Rosh Chodesh
What is Rosh Chodesh?
Women of Isaiah established a monthly Rosh Chodesh celebration almost twenty years ago. Rosh Chodesh, which literally means “head of the month”, is a sacred time for women. In ancient times women were given a holiday from household chores. At Temple Isaiah, we celebrate Rosh Chodesh by getting together to explore different aspects of the feminine Jewish experience. We strive to develop programs that build community, create lasting friendships and explore topics relevant to our lives at Jewish women. At our annual Women’s Retreat, we enjoy a full Shabbat of song, meditation, prayer and celebration.
Meetings are now in the Sanctuary on Mondays from 7:30 to 9:30pm. Newcomers and friends are always welcome. We continually learn something wonderful from being together and sharing our stories. For more information, please contact Karen Marriner or Ellen Montague (Contact info available from the temple office 925-283-8575 or the members only section of the website).
Click here to join the Rosh Chodesh group on Temple Isaiah’s private online social network. (Temple Isaiah members only please.)
Our Upcoming Events
- June 14, 2010 • Rosh Chodesh Tamuz • Art Program with Betty Rothaus •
Our Recent Past Events
- February 22, 2010 at 7:30 pm in the Sanctuary • Rosh Chodesh Adar • Uppity Women: When Women Challenge the System! with Rachel Biale of the Progressive Jewish Alliance
Rachel Biale will guide us through Torah texts that reveal situations where women challenge rabbinical authority and the rules that govern their lives in traditional Jewish society. We’ll also have a chance to discuss those times when WE challenged authority so we can learn from each other. This promises to be a lively session so bring a friend!
Rachel Biale was born and raised in Kibbutz Kfar Ruppin in Israel. She received her BA and MA in Jewish History from UCLA and her MSW from Yeshiva University. She is the author of Women and Jewish Law (Schocken, 1984) and two books for parents and children in a series titled Let’s Make a Book about It: My Pet Died and We Are Moving. She is the Bay Area Regional Director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance (www.pjalliance.org). Rachel has worked in the Bay Area Jewish Community for 20 years, first as a clinician for Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay and then as Director of Community Education at the Osher Marin JCC, and is the Director of Bible by the Bay, a project of Lehrhaus Judaica. She has also had a private practice of parenting counseling by phone for 20 years.
- January 25, 2010 • Rosh Chodesh Shevat • Exploring Our Roles as Mothers and Daughters with Rabbi Forrest
The relationships between mothers and children change as we age. As life expectancy has increased many women now spend a considerable number of years in the dual role of daughter to aging parents and mother to growing children. During this Rosh Chodesh program we will explore the blessings and challenges that come with these roles and responsibilities and will find guidance from Jewish texts.
- November 16, 2009 • Rosh Chodesh Kislev • Creating a Personal Path to Prayer with Rabbi Shanks in the Sanctuary
Prayer is…. poetry, a cry for help, a song of gratitude, an I-Thou moment, a regular practice, a search for the past, a glimpse at the future, self-discovery, relationship with the One…. and more. Our Jewish traditions, ancient and modern, give us guidance on the possibilities that prayer offers to us communal, but they also point us in the direction of a personal path to prayer. In this session, Rabbi Shanks will teach some different models of personal prayer and participants will discuss their formal and informal prayer practices as a way to open all of our eyes to the opportunities for spiritual growth through prayer—even for those who do not believe in God! Try to read this article from the August/September issue of Hadassah Magazine before you come to Rosh Chodesh (but if you do not have time to read it you’re still welcome to come!). Click here to read the article from Hadassah Magazine
- October 19, 2009 • Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan • Opening the Heart through Song with Bon Singer of Ya Elah
Calling all singers and would-be singers! Song is the perfect key for the opening the gate to the heart. And singing in polyphony (multiple parts) with other hearts can swing that gate wide open. In this workshop we will join our voices and hearts together in harmony to open to joy, love and compassion. Bon Singer directs the spiritual ensemble Ya Elah, and has served as cantorial soloist for Congregation Beth El, co-leader and chant master at Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley, cantorial soloist at Kol Hadash in Albany and Shir Shalom in Sonoma. You can find out more about Bon at www.bonsinger.com.