Daf Hashavuah

Shabbat Chanukah Parshat Miketz,

Rosh Chodesh, December 19-20

Bat Mitzvah of Orly Heitler

Inside this Week’s Bulletin:

Shabbat Schedule

Drasha by Orly Heitler: Do Clothes Matter?

Friday, December 19
6:45 AM // Shacharit

4:20 PM // Yahrtzeit Northside Minyan+Channukah Potluck @ Sudikoff Home, 1209 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley CA

4:35 PM // Candle Lighting*

4:35 PM // Mincha followed by kabbalat Shabbat @CBI, led by Orly Heitler

* NOTE: Chanukah candles should be lit before the Shabbat candle-lighting time. Remember to put in more oil or bigger candles on Friday, so that they burn for 1/2 hour after nightfall (nightfall will be around 5:22 PM on Friday). Chanukah candles should be lit (just) before Shabbat candles.

Shabbat Day, December 20

Due to weather and number of people, all strollers should be left at Gan Shalom.

09:00 AM // Shacharit Morning Services

09:35 AM // Women’s Hallel and Torah reading in the main sanctuary, while the men’s service continues in the library

Greeters:

• 09:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Joseph Friedman

• 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Rebecca Angel

09:00 – 11:30 AM // Shabbat Youth Programming:

• Ages 0-3 @ CBI loft space // Parent-and-me tot Shabbat Circle

• Ages 3 years -4th grade @ Gan Shalom // 9:00 AM drop off, 10:00 AM snack

This Shabbat lunch is in celebration of the Bat Mitzvah of Orly Heitler.

4:15 PM // Mincha followed by seudah shlishit

5:37 PM // Shabbat ends**

** NOTE: Chanukah candles should only be lit after Shabbat ends. In a home setting, there are different traditions about whether Chanukah candles should be lit before or after havdalah. If your custom is to light Chanukah candles before havdalah, make sure to say “baruch hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol” or to end Shabbat with the paragraph of “Ata Chonantanu” during Maariv before lighting Chanukah candles. In regard to shul lightings, the practice is to first light Chanukah candles, and then recite havdalah.

Phone-a-Thon

Dear CBI Family and Friends,

I am grateful that Congregation Beth Israel continues to serve as a dynamic Jewish hub in Berkeley. In addition to participating in daily minyanim, Shabbat services, and youth groups, and chagim celebrations, CBI members engage in a wide range of activities, such as hosting Shabbat lunches, pro-Israel/pro-Jewish advocacy, bikkur cholim, text study, and more. Our scholars-in-residence programs attract broad community participation. Our clergy have consistently offered spiritual wisdom and guidance, both on a communal level and to individuals facing life challenges or loss.

Now more than ever, we need your continued generosity and support in meeting our 2026 Phone-a-thon goal of $50,000. The Phone-a-thon is one of our main fundraisers that we count on for needed revenue during the fiscal year. Your contribution to the Phone-a-thon will help ensure that CBI continues to offer its high level of programming and services throughout the year.

If you want to have this donation credited to your 2025 tax return, please consider making your donation before the end of December. Donors will be recognized for their support in six categories, according to their level of giving:

• $18 – $179: Supporters

• $180 – $499: Guardians

• $500 – $999: Sustainers

• $1,000 – $1,999: Pillars

• $2000 – $4,999: Innovators

• $5000+: Visionaries

You can make your donation in one of five ways:

• Donate online via EasyShul (by credit card, convenience fee applied).

• Send a check to CBI with “2026 Phone-a-thon” on the memo line.

• Checks can be sent to Congregation Beth Israel, 1630 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94703.

• Use your bank’s online payment center via Zelle (use office@cbiberkeley.org).

• Send payment through Venmo to @CBI-BERKELEY.

• Email the office at office@cbiberkeley.org or call (510) 843-5246 to make a pledge by phone; your pledge will be added to your CBI statement.

