Haven't gotten your High Holy Day tickets? (This year they're called Holy Day Passes.) Call our Executive DIrector Amy at 773-367-1844 or email [email protected].

High Holy Day Greeters

Would you like to be a greeter when friends, members and guests enter the building? If so, please email [email protected].

Le’il Slichot

Saturday, September 17, 7:00 PM

Brandeis School, 655 Brotherhood Way

Our time of introspection, examining what we wish to strengthen, or discard, or change in our lives has begun. We gather together on Slichot, “the Night of Forgiveness,” to hear the familiar melodies of our sacred season. Rabbi Me’irah will lead us this year in songful prayer. We will continue our Or Shalom tradition of anonymously writing out those behaviors we wish to change, to be torn up at Yom Kippur. We invite you to join us for this poignant and tender evening.

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

What does reparations mean, and why here? What’s the latest? Come learn from our special speakers at this educational program for all.California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber is coming to San Francisco for our Teach-In on Reparations for African Americans. We invite you, your family and friends, colleagues, and networks to join us for this free educational program — in person at Congregation Sherith Israel and virtually. 

Everyone is welcome. Attendees must register in advance to reserve a space.

Chutzpah 2022: calls for the climate

with Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action and the Environmental Voter Project

Tuesday, September 20, 3:30 pm

via Zoom

Register

Take it from Bill Nye the Science Guy: the most important thing we can do about climate change is voting to elect climate leaders up and down the ballot. Or Shalom is teaming up with Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action and the Environmental Voter Project to talk with high-potential climate-concerned voters in key states, and make sure they vote in the 2022 midterm elections. We’re co-hosting a Chutzpah 2022 shift via Zoom on Tuesday, Sep. 20 from 3:30 to 5:30pm Pacific Time to enjoy some music, get trained on how to talk to voters and use the phone banking tool, and then make calls together! Visit the Chutzpah! website to sign up. This shift should be extra fun because we're expecting some college students from around the country to join us in making calls.

Elul ZOOM Series: "Mah Anu; Meh Chayeinu ... Mah nomar?"

with the Southside Jewish Collaborative

Wednesday, September 21, 7:00 pm

with Rabbi Sami Barth from Am Tikvah

Zoom link

"What are we? What is our life? What can we even say?" Digging into a little known prayer text - once reserved only for Neilah, and now in the preliminary prayers for every day of the year. Turning pages of prayer books, we find possibly uncomfortable questions addressed to each one of us.

Shabbat Service

Friday, September 23, 6:00pm

Brandeis School, 655 Brotherhood Way

Come meet our High Holy Day Rabbi, leading our Shabbat service next week at Brandeis! Reb Ezra would love to meet you before the High Holy Days.

The Fast I Desire: Tikkun Olam Actions for the Days of Awe

As part of our collective teshuvah, the Tikkun Olam Committee invites Or Shalom members to make repairing the world a priority in this year’s High Holy Days practice. We are inspired by the prophet Isaiah’s call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter the homeless.

We hope that between now and Yom Kippur, we will all participate in or sign up for one or more of these actions. We will take time during Yom Kippur services to reflect about Isaiah’s call and our experiences. Earlier this week we inadvertently sent a list of last year's Fast I Desire actions. This year's Tikkun Olam actions for the Days of Awe are on the Or Shalom website.

Palestinian Voices:

Expanding the Reconstructionist Conversation on Israel/Palestine

Next speaker October 18, 5:00 pm

Zoom registration link

This series will host six distinguished Palestinian scholars and activists discussing history, culture, and politics with attention to diverse Palestinian geographies. The series will continue October 18 with speaker Nadia Sa’ah, “The Nakba: Palestinian History through

Testimonies and Images”. All sessions will begin at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. You will find profiles of the speakers at this link.

Shabbat Morning Hike

On Saturday, September 10, about fifteen Or Shalom members and friends -- plus at least two doggie friends -- braved the elements (actually it was a beautiful day in San Francisco!) and joined Stephen Gerard for a journey around the Castro neighborhood. Stephen led the group up and down hills, and stopped along the way to share some history and insights about what they were walking past. He even provided delicious snacks before and after the walk! It was great fun and the walkers are all looking forward to the next one!

Do you have an idea for a Shabbat morning walk you could lead? Email Pat Skala!

Social Action Corner

Are you a young person interested in combating voter suppression? If so, join the Center for Common Ground on Saturdays at noon PDT to make calls to youth voters of color! We'll be calling other young people across the South to combat voter suppression and get out the vote! No worries if you've never phone banked before—we'll have a brief training on the call.

Filling Empty Homes

Faith in Action Bay Area is currently working hard to help pass Prop M, San Francisco's Empty Homes ballot proposition. In Faith in Action, those most impacted by injustice make the decisions and member congregations such as ours follow the agenda they set. This is part of our work of correcting societal imbalances of whose voices are heard and who most influences public policy. If you would like to support Faith in Action’s work on Prop M,

you can sign up for a citywide meeting, phone bank, canvass or join in an Oct. 6 th City Hall event by emailing [email protected]. You can also sign a FIABA commitment card to vote for Prop M here.

Tzedakah

We gratefully acknowledge these contributions from our community:

• Chana Jacobs, In Memory of Michael Jacobs
• April Lapidus, In Memory of Jeremy Lapidus
• Chana Jacobs, In Memory of Rose Weiss
• Laura Bresler, In Memory of Harvey Bresler
• Judy Olasov, In Memory of Benjamin Olasov and of Sharon Richardson
• Chana Jacobs, In Memory of Sharon Richardson

Yahrzeits

On the anniversary of their deaths, we remember:

Alvin Siegel, Ann Potter, Bob Dhondt, Ceil Boren, Dr. Bernard i. Lifson, Eric Richard Solow, Froim Portman, Jean Berry, John Paul Ferrara, Joseph Roth, Leon Seligman, Lucy Saltzman, Martin L. Sandberg, Mary Tibbetts, Michele Turner, Phil Weinstein, Rachilia Portman, Robert Joseph Gerard, Rose Baelen, Rose Miller, Saul Zorn, Selma Rosenberg, Sheldon Kovalsky, Sylvia Glass, Valerie Danehower Harvey

This Week's Parsha

The parsha for this week is Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8)

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