating for changes that reduce the numbers of hungry people. Or you can volunteer with one of our Tzedek Council projects (check them out on our website) or any place that needs volunteers. Jewish practice asks us to give tzedakah throughout the year, but especially on Yom HaKipurim and on Purim (both of which contain the word Purim in them). Purim stands for “lots” or “casting the dice.” Both Yom Kippur and Purim remind us that much of what happens in the world feels out of our control, and enduring this current COVID-19 pandemic has also served as a reminder of the many things outside our control. However, by giving to others, we build resilience against the things we cannot change; we fortify ourselves spiritually by serving the needs of others. Regardless of how rich or poor we may be, each of us can give to or help others. We are more powerful than we think.
The other lesser known Purim tradition is called mishloach manot. This is the custom of bringing gifts to all of your friends on Purim. Many people fill compostable/disposable plates with hamentaschen and other treats like nuts, candies, and fruits, and then drop these gifts off at the homes of everyone they know. If you have never before participated in this Purim tradition, it provide pure joy… and joy builds resilience.
Just as we use an array of practices to build resilience against coronavirus, our customs of giving to the poor and sharing gifts are part of our practice of resilience as Jewish people. These joyful practices give us a sense of something we can do and they are a way to bring us all together. I hope you will continue to attend our Resilience series and maybe even try a new Jewish practice.
Chag Purim Sameach. And don’t forget to wear your mask!

December 1, 2020
Do You Believe in Miracles?
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
Like me, many of you grew up hearing the fable of the eight nights of Chanukah. Remember? The Jews returned to the despoiled Temple and found only enough oil to burn for one night, but instead it lasted for eight days—a miracle! But according to historians, this is not the real story of Chanukah. Some claim that the holiday commemorates a civil war between two camps of Jews: assimilationists versus those who wanted to impose a strict interpretation of Judaism on everyone. Others say that Chanukah really is a belated eight-day Sukkot celebration, after Jews had been prevented from celebrating before they reclaimed the Temple. And some argue that the Rabbis in the Talmud knew all about the messy internal Jewish conflict but chose to go with the small-jar-of-oil story to place greater emphasis on miracles and de-emphasize battle. We pair this story with the Chanukah Haftara from the prophet Zechariah who said that we win “not by might, nor by power, but by God’s spirit.”
Regardless of its true back story, the theme of Chanukah is Miracles. One of my favorite prayers in our Reform prayer book states: “Days pass and years vanish and we walk sightless among miracles.” The prayer book instills within us a Jewish idea that to wake up is itself a miracle. To breathe is a miracle. To feel joy and all of our emotions is a miracle. To walk is a miracle. To see a bird or a rainbow or an ocean is a miracle. To feel the warmth of the sun is a miracle. To love and be loved by others is a miracle.
2020 has been a very dicult year for many of us. A year of pandemic. A year of racial and political discord. A year of smoke and fires. Here at Temple, we continue to take measures that keep us safe, holding our celebrations digitally, as we continue our Emanu-El theme—Judaism, no matter what! Join us throughout Chanukah as we find new ways to increase the light and proclaim the miracle each night (see page 4). And join us next month as we partner with Third Baptist Church to shine a light anew on the miracle of our Black-Jewish relationships.
Throughout the Festival of Lights, we put a Chanukah menorah in our window to proclaim the miracle. Some
exchange gifts. But Judaism’s gift to us is that simply waking up each day is itself a miracle.

November 1, 2020
Rejoicing in the Gifts We Have
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
In the Talmud is a dispute over the proper name of this Hebrew month—is it Chesvan or Marcheshvan? Our home Jewish calendars refer to it as Cheshvan, which we believe comes from the Akkadian, meaning eighth, describing its place as the eighth month when counting from Passover (also considered a Jewish new year). But many other sources say the proper name is Marcheshvan, with the Mar addenda meaning either “month” or “droplet,” as the month customarily falls at the beginning of the rainy season.
Thus, much commentary has ensued, as it is the wont of our people to find meaning in something difficult. There are those who say Mar was added because the Hebrew meaning of that suffix translates as “bitter.” The month of Cheshvan is bitter, they said, because it is a rare Jewish month bereft of any holidays. Now that Sukkot has ended, there is no celebrating until Chanukah. Parenthetically, that reality is a relief to your Cantors and Rabbis!
But the Pri Chadash’s assertion that Mar refers to the rainy season is something that I want us to take note of. We just finished Sukkot with the shaking of the lulav and etrog, and in some teachings, that shaking action is actually an incantation or dance movement to bring about rains. Similar to California, Israel depends upon rain to provide nourishment for crops and water for people. Many Christian friends of mine are surprised when they visit Israel and find the river Jordan to be more like a stream than a river. Israel depends upon rain! During Sukkot, we are commanded to both rejoice and be happy even when things are not going so well. This allows us to take in the wonders around us, not let our bitterness blind us to life’s blessing, but then also pray for renewal of the rains.
This past month has brought much to make us bitter—from the horrible fires to the north and south, to the ongoing reality of COVID-19 and its limitations (that not only prevent us from gathering but is having profound economic implications for those who were already struggling), to our unique political climate with such anger and discord between our fellow Americans (I am writing this prior to the election). On top of that is a profound sense of despair that racism remains ingrained in the subconsciousness of our society, with Black Americans continuing to suffer cruel indignities every day.
But our tradition, which is no stranger to feelings of bitterness and despair, does not want those feelings to keep us from seeing hope, holiness, and beauty in our lives. Therefore, at Sukkot, we are commanded to be happy and rejoice in the gifts we have—even if the harvest isn’t so great—and then go out and work in the fields, replant, and pray for nourishing rains. Marcheshvan can therefore be seen as a call to continue that effort. Even if there are no holidays, we can rejoice in our lives, hold on to hope, and keep working to bring tikkun to a world so much in need of it. If you wallow in bitterness, you won’t change anything, but if you understand the Mar as drops of dew, you can step forward, refreshed, to continue the holy task of bringing blessings into the world no matter how hard the struggle.
As the psalmist wrote, “Those who sow in tears, will reap in joy.” So may we.

October 1, 2020
How Do You Express Your Joy?
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
Oh Joy! One reason printed bulletins and magazines have a tough time staying afloat in this age of instant online media is that articles such as this one must be written under deadline weeks before print and distribution. If the USPS did its job, you are reading this the first week of October, and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have come and gone. But as I write this, the High Holy Days have not yet occurred. Did our thousands of hours of preparation (and I do mean thousands, not hundreds) result in well-executed, vibrant, authentic, emotionally satisfying streaming services? Or did we fall flat? Did you choose to sit this one out? Or maybe, in spite of our best efforts, did you not realize that Emanu-El’s streaming High Holy Day services were open to everyone on the planet? (Anyone with a phone could have dialed in.) If you did participate, we hope the services were as meaningful as intended and that at least one of the sermons resonated with you; sometimes the message in a single sermon provides all the inspiration you need in the New Year.
Whether or not the services, music, and sermons spoke to you, the beauty of Judaism is that our cycle of holidays continues. Sukkot begins on Friday, October 2. When I was growing up, only the Rabbi and the Temple had a sukkah. Now, everyone can have a sukkah! You can order a prefab sukkah online (at sukkot.com for example), or you can buy a few materials at the hardware store and design your own. You can build your sukkah on a balcony, patio, or backyard. You can sit, eat, sing, and debate in your sukkah. You can watch Netflix on a streaming device in your sukkah. You can sleep in your sukkah and then feel even more grateful when you return to your comfy bedroom.
