Secular community in Israel sending delegates to S.F.

Beit Tefilah Israeli, a young, fast-growing community in Tel Aviv for secular Jews, will get a taste of Jewish life in the Bay Area when 15 of its members travel to San Francisco for a week full of activities beginning June 2.

In addition to manning a booth, where they will offer information and answer questions, some group members will be singing on the main stage at Israel in the Gardens.

The group also will visit Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco to participate in rituals and share their knowledge of modern Judaism in Israel.

On June 5, Beit Tefilah Israeli’s leaders and musicians will co-lead the Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7:30 p.m. The group will also lead Torah study beginning at 9:15 a.m. June 6. Congregation Emanu-El is at 2 Lake St. in San Francisco.

An S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation-sponsored program, Beit Tefilah Israeli is  not affiliated with a Jewish movement. Its services combine live music, modern poetry, literature and personal prayers with the traditional prayer book.

Based in Tel Aviv, Beit Tefilah is described as a “cutting-edge, progressive synagogue made up of young adults and young families, helping to model modern Judaism in Israel.” 

Israel in the Gardens Director Ronit Jacobs, familiar with the Tel Aviv–based group from her years in Israel, says Beit Tefilah “is a synagogue for Israelis that had no [prior] connection to Judaism.”