Ritual: we don’t offer formal religious services, but many of our sessions include creative, kid-friendly, embodied, and earth-based ritual practices. We have created and shaken our own native plant lulavim to summon the rains; baked matzoh over an open fire while discussing what it means to flee home seeking safety; mixed potions to celebrate the trees’ birthday on Tu B’Shvat; and printed with apples and olive branches to wish for a sweet new year with freedom for Palestinian olive farmers.

Some of our participants also belong to synagogues and send their children to Hebrew school. Others have no Jewish practice outside Acorn Shabbat.

We begin every session with three minutes of quiet, looking up at the redwoods. We seek to use the beautiful natural environment to connect with ourselves, each other, the trees, and ruach ha’olam (the spirit of the world).

Cultural learning: we learn and teach about Jewish languages, music, foods, celebrations, and stories from across the diaspora. We encourage participants to investigate their own families’ traditions, many of which have been lost through assimilation. We also value learning about the cultures and traditions of Palestinians and other peoples of the Levant, and about indigenous practices on the land we live on.

Social justice learning: we educate ourselves and each other about the long history of Jewish struggle for justice and liberation for all people. We draw inspiration from these traditions as we reimagine them for our own very uncertain times.

Co-creation: We believe there is great value in connecting our kids (and ourselves!) with their ancestral history, songs, languages, stories, spiritual practices, and revolutionary traditions. But our role is not just to transmit a set body of knowledge. We offer a taste of the many creative ways people engage in Jewish ritual and culture today, and the opportunity to be part of that ongoing conversation. Participants can choose what feels meaningful to them, what pieces they want to integrate into their lives, and how they want to co-create a Jewish future.