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Family Havurah CBS family meet-ups has a new name: Family Havurah (thanks Lara Shumer!). A chavurah or  havurah  (חבורה Hebrew: "fellowship", plural chavurot), often defined as a friendship circle, gives families an opportunity to celebrate Judaism through learning, singing, activities, social action, and community. A handful of times throughout the year, CBS families will host potluck events at their homes (earlier this fall, Deborah and Bradley Wasserman hosted a pool party and havdalah service). In January, bring your favorite games at Lara Shumer and Schecky Miluso’s home on Sunday, January 12. RSVP here and let us know what you’ll bring for the potluck .

CBS Family Activities January - February 2020 Join us at these great upcoming events: January 12 - Family Havurah Game Night & Potluck dinner at Lara Shumer and Schecky Miluso’s home (RSVP here) January 13 - Elevate: Inspiring New Paths in Jewish Education in San Francisco (email Leslie to carpool)  February 7 - Family and New Member Shabbat (RSVP here)

Mitzvah of the Month New at CBS! We are organizing Mitzvah of the Month activities and events -- these may be gathering donations at CBS, or going off site to do good in the Napa Valley. We’d love to partner with members who are involved in non-profit activities, so please let us know if you have ideas! December: Successful initiatives included the coat and warm clothing drive donations to Cope Family Center and NEWS, and gift card drive for foster kids working with Aldea Children and Family Services . January: We encourage all CBS members to participate in the MLK Day of Service. In particular, we encourage families to help at Connolly Ranch (Thank you, Heidi Soldinger!). Details are forthcoming! In future months, we will organize a Be Kind birthday party (shoutout to Holly Finkelstein), help at The Table , collect donations for new mothers for Mothers’ Day, and more. Your participation is highly valued.

CBS Education Task Force CBS parents interested in discussing options for Hebrew education and B’nei mitzvah preparations are invited to join the CBS Education Task Force. Our first meeting will be January 12, at 10am , and we expect to meet about four times over two months to then submit a proposal to CBS. If you are interested in joining this group (and thanks to the nine CBS members already committed), please email Leslie Hauser .

Jewish Education Conference On January 13 in San Francisco, join Leslie Hauser and Holly Finkelstein at Elevate!: Inspiring New Paths in Jewish Education. This one day conference is open to educators, community leaders, and parents to discuss how to make Jewish education relevant to our kids.

SAVE THE DATE It’s time for another Family and New Member Shabbat to celebrate Tu b’Shevat , the Jewish celebration of trees and the environment. RSVP here for the February 7 Shabbat service, click here.

We are exploring new ideas for this Shabbat service: planting trees in the Napa Valley, possibly having pizza before Shabbat services to avoid hangry kids, and maybe having kids participate in the service. If you’d be interested in helping plan this event, please email Leslie Hauser .