Best wishes for a peaceful new year

Earlier this week, Federation CEO Daniel Sokatch sent out a holiday message that we would like to share with you too…

There’s no question that these are challenging and often difficult times. Since coming here, I’ve been moved by the passion, commitment and generosity of this exciting and vibrant Bay Area Jewish community. I am so happy to be here with you, knowing that together we will make our dreams a reality.

On behalf of all of us at the Federation, please allow me to share our hopes for the future, and to wish you continued joy and success in the coming New Year. And may 2009 be a year of peace and security for us here in the Bay Area, throughout the US, in Israel, and around the world.

Yours,

Daniel Sokatch
CEO

P.S. There’s still time to make your end-of-year gift or pledge to help us continue the vital work we do in the Bay Area, in Israel, and around the world.  Click here to make a donation, or here for a menu of giving options.

Hosts needed for the 2009 JCC Maccabi Games

This summer, 1,500 Jewish teen athletes from around the world will converge at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco for the JCC Maccabi Games.  For those not familiar with the event, picture the Olympics but with a Jewish twist.  The athletes will be competing in many events including baseball, soccer, basketball, table tennis, volleyball, golf, swimming, dance, tennis, and track and field.  Aside from their activities on the field, they will also interact with our community during their day of tikkun olam or community service.

These Games are a huge undertaking by the JCCSF, and they need quite a few volunteers from our community to make these games a success.  There are a plethora of ways to get involved, but right now the JCC is putting out two main calls for action:

1. Help spread the word of the Games to young athletes.  The JCC will be holding tryouts this spring.  Interested teens can register online.
2. Sign up to be a host family to the visiting athletes.

As of now, 100 families have signed up to host, but that number doesn’t even come close to the 600 families needed to house the expected 1,200 visiting athletes.

Your place doesn’t need to be the Ritz, but it does need to have a separate bed, pullout couch, cot, or air mattress for each athlete.  There also needs to be at least one Jewish adult in the household.  More details on the housing requirements and hosting responsibilities are available on the JCC Maccabi Games website.

My hubby and I share a typical cozy San Francisco apartment, but for the week of August 2-7, 2009, we plan on hosting two athletes on our air mattress and couch in our open kitchen\den\dining room.  It will require a little bit of coordination to get our visitors to and from the JCC everyday and get to work on time, but we are looking forward to the Games and showing the athletes our great city.

For more information, check out http://www.jccmaccabisf.org/ and watch this video on the 2009 JCC Maccabi Games:

The Games are presented in part by The Jewish Community Endowment Fund that generously donated $500,000 to the event. Click here for a full list of contributors.

Top ten things to do on the fourth day of Chanukah, Wednesday, December 25

True, your favorite shops and restaurants may be closed this year on the fourth day of Chanukah, Wednesday, December 25 (a.k.a. Christmas), but there’s still plenty of fun things to do around the Bay Area. Here’s some of the best and brightest ideas for the fourth day of the festival of lights.

10. Celebrate the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s first Chanukah in their new home. December 25 is a free day at the museum from 11 am – 3 pm, a holiday gift to you, and a fantastic opportunity to see some great exhibits. www.thecjm.org

9. Eat Chinese food and laugh at a stand-up comic. Gary Gulman performs live at Ming’s in Palo Alto, December 24, 7 pm, and December 25, 6 pm. Hilarious entertainment and unforgettable camaraderie are guaranteed. www.mings.com

8. Host a Chanukah Seder. You’ve had Passover Seder, now you can host a Chanukah Seder for the fourth night. Click here for instructions.

7. Laugh at the 16th annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy, December 24, 6 pm, and December 25, 5 pm dinner show. www.koshercomedy.com or call 925.275.9005.

6. Witness the impressive “Yes We Can” Menorah in Burlingame, a menorah made of canned foods, donated by the community, which will be distributed to the needy after Chanukah. www.chabadnp.com or call 650.341.4510

5. Schmooze with friends, food and a movie at Temple Emanu-El. There will be lots of Chinese food, family style, a latke cook off, and a movie, December 24, 6 pm. www.emanuelsf.org

4. Skate in the downtown Walnut Creek ice rink. The Chabad of Contra Costa brings you Chanukah on Ice, with sufganiot and crafts for children, December 25, 7 pm. www.JewishContraCosta.com or call 925.937.4101.

