For more information about any of these events, please contact the Temple by e-mail or at 272-8872. Also see the calendar or check the Shabbat Bulletin (members only) for exact dates in the coming month.

Tot Shabbat , a short program for pre-school children focussing on Shabbat, holidays, or other Jewish basics, is held periodically on Friday night , with a dairy/veggie potluck at 5:45 or 6pm in the Benjamin Social Hall, followed by a songs and stories in the sanctuary at about 6:40. All are welcome.

Jewish Renewal-style Shabbat Morning Services are held the second Shabbat morning of the month from 10am - noon. The morning will begin at 10am with study and reflection, primarily on the Torah portion of the week, though we are open to where our discussion takes us. Around 11am we will begin our davvening of the Shacharit (morning service) together, and we conclude around noon. Check the calendar or the Shabbat Bulletin (members only) for the date of the next one.

Shabbat morning Torah study is usually held one Shabbat morning a month in the Benjamin Social Hall. No Hebrew or experience is necessary, just a desire to delve into Judaism's source text and see what we can learn that's relevant for today. Check the calendar to see when we’re gathering this month. Bring your favorite Torah translation if you wish, or we’ll provide books.

The Women's Rosh Chodesh Group meets for Torah Study every month on a Shabbat afternoon near Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of the Jewish month). Contact the Office by e-mail or at 272-8872 x64 for more information.

The Outreach Group for Intermarried Families meets for food and conversation every 4-6 weeks. New familes are welcome. Contact the Office by e-mail or at 272-8872 x64 for the time and place of the next gathering.

The Gay and Lesbian Chavurah has not been meeting as a formal group but we are around if you need us. For more information, email Rabbi Gordon or leave a message on her confidential voicemail at 272-8872 X62.

The Mah Jongg Group welcomes both new and experienced players. Once the most popular game in the Orient played by Chinese men, Mah Jongg is now the rage with Jewish women, and men are welcome also. Don’t miss the chance to learn this fun game! This friendly group meets weekly in the Social Hall on Tuesdays at 5:30 PM. If you have never played, come and learn the fundamentals. We are playing with the 2007 National Mah Jongg League card.

The CBS Book Club has been in existence since 2000 and currently has about 10 members. We meet every 6-8 weeks at a different member's home to discuss a book that we have chosen together. The book must meet two criteria: It must have some (however indirect) Jewish content, and it must have fewer than 300 (or so) pages. We read both fiction and non-fiction. We can always use a few more members. We welcome diverse viewpoints. Contact the Office by e-mail or at 272-8872 x64 for more information.

For more information about any of these events, please call (272-8872) or e-mail the office.

Contact the Temple Office for more details on any event listed here. Scroll down or click for:

Join us for an afternoon of Jewish-inspired music by one of the area's most talented jazz groups at the Arts Center of the Capital Region at 265 River St in Troy. If there is enough interest, we will meet for lunch on River Street (for middle-eastern food!) prior to the concert. Please call Margo Singer at 463-8801 (or email margosinger@yahoo.com) if you are interested in going as a Berith Sholom group to this performance. (Note: there is no Sunday school that morning).

The Adrian Cohen Jazz Quartet: Jewish Composers of the Jazz Idiom

Sunday, October 12th at 1:30 p.m.
$10 Arts Center Members and $12 Non-Arts Center Members

Celebrate some of the greatest jazz music of the 20th century, from the early days of Tin Pan Alley up to the modern era of jazz, as we recognize the significant contributions to the genre of composers of Jewish heritage.

Sunday, October 19th - Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Albany

This year hundreds of thousands of people will hear the words, “You have breast cancer,” and there’s a good chance that some of them will be people we know and love. Congregation Berith Sholom has chosen to fight back against this disease and help make a difference by fielding a Team in the local American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Sunday, October 19th.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is our opportunity to honor and celebrate breast cancer survivors, educate women about early detection and prevention, and raise money to fund lifesaving research and support programs. But Making Strides is more than just the name of a walk, it describes the amazing progress we can make if we work together to defeat this disease. I hope you will visit our Team page on the Walk web-site (http://makingstrides.acsevents.org) and sign up to join our congregational team. Feel free to bring friends & family (even your dogs) to walk with us. If you don't want to walk, you can make an on-line (safe & secure) donation to support our Team.

Currently we have a Team goal of $2,000 but I'd like to raise even more money. Individual walkers can easily create their own goals and keep track of their donations on the website. They will even help with solicitation emails and thank-you notes!! Please consider joining us on October 19th--its a fun as well as an inspiring day, which will also provide hope for all people facing breast cancer. For more information contact Margo Singer at margosinger@yahoo.com or call 463-8801.

Join with Berith Sholom adults and kids for a ceramic party at The Pottery Place in Stuyvesant Plaza on Sunday, December 14th from 4-6 pm. This is planned as a fun outing to decorate ceramic items suitable for Chanukah (or other holiday) gift-giving. There is a fee for painting (per hour) plus the cost of the item you choose to paint. Items will be ready for pick-up on December 21st. No special skills are necessary, and all ages are welcome!

Please wear clothes that you don’t mind getting messy. We'd like to know how many people are coming, because if we have enough people we can pre-arrange for a private room for our group. Please RSVP by 12/05 to the Temple Office (272-8872) or to Margo Singer (463-8801). Payment is made that day.

If enough people are interested, we could plan to eat dinner out afterwards.

Rabbi Gordon will be leading a Congregational trip to Israel on February 11-22, 2009 , plus an optional Eilat extension. We have asked Ayelet Tours to give us an idea of the possible airfare costs, so that is the only missing piece of information.

We need to get a better idea of interest from our members if you can join us. Just a reminder, this trip is open to all in the Capital Region, regardless of affiliation or not. Feel free to invite your fmaily members & friends!

Please contact Wendy Kay in the Synagogue Office (272-8872) or Margo Singer (margosinger@yahoo.com or 463-8801) for a copy of the Itinerary. We will be happy to mail or email it to you. Also, please let us know if you are considering joining us for this exciting trip.

We also have planned some additional activities that still need to be finalized, so watch your weekly Shabbat Bulletins. In October we will be forming a knitting group ("The Oiy of Knitting") to have fun while knitting useful cold weather items to donate to local shelters. We'll also be scheduling a Challah Baking class with master baker Sandi Costello. We have some people interested in playing Scrabble and also interest in learning to play the dulcimer. Please contact Dawn Bevilacqua if you are interested in any of these events.

Some movies under consideration for 2008 include: Crossing Delancey, Keeping up with the Steins, Yentl, Walk on Water, Exodus, Funny Girl, The Chosen, Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport ,The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, Left Luggage, Mr. Saturday Night, For Your Consideration, Munich, The Prince of Egypt, and The Syrian Bride. Please let us know what YOU want to see!! We are now designing our 2008 programming, so if you have any ideas or wish to help, call Margo Singer (463-8801) or email: margosinger@yahoo.com