The Etz Chayim community is vibrant and dynamic. Individuals and households connect with others on the basis of shared interests, similar demographics, or whatever it is that draws folks together as friends.

Look through the following description of committees, groups and activities. If any sound like something you would find interesting, email the Executive Director or the chair of the committee or group, and see how you might join in—even if its just a tentative "look & listen" the next time that group gathers.

Activities & Social Groups – Adults or Families

     AdventurEtz,   Book Club,  Chavurot,  Handworkers,  Men’s Group,  Mitzvah Chavurah, Professional Networking Havurah,  Social Action,  Women’s Group

Activities & Social Groups – Youth

     Teen Group,  Tweens Group (Kadima) ,  Rosh Chodesh / It's a Girl Thing,  Boys Group,  Preschoolers & Parents Group

Shabbat & Holiday Program Teams

     Onegs,  Shabbat Dinners,  Festivals,  High Holy Days

Religious and Educational Committees

     Adult Education,  Bar/t Mitzvah,  Israel Education,  Religious Practices,  Youth Education

Communications and Marketing Teams

     Advertising & Publicity,  Surveys,  Website

Building & Grounds Committees

     Design,  Facilities,  Landscaping,  Library,  Rental Committee

Board & Operating Committees

     Board,  Capital Campaign,  Finance,  Fundraising,  Membership,  Volunteering

Activities & Social Groups - Adults or Families

AdventurEtz

Hiking and other outdoor excursions. Contact the group's coordinator to get on the mail list!

Book Club

The People of the Books group always chooses a great set of books to discuss. Join us as often as your schedule (and reading time) permits. Please email the

This group is now being organized and will consist of Friendship Circles based on like interests or demographics. We're soliciting interest now to form new chavurot—drop a line to the

On the last Tuesday evening of each month, meet as a group to chat, nosh, and share skills working on individual or small-group handwork. Join our knitters, weavers, crafters, and more! Contact the

Social group that gathers at least monthly for bike rides, movies, card games, and chats over bagels or beers on topics of interest. The Men’s Group plans to increase congregational related activities, such as sponsoring the Oneg for a Fifth Friday Shabbat and working with the Social Action group on environmental initiatives in the congregation. In short, this group is what you want to make of it, and is open to suggestions. Most gatherings are for men age 19+ (though sometimes there are special activities for dads & sons, too). Email the group's

We're there to help our fellow congregants in times of need. When a relative dies or someone in a congregant’s family is in need, the Mitzvah Chavurah is there to provide support: cooking food, running errands, and just generally providing a helping hand. Tell us if you like to cook, or if you think you'll on occasion be available to help organize a Shiva Minyan or to give a lift to one of our older congregants who'd like to get to shul or the doctor. Email our

This LinkedIn Group is intended to allow the members of Congregation Etz Chayim to build community, stay in contact, develop and foster professional networking relationships. Membership is restricted to current and past congregational members or affiliated persons only. Contact the

Join us in “Tikun Olam” (“repairing the world”) activities. Work with other local organizations as well as do activities just with teams of Etz-niks. Activities are generally non-political, and they target both Jewish and general community causes, mostly focused on local needs in the Peninsula and South Bay areas. Top priorities are the Environment and issues related to Hunger and Homelessness. Contact the

This social group gathers monthly for speakers, informal chats, and other activities of interest to women and which benefit Etz Chayim, such as sponsoring the Oneg on some Fifth Friday Shabbatot. Not your mother's Sisterhood organization, but a lot of fun and a great bonding experience for Etz Chayim women. Tell us what activities you'd like to have! Email the group's

Activities & Social Groups – Youth

Teens Group

High schoolers at Etz Chayim have their own social group! Come join us, and suggest activities you'd like to participate in. For more info, parents can contact the Parent-Advisor to the Teen Group, while kids can contact the

6th, 7th & 8th Graders, join our Kadimah tween group for a monthly dose of fun with your Etz Chayim friends! Led by a

6th grade girls are at a particularly sensitive time in their lives. Not quite teens but starting to become aware of teenage concerns and pressures, girls this age benefit from camaraderie without the presence of boys. This program, led by a teacher/advisor, is a great way for your daughter to get together monthly with friends in a supportive and fun environment. Contact

A new program for boys in 6th grade. Contact

Zrayim ("seeds") is our group for tots and one or both parents, meeting Sundays once per month for music, fun, socializing, and some light education on the theme of Jewish values. Contact

Shabbat & Holiday Program Teams

Of course, everyone's invited to attend our Shabbat and Holiday services and celebrations, but if you'd like to meet people by working together to make these celebrations a success, join one or more of these…

Onegs

We ask that each household co-sponsor one Oneg per year, and it's truly a social occasion, especially now that we're pairing two or more households at a time to do them! It’s a nice time to attend a Shabbat service, a refreshing way to get away from work and start your weekend right. Learn more about Onegs and sign-up for a date at http://etzchayim.org/Oneg . Contact the

Help create Shabbat Dinners held from time to time on Friday nights at Etz Chayim before the evening service. Enjoy the camaraderie of the teams that create an occasional communal dinner by setting up, cooking or working with caterers, etc. Check it out—if you sign up to help with one, you do NOT have to help with all of them! Contact the

Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, T'u biShvat, Purim, and Passover (Second Seder) are wonderful occasions, and those who roll up their sleeves to put on the celebrations make great friends in the process. Our Shavuot celebration is typically conducted jointly with other congregations and organizations in the community. Smaller celebrations for Yom HaAtzmaut and Lag B'Omer are sometimes celebrated both at Etz Chayim and in the community, so let us know if you'd like to help with either of those, too. Whichever event(s) you choose, you can help out with either a small task or a larger role, depending on your schedule. Contact our

