RSVP by Wednesday for the CNS 2nd Night Seder!!

Only a Few Spaces Are Still Available at the CNS Second Night Community Pesach Seder! Tuesday, March 26, 6:00 pm click for the CNS Pesach Guide 2013 Join Rabbi Menachem Creditor and Rabbi Daniel Kohn as we celebrate our freedom! We'll enjoy a catered feast, fine kosher wines, and deep teachings and conversations about the Exodus and it's meanings for us today on this birthday of the Jewish people.    Click here for a special "Modern Slavery Seder Supplement" created by CNS Members Leslie Gordon, Joel Siegel, Mark Priven, and Robin Braverman. (It has  already been downloaded over 1,000 times for use at seders everywhere this year!) RSVP for the CNS Community Second Seder by Wednesday, March 20th  (Final Deadline) to office@netivotshalom.org   $53/adult ||$37/child 10-2 $12/child 2-0 || $156/family   Payment Options- pay online at  www.netivotshalom.org and use the "Make a Donation" tab and enter "Seder" in the description field or mail/drop-off your check to Congregation Netivot Shalom and write  "Seder" on the memo line. Congregation Netivot Shalom || 1316 University Ave. || Berkeley, CA 94702 office@netivotshalom.org || netivotshalom.org || @cnsberkeley

Fair Trade Chocolate You CAN Eat on Passover!!!

Fair Trade Chocolate You CAN Eat on Passover!!! We received word (Friday, 3/15) from Rabbi Aaron Alexander, Associate Dean, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University, that "Equal Exchange pareve chocolates (the 3.5 oz. or 100 g line and dark chocolate minis) may be purchased before Passover and consumed on Passover". These products are also vegan, soy and gluten free. For people following Conservative halacha, products must be in the house the day before Passover, prior to Bedikat Chametz.   These products include: Organic Chocolate Espresso Bean Bar Organic Dark Chocolate with Almonds Bar Organic Ecuador Dark Chocolate Bar Organic Mint with a Delicate Crunch Bar Organic Orange Dark Chocolate Bar Organic Panama Extra Dark Chocolate Bar Organic Very Dark Chocolate Bar Organic Dark Chocolate Minis With deep appreciation to Rabbi Menachem Creditor (Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley, CA) who initiated the conversation and Rabbi Tuvia Hod of Kosher Germany (Equal Exchange's Kosher ceritfier)   You can find this chocolate in many Whole Food Stores, food coops, and natural food stores, or you can order it directly from Equal Exchange. Although they guarantee that you'll receive your order within 10 business days, to discuss expedited shipping options, please call Equal Exchange's Customer Service dept. before 1 pm EDT, on Wed. March 20th, at 774-776-7366, to ensure that the bars will be in your home by the first night of Pesach.   FTJ worked with Rabbi Menachem Creditor to offer this inspiring kavanah:   Every generation learns that things are more than they seem. This chocolate I hold is more than just chocolate. This is a symbol of potential freedom, a realization that foods that give me delight can be made without child labor. Joy need not be accompanied by pain or oppression. May I experience the sweet flavor of this gift as a hint of the freedom that birthed it. May the world know liberation, one person at a time, mindful act by mindful act, until all people are free.   Other Fair Trade Passover Resources can be found here:   Other resources about Chocolate and Child labor can be found here:   Please support this important work that Fair Trade Judaica is pioneering!   Fair Trade Judaica is a beneficiary of UpStart Bay Area. Fair Trade Judaica is a project of Community Partners/Jumpstart. Copyright © 2007-2013 Fair Trade Judaica, all rights reserved.

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Pesach Resources

Second Night Seder at CNS! co-led by Rabbis Menachem Creditor and Daniel Kohn  Tuesday, March 26, at 6:00 pm   Catered by KosherCraft (Janice MacMillan). Cost is $53/adult ; $37/child 10-2; $12/child 2-0 ; $156/family.  RSVP by Wednesday, March 20th  (Final Deadline) to office@netivotshalom.org.  There are 2 options to make payment- either pay online at  www.netivotshalom.org and use the "Make a Donation" tab and enter "2nd Night Community Seder" in the description field or send your check to Congregation Netivot Shalom and write  "Seder" on the memo line. Shehechiyanu: Fair Trade Chocolate for Pesach! Were it not for the heroic work of CNS members Leslie Gordon, Mark Priven, Joel Siegel, & Robin Braverman, the right questions would never have made their ways to the right people. and now, thanks to the holy work of Ilana Schatz, Fair Trade Judaica, and our teacher Rabbi Aaron Alexander, we can all say SHEHECHIYANU!! -- Fair Trade Chocolate for your Passover Seder!!!!    To order, click here: http://t.co/7zJa8Rc4ZX Quick Links CNS Website! Make a Gift to CNS! CNS Online Calendar! CNS Blog! CNS Preschool! Rabbi Creditor's Blog! Join Our List Congregation Netivot Shalom Pesach Resources!! Pesach Pesach (Passover) is a time in which freedom and purposefulness combine and connect us to a Jewish generational journey that has found ever-new ways to adapt and transmit our story of Liberation. Please visit myjewishlearning.com as a wonderful and supportive starting point for this year's Pesach journey!    Click here for  The Netivot Shalom Pesach Kashrut Guide 5773 (copies are available in the shul office during regular hours)   Selling Chametz Chametz is leavened food forbidden on Pesach. According to Halachah (Jewish law), we may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover. It has become a practice to temporarily sell one's chametz (via their rabbi) to someone who is not Jewish, who owns the chametz during Pesach and relinquishes it after Pesach.     Click here to Sell Your Chametz online!  (forms are also available in the shul office  during regular hours)     Yeshivat Lev Pesach: Two Nights - Three Opportunities for Learning coming up in March!: How to Lead Your Own Seder with Harry and Judy Radousky, Monday, March 18: 7:30-9:00 PM Ready to lead your very first (or 2nd or 3rd) Seder but panicking at the thought? Perhaps you've lead Seders but want to brush up on your "technique." Join Judy and Harry as they walk you through the steps of the Seder and offer suggestions and ideas about how to make your Seder the most rewarding yet. How to Add Meaning to Your Seder with Rabbi Shalom Bochner, Tuesday, March 19: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Are you starting to become bored with your Seder - "Same Old Same Old?" Want to put more zest into the Seder, not to mention wowing your family and friends with your new insights and analyses of what the Seder is really about. Join Rabbi Bochner for an evening of learning and discovery. This is the Haggadah we use.  What do you use? With David Stein, Tuesday, March 19: 8:15 PM - 9:15 PM Sidurim may vary within a Jewish stream of ritual tradition, but Haggadot can vary from household to household.  The worlds occupied by some Haggadot  can be so different from what we may be accustomed to that we may find it hard to imagine a Seder using them.  In our short workshop we will dig into several Haggadot to discover the world the compiler had in mind when they were composed.   ---- netivotshalom.org