Gratitude is, of course, the underlying theme of every Jewish holiday. But unbridled JOY is the very essence of both Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Sukkot is traditionally referred to as Z’man Simchateinu—the “Season of our Joy.” This is an especially joyous time because we will have read all five books of the Torah, one portion per Shabbat for the past year, and we’ll now start reading through the Torah all over again. With each year of wisdom and life experience, we have the opportunity to find something new, something we never saw before no matter how many times we have read the Torah.
Historically, joy was expressed in an abundant Sukkot harvest. Today, joy can come from so many things. Do you have even a little food? Do you have a place to sleep at night? Do you have a synagogue? Do you have a couple of treasured friends? Do you have family members who care about you? Do you have at least some of your health? Are you breathing? If you can answer “yes” to even a few of these, then find a way to express your joy in this Z’man Simchateinu!

September 1, 2020
Kavanah in a Time of COVID-19
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
In Mishnah Brachot, chapter two, the ancient Rabbis state that one has fulfilled the obligation to recite the Shema if they directed their heart during the prayer. The term they use for direction of the heart (kiven libo) became the basis for the term kavanah, which means to have spiritual connection during prayer. Interestingly, the Rabbis went on to state in the next Mishnah that one can find oneself in different circumstances and still have kavanah, thus fulfilling the obligation to pray the Shema with true intention (even while working up in a tree or out in an orchard or at the wall of a building when prayer time comes around).
This High Holy Days season, with the effort to ensure the health of our congregants during COVID-19, we certainly find ourselves in different circumstances! When the time comes for our prayers this new year, the challenge we will face during the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awesomeness) is not that of praying in trees or on a wall, but in front of a computer screen, something that many of us might find frustrating. But remember, the Mishnah teaches us that, as Jews, we can and do have our hearts connected, attaining a spiritual uplift that will help us renew our days under many varied circumstances.
In this time of COVID-19, with the isolation it brings, we are even more deeply in need of the spiritual renewal that the High Holy Days offer us.To that end, your clergy at Congregational Emanu-El — with the wonderful help of Director and Congregant Becca Wolff and Producer and Congregant Lenore Naxon — are creating portals of spiritual connection that will make these Days of Awe meaningful and engaging, even though we won’t be gathering in person in our beautiful sanctuary. Via the miracle of the internet, we will hear the sound of the shofar, encourage each other to do teshuvah, work on return and renewal, sing the Avinu Malkeynu, and recite the Yizkor in ways that, a year ago, we could not have imagined.
And the experience need not be passive. Jewish mystical literature teaches that you can invite the Shechinah to be with you. But you must set the mood. The mystics encouraged their adherents to light candles around the room as well as incense, and to then focus in prayer, having created the atmosphere that encourages true Kavanah. For these holidays, we can act similarly by creating an ambiance in our homes that encourages spiritual intention.
Try setting your table with a white festival cloth and placing the screen on it, like a bimah, surrounded by flowers. Place holiday candles around the room to shed beautiful light. Also, put out Kiddish cups filled to the brim, ready to be blessed, with a round challah, and, if you own one, a shofar as well. Dress in white or in your most comfortable festive clothing. When the service starts, be all in, standing for the prayers when asked, singing with the Cantor and musicians, texting in your thoughts and hopes for the new year. Perhaps you can even keep a journal with you to write down your wishes for the new year, and remember those you need to honor or make amends with. Especially in this time, we have personal work to do — teshuvah — turning to our better selves as we seek renewal. The coronavirus pandemic will not stop Emanu-El Jews from engaging with our heartlines, connecting to the essence of ourselves and to the holy all around us! With each others’ help, with preparation and bringing the synagogue into our homes, we can build the bridge of connection and renew our days this year as of old! Shanah Tovah! Wishing you health, blessing, and renewal.
August 1, 2020
Welcome Rabbi Sarah Joselow Parris!
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
A year ago last February, following the retirement of our beloved Terry Kraus, Congregation Emanu-El was contemplating a new Engagement Leadership Model. Jonathan and I were headed to New York City for a family event when Rabbis Fenves and Rodich pulled us aside and told us: “We know a very talented Rabbi who is currently working at the Columbia Barnard Hillel in New York City, but her husband just got a job at Facebook headquarters and they are moving here.” “Her name is Rabbi Sarah Joselow Parris,” the Rabbis said. “She is amazing and you should hire her!” So after we arrived in New York, we met with Rabbi Parris on a Friday morning in a bakery on the Upper West Side.
As we walked out an hour later, Jonathan said, “We should hire her!” And so we did. Over the past year, Rabbi Parris joined Randi Fields and Ariana Estoque to form a powerful Emanu-El Engagement Team. Rabbi Parris distinguished herself by teaming up with our Early Childhood Director, Nika Greenberg, to offer small group opportunities to young parents. Rabbi Parris has worked on numerous engagement projects, and has met with more than 100 congregants (over both caffeinated and decaffeinated beverages) to help each one find a place at Emanu-El. When Rabbi Fenves told us that her family would be relocating to the East Coast, Rabbi Parris approached us about shifting her role from engagement to full-time clergy. She had attended our weekly clergy meetings and observed how we operate as a highly collegial and collaborative team to serve the members of Emanu-El and the wider community. After a national search, utilizing a congregant search team, and an affirmation from our Board, there was no question that Rabbi Parris was the most qualified candidate and a great match.
On July 1, Rabbi Sarah Parris officially joined us as a full-time Rabbi. She will be focusing on the preschool, working with young families, organizing synagogue small groups, and heading up our Jews of Color, Inclusion and Diversity group. Her portfolio also includes service leadership rotation, conversions, pastoral care, life-cycles, and all of the things that Pulpit Rabbis do. Rabbi Parris has been a vital partner as we have grappled with the uncertainties of our time vis-a-vis the upcoming High Holy Days. By the time you read this, our entire clergy team will have spent hundreds of hours imagining and planning an impactful High Holy Day experience, as our community mostly meets online to keep everyone healthy until there is a vaccine.
We have worked and continue to work on every facet of your High Holy Day experience from the website to the services to numerous creative opportunities for small, safe physical gatherings. One thing we can promise you: These High Holy Days will be historic! They will be like none other you have ever experienced. They will be more inclusive and open, yet powerful and to the point. While we would never wish for anything like what the world is currently experiencing, we are excited about the opportunity to create something that draws deeply from the well of our tradition and speaks uniquely to this moment in time. You don’t want to miss this! And you also won’t want to miss the specific, highly personalized opportunities for congregants only.
If you have not yet renewed your membership, please do so now. We need you and you need Temple. The warmest of welcomes to Rabbi Sarah Joselow Parris! Watch our website and Chronicle for a future date when we will all gather safely in the Main Sanctuary to officially “install” her as our newest Assistant Rabbi, and of course welcome you back in person. Your connection is what makes this Temple a sacred and special place.
May/June/July, 2020
Thank You For Your Ongoing Support!
By Alan Greinetz, Board President
Dear Emanu-El Community, I am writing today to thank you for your ongoing support of our synagogue and to invite you to join us for the year ahead by renewing your Emanu-El membership. Despite the shelter-in-place orders that have caused us to move all of our programming online and have our staff work remotely, we’ve been able to retain each and every member of our fabulous staff! Your membership renewal will enable us to continue to fully support the community during this period of unprecedented challenge.
