Welcome to Congregation Beth Ami of Santa Rosa, California.

Congregation Beth Ami is online every day for services and classes. All Saturday morning services, some Friday evening services, and some events will be in person in the sanctuary as well as on Zoom. See Events at a Glance for the virtual week calendar with Zoom information.

Events at a Glance and Virtual Week Calendar

 to 2:00 pmBeth Ami Virtual Week chart with Zoom links, reopening health and safety procedures, and Closed Captioning/ Live Transcript instructions 
BETH AMI VIRTUAL WEEK CALENDAR

Rabbi Miller’s Rashi classes on YouTube

Friday March 8 Shabbat Dinner after Kabbalat Shabbat services

Saturday March 23 7:30 pm Purim reading of Megillah and hamentashen oneg

Sunday March 24 1:00 pm Seudat (feast of) Purim with Sephardic and Mizrachi food and melodies

Fridays, 6 pm: First Fridays of the month in person and on Zoom: traditional Kabbalat Shabbat with Rabbi Mordecai Miller followed by dinner. Fourth Fridays lay led on Zoom. Other FridaysSing in Shabbat, a short, music filled service led by Leah Gerber. Next dinner will be February 2.

Saturday morning Shabbat services 9:30 a.m. in person and on Zoom.
Mincha starts approximately an hour before Havdallah, 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 2:00 pm Mishnah

Wednesdays at 8:00 pm Midrash

Thursdays at 2:30 pm Bible (TaNaCH)

Purim Megillah Saturday March 23, 7:30 pm. Sunday March 24 at 1:00 pm traditional Seudat (feast of) Purim with Sephardic and Mizrachi foods and melodies.

Save the date for Rabbi Miller’s Jubilee Year Concert and Celebration on Sunday,  June 23, 2024 at Congregation Beth Ami, Santa Rosa, California.

The Men’s Group as well as the Social Action Committee volunteers at the Redwood Empire Food Bank. See the blog section for activities.

A letter from Rabbi Mordecai Miller on the war in Gaza: “Like so many, I’m deeply troubled by the events going on locally and globally…”

Beth Ami’s Gift Shop has everything for Pesach, from whimsical to elegant. Open during office hours and by appointment.

SERVICES AND EVENTS ARE A MIX OF IN-PERSON, ZOOM AND HYBRID

We are now conducting in person Shabbat morning services, and some indoor meetings, while most evening services and meetings remain on Zoom. We will also have the sanctuary open on Friday evenings for special speakers and occasions, including Shabbat dinner on the first Friday of the month. Our Shabbat services are a true hybrid with active participants on Zoom. Mask mandates have been lifted for our situation, though people should and do wear them. See Beth Ami Virtual Week for details.

First Friday in person service with Rabbi Mordecai Miller at 6:00 pm followed by Shabbat dinner (RSVP). Other Fridays will be on Zoom: On 2nd and 3rd Fridays Leah Gerber leads a 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. Fourth Fridays will be led by congregants.

Saturday Shabbat morning services in person and on Zoom, 9:30 am, lead by Rabbi Mordecai Miller and congregants. There are hearing assistance devices for in-person attendees and captioning available on Zoom. Lunches after Shabbat morning services are prepared by the Kitchen Committee with potluck donations, see food guidelines and recipes here.

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.
weekday Shacharit SIDDUR SIM SHALOM
weekday afternoon SIDDUR SIM SHALOM
weekday maariv SIDDUR SIM SHALOM

A source for Torah and Haftarah is here  Another source: https://www.sefaria.org/texts

Beth Ami Virtual Week chart with Zoom links Beth Ami Virtual Week

Closed Captioning/ Live Transcript instructions Closed Caption Instructions for Beth Ami

Purim: Megillah Reading March 23, Seudat Purim March 24

This year’s Purim celebrations will be steeped in tradition. On Saturday night March 23 at 7:30 Asher Nathan will chant Megillat Esther to an appreciative and costume-wearing congregation, followed by Beth Ami baked hamentashen for all. Sunday morning services March 24 will feature Ahuva Simon Saar reading the Megillah.

On Sunday afternoon March 24 at 1:00 p.m. we will have a Seudat Purim: a festive Purim meal of traditional Sephardic and Mizrachi dishes, to remember the ancient Jewish communities of the Mideast and North Africa. During the meal we’ll sing the Purim story to Sephardic and Mizrachi melodies. Seudat Purim flyer for information and ways to support this event.

COMMUNITY PASSOVER SEDER ON THE FIRST NIGHT

Monday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. Led by Rabbi Mordecai Miller
Welcoming all ages, affiliations,interfaith & LGBT communities, members, and non-members.

The meal will be fish, dairy and vegetarian, with a special dessert.
Members: adults $30, youths $16
Family Maximum: $80
Non-members: Adults $36
Youth $16, Family Maximum: $90
Subsidies available so all can attend. Reservations Deadline Thursday April 18 by noon.
See the Shofar newsletter for festival and other services available in person and on Zoom.

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Social Action, Civil Rights and Social Justice

Please join the members of the Beth Ami’s Advocates for 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 are now serving hot food from crockpots in person. Social Action Committee meets periodically to plan the next Palms dinner. 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.

Beth Ami Israel Committee

The Israel Affairs Committee collects links and descriptions of national and international webinars and online viewing about Israel and antisemitism.

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 2:00 – 3:00 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

Shofar Newsletter

Check out our current newsletter: Shofar March April 2024 for essays, news, more events and details about the events listed above. Archived issues of the Shofar are also available online.

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.

In the Social Hall: Exercise for Older Adults 10 am Wednesdays

Israeli Folk Dancing is on a break: See the Israeli Dance blog.

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.

Some Recent Blogs

Men’s group awesome outing

We had a Men's Group day February 1, we went to the Redwood Empire food bank and did a 10 to one shift. We had six people, included: Raphael Kauffman, David Sokolsky, Arnie Herskovitz, Melvin Decker, richard kahn, and Jerry Newman. We were quite productive, bagging up...

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Book Group Reader’s Choice

Sunday, February 11, free choice. Each participant does a mini-book report (5-10 min.) on a fiction or non-fiction book of own choosing by a Jewish author or with a Jewish theme. Probably meet at CBA. Come inspire and be inspired! Sunday, February 25, we will discuss...

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Tu B’Shevat food traditions

Tu means 15th; B’Shevat means of the month of Shevat. This was the date originally designated as the general birthday of all the trees that provided food in Israel no matter when in the year they were actually planted. It should come as no surprise to you that this...

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A response to crisis

If our TaNaCh (Bible) represents the dawn of the human record, human conflict takes place by the first generation. We read about how Cain’s jealousy leads him to murder his brother Abel. There is little doubt that Cain feels totally justified in this treacherous act....

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