A Word from Rabbi Schulman - 1/16/15

Shabbat is meant to be a day of rest and renewal. It is a time for prayer, learning, good food, and friends.

Few of us experience a total Shabbat experience from sunset on Friday night through havdalah on Saturday evening. Kids who attend Camp Newman know what a total Shabbat is all about. So too, anyone who has been to Israel experiences Shabbat as a time of holiness set apart from the other days of the week.

In just two months time, we have the opportunity to fully celebrate Shabbat in a beautiful setting less than an hour from Fremont. After months of planning, everything is now in place to offer a high quality, delightfully engaging Shabbaton (Shabbat retreat). Members from Temple Beth Torah, Congregation Beth Emek, and Congregation Shir Ami in Castro Valley are invited to attend the Shabbaton.

There will be a scholar-in-residence, Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan, who is known throughout the Bay Area for his skill at leading adult Jewish learning sessions. Rabbi Milder, from Beth Emek, and I will be on hand to lead Shabbat services, as well as offer our own adult learning workshops. There will be plenty of singing including a special program on Saturday night when Saul Kaye, a fantastic musician and songwriter, will perform.

The Shabbaton will take place the weekend of March 13-15. It will be held at the Presentation and Resort Conference Center in Los Gatos. The cost for the retreat is $225 per adult, including 2 nights lodging and all meals.

The number of participants in the Shabbaton is limited to 120. Registration is now open. To learn more about the Shabbaton and to register go to http://www.theshabbaton.org.

I hope you will consider taking part in this great Shabbat and wonderful weekend.