Due to the economic effects of the coronavirus, we have decided not to increase our dues this year. Emanu-El is here to support our members in any way necessary at this time. If you are able to contribute at or above the suggested level, we encourage you to do so, as your community needs you more than ever. As always, there is room for everyone under our dome, and no one will ever be turned away. Despite the new COVID-19 reality, we are not standing still. Emanu-El remains a vital source of community and support for our members. It has been a joy and a comfort to join with many of you in online Shabbat services. Emanu-El has also hosted virtual baby groups, preschool and YFE classes, Passover Seders, and family T’filah, and we’ve conducted one-to-one outreach to congregants in need. In partnership with Chabad, we delivered 145 Passover meals to the most vulnerable members of our community. In addition, we have leveraged our community’s entrepreneurship, creativity, and heart to support local small businesses by launching the Tikkun Emanu-El Shuk. Jewish tradition teaches us that, in a crisis, we should not sit back and pray for a miracle.
Instead, we should do everything we can to address the situation for ourselves, our loved ones, and our entire community. The most impactful thing you can do is quite simple: continue to be a member of Congregation Emanu-El. We appreciate each and every one of you. Please visit emanuelsf.org and click on LOG IN TO MYEMANU-EL (top right of the homepage) to renew your membership. Please renew by June 15. We know that the year ahead will be an unusual one in our history as a congregation, a city, and a people. We must and we can create this future together.

By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
As we read in the Torah, the giving of the law was a result of an encounter, not of an individual, but of the Jewish people — and not necessarily those of a genetic particularity, but those of whatever background who were willing to travel with us at the time, place themselves at the bottom of the mountain at Sinai, engage the Holy, and receive the Torah. The common notion is that Moses ascended Mt. Sinai, and remained there for 40 days, and in the presence of the Holy received the tablets with the values that are essential to civilization as we know it carved into the stone. However, the Talmud teaches that, while Moses took the tablets in his hands, the people surrounding the mountain received it. The voice of the Holy, a Midrash proclaims, was divided into 70 languages so that the whole world might understand it.
All who were at Sinai — young, old, men, women, children, and infants — heard and understood according to their capacity. And that continued with the radically moving notion that the prophets heard Torah as do we today! What that ancient text imparts is that each of us is a receiver of the Holy. Pieces of Torah exist in every fellow traveler who joins the Jewish people. I love the notion that, if one opens oneself, if one truly listens, then Sinai is always happening, God’s wonder is always flowing, and you can choose to receive it and then share it. In a sense, this is what can happen at your Seder table.
As you share the Haggadah and tell the story of our redemption, opening your home to guests who come from different perspectives and attitudes, you can make room for each person to teach their Torah concerning the meaning of redemption, the willingness to march toward freedom in times of oppression, and how we can support each other along life’s journey. Without the receivers, those willing to liberate themselves at the first Passover and march towards Sinai, a mixed multitude the Torah tells us, there would be no Torah. The same is true today.
If we are to flourish as a people, we have to understand that the Torah is ours to receive and transmit. We are still a mixed multitude and Sinai does not happen without our joining together and being welcoming. Judaism doesn’t continue without you, and it is enriched when you talk and engage and learn from the Torah of those around you. Use the Passover guide included in this Chronicle to get ready for the holiday. Join us for an online class that will help you organize your Seder, pull out your Haggadah and go online to find songs and games, and help Jewish ideas flourish as you share at your table, helping each other to transmit and receive the wonder and blessings of Jewish life.
Chag Pesach Sameach! Happy Passover!
March 1, 2020
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
February 1, 2020
Confronting Anti-Semitism
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
As I write this, thousands of people are walking across the Brooklyn Bridge in solidarity against anti-Semitism and hatred in all of its forms. The march is an important public statement that the Jewish community will not be intimidated by those who hate us, and that we do not stand alone against the vile rearing of prejudice that is a stain on the American psyche. We in San Francisco cannot be naive when it comes to recognizing its resurgence and that we must continue to be vigilant in countering it.
January 1, 2020
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
and a host of other rabbinical subjects.
December 1, 2019
Your Vote Matters!
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
November 1, 2019
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
The Connection Between Yom Kippur and Sukkot
September 1, 2019
Reflections For The First Day of Elul
August 1, 2019
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
the wilderness after Miriam (whose name may have meant “water finder”) had died.
May 1, 2019
The Beauty of Shabbat
April 22, 2019
March/April, 2019
March 15, 2019
Grace Cathedral and Congregation Emanu-El stand with the Christchurch Muslim community, our New Zealand friends and the Muslim community of San Francisco in their time of grief and mourning. This type of violence and the hate that motivates it is unacceptable in any country and people of all faiths worldwide have a responsibility to stand up and say no. No one should fear for their safety when attending their house of worship.

February 1, 2019
Journey With Me to Israel!
January 1, 2019
Partnering Against Hate
It’s a Movement!
- The Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now known as the Union for Reform Judaism [URJ]), in 1873
- The Hebrew Union College, in 1875
- The Central Conference of American Rabbis, in 1889
- The Union Prayerbook, in 1894
Take note of the names he chose for each of these elements; because he sought to unite ALL American Jews, none of them includes the word “Reform” in the title!While Rabbi Wise’s goal of creating ONE Judaism proved impossible — we now have many flourishing denominations (including Reform, Reconstructionist, Orthodox, Conservative, Renewal, Humanist, anti-denominational “Indie” movements, and numerous distinctive Hasidic branches) — such a diversity ensures a healthy, robust Judaism. Although every Jew is united to the whole by Torah, we need choices in how Torah teachings and values are incorporated into our daily lives, and multiple interpretations of our civilizational religion are vital to its sustainability.
October 1, 2018
Deepen Your Knowledge of Torah
September 1, 2018
Join Us to Celebrate The New Year
- Rosh Hashanah, which welcomes the new year with sweetness and a call to personal growth. Join us in prayer and then gather at the beach to cast off the weight of pain or numbness that has been holding you back.
- Yom Kippur, which invites you to embrace a day of deep personal introspection supported by a community renewing itself in prayer, meditation, learning, and the nurturing of hope! Stay the day and participate in this form of Jewish communal therapy as you seek forgiveness and look to a better future.
- Sukkot, which beckons you to reconnect with the life-giving presence of the earth by celebrating the harvest and dwelling under a canopy of hope. Sukkot is the real conclusion of Yom Kippur as we transition from turning inward to focusing outward on the joy of life’s harvest. This year, you might even build your own sukkah! But also spend some time in our beautiful communal sukkah, greeting others, drinking in the stars above, and allowing your senses to fill with wonder.
- Simchat Torah, which asks you to participate in the dance of learning as we unfurl the sacred scroll and turn the year over again, concluding with the beginning as the Jewish dance continues. There will be live music and the blessing of new students, and you will raise the scroll of hope.
This is a month of wonder, and the world is indeed coming at you. Allow yourself to receive the blessing by joining in community here at Emanu-El!
May 18, 2018
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem
May those who love you be at peace.
(Psalm 122:6)
May 1, 2018
Reflections on Shavuot
April 1, 2018
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
March 1, 2018
The Meaning of Matzah
February 1, 2018
The Generational Importance of Jewish Culture
January 1, 2018
Calling Out Abuse and Harassment
December 1, 2017
1) December Collection Drive: Toiletries for the homeless men in San Francisco
Next time you go to the dentist or you stay in a hotel, please ask for a donation of supplies to give to the homeless men staying in the Winter Interfaith Shelters this winter and bring to Emanu-El during the full month of December. Learn more here.
