Shabbat Services, Torah Study & TuB’Shvat Celebration
With Rabbi Cat Zavis & Musical Director Ami Goodman
DATE: Saturday, January 31st
TIME: 9:30am Shabbat service // 10:30am Torah study // 11:30am Tu B’Shvat Environmental Seder
COST: $18 for non-members/ Free for members
HYBRID:
Online on Zoom &
In-Person at First Unitarian Church of Oakland
685 14th St, Oakland, CA 94612
On Saturday, January 31st, in addition to our regular Shabbat and Torah Study, we will be hosting our special Tu B’shvat Seder – the Jewish environmental holiday. We will begin with our morning celebration of the universe, study Torah, and then have a celebratory environmental seder. All with great teachings and music led by Rabbi Cat Zavis and Musical Director Ami Goodman.
The seder will involve enjoying various fruits, helping us connect with the beauty and bounty of our planet.
If you join us on Zoom, we encourage you to get some of the relevant fruit and grape juice or wine (some red and white) so you can participate fully in the experience. If you join us in person, we will provide the fruits and juice. The tradition is to move from less permeable fruit to more permeable. All you need is one fruit for each of the following stages:
- First, those with tough shells and soft edible inside (e.g., walnuts, coconuts, pomegranates, or melons).
- Second, fruit with a soft outside but hard inside (e.g., peaches, dates, apricots, olives, cherries, dates, plums, etc.).
- Third, fruit that is soft both on the outside and the inside (e.g., strawberries, figs, blueberries, pears, grapes, apples, etc.).
- In the 4th stage, we will visualize a higher level of connection to the earth and the cosmos (no fruit needed!)
You only need one fruit for each of these stages. If you don’t get them, then just imagine them when we get to each stage. And at each stage we also drink some grape juice or wine .
9:30 am PST: Shabbat celebration of the universe
10:30 am PST: Torah study: Beshalach – God continues to harden Pharaoh’s heart and sends Pharaoh and his army after the Hebrews. Exodus 13:17 (sefaria.org)
11:30 to 12:30 pm PST – Tu B’Shvat Environmental Seder.
A kid-friendly art area with paper, crayons, and markers will be available during the service, welcoming artists of all ages.
Access Information
Location: First Unitarian Church of Oakland in Oakland’s Uptown district, 7 minute walk from BART, and near several AC Transit bus lines. Exact location will be sent once registered.
Masking Requirements: Masking Optional
Scents: Please arrive scent-free or low scent.
Wheelchair accessibility: Fully wheelchair accessible.
Seating: Wooden chairs without arms with backs
Parking: There is street parking, as well as several nearby car garages.
Please email Mar Munn at marissa@beyttikkun.org if you have questions or other accessibility needs.