Events at a Glance
CLICK HERE FOR PAGE WITH THE BETH AMI ZOOM LINK, and Closed Captioning/ Live Transcript instructions .
Coming Events:
September 30, Wednesday
10:30am Exercise Class
October 2, Friday Sukkot (Day 7) / Hoshanah Rabah
4:30 pm Shemini Atzeret talk and discussion
6:00pm Erev Shabbat Service, salad bar dinner, potluck desserts
October 3, Saturday Shemini Atzeret
8:45 – 9:45am Torah Study
9:45am Shemini Atzeret Services
11:00 am Yizkor
7:00 pm Erev Simchat Torah celebration with music and dancing
October 4, Sunday Simchat Torah
9:30 – 11:30am Simchat Torah Service
High Holiday schedules and information at https://bethamisr.org/worship/services/
October 7, Wednesday 10:30am Exercise Class
October 9, Friday
6:00pm Erev Shabbat Service with Rabbi Koas
6:45 Potluck Dinner
October 10, Saturday
8:45 – 9:45am Torah Study with Rabbi Koas
9:45am Shabbat Services followed by potluck lunch
October 11, Sunday
9 – 10am Morning Minyan & Breakfast
10:30am – 12:30pm Torah on Trails
October 14, Wednesday
10:30 – 11:30am Exercise Class
12 noon Lunch & Learn
6:00 pm Intro to Judaism
October 16, Friday
6:00pm Shir Shabbat Service with Rabbi Koas and klezmer Creek
Shabbat dinner with speaker Yoav Ben-Shushan, Executive Director of Israel Bonds
October 17, Saturday
8:45 – 9:45am Torah Study with Rabbi Koas
9:45am Shabbat Services followed by potluck lunch
1:00 pm Conversational Hebrew
October 18, Sunday
10:30 am Teddy Bear Project meeting
3:00 pm Absolute music concert
3:00 pm Israel committee recommended Bay area programs
October 20, Tuesday 2:00 pm Grief Support Group
October 21, Wednesday
10:30 – 11:30am Exercise Class
October 22, Thursday
6:00 pm Torah on Tap/ Neviim Prophets class
The Holidays were beautiful, and they’re not over. We have seven services/events for the joyous days of Sukkot through Simchat Torah. Click for the online calendar. Chag Sameach!
Torah on Trails, Torah on Tap, Lunch and Learn, Introduction to Judaism: Rabbi Koas’ classes continue after the holidays. Check the online calendar, and contact the office to get our email newsletter.
Our High Holiday commitment to feed the hungry is more important than ever before. Our food donations for the Redwood Empire Food Bank on Kol Nidre totaled 286 pounds, and we are still collecting in the lobby.
Popular Blogs
(See more blogs here)
SERVICES AND EVENTS ARE A MIX OF IN-PERSON, ZOOM AND HYBRID
Our Shabbat and festival services are a true hybrid with active participants on Zoom. We have a NEW ZOOM ADDRESS. See this page for information and links.
On one Friday a month 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.
Saturday Torah Study 8:45 am, Shabbat morning services in person and on Zoom, 9:45 am, lead by Rabbi Ron Koas 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.
Rabbi Koas’ classes and events
- Every Shabbat morning when Rabbi is in town: Torah Study at 9 AM at CBA
- 2nd Sunday of the month at 9 AM Morning minyan services and Breakfast at CBA
- 2nd Sunday of the month at 10:30 AM Torah on Trails. Please RSVP to Rabbi Koas at 732-998-1029
- 2nd Wednesday of the month at noon to 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Learn at CBA Order a Veggie Wrap or Tuna Sandwich (box lunch, chips and a drink for $12). Please order through the office at 707-360-3000 by the Monday prior to class.
- 2nd Thursday of the month 6:30 PM Torah on Tap at CBA. We provide the drink. You provide the Nosh (Veggie only please follow potluck guidelines.)
- Introduction to Judaism / Bnai Mitzvah Class 2nd Mondays, 7:00 pm, starting January 13. How to be Jewish for beginners. A step-by-step guide to gaining an understanding of Judaism and Jewish life. Contact Rabbi Koas if you are interested rabbi@bethamisr.org.
