Circles are small cohorts (5-6 families or 5-8 individuals) that meet regularly around a shared purpose. Here are the Circles we're building for the year ahead. Be in touch ([email protected]) to hear more, or find the right entry into Sanctuary for you!
Acts of Kindness Circles (monthly): The ancient rabbis would teach that the world stands on 3 things: Torah, service, and acts of loving kindness (in Hebrew, gemilut chasadim). Each month, we’ll explore a Jewish act of loving kindness through text, stories, discussion, and a hands-on project. Kids will also be encouraged to practice these acts of kindness throughout the month, and then reflect on their experiences together.
Shabbat Circles (monthly): We’ll gather each month as a family of families for a Friday night festive meal, a creative Saturday morning service, a baking project, or a volunteer effort and sweet Havdalah ritual at each other’s homes. Joining as a community, we include parents and siblings, and explore Shabbat together. The goal is for each family to host one Shabbat gathering.
Hebrew Circles (weekly): We believe that Hebrew is a key that unlocks meaning, and learning Hebrew should feel like a fun process of discovering. B Mitzvah students begin weekly Hebrew meetings together in 6th grade, but some students choose to start exploring the language before that. We start new weekly groups whenever we have a group of 3-4 interested students.
B Mitzvah Family Circles (weekly): Becoming B Mitzvah means counting in a minyan (a core group), so we dedicate significant time and energy to building a minyan where everyone counts and is counted on: to teach and learn, lead and follow, speak and listen. We'll learn Jewish wisdom and rituals through lived experiences. We’ll journey together as a family of families, because we can’t practice Judaism by ourselves!
Teen Circle (monthly): Our ancient ancestors couldn’t anticipate today’s news headlines, but they did grapple with the role of humans, the limits of our control, and the presence of evil in the world. Their questions and insights can help us clarify our own perspectives on current issues like climate change, reproductive rights, gun violence, structural racism, and the list goes on. Moreover, Jewish wisdom inspires us to commit to action.
Weekly Women's Wisdom (14 weeks on Zoom): We'll read text slowly and build a conversation based on the ideas it sparks within us. We'll explore what resonates, what surprises us, what does not. In doing so, we'll deepen our connections to Jewish text, to each other, and our own wisdom within.
Book Circles (6-week series): As a group of adults, we'll read a book together on Jewish spirituality, such as Here All Along by Sarah Hurwitz or The Amen Effect by Rabbi Sharon Brous. At each meeting, we'll reflect on a couple of chapters, deepening our own connections to the material and to one another.
Havruta Learning Pairs. Sometimes individuals learn the most or feel most comfortable when working one-on-one or two-on-one with a teacher. Sometimes it takes time to build a Circle, so we want to start as a very small group. These individuals also join larger Sanctuary Gatherings for holidays throughout the year.
Acts of Kindness Circles (monthly): The ancient rabbis would teach that the world stands on 3 things: Torah, service, and acts of loving kindness (in Hebrew, gemilut chasadim). Each month, we’ll explore a Jewish act of loving kindness through text, stories, discussion, and a hands-on project. Kids will also be encouraged to practice these acts of kindness throughout the month, and then reflect on their experiences together.
Shabbat Circles (monthly): We’ll gather each month as a family of families for a Friday night festive meal, a creative Saturday morning service, a baking project, or a volunteer effort and sweet Havdalah ritual at each other’s homes. Joining as a community, we include parents and siblings, and explore Shabbat together. The goal is for each family to host one Shabbat gathering.
Hebrew Circles (weekly): We believe that Hebrew is a key that unlocks meaning, and learning Hebrew should feel like a fun process of discovering. B Mitzvah students begin weekly Hebrew meetings together in 6th grade, but some students choose to start exploring the language before that. We start new weekly groups whenever we have a group of 3-4 interested students.
B Mitzvah Family Circles (weekly): Becoming B Mitzvah means counting in a minyan (a core group), so we dedicate significant time and energy to building a minyan where everyone counts and is counted on: to teach and learn, lead and follow, speak and listen. We'll learn Jewish wisdom and rituals through lived experiences. We’ll journey together as a family of families, because we can’t practice Judaism by ourselves!
Teen Circle (monthly): Our ancient ancestors couldn’t anticipate today’s news headlines, but they did grapple with the role of humans, the limits of our control, and the presence of evil in the world. Their questions and insights can help us clarify our own perspectives on current issues like climate change, reproductive rights, gun violence, structural racism, and the list goes on. Moreover, Jewish wisdom inspires us to commit to action.
Weekly Women's Wisdom (14 weeks on Zoom): We'll read text slowly and build a conversation based on the ideas it sparks within us. We'll explore what resonates, what surprises us, what does not. In doing so, we'll deepen our connections to Jewish text, to each other, and our own wisdom within.
Book Circles (6-week series): As a group of adults, we'll read a book together on Jewish spirituality, such as Here All Along by Sarah Hurwitz or The Amen Effect by Rabbi Sharon Brous. At each meeting, we'll reflect on a couple of chapters, deepening our own connections to the material and to one another.
Havruta Learning Pairs. Sometimes individuals learn the most or feel most comfortable when working one-on-one or two-on-one with a teacher. Sometimes it takes time to build a Circle, so we want to start as a very small group. These individuals also join larger Sanctuary Gatherings for holidays throughout the year.