November is my favorite month of the year. Not just because it’s my birthday month, but also because as Jews and Americans we are asked to be more aware of the abundance in our lives through the lens of gratitude.

One of the most authentic ways I know how to live as a Jew and human being is in gratitude: thankful for the roof over my head, the food in my kitchen, the community I’m a part of, and for the abundance I receive. I can sense many of you are grateful for these things as well.

The Hebrew term for gratitude is hakarat hatov, which literally means “recognizing the good.” The practice in our lives is to focus our attention on recognizing the good that is already here.

My blessing for our community is that we can take a moment, at least once a day, and observe what we actually have in our lives and find gratitude, hakarat hatov.

I know many of us are recognizing the good of what is happening at Midrasha, and for that we are grateful.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Day Schildkret
TV/TC Midrasha Director

Teens and Parents: Come learn about LET’S GO ISRAEL (LGI), an East Bay Federation-sponsored summer Israel experience for teens in grades 10 & 11. This will be an opportunity to meet the trip directors, watch the recruitment video, hear testimonials from LGI alumni and have all your questions answered.

RSVP to Day if you’re planning to attend.

A Tasty Backwards Adventure … with Burritos, Blindfolds and the Beastie Boys!

8th graders have an opportunity to get a “taste” of the Midrasha retreats on this afternoon adventure. Eat s’mores around a campfire, enjoy the talents of your fellow 8th graders, take a nature hike, and munch on a tasty snack while the Beastie Boys play. Not only will your 8th grade teen have a “mini” retreat experience, they will also meet other 8th graders from all four East Bay Midrasha campuses.

RSVP now to confirm your attendance at the 8th grade sneak-peek adventure, which takes place in and around Berkeley. Bus transportation is available from Beth Chaim Congregation in Danville (pick-up at 12:30p, return at 6:30p). For more information, contact Day Schildkret (925.549.1664).

The RSVP link for the Fall retreat weekend is now OPEN for 9th through 12th graders who are planning to attend. Even if you signed up for the Fall retreat when you initially enrolled, you must RSVP “yes” or “no” by November 21 to confirm your attendance.

Additionally, if your teen needs financial aid for this retreat and you haven’t already submitted a financial aid application, please contact Day Schildkret with the specific request before November 21st.

There is much to share: The autumn chaggim are concluding, Midrasha is in full swing, and this week Gilad Shalit returned home to Israel. There is much to be grateful for.

In Midrasha news, there are a few VERY IMPORTANT EVENTS to be aware of:

1. The first retreat of the 2011-12 year is DECEMBER 9-11, 2011 at Camp Newman! This retreat is open to 9th-12th graders. Anyone planning to attend must RSVP by November 21. (The online RSVP link will go live this Monday, October 24 … stay tuned!) If your teen needs financial aid in order to attend the retreat, please contact me directly at midrashatvtc@gmail.com with the specific request before November 21st.

2. Our first ever 8th Grade retreat orientation is also coming up. Appropriately entitled “A Tasty, Backwards Adventure, this afternoon excursion on December 11 (from 1:15 to 6:00p in the Berkeley/Oakland area) is a sneak-peek at the Midrasha retreats. If your teen is in 8th grade, watch for the RSVP (which will open this week).

3. If you or your teen is interested in LET’S GO ISRAEL, be sure to attend the information session for parents and teens in grades 10 & 11 on November 6th at 7:15p. (Email Day at midrashatvtc@gmail.com if you plan on being there.) The LET’S GO ISRAEL trip is scheduled for June 19 through July 18, 2012.

And, finally, if you’d like to read more about the joyous release of Gilad Shalit, check out these New York Times articles.

Looking forward to seeing you and your teen on Sunday, October 23rd for another deep, fun, thought-provoking, exciting, playful, calming, educational Midrasha!

Until then,
Day

**PLEASE NOTE**
Due to a scheduling conflict, this Sunday’s Parent Class,”Your Teen and Sex,” is being RESCHEDULED.
Stay tuned for the new date!

As we continue our turning through the year, we are now heading toward the joyous and nature-based holiday, Sukkot, the seven-day festival of the harvest.

