Holding cups of wine, clove-studded oranges and braided candles, an exuberant crowd of nearly 800 took over the grounds of Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science on Saturday night.
A crisp, clear evening formed the backdrop for the second annual “Havdallah Beneath the Stars” — sponsored by the Center for Jewish Living and Learning of the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay.
The stars cooperated and even the planet Saturn put in an appearance above the sliver of new moon launching the Hebrew month of Adar.
“This event allows the East Bay community to see and experience itself as spiritual and vibrant,” said Rabbi Glenn Karonsky, director of the Center for Jewish Living and Learning. “From this we hope people will be moved to incorporate havdallah into their own home rituals.”
To encourage this endeavor, organizers distributed free havdallah candles.
Havdallah marks the transition from the Sabbath’s sanctity to the start of the secular week. Instead of looking upon this change as abrupt and divisive, however, the havdallah service focuses on helping carry over Shabbat’s spirituality into everyday life.
David Cooper, the event’s chairman, led the prayer service while many participants held blue-and-white braided candles. Interspersed among prayers were familiar Jewish melodies led on guitar by Rabbi Richard Winer of Livermore’s Congregation Beth Emek.
“This event shows you the diversity of the community, and its strength,” Karonsky said.
“When 800 people sing together, it is powerful.”
A giant cake decorated with blue-and-white frosting was served in honor of Israel’s upcoming 50th birthday.
By 8 p.m., the chilly night air had driven most attendees inside.
Participants fanned out among the Lawrence Hall of Science’s interactive exhibits. Children who had stood patiently with their families during the service let out whoops of joy as they discovered the art and music activities, as well as the hands-on displays, that awaited them.
Families with small children spent the evening moving from one short-attention-span activity to another. In the folk-dance room, several mothers held youngsters in their arms while learning the steps of various dances.
Meanwhile, the arts-and-crafts room was redolent with the smell of melting wax. There, each budding artist drew with crayons on a rectangle of sandpaper. The design was ironed onto a piece of white muslin. Within a matter of minutes, each artist left the room with a personally crafted, one-of-a-kind challah cover.
The hall’s 300-seat auditorium was packed for the Rikkudia Festival, a dance fest that began with choral renditions by two groups from Tehiyah Day School in El Cerrito.
“I work them really hard. But in the end they love me,” Ronna Honigman, Tehiyah’s music teacher, said after the performances. “There was lots of kvelling in that room.”
Among the beaming mothers was Judith Dickman, whose 10-year-old son Noah Dickman-Koeppel is a member of Tehiyah’s junior choir. Dickman, who recognized many fellow Tehiyah families at the gathering, called the havdallah “a service in the great outdoors with everybody you know.”
Eight area groups performed traditional Israeli dances. Some performers dressed in colorful costumes, complete with face paint. Others kept their acts simple, opting for matching scarves tied around their waists.
The East Bay Rakdanim, an adult group, danced to a traditional Ladino melody of love and longing. Children from Oakland’s Temple Sinai also were among the troupes.
Other activities included teen theater, “Jewish Jeopardy” and a lecture on Jewish cosmology.