Peninsula Temple Sholom is a Reform Jewish Congregation dedicated to meeting the spiritual, social and intellectual needs of its congregants. Together as an extended family with diverse Jewish backgrounds, we are committed to G-d, Torah and carrying on our Jewish traditions in a participatory, warm and nurturing environment.
High Holy Day Service Schedule
Peninsula Temple Sholom hosts a wide variety of servces for the High Holy Days. They include a traditional service with a professional chorus, a contemporary service with a lay chorale, a family service, children's services and even services led by our high-school students.
New this year: We have TWO Family Services on Rosh Hashanah Morning and Yom Kippur Morning, to accommodate our growing membership and the popularity of the Family Service. The services are 9:30-11:00 AM and 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM. Choose just one!
Temple members recently attended an informative session about the new PTS L’dor Vador Endowment Fund, which will be established with the Jewish Community Endowment Fund. The endowment will provide the Temple financial security and the ability to plan and operate beyond year-to-year membership commitments and contributions.
Representatives from the Jewish Community Endowment Fund and City National Bank explained how they will consult with PTS and congregants. Examples of different giving programs were presented, including bequests and charitable gift annuities, as well as the many complex assets that may be contributed to the Fund, including real estate, appreciated securities and business interests.
The Jewish Community Endowment Fund will manage the assets in the PTS Endowment Fund. City National Bank will manage Charitable Remainder Trusts. CNB representatives explained how Charitable Remainder Trusts operate and how they can provide significant tax advantages.
Please contact Jerry Newman, Kathy Battat or Executive Director Amy Mallor if you would like more information about these new programs.
Brotherhood & SF Giants: August 25
Calling all baseball fans, men, women, and children of all ages! Join PTS Brotherhood, along with Rabbis Feder and Ettlinger, as we go to AT&T Park on Monday, August 25, to watch the San Francisco Giants take on the Colorado Rockies.
It's the annual Jewish Heritage Night at AT&T Park. The game begins at 7:15 PM, and we've reserved lots of seats right behind home plate. $25/person includes a special gift! It's always a special night and a wonderful family outing.
Last year, PTS was the single largest group at the SF Giant's Jewish Heritage Night. Come join the fun!
To reserve your tickets, contact brotherhood@sholom.org. Call Fred Sturm if you have any questions!
Nothing But Net Success!
The Nothing But Nets Hoop-A-Thon was a tremendous success, raising more than $10,000 to purchase anti-malarial nets for refugees of the Darfur conflict.
If you’re a relatively new member of the PTS Family — having joined within the past few years — you are invited to a special get-together on Sunday, Aug. 24, from 3-5 PM. We’re going to pack a lot into this short gathering:
• Learn which High Holy Day services are right for you • Get to know the clergy in an informal, casual environment • Meet Eran Vaisben, our new Religious School Director • Hear from Cindy Common, our Preschool Director • Take part in some great get-to-know-you activities • Help plan other fun activities for you and your family • And did we mention ice cream, cake and coffee?
The PTS Family Israel Trip, led by Rabbi Feder, is a unique opportunity to express our solidarity with the people of Israel and to be touched as individuals & families by the beauty of our rich past & the vibrancy of the current State of Israel.
Shopping is a Mitzvah!
When you shop at Amazon.com, PTS gets a small donation, while you enjoy the same great prices!
Support PTS by using this box to search and shop from Amazon!
By Marge Eiseman The preparations for my youngest son's bar mitzvah celebration are getting underway. I am not feeling stressed about it, nor will we spend a fortune (that we don't have). Here's a peek at some of the process.
We are admittedly an unusual family -- we began our preparations over a year ago, and never hired a party planner, a caterer or a disc jockey. I think the first thing Zach and I did was read through the Torah portion together, Shofetim, to see which section Zach wanted to read. He saw the most famous verse, "Tzedek, tzedek tirdof" (Justice, justice shall you pursue), and owned it!
By William Berkson As I explained in previous posts, Reform Judaism can become much stronger by serving families. And it can do this by showing how the personal ethics of the Talmud, updated, can powerfully assist sacred relationships, strong marriages and families.
However, before this we first have to convince teens that Judaism can make a difference to their lives. As is well known, there is a huge drop off of students attending religious school after Bar and Bat Mitzvah. What can we teach teens that will be compelling evidence that it will help them to have Judaism as part of their lives?
My perusal of the rest of Rabbi Berman's post and of the Principles page of the SCRJ website leads me to believe that beyond [supporting] an increasingly outmoded aesthetic, there are no differences between SCRJ and the mainstream of the movement. Certainly the ideology the SCRJ labels Classical is no more than standard Reform ideology.
While I am not sure which theological camp is right (or more to the point if any camp can be "right"), it does seem a bit out of place to go to the extremes that have often been supported in posts and comments this blog. My hope for the future of Reform Judaism is that we move past these broad stroke definitions and focus on our mandate to be the light onto the nations, have our youth see those vision and do justice while we walk humbly with our God.
By Larry Kaufman As regular readers of this blog may have noticed through my comments on other people's posts, I've recently returned from a river cruise through Ukraine -- fortunately arriving home before the Georgian crisis erupted -- and want to share some thoughts in three general areas:
Differences between Jewish and secular travel
The changes that appear to have taken place in Ukraine since my prior trip in 2001
Ukrainian roots for American Jews
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Peninsula Temple Sholom hosts a wide variety of servces for the High Holy Days. They include a traditional service with a professional chorus, a contemporary service with a lay chorale, a family service, children's services and even services led by our high-school students.
Amy Mallor, PTS' new Executive Director, is here! She started on June 16, and worked with James Carlson on the transition.
L’dor Vador Endowment Fund Officially Launched
Calling all baseball fans, men, women, and children of all ages! Join PTS Brotherhood, along with Rabbis Feder and Ettlinger, as we go to AT&T Park on Monday, August 25, to watch the San Francisco Giants take on the Colorado Rockies.
Mishkan T'filah, the wonderful new prayer book, will be coming to PTS! 
Cantor Barry Reich has uploaded a new song, Ani V'atah, for Yom Ha'atmaut, and for the Zimriyah and Hava Nashir celebration.
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Two PTS members - Karen Wisialowski and Alan Zeichick - presented at the 
Peninsula Temple Sholom