Weekly Announcements
Our weekly e-bulletin is issued every Wednesday and is typically uploaded to our website by end-of-day Thursday. Want to have it sent straight to your inbox? Sign up here! To receive a Zoom link for any event, email Zoom@bnaiisrael.net.
Newsletter Contributions – Do you have news to share... a birth, graduation, achievement or award? Please e-mail your announcement to office@bnaiisrael.net by noon on Friday for inclusion in Wednesday's e-newsletter.
To reach us for urgent matters, call (707) 919-5787. For regular business, call the office between 9–1 Monday through Friday at (707) 762-0340.
Effective 10/6/2022, masks are now optional at the Center. Click here to review the updated Covid-19 policy.
Wednesday, December 28, 2022 | 4 Tevet 5783
News and Events
Jews, Prison and Spirituality
Wednesday, January 25, 7:00 p.m. at BIJC
Join Professor Emerita Elaine Leeder for a talk about her extensive work with victim/offender dialogues in prisons across the state of California. No charge but reservation is required. Light refreshments will be served. This event is partially underwritten by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and Society. Click here for info and registration.
Community Tribute Wall
Join us in creating a lasting tribute to the community. Details here.
Please help our webmaster
Our webmaster for the past 14 years, Lisa Basalto, has had to step down due to a series of complicated medical issues that began in 2014. Rabbi Feldman created a Gofundme campaign to help Lisa with her medical insurance and bills. Please help if you can by donating to Lisa's Gofundme campaign. Donations are also accepted by mail or on our website. Please contact the office for assistance. Thank you!
Weekly Shabbat Information
Weekly Shabbat Services take place at our Center in person and via Zoom. Email zoom@bnaiisrael.net to request the Zoom link. Would you like to sponsor a Shabbat Kiddush? Contact Erica weekdays between 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Click here to download our complete Kiddush Guide.
Friday, December 30
Candle Lighting: 4:42 p.m.
Saturday, December 31
9:00 a.m. Torah Study
9:45 a.m. Shabbat Service begins
10:35 a.m. Torah Service. Torah reading: Parashat Vayigash
12:00 p.m. Kiddush lunch
Yahrzeits for December 31, 2022–January 6, 2023
Issack Betz
Esther Birnbaum
Eileen Cahn-Finston
Louis Egber
Ruth Feldman
Ben Friedman
Albert Goldstein
David Jacknowitz
Sam Lipschultz
Maxine Myers
Albert Oppenheimer
Vera Richman
Lena Rosenbaum
Adele Rozner
Anne Schwartz
Harry Sherman
Elizabeth Stull
Simon Wasserman
Shalom Chaverim School
For grades PreK-6. Meets Sunday mornings. Click here for details and class schedule. Final fall session is the Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, December 18 at 3:30 p.m.
Hebrew Language Program
Meets Sunday morning and Tuesday afternoon. Sessions offered for grades 3-4 and grades 5-8. Click here for details and class schedule. Final fall session is the Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, December 18 at 3:30 p.m.
Gan Israel Preschool
Thank You for supporting our tzedakah project
Gan Israel director Teri Porter says that the preschool was able to collect 20 pairs of new pajamas to be donated to Redwood Empire Foster Parent Association. Children will also receive a new bedtime book from Scholastic Book Clubs. Thank you to all Gan parents and the BIJC community who helped make this project a success.
See's Candy sales net $300+ for the Gan
If you did not have a chance to order your See's Candy, please visit their online store and have your favorite sweets shipped directly to you. Your candy purchases to date have raised more than $300 for the preschool. Thank you for your support!
Gan Israel Receives Grant for Sensory Tools
Thank you to Jewish LearningWorks for providing us with new tools to help support our preschool children. We purchased sensory items to help the children with their social and emotional development. This grant for Sensory Tools from Jewish LearningWorks is generously funded by the Donor Advised Funds of the Jewish Community Federation.
PRESCHOOL HOURS are daily 9 AM-1 PM. Aftercare is available to 4 PM.
Enrollment is ongoing. Tours daily M-F at 3 p.m. Call 707-763-5136 or visit our webpage and Follow us on Facebook.
ACCEPTING SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS
Gan Israel can offer partial- and full-tuition scholarships for children from Jewish families through the Jewish Community Federation. Click here to download the application.
