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For other locations, call BBYO regional office at (415) 259-0140.

Synagogue celebrates writing of Torah

Congregation B'nai Shalom in Walnut Creek will hold a Simchat K'tivat Torah, or Torah writing celebration, at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at the synagogue, 74 Eckley Lane.

Following a brief service led by Rabbi Gordon Freeman, the congregation will watch as Los Angeles scribe Shimon Kraft writes the opening verses of a Torah commissioned especially for the Conservative congregation. A reception will follow.

Preceding the ceremony will be a 2 p.m. keynote address on "How the Torah Unfolds," by Daniel Matt, professor of Jewish spirituality at Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union and author of "God and the Big Bang."

The afternoon will also feature discussions led by local rabbis and teachers on such topics as The Hebrew Bible in Art, Ten Commandments, The Art of the Classical Sofer and Making a Torah Community.

For information on the event, call Diane Fohrman at (510) 939-8492.

Oregon trip for Shakespeare fest slated

Contra Costa Jewish Community Center plans a four-day, three-night theater trip to Ashland, Ore., Aug. 12 through 15.

Best seats will be available for "King Lear," "Pentecost" and "Timon of Athens." A side trip to Crater Lake also is planned.

Departure and return will be from and to Walnut Creek and Rossmoor. Cost is $450 for CCJCC members, $500 for non-members. For information, call Shoshana Eliahu, (510) 938-7800.

BRJCC bridge club offers two sessions

A bridge club meets at 1 p.m. Mondays and 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley.

Cost is $15 for six months. For information, call (510) 848-0237.

Poetry deadline: July 31

Poets are invited to submit their works to the 1997 Anna Davidson Rosenberg Award for Poems on the Jewish Experience.

The deadline for the annual international competition, sponsored by the Judah L. Magnes Museum, is July 31. Entrants may send a self-addressed stamped envelope for an entry form and guidelines. The address is: Poetry Award, Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St., Berkeley, CA 94705.

Poetry must be unpublished and written in English.