Welcome to Congregation Beth Ami of Santa Rosa, California.
Congregation Beth Ami is online every day for services and classes. See Events at a Glance for the virtual week calendar with zoom information. We have reopened the office, and began in-person services for Shabbat, following health guidelines to design reopening procedures.
Events at a Glance and Virtual Week Calendar
Beth Ami Virtual Week chart with Zoom links and reopening health and safety procedures
BETH AMI VIRTUAL WEEK CALENDAR
Streaming video on our Facebook page
Rabbi Miller’s Rashi classes on YouTube
Fall Holidays (Sukkot through Simchat Torah) schedule here
Fridays, on Zoom only: 6pm Sing in Shabbat, a short, music filled Kabbalat service led by Lisa Iskin and Rabbi Miller, some evenings preceded by a story with Rabbi Miller for the kids (and the kid at heart) at 5:50 pm.
(4:30 p.m. Mincha led by Rabbi Miller)
Saturday morning Shabbat services 9:30 a.m. on Zoom as well as in-person in the sanctuary.
7:45 p.m. on zoom: Mincha, followed by Maariv and Havdallah
Weekday: 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. morning and evening prayers will be conducted on Zoom. Beth Ami Virtual Week
Rabbi Miller’s remote classes:
Weekday Mornings 7:30 a.m. Parsha and Rashi study, also streaming and recorded on YouTube
Tuesdays at 2:30 pm Mishnah
Wednesdays at 8:00 pm Midrash
There is still time to eat in the Sukkah! You can call the office and make an appointment. Help pray for rain on Shemini Atzeret, and recite Yizkor.
Simchat Torah with Klezmer Creek! Tuesday evening Sept. 28 right after short 6 p.m. services, they will play for dancing with the Torahs, outside in the courtyard.
Rabbi Miller is on zoom teaching Rashi, Mishna, Midrash and Tanach, and conducting weekday morning and evening minyans. See the virtual calendar.
Friday evenings on Zoom, we Sing in Shabbat as a community. At 5:50 we have a story with Rabbi Miller, then Lisa Iskin leads a short musical Shabbat service.
The Social Action Committee supplies dinners to The Palms housing, and can always use more cooks to cook in your kitchen. Let the office know if you can help.
Popular Blogs
Services online, and in person
Beth Ami is reopening, while continuing to bring services, davening and Torah study into our homes through Zoom sessions.
Starting June 26, we have welcomed congregants into the sanctuary for Shabbat services, as well as continuing to interact with congregants on Zoom. There are health guidelines and procedures outlined in Beth Ami Virtual Week, please check before coming, as these may change with changing situations.
Fridays on Zoom only: Sing in Shabbat led by Lisa Iskin and Rabbi Miller. We begin at 5:50 p.m. with a song and a story for the kids (and the kid at heart), followed by Lisa’s short and very sweet musical Shabbat service at 6:00 pm, concluding with our communal Kiddush at about 6:30 pm. We hope that joining as a community in this way, will lift all of our spirits, with the beauty and holiness of Shabbat.
Saturday Shabbat morning services both in person in the sanctuary and available on Zoom, 9:30 am,
Siddur Chadash Shabbat Morning
Saturday night Mincha starts about an hour before Havdalah time, followed by study of a prayer, Maariv and Havdalah: bring Havdallah candle, spicebox and wine.
Weekday: 8:00 a.m. Sunday through Friday mornings will be conducted on Zoom.
Weekday: 7:00 p.m. Evening services often include the musical leadership of Lisa Iskin
weekday Shacharit SIDDUR SIM SHALOM
weekday afternoon SIDDUR SIM SHALOM
weekday maariv SIDDUR SIM SHALOM
A source for Torah and Haftarah is at Bible.ort.org or here Another source: http://www.lashon.net/CL/
Beth Ami Virtual Week chart with Zoom links Beth Ami Virtual Week
THE HOLIDAYS CONTINUE WITH SUKKOT AND SIMCHAT TORAH
The Holidays continue with Sukkot, a celebration of nature and the harvest, and Simchat Torah, celebrating finishing the Torah readings, then beginning again. The parades with lulav and etrog, the dancing with the Torah scrolls, is best done in person, and our well ventilated space and outdoor courtyard makes that possible. However, it will be available on Zoom as well. The Events at a Glance box on the home page has a link to our Virtual Weekly Calendar contaning the zoom link.
We have prepared a pdf with descriptions of holidays and customs throughout the season High Holiday Guide 2021. There is also a one-page schedule of services and holiday events CBA Holiday schedule
More information on the Worship Services page.
Social Action, Civil Rights and Social Justice
Please join the members of the Beth Ami Committee on Racism and Social Justice as we explore together:
• Have time together with your community at CBA to share experiences and perhaps some sensitive discussions.
• Explore racism and white privilege in the world today and how it has directly and indirectly been a part of our lives.
• Increase our understanding and learn how racism has molded our perceptions.
• Discover ways to be antiracist and support people of color.
• Gain tools and resources to initiate and build social justice in our community.
Social Action continues to provide food to The Palms. We came up with an idea to prepare individual portions. Social Action Committee meets periodically to plan the next Palms dinner. Our next dinner at The Palms will be on Wednesday, August 18. If you are interested in helping in any way, please contact Lyla.