- Havdalah at CBA on 2nd Saturday of the month: You provide the beverage. We’ll provide the Nosh. Followed by Karaoke, Game Night, or other activities. Future Havdalah nights ideas include a Painting night, Storytelling/Poetry Mic night/Movies. Send your ideas to office@bethamisr.org Put in the Subjject line Havdalah gatherings.
- And every Tuesday when Rabbi Koas is in town. Join him at the Taco Tuesday Ride For details call Rabbii Koas at 732-998-1029
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. The ongoing Teddy Bear Project to craft and send Teddy Bears to children in Israel.
Shofar Newsletter
Check out our current newsletter: Shofar September October 2026 for essays, news, more events and details about the events listed above. Archived issues of the Shofar are also available online.
Ongoing activities
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.
In the Social Hall: Exercise for Older Adults 10 am Wednesdays
Israeli Folk Dancing is back: On Monday, March 30th at 7 pm, please join Robin Lowitz and others in the wonderful art of Israeli dancing 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
Tikkun Leil Shavuot
Thursday, May 25th Come any time between 5 and 10 pm. We will meet at Beth Ami to learn from national presenters, and have dairy refreshments. Join with thousands of Jews for the Conservative/Masorti Movement Tikkun Leil Shavuot Torah from Coast to Coast, sponsored by...
Sonoma County 2023 Pride Parade Saturday, June 3rd
Join Beth Ami at the Sonoma County 2023 Pride Parade Saturday, June 3rd, downtown Santa Rosa. We are all signed up for the Sonoma County 2023 Pride Parade on Saturday, June 3rd, in Santa Rosa. The theme is commUNITY. Come show your pride and love for everyone in the...
Shabbat dinner and panel discussion on Climate Change a huge success.
We received lots of positive feedback from people who attended the dinner and panel discussion. Thank you to the speakers, Dan Levitis and Leah Halper, and to Ilana Stoelting for moderating. Thank you, Rabbi Miller, for a wonderful service. The food was delicious,...
Speakers from Caritas Village June 2
The Social Action Committee at CBA presents June 2nd First Friday Shabbat Dinner and Presentation: Homelessness and the Caritas Village Project Service 6:00 Dinner 6:45 Presenters 7:30 Today, almost 3,000 people in Sonoma County are experiencing homelessness....
Advocates for Social Justice members have been busy
What we have been doing lately: We visited the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center in Santa Rosa and saw some wonderful exhibits of local native America tribes, Pomo, Miwok, and Wappo. What a really fine cultural center. Among their many goals, the center...
Social Action Committee April dinner for The Palms
Today was really nice at The Palms. The new manager, Amanda and Bill have made some wonderful changes in the facility. It was cleaner and more open. We served in the library which is very comfortable surrounded by books and a great bar that made serving very easy. We...
Book Group reads The Aleppo Codex
Our current read is THE ALEPPO CODEX --- A True Story of Obsession, Faith and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible by Matti Friedman. (Non-fiction, 320 pgs., 2012.) Named for the Syrian city in which it was kept, the 10th century Aleppo Codex has long been considered the...
My Favorite Bird: a Morning Concert
Having lived in the land-locked Midwest most of my life, I couldn’t help but be charmed by all the natural beauty that is California’s. We could sing a “dayenu” for the Pacific Ocean alone: its sheer grandeur, its changing moods, the incredible variety of marine life...
Sing In Shabbat with Leah Gerber
Leah Gerber has a familiar name... it feels like we have always been fans of her father Scott as a performer of Yiddish music. We are so fortunate that his daughter Leah is using her beautiful voice and guitar to bring a special beauty and spirituality to prayer at...
Environmental Justice: Ecology and Our Community
Advocates for Social Justice Committee at CBA presents May 5th First Friday Shabbat Dinner and Presentation Service 6:00 Dinner 6:45 Presenters 7:30 We have an abundant and diverse plant and wildlife community here in Sonoma County. We are known as one of the most...













