Volunteer Ushers Needed

Congregation Beth David (the synagogue with which we are affiliated) is looking for 4 ushers to help with concluding services on Yom Kippur in the main sanctuary. The shift would be 4:40 – 6pm, ending around when the ark is opened for N’ilah. You’d be mostly needed as hall monitors, it shouldn’t be too much trouble. If you’re interested, please contact Steve at steve_schlosser@sbcglobal.net

AIDS Walk SF 2010

Join Jews’ Next Dor in Golden Gate Park for the annual AIDS Walk in San Francisco.

Register with our team at http://www.aidswalk.net/sanfran
Click “Register Here” > “Register and Join a Team” > Select Team “Jews’ Next Dor – 9980″

Any team that registers 25 or more walkers by Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at noon qualifies for a team Meeting Station at AIDS Walk San Francisco. So everyone should register right away and encourage your friends to join us too!

Everyone who registers for the AIDS Walk is automatically set up with their own personal fundraising Web page. You can customize your personal page with text, pictures, and video. The funds you raise will go toward providing direct services to thousands of men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS in the San Francisco Bay Area.

SARATOGA SERVES FOOD DRIVE – MARCH 14 THRU 19

Time to clean out the house for Passover but what to do with all those unopened cans filled with hametz, unopened boxes of pasta and cereals, and whatever else non-perishable item you might find? Well, we have the answer below. And if you can’t find anything to donate, how about filling an extra bag the next time you go grocery shopping?

Drop off food donations in the barrels located in the Beth David Lobby.
Please use our shopping list of most needed foods (NO PERISHABLES OR GLASS CONTAINERS PLEASE)

Meals in a can (Stew, Chili, and Soup)
Peanut Butter
100% Fruit Juices Canned Fruits
Canned Vegetables Tuna/Canned Meat
Low-Sugar Cereal
Cans with pop top lids

Saratoga Serves: Every year the Faith Communities of Saratoga work together to provide service to our community. We join for two weekends and the week between to sponsor various service projects to support those in need. We share a website (saratogaserves.org) and banners, which we hang in front of our buildings. Saratoga Serves is sponsored by the Saratoga Ministerial Association, which also sponsors a combined worship service every year on Thanksgiving Day. More information about individual projects can be found on our website.Thank you in advance for your participation!

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE – PROJECT N.O.A.H. – ONGOING THROUGH MARCH 24

Click to Enlarge Passover Food Drive Flyer

JFS SV’s food assistance and crisis services have quadrupled over the past few years. We provide these services to more than 1000 people under our Project N.O.A.H. (No One Abandoned Here) program.  Passover Food Drive: During the month before Passover, our community helps feed hundreds of people for Passover.  While shopping for Passover, please consider buying extra supplies & dropping them in the barrel in the Beth David Lobby. (NO PERISHABLES OR GLASS CONTAINERS PLEASE)

Karaoke

This Tuesday night, July 21, come sing your heart out at the Peacock Lounge, 102 East Fremont, Sunnyvale, CA 94087, from 9pm til closing.

Or come hangout and wish me a happy birthday. RSVPs appreciated to JewsNextDor[at]beth-david.org.

JND at Family Shabbat Reminder

Jews’ Next Dor is trying something new this month and we’re going to Family Shabbat instead of Shir Shabbat. The Family Shabbat service at Congregation Beth David now includes more English, a variety of melodies and is family friendly. We’ll have a potluck dinner following services like we did last month. Please bring a vegetarian or dairy dish to share. Please note there will be no way for it to be kept warm, or to warm it up. Drop off your potluck dish in room 1 or 2 then head over to the sanctuary.

Friday, April 3 at 6:30pm, Congregation Beth David, 19700 Prospect Road, Saratoga, Ca.

Memorial Day Weekend at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires

Camp Ramah in the Berkshires has sponsored a Jewish singles weekend on Memorial Day weekend since 1991. It is the only weekend sponsored by a branch of the Conservative movement (and all profits from the weekend go to Camp Ramah). It attracts people in their 30′s, 40′s and 50′s from around the country. It features fun-filled days of sports, socializing and relaxing. Planned highlights include Square Dancing, a Beach Party, Hiking, Volleyball, Softball, Swimming, Boating, Swing Dancing (with instruction), Canoeing and many other activities.

Memorial Day weekend is Friday, May 22 – Monday, May 25. For more information and pictures from previous years visit www.WingdaleUniversity.org

Purim!

Hey all! Exciting weekend ahead! Just a reminder of what’s happening. Hope to see you all there!

• Saturday, March 7, 8pm, Purim Party

  Saturday, March 7, 2009
  8pm – midnight
  Stanford Graduate Community Center
  750 Escondido Road, Stanford, Ca
  21+
  1 Free Drink
  Live Israeli Band MusiCA
  DJ D-Doff
  FREE
  Costume Contest with prizes for Best Female, Best Male, Best Couple and an iPod Touch awarded to Best Costume Overall.
  Co-sponsored by Hillel at Stanford Grad and Young Adult Group, Beth Am Roots Collective, Jews’ Next Dor, Congregation Beth David, SVYAD, Israeli Student Organization at Stanford, Oshman Family JCC, Kol Emeth Young Adults.

