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On a recent rain-soaked Friday afternoon, in the heart of San Francisco's Tenderloin District, a song broke out.

Its distant strains couldn't be heard over the clatter of boom-boxes, or rise above the monosyllabic grunts of quick-change artists stuffing $20 bills in their pockets.

It's doubtful the bleary-eyed patrons of Mr. Lee-Ona's Cocktail Lounge, many of whom had been there since the wee hours of the morning, could recognize the song.

Across the street, where six young men stood sentinel outside the graffiti-tagged exterior of the Hotel Hurley, the song meant nothing.

And surely, the solitary stragglers sniffing out bargains at the Palace of Fine Junk had other things on their mind.

But for 60 people gathered for a free monthly Shabbat meal at North of Market Senior Services last month, the song meant everything.

And really, how could it not?

For this wasn't just any song. This was "Hava Nagilah," one of the most joyous songs in the Jewish tradition. And this wasn't just any singer, this was Louis Green.

Yes, that Louis Green, the one originally from Philly, the one who flew more than 50 bomber missions in the Pacific Theater and who won the Purple Heart. The one equally at home crooning Sinatra standards or arias from "Tosca."

Green shared the stage with Cantor Barry Reich of Burlingame's Reform Peninsula Temple Sholom, the congregation that helped sponsor the meal.

Truth be told, Green didn't exactly share the stage. He took hold of it and made it his own. Every time Reich was ready to lay down his guitar, the 80-year-old Green laid into another resounding verse of the song, resulting in a wave of people tapping their fingers, plates, cups, canes or whatever else they had.

But apart from Green's reluctance to relinquish the spotlight, the afternoon was all about sharing.

The meal, part of a program at the S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children's Service called the Tenderloin Outreach Project, has benefited mostly elderly Jewish and non-Jewish residents for nearly 15 years.

Synagogues sponsor programs, which are held nine times a year, providing volunteers and underwriting the costs of the meal, which is prepared by the Senior Kosher Nutrition Program.

Some volunteers are "regulars" who come every month. "This is a real opportunity to share Jewish traditions with people who might not ordinarily have access to them," said volunteer Janice Katz, who has commuted from the Peninsula for the past 10 years to participate in the program.

"This Shabbat meal really reaches out to people who have fallen between the cracks of the organized Jewish Community," added Debbi Goodman of JFCS, who has served as the coordinator of TOP for the past two years. "It really means a lot to them. Some of the regulars have been coming since we started."

One of those people is Evelyn Rose, 85, who has lived in the Tenderloin for more than 30 years. Rose, who is not Jewish, has nonetheless functioned as a one-woman recruiter for the Shabbat programs, which are held nine times a year.

"I've been working hard, fast and furious to get the word out," said Rose, munching on a chicken breast.

One of Rose's recruits, 68 year-old Yvonne Weber got the word at an art show six years ago. "When Evelyn found out I was Jewish, she got real excited," recalled Weber. "She told me all about this great place, and she was right."

Weber poked at some vegetables and said that she was grateful for the JFCS program, because it gave her an opportunity to explore her Jewish roots — an opportunity she didn't have growing up in Romania.

"The Nazis wanted to persecute us and the Communists wanted us to do away with religion," said Weber. "So I'm very, very grateful for this Shabbat meal. "

Weber's gratitude was echoed by Allan Berenstein, a member of San Francisco's Reform Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, which co-sponsors some of the meals with San Francisco's Reform Congregation Emanu-El.

Taking a break from refilling water glasses and clearing plates, Berenstein said his reason for volunteering regularly was simple

"There's so much joy in this room. It's just so Jewish, all this eating and kibitizing.

"But more than anything, I always go away from here feeling like I've left with more than I came in with," he added. "I'm really the lucky one, because all the love is returned ten-fold."