Todah rabbah,

Carol Cunradi

CBI Past President and

Phone-a-thon Chair

Chanukah

Congregation Beth Israel is partnering with the Alameda County Community Food Bank to help provide meals for families in need. Federal cuts have caused a surge in food insecurity not seen in 50 years, and your support is vital.

A donation of $3.00 provides food for one holiday meal, including chicken, green beans, cranberries, stuffing, and sweet potatoes. Thanks to a matching grant from the Koret Foundation, every dollar you give will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000.

Give today: https://donate.accfb.org/dinner
Mail contributions to:
Congregation Beth Israel
1630 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94703
Payable to: ACCFB
Memo: Beth Israel HDD

Your generosity helps ensure no one goes hungry this holiday season.
For more details, please see the full information here: Holiday Dinner Drive Information

Upcoming Programs

Women of the community are invited to a special

Women’s Kabbalat Shabbat

January 9, 4:50 PM

Book Event: Mother’s Milk by Deena Aranoff

Thursday, January 15 | 7:00pm

Register HERE

How has Jewish culture endured for thousands of years – across continents, upheavals, and dramatic change? In her new book, Mother’s Milk: Essays on Child-Rearing, the Household, and the Making of Jewish Culture, Deena Aranoff proposes an intimate answer: look to the everyday life of the household. Deena’s book reveals how Jewish culture has been nurtured and transmitted through family – feeding, caring, teaching, and raising children. From rabbinic law to family custom, she argues that Jewish culture has always been sustained by the rhythms of the household. In conversation with Naama Sadan, Deena will explore how parenting, feminism, ritual, and daily practice shape Jewish memory and identity. Together they’ll illuminate how the ordinary becomes sacred: how milk, meals, and moments of care have sustained an entire civilization.

Musical Shabbat with Elli Kranzler

Elli Kranzler M.D. is a practicing psychiatrist in New York and former faculty at Columbia University School of Medicine. He is the Shliach Tzibbur at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. Elli has recorded albums with Dveykus and Journeys and with his daughter Ravital the recording “Ki Ata Imadi” – “Because You Are With Me”. He has performed and been a scholar in residence in communities throughout the United States and beyond, including CBI in March 2023. We are so excited to sing and daven with him again!

January 16

4:57 pm // Candle Lighting

5:00 pm // Mincha followed by Songful Kabbalat Shabbat

6:00 pm // Dinner

7:30 pm // Tisch

Register for Shabbat Dinner HERE.
$30 Adults • $20 Students & Young Professionals & Children (to 12) • $75 max per family

January 17

5:58 pm // Shabbat Ends

7:30 pm // Melaveh Malkah Concert

Join Elli Kranzler and community musicians for a motzei shabbos concert.

Sign up HERE.

Gan Shalom

Very exciting news: Applications for our beloved Gan Shalom Preschool for 2026-2027 are now open! If you have questions or would like to schedule a tour, please contact our director Emma Schnur at director@ganshalomberkeley.org.

Applications can be filled out here.

We also have a few precious spaces left for this year for children ages 2-5 years old. Feel free to reach out to Emma for more information!

General Announcements

1. Website to access the application, and more information about the grant: onehappycamper.org

2. Email address for questions from Bay Area applicants: bayareaoHC@jewishcamp.org

3. Eligibility criteria for Bay Area families: Eligibility criteria for first-time* campers (*Campers who previously attended camp for 11 days or less are still eligible for first-time camper grants):

• $1000 grant if enrolled for 19+ consecutive days

• $700 grant if enrolled for 12-18 consecutive days

• Must be entering grades 1-12 (after camp)

• Attending a nonprofit, Jewish, overnight camp in FJC’s network

Stay Connected

CBI Connected Families

To join a WhatsApp group contact the CBI Office.

Subscribe to Congregation Beth Israel’s weekly

Daf Hashabbat for updates & info on events and programs.

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