Save the dates to meet our Interim Rabbi Candidates!

Please save August 12-13 and August 26-27 for Shabbaton, and stay tuned for more details very soon! We are excited to spend time in person with our two Interim Rabbi finalist candidates, with multiple opportunities for praying, learning and schmoozing together. Each Shabbaton will start with Friday night service at 6 pm, followed by Saturday morning service at 10 am, with a community lunch afterwards, then a learning session in the afternoon. Please plan to join for any part of the Shabbaton that you can.

A Walk in the Park

Last Saturday, fifteen Or Shalom members and friends took a two-hour Shabbat walk to the top of Brooks Park in the OMI (Ocean Merced Ingleside) District. We were grateful it didn’t rain and the clouds were high enough that we still got good views from the Park and Orizaba Rocky Top as well. Many of the folks on the walk had never been to this part of San Francisco before. Visiting a new neighborhood is part of the fun. The best part, however, is getting to spend time with each other, renewing our friendships and keeping our community together. If you have an idea for a Shabbat walk, please let Amy know. Let’s keep this up!

Tisha b’Av

Saturday, August 6, 7 pm

SF Brandeis School, 655 Brotherhood Way

OY! How can this be happening?

If you have said these words lately, you might be surprised to know you are echoing the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke them some 3000 years ago. He is the purported author of the Book of Lamentations, or Eichah! as we call it in Hebrew (the ancient version of ‘OY!’) Jeremiah was decrying the Babylonian destruction of Solomon’s Temple; we are decrying any number of situations today.

You might be relieved to know that our tradition offers us one day per year to share in a collective ‘OY!’ so that we needn’t be alone in our suffering: That would be Tisha b’Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av.

This year, that would be Saturday night, August 6, at 7 pm at Brandeis when we can be together, in the dark, with candles. We will hear the haunting melodies of Eichah, read its poetry in English, giving voice to our anguish, and have the collective space to declare whatever it is that is anguishing us. OY! Hope to see you there.

—Rabbi Me’irah

Southside Jewish Collaborative Tikkun Olam Day

Sunday, Aug.14, 10am to 12:30pm. 

3595 Taraval St.,San Francisco

All ages welcome!

·  Lunch bag making for SF Homeless Outreach Team (immunizations and masks required)

·  Beach Clean-up starting at 11:00am. Bring paper shopping bags. We will supply gloves.

·  Donations of men’s clothing and shoes in good condition, rolling suitcases, and warm coats and toiletries for St. Anthony’s.

·  Donations of school supplies and backpacks for Jewish Family and Community Services of the East Bay for Afghan and Ukrainian refugee school children. We need very good condition backpacks, new pens, pencils, colored markers, and notebooks.

- Donations to the Tikkun Olam fund for purchasing supplies are also welcome. And, JFCS is accepting on-line donations and gift cards here:.

· Sorting and packing items for donation.

Embodied Spiritual Practice

Saturday, August 20, 10:00 am – Noon

SF Brandeis School, 655 Brotherhood Way

During this two-hour workshop, explore a theme through movement, meditation, prayer, and poetry with Gail Gurewitz. For all levels and abilities.

To Bring: mask, yoga mat, towel, comfortable clothing in layers, yoga props if needed, journal or paper and pen, tallit (optional). 

Click here to register.

Or Shalom Community Picnic

Sunday, August 21, 12:00–3:00 pm

Marx Meadow, Golden Gate Park, SF

(between 25th & 30th Ave north of JFK drive)

We’re looking forward to seeing you at Or Shalom’s annual end-of-summer picnic!

Please join us for lunch, music, sports, and companionship!

Please bring:

•Side dish or dessert. We’ll provide the main course!

•Something to sit on: blankets, folding chairs.

•Balls, frisbees, games, musical instruments.

•Jackets and sweaters (it’s summer in SF).

•Guests! Introduce your friends to our community.

RSVP here.

Exciting News about the High Holy Days!

The High Holy Days will arrive on Sunday, September 25. We are delighted that our High Holy Day services this year will be led by Rabbi Ezra Weinberg.  Rabbi Ezra was a Marshall T. Meyer Rabbinic Fellow at B’nai Jeshurun in New York City. He has led Reconstructionist communities in New York and New Jersey, and has been a course instructor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Rabbi Ezra is planning with Or Shalom's Music Ensemble and High Holy Day Task Force for services that will be spiritually and musically meaningful. Our High Holy Days will be held, as in past years, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco.

San Francisco Black-Jewish Unity Coalition Teach-In:

Reparations for African Americans in California and San Francisco

Sunday, September 18, 2 PM

Hybrid event: In person at Congregation Sherith Israel

2266 California Street, San Francisco

and on Zoom

Presentations by members of the State Taskforce and San Francisco Advisory Committee on Reparations. Save the Date! More information and details on registration coming soon.

Social Action Corner

The data is in -- calling voters works!

Last year in Virginia, Center for Common Ground volunteers left over 10,000 voicemails and had over 1,000 conversations with Black registered voters in a specific set of targeted counties and cities.

The results are in, showing that voicemails caused 16% greater turnout than voters in the same group who were not contacted by the volunteers.

And live conversations? Increased turnout by 47%.

Now that you know phone calls work, will you sign up to call voters? 

We now turn to Florida, where we are calling Black voters for the upcoming primary on August 23. Early voting begins soon, and the time to start calling is now! Get more information and get started at https://www.centerforcommonground.org/phonebanks.

Take Action for the Climate Today!

If you haven’t called your Senators yet to demand crucial climate investments as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, please call today!  We can’t leave anything to chance! The link above will help you call on our U.S. Senators to pass the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a budget reconciliation bill that requires only a simple majority in the Senate to pass, and should be brought to a vote very soon. We must and we can secure this downpayment on a just, clean energy future!

Tzedakah

We gratefully acknowledge these contributions from our community:

• Judy Olasov, In Memory of Benjamin Olasov and of Sharon Richardson
• Chana Jacobs, In Memory of Sharon Richardson
• Beth Solow Mills, In Memory of Khane Bushel Solow
• Barry & Tirtza Pearl, In Honor of Theresa Guillen & Diane Rosen
• Robin Roth, in Memory of Fernando Barreiro

Condolences

Or Shalom sends condolences to those who have had losses in the past month:

Amy Mallor, on the loss of her friend Jacki Sudheim

Chana Jacobs, on the loss of her cousin Sharon Richardson

Yahrzeits

On the anniversary of their deaths, we remember:

Alice Klein, Benjamin Olasov, Bob Hauser, Bobby Russo, Chuck Teller, Errol M. Bird, Irwin Staller, Jack Garfinkel, Meryl Kolvezon, Norman Hall, Rachel Mor, Samuel Schlanger, Sara Olech

This Week's Parsha

The parsha for this week is Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1–3:22)

Commentaries:

from Reconstructing Judaism

from Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

from American Jewish World Service

Please note our mailing address!

Please send all mail to:

Or Shalom Jewish Community

400 Missouri St

San Francisco, CA 94107

To reach Or Shalom by phone, please call: (415) 469-5542