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Notes from the Board: May, 2020

May 22, 2020 by • Board •

Adaptations to closures

  • The decision of when and how the Temple will reopen will be made by the Executive Committee with input from the Rabbi and the Cantor. We are also inviting     input from the membership. Anyone who feels that coming would be a health risk should not come.    
  • We will look into making events available online.
  • Discussed rent for tenants during shutdown.
  • The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties’ spending has greatly increased     and although the public has been extremely generous, financial donations are still needed. TBH has a donation page at https://give.foodbankccs.org/team/293847    
  • GRIP is providing food and shelter off-site and is in need of donations. Also, volunteers can make sandwiches for delivery to GRIP. Contact Jane Kaasa.        
  • Jewish Heritage Day at the Oakland A’s is likely to be cancelled. Deposits will be held for a future date.

Religious School

  • Classes are meeting online for shorter periods.    
  • The teen class and families will meet online May 31.    
  • The mensch awards will be held online.    
  • B’nai mitzvahs scheduled for this spring have been postponed.

Operations

  • Search for Office Manager: Job has been posted and applications are being accepted. The committee will meet this week to develop the strategy for hiring.    
  • The General Membership Meeting will be online.    
  • Budget for 2020-21 recommended for approval at the General Membership Meeting    
  • Report of Slate of Board Officers and Directors to be voted on by the Congregation. 

Help Wanted: Office Manager

May 15, 2020 by • Uncategorized •

Temple Beth Hillel is seeking a skilled Office Manager for its Synagogue operations.   We are a warm, close knit and active Reform congregation in West Contra Costa County, with a community of about 80 member families. The Office Manager will administer the day-to-day operations of the synagogue and its facilities with guidance from the Temple leadership.  Proven experience with book/record keeping, facility operations and basic computer skills are a must.  This part time position (approximately 25 hours per week) will support our clergy, Religious School and Board of Directors in making a difference in the lives of our congregants and community. 

If you would like to be a part of our valued team please submit your resume and a letter of interest to tbh@thbrichmond.org & lfox@tbhrichmond.org

Tu B’shevet 2020 Seder

March 13, 2020 by • Photo Galleries •

Syrian Refugee Crisis: How You Can Help

September 17, 2015 by • Rabbi •

As I promised in my Rosh Hashanah morning drash, here is a list of organizations you can support to help the Syrian refugees.  Don’t forget to write the President, our senators, and your congressional representative to ask that we in the US quickly admit more Syrian refugees.

1. Migrant Offshore Aid Station

This charity exists to save children like Alan Kurdi, with a fleet of rescue boats patrolling the Mediterranean to save migrants lost at sea.

2. Refugees Welcome

Dubbed as a kind of “Airbnb for refugees” this German nonprofit matches people with spare rooms with refugees in need of housing. If you don’t have a spare bed in Germany, you can still donate here.

3. The Worldwide Tribe in Calais

A group of social activists documenting stories in the Calais migrant camp, they also raise relief funds.  

4. Small Projects Istanbul

Provides classes and cultural enrichment and scholarships to Syrian children in Turkey.

5. Karam Foundation

A US-based charity that works in Turkey and is also focused on educational opportunities for Syrian children, currently raising funds to rebuild schools in Syria.

6. Hand in Hand for Syria

One of the few organizations that directly provides aid on the ground in Syria, including food, clothing, water, sanitation and crucial medical assistance to “help people to stay in Syria instead of fleeing to another country.” They accept donations via their page on JustGiving.com.

7. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Charity Navigator has a list of highly ranked charities currently helping Syrian refugees.

Among them is Globalgiving that supports grassroots support for Syrian refugees, International Medical Corps, and Medical Teams International, which provide medical care to refugees.

High Holy Days Drashot 2015

September 17, 2015 by • Drashot •

Read Rabbi Dean’s High Holiday Sermons:

pdf2015 Erev Rosh Hashanah Sermon — Reconciliation

pdf2015 Morning Rosh Hashanah Sermon — Refugees

pdf2015 Kol Nidre Sermon — Loss and Redemption

pdf2015 Yom Kippur Sermon — Answer the Call

Food for Thought

April 2, 2015 by • Tikkun (Social Action) •

Students who receive subsidized or free lunches often go hungry during school vacations. Our Food for Thought provides food boxes to needy families at four West Contra Costa schools, during these breaks.  This project is in conjunction with members of congregations in central and east Contra Costa, so they will learn how to replicate it in their areas. 

pdfContra Costa Times Article April 1, 2015

High Holy Days Drashot 2014

October 5, 2014 by • Drashot •

Read Rabbi Dean’s High Holiday Sermons:
pdfErev Rosh Hashanah sermon
pdfMorning Rosh Hashanah sermon
pdfKol Nidre sermon
pdfYom Kippur sermon

Nitzavim/Vayelech – Deuteronomy 29:9 – 31:30 – The Torah portion (parashat ha shavuah) for Shabbat, Saturday, Sept. 20

September 20, 2014 by • Uncategorized •

This week is the last Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah. In the Ashkenazi tradition we begin our preparation for the High Holy Days in earnest at the conclusion of this Shabbat. This week’s Torah portion provides us with two lessons. The first is this, “Concealed acts concern the Lord our God; but with overt acts, it is for us and our children ever to apply all the provisions of this Teaching.” (Deuteronomy 29:28) This reinforces what we know from the Yom Kippur liturgy: that Yom Kippur atones for ritual transgressions, but it does not atone for harms we have done to others. For that we must seek out the person we wronged and set things right. If we do, we have the chance to set our relationships right. When we do that our relationships are stronger and our lives are better. This is the true purpose of repentance, to live more meaningful lives filled with awareness dedicated to service. This is what the text means when we read, “See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity. For I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His laws, and His rules, that you may thrive.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16) Let us all be blessed with a good new year.

Ki Tavo – Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8 – The Torah portion (parashat ha shavuah) for Shabbat, Saturday, Sept. 13

September 13, 2014 by • Drashot •

Judaism is a religion of teleological history. The Jewish people have been on a collective journey, beginning with Exodus from Egypt, continuing through the present day, and moving toward a time in the future when the world will be redeemed and justice, mercy and equality will define human relations. Each of us in each generation is a link in that chain. This week’s Torah portion reminds us of our beginnings. “You shall then recite as follows before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. The Lord freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.’” This is the Jewish “master story” in a nutshell. We were once enslaved. With God’s help we were redeemed and enjoyed the fruits of freedom. This is also our mission in life as Jews, to help bring the blessings of freedom and redemption to the world. In our generation, indeed in every generation, we are commanded to live and act in a way that all mankind can be redeemed.  This is our burden and our blessing.

Ki Teitze – Deuteronomy 21:10 – 25:19 – The Torah portion (parashat ha shavuah) for Shabbat, Saturday, Sept. 6

September 6, 2014 by • Drashot •

What is a society’s obligation to the poor and needy? The Torah seems clear, “You shall not subvert the rights of the stranger or the fatherless; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pawn. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment. When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf in the field, do not turn back to get it; it shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow — in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat down the fruit of your olive trees, do not go over them again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not pick it over again; that shall go to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Always remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore do I enjoin you to observe this commandment.” (Deuteronomy 24:17-22) Our Torah seems clear, whether loaning money or providing support, we are obligated to help the poor. Judaism assumes that our experience of Egyptian slavery will give us a special empathy for the needy and God expects us to act on that empathy and help the poor and the neediest among us.

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