Led by Marcia Seigal, Shabbat Mishpacha is the original Saturday morning Shabbat program in Boulder for kids ages 2-7 and their families with age-appropriate activities for children. Geared for preschoolers through first graders and their families, everyone will enjoy celebrating Shabbat together while making new friends in this warm and spirited environment!

This program is open to everyone! There is no cost to attend, and siblings of any age are welcome. Please bring water, snacks, sunscreen, and good hiking shoes. Jogging strollers are welcome.

Reservations are mandatory by May 17th. Email shabbatmish@congregationharhashem.org or call (303) 499-7077 ext. 14. Space is limited due to open space regulations. Provide an email address so you can be notified in the event of a weather cancellation.

Please join us at Congregation Bonai Shalom this Shabbat, May 12, at 11:00 a.m. for a tot Shabbat experience, a fabulous way to celebrate Shabbat together with your young children. We sing, dance, tell stories and enjoy Shabbat together in this innovative parent-lead program. Geared towards children under the age of 5 and their parents.

Shabbat Shelanu is open to the community and there is no cost to attend. Families, friends, visiting relatives, and siblings of all ages are welcome!

Next Shelanu program: May 26th. Bonai Shalom is located at 1527 Cherryvale Road, just south of Arapahoe. If you have any questions, please email shelanu@bonaishalom.org

To usher in Shabbat, we’ll gather as a community to light candles and say hamotzi (the blessing over the challah bread) together. Grape juice and challah will be provided. The evening will continue with a catered meal from Falafel King, Israeli dancing and crafts for the children.

Shabbat in the Park is a great family-friendly way to celebrate Shabbat with your neighbors. The Boulder JCC has held these events in Nederland, Longmont, Superior and Erie. Superior resident, Rina Tilzer shared, “My husband and I both grew up in families that were active in the Jewish community. We are hoping to pass on a strong Jewish identity to our children by being active in the community ourselves. By sending our children to the Boulder JCC Preschool along with attending JCC events throughout the year we hope to lay a strong Jewish foundation. The neighborhood shabbat dinners are a great way for us to get to know other Jewish families in our immediate neighborhood.”

To attend, please register at www.boulderjcc.org by Monday, May 14.  The cost is $8 per adult; $5 per child (2 and up). This program qualifies for a MazelTot discount. This program has been made possible through a grant from Rose Community Foundation.

Led by Marcia Seigal, Shabbat Mishpacha is an innovative Saturday morning program with age-appropriate activities for children. Geared for preschoolers through first graders and their families, everyone will enjoy celebrating Shabbat together with music, art, challah, and more!

Sponsored by Congregation Har HaShem, Shabbat Mishpacha is open to the community. There is no cost to attend, and siblings of any age are welcome.

Bring a little Shabbat Mishpacha Music home with you too! A Shabbat Mishpacha CD is now available!

Har HaShem is located at 3950 Baseline Road in Boulder, half mile west of Foothills Parkway just past Meadowbrook Drive. Head to the far end of the parking lot where there is a building with a playground on the far right; that’s the South Building.

For information or to RSVP, contact shabbatmish@congregationharhashem.org or (303)499-7077 ext. 14.

Shabbat Shelanu is open to the community and there is no cost to attend. Families, friends, visiting relatives, and siblings of all ages are welcome!

The dates for spring 2012 are:
April 14th & 28th
May 12th & 26th
June 9th & 23rd

Bonai Shalom is located at 1527 Cherryvale Road, just south of Arapahoe.

If you have any questions, please email shelanu@bonaishalom.org

This class will give parents the tools to prepare easy, healthy recipes for Shabbat dinners and to host or participate in a Shabbat celebration, perhaps for the first time. Participants will prepare a meal and engage in Jewish learning accessible at all levels and sensitive to non-Jewish partners who may also be participating.

The practice of eating Shabbat dinner together is a great way for families to establish a routine of coming together around the table in a Jewish way. At the program, participants will make food one might expect to see on the Shabbat table, including homemade Challah. Introducing meaningful Shabbat rituals to one’s family will also be discussed.

Setting the Table was originally piloted in Brooklyn, NY, with a group of expectant mothers, but has been tailored to fit the needs of busy Jewish families with young children in Boulder. Local Hazon Director, Becky O’Brien shared,

Research has shown that people focus most heavily, and perhaps even for the first time, on healthy eating and cooking when they have young children. These new families are hungry for meaningful and useful ways to bring delicious and healthy meals and traditions into their homes. Setting the Table is an excellent opportunity to start doing exactly that.”

As the curriculum from Hazon states, a goal of Setting the Table is to “help [participants] learn from and grapple with ancient and contemporary Jewish texts focused on the experience of a family dinner table, and will help [people] think about…build[ing] family ritu­als around the table.” The class will take place on Tuesday, April 17^th from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm in Congregation Bonai Shalom’s kitchen. The cost is $12 per person or $20 per couple. Spots are limited and the Boulder JCC requests that interested participants register at www.boulderjcc.org (or the wufoo form) no later than April 12.

Setting the Table will guide participants towards preparing healthy and delicious meals and learning the connec­tion between food, healthy eating and Jewish tradition. It is the hope of the organizers that this program will give participants the knowledge and skills to bring Shabbat into one’s home; raise children with one’s own form of Shabbat observance; and value Shabbat and family meals as a key moment in forming strong Jewish families. If any of this resonates with you, we hope to see you at Setting the Table on April 17^th at Bonai Shalom.

Last year they released an app to help “unplug” smartphones. This year, they have teamed up with Causes.com and launched a “Cause” you can join, then share with friends on Facebook.

The National Day of Unplugging, rooted in the tradition of the Sabbath, is guided by Reboot’s Sabbath Manifesto, an ongoing project that encourages people to slow down their lives by embracing its 10 principles once a week:

1. Avoid Technology
2. Connect With Loved Ones
3. Nurture Your Health
4. Get Outside
5. Avoid Commerce
6. Light Candles
7. Drink Wine
8. Eat Bread
9. Find Silence
10. Give Back

In case that list isn’t enough of a start, you can sign up for the Undolist, an email that comes out weekly with a brief list of ideas of things to do/explore while you are unplugged.

on Friday afternoon you’ll receive the weekly UNDO list filled with ideas for conversation topics, readings, local outings and creative endeavors to ease the time away from technology and help make the day better.”

(That works unless you have your own personal “honey-do” list, in which case you are already booked with things to do while you are unplugged. Yes, you.)

To connect with National Day of Unplugging on Facebook, go here: http://www.facebook.com/SabbathManifesto

To learn more about the Sabbath Manifesto, the on-going unplugging project that was the genesis of the National Day of Unplugging, go here: http://www.NationalDayOfUnplugging.com

Will you unplug?

Led by Marcia Seigal, Shabbat Mishpacha is an innovative Saturday morning program with age-appropriate activities for children. Geared for preschoolers through first graders and their families, everyone will enjoy celebrating Shabbat together with music, art, challah, and more!

Sponsored by Congregation Har HaShem, Shabbat Mishpacha is open to the community. There is no cost to attend, and siblings of any age are welcome.

Har HaShem is located at 3950 Baseline Road in Boulder, half mile west of Foothills Parkway just past Meadowbrook Drive. Head to the far end of the parking lot where there is a building with a playground on the far right; that’s the South Building.

For information or to RSVP, contact shabbatmish@congregationharhashem.org or (303)499-7077 ext. 14.