Rabbi Jeremy Morrison constructs Jewish community by fostering qualitative relationships which engage participants in the exploration, development, and ownership of vibrant Judaism. For him, rabbinic leadership means serving as a catalyst to connection: connecting individuals to deeper understandings of how Jewish learning and practice offer us paths to becoming more human.
Upon ordination, in 2001, from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, Rabbi Morrison joined the clergy team of Temple Israel of Boston, as the Founding Director of the Riverway Project: an innovative outreach and engagement initiative for those in their twenties and thirties. In 2010, Rabbi Morrison became the director of the synagogue’s education programs, and throughout his fifteen-year tenure at Temple Israel he served in pulpit and pastoral roles as an Assistant and then Associate Rabbi. During this period, he earned a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University.
He has served as the Director of HAMAQOM |The Place (formerly Lehrhaus Judaica), an organization that built Jewish communities through ritual and learning, throughout the Bay Area, and as the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Am, in Los Altos Hills. Rabbi Morrison lives in Palo Alto.
Please be in touch:
[email protected]
Upon ordination, in 2001, from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, Rabbi Morrison joined the clergy team of Temple Israel of Boston, as the Founding Director of the Riverway Project: an innovative outreach and engagement initiative for those in their twenties and thirties. In 2010, Rabbi Morrison became the director of the synagogue’s education programs, and throughout his fifteen-year tenure at Temple Israel he served in pulpit and pastoral roles as an Assistant and then Associate Rabbi. During this period, he earned a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University.
He has served as the Director of HAMAQOM |The Place (formerly Lehrhaus Judaica), an organization that built Jewish communities through ritual and learning, throughout the Bay Area, and as the Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beth Am, in Los Altos Hills. Rabbi Morrison lives in Palo Alto.
Please be in touch:
[email protected]
Sanctuary’s Origins
Launched in 2019 in Westchester County, New York, Sanctuary is the brainchild of Rabbi Bethie Miller, Sanctuary’s Founding Director. Eschewing a primary connection to bricks and mortar, prioritizing people over programs, Rabbi Miller set out to construct a network of small groups of families with elementary- and teen-age children who, together, delve into Jewish wisdom, prepare for B Mitzvah, and celebrate Shabbat and holidays. Sanctuary-NY’s circles and gatherings occur in homes, in the outdoors, in rented storefront spaces and, for the High Holy Days, in a nature center. The family cohorts participate in monthly Shabbat Gatherings and weekday peer experiences for children. Rabbi Miller approaches family education as a community organizer and is succeeding at empowering (previously unaffiliated or those searching for alternatives to synagogues) families to bring Jewish life into their homes and make it their own.
Sanctuary SV expands Sanctuary to the West Coast and adapts Sanctuary’s model in order to create Jewish community among adults. Read Rabbi Morrison's recent D'var Torah here.
Sanctuary's Ancient Predecessors
The Bible contains two, principal descriptions of how, collectively, a community was to be ordered, or organized, as it pursues sanctity.
One strand focuses on the centralization of worship in the Temple: a fixed, immovable structure in Jerusalem which was God’s home. The other strand, woven through the accounts of wilderness journeys, articulates in great detail the movements, the workings, of a portable sanctuary with two names: HaMishkan, the Tabernacle, and Ohel Moeid, a Tent of Contact, of sacred meeting.
Historians have often viewed one tradition as being the precursor to the next: that the Ohel Moeid led to the Temple; that in an early, nomadic period, the Israelites had a tent-sanctuary; and when they became an agrarian-based, settled people, they built a Temple. Another theory is that these are two contrasting, perhaps competing notions of how the Israelites were to organize themselves; that the Ohel Moeid/tent-of-meeting model, is a response to the fixed practices and placement of the Temple. Regardless, both traditions were preserved in the Bible and our history reveals that both approaches have been necessary, creative and clarifying complements to each other. For instance, after the destruction of the Temples, a democratizing impulse took hold within Judaism, that overtime, enabled the transformation, the possibility that every home could become a miqdash me’at, a mini-temple, and each of us can serve as a m’sadeir or m’saderet Qedushah, an organizer of sanctity, regardless of where we are in the world. Simultaneously, wherever Jews have settled as a group, they have built synagogues: edifices symbolic of arrival and of stature and no more so than in America.
