FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Debra Kolodny, Executive Director, ALEPH

DATE: Friday, March 31, 2006

Phone: 301-565-0719

Email: DebraRuth@mac.com

Dear Editor:

Enclosed is the March 2006 ALEPH News Service. We hope you run one or more of the following articles, and look forward to hearing from you if you do. This release contains:

1. West Coast ALEPH Affiliates Plan for Growth and Success

2 Regular Registration for Reb Zalman/Eve Ilsen Shabbaton ends April 21

3. Davis Congregation Bet Haverim hosts Eighth ALEPH Caravan in April

4. Ruach Ha Aretz 2006

5. ALEPH’s Interfaith Sacred Foods Project Launches New Website

6. Congregation Beth Israel of Chico Awarded $10,000 STAR Grant

About ALEPH: ALEPH acts as the headquarters of the Jewish Renewal movement by organizing and nurturing communities, developing spiritual leadership, ordaining rabbis, cantors and rabbinic pastors, creating liturgical and scholarly resources, holding retreats and festivals and working for social and environmental justice.

ALEPH has attracted and energized thousands of seekers returning to Judaism and thousands who are deeply engaged but looking to elevate their current practice. ALEPH has 42 affiliated communities and its projects include two biennial gatherings: the Kallah and Ruach HaAretz; the Sacred Foods Project, C-DEEP: The Center for Devotional, Energy, and Ecstatic Practice, the Bet Midrash (producing siddurim, publications, videos and CDs from our founder Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and other Jewish Renewal teachers) and Kesher (supporting twenty and early thirty year old leaders). In addition to its projects, ALEPH also produces one-day Jewish Renewal festivals in communities around the US and Canada called Caravans. It is home to OHALAH: The Association of Rabbis for Jewish Renewal and a Rabbinic Studies Program, educating future rabbis, cantors and rabbinic pastors.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like additional information. ALEPH looks forward to working with you,

Debra Kolodny /s/

West Coast ALEPH Affiliates Plan for Growth and Success

Representatives of nine west coast Jewish renewal communities in the US and Canada gathered in Berkeley, California this month to learn and polish leadership skills, tools and strategies for congregational success. Every group left with a clear sense of how they can improve their already effective work, excited about growing their communities as they grow the movement to renew Judaism.

Hosted at Kehilla’s beautiful new synagogue and sponsored by ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, the sustainability training was heralded as a success by all participants. Shir Ha Yam representative Ahouva Steinhaus explained, “This workshop was fun, very interactive and full of helpful and practical fundraising information. We will put to use many of the things we learned in the coming year, and we are excited about starting to plan.”

Community leaders from Kehilla, the Aquarian Minyan, Beyt Tikkun, Chadesh Yameinu, Shir Ha Yam, the Elijah Minyan and Makom Or Shalom attended from California. Havurah Shir Hadash, along with one prospective community affiliate came from Oregon and Or Shalom joined the group from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Participants assessed their annual calendar of activities and learned how to design exciting and meaningful programming throughout the year as they work effectively with large donors, hold successful fundraising events, increase their visibility in their community and expand their membership base.

ALEPH Executive Director said, “ALEPH is so excited to be providing these trainings to our affiliates and to support the financial, membership and programmatic growth of our communities. We are very lucky to have Jackie Kaplan as a world-class trainer in this venture. If the results from the Berkeley workshop are anything like the outcomes from Mid-west workshop (two years ago with retreat center Or Tzafon), we will be hearing glowing reports from all who attended about the impact of our time together on their long term success.”

Regular Registration for Reb Zalman/Eve Ilsen Shabbaton ends April 21

Don’t miss this opportunity to study with the man the New York Jewish Forward called an “awakened soul!”

Join Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement and Rebbitzen Eve Ilsen for an extraordinary experience that will be talked about for years to come. The weekend entitled “Heavenly Days Here on Earth” promises moving prayer experiences, meaningful teachings, joyful community and an opportunity to permanently deepen your spiritual life.

Recently profiled in Newsweek and in PBS’s Religion and Ethics News Weekly, Reb Zalman is a master teacher, writer and spiritual leader and the inspiration for tens of thousands of Jews. His work has launched over 50 communities around the world and his teachings have brought countless numbers back to a committed Jewish path. His significant contributions to Jewish theology, practice and civic engagement have influenced two generations of spiritual leadership and have enriched the lives of tens of thousands who were already Jewishly engaged.