New Podcast: A Discussion of Nathan Englander's "Sister Cities"

A Discussion of Nathan Englander's "Sister Cities"
(C) Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Podcast available: https://soundcloud.com/rabbicreditor/a-discussion-of-nathan

This story from Englander's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank" is so hard, so painful, and so accurate. Can this new Jewish sacred story point to a world where neighbors, sisters, trees, and land can be shared without hurt? We're pleased to offer this online way for you to join this emotional conversation based at Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley. (In conjunction with JewishLearningWorks' One Bay, One Book.)

SHEHECHIYANU!! -- Fair Trade Chocolate for your Passover Seder!!!!

We are thrilled to announce that if you're looking for Fair Trade chocolate that's acceptable for Passover, look no further! With the help of Rabbi Aaron Alexander, Associate Dean at Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies American Jewish University, and in consultation with the manufacturer, Equal Exchange chocolates marked pareve in the 100g size* and dark chocolate minis may be consumed on Passover! These products are soy and gluten free. How fortunate that this decision has happened a week before Passover with just enough time to show your support for fairly traded chocolate-- with its anti-slavery message--and to share it with family and friends at your Passover seder. For those following Conservative halacha, products must be in the house the day before Passover, prior to Bedikat Chametz.   Although we guarantee that you'll receive your order within 10  business days, if you wish to discuss expedited shipping options, please call Equal Exchange Customer Service before 1 pm EST by Wed. March 20th, at 774-776-7366, to ensure that the bars will be in your home by the first night of Pesach** Equal Exchange expresses its appreciation to Rabbi Menachem Creditor at Congregation Netivot Shalom and Fair Trade Judaica for their assistance in researching this issue.  Thank you to Rabbi Tuvia Hod of Kosher Germany, which certifies Equal Exchange's 100g chocolate bars and chocolate minis. His kashruth agency is recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. A special intention (kavannah) for eating child-labor free chocolate on Passover can be found at: Fair Trade Judaica: Fair Trade Chocolate You Can Eat on Passover Chag Sameach!

*Milk Chocolate with a Hint of Hazelnut and Caramel Crunch with Sea Salt are not acceptable flavors as they contain dairy. **Live near a food co-op or Whole Foods? Look for Equal Exchange locally as opposed to ordering online.

Sell your Chametz Online!

from #GLAAD: Rally for marriage equality at the Supreme Court, March 26 & 27

Share with friends!   Rally with us outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC Hi Friend , On March 26 and 27, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on two cases critical to marriage equality. These two cases - which concern the so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act' (DOMA) and California's anti-gay Proposition 8 - are about whether same-sex couples should have the same freedoms as everyone else.   It is time for our nation's highest court to ensure that same-sex couples are treated fairly under the law - and we need you to help make that happen. Visit www.glaad.org/marriage to learn more and join us in Washington, D.C. on March 26 and 27 to help show America that all Americans deserve to be treated fairly and equally under the law - no matter who they love. GLAAD is working with United for Marriage, a coalition of LGBT and allied groups, grassroots leaders, and families to organize events right outside the Supreme Court and all over the country. Come rally with us outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on March 26th and 27th:  http://bit.ly/UnitedForMarriageRally We know it's not possible for everyone to come to D.C., which is why there are over 60 events being organized right now around the country - right in your back yard. Every event moves us one step closer to equality. Join or organize a community event in your area: http://bit.ly/UnitedForMarriageLocalEvents The best thing we can do in this critical moment is to show that Americans everywhere, of all creeds and backgrounds, strongly support marriage equality - and we need you to help make that happen. The nation is ready. Can we count on you? Herndon Graddick GLAAD President