Grape Jews

When my wife and I first moved to Napa in the 90’s we quickly discovered that the Valley was inhabited with Jews of all sorts. There was not really an interest on our part to get involved with Congregation Beth Sholom (CBS) at the time even thought Rabbi White was someone I grew up with since he was the uncle of my best friend in High School. Rabbi White even grew up in the same youth movement as I did (Young Judaea) and much of his service was familiar to me in style and conten,t yet because of our age and our focus, (career and each other) we were not out searching for spirituality. Overtime marriage and children became the impetus for our searching out spirituality - Rabbi White married us and our first born (a boy) had his Pidyon Haben at CBS.

Still there was a part of me that was not keen to be a part of an institutional Judaism. I had basically grown up in the “Conservative System” and felt like it had stripped much of what it could have offered up in the form of spirituality. My wife and I were looking for something else - something that was created and run by the participants. There were other like minded Jews in Napa, those that felt like CBS was not the place for them or that they needed some supplement to what CBS had to offer. The model we used was simple - we met once a month at each other’s homes for Friday Night services and a potlock and whomever was the hosting the service lead it (with everyone chipping in as best we could). (more…)

A Tibetan Buddhist Rinpoche (Precious Teacher) connected to the Vajrayana teachings (Red Hat Buddhist) and a great spiritual master of Tantric Buddhism will give blessings and teachings on a rare visit to the US.

Transforming Negative Emotions
2 - 4 pm
Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio
1140 Main Street, Napa 94559

Forgiveness - The Key to Resiliency
7 - 9 pm
Congregation Beth Sholom
1455 Elm Street, Napa 9455

Sponsored by Janna Waldinger & Lowell Downey
Call to reserve space (707) 257-1166 or email: artclarity@aol.com

Download the PDF of the Event here.

Come celebrate the 2nd Anniversary of Jesse Barush’s Bar Mitzvah

With Roy, Sue, Jesse and Ben on Saturday, June 7 at 9:30 A.M. Traditional Minyan at CBS. Potluck (dairy) Kiddush lunch will follow the service. Everyone is welcome.

I will be rotating the images I put on the homepage of Grapejews.com. Send me your photo’s and I will make sure to post them! Please note I will have to crop them to 729 pixels wide and 90 pixels high to get them to fit the area on the homepage. If your picture are interesting enough I will make a Gallery of them. The current picture on the homepage is from a southwest facing view from Westwood Hills looking toward the Carneros Region of the Napa Valley.

Thanks

Louis

Just a note that Congregation Beth Sholom has a new website up at http://www.cbsnapa.org. Thanks to Natalie Woodard for the great job on the site.

You are invited to a “Safari in Napa” with Naturalist Milton Rieback! The Jewish Historical Society of Napa Valley invites you to a marvelous afternoon to be held at Connolly Ranch in Napa. Milton Rieback, was born and raised in South Africa, where, as a youth, he discovered a love for animals. He has been involved in animal rehabilitation including hand rearing cheetah cubs. As a game ranger, safari field guide and herpetologist, he has worked for world-renowned parks and game preserves. Rieback moved to the United States in 2000 and is currently the director of education at Safari West Wildlife Preserve, an African wildlife park in Sonoma county. He will bring some animals for us to get “up close and personal” with. He will read and autograph his book The Adventures of Webb Ellis; named after a rhino that was born on Mabula in 1995 the day South Africa won the Webb Ellis world cup in rugby. (more…)

Setting up this website came to me in a wave of inspiration the other day. There are no websites that focus on the conversation of Jewish Life in the Napa Valley, yet we are “here”, and we are important contributing members to the greater Napa Valley Community. I am hoping that people will come to this site to get information about what’s happening that is “Jewish” in the Napa Valley as well as a resource and a place to discuss topics that are of interest to those of us living here.

Enjoy!