please note our two locations for services this year
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 - SELICHOT SERVICE - Sanctuary
MONDAY, SEPT. 29 - EREV ROSH HASHANAH 7:30 PM - UNITY IN THE GOLD COUNTRY CHURCH, 180 Cambridge Court, Grass Valley TUESDAY, SEPT. 30 - ROSH HASHANAH 10:00 AM - NCJCC WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1 - SECOND DAY ROSH 10:00 AM - NCJCC
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8 - KOL NIDRE - 7:30 PM - UNITY IN THE GOLD COUNTRY CHURCH THURSDAY, OCT. 9 - YOM KIPPUR - 10:00 AM - NCJCC
Our Sanctuary
Welcome to Congregation B'Nai Harim!
Located in the beautiful Sierra foothills, midway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, we are a diverse, warm and welcoming community; a place where our members can develop close and lasting friendships. We embrace traditional and non-traditional families, singles, and both partners of interfaith marriages. While we are a Reform congregation, as the only Jewish place of worship in the region, our religious services reflect both traditional and contemporary modes of worship.
Our Rabbi Alan Greenbaum, who has been serving Jewish congregations for over thirty years, brings his experience and devotion to Judaism and the Jewish people to our community. Our vibrant and growing religious school is led by Harriett Kroot, a teacher and former principal with a lifetime of experience who provides our children with a remarkable curriculum of special Jewish experiences and family programs while empowering them to live the rest of their lives as knowledgeable Jews.
Our congregation is a place to pray and learn and draw close to God. It is a loving environment for celebrating and commemorating life's special occasions. It is a place to call home. Please explore our website, and should you have any questions, feel free to call our office or send us an e-mail at ncjcc@sbcglobal.net
From The Rabbi
Dear Friends, If it is September, the High Holidays must be near. Indeed, we begin our new spiritual year towards the end of the month. Following the Hasidic proverb, "More important than the deed, is the preparation for the deed," we take the month preceding Rosh Hashanah to prepare. And I would like to use this month's article in that manner. There are some aspects of THIS YEAR'S holiday season that I would like to feature. Please think about them. Consider their implications for you personally and for our community. It is my hope that your consideration will lead to participation.
~DEDICATION OF NEW TORAH AND PRAYER BOOKS~ What a more fitting way could there be to prepare for the New Year than to welcome our new Torah scroll as well as our new prayer books, the Mishkan Tefilah. On Friday night, September 12th at 6:00 PM, we will do just that! ~SLICHOT SERVICES~ Jewish tradition tells us to begin the annual process of repentance many days before Rosh Hashanah. So, depending on when Rosh Hashanah falls during the week, either one or two Saturdays before, the community gathers for Slichot ("forgiveness") prayers. This year we will gather at the temple on Saturday night, September 20th at 7:30 PM for this purpose. In addition to our prayers and songs, we will observe Slichot at the Western Wall from last year. And then we will "join" worshippers at the Western Wall in real time to accompany our own prayers. In addition, we will participate in the annual changing of the Torah covers to the pure white covers for the High Holidays. ~CANTORIAL SOLOIST CINDY PALEY~ Enhancing the beauty of our Holiday services this year will be the wonderful Cindy Paley. Cindy has an impressive resume which includes song leading, cantorial work and CD recordings. She will bring her beautiful spirit and music to our services. ~A COMMUNITY UNITED IN WORSHIP~ This year we will be together as one united community in worship throughout all of our High Holiday services. To accomplish this, we will have our two evening services at the Unity in the Gold Country Church which is located at: 180 Cambridge Court in Grass Valley. For a map and directions you can go online to: http://www.unitygold.us/location.htm The schedule of services will be as follows: -September 29 at 7:30 PM, Erev Rosh Hashanah service will be at Unity in the Gold Country Church, -September 30 at 10:00 AM, Rosh Hashanah morning service will be at B'nai Harim at NCJCC -October 1 at 10:00 AM, 2nd-day Rosh Hashanah morning service will be at B'nai Harim at NCJCC -October 8 at 7:30 PM, Kol Nidre service will be at Unite in the Gold Country Church -October 9 at 10:00 AM, Yom Kippur services will be at B'nai Harim at NCJCC So with all of these elements in our preparation and services, I hope that you find the experience to be filled with spiritual meaning and enjoyment. Of course, the most important element to accomplish this is YOU! Dori joins me in wishing you a Shana Tova - a healthy and happy year!
Living in a small town in Northern California, the need to meet with other Jewish families becomes even more important to us than if we lived in a larger metropolitan area where we could easily meet and socialize with fellow Jews. Our Congregation/Jewish Community Center offers a meeting place for us to get together on a regular basis to pray, study and socialize with each other. Not only do we offer a full religious school program from pre- school through Bar and Bat Mitzvah age, we also have an active post Bar and Bat Mitzvah program for our youth headed by Rabbi Greenbaum, and one of our members, Susan Halperin. This group has adopted the name: "Groovy". We hold Shabbat evening services each Friday. The Rabbi conducts services twice a month, including a family service once a month, and the remaining weeks are covered by lay members. Torah study takes place on Saturday morning when the Rabbi presides.
We have many other programs that are offered through our very active Sisterhood, Brotherhood, and Adult Education Committee. We try to engage community members, who are not Congregational members, to join us for the High Holidays, Purim, Passover, and special programs that we open to the community-at-large in hopes that one day they will join our smaller community. Due to our rather small membership of 102 families, we have become one larger extended family. We join together in times of joy and in times of sorrow. Perhaps one of the best examples of us joining forces and having a great time, simultaneously, is when we work at The Bagel Booth at our County Fair each August. Every year, more than three-quarters of our members volunteer their services to make this fundraising event a success. In fact, this is where many community members first learn that there is a Jewish congregation in the community.
Although we have only part time office help, we are always available by either phone or email. Give us a call at (530) 477-0922 or email us at ncjcc@sbcglobal.net for more information. We hope to hear from you.