• Sunday, March 8, 11am-2pm, CBD Purim Carnival with Queen Esther’s Kitchen

  CBD invites you to their annual Purim Carnival featuring carnival games with prizes, arts and crafts, Israeli dancing, a silent auction, library book sale, a Magnes Museum presentation: Shushan and Beyond and of course Queen Esther’s Kitchen by Sisterhood. Delicious homemade Cabbage Rolls, Knishes, Hot Dogs, Hamentaschen and other yummy treats will be available for purchase. View the flier online for more information. They are also looking for volunteers to help sell tickets, staff carnival booths, doing arts and crafts, etc. If you’re willing to lend a hand please contact graubart [at] sbcglobal.net.

• Sunday, March 8, 3pm, Nosh Nosh on a Hamantashen: But First You Have To Bake Them

  Join us at Aleeza’s after CBD’s Purim Carnival to bake hamantashen. We all love the traditional triangular pastry of Purim, so join us in making them. We’ll have traditional and fun fillings, from apricot to cherry chocolate chip. Besides noshing on a hamantash, the best part is you won’t be baking alone. You have to help bake in order to help eat. $10 a person. You’ll leave with a bag full of these yummy holiday treats. RSVP to jewsnextdor[at]beth-david.org for the address and with your favorite filling.

• Monday, March 9, 6:30pm, Megillah Reading at Beth David

  Join Jews’ Next Dor (in costume, of course) for Beth David’s abridged Megillah reading and purim spiel. For those that prefer the whole gantze mehillah there will be a reading at 8pm. Beth David will also have a reading with weekday morning service at 8am on Tuesday, March 10.
  Come early to enjoy pizza with the congregation.  Pizza Dinner – 5:30 pm: Join us for dinner before services! Cost: $7.00 (free for tots under 3). Click here to RSVP.(http://www.beth-david.org/rsvp_pizza_megillah.htm)

Wunderlich Hike & Beer Reminder

*********UPDATE************

Everyone is invited to meet us at 1pm at Alice’s Resturant for beer, lunch and schmoozing with your fellow Jews’ Next Dor and Kol Emeth Young Adults. We hope you’ll brave the weather to join us!

We’re canceling the hike part officially, but a few people will be meeting at 11am at the Park to decide if they want to hike in the rain or something else. Look for Jay if you’re going to meet at 11am

Contact  jewsnextdor[at]beth-david.org for Jay’s Number

*****************************

Jews’ Next Dor and the young adult group of Congregation Kol Emeth are going for an 90 minute easy hike and stroll in Wunderlich Park on Sunday, February 22. Meet up at Wunderlich Park, 4040 Woodside Road, Woodside at 11am. Hike takes off at 11:15 sharp, so don’t be late! Wunderlich Park features redwood forest, open meadows, beautiful oaks and madrones. The trail is hilly but not really steep, and we’ll hike at a pace that is mellow, groovy, and conducive to conversation.  Event covers 5 miles, with 600 feet of elevation.

After the hike we’ll enjoy conversation and beers at Alice’s Restaurant. No, not that Alice’s Restaurant, but just as much fun. Alice’s is the kind of establishment that attracts biker gangs, yuppies, and granola crunchies alike. It’s a biker place with bruschetta on the menu.

Admit it.  You want to get out. The woods are beautiful, and the air smells great. Hiking boots and a bottle of water recommended but sneakers okay.  We’ll have a few extra water bottles in case you forget yours. RSVP to jewsnextdor[at]beth-david.org.

Directions: To reach Wunderlich Park, take Woodside Rd. (Hwy 84 West) exit from I-280.  Go 2.7 miles west towards the hills.  Look for the small brown entrance sign on your right. This sign is easy to miss, so note your odometer at I-280. When you get to the parking lot, look for the guy with the clipboard. Parking is free but can be tight, so carpooling is encouraged. After the walk, come for beer, silliness, and good conversation at Alice’s Restaurant, just up the road at the intersection of Hwy 84 and Hwy 35 (Skyline Blvd).

Reflections on Tu B’Shvat

Every year I’m amazed that the trees around here begin to bloom in February. Right around Tu B’Shvat. It’s like they know!

The song I learned at Yavneh Day School calls Tu B’Shvat the birthday of the trees. Historically, it’s the day marking the beginning of the tithe-tax year. In my family it means having a Tu B’Shvat Seder. At the Tu B’Shvat Seder we drink 4 cups of wine, each progressively darker than the previous. We also eat tree fruits in 3 courses: fruits with hard shells, fruits with pits, and fruits that are completely edible. We’re never quite sure which course avocados should go in.

This year my mom and I went to the farmers market and found many a new and exotic fruit. We had sweet limes, cherimoyas, guavas (so fragrant they perfumed the whole room), as well as kiwis, figs, dates, mixed nuts in shell, and some super sweet tangerines my mom’s coworker brought over. As a main course I made carrot soup with curry and coconut milk, which we served with olive bread. We also found some tamarinds at Whole Foods but forgot to serve them at the seder. They tasted like a mixture of date, raisin, and wheat flour, with a big ol’ seed in the middle.

We had so much leftover wine and fruit this morning, next year we’re planning to do two seders. I hope you all had a lovely Tu B’shvat. Enjoy the early blooms of spring!