Jewish Family and Children’s Services is hosting a holiday toy drive to benefit families in Sonoma County displaced by the fires as well as low-income families and those who have experienced domestic violence and homelessness in San Francisco. Please drop off new, unwrapped, toys for children of all ages or gift cards (often great for teens – iTunes, amazon.com, etc…) by December 8, from Mon. – Fri., 8:30 am – 5:30 pm. For more information contact [email protected] or 415-449-3824. Items must be received no later than December 8th!
Earlier this fall, a beloved congregant, 27-year old Jeremy Dossetter, died when his helicopter fell into the ocean in Hawaii. Jeremy loved the beach and always picked up trash each time he went to the beach to surf. Take a day of Chanukah with yourself or with your family or with your friends to carry forward Jeremy’s work by cleaning up a local beach for one hour. Learn 8 new facts, one every night of Chanukah, about an environmental problem, like climate change, via internet research.
We meet from 6:00 – 7:30 pm at the African American Arts and Culture Complex at 762 Fulton Street to strengthen African-American-Jewish relationships and to fight racial injustice in our community. You are always welcome to join us the second Thursday of each month.
Help your fellow congregants during a time of need. Register online to join this mitzvah of cooking meals for our congregants who are in need either facing a recent illness, death, or birth, happening on select Thursday mornings in the Temple kitchen. Learn more here.
Join Emanu-El in the mitzvah of feeding the hungry by providing volunteers to shop, cook and serve dinner to over 100 homeless men for eight consecutive nights at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Join your constituent group at Emanu-El or volunteer on open congregant night on Monday, January 22, 2018. Learn more here.
Many Bay Area public schools lack well-stocked libraries or the funds to buy new books. Help provide our local schools with multicultural picture books for grades Pre-K through 3rd (ages 4–9). Donate anytime during the month of January 2018, and look for this collection drive to be featured at our Annual MLK Shabbat Service with Third Baptist Church on January 12. Learn more here.
8) Tu’Bshvat with Hamilton Families
This Tu B’Shevat, join your fellow congregants as we beautify Hamilton’s Transitional Housing garden with new plants, trees, and flowers on Sunday, January 28, 2018. Learn more here.
November 1, 2017
A Discussion with Natan Sharansky
October 1, 2017
Emanu-El Clergy Statement on the Violence in Virginia and Minnesota
The ideologies that motivate these movements are abhorrent to Judaism. White supremacy is real and it is absolutely critical that we identify it as such and never engage in any type of moral subjectivism. White supremacist movements put Jews, people of color, LGBTQ people and ultimately all people at risk of violence. Jewish history demands that we speak out and that we work for a nation that fully rejects hatred in all forms.
July 26, 2017
Emanu-El Statement on the Anti-Transgender Tweets by President Trump
We are deeply indebted to all who choose to serve this great country in our armed forces.
Our people know too well what happens when the arsenal of democracy is diminished and the forces of hate fill the void.
We also know what it means to be asked not to serve – to be discriminated against because of our faith, our ethnic background, and gender identity and the implication then that we are not good enough Americans.
Instead, let this country be a great beacon of acceptance made stronger because we are empowered by our beautifully diverse population.
We ask all people of faith, people who believe in America to encourage our President to soften his heart, reverse his stand on transgender rights and take his places as a leader of the Free World because this is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!
May 1, 2017
Women in the Rabbinate
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
It was a Friday night in August 1973 and the cantor was just concluding the Aleinu prayer. My bat mitzvah. My father and I sat together on the bimah (no moms allowed). My dad whispered, “How are you doing?” I whispered back, “Kinda sad. I feel like I spent so much time preparing for this bat mitzvah, and now it is nearly over.” My dad smiled and whispered back, “Who knows? Maybe someday you will become a rabbi, Beth, and then you can do bat mitzvahs all the time!”
And that is exactly how the idea took hold. From that moment on, I could not imagine myself doing anything else but becoming a rabbi. I loved services. I loved the Jewish people. The first American-ordained woman rabbi, Rabbi Sally Priesand, had been ordained one year before my bat mitzvah and was the assistant rabbi in my grandparents’ temple, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, in New York City. I wrote to Rabbi Priesand shortly after my bat mitzvah and told her of my dream to become a rabbi like her. She must have been having a bad day. Her response, which now resides in the American Jewish Archives, simply said, “Beth, you’re young. Think about considering other careers!” Ouch.
But think about it. It cannot have been easy to be the only woman among male students and faculty throughout five years of rabbinical seminary. When women were first ordained, senior rabbis, boards of directors and congregants were skeptical of a woman’s ability to serve in this leadership capacity. As increasing numbers of women were ordained as rabbis, sociologists decried the fact and warned of the “feminization of the rabbinate,” which, to them, equaled a diminution of the stature of the (male) rabbi.
Our country has now ordained women rabbis for forty-five years. After Rabbi Priesand’s ordination, the Reconstructionist Movement quickly followed suit and eventually the Conservative movement. A well-regarded Orthodox rabbi in New York started ordaining Orthodox women in 2009. In 2016, Rabbi Daniel Landes began ordaining Orthodox women in Israel. The history of women rabbis, dating back to Rabbi Regina Jonas’ ordination in Germany in 1935, is fascinating. It is all chronicled in a new book that I highly recommend for your home library, The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate. There are no rabbis in the Torah.
In the Talmud, we read of a transformation from prophets to rabbinical sages and scholars. In the Middle Ages, rabbis took upon themselves the role of judges, acting as legal decisors and arbiters. The point is that transformations in spiritual leadership within Judaism have occurred since day one. What is new is the way that many women have transformed the contemporary rabbinate. The Reform rabbi of my childhood entered the rooms in his black robe and we all stood as he ascended the bimah. Women rabbis ushered in innovations such as the idea that rabbis are just people with a sacred calling.
We strive to be in relationship with our congregants and not removed from them. We have taught all rabbis the value of work-life balance. These are just a few of the powerful transformations brought to Judaism by women rabbis.
On May 16th, Cantor Attie and I will be at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles to honor professional Jewish women’s leadership. Think about Cantor Roslyn Barak. Rabbi Sydney Mintz. Cantor Marsha Attie. Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz, Rabbi Michal Bourne, Rabbi Helen Cohn. Rabbi Carla Fenves. And me. As your rabbis and cantors, we are grateful to live in this time, and we hope that you are, too.
February 23, 2017
Emanu-El Clergy Address Recent Anti-Semitic Acts
Congregation Emanu-El is proud of our Jewish identity and the fact that we American Jews are an important strand in the fabric that makes up this great nation. We stand together with all people who embrace the peaceful, democratic and just values of this nation and speak out in opposition to hateful acts, whether anti-Semitic like the bomb threats at JCC’s or the attack on the cemetery in St. Louis or any act that is racist, sexist, Islamophobic or homophobic.
February 9, 2017
Turning Jewish Values Into Action
- Join Rabbi Fenves and Cantor Attie for the HIAS rally marking National Day of Jewish Action for Refugees this Sunday, February 12 at 3 pm.
- Attend the JCRC Community Forum on the current political environment on Sunday, March 19
- Attend the Religious Action Center’s Consultation on Conscience in DC from April 30 – May 1
- Participate in our ongoing local social justice projects, such as Emanu-El’s collaboration with Hamilton Families to end homelessness in San Francisco by 2020. Thus far Emanuel has sponsored 120 of the identified 800 homeless families. Look for an upcoming email from our Tzedek Council with more ways to live out our Jewish values in the public square.
