wellness center

Many congregants at Temple Sinai are looking for new and meaningful ways to connect with congregational life so we are pleased to present the Wellness Center of Temple Sinai. The mission of the Wellness Center is to promote Wellness and Mind/Body Health by embracing Jewish traditions, values, and practices. The goal of the Wellness Center is to nourish the mind, body, and spirit. We offer workshops and classes on Mussar, Mindfulness Meditation, Chanting and Yoga, Pilates, Wise Aging, and a Parent/Baby Community group. All these programs strive to connect with Jewish thought and practice while at the same time endeavor to provide innovative approaches to build community, comfort, and belonging.

Please contact us at wellnesscenter@oaklandsinai.org for any questions about the Wellness Center of Temple Sinai or join one or all of our programs below!

Upcoming Wellness Classes and Events

Meditation and Music Shabbat Morning Service
Saturday, April 6, 10:30am – 12:00pm; Albers Chapel & Livestream
Explore the Shabbat Morning liturgy in new and profound ways through meditation and sacred chanting. Please join Rabbi Julie Bressler, Steve Goldstein, and Joel Siegel in this moving and innovative Shabbat Morning Service. All are welcome, both experienced meditators and those who are new to meditation. No registration necessary. 

A potluck lunch will follow the service. We invite you to bring something to share, but please join us, whether or not you are able to contribute to the meal.

No registration necessary. 

Jewish Mindfulness Meditation Class
Saturday, April 20, 9:00am, Stern Hall
It’s almost Passover, where we proclaim “Dayeinu, it would have been enough!” In this month’s meditation session, we will explore the concept of “enoughness” and how it can lead to a deep sense of Gratitude. 

Join Steve Goldstein as he leads a monthly Jewish Guided Meditation session in cultivating middot (attributes) such as gratitude, loving kindness, joy, forgiveness/self-forgiveness, and compassion. All are welcome, both experienced meditators and those who are new to meditation.

You are welcome to come to one or all of the sessions. Each class is a stand-alone session. Additional Monthly Dates: April 20, May 18, and June 15.

Register 

Are you a new parent? Was your baby born between September 1, 2023 and March 1, 2024?
Join us Saturday, March 2, 2024 through Saturday, April 20, 2024, 9:00 - 10:00am at Temple Sinai.

You and your baby are invited to come meet other Jewish and Interfaith families who want to:

• Celebrate the discovery of parenting
• Explore what it means to be a new parent and hear other’s experiences
• Ask questions in a safe environment
• Seek support and develop new friends

Baby and Me is an informal, in-person group led by Karen Tanner, M.A., Infant Development Specialist, California Transdisciplinary Reflective Facilitator, Credentialled Early Childhood Special Education teacher.

There is no fee for Baby and Me. You do not have to be a Temple Sinai member to attend.

Please use the link below to register for Baby & Me. Registration closes on February 24, 2024.The group is limited to 8 families to ensure time for questions and conversation! Please sign up as soon as possible. We would love to have you join us. If the class is full, please email us to be added to our waitlist. 

For more information contact wellnesscenter@oaklandsinai.org 

This class is full but you can register for the waitlist by clicking here.

Mussar for a Better You
January 9 – April 30, 2024, 7:00 – 8:30pm, Fischer Library
Explore Mussar — the ancient/modern Jewish system for personal growth, in the supportive environment of your peers. Each of us has a “spiritual curriculum” – areas we need to work on. The Mussar tradition offers a Jewish path and methodology for identifying and working on that personal curriculum. This work is best done by working with a partner — your chevruta — in the context of a group, called a va’ad. It entails courage, openness, and discipline. But mostly it requires awareness or mindfulness, and clear intention. Be prepared to change.

This group will meet roughly every two weeks, for eight 90-minute sessions (dates below). You will be expected to commit to the series, do some reading and journaling between sessions, and meet at least once between sessions with your chavruta (by phone or online is fine)

Textbook: Everyday Holiness, by Alan Morinis

Registration for this class is now closed.

Previous Classes and Events

Over 90 attendees enjoyed a wonderful day of activities on Jewish Wellness and Spirituality at the September 30th Wellness Center Open House. The day’s offerings included Baby and Me Parent Group, Torah Study, Music in Motion Shabbat Morning Service, The Art of Mindful Eating, Introduction to Mussar, Embodied Prayer, Wise Aging, and Sukkot Guided Meditation. 

Other Ways to Get Involved
 

Wise Aging

The Wise Aging program explores the experiences, challenges, and opportunities of older adults through a Jewish lens. We offer ongoing Wise Aging groups as well as public presentations, roughly once a month, by experts on topics related to aging. For more information on both, please go to oaklandsinai.org/comm-wise-aging.

Wise Aging Groups explore topics such as cultivating nourishing relationships, living with loss, forgiveness, accepting our aging bodies, legacy and stewardship, and more. Participants have opportunities for personal sharing, mindfulness practice, and text study. Following an initial set of eight sessions, led by trained facilitators, our past groups have all continued in self-facilitated form. A new group will be forming in the Fall of 2023, and is expected to meet in person. Groups are ongoing and member-only. Targeted group: 55+ adults, must apply.

Wise Aging Presentations are free, on Zoom, and usually open to the general public upon registration. Program announcements are made through a Google group list (write to wiseaging@oaklandsinai.org to be added to the list), and on the Temple Sinai website.

Why Call it a Wellness "Center"?

So why a “Center”? This is a virtual Center existing on the Temple’s website and social media sites. We want our congregants and the Jewish community at large to be able to go to one central location to find our wellness offerings. By offering these opportunities all under the umbrella of a Center, it demonstrates our goal of being intentional in our programs to promote Wellness. The Wellness Center’s Kavanah (the Hebrew word for intention) is to offer an innovative and comprehensive approach to our Jewish spirituality and wellness focusing on the following areas:

• Mussar is a Jewish spiritual practice that helps us in leading meaningful and ethical lives.
• Meditation techniques cultivate a deeper sense of Jewish values such as gratitude.
• Yoga practices connect our bodies and minds to our breath and soul through Jewish musical chant and motion. 
• Embodied Prayer explores a series of exercises, based on Pilates principles, linked to the Jewish Blessings for Daily Miracles.
• Parents and their newborns attend in-person sessions to support their adjustment to life with their newborn and explore Jewish themes that relate to starting a young family.
• Wise Aging explores the experiences, challenges, and opportunities as an older adult through a Jewish lens.

Please contact us at wellnesscenter@oaklandsinai.org for any questions about the Wellness Center of Temple Sinai.