3. Enjoy storytelling, music, latkes and prizes, at Afikomen, the Jewish gift shop, in Berkeley, December 25, 10 am – 6 pm. www.afikomen.com or call 510.655.1977.

2. Party for a purpose! Dance at the 12th Annual Latke Ball, the premier social event for young Jewish adults, an evening of fun and groove, at the Ruby Skye, 420 Mason Street, San Francisco, December 24, 9 pm. www.sfjcf.org/go/latke

1. Join Chabad at Union Square in San Francisco, Bill Graham style, December 24 and December 25. Ceremony starts 4:30 pm. www.chabadsf.org or call 415.668.6178.

Emmis – Happy Chanukah and more

Emmis, the Federation’s monthly newsletter, was sent out to our email subscribers today. If you aren’t already getting the newsletter in your inbox, but would like to, please sign up at:
http://www.sfjcf.org/aboutjcf/signupnewsletter.aspx

These were the stories we featured this month:

	When Chanukah and Christmas collide It doesn’t happen every year because Jewish holidays are based on a lunar calendar, but this December, Chanukah and Christmas will coincide. Chanukah begins at sunset on December 21 and Christmas Eve occurs just three days later, in the midst of the eight-day festival of lights. What’s the best way for interfaith families to deal with this unusual convergence? More…
	A legacy of a life lived together Emil and Maria met at a dinner party here in the mid-1960s. Where else in the world would an Austrian Jew meet a Chilean Catholic and get married but here in the Bay Area? Emil has set up a Charitable Gift Annuity with the Jewish Community Endowment Fund as a way to care for Maria for the rest of her lifetime and leave a legacy for the Jewish community. More…
	Project Homeless Connect Our community helped 1,915 individuals in need to access vital services that would otherwise take months to obtain. More…
	Awards recognize teens Nominate a teen today for the prestigious Haas/Koshland award or Diller Tikkun Olam award. More…
	Challah Back! A new blog offers the inside scoop on the city’s hottest events for professional young Jews, including the Latke Ball. More…

Broaden Your Community with YAD

The Young Adults Division (YAD) provides an excellent opportunity for young Jewish professionals throughout the Bay Area to network and make friends. It’s all about community coming together, one of YAD’s three main goals.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed one of our many well-known, community building programs, including Blue Monday, Latke Ball and Summer Sizzle. These programs, which are organized by the Community Building team of the YAD Board, serve as the gateway to the Jewish community. For a number of people, their first contact with the young adult Jewish community happens at our events.

While Community Building programs are intended to be social in nature (and they are certainly lots of fun), they allow YAD to realize an even greater mission — philanthropy. In Judaism, we have an obligation to “heal the world” (tikkun olam). We can do this by performing good works, promoting peace and understanding and helping those less fortunate than us. By attending one of the Community Building events, you are helping us to raise money to pay for many of the important charitable causes that the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation sponsors. (In case you didn’t know, SFJCF uses its financial resources to help meet short- and long-term community needs in the Bay Area and globally. The list of sponsored causes is long and impressive.)

For instance, when you buy a ticket to attend the Latke Ball, the proceeds from your ticket provide funding for programs that care for those in need. That means you are helping to heal the world – one step at a time.

Michael Lawrence

If you’ve ever attended one of our events, you will have seen first-hand what a robust, thriving Jewish community we enjoy in the Bay Area. If you haven’t attended one of our events, I encourage you to check out the YAD calendar to find upcoming programs.

Michael Lawrence
Co-Vice President for Community Building
Young Adults Division Board

‘Twas the BGS Hot-ness!

‘Twas the night of BGS Shabbat dinner, and at a nice Pac Heights pad,
Generous donors were stirring, especially lots of peeps from YAD.
The candles were lit in solidarity with Jewish masses,
And we blessed the wine quick so we could all drain our glasses.

Forty people cozied up around five festive tables,
Wearing pea coats and dresses and sweaters with cables.
And I in my hot Old Navy number, and Mark in his cravat,
All settled down for a feast that was phat.

When out in the crowd there arose such a clatter,
Because Abby Porth from JCRC was speaking on grave matters.
Away to the horrors my mind sped in a tizzy –
Of anti-Semitic text books, anti-Israel ads and the media for shizzy.

What could we do? Whom could we call?
Abby assured us that Fed funds were protecting us all.
Now teachers, now mayors, now city council folks might –
Thanks to JCRC — just get their facts right!

