Updated Feb. 9
When Bryce and Jess Leafman moved from San Francisco to Sacramento three years ago, they hoped to find a community of fellow Jews in their late 20s. But their efforts to track down a Passover seder that year for people their age yielded no results, Jess Leafman told J.
After some “deep digging” online, she discovered an upcoming “Shabbatluck,” a potluck-style Shabbat dinner hosted by the young adult group at Mosaic Law Congregation.
“It was outside in the park. It was really beautiful,” she recalled. The couple began showing up at the monthly Shabbat dinners hosted by the young adult group, which goes by MLC2030. They made friends, and Jess Leafman now serves on the group’s board.
Through word of mouth, they learned about Sacramento Bad Jews, a non-religious, social group for young adults that launched in spring 2024.
Today, events for Jewish young adults in the Sacramento area are more plentiful — and easier to find — thanks to new collaborations happening across Jewish groups.
In January, the Leafmans, both 31 now, took on a new role as hosts of Moishe Pod Sacramento. A Moishe Pod is an offshoot of the Moishe House movement, which began 20 years in the Bay Area and has grown into a sprawling worldwide network of Jewish group-homes that serve as hubs for young adult gatherings.
It had been four years since the Sacramento Moishe House shut down, creating a vacuum that the Leafmans hope to fill.
Unlike a Moishe House, which consists of three or more young adults hosting five to eight Jewish events a month, a pod is a two-person household that hosts three events a month focused on Jewish learning, culture, holidays, social events and volunteer work. Mem Global, the nonprofit behind Moishe Houses, provides support, guidance and a rent subsidy.
“We don’t want to be yet another thing,” Bryce Leafman said of the Moishe Pod Sacramento. “We want to try and build a platform where we can bring the entire community together and just have one Sacramento Jewish young adult community.”
To keep track of the growing number of events, four young adult Jewish groups started a joint, shareable Google calendar that went public last week.
Erica Altman Crane, 33, chapter president of Sacramento Bad Jews, offered the Leafmans an idea to make the community platform a reality. She told them, “Hey, let’s join forces. Let’s get a shared calendar together,” she said.
Jess Leafman, who works in marketing, ran with it.
The calendar displays upcoming events across MLC2030, Sacramento Bad Jews, Moishe Pod Sacramento and Mi-Va-Mi, which is Reform Congregation B’nai Israel’s social group for adults in their 30s and 40s.
Upcoming events in February include a hot tub Shabbat hosted by Moishe Pod, a Taco Tuesday board game night with MLC2030 and a Valentine’s sushi date night organized by Bad Jews. People who want to keep up with the events can sync that calendar to their Google calendar on their devices.
Kay Crumb, president of MLC2030, is enthusiastic about the collaboration happening across groups.
“We’re all working together. We have different ways that we do it, but we all have a collective mission,” said Crumb, 36. “That hit my soul in a beautiful way.”
Each organization still maintains its own promotional channels — often through posts in WhatsApp groups, on social media, via text invitations using Partiful, or email newsletters.
Chai Society, a WhatApp group for Jewish young adults created in 2024, also helps organizers spread the word about upcoming events.
“We want visibility across all the groups,” Altman Crane said. “It’s not just about us. It’s about the community, and the whole point is to collaborate and make friends and foster community.”
From time to time, the groups host events together and collaborate with the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region and the Davis and Sacramento Hillel, Altman Crane said.
The end goal for all of these groups is to foster an active Jewish community, build friendships and even spark romantic partnerships.
Sac Bad Jews, which launched nearly two years ago, now has a WhatsApp group of over 150 members.
“Over the last couple years, I’ve made some of my best friends through Bad Jews,” Altman Crane said. “In fact, two of them were in my wedding. And we’ve had a couple love stories too.”
Crumb, who began participating in MLC2030 events four years ago, met her partner through the group. She said their Shabbatlucks continue to be a big draw each month, attracting up to 35 people depending on the month.
“It doesn’t really matter what your level of observance is. We like to focus on: Hey, you’re Jewish. I’m Jewish. We’re all Jews here,” Crumb said. “Let’s celebrate this. Let’s spend time together.”