TUITION VOUCHERS
For help applying for a tuition voucher from 4Cs of Sonoma County, visit https://www.sonoma4cs.or
BIJC Clubs & Organization News
Petaluma Food Pantry
BIJC participates on the fourth Thursday of each month. We gather at 4:30 p.m. at Elim Lutheran Church, located at 504 Baker St., to set food items on the tables. Distribution takes place from 5:00-5:30. We no longer pre-bag, people simply pick up items they need. Volunteers are requested to stay until 6 p.m. We need grocery bags! For more information visit our page or email volunteer coordinator Lani Slonim at foodbank@bnaiisrael.net
Tikkun Olam Team
The Tikkun Olam Team (formerly Caring Committee) has no regular meetings, no paperwork to fill out, and you can participate a lot or a little. Team members will simply be asked from time to time to help members of the community who are faced with difficulties. Read more in this introductory announcement by Chaplain Adam Kinsey. For information, email tikkunolamteam@bnaiisrael.net.
Ritual Committee
Is your Hebrew-reading a bit rusty? Would you like a refresher on how to chant the blessings for an aliyah? We would like to help you! Please contact Alisa at ritcom@bnaiisrael.net to express your interest.
Sisterhood Book Club
Book Club on January 10, 1 p.m.
Gerry Lipton has generously offered to host the next Book Club. The book is Shanda by Letty Cottin Pogrebin, an intimate memoir from a founding editor of Ms. magazine who grew up in a Jewish immigrant family. Please click to read more. To request directions, please email office@bnaiisrael.net.
Sisterhood Mahjong is back – Sisterhood will hold Monday Mahjong games on the second and fourth Monday of January from 11 AM-2 PM in the Sovel Room. Next meeting January 9. The room divider will be extended, and players will meet in the half that faces the street. For more information call the office at (707) 762-0340. Masking is optional. Please read the current Covid-19 policy before visiting the Center.
BIJC Fundraising – Your Donations Do Make a Difference!
If you'd like to donate or volunteer to support BIJC, you can learn about our various opportunities here. Special thanks to our recent donors:
Sid and Gerry Lipton – Yom Kippur Appeal
Stuart and Sela Nissenbaum – Yom Kippur Appeal
Judy Miller – Winter Warmth Drive
Leo and Nancy Tealdi – Winter Warmth Drive
Shelley Bauer – Winter Warmth Drive
Liza Ravitz and Sam Trautman – Winter Warmth Drive
Sid and Gerry Lipton – Winter Warmth Drive
Regina Wilson-Seppa – In Memory of her sister, Roberta Lynn Wilson-Jolley
Rhonda Goodman and Martin Hymowitz – In Memory of Rhonda's dad, Morris Goodman
Joseph Luiz – Kiddush Offering
Carolyn Kaufman – Winter Warmth Drive
Bill and Kim Cordell – In Memory of Kim's mother, Olive Cordill
Marshall Newman and Janet Endelman – Yom Kippur Appeal
Stan and Hedda Gold – Winter Warmth Drive
Linda and Aaron Newman – In Memory of Linda's mother, Mayva Roskam
Jules and Marjorie Cohen – In Memory of Marjorie's brother-in-law, Harry Sherman
Joan Roman – In Memory of her mother, Helen Rosenberg
Sid and Gerry Lipton – In Memory of Sid's father, Sam Lipschultz
Sid and Gerry Lipton – In Memory of Gerry's brother, Marvin Bornstein
Featured Golf Tournament Sponsor – Tortilla Real
Our culinary roots go back to a big family and warm kitchen in Guadalajara, Jalisco, where our mom and grandmothers gave us a taste for cooking from scratch. Tortilla Real is open 11 AM–9 PM at 5 Petaluma Blvd. South. Thank you for your support of the BIJC Golf Tournament!
Check out all of our tournament Business Sponsors.
BIJC General Information
Office and Gift Shop Hours: Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Erica Stuart, Administrative Assistant and Gift Shop Manager
Phone: (707) 762-0340
Jamie Bloom, President
Lost and Found
There is a LOST and FOUND box in the office. Please note: Items will be donated after a period of one month. If you have lost something or have found an item please contact the office at 707-762-0340.