It is so important to participate in tikun olam, (repairing our world) and it is equally vital that we take good spiritual care of ourselves. Join us for prayer and study to ground your soul in our tradition and remember that you are part of something bigger; that you are not alone. Be strong and resolute; do not be terrified or dismayed, Adonai is with you wherever you go. -Joshua 1:9

Rabbi Jonathan Singer
Rabbi Sydney Mintz
Rabbi Ryan Bauer
Rabbi Carla Fenves
Rabbi Jason Rodich
Cantor Marsha Attie
Cantor Arik Luck
January 28, 2017
Clergy Statement on Immigration Policy
The Torah teaches us that saving a life is the most sacred mitzvah one can perform. It is in that spirit that we release this message as an emergency measure on Shabbat.
April 1, 2017
Passover Message
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
“Avadim Hayenu” – we will soon be saying these words as we gather around our Passover tables resplendently set with the symbols of the seder. The words – we were slaves – will be emphasized by the horseradish, charoset, and shank bone on the seder plate as well as the matzah, crumbs and all, the bread of affliction, set on a plate of honor. “V- atah bnai chorin (and now we are free)…,” we will continue, and the four cups filled to the brim with wine or juice, and the wonderful holiday foods we will consume will attest to that status. Slavery in Egypt is etched in our communal memory, but so is our miraculous redemption. Now we are free. This year, those words will carry new import as we American Jews, who have felt so blessed to live freely in this great land, are reminded of the midrash that teaches, “we are always leaving Egypt.” With the advent of a new public anti-Semitism in which Jewish cemeteries are attacked and Jewish institutions disrupted by bomb scares, we cannot help being afraid and concerned about our status as Jewish Americans. Some of us may have naively assumed that hatred diminishes over time, that, with progress, anti-Semitism as a force in the west would ultimately disappear.
But our tradition did understand that we are always leaving of freedom does not mean one has reached a messianic age in which hate is eliminated. No, one has to always work to maintain that free status, standing up to Amalek – those who act maliciously as Amalek did while we were making our way through the wilderness. We can and will continue to speak out against all acts of hatred. We can and will continue to assert our right as equal citizens to enjoy the blessings of this country. We can and will demand that the authorities do their job and protect us, while we also join in coalition with others who believe that to be American means to respect the freedom and dignity of all the colors, ethnic groups, genders and sexual orientations that make up the beautiful fabric of this country. Freedom requires focus and protection and commitment and we have all those. In addition, we have many partners who understand this is what America is about and so are also speaking out. But freedom must also be celebrated. So, prepare your Passover tables and purchase matzah to eat while at work. Let your colleagues know that they work in diverse workplaces and we Jews are proud of from whence we came and who we are today. Avadim Hayenu, Atah B’nai Chorin!
March 1, 2017
Survivors
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
February 1, 2017
What is a Zionist?
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
In the last hours of the Obama administration, Israel and the peace process, or lack thereof, surprisingly came to the fore with the administration’s decision not to veto a UN vote condemning the spread of the settlements, followed by Secretary of State Kerry’s speech that presented the decision as an effort to save the two-state solution. For some, in a world that is torn by violence, with hundreds of thousands of refugees forced to leave the failed states of Syria, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan, having lost everything, in search of home and safety in the West, it is hard to understand why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would yet again be headline news.
And yet, that conflict and its lack of resolution should be of the utmost concern to our community since nearly 85% of world Jewry lives either in Israel or here in North America. Whatever your position concerning President Obama’s last actions in office, or President Trump’s perspective on Israel, if you care about the health and well-being of the Jewish land for peace? Are you only a Zionist if you believe that Israel has to decide what is best for itself, and want AIPAC to lobby in Washington to support the policies of a freely elected Israeli government, the only freely elected government in the Middle East? What if you have no intention of making aliyah to the promised land? Can you remain comfortably here in San Francisco and truly be a Zionist?
From the very first World Zionist Congress led by Herzl in Basel, Switzerland, to the Knesset that governs Israel today, there is not one way to be a Zionist. Zionism, from its foundation, embraced multiple expressions. In a world of complexity, especially when it comes to navigating the labyrinth of the Middle East, divergent opinions need to be shared before essential decisions are made and the Zionist movement embraced competing for political and cultural expressions. Just as Judaism has always encouraged the voicing of different opinions without then accusing the one you disagree with as being an outlier, the vibrant Israel expression of Zionism has nurtured and made room for respectful disagreement and dialogue in which the minority opinion is heard. We believe that it is in dialogue and respectful debate that the new visions of peace, hope and meaning are engendered.
This is why we created the Israel Action Committee at Emanu-El, a synagogue that famously at one point opposed Zionism. The purpose of the committee is to engender in our congregants a feeling of connection with the adventure of Israel, to bring teachers and leaders to share their perspectives, to support Reform Judaism and the embrace of religious pluralism in the Jewish state, and to be enriched as well by Israeli Jewish religious and cultural creativity. We don’t just want to be a big tent that welcomes frontal speakers to share their various perspectives; we also want to be an intellectual center that fosters deeper thought about and connection to both our Zionist (if that is what you are) and Jewish identities. I am grateful that we have had the chance in the past year to learn from Yossi Klein Ha-Levi of the Hartman Institute, Daniel Sokatch of New
Israel Fund, the artist Achinoam Nini and the Hamas rejector, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the Green Prince. This month and the rest of the year will include more opportunities to learn and engage as we welcome Dore Gold, Likud member and former Israeli ambassador to the UN, Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal, and study Talmud with Ruth Calderon, the founder of Israel’s first secular yeshiva. Rabbi Bauer will be leading our annual b’nai mitzvah/family trip to Israel, and we will host, with Federation and Jewish National Fund sponsorship, the city-wide Yom Haatzmaut celebration.
Your Israel Action Committee will continue to work on opportunities for communal dialogue, engagement with artists and Israeli culture, and specialty Israel opportunities for the year to come, and will partner with our Reform Movement’s Zionist organization, ARZA, which has a goal of “taking back the Z”, as they write on their website:, “Zionism should not be divisive. And no one faction should be allowed to dictate ownership and definition of that ’Z word.’ So ARZA is ’TAKING BACK THE Z‘: unapologetic love for Israel, the land, the people and the State, is at the core of our beliefs. Modern Zionism encompasses our values of democracy, pluralism and equality. That love of Israel demands honesty and a commitment to the continuation of building a morally exceptional society.”
If Israel is your interest, whatever your Zionist perspective, I invite you to join our committee. Please send me an email at [email protected] and I will add you to our mailing list. We need people from diverse Zionist views to participate. As an Israeli leader told me, if you don’t engage the people who are on the ground in Israel, you won’t be an influence and people that you might write off because of your disagreements may be the people who are open to coming around to supporting Reform Jewish life in Israel, or offering new creative ways to bring peace to the region. So join us for an event, a speaker, or take the time, whether you are right, left or center, to help guide the Israel connection at this important time for this essential synagogue
January 15, 2017
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer delivers Martin Luther King Jr. sermon at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco.
December 1, 2016
CHANUKAH: A Time to Help Those in Need
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
If you have ever been in Jerusalem during Chanukah, you may recall two great traditions. In certain neighborhoods when you walk through them at just the right time of evening, every single window has a Chanukiah with candles blazing in the window. It’s such a beautiful sight to see them in all the different apartment windows at once. The other is the tradition of street food vendors walking down the street pushing a cart with a deep vat of hot oil. If you order a sufganiah, they will plop a blob of dough into the vat of oil, pull it out at the exact right moment, inject it with a shot of raspberry jam, roll it in powdered sugar, and hand you the hot, gooey mess to pop into your mouth.
