Shorts: Bay Area

Soquel burial ground blessed by community

Members of Temple Beth El in Aptos on June 7 blessed the Jewish cemetery Beit Olam, located next to the historic Soquel Cemetery on Old San Jose Road.

Beit Olam is the second Jewish cemetery to open in Santa Cruz County. The other is on Meder Street in Santa Cruz.

But that one is filling up. Eight of the 250 plots are still available, but those spaces are reserved for members of the synagogue, said Rabbi Paula Marcus.

“We felt it was important to have a space for any Jew who wanted to be buried in a Jewish cemetery,” she said. So in 2000, the synagogue purchased the Soquel land. The first burial occurred in 2001.

There are currently 200 plots available, with the option to expand the space to up to 800 plots, Marcus said.

The June 7 “rededication” was a ritual to make the site sacred, and part of a series of educational workshops to inform the Temple Beth El community about Jewish burial rituals.

‘From church to Torah’: Former pastor to give talk

An aspiring rabbi who used to be a Christian pastor will speak about his journey “From the Church to the Torah,” at Chabad of the Greater South Bay on Monday, June 15.

Yaakov Parisi, a student at the Rabbinical College of America, was an evangelical Christian pastor before he and his wife, while exploring the roots of their faith, became enamored by Judaism. He closed his church in Oaklahoma in 1997 and moved to Denver, where the following year he completed his conversion to Judaism before a Jewish court, taking a Jewish name.

Parisi will speak 7:30 p.m. at Chabad, 3070 Louis Road, Palo Alto. Suggested donation is $15. For more information, call Chabad at (650) 424-9800.

March for Pride with the Jewish community

Jews from across the Bay Area will gather 9 a.m. June 28 at Beale Street Bar and Grille in preparation for the annual Pride Parade.

The Jewish contingent will include individuals, families with children young and grown, and Jewish organizations and synagogues.

At Beale Street, dozens will gather to make rainbow kippot and eat breakfast before the parade. Confirmed groups to date include: Jewish Vocational Service, Camp Newman, Progressive Jewish Alliance, Kol Tzedek, Parents Place of Jewish Children and Family Services, the Jewish Community Federation and congregations Rodef Sholom, Beth Am and Sherith Israel.

It is the first time that the Jewish community will march together in San Francisco’s Pride Parade, which begins 10:30 a.m. at Market and Beale streets.

To register in advance, check http://www.tinyurl.com/Jews4Pride or contact Margee Churchon at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

S.F. supervisor to speak on budget

San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi will be the guest speaker at Congregation Sherith Israel’s Kabbalat Shabbat 6 p.m. June 26 at 2266 California St., San Francisco.

A heavy oneg will be served after the service, followed by an open forum with Mirkarimi.

He’s expected to discuss “hot button” issues stemming from Mayor Gavin Newsom’s budget, including its effect on the elderly, children and the mentally disabled; the impact on those in need in the Fillmore; and volunteer opportunities to help fill in the gaps.

Information or RSVP: (415) 346-1720, ext. 24 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).