We have resumed volunteering at the Redwood Empire Food Bank. You need to sign up online. We usually work the 10:00- 1:00 shift and then go out for a simple meal. This is a great activity with your children or grandkids over 13. Or for any friend.
To get more info, please call Lyla Nathan at 526-7438 or Elizabeth Jarlsberg at BA office 360-3000.
Adult Education
Online weekdays: Rashi commentary on the week’s Torah reading, 7:30-8:00 a.m. The text is shared on screen, and translation is always provided. This is pitched towards the person who is beginning to look at traditional Jewish learning. Videos now posted on YouTube
Online: Mishnah Class with Rabbi Mordecai Miller on Tuesday afternoons 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
The collection of Oral Torah edited and compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince in the year 200. We will examine the Hebrew text and the classic commentary of Rabbi Ovadiah of Bertinora. All Hebrew will be translated and explained.
Please feel free to catch a lesson and join us weekly if you find this speaks to your desire to learn about our traditions.
Online: TaNaCh Class with Rabbi Mordecai Miller: Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. A study and discussion based on the Parsha of the week or Neviim (Prophets.) In English with lively discussion.
Online: Midrash Class with Rabbi Mordecai Miller: Wednesday evenings 8:00 – 8:45 p.m. We examine the original text of the Midrash Rabba (the Great Midrash) on Genesis as well as an 18th Century commentary called “Eitz Yoseph”. These provide original insights into the Biblical text. Discussion is encouraged.
There is no charge for Rabbi Miller’s classes. A source for Torah and Haftarah is at Bible.ort.org or here Another source: http://www.lashon.net/CL/
Beth Ami Virtual Week chart with Zoom links Beth Ami Virtual Week
Ongoing activities
On Zoom: Morning Minyan 8:00am
If you need to say Kaddish or memorialize a special event, contact the office at 360-3000 one week in advance, and we will do our best to secure a minyan.
On Zoom: Evening service 7:00 p.m.
On Zoom: Israeli Folk Dancing every other Wednesday evening: See the Israeli Dance blog.
Check out our current newsletter: Shofar September October 2021 for essays, news, more events and details about the events listed above. Archived issues of the Shofar are also available online.
Congregation Beth Ami is located in Northern California,in the heart of Wine Country in Sonoma County, about one hour north of San Francisco, and about one hour west of Napa.
Latest Blogs
A New (or almost new) New Year.
אחד המרבה ואחד הממעיטת רק שיכוון את לבו לשמים It is all the same whether one extends, or abbreviates (eg. prayer), As long as one directs ones heart toward heaven תפסת מרובה לא תפסת תפסת מאת תפסת If you grab a large amount, you won’t hold onto anything; If you grab a...
CBA Book Group: the Last Watchman of Old Cairo
In September we are reading Michael David Lucas' THE LAST WATCHMAN OF OLD CAIRO (Fiction, 288 pp. 2018.) Loaner books available.Meets in small groups, outside at this time, no Zoom. All CBA members and friends are welcome with RSVP. For further info and comments phone...
High Holiday services for families with young children
SHANA TOVA UNDER THE REDWOODS A Rosh HaShanah service and a Yom Kippur service for families with young children!!! Celebrate with song, dance, storytelling and sweetness. All are welcome September 7, 10:30 am, join teacher Lauren Kalmanson to welcome the New Year,...
Rosh Chodesh Gatherings 5782
Rosh Chodesh (literally, “head of the month” or “head of the moon”), the first of every Hebrew month, always falls on the new moon. In biblical times, Rosh Chodesh was a festival marked by celebratory sacrifice and feasting. Today Beth Ami’s Rosh Chodesh women’s group...
What’s happening in the Beth Ami Kitchen
Celebrations and feasting lift our spirits in joy and thanksgiving. We celebrate by gathering of family and friends to the feast table for eating, singing, talking, and praying. We thrive on this. The High Holy Days and the Festival of Sukkot bring these traditions...
Join Beth Ami’s Israel Committee
Will you join Beth Ami's Israel Committee to help bring Israel Programming to Sonoma County? The committee arranges non-political opportunities to learn about Israel: our People and our homeland. To join the committee, contact Eli Cohen at EliCohen@IsraelUpdate.INFO....
Book Group: BETRAYING SPINOZA
Our current read is BETRAYING SPINOZA (non-fiction, 263 pgs, 2006) by MacArthur Fellowship award-winning author, philosophy professor, Rebecca Goldstein. Baruch Spinoza was born in Holland to Portuguese-Jewish immigrants. Goldstein writes about the history of the 17th...
Rosh Chodesh Gatherings Ramping Up Again
Let's regroup after the pandemic put a stop to our meetings. If you're interested in participating in a planning group for the 5782 Rosh Chodesh activities, please contact Patty Bernstein (953-4385 or basberyl@sonic.net).
“Selichot” – A Time to Consider and Reconsider
This year, Saturday night, August 28th, starting 8:30 p.m., at the close of Shabbat, we will gather - on Zoom or in person - to perform the custom of “Selichot,” - taking time as a community to meditate on the year that has passed, think about the part each one of us...
The Yemenite influence on Israeli dance and music
Hi dancers. The big news is that the Person Senior Center is putting me on their daytime drop-in schedule starting August 18. 2 Wednesdays a month, from 2-4 p.m. upstairs in the room 25 dance studio. This Wednesday we are still on Zoom, going over Mudbira, Achei Bnei...