Reb Zalman presents the central teachings of Hassidism and Kabbalah in a contemporary and accessible manner. Through prayer and meditation, movement and song, storytelling and philosophical discourse he awakens and inspires a personal relationship with G!d. He has worked extensively with the Dalai Lama, Bishop Desmond Tutu and other world religious luminaries.

The May Shabbaton will feature teachings from leading lights in Jewish Renewal, including rabbis Marcia Prager (Dean of the ALEPH Rabbinic Program), Daniel Siegel, (ALEPH Director of Spiritual Resources) Shaya Isenberg (Co-Director of the ALEPH Sage-ing Project), Shohama Wiener (Director of the ALEPH HASHPA’AH/Spiritual Direction Program) and Elliot Ginsburg (Member of the ALEPH Rabbinic Program Academic Council).

Gifted spiritual leaders will perform on Saturday evening for a Malevah Malkah-a joyous concert escorting the Shabbos Queen to her dwelling place in our lives for the rest of the week. Rabbis Shawn Zevit, Arthur Waskow (Director of The Shalom Center) and Gila Rayzel Raphael will join Rebbitzen Eve Ilsen and Yofiyah for an evening not to be missed.

To register, and for information on accommodations, directions and frequently asked questions visit: aleph.org/rebzalmanweekend.html. After April 21 the registration fee will increase by $50.

Davis Congregation Bet Haverim hosts Eighth ALEPH Caravan in April

Congregation Bet Haverim invites the entire community to a day of Jewish Renewal teachings, music, food and fellowship designed in collaboration with ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal. The event will be held on April 30, 8:30 to 4:30, and will feature Rabbis Daniel Siegel, Hanna Tiferet Siegel and Shefa Gold, all internationally known for their creativity, spirituality and inspiration.

The ALEPH Caravan travels throughout the United States, tailoring events to meet the needs and interests of local communities with the goal of supporting deeper spiritual meaning in Jewish practice. Caravans feature prayer, song, chant, dance, meditation, Hassidic text study and kabbalistic practice, bringing the best that Jewish tradition has to offer through the expert leadership of Jewish Renewal rabbis.

Bet Haverim’s program is called: “The Roots of Prayer on Wings of Song: Pathways to Enlivening our Spiritual Practice. After a creative prayer service attendees will be able to learn at two of three workshops.

ALEPH Director of Spiritual Resources, Rabbi Daniel Siegel will teach “Unlocking the Secrets of the Siddur: Working with the Deep Structure of the Traditional Service.” Participants will explore the liturgy as guided meditation and contemplative practice and will focus on selected prayers to gain a deeper understanding of the siddur as our shared mystical text.

Rabbi Hanna Tiferet Siegel, singer/composer, liturgical artist and yoga teacher, will lead a healing workshop. She says, ”On the third day of the Hebrew Healing month of Iyyar, the 17^th day of Omer counting, which is Tiferet b’Tiferet—Heart within Heart—we will join our compassionate hearts together to create a healing service. Through song, prayer ritual, movement and the sharing of personal stories, our intention will be to make our space sacred so that the Divine Healer can freely move through us.”

Rabbi Shefa Gold will be leading “Ecstatic Chant.” Participants will experience chant as an ecstatic form of meditation that can open the doors of the heart, clear the mind of clutter, focus and refine intentions, and connect us to each other. They will also explore the possibilities of starting a chant and meditation group at Bet Haverim.

On Saturday evening, April 29 at 8 p.m. the visiting rabbis will lead the community through a conclusion to Shabbat and a welcome and invitation to the next day’s Caravan. Together participants will celebrate Havdalah, count the Omer, chant, sing and celebrate.

Both events will be held at CBH, 1715 Anderson Road, Davis California 95616. The cost for advance registration for Sunday, including a vegetarian lunch, is $54, and for Saturday evening, $18. Childcare is available at no extra charge on Sunday. To register, send to the congregation your name, phone number, email address and a check made out to CBH by April 15^th. Same-day registration is $65 for Sunday and $24 for Saturday evening. For more information, call Jane Rabin at 530-756-4888.

Ruach Ha'Aretz 2006

The annual Ruach Ha’Aratz (Spirit of the Earth) Retreat will be held at the Bosch Baha’i Center in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains, August 14 - 20, 2006

This year’s theme is "Sacred Cycles: Awakening to the Divine Imprint in Every Moment of Our Lives."   The theme will be explored in classes offered by some of our most beloved Renewal teachers including: R. Elliot Ginsburg, R. Marcia Prager, C. Jack Kessler, C. Richard Kaplan, R. Laura Duhan Kaplan, R. Burt Jacobson and Diane Elliot, Ellen Kaufman Dosick, R. Wayne Dosick, RP Shulamit Fagan, Nancy Katz, R. Shefa Gold and Rachmiel O'Regan, Dorit Ori Har and Tom Oz DiGennaro, R. Leah Novick, R. Shaya Isenberg and Bahira Sugarman, R. Victor Gross and R. Nadya Gross.