One of the wonderful elements of all Jewish holidays are the ways in which we layer new rituals upon old rituals. The core ritual involves adding an extra light each night of Chanukah. It is traditional to set your Chanukiah up in a window in order to “proclaim the miracle.” Each night, add a new candle from right to left, say or chant the blessings, and then light the newest candle to the left first. It is traditional to eat foods fried in oil, to remember the miracle of the oil. In the United States it became a tradition to give children gifts throughout Chanukah or for all family members to exchange gifts. Each household develops its own tradition around gift-giving.
Before gift giving became popular in the US, parents used to give their children gelt or coins at Chanukah. In some cases, the children got to keep the gelt, but one reason for giving children gelt was to teach them how to give tzedakah donations to others. In that spirit, I encourage our congregants to re-embrace the concept of giving to others and “using” Chanukah to teach our children how to give to others. I specifically encourage all of us to participate in our own Jewish Family and Children’s Service (JFCS) opportunities for giving. JFCS is a remarkable organization that “walks the talk” of caring for the widow, the stranger and the orphan, as we are commanded throughout the Torah. JFCS makes it easy for each of us to be great Jews by partnering with them to take care of those in our own community who are in greatest need.
#1. Let’s all give to the JFCS Chanukah Food Drive. Bring nutritional food to share each time you come to Temple and look for the JFCS bins. Please shop for the food drive the way you would shop for your own household. Donate the best and not the dented cans of pineapple that have been sitting at the back of your pantry! Too many Emanu-El food donation bins are filled with food you would never serve your own family. The Torah instructs us to bring our best for this purpose.
#2. On Friday, December 16th from 4-7 help assemble holiday food bags full of festive foods that will be delivered to new emigres and people with disabilities.
#3. On Sunday, December 18th help deliver Chanukah bags to seniors, people with disabilities and families in need. Don’t you love that idea that Chanukah can provide an opportunity for each one of us, at any age, to remember how to give to others? I do!
Our synagogue is so proud to support both the JFCS food pantry as well as the SF-Marin Food Bank. Each serves a different clientele. There are homeless and low-income Jews in this community whose needs are cared for by our donations to JFCS. We take seriously our commitment to feeding hungry Jews and everyone else who needs good food to eat. I’m always interested to know about the traditions you add to your own Chanukah observance. If you participate in any or all of the three JFCS initiatives, let me know how it goes.
Happy Chanukah!
November 1, 2016
Allow Yourself To Receive Shabbat
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
Whew…. By the time this drops on your doorstep, they will be over! Not the contentious elections but the High Holy Days. Yes, we as a community do look forward to those days of awe and coming together as a reunion of the tribe, and the opportunity to focus on renewing our lives paths. But they were late this year, so to speak, and now that it is November, we can focus on being in the new year and the day-to-day and week-to-week wonderful challenge of living the better lives we envisioned during those days of repentance.
In all of November and most of December, we have no holidays on which to focus except that which our tradition teaches is actually the most important of all…. Shabbat. Now that you are done planning break the fasts, Sukkot celebrations, and dancing with the Torah, and you have two months till Chanukah, you can focus on giving yourself the gift of Shabbat. We know that Shabbat is something that you, as busy Bay Area residents trying to re-imagine the world, plan your children’s ultimate success from the moment they get out of the cradle, or jump from event to event as empty nesters, really need. So let’s get started!
One of the best things you can do to help your life, and bring in Shabbat is to plan ahead, purchasing Shabbat candles at any local store, a challah, and a favorite wine of your choice (I have to make kiddush over Manischewitz, but then switch to a nice cab or zin). Set the table Thursday night with a white cloth and dress it with your nicest dinnerware and kiddush cups. When you come home after services, undo that tie, and be in Shabbat by resting and engaging your loved ones and friends over a nice Shabbat dinner.
Daylight Savings Time ends on November 6th and so our days grow shorter. Lighting Shabbat candles brings the light of joy and hope into your home, as we live more in darkness. Saying the prayer, l’hdalik Ner Shel Shabbat, declares that this moment, with this light of peace, is now your moment of rest and blessing. At the very least, start this Shabbat practice – kibbel Shabbat– Receive Shabbat, and do so wherever you may be — at home, on a trip, in a restaurant with friends. Don’t be shy, and don’t think it is weird, but start a Shabbat ritual practice!
Last month, in the midst of a clergy meeting, a younger member came in and gave all of the clergy a beautiful gift, a beautiful Traveling Shabbat Kit. You can find it on www.theshabbatcollection.com. He told us that whenever he is traveling, and brings out the kit, people are so grateful to have those moments of sanctifying time, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught, with a short ritual acknowledging that life is filled with wonder, with holiness, and that the Shabbat pause helps us to stop and just be aware of the many blessings this life gives us.
Yes, the High Holy Days are over, now be renewed in this year. Help yourself to receive Shabbat!
October 1, 2016
Judaism and Second Chances
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
If you are holding this October Chronicle in your hand, then the High Holy Days are upon us! Perhaps you are new to Judaism, going through the cycle of holy days for the first time.
If you just celebrated your Bat or Bar Mitzvah, this may be your first time fasting. You can do it! If you are a middle or high school student, this might be your first time sitting through services and not going to child care. We are proud of you. One of the beautiful things about the synagogue is that new people are always coming in the doors and our small children of yesterday become our newest full community participants of today and tomorrow.
September 1, 2016
Time is Relative
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
Time is relative. The New Year – Rosh Hashanah – is late this year! We have this month of September to prepare ourselves for the Days of Awe, which begin on October 2. Jewish tradition provides a special means to get ready by making this Hebrew month of Elul, a month of preparation, through contemplation, study and prayer. It is customary during this time to hear the sound of the shofar each morning, and then spend part of your day considering how this next year may be better. What changes will you make in your life, who will you help, how will you grow?
One change we would like you to consider as you bring in the New Year is to make this year the year of Shabbat in your life and in the life of your family. One thing we have noticed as we have engaged with you here at Emanu-El, is how busy, overscheduled, and at times frazzled San Franciscans are. Between trying to change the world through advances in technology, educate your children, engage in all the amazing activities the Bay Area has to offer, heal the world, or just hang in there, depending how you choose to live your life, you are left little time for contemplation, for connection with community, for renewal of the self, and to become aware of the miracles around you.
We have reached one conclusion – Emanu-El members need one day a week to rest, to connect, to turn off work, to contemplate, and to share the joy of a meal with loved ones. You need Shabbat! The Torah teaches us that even God had to take a break.
As your clergy team, we want to spend this year exploring what Shabbat can mean for you. We know that the meaning of Shabbat will be different for different people – a Shabbat meal together with family and friends, coming to synagogue for some, scheduling a Shabbat hike, turning off all email for others. What we want is help you explore how Shabbat can be impactful for the twenty-first century San Franciscan.
Our first step is to make sure that there is a Kabbalat Shabbat service that you can get to. Kabbalat in this form, means receiving – bringing in Shabbat – so you can breathe deep and begin to renew your soul. We know services are not for everyone, but we are trying to have a one-hour service time that will speak to many of you. We have added a “late” One Shabbat on the first Friday of the month at 7:30pm for those of you who work late. Like other One Shabbats, the service will be very musical with contemporary flair and contemplative melodies of the tradition, a dvar Torah, and oneg. We will also have a Classic Service on the same evening at 6:00 pm in the Main Sanctuary, which is beautiful, contemplative and moving, and still designed to get you out just after 7:00 pm so you can enjoy the city or relax at home.
