Preschool opens doors to S.F. families

The Adath Israel preschool will host an open house for San Francisco families to meet and greet from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, March 1 at the school’s new site, 1836 Noriega St., San Francisco.

At the event, Adath Israel will be accepting applications for the coming school year, starting in fall 2009. Parents can tour the facilities while children participate in a Purim arts and crafts project.

For information, contact school director Helen Bond at [email protected] or (415) 759-1195.

Lafayette temple honored for homeless help

Temple Isaiah of Lafayette will receive the Union for Reform Judaism’s Irving J. Fain Award for Outstanding Synagogue Social Action Programming — one of the highest honors available to congregations within the Reform movement.

Temple Isaiah won the award for its participation in Winter Nights, a Contra Costa County rotating homeless shelter that runs annually from October to April.

Winter Nights, sponsored by the county’s Interfaith Council, is a program in which local houses of worship provide shelter for homeless individuals and families for two weeks each. The religious groups also provide meals, sleeping accommodations, programmed activities, holiday events and tutoring.

Every year, Temple Isaiah hosts the families during the last two weeks in December to accommodate the needs of Christian faith communities during the Christmas season.

The Fain award is presented every two years to congregations that have displayed exemplary work in the pursuit of justice, have successfully involved large numbers of congregants in their programs and have developed genuinely innovative and/or particularly effective projects.

Isaiah will be honored in April in Washington, D.C., during the biennial public policy conference of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

For more information, visit www.rac.org.

Jewish group co-sponsoring forum on human trafficking

The Jewish Coalition to End Human Trafficking has partnered with other San Francisco organizations for a daylong community forum advocating for the end of human trafficking.

The forum begins 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24 at the Milton Marks Conference Center, 455 Golden Gate Ave., S.F.

The free, public forum will encourage attendees to share information and resources on anti-trafficking efforts, identify gaps in victim services and create an infrastructure for continued collaboration.

Co-sponsors are the S.F. Human Rights Commission, the Asian Anti-Trafficking Collaborative and the Jewish Coalition to End Human Trafficking,  a joint effort of the S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services, National Council of Jewish Women, Jewish Community Relations Council and New Israel Fund.

For more information or to register, contact Linda Janourova at (415) 252-3208 or [email protected].

Tehiyah benefit to include Bay Area luminaries, chefs

What do humorist Josh Kornbluth, medical educator Rachel Naomi Remen and legendary punk bassist Klaus Flouride have in common? They will all be part of the featured entertainment at dinner parties around the East Bay to benefit El Cerrito’s Tehiyah Day School.

“Two Nights, One Community” will take place in 10 private homes March 7

and 8. Each home will feature unique entertainment and a meal created by a popular local chef — Chez Panisse’s Melissa Fernandez and chef Jerome Waag are among the featured chefs. Legendary blues singer and sex activist Candye Kane, author Joel Ben Izzy and iTunes catalog director Gary Stewart are also on the list of people helping the cause.

Attendees can choose which party they’d like to attend — but  at least one has already sold out.

Tickets are $150. For more information, call (510) 233-3013 ext. 114 or e-mail [email protected]. The invitation can be viewed at www.tehiyah.org/twonights.pdf.

Commonwealth talk: history of local Jews

Fred Rosenbaum, founding director of Lehrhaus Judaica, will present a preview of his forthcoming book “Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area” at the Commonwealth Club on Thursday, Feb. 26.

Rosenbaum’s talk, titled “Change and Continuity: The Bay Area Jewish Community Since 1945” will begin at 6 p.m., following a 5:30 p.m. wine and cheese reception.

The program is $8 for club members and $15 general admission. The Commonwealth Club is at 595 Market St., S.F. For tickets or more information, visit www.commonwealthclub.org.

Marin support group to help caregivers 

Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Marin will offer a six-week support group, “You and Your Aging Parent,” on consecutive Wednesdays starting March 4.

The sessions, which take place 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., invite parents, partners and other loved ones coping with issues related to the aging process to learn about juggling conflicting responsibilities and needs, finding and coordinating services, managing long-distance care giving and more.

Meetings will be held at 600 Fifth Ave., San Rafael. There is no fee for this program, but a $100 donation is suggested. Pre-registration is required. For information or to pre-register, call (415) 419-3601. 

Birthright registration off and running

Taglit–Birthright Israel is set to take another 10,000 young Jews on free 10-day educational trips to Israel this spring and summer. Online registration began Feb. 19 at www.birthrightisrael.com.

This winter, Taglit-Birthright Israel had its 200,000th participant to date. Now, the organization is launching a fundraising campaign to help the program as it enters its second decade.

The campaign already received a boost from the Adelson Family Foundation, which will match donations dollar for dollar up to $20 million.

Midrasha fundraiser features KGO host

Contra Costa Midrasha, an East Bay Jewish education program for teens, will hold its first fundraiser. Author and KGO radio personality John Rothmann will be the guest speaker. A silent auction will be held, and refreshments served. The event takes place from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. at Congregation B’nai Tikvah, 25 Hillcroft Way, Walnut Creek.

Rothmann is co-author of “Icon of Evil,” a  book on the life of the Mufti of Jerusalem. A student of Middle East policy, he will discuss the Obama administration’s approach to Israel and the Middle East.

Tickets for the event cost $36 for students, teachers or seniors, and $45 for adults. For additional information, go to www.brownpapertickets.com/event/50929or call (925) 944-4701.

Lafayette synagogue honored for homeless help

Temple Isaiah of Lafayette will receive the Union for Reform Judaism’s Irving J. Fain Award for Outstanding Synagogue Social Action Programming — one of the highest honors available to congregations within the Reform movement.

Temple Isaiah won the award for its participation in Winter Nights, a Contra Costa County rotating homeless shelter that runs annually from October to April.

Winter Nights, sponsored by the county’s Interfaith Council, is a program in which local houses of worship provide shelter for homeless individuals and families for two weeks each. The religious groups also provide meals, sleeping accommodations, programmed activities, holiday events and tutoring.

Every year, Temple Isaiah hosts the families during the last two weeks in December to accommodate the needs of Christian faith communities during the Christmas season.

The Fain award is presented every two years to congregations that have displayed exemplary work in the pursuit of justice, have successfully involved large numbers of congregants in their programs and have developed genuinely innovative and/or particularly effective projects.

Isaiah will be honored in April in Washington, D.C., during the biennial public policy conference of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

For more information, visit www.rac.org.