Ruach is proud to join with Rosalie and Efraim Eisen to offer a very special pre-retreat Basherte Shabbaton for Independent Single Jews Seeking Conscious Partnership, Aug 11-13.

The Bosch Baha'i Center offers comfortable (semi-private and dorm style) lodging, and unlimited camping on their 67 acre campus - and a most creative chef (meals will be kosher vegetarian).

For further information please contact Rabbis Nadya and Victor Gross at Pardes Levavot: A Jewish Renewal Congregation, 7077 Harvest Road, Boulder, CO 80301 or visit www.pardeslevavot.org.

Sacred Foods Project Launches New Website

www.sacred-foods.org

The Sacred Foods Project has launched its new website <www.sacred-foods.org>. The website helps visitors learn about the connections between food, faith, social justice, health and sustainability. The site provides information about the upcoming Sacred Foods conference as well as some of the most recent activities and presentations by partners in the Sacred Foods Project who come from the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions as well as from nonprofit organizations working on issues of food, agriculture and hunger. Consumers will also find resources about kosher, halal and sustainably produced foods.

According to project director Arlin Wasserman, “Through the project, we’re continually learning more about what Christianity, Islam and Judaism each have to teach us about feeding the world, our common ethics and what makes each tradition unique. The Sacred Foods website is a unique resource for watching this learning unfold.”

The Sacred Foods Project, housed in ALEPH:  Alliance for Jewish Renewal, works with our country’s major religions and business leaders to improve the social and environmental performance of the US food and agricultural sector. Sacred Foods works to increase the markets for new and better products among communities of faith and also to create a common understanding among religions and businesses about how to grow, process and market food that embodies our shared ethical and spiritual desires. Project partners include Cornell University, Faith in Place, the Food Alliance, the Islamic Society of North America, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, the National Council of Churches, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Food Alliance. If your congregation, business or organization is interested in becoming a partner, please contact info@sacred-foods.org

Congregation Beth Israel of Chico Awarded $10,000 STAR Grant

Congregation Beth Israel of Chico has been awarded a $10,000 Innovation Grant from STAR Synagogue to develop programs for building a greater sense of community by recognizing and honoring different paths of Jewish expression. The grant will be used to develop innovative programs on the theme of, “Head, Heart, and Hand: Three Paths to the Soul of a Jewish Community.”

Funds will be used to develop three major synagogue programs in the next year and a half, including a scholar-in-residence program, a Jewish Renewal Sabbath, and a Jewish Arts Festival, as well as to publicize existing congregational programs and to foster synagogue outreach and growth.

STAR, which stands for Synagogues: Transformational and Renewal, is a Minneapolis-based non-profit organization that provides resources and training for rabbis in nonprofit management, targeted programming, marketing and communications, program evaluation, and volunteer development. Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Israel, was a participant in STAR’s PEER (professional education for excellence in rabbis) program. STAR awards the innovation grants to help PEER rabbis launch congregational initiatives that reflect their rabbinic vision.

Rabbi Danan’s proposal, “Head, Heart, Hand—Three Paths to the Soul of a Jewish Community,” was inspired by the vision of Rabbi Alan Silverstein of New Jersey, who presented this concept at a STAR PEER retreat she attended in Phoenix, Arizona. Rabbi Silverstein demonstrated how the concept of head, heart, and hand parallels classic teaching on the three pillars of the Jewish world—on Torah, on worship, and on deeds of loving kindness—as well as the three names of the synagogue: House of Study, House of Prayer, and House of Gathering.

“The award of this grant will help Congregation Beth Israel to launch new programs, creatively enhance existing programs, and fulfill our mission of being a dynamic center for Jewish community life in the North State,” said Rabbi Julie Danan. The rabbi first introduced the concept of the “three paths” to CBI in a sermon during the high holidays, in which she said, “The path of the mind finds its expression primarily through learning Torah, in academic scholarship, or in literature. The path of the spirit (or heart) finds its expression primarily in prayer and meditation. The path of hands-on Judaism satisfies the hunger for community, a need to connect, and a need to serve or create. Each of these doors to the synagogue is authentic and meaningful.”

With the award of STAR’s Innovation Grant, Congregation Beth Israel will be able to open new doors to broader participation in Chico’s Jewish community.