And we are now offering a 5:30 First Friday Under Five for families with young children followed by a dinner on the first Friday night of the month.The rest of the month we will have beautiful One Shabbat services as well as the Late Shabbat, which attracts hundreds of young people, on the second Friday of the month.
Throughout the year, we will offer classes on how to make Shabbat dinner, introduction to prayer, an Emanu-El shares Shabbat dinner program, Shabbat retreats and hikes — many different ways for you to connect to this most beautiful Jewish gift to the world. We would love some of you to be Shabbat Captains, inviting others to join you for one or two Shabbats a month. Stay tuned for many Shabbat learning and engagement opportunities, but begin by noting in your Fall calendars – the one on your phone and the one you keep for your family –some way that you will set aside time for Shabbat. You and we will be the better for it!
August 1, 2016
Temples and Politics
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
Many people do not know this about me, but I was born into a family of staunch conservative Republicans. It was like our family was part of some endangered species at our Temple in southern California, where virtually everyone else was a registered Democrat. Speaking purely anecdotally, Reform temples provide a Jewish, spiritual home to a large number of Democrats, a handful of Republicans, a sprinkling of Independents, Green Party members, and Libertarians. Even here at Emanu-El, some of our congregants are with Hillary, others want to make America great again with Trump, still others will never cease feeling the Bern and many are terrified of what will be, come this November.
to you plans to vote as you plan to vote or agrees with you on every issue. If a rabbi gives a sermon with which you disagree, make time to share your perspective with the rabbi. I told you that my parents were Republicans. So, what does that make me? Your rabbi.
July 3, 2016
Remembering Elie Wiesel
Congregation Emanu-El mourns the tremendous loss of a shining star, Elie Wiesel. His survival was a gift to all humanity. At Congregation Emanu-El we dedicate ourselves to carrying forward his prophetic message of hope. The man is gone, but his light shines on in our sacred synagogue work.
In the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: “Elie Wiesel gave voice to the voiceless victims of the Holocaust and bore witness in the name of humanity to one of the greatest crimes against it. He was the voice of memory when others sought to forget, and of defiant hope in the face of despair. He spoke for an entire murdered generation, and did so with dignity, humanity and grace. He was a great survivor, a great Jew, and a great humanitarian. His work was a blessing, so may his memory be.”
Zecher tzadik livracha. Let us always remember this righteous man.
June 12, 2016
Statement About the Devastating Act of Terror in Orlando
We, your rabbis and cantors of Congregation Emanu-El, join you in expressing grief, outrage, shock and horror at this morning’s devastating act of terror and hate in Orlando, Florida.
We join in the chorus of voices from around our nation calling for so much: the transformation of our culture of violence into a culture of love and justice, a renewed effort to pass gun control laws that would have prevented this terrorist from accessing tools of destruction, a firm and unapologetic stance against all fundamentalist religious violence, and a reaffirmation of our love for our Muslim sisters and brothers, the vast majority of whom reject this violence along with us.
Rabbi Jonathan Singer
Rabbi Sydney Mintz
Rabbi Ryan Bauer
Rabbi Carla Fenves
Rabbi Jason Rodich
Cantor Marsha Attie
Cantor Arik Luck
May/June/July, 2016
Matisyahu This Month, Noa This Fall!
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Jonathan Singer
As a rabbi, I am thrilled with the diversity of artists, thinkers and political perspectives about Israel that we as the Emanu-El community have had a chance to learn from and engage with this past year. Our Israel Action Committee, Adult Learning Salon, along with your clergy have worked hard to insure that people like Stav Shafir, Knesset member and rising star in the Labor party and Ron Dermer, current Israeli Ambassador to the United States and leader in the Likud Party, have been given a forum to share their perspectives on Israel and hear back from our community in return. This month we will have an opportunity on Israel Independence Day to just celebrate Israel and be entertained by the formerly Hassidic reggae and beatbox star Matisyahu. In the fall the leading Israeli folk star Noa will perform here as well!
Unfortunately, besides being Jewish the one thing the two artists above have in common is that they have been boycotted because of their identity and connection to Israel. Matisyahu was disinvited from performing at a Spanish music festival in response to pressure from the BDS movement, only to finally later be re-invited when the uproar that this was an act of anti-Semitism – boycotting an American Jew because he would not side with BDS, became overwhelming. Achinoam Noa had the awful experience of having the Jewish National Fund in Canada withdraw their sponsorship of her performance at an Israel gathering because they incorrectly accused her of supporting the BDS movement only to have the Israeli government step in and replace their funding.
Both actions reflect an illness in our world – one that we at Emanu-El have and will continue to stand up against- the desire when it comes to Israel to isolate ideas and people you disagree with, shutting down respectful conversation and refusing to see the presence of God – that reflection of the holy in the one in front of you. We, your clergy, acknowledge that our members have different perspectives about how Israel might achieve peace in that difficult region. It is essential to us that under our beautiful dome we, as a diverse community, be able to share different visions of how the hard questions about Israel’s future may be answered. It is an essential value of both Jewish tradition and American freedom, that people be able to share ideas respectfully, learn from speakers with different points of view and then reach their own conclusions.
At Congregation Emanu-El we will continue to welcome and encourage our members to engage a wide range of Zionist organizations and Jewish leaders as long as they support the right of the Jewish state to flourish in peace. I for one, am grateful for AIPAC and its work to support Israel in congress, JStreet and its efforts to actively engage the peace process, Friends of the IDF, who support Israeli soldiers on the front lines of the conflict, The New Israel Fund as it tries to build bridges to peace, Rabbis for Human Rights and their work of conscience, The San Francisco JCRC and their tireless efforts to stop the isolation of Israel and anyone who is willing serve in the Knesset!
If we are going to remain a leading synagogue in the country, then we have to model true Jewish dialogue and interaction. A living Judaism is an engaged and open Judaism that respects other opinions. An honest Judaism whether it comes to prayer, belief in God, or how to vision the future of the promised land knows that no one group has a monopoly on truth or the right way forward. We as a center of Bay Area Judaism can show that there is strength in diversity – it is something to be embraced and not feared!
So let us engage, learn from each other, at times agree to disagree, but then let us also celebrate. We live in amazing times – there is a state of Israel thriving like a beautiful Joshua tree shooting up from the desert floor. Its existence is an amazing thing to behold. There is much to rejoice in its democracy, vibrancy and determination to thrive in a world that is not always welcoming. So, come this month and join us as we partner with multiple Jewish organizations and celebrate Israel Independence Day on Wednesday, May 11. Hear a reading from the independence scroll and be entertained by Matisyahu. If there is a protester or two give them a flower and invite them to join us in prayers for peace. Additionally, stay tuned for Noa coming to share her artistry with us in November.
And let us, in the words of Matisyahu, keep praying for peace:
All my life I’ve been waiting for
I’ve been praying for
For the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
They’ll be no more wars
And our children will play
One day (one day), One day (one day)
One day (one day), One day (one day)
One day (one day), One day (one day)
Let me know how we are doing and even though your perspective may be different from mine, let me know how we could do it better! I welcome your responses by email to [email protected].

