Chayei Sarah (“The Life of Sarah”) opens as Sarah dies and Abraham buys the Cave of Machpelah to bury her. Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant meets Rebecca at a well, and Rebecca returns with the servant to marry Isaac. Abraham remarries, has more children, and dies at age Continue Reading »
The KBS monthly Shabbat service is led by Aviva Plaut and will include readings from the week's parashah, Toldot – Breisheet/Genesis 25:19–28:9 – which introduces twin brothers Jacob and Esau and the sale of a birthright for a bowl of lentil stew. Following the service & our "Kiddush & Kibbitz" potluck, Tamar Elias will Continue Reading »
Join us on Zoom for Torah Study. This week's parashah is Vayeitzei - (“He Went Out”) - in which Jacob sleeps with a rock for his pillow and dreams of angels going up and down a ladder: the original "stairway to heaven." He continues on his journey toward the home of his uncle Laban, Continue Reading »
"G-d Struggling" Join us on Zoom Monday, December 1, 2025 Shalom fellow KBS learners, Thank you for joining us as we deepen our Jewish learning together. We learned a lot from our first meeting, and are eager to see where we go from here. Thank you to Ruthellen for the prompt that will be the Continue Reading »
Join us for a special Shabbat service, led by Rabbi Shari Joy Berman. To mark the 21st anniversary of her adult Bat Mitzvah, R. Shari will read from the same Torah portion she had in 2004: וַיִּשְׁלַח / Vayishlach, B'reisheet/Genesis 32:4-36:43, which includes Jacob's reconciliation with his estranged brother Esau, and the most famous (… the Continue Reading »
Join us on Zoom for the KBS Torah Study. This week's parashah is Vayeishev / וַיֵּשֶׁב (“He settled”), beginning the story of Joseph, describing his rivalry with his brothers, slavery in Egypt, and imprisonment after his master’s wife frames him for refusing her advances. It also includes the story of Tamar, her husbands, and her Continue Reading »
The KBS Book Club selection is “Drawing in the Dust,” the debut novel by Rabbi Zoë Klein, hailed as “a richly evocative and boundless love story that reverberates from biblical times to the modern world.” Publisher’s Weekly praises “Drawing in the Dust” for its “balanced, compassionate view of both Israeli and Arab traditions.” Join in Continue Reading »
Torah Study: Mikeitz Saturday, Dec 20, 10AM HST on Zoom Mikeitz (“After”) follows Joseph as he interprets Pharaoh's dreams and rises to become second-in-command to Pharaoh. When Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt seeking food during a famine, Joseph accuses them of spying. He insists that they return with their youngest brother, Benjamin, and later plants Continue Reading »
Torah Study: Vayigash Saturday, Dec 27, 10AM HST on Zoom Vayigash וַיִּגַּשׁ (“He Approached”) opens as Judah pleads with Joseph not to keep Benjamin as a prisoner. Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers, crying and kissing them. The brothers bring Jacob from Canaan to Egypt, and Jacob and his children settle in Goshen. The Continue Reading »
"Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph" (1656) by Rembrandt Vayechi וַיְחִי (“He Lived”) is the final Torah portion in the Book of Genesis. Jacob prepares for his death, making favorite son Joseph swear to bury him in the Cave of Machpelah. Jacob blesses Joseph’s two sons and his own 12 sons and then dies. Jacob’s Continue Reading »
Please email info@konabethshalom.org for Zoom connection details. The discussion will also be live-streamed via the KBS YouTube channel.
The Burning Bush by Mayim Eliana Ebert Shemot שְׁמוֹת (“names”) is the first Torah portion in the Book of Exodus. It describes the bitter enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt; a royal decree that all Hebrew boy babies be killed; how the newborn Moses is rescued in a basket on the Nile, and adopted into Continue Reading »