The Feast was initiated in 1995 by the Bureau and a coalition of Jewish agencies and synagogues and is designed to encourage Jews of all ages to participate in Jewish learning.
In addition, the Feast will acquaint Bay Area Jews with the wide variety of organizations offering educational programs.
The Feast won the 1995 Award of Excellence for Program of Distinction from the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and is growing more sumptuous every year.
This year’s Feast offers over 100 opportunities for Bay Area Jews to gain knowledge while being a part of a larger learning community.
In honor of the Bureau’s 100th anniversary, this year’s Feast includes a special historical ingredient: At 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, the Jewish Community Library will offer an illustrated lecture entitled, “Growing Up Jewish in San Francisco.”
The featured guest will be Jerry Flamm, who has worked as a journalist in New York and San Francisco and authored two books on San Francisco history. The evening is free, as are many Feast events. Reservations are required, however. Call the BJE at (415) 751-6983 for details.
To whet an even wider variety of appetites, this year’s menu features more Lunch-and-Learn discussions than ever. Wayne Feinstein, executive vice president of the JCF, is among the featured presenters.
Four of these noon sessions are designated specifically for Jewish communal workers and are open to the public, with participants invited to bring bag lunches and eat together while learning in a relaxed community atmosphere.
This year’s communal Lunch-and-Learn scholars include: Evan Mendelsohn and Rabbis Robert Daum, Martin Weiner and Eric Weiss.
Scholars participating in additional Lunch-and-Learns will be: Chana Bloch, Stephen Dobbs, professor Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman, professor emeritus William Brinner and Rabbis Helen Cohn, Lavey Derby, Stuart Kelman, Stephen Pearce, David White and Peretz Wolf-Prusan.
Sandra Kurland, bureau president, believes that interest in this year’s Feast will reach out to an even greater audience.
“The message of the Feast is that Jewish learning takes place not just in the classroom.”
The Bureau invites the community to “take a bite” at this year’s Feast of Jewish Learning. Information: Nicole Krantz at (415) 751-6983, ext. 134.