Congregation Etz Chayim

Join us for the inaugural session of our Sunday morning Library Talks with members of the Etz Chayim Library Committee. Come learn about how books are arranged in our library, how to find and check out a book, and other interesting facts about how the library selects books, our online catalog, and more.

Randi travels to Israel regularly to build bridges between the American and Israeli Jewish communities. She will take us on a journey through her most recent Israel trip with the Shalom Hartman Institute where she listened and participated in events surrounding the Israeli court reform controversy and cultural interchange between our communities. The event is an opportunity to hear about the varied social and political dynamics in Israel today and to discuss and ask questions on these topics.

The monthly Mah Jongg game is open to newcomers.

Sukkot is nicknamed "the time of our simchah/happiness", so we'll have fun with Sukkot facts and fancies from 2000-year-old stories and a few more modern sukkot escapades. Is it a sukkah or a succah? Can we call it a Shake Shack? How do we say lulav in English? Why was Queen Esther like a lulav? Why does the Torah not describe the sukkot the Israelites lived in during the Exodus? Why does the Talmud describe them? Why are there so many different versions of a succah? And, hear the real story behind all the sukkot that Rabbi Cartun built around Stanford dormitories and how he learned the most dangerous part of a sukkah.

This catered community dinner is free of charge, but pre-registration is required to receive a meal. Registration has closed.

Our program features Torah reading, unwinding the entire Torah scroll, and line dancing instruction by Holly Baral. We will finish the evening with dessert (including bread pudding). This will be a fun multi-generational evening festivity.