Link of the week: Read the latest J article on the third generation at Sha'ar Zahav!

Contact office@shaarzahav.org to sponsor Oneg or Flowers for Shabbat.

Scroll down to read more about our exciting Oneg Chavurah!  

Friday Night Services for Shelah L'cha

June 28 at 7:30pm

Pride Shabbat

Hybrid: On Zoom and In-Person

Led by Cantor Bernstein and Rabbi Copeland

Drash by Rabbi Copeland

With special guest Cantor Leigh Korn

Register Here for Zoom Service

Meeting ID: 886 7131 3838


Saturday Morning Service:

June 29 at 10:00am

Hybrid: On Zoom and In-Person

Join the Zoom Meeting. Meeting ID: 365 434 855 and Passcode: 068575.

To join by phone for either service, dial +1 669 900 9128 or find your local number.

COVID rates are up in the Bay-please stay home if you have any symptoms of illness. As always, we are a mask-optional and mask-friendly community so please wear them if you wish! Help us all stay well!

Pride with Sha'ar Zahav!

We are excited about Pride–and it’s also a tense time in our communities. You may be concerned about safety this coming weekend. Know that we are taking precautions, and if you’d like to know more about our plans, contact Danny.

Show your Queer Jewish Pride at our annual extravaganza Pride Shabbat! Do you know someone who could use a pride lift during this difficult time? Invite them! Led by Rabbi Copeland and Cantor Bernstein. Enjoy drinks, food and art at this year's Pre-Pride Party.

6:30pm (in-person only): Pre-Pride Party

7:30pm (Hybrid): Shabbat

Register here for the in-person Pre-Pride Party

We will gather at Dolores Park (up the hill from where 19th Street intersects with Dolores) to share Shabbat ritual and a BYO picnic dinner before the march. Sponsored by Kehilla Community Synagogue and Sha’ar Zahav.

Click here for more information

If you have registered, please click here for important information about your line-up number, arrival time and more.

Walk or ride! We are marching with a multifaith group of religious organizations, United in Spirit with a lineup time at 2pm. Some of our members will also be marching or riding with the large Jewish contingent, headed by the JCCSF with a lineup time at 12pm. In this difficult time within Jewish and Queer communities, it is important that we are present in both contingents, so let’s make a great showing! To keep everyone safe, this year, pre-registration is mandatory for JCCSF.

Click here to register (if walking with United in Spirit)

Click here to register (if walking with JCCSF)

Community Get Together!

Food Creates Community!

Please join our new Oneg Chavurah with other Sha’ar Zahav members who volunteer to cook, bake or shop to assure we have a plentiful and delicious oneg each week. We’re also building a library of recipes and menus and would welcome your contributions. From now through September, you can sign up to organize, cook, bake or shop — once or many times. 

To learn more, please email oneg@shaarzahav.org.

Blankets, Jackets and Clothing for the Homeless 

A project of the Social Action Committee

There is a bin in the lobby at 290 Dolores to collect blankets, jackets, and new and lightly used clothing and socks to be distributed to the homeless by The Gubbio Project. Drop by and drop off some items. We will be doing an ongoing collection.

Musical Shabbat morning service

Saturday, July 6, 10am, Hybrid

Please join us on July 6 at 10AM for a musical Shabbat morning service co-led by Diana Naparst, Alan Gordon, and Brad Friedman. This will be a regular shacharit service with many of our familiar melodies accompanied by accordion as well as some new songs and melodies.