The High Holy Days services are our biggest "event" and the logistics efforts are huge. We always need many helpers and there are lots of opportunities to choose from. Be a member of the organizing team that starts work in the early summer, or be part of the team that makes it happen on the holy days. Be Service Host or an Usher. Help with mailings. Help with set up and break down. Edit the Reflections booklet. Organize or help with the Oneg. Contact the

Religious and Educational Committees

Adult Education

Lifelong learning! Jewish and general interest topics, often taught by the Rabbi, the Education Director, or teachers from outside the congregation. Usually these are one-time classes, or announcements will note if they are multi-session courses. Unless otherwise noted, all programs are open to interested teens. Contact the

There's a lot of work that goes into preparing a child and his/her family for the child's Bar and Bat Mitzvah (or "Bar/t" as we call it at Etz Chayim). The Bar/t Committee schedules the calendar of the kids' B'nai Mitzvah occasions, and works with the Rabbi in planning our policies regarding how Etz Chayim celebrates the B'nai Mitzvah of our children. The committee also consults with the Rabbi and the teachers of the Bar/t Mitzvah Family Class, an important part of Etz Chayim's Bar/t Mitzvah process. The committee would like to include at least 3 parents from the "semi-current" classes of Bar/t families: the current year, the prior year, and the next year. Contact the

Join us as we share, with congregants and others, programs on Israeli culture, history and political perspectives. Contact the

The Religious Practices Committee meets as issues or questions arise as to the religious practice of the congregation. The committee reports to the board and makes recommendations of religious policies and practices for our non-affiliated congregation. The Rabbi is an advisor to and member of the Committee but does not make religious practice decisions unilaterally. For more information, contact the

The Youth Ed Committee assists Education Director Melissa Rogoway in planning programs and revising curriculum for our Youth Ed Programs (MiDor L'Dor Family Education for K & 1 kids and their parents; Shorashim for grades 2-6, and Tichon for grades 7 & 8), as well as providing an educational aspect to our Youth Social Programs. Contact the

Communications and Marketing Teams

Advertising & Publicity

Put your PR, writing, editing, or layout skills to work to help us produce marketing materials, brochures, webpages (non-technical aspects) and assist others with flyers. Help plan publicity and publicize Etz Chayim events and/or space rental opportunities (more revenue means less pressure on dues!) Contact the

We're not your parents' shul. No, here in Silicon Valley, we need to make sure we're providing good customer service (make that "congregant service"!). If you're a marketing maven and know about surveys and focus groups, help us with our efforts to do quick collection of data to ensure we're doing things well and addressing the needs of our congregants. Contact the

Our virtual home needs your help, too. While the graphics/layout people help with occasional design efforts on the website, the Website Committee are folks who can implement technical fixes and help our staff and committee chairs with questions about web page content, access problems, and email list management. Contact the

Building & Grounds Committees

Design

Who decides what artwork goes where, what the next improvement should look like, and how we should re-do our landscaping? You do, if you join the Design Committee. Contact the

Are you a handyman/woman? Help us save a ton of money (and keep dues lower) by pitching in with your skills when a need arises that can fit in your schedule. From picture-hangers to plumbers, painters to carpenters, and everyone else in between are all welcome! Meetings are optional, and you can choose whether you're the kind of person who just wants to do an individual task or work on a group project. Contact the

Got a green thumb but no stomach for meetings? Then skip the Design Committee discussions about landscaping and do the dirty work. We have a gardener who comes every two weeks to blow & mow, but our own landscaping team does a lot of improvements directly. Contact our

Maintain our Library by sorting donations, reshelving books, and improving the organization and aesthetics of our congregational library. Contact the

We keep our dues lower by maximizing our rental income. The Rental Committee works with our Executive Director, Irv Duchowny, to plan our rental policies and recommend purchases or actions to improve our rental income. Join us, especially if you have rental property experience. Contact the

Board & Operating Committees

Board

The Board of Directors are active volunteers who meet monthly, as well as on an ad-hoc basis in small groups as the need arises. The board supervises the Executive Director and the Rabbi, and is responsible for making financial and other policies and decision for the congregation. Elections occur each spring, and if you wish to nominate yourself or someone else—or if you just want to explore the possibility of joining the Board—contact the

Our wonderful congregational home is the product of much work and a lot of money, some from donations and some from a mortgage. The Capital Campaign is raising money to retire a substantial part of the mortgage and to make needed improvements and repairs in the building. To donate or schedule a time to talk about how you can help the congregation's financial needs, contact the

The Finance Committee meets monthly and works with the Executive Director and Accountant on the congregation's financial management. It reports to the Board and makes recommendations for financial-related policies and procedures. Contact

The Fundraising Committee creates events that build community and add revenue to support the operational budget and keep dues low. It is currently taking a backseat to the activities of the Capital Campaign, which is focusing on raising funds for reducing our mortgage and making capital improvements and repairs. If you'd like to join the fundraising group after the Capital Campaign is further along, contact

The Membership Committee works with the Executive Director to recruit and welcome new members of the congregation and to improve member retention. It's a terrific and fun way to meet people, and we can use a lot of help in planning and implementing social gatherings and outreach opportunities. Contact the

Volunteers are the heart of Etz Chayim. They do much of the work that keeps the community and synagogue going. To discuss what you'd like to do to help Etz Chayim, send an email to