I heard people exclaim as Abby left out of sight,
“How great that we’re contributing our funds to this fight!”
The conversations at tables grew sparkling and warm,
And to grab some chipped cookies, I hit someone’s arm.

When we cleared all the plates and took away the dishes,
I knew in a moment that the night had exceeded my wishes.
The Ben Gurion Society — you really gotta love ‘em –
These mensches mean business when it comes to tikkun olam.

I hope you were there; if not, never fear!
To receive your 2009 campaign pledge, we are always here.
We’re dying to meet you — we might sing Nagila Hava –
Because at our Jan. 11 event, you’ll be learning Krav Maga.

Cocktail parties, peninsula soirées, and a trip up to wineries,
Await should you include Federation in your donation fineries.
Great new friends, fun events and a chance to make proud your Bubbie –
And hey, through BGS, you might even find a wife or a hubbie!

Stephanie Block

Stephanie Block
Co-Chair Ben Gurion Society
Young Adults Division Board

Local Takes Active Role in the Community

One of our new regular features at Challah Back is Meet the Board, where you get to “meet” this year’s YAD Board. Find out why so many people get involved in YAD and what inspires them!

As a San Francisco native, I grew up (whether I knew it or not) attending Federation-sponsored events and volunteering at Federation-funded organizations. And having worked at Federation both in the Bay Area and in Israel, I know how important Federation’s work is globally. I consider my involvement on the YAD Board as the most important installment in my history of involvement with Federation. By building a strong young adult community, we ensure a strong future generation of Jewish leaders here in the Bay Area.

My love affair with Federation began all the way back in the summer of 1998. A fresh-faced sophomore at UC Berkeley already waste-deep in Israel-related campus activism, I decided that the Federation’s Israel Center was a perfect place to spend my summer. Through the Kohn Summer Intern Program (a program of the Federation-sponsored Jewish Vocational Services), I spent two months developing Israel-relating programs for use on college campuses. When I graduated from Cal in 2000, I took a full-time campus outreach position at the Israel Center.

All the while, I was also preparing to move to Israel the following year to participate in Project Otzma, a program jointly administered by the Jewish Agency for Israel, United Jewish Communities, and — you guessed it — the SF Federation. It was during my year on Project Otzma that I got to see first-hand the amazing work our Federation does in Israel. I worked in non-profit, grass roots organizations such as Hafuch al HaFuch that use Federation funds to serve the vital needs of Israel’s disadvantaged communities, and with the municipalities SF Federation’s sister communities in the Upper Galilee.

Benny Klafter (right) performing community service with a student group in Kiryat Shmona, Israel.

Upon my return to the Bay Area, I redoubled my campus outreach efforts on behalf of the Israel Center. It was ultimately only the tantalizing allure of unknown adventure in far-flung, exotic locales (law school in Davis) that succeeded in tearing me away from my work at Federation. Since returning to the city, I’ve continued to devote much time and energy to Federation.

My roll on the board this year is as Shabbat and Holiday Chair. While YAD puts on some amazing social events and offers an array of great volunteer opportunities, some of us in the community want to see more options for the celebration of Shabbats and holidays. Through our periodic YAD Shabbats — hosted by YAD members in their homes — and upcoming holiday events, we hope to add a new and exciting dimension to YAD’s programming.

Benny Klafter

The first YAD Community Shabbat of the year will take place Dec. 19. E-mail us if you are interested in attending future Shabbats, or (even better!) in hosting one.

Benny Klafter
Shabbat and Holiday Chair
Young Adults Division Board

Super Jews!

Are you ready to be a hero? Over the eight days of Chanukah, join us in committing online acts of virtue as a member of one of the SuperJews Color War teams. By taking part in the debut year of this international micro-activism event, you can win a coveted SuperJews Gold Medal for your Facebook profile while strengthening the Jewish world one click at a time. This campaign is being run by United Jewish Communities and the Jewish Federation system with an all-star team of partners.

Rules:
Choose your Chanukah Color War team today – Red, Blue or Green. Unlike the Color Wars you joined at summer camp, there’s no tug-of-war and no capture-the-flag. Instead, you and the other members of your team will get an alert on each day of Chanukah with your mission for that day. Missions will be online acts of good for the Jewish world; none will take more than a few minutes to complete, and we hope you’ll find them to be interesting and fun. The more people on your team who complete each day’s mission, the higher your team’s score will be. At the end of the eight-day Color War, Gold, Silver or Bronze medals will be awarded to all participants for their Facebook profiles.

