Shabbat Services and & Torah Study: Mishpatim
Saturday, February 22nd
Emeryville, CA & online
9:30am Shabbat service // 10:30am Torah study
You can join us either in person or on Zoom for Shabbat services and Torah study. If you are in the Bay Area, we’d love to have you join us in person. After Torah study, we enjoy a vegetarian potluck meal together and have an opportunity to deepen our connection with one another. If you are able, please bring a vegetarian dish to share with others.
To obtain the Zoom link to join us online or the address where we meet in person (centrally located in Emeryville, only a short walk from the MacArthur Bart Station), please register here. Feel free to invite others as well by forwarding this email or link.
We begin our Shabbat service at 9:30am PT with meaningful prayers, balancing the awe of being alive with the call in our tradition for radical transformation of our world.
Then we turn to our Torah study at 10:30am PT. This week we begin reading the book of Exodus, the foundational text of liberation theology, the seeds of which were planted in the book of Genesis. This parsha once again begins with naming all the sons of Israel (i.e., Jacob) who came to Egypt. The Israelites, we are told, are fertile and multiple in the land. Pharaoh expresses fear that they will become stronger than the Egyptians and join in solidarity with others and rise from the land.
The fear of the power of refugees to align with other oppressed and vulnerable peoples to challenge empire has a long history. Pharaoh, like modern tyrants today, chooses to respond to their presence and strength by stoking fear in the Egyptians and imposing slave masters over them to increase their oppression. We will reflect on the similarities in our Torah to what we can expect under a Trump administration and how Israel has and continues to respond to and treat Palestinians today.
Registration is FREE for both Zoom and in person participation.
We’d love to have you join us!
9:30 am Pacific Time (12:30 pm Eastern Time)
Shabbat morning prayers and celebration of the universe
10:30 am Pacific Time (1:30 pm Eastern Time)
Torah Study | Mishpatim Exodus 21:1–24:18
12:15 pm Pacific Time (3:15 pm Eastern Time)
Kaddish, Kiddush, and vegetarian potluck for those able to join us in person!
*Please save this link for information on upcoming Torah Study and Special Events
You can watch Rabbi Cat’s musings from last week and Beyt Tikkun’s Torah Study from the previous week
| Rabbi Cat’s Musings on parshat Yitro
| Torah study on parshat Beshalach
Shabbat Services and Torah Study are held at Rabbi Cat’s home, address will be provided once you register. She has a large, sweet golden retriever/labrador mixed breed dog. Masks are optional. Please don’t come if you have any symptoms. Air filter provided. Windows can be opened if requested. There are 4 steps to enter the house. The house is one story. There are 4 steps out the backdoor to the backyard if we decide to go out there. There are couches, dining room chairs, and a floor for seating (along with pillows one can sit on on the floor). Please try to be scent-free.