Climate and Justice advocacy for the November Election:

How SZ Members can Help 

Friday July 12, 6-7 pm, Hybrid

RAC-CA (Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism) is rallying advocacy to KEEP THE LAW (recently signed by Gov. Newsom) which bans oil drilling less than 2800 feet from private residences. This Proposition supports climate efforts, as well as racial equity and public health throughout the state. Oil companies are spending enormous amounts of money to overturn the law. Organizer extraordinaire Lee Winkelman will present this effort and educate us on how to best advocate.

co-sponsored by SZ Climate Action Committee, Racial Equity Committee

and Social Action Committee

44th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

July 18 - August 4

We are proud to be a community partner of the Jewish Film Institute’s 44th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, taking place July 18 – August 4 in the Bay Area. SFJFF44 will showcase dozens of films, talks, parties, and events that celebrate the latest and greatest in independent Jewish storytelling for audiences everywhere.

Israel/Palestine: Let’s Talk!

August 11 & September 9, 2-6pm, Hybrid

Come to One Session or Both

Members Only

The war between Israel and Hamas continues, following the horrific events of October 7, impacting Gazans, Israelis, folks all around the world, and – of courseall of us. As a congregation we hold the broadest spectrum of perspectives on the war. The program - led by member Claudia Bernard, a professional facilitator, mediator and educator - will include learning, dialogue and reflection designed to strengthen our ability to listen and respond to each other with resilience, sensitivity, curiosity, and respect. 

Click here to read more

Sha’ar Zahav’s Israel Trip Sign-up Site is Live!

We’re excited to announce that registration for the Israel trip is Open! The official website for the November 15 to 24, 2024 trip is up and running with information about our trip and registration details. Join us as we explore the impact of the October 7 attack and the war and more through our site visits, nature visits, community service and meetings with NGOs, academics, politicians, Israelis from many communities, guided by an American Jewish and Palestinian Israeli peace builders. If you have disability concerns or other questions about the trip, please email us.

Click here for our trip website

Recurring Gatherings and Meetings

SZ Book Group and Disability and Accessibility Committee

Loving Our Own Bones by Rabbi Julia Watts Belser

Tuesday, July 2, 7-8 PM on Zoom

People ask Rabbi Julia Watts Belser “What’s wrong with you?” Her answer - not her wheelchair, but exclusion, objectification, pity, and disdain. Loving Our Own Bones reimagines disability in the Bible and contemporary culture. If you’ve heard Rabbi Belser, you know she’s amazing. If not, you have a treat in store!

Join the Meeting: Zoom link

Weekday Morning Prayer

Weekly on Tuesdays

8:30-9:00am

We will be on break in July. We will start again on Aug. 6

Songs and prayers to set our hearts and minds! This service takes place every Tuesday morning, and is led by community lay leaders and Cantor Bernstein. Contact Cantor Bernstein.

Join the Meeting: Zoom link

Can you do a mitzvah for someone in our community?

Hineni, our caring community at SZ, is in great need of more volunteers (and in more Bay area regions!) to meet the caring needs of our community. If you can help by making a call, helping with an errand, making a home visit, or offering a ride; please contact Marla Allen, co-chair of Hineni.

Caregiver's Group

1st Wednesday of the month, 7-8:30pm on Zoom

Are you a caregiver for someone in your life? A parent, relative, spouse? Christina Irving of the Family Caregiver Alliance leads our monthly Caring for the Caregivers group. If you are interested, please reach out to Rabbi Copeland. Find out more about the Alliance here.

Disability and Accessibility Committee

If you identify as disabled, are exploring that identity or have a loved one with a disability and are interested in joining the Disability and Accessibility Committee, please reach out to the committee for more information. If you are interested in learning more about disability and how you can become a better ally, stay tuned for educational events to come!

Climate Action Committee

The Climate Action Committee is on hiatus. Our next meeting will be the 2nd Monday in August (8/12). If you have any questions or would like to get involved in greening SZ and other shared climate advocacy work, join us in August or contact Deborah Levy any time.

Social Action Committee

The first Monday (unless a holiday) of the month

6:00pm on Zoom

On fair elections, welcoming the stranger, secure housing and food, ending gun violence, and more! Want to join us? Come to our next meeting or contact Nancy Wecker or Neil Young.