Choose your team below:

Ruach (Spirit)	Gevura (Bravery)	Koach (Strength)
The brains of the bunch, they analyze and listen to their inner voice before they act.	Natural leaders who think fast under pressure and never look back.	These two are more than happy to power through to a solution to any situation.

Second Saturday

For the seventh year in a row, YAD and The Cellar’s Second Saturday are partnering up to promote Latke Ball, a huge holiday party for Jewish young adults with a philanthropic twist.  Come to the December Second Saturday to mingle with hundreds of other Jewish young adults, get free drinks from the Latke Ball committee turned bartenders, and to pick up your discounted Latke Ball tickets.

Second Saturday is the longest running party for the young Jewish community in San Francisco! Launched in 2001, and happening on the Second Saturday of every month since, it is an opportunity to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and for a select few — play bartender.

It’s the best kept secret in the city’s singles scene! Doors open at 8:00 p.m. exclusively to the young Jewish community (ages 21-40), and feature a 2-hour long full bar, with rotating guest bartenders, desserts, and great music every 2nd Saturday of every month. For only $10 you get 5 free drink tickets!

Second Saturday is your only spot to get discounted Latke Ball tickets.  Second  Saturday is sponsoring $5 off, so general tickets will be $25 and VIP tickets become $45.

Please bring cash to purchase your special discount tickets.

Dina Jacobs

Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008
8 to 10 p.m.
The Cellar
685 Sutter St. (at Taylor)
San Francisco, CA – map
secondsaturday@cellarsf.com

Dina Jacobs
Young Adults Division member

Help Rebuild New Orleans with YAD

Does community service give you that warm, fuzzy feeling? Do you especially enjoy helping others while socializing with friends? Want to meet other young, professional Jews from around the country? Then, mark your calendars and register today! From March 15 to 17, 2009, the UJC National Young Leadership New Orleans Conference named TikkuNOLAm, will take place in the Big Easy (for the first time), which fits into our “party with a purpose” theme this year in San Francisco.

Every two years, hundreds of young Jewish adults from across the country converge to lobby and learn. The United Jewish Communities has decided to hold this special national conference focusing on community service to help rebuild New Orleans. Why? Although some rebuilding has occurred, there is still much left to do. After all, repairing the world (Tikkun Olam) is what the Jewish community is all about. That’s why the YAD community has built a strategic partnership with St. Bernard Parish, one of the areas hit worst by Katrina. (It’s just 15 minutes outside of downtown New Orleans and was damaged as much as the 9th Ward, but didn’t get as much attention.)

What’s going on at the conference?

• Sunday: Opening Plenary discussing New Orleans in the afternoon, cocktail reception at D-Day Museum in the evening and free time to explore New Orleans nightlife afterward.
• Monday: All 550 of us from will be rebuilding the badly damaged Hannon High School into a multi-facility Youth Complex that houses sports fields, art areas and more. Many kinds of work will be needed including landscaping, painting, and wiring. That night, we’ll have dinner with folks from our federation, and have free time to explore the city’s music scene.
• Tuesday: Break-out sessions on relief work, Tikkun Olam, and disaster preparedness.

Why am I going?
I was just 17 years old when my parents dropped me off at Tulane University. A few days later, I faced my first minor hurricane. I spent the night boarding up my dorm windows with masking tape so the glass wouldn’t shatter, slish-sloshing through campus in thigh-high water and mud-fighting while drinking hurricanes. Classes were even canceled the next day! But watching Katrina three years ago dashed my bright-eyed and bushytailed memories of the New Orleans rains. As a teenager, it is easy and even expected to get swept up in the naiveté of false safety and the idea that we are invincible. As an adult though, I am deeply saddened by the consequences that could have been deterred, and even more shocked that New Orleans is still struggling today.

Register now, before it’s too late!
More than 20 people from the Bay Area have signed up, but let’s get even more. Space is limited to only 550 people from across the country and already more than 400 have registered. (Once 550 sign up, you will be placed on a waiting list for possible cancellations.)

Ellen Rosenstock

The cost of the conference is $400 (not including airfare). Some subsidies may still be available. For details and to register, visit www.nolaconference.org or contact the Young Adult Division of the San Francisco Federation.

TikkuNOLAm. See ya in N’awlins! Go Green Wave!

Ellen Rosenstock
New Orleans Conference Co-Chair
Young Adults Division Board