A CHANCE TO EDUCATE THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

RABBIS FROM ISRAEL GATHER ON A MISSION TO TEACH ABOUT CULTURE
KELLIE SCHMITT, Mercury News

When Rabbi Joey Felsen was living in Israel and researching teaching jobs abroad, he repeatedly heard that the Bay Area needed more Jewish instructors.

So he set to work, gathering a group of fellow rabbis and their families who shared a similar teaching mission.

''Some of the other families were looking for jobs and some weren't but I sold them on the opportunity,'' he said.

While the numbers in the Bay Area Jewish community are substantial, the community is spread out, and organizers often experience difficulty finding educational resources, he said. Many Jewish people aren't affiliated with an organized community or educational infrastructure.

That's where the Jewish Study Network comes in.

Determined to make a difference, Felsen and five other families moved to the Bay Area in 2001 to help create a stronger connection among members of the Jewish community through teachings, study groups and organized events. The families, which include husband and wife teams, many with small children, share the common goal of promoting their knowledge about Jewish culture, traditions and history. Since most of the group met in Israel, they developed a team atmosphere there that translated into cohesiveness when they arrived in the Bay Area.

The group, which is based in Mountain View, works within the already established groups such as synagogues and schools, and creates events and activities to deepen the understanding of the faith and culture. In the process, they've found that Bay Area Jews are eager to learn more about their heritage, said Felsen, now a Palo Alto resident.

''A lot of people moved here in pursuit of things other than community,'' he said. ''But, the more you dig away at the surface, there is a large population that are born and raised and plan to live here.''

Five of the six families were living in Israel when the idea for the network arose, but they hail from many parts of the world, from Canada to Venezuela to Belgium. They began their plans in Israel and eventually came on a pilot trip to the Bay Area to test the waters.

''Once the vision started coming together, we started more systematically planning and it snowballed into a partnership,'' Rabbi Dani Kermaier said. ''We are bolstering Jewish education in the Bay Area to a new level.''

The group began by offering themselves as resources for Jewish synagogues and schools and grew to form their own study sessions and organized events. They organize Hanukkah events with music and food as well as educational components such as leaflets with facts or quizzes on the tables.

Last month, the Jewish Study Network helped organize an event with the Silicon Valley Young Adult division of the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose at Santana Row featuring Jewish artists. In May, they'll celebrate Lag ba'omer, a lesser known Jewish holiday, with a bonfire at the Lucie Stern Community Center in Palo Alto. They also have a weekly e-mail commentary on a portion of the Torah that is sent out to more than 500 people.

''There are so many Jews that are interested in education, as apparent from our classes, but before there wasn't anyone to teach them,'' said Rabbi Avi Lebowitz, who came from Baltimore to join the group. ''I felt the group was making a really large impact on the community and it's something I wanted to be a part of.''

Some network members teach private classes in the evenings for students who attend public schools. Others supplement teachings in places such as the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School. The group has worked with Hillel at Stanford, a group that provides educational, cultural and social programming for Jewish students at Stanford University.

The Jewish Study Network is filling a gap in Hillel's offerings, said Adina Danzig, the interim executive director of the Stanford group. Before, there was no one on the campus to teach Orthodox traditions.

''It's an important development in Hillel to be able to support the traditional Jewish campus community in a way it hasn't been able to before,'' Danzig said.

Not all of the Jewish Study Network's teachings are Orthodox though; they are not limited by denominations and do not associate themselves with just one synagogue. Most of their events and study sessions are free; they rely on donations and work with other organizations within the community to sustain the programming and salaries.

People throughout the area have taken notice, said Roxanne Cohen, the regional director for the Jewish Community Federation. The group has already become a strong presence and an important resource in the Bay Area, she said.

''There's definitely a trend of growth and more interest in Jewish education and social action,'' she said. ''They came here at a very good time because the community was really thirsty for more resources.''

But the study network provides more than that, she added.

''They're such warm people. It's not just a job for them.''

ABOUT THE GROUP
Rabbi Joey Felsen's family and five others share a common goal of teaching about Jewish culture, traditions and history.

(box) The group, based in Mountain View, works with established groups such as synagogues and schools, and creates events and activities to deepen the understanding of the faith and culture.

(box) Five of the six families were living in Israel when the idea for the network arose, but they hail from many parts of the world, from Canada to Venezuela to Belgium.

(box) The group began by offering themselves as resources for Jewish synagogues and schools and grew to form their own study sessions and organized events.

Source: Mercury News reporting