Join the Meeting: Zoom link

12-Step Meetings by and for SZ Members

Weekly on Thursdays

5:00-6:00pm on Zoom

Join CSZ's 12-step group at our new time for some pre-High Holiday reflection in the spirit of recovery! Meetings are open to everyone in our wider SZ community (and the Bay Area Jewish recovery community), and we welcome folks who are members of any 12-step fellowship (AA, NA, Alanon, CMA, etc.). Join us this Thursday at 5pm and use this zoom link. Questions? Email Erika Katske.

L'Havin: Understanding Israel and Its Neighbors

Last Monday night of each month, 6pm

Members Only

L'Havin: Understanding Israel and Its Neighbors is a Sha'ar Zahav working group that provides our members with support, knowledge, and dialogue skills that deepen our relationship with the land and peoples of Israel and Palestine, and to advance understanding and healing within our Jewish community. You do not need to come with any previous knowledge of the topics we may discuss or with any set viewpoints. In fact, we encourage all to come with open ears and a learner’s mindset. Led by Rachel Nilson-Ralston. Contact the office to add yourself to the listserv.

torah-reading.jpg

Weekly Torah Study Group

Weekly on Wednesday

8:30-9:30am

Lay leaders lead discussions about the weekly Torah reading. Drop-ins welcome, no experience with Torah necessary!

Join the Meeting: Zoom link

Mussar Discussion Group

Bi-weekly on Thursdays

7:00-8:00pm

Mussar is a very practical and flexible spiritual discipline to help you balance soul-traits (Middah/Middot) such as Humility, Loving-Kindness, Generosity, and Silence. Drop-ins are always welcome! Contact Mark Pressler.

Join the Meeting: Zoom link

Meditation Chavurah

1st Saturday of the month

10:30am-Noon

Everyone is welcome. And you will not regret it! A typical session includes a short and longer silent sit, with chanting, movement, and a short teaching. The group meets on the first and third Saturday of every month.

Join the Meeting: Zoom link

Hiking Chavurah

2nd Saturday of the month, 9:50am

Join other Sha’ar Zahavniks on monthly urban hikes – mostly in SF but we sometimes venture farther afield. This is a great way to get to know other SZ members while exploring the city and beyond. The hikes usually last about two hours. Email Karen Schiller and Ellen Murland.

Birthdays this week!

Marc Lipschutz 6/26

Harriet Rafter 6/27

Lisa Katz 6/28

Emma Woodward 6/29

Eve Meyer 6/29

Raphael Lubeck-Weiner 7/2

While we strive for all our events to be mixed-access, this is not always possible. Some events are only in-person, and some are Zoom only. If you have any questions about a particular event, please contact the office, or the contact listed for the event.

Health and Safety Policies at 290 Dolores

For the health and safety of our community, it is Sha’ar Zahav's expectation that all members and visitors who attend in-person services and events will be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. If you are unvaccinated, sick or experiencing any symptoms of illness, please enjoy services and events via Zoom.


Masks are no longer required at in-person services and events. But we are mask-friendly and fully supportive of visitors, members and service leaders who choose to wear masks for their own personal protection. 


Sha’ar Zahav is a scent-free environment. Because keeping our synagogue safe for those with scent and chemical sensitivities is part of our commitment to accessibility, please refrain from wearing perfume/cologne or using other scented products. 

For more information, email the Accessibility Committee.

Thank You to Our Grantors

Programs at Sha’ar Zahav are supported by the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, the Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus Initiative for Immigrant and Refugee Justice of the Religious Action Center, the National Center to Encourage Judaism and the generous support of our members. Toda rabba!

You are receiving this email because you expressed interest in Sha'ar Zahav. Be sure to add office@shaarzahav.org to your (email) contacts list so that our communications land in your inbox! All our events take place at Sha'ar Zahav 290 Dolores Street, unless noted otherwise. To unsubscribe, please click on the "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of this email.

Visit Our Website
Facebook