Ma Hadash Blog from CSH

“From learning more about the structure of the Service to analyzing Jewish texts I’ve been able to learn at my level and stretch a little. I think others have had a similar experience. I am also enjoying the bonding experience with other Shir...Read more...

Our preschool, the Shir Hadash Early Childhood Center, is growing! Get ready to help us welcome toddlers as young as 18 months of age! This new program coming soon will give families the opportunity to enroll their young children in our nurturing community where they can play, explore and...Read more...

We're so proud of our young people and seeing them called up to the Torah as the next generation of Jewish leaders is a simcha (joy) for all of us to be part of - let's celebrate these wonderful milestones!

Make sure to say "Mazel Tov" if you see them and their families around the Shir Hadash campus! Our B'nai Mitzvah students recently include Owen Greenfield, Nathan Brodsky, Max Carlinsky, Jacob Laponis, Winston...Read more...

THANK YOU to the volunteers and staff whose hard work led to an incredibly festive, joyous, delicious, successful and meaningful Shavuot Festival enjoyed by over 150 people of all ages.

We are grateful to our event sponsors: Orla Colgan, Heidi Eisips, and Linda Wolf.

From our cheesecake-making bakers (led by Mitchell Wunsh!) whose flavorful cheesecakes delighted during dessert time, to our teen volunteers who led wheat...Read more...

Watch a video highlight from the 6/7 Shabbat Service, featuring the D'var Torah from David Bamberger and Award Presented to Kevin Pringle by Marshall Heller:

The Shir Hadash Men's Club proudly recognizes Kevin Pringle as its 2024 Man of the Year. Kevin has been a member of Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos, California since 2005 and joined the Men's Club in 2007.

He has served on the Board of the Men's club in...Read more...

This text is from a d'var given by Rabbi Michael on Friday, April 26.

Let me read a section from the Haggadah to you:

הגדה של פסח, ברך, שפוך חמתך מוזגים כוס של אליהו ופותחים את הדלת: שְׁפֹךְ חֲמָתְךָ אֶל-הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְדָעוּךָ וְעַל-מַמְלָכוֹת אֲשֶׁר...Read more...

Note: this blog post is adapted from a drash Rabbi Michael gave in February.

Recently, I was privileged to join our Shir Hadash Teens for the inaugural travel journey of our experiential and immersive Jewish teen education program.

Camille Panish, Noah Siegel, Quinn Hathaway, and Ben Laponis joined me as we traveled to the...Read more...

Thank you to Rabbi Melanie Aron for sharing her words of wisdom related to end of life care on the Fixing Healthcare podcast. Everyone is invited to go listen to the entire podcast episode online. 

Rabbi Aron covers many important topics during the interview, including religious...Read more...

Yesterday we heard aspects of hope. Today was more difficult. We headed south from Tel Aviv to the Gaza envelope. Here we met people who were grieving. At the same time, we saw acts of heroism.

Since this will be a long post, I want to start by describing the emotional conditions. In many ways, no...Read more...

On December 17th, 45 women gathered together to celebrate Shir Hadash Women (SHW) and the Beginning of Something New. We enjoyed delicious charcuterie boards and bubbly beverages.

We each met someone new and then introduced one another...Read more...

Our Shir Hadash 2024 Mitzvah Day on January 14 was a huge success thanks to the 125 volunteers who put their energies together to make a difference in our community.

THANK YOU to our volunteers! And a huge thank-you to lead event organizer Michelle Wolf-Bloom, and project leads Davida...Read more...

--- In early December 2023, Rabbi Michael participated in a service trip to Israel - this is part Three of a series of blog posts recounting his experience. ---

Shalom again,

The next morning, Rabbi Dalia Marx led us in a conversation about the Mitzvah to redeem captives. Redeeming captives? What...Read more...

--- In early December 2023, Rabbi Michael participated in a service trip to Israel - this is part one of a series of blog posts recounting his experience. ---

Shalom Friends,

After I concluded my first day in Israel I had to set this down. It was sobering and...Read more...