Weekly Newsletters and Special Announcements

January 14, 2022 |  12 Shevat 5782

Parashat Beshalach - Shabbat Shirah

Enjoy Torah Sparks - creative commentaries on the weekly Torah and Haftarah readings written by Conservative Yeshiva faculty.

Click here to enjoy this week's community discussion of Exodus as part of
JFOC's special series  "סיפרי עמינו": Stories of Our People." 

This weekend is Shabbat Shirah – the Sabbath of Song – when we read poetic passages from Torah (Exodus, chapter 15) and Prophets (Judges, chapter 5) that celebrate Jewish survival through the miraculous hand of God. This Shabbat often coincides by a day or two with T”u b’Shevat, known in Mishnaic times as the New Year of the Trees - when the age of a tree could be assessed for Temple tithing purposes. Centuries later, the 15th day of the month of Shevat was renewed by Kabbalists as a day to pause and appreciate the incredible life force contained within trees and nature. Around that time, a custom emerged to feed wild birds on this Shabbat as their reward for the songs which they utter to God every day.  
  
Shabbat rest is itself a weekly ode to the natural world when we pause from work and errands to be present with our families and appreciate our surroundings for their perfection in the moment. When Shabbat Shirah, T”u b’Shevat and MLK weekend coincide, the equity and inclusivity of Shabbat is realized in full. Torah mandates that every living person, animal, tree and plant is entitled to a weekly day of rest and renewal. In that vein, we hope that you will join us Sunday night, January 16 at 5pm (PST) for JCoOC’s inaugural C.L.U.E. b’Shevat Seder hosted in collaboration with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE).  
 
Since its founding in 2016, the Jewish Collaborative of Orange County has prioritized invigorating Jewish Social Justice engagement in our community. Our work with homelessness providers and refugee relief organizations is an ongoing commitment that has inspired more than 250 Orange County Jewish residents to become involved in actions that provide healing and hope.    
  
Our upcoming, one-of-a-kind T”u b’Shevat seder dedicated to helping our community better understand the challenges faced by America’s essential workers is the beginning of JCoOC’s deeper involvement with CLUE and the perils of rampant economic injustice more broadly. We hope participants will learn about important issues and become inspired to support our hard-working neighbors seeking fair wages, healthcare, better working conditions and other policy changes needed for them to provide for their families, educate their children and tend to self-care. RSVP HERE to join us. 
 
This seder is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Tilchin’s sister,  Minda Ellen Tilchin (Nechama Mindle bat Asher Noah v’Sheindl) who shared a birthday with Martin Luther King, Jr. and passed away in 2017. Like her parents and siblings, Minda – a woman of many talents - was deeply compassionate and a champion of just causes. Funding for CLUE b’Shevat comes from a special JCoOC fund created to honor Minda’s memory that invests in awareness-raising social justice and inspired artistic ventures designed to enrich community writ large. Zichronah livrakhah – May Minda’s memory endure as a great blessing to her family, friends and those who continue to be touched by her goodness.  
 
Wishing you a Shabbat Shirah Shalom and T”u b’Shevat sameah, 
 
The Collaborative Team 

Saturday, January 15 at 2:00pm (PST)
TWELVE STEPS & TORAH
Shabbat afternoon Torah study informed by the wisdom of Twelve Step recovery. Join us on Zoom. 
For more information and to be added to the Twelve Steps & Torah email list, click here.

Monday, January 17 at 9:30am (PST)
ADVANCED LEARNING INSTITUTE
Rabbi David Lazar teaches part two of Connecting the Dots: A Guide Through the Maze of Interconnected Text in the Hebrew Bible. To watch last week's class click here. 
Join on Zoom or Facebook. Click here to learn more and register. 

Sunday, January 16 at 5:00pm (PST)
CLUE B'SHEVAT SEDER
In partnership with C.L.U.E., the Jewish Collaborative is hosting a virtual T"u b'Shevat Seder focusing on Economic Justice Advocacy in the Jewish tradition. Click here to learn more and register.

Beginning January 20, 2022

CIRCLES OF HOPE AND HEALING
JCoOC's first 8-week Jewish bereavement cohort facilitated by professional grief counselor, Chaplain Fran Chalin, begins this week. To learn more and express interest, click here. 

Friday, January 21 at 6pm (PST)
FRIDAY NIGHT BY CANDLELIGHT
Rabbi Marcia Tiilchin and musician Jason Feddy lead a musically uplifting Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma'ariv Friday night service online. Join us on Zoom or Facebook.

Saturday, January 22 at 6pm (PST)
HAVDALAH TOGETHER
Guest speaker Nova Tuana Sari joins Rabbi Marcia Tilchin. Nova co-founded DoNotHate, a nonprofit created to promote an inclusive hate-free society in the U.S. through youth involvement. Nova experienced xenophobia, discrimination, and fascism firsthand when her family was forced into exile from Turkey during political unrest in 2016.

Join us on Zoom or Facebook.

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

The Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest is a free, (mostly) online, collaborative festival, spearheaded by Hazon and Dayenu, that connects our Jewish values to action in order to address our current climate crisis, and to make climate change a central moral issue of the Jewish community. We seek to re-energize Tu BiShvat, the Jewish “Earth Day” of sorts, as a relevant and timely holiday to connect Jewish values with the urgency of climate and a groundswell of community-produced events from Fest partners and experts. Click here to register. Online community events continue through January 25.

 DoNotHate's Holocaust Remembrance and Preventing Anti-Semitism Panel is a 3-Day Event that is organized by student volunteers and interns of the DoNotHate Foundation, co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies Department of University of California, Irvine and Anti-Defamation League. The mission is to educate youth regarding the history and stages of the Holocaust, and the dangers of post-Holocaust antisemitism in its contemporary forms. The DoNotHate Foundation aims to bring youth from different backgrounds together, to inform them about the Holocaust and invite them to embrace the mission of working together to end antisemitism for good. More information for each day of programming, with registration links is available at the following links: Jan. 25 | Jan. 26 | Jan. 27

The Jewish Collaborative of Orange County is a creative, collaborative, and compassionate community mosaic dedicated to innovating and supporting local and national programming that enriches the landscape of Jewish life and encouraging individuals and families to connect their passions and purpose with Judaism.