April, 2016
Community Building
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Rabbi Beth Singer
I thought it a genuine possibility that I might get stabbed. Whenever I travel to Israel, I always have this moment as the plane is landing at Ben Gurion Airport where I calmly consider my fate. Random stabbings have been the terrorist tactic of choice recently in Israel. We hear about them on the news and usually it is a lone person striking out against a civilian or a soldier on the street. I refuse to stop coming to Israel out of fear. I have too many dear friends and family who refuse to visit Israel, and that means the terrorists have scored some points.
When I catch my taxi into Tel Aviv from the airport, I instantly remember how life goes on every day for Israeli Jews, Palestinian Arabs and everyone else. I take a long walk along the tayellet – the boardwalk that hugs the Mediterranean coast. I see Jews dressed in religious garb strolling along. I see Israeli surfer dudes carrying their boards, two men holding hands, scores of ridiculously fit and healthy Jewish Israelis, Palestinian women, Arab families. I never see these images in any media.
There are terrible problems in Israel, both in regard to the Palestinian-Israel conflict as well as more internal Israeli problems than I could list in one Chronicle essay. I had accepted a gracious invitation to join the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation on a special trip to Israel in March. Our congregant, Danny Grossman, CEO of the Federation, teamed up with the remarkable Varda Rabin to bring a group of Bay Area Jewish professional and lay leaders on the Irving Rabin Community Building Trip. Every day was filled with powerful opportunities to learn about some of the work that our community funds in Israel.
One day in particular stands out because of three individuals we met. In the Negev desert, we visited the town of Yerucham and took a guided tour of the town with the charismatic, energetic mayor, Michael Biton. Rabbi Jonathan and I had visited this development town when we were juniors in college and, at that time, it was a depressing place. Now, however, the mayor has implemented his grand vision and the town has developed in ways we never could have imagined when we visited in the 1980s. He has put his major focus into education for the community and worked hard to secure funding to support this. He is investing in the young adults of his community so that they don’t leave, and he is encouraging community gardens, recycling and greening the city. This man is so passionate, I can’t wait to bring our congregants to Yerucham in the next 10 years to see what develops there. We next visited a Bedouin village’s experimental farm. Yusuf, a Bedouin farmer, shared his compelling story. He sat the village elders at the same table with young tech people and, together, they created a project which combined thousands of years of proven farming techniques with the latest knowledge in high tech farming, and the result is promising. Yusuf devotes his life to improving the quality of life for the Bedouin community in his area.
Finally, we went on the visit that was the most uncomfortable for the majority of the group, including me. We drove to a Jewish community that exists right on the border with Gaza. There was not just one security fence, but multiple fences for multiple security reasons. The first thing our guide did was have the bus pull up to the edge of the community. We could clearly see a Hamas outpost with green Hamas flags flying, that had been erected just five days ago. It was impossible to sit on that bus at that moment and not feel like an easy target. We met with one resident of the community. He showed us that there are bomb shelters every few feet and at every school bus stop. Raz, the Israeli resident of the town, explained that when Israel negotiated land for peace with Egypt, his entire village was relocated here, securely inside the undisputed part of Israel, near Gaza. He talked about the psychological terror of raising a family in this place. But, he noted, it is legitimately part of the State of Israel and there is no reason not to live there ̶ except that Hamas’s goal is to rid Israel of all its Jewish citizens. But they continue to live and raise their children in Moshave Netiv Ha-Asarah. It was actually totally peaceful during our visit, but Raz did mention that they can feel the vibrations of the tunnels that Hamas is building right now for the next round of terror.
On our final night in Tel Aviv, a wave of stabbings occurred in three different cities, including where our group has spent the majority of our time. It was devastating to be so close and to hear the news of more terrorism against innocent people. But the point of the terrorism is to shut down the State of Israel, and so, like all the Israelis, we recited Kaddish, sang for peace and continued our community building journey. One highlight of this trip for me (besides just being in Israel which is always magical), was the opportunity to connect with so many great synagogues and organizations that are our communal partners in building Jewish life here in the Bay Area. Congregation Emanu-El board member, Dale Boutiette, was also on the trip, along with congregant Ben Tulchin, representing Jewish Vocational Services, and Abby Porth, representing the Jewish Community Relations Council. Rabbi Jonathan and I came to Emanu-El for the express purpose of Jewish community building. Let’s roll up our sleeves, we’ve got work to do!

March, 2016
Get to Know Me!
By Richard and Rhoda Goldman Senior Rabbi Beth Singer
My favorite words in the entire Torah are spoken between Jacob and his brother Esau during their highly emotional reunion. Jacob gazes at his brother and exclaims, “To see your face is to see the face of God.” (Genesis 33:10) Isn’t that such a powerful idea? I try to let it guide my every interaction with another person. When we take time to look at another person we can discover the Divine Image within each person we meet. As a rabbi, I meet an astonishing number of people. At Rabbi Jonathan’s and my previous synagogue, the membership grew steadily during our years there, so we met new people along the way. By the time we finished our 18 year-tenure, we knew the vast majority of our members.We had performed countless numbers of baby namings, b’nei mitzvah, weddings, funerals and unveiling services so we really knew them.There were already about 2,100 families here at Emanu-El when we arrived. I will always remember my first High Holy Days, looking out at the filled main sanctuary, recognizing perhaps twenty or thirty people at most. The staff at Emanu-El set up weekly opportunities for us to meet congregants in groups of 30 or 40 during our first year and a half here.
Each Friday night when we are here, Rabbi Jonathan stands at the front entrance greeting each person who shows up for services. Each Sunday morning when I am here, I greet each religious school family as they arrive for school. We have met so many people. I love gazing at each face because I really do “see the face of God” in each person I meet. But I joke to myself, “To see your face is to see the face of God, but (comic pause) could you remind me of your name?!” Every day I work to learn not just the names of each of you, but your stories as well. All of our clergy make ourselves available to any and all congregants who want us to know them better. We all have congregants who come to our offices to share their stories. Your stories of who you are increase our ability to see the face of God in you.
I have been on both sides in the “what’s your name again?” scenario. I have had the experience of continuously reintroducing myself to a person only to have them greet me each time as if we had never before met. Because I know I have unfortunately done the same to others, maybe even to you, I try to have compassion on such seemingly absent minded people. I am not absent-minded. It simply takes me time to put together so many names and faces. Although it is especially frustrating when your rabbi does not seem to recognize you, I think that al the members of our very large congregation face the challenge of coming to Emanu-El services and programs where we all see people we do not recognize. We don’t know whether they are guests or new members or long-time members whom we simply do not recognize. Many of us possess a natural reserve. When we arrive at the Temple, we seek out the one familiar face and only engage with that person.
Most Friday nights toward the end of the oneg, I meet an individual or couple who shares with me that not one single person spoke to them the whole night. I think that we all have work to do to see –ourselves – not just our clergy – as ambassadors who help each person, couple, and family feel more welcome. If you have ideas how we might do this more intentionally, or if you are willing to come occasionally just to facilitate introductions at onegs, please contact me. If you want me or another rabbi or cantor to know you better, come to services or programs and make an appointment with any or all of us. Emanu-El is a sacred community. Whenever we enter the building, may we look into the faces of those we know and those we do not know or recognize and see the face of God.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2023 LA trip Feb 25-26 (8th/9th)
10:59 am - 11:59 am | 8th/9th grade LA trip: February 25-26th, 2023. Please reserve…
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2023 Shabbat Torah Hevra with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
10:00 am - 11:00 am | This year Rabbi Kushner will be using Arthur Green’s…