Congregation Sinai Of San Jose

12/04/2025

Thank you to Ron Sheffer, to the Hummingbirds and Shir HaEmek choirs, and to everyone who joined us last night. Your presence and voices made the evening special.

11/28/2025

Next week on stage! 🎶
Have you RSVP’d yet? Comment below!

11/03/2025

On Sunday morning, we gathered with filmmaker Yael Linzen and A Place at the Table (Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel), a project that tells the stories of the victims of October 7 through one beloved dish, filled with memory and longing. Yael shared her journeys across Israel and the families she met, each opening a window into love, tradition, and lives cut short. We reflected on how food connects us to identity, to Israel, to Judaism, and to one another, and on its power to comfort, illuminate, and heal. It was a heartfelt and open community gathering, featuring small tastings that told big stories.

Deep thanks to Yael for her brave storytelling, sensitivity, and dedication, and to Sinai’s Cooking Club and all who helped make the morning memorable.

*This morning is part of Limmud La-Ad series, where we learn and grow together.
*Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel

10/03/2025

Yom Kippur is not about being right. It is about being honest — with God, with each other, and with ourselves. And one of the Talmud’s most famous, well-known, and haunting stories shows what happens when we confuse truth with righteousness. HaTanur shel Aknai — “The Oven of Aknai,”[i] — is a story that, somehow, in more than 18 years as a Rabbi, I have never once taught, even though it is often cited as a foundational text for Conservative Judaism....

Yom Kippur is not about being right. It is about being honest — with God, with each other, and with ourselves. And one of the Talmud’s most famous, well-known, and haunting stories shows …

09/25/2025

On Sunday mornings and Tuesday afternoons the last few weeks, this place has been hopping. I am really thrilled to share that there are more children coming to learn in our religious school than ever before. It is wonderful, but it carries with it a tremendous responsibility. I ask myself constantly, “what we are doing to build a sense of Jewish identity and peoplehood in our kids?”...

On Sunday mornings and Tuesday afternoons the last few weeks, this place has been hopping. I am really thrilled to share that there are more children coming to learn in our religious school than ev…

08/31/2025

The opening verse of this morning’s Torah portion is: שֹׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה֧׳ אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק׃ You shall appoint judges and officers in all of your gates, in all the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people with due justice. (Deuteronomy 16:18) Rashi, the author of our go-to study guide for the Torah, understands this verse in a straightforward sense....

The opening verse of this morning’s Torah portion is: שֹׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה֧׳ אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָ....

08/22/2025

Moses is speaking to the Israelites from the Eastern side of the Jordan River. He is preparing them to enter the Promised Land without him. Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, he worries about the new challenges that the people will face as they transition from wandering in the desert to settling in the Promised Land. So he tries to set them up for success....

Moses is speaking to the Israelites from the Eastern side of the Jordan River. He is preparing them to enter the Promised Land without him. Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, he worries about the …

08/03/2025

As Tisha B’Av approaches this year, I find myself feeling particularly anxious. I want to be open with you about what I am struggling with, with what I am feeling in this moment. First, I’ll say something about the day itself. Originally, Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av marked the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE....

As Tisha B’Av approaches this year, I find myself feeling particularly anxious. I want to be open with you about what I am struggling with, with what I am feeling in this moment. First, I’ll say so…

06/16/2025

Love Mah Jongg? Grab your friends and your tiles! 🀣 Sign up for the Mah Jongg Tournament coming up at Sinai on Sunday, August 24th. Visit https://www.sinai-sj.org/events/2025-tournament

06/05/2025

For the first time, we celebrated Shavuot with a wonderful Bikkurim musical ceremony in Sinai’s lawn. About 275 people attended; we sang, danced, met new and familiar faces, and rejoiced together.
🙏 A big thank you to the team who worked to make the celebration a success:
🪇 Band: Rabbi Josh Berkenwald, Mike Cogan, leela levkovitch, Eden Meshi, and Sigal vardi.
🌻 Set design: Elise Wolf, Elisheva Basseri. Hay bales: Ma’alot Farms
✂️ Craft tables: Michelle Jenkins, Dina & Miri Solnit.
Special thanks to Joelle Pluemer, Rabbi Josh Berkenwald, Dana Greitzer-Gotlieb, and everyone who contributed and participated.