During this time, we feel the fullness and abundance of the Presence, and eat, sleep and hang out beneath the skies in roofless booths (sukkot) that represent the impermanence and vulnerability of our journey. We celebrate and give gratitude for what we have from the Earth’s harvest – food, shelter, clothes, money, land, clean water and air. We wave a bundle of the palm branch, the willow, the myrtle, and the citron, as a reminder of the fruitfulness of the world. And, within the structure of the sukkah, we are able to see the stars — the pinpoints of fire — which remind us of the much bigger picture, Spirit.

Last Sunday night, during our special program for upperclass teens/parents and our regular program for underclass teens, we encountered all the aspects of the sukkah. From the impermanence and vulnerability to the gratitude of the much bigger picture, our teens experienced the deeper meanings of the Jewish holidays AND what it really means to be a member of a community. A very powerful evening.

This Sunday night we will have our regularly scheduled Midrasha with a little surprise in the sukkah. So, let your teen know to prepare for an adventure!

See you in the sukkah!
Day

P.S. Check out these new, fabulous sukkah designs:
→ Private Booth: A portable sukkah
→ Redesigning the Sukkah

We have entered into the next step of the Tishrei season: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a day of fasting and praying for the strength to change what we must change.

The liturgy of Yom Kippur is both tender and challenging, evoking both the serious consequences of our actions, good and bad, and the tremendous potential of our lives for goodness.

It is ten days later, and the moon is bright, letting us know that it is possible to awaken ourselves. We fast on Yom Kippur as a kind of symbolic death, to remind ourselves that we must accept change for new life to become possible.

Here at Midrasha, we acknowledge that this time for a teenager (and as a parent of a teenager) is ALL ABOUT CHANGE. Our classes and teachers give our teens the skill and empowerment to explore this change and not fear or suppress it.

Have a meaningful fast and a renewed perspective for the upcoming year. It already is a year of change, so may we be in flow with it.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah,
Day

There is, indeed, Midrasha tonight (October 2) at 7:00p!
We will see all your renewed, beautiful New Year faces then.

Day

It is autumn, the month of apples. The leaves fall, and the harvest is nearly over. It is time to put away what we can for the winter. Yet within the quiet world we feel the stirring of a seed of wisdom. We must look deep within to find it. The light is fading, but within us is the beginning of the world.

The first of Tishrei is called Rosh haShanah, the beginning of the year. It is a time for reflection and memory, a time to remember all that we have done and consider whether we have done it wisely. It is a time to commit to change. This new moon is the start of a year-long cycle in which we will awaken the Divine within our souls, minds, hearts, and bodies, honoring the sacred fire, air, water, and earth, and reminding ourselves, as the Hasidic masters teach, that there is no place where God is not.

May you all have a Shanah Tovah …
A good year, a year of peace,
May gladness reign and joy increase.

Here’s to a returning to the Great Cycle!

L’Shanah Tovah!

Day

[Those were actual quotes heard at Midrasha's opening night last week!]

Having worked on Broadway before my career switch to Jewish education, I know a thing or two about opening nights. And I can tell you that TV/TC’s Opening was something to be seen. With over 60 teens in attendance, new staff and returning staff and many parent volunteers, this year’s opening night seemed particularly exciting.

Another success! But you don’t have to take my word for it — ask a teen!

We began with high energy hugs, reunions and introductions outdoors and moved right into an exciting scavenger hunt inspired by our year’s theme — Mystery — and then had our first Core classes of the year.

We noshed on delicious quesadillas (thank you, Arlynn Peavy and Rabbi Schulman), did a round-robin to choose our electives for the semester, and ended our evening in our closing circle with an acknowledgment of 9/11 and prayers for our families, our community, our country, our world and ourselves. It was truly moving.

If you can feel how invigorating our Midrasha is and have yet to register your teen, please do so. This Sunday is our last one to “try it out.” Our intention is to surpass last year’s enrollment and get all our Jewish Tri-Valley/Tri-Cities teens sign up for what we think is an incredible Jewish educational adventure.

Register online HERE! And please note: Financial aid is available for those in need so that all teens wishing to participate in Midrasha are able to do so. Inability to pay should not be a reason that prevents you and your child from experiencing Midrasha. To inquire about financial aid or for answers to any other questions, contact me here, Day Schildkret (or call 925.549.1664).

Here’s to the beginning of a very SWEET year!

L’Shanah Tovah!
Day