Here on the Peninsula, we have long had fixed, centralized settings for Jewish experiences; the time is right to create a complement to them:
Sanctuary: A new pathway for living Judaism in Silicon Valley.
Launched in 2019 in Westchester County, New York, Sanctuary is the brainchild of Rabbi Bethie Miller, Sanctuary’s Founding Director. Eschewing a primary connection to bricks and mortar, prioritizing people over programs, Rabbi Miller set out to construct a network of small groups of families with elementary- and teen-age children who, together, delve into Jewish wisdom, prepare for B Mitzvah, and celebrate Shabbat and holidays. Sanctuary-NY’s circles and gatherings occur in homes, in the outdoors, in rented storefront spaces and, for the High Holy Days, in a nature center. The family cohorts participate in monthly Shabbat Gatherings and weekday peer experiences for children. Rabbi Miller approaches family education as a community organizer and is succeeding at empowering (previously unaffiliated or those searching for alternatives to synagogues) families to bring Jewish life into their homes and make it their own.
Sanctuary SV expands Sanctuary to the West Coast and adapts Sanctuary’s model in order to create Jewish community among adults. Read Rabbi Morrison's recent D'var Torah here.
Sanctuary's Ancient Predecessors
The Bible contains two, principal descriptions of how, collectively, a community was to be ordered, or organized, as it pursues sanctity.
One strand focuses on the centralization of worship in the Temple: a fixed, immovable structure in Jerusalem which was God’s home. The other strand, woven through the accounts of wilderness journeys, articulates in great detail the movements, the workings, of a portable sanctuary with two names: HaMishkan, the Tabernacle, and Ohel Moeid, a Tent of Contact, of sacred meeting.
Historians have often viewed one tradition as being the precursor to the next: that the Ohel Moeid led to the Temple; that in an early, nomadic period, the Israelites had a tent-sanctuary; and when they became an agrarian-based, settled people, they built a Temple. Another theory is that these are two contrasting, perhaps competing notions of how the Israelites were to organize themselves; that the Ohel Moeid/tent-of-meeting model, is a response to the fixed practices and placement of the Temple. Regardless, both traditions were preserved in the Bible and our history reveals that both approaches have been necessary, creative and clarifying complements to each other. For instance, after the destruction of the Temples, a democratizing impulse took hold within Judaism, that overtime, enabled the transformation, the possibility that every home could become a miqdash me’at, a mini-temple, and each of us can serve as a m’sadeir or m’saderet Qedushah, an organizer of sanctity, regardless of where we are in the world. Simultaneously, wherever Jews have settled as a group, they have built synagogues: edifices symbolic of arrival and of stature and no more so than in America.
Here on the Peninsula, we have long had fixed, centralized settings for Jewish experiences; the time is right to create a complement to them:
Sanctuary: A new pathway for living Judaism in Silicon Valley.
Subscriptions
Sanctuary SV will be a “lean” organization that is high-touch with low-overhead. We will meet participants where they are. We'll rent spaces that are conveniently located for larger, in-person gatherings; we'll come together in our participants’ homes and take advantage of the temperate weather on the Peninsula to meet outdoors.
Your tax deductible contribution will support the livelihood of our Rabbi (as he leads worship, teaches courses, provides pastoral care, organizes relationships; fundraises; grows Sanctuary); covers technological expenses and IT support; and pays for (low) programmatic costs and rental fees. 6% of contributions go to Beloved, our fiscal sponsor who provides Sanctuary with 501c3 status, liability insurance, and accounting and tax support. That’s it. We'll utilize your financial support in order to create high quality, authentic experiences of Jewish learning, ritual, and social justice in partnership with you.
Sanctuary SV is exploring a subscription model (subscriptions are tax-deductible):
The I’m Checking It Out ($750 per person) – This is our introductory subscription that entitles one adult to participate in most Sanctuary programs. Lifecycle officiation is available for a fee.
The Doing My Part ($1800+ (Family) /$1000+(Individual)) –This is the “I want to support Sanctuary and ensure its success” subscription. We took our budget, figured out what we needed from participants to cover our costs, and arrived at this price-point. We encourage you to do your part. Your subscription entitles you to:
The Over and Above ($2500+) –This is the “help us to do more than just meet our costs” subscription. Your generosity enables us to learn and to grow as a community, and we thank you for your generosity. In addition to all of the benefits of the Doing My Part subscription, you’ll be invited to a few, special gatherings just for you (and other “Over and Abovers”) as a way of saying “thank you!” for your financial support. Some high quality, tasteful, Sanctuary swag will also come your way.
If the cost of a subscription is prohibitive, let us know – we do not want finances to be a barrier to participation.
Sanctuary SV will be a “lean” organization that is high-touch with low-overhead. We will meet participants where they are. We'll rent spaces that are conveniently located for larger, in-person gatherings; we'll come together in our participants’ homes and take advantage of the temperate weather on the Peninsula to meet outdoors.
Your tax deductible contribution will support the livelihood of our Rabbi (as he leads worship, teaches courses, provides pastoral care, organizes relationships; fundraises; grows Sanctuary); covers technological expenses and IT support; and pays for (low) programmatic costs and rental fees. 6% of contributions go to Beloved, our fiscal sponsor who provides Sanctuary with 501c3 status, liability insurance, and accounting and tax support. That’s it. We'll utilize your financial support in order to create high quality, authentic experiences of Jewish learning, ritual, and social justice in partnership with you.
Sanctuary SV is exploring a subscription model (subscriptions are tax-deductible):
The I’m Checking It Out ($750 per person) – This is our introductory subscription that entitles one adult to participate in most Sanctuary programs. Lifecycle officiation is available for a fee.
The Doing My Part ($1800+ (Family) /$1000+(Individual)) –This is the “I want to support Sanctuary and ensure its success” subscription. We took our budget, figured out what we needed from participants to cover our costs, and arrived at this price-point. We encourage you to do your part. Your subscription entitles you to:
- Participation in all Sanctuary programs
- Pastoral Care
- Lifecycle officiation by our Rabbi for you, your children (e.g., weddings), and grandchildren (e.g., baby-namings)
- Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur experiences
The Over and Above ($2500+) –This is the “help us to do more than just meet our costs” subscription. Your generosity enables us to learn and to grow as a community, and we thank you for your generosity. In addition to all of the benefits of the Doing My Part subscription, you’ll be invited to a few, special gatherings just for you (and other “Over and Abovers”) as a way of saying “thank you!” for your financial support. Some high quality, tasteful, Sanctuary swag will also come your way.
If the cost of a subscription is prohibitive, let us know – we do not want finances to be a barrier to participation.
Sanctuary SV weaves together Jewish community through Circles and Gatherings.
Circles are small, and meet regularly (mostly in person), organized by neighborhoods, around shared interests, questions, life stages, or all of the above. Examples of Circles we are exploring:
- A monthly, rotating, home-based Shabbat dinner for parents, with kids in college, who live in Los Altos
- Bi-weekly sessions of study and socializing led by a rabbi for residents of the Vi and at Moldaw, retirement communities in Palo Alto
- An 8-10 session experience for parents of teens, in which we revisit the B Mitzvah torah portions of the parents, and discover new meaning, and explore critical-historical approaches to reading the Bible
- A Trek and Talk where we explore a trail in one of the many beautiful parks on the Peninsula, and engage in a purposeful, directed discussion about a Big Question pertinent to our lives
- Multiple circles of participants engaged in facilitated and challenging conversations about our relationship(s) with Israel and our expressions of American Zionism(s)
Gatherings (both in-person or online) are larger and bring together a cross-section of Sanctuary participants. Examples of Gatherings we're exploring:
- A monthly, joyful, music-filled Qabbalat Shabbat Service and Oneg (or potluck dinner) held in a rented, conveniently located space or, in warmer months, in the backyard of a participant’s home
- A bi-weekly Parashat Hashavuah Study session (online)
- A 6-7 session gathering (online) in which we read Martin Buber’s Way of Humanity and apply its lessons to our daily lives
- A monthly Havdalah (with drinks and hors d’oeuvres) at a local park
As a Sanctuary Subscriber, do you have an idea for a Circle or Gathering that you'd like to help create? If so, PLEASE be in touch.
