the aquarian minyan invites you to Join us!
Cherished Members,
Each precious member is a spark which together creates a holy flame in the center of our Minyan, and of our hearts, that never goes out. This flame is kept alive with everything we do together – singing, dancing, praying, learning, and loving one another. This flame fuels our wonderful weekly Shabbat services, as well as our other programs and initiatives.
The Aquarian Minyan Yeshiva, born at the beginning of the pandemic, has continued to thrive as an international center of adult Jewish education under the leadership of Rabbi Jonathan Seidel and a team of dedicated members. Our lay-led Programming and Education Committees have brought forward extraordinary opportunities to learn and grow with a wide variety of teachers and events.
Now we’re looking towards the future. With the coming implementation of hybrid services and events, our goal is to create a safe real-life environment for those who are fully vaccinated to gather, and to warmly include those who wish to attend via Zoom. We’ve already proven over this past year that we’re flexible, adaptable, and we’ve demonstrated that together, we can face any challenge!
Our visions being birthed at this time include new and exciting ideas, like Ruach Shalom, a peacemaking initiative, and our expanded Yeshiva. Your participation as a member is vital to the success of all our events, services, and programming! With these realities in mind, we’re asking you to renew your annual membership today.
As in past years, membership includes tickets to the High Holy Days services. This year we’re doing hybrid services, in person and on Zoom. Whether you decide to attend in person or via Zoom, or some of each, you’ll be given your “tickets” through your renewed membership, via email a week prior to the start of the High Holy Days.
We rely on membership fees to support the Minyan, to pay everyday organizational expenses such as staff salaries, insurance, postage, printing, and many other items, as well as to develop new programs and opportunities. At the same time, because we are committed to the principle that no one is turned away for lack of funds, we are glad to offer a sliding scale membership option. Please review the attached membership sheet and decide which level is appropriate for your budget. You will be able to pay all at once, or in quarterly or monthly installments; whatever option is best for you. We are grateful for your participation and happy to have you with us.
Please visit this link: https://aquarianminyan.com/membership to renew your membership today or if you prefer to pay by check, download this membership worksheet, fill it out, and mail it to: The Aquarian Minyan, POB 7224, Berkeley CA 94707 !
We look forward to an even more amazing year to come, with you and all our wonderful community!
With gratitude for all your participation and contributions!
- The Aquarian Minyan Council
Membership Levels:
GLOBAL MEMBERSHIP now available for those outside of Greater Bay Area
LOCAL MEMBERSHIP still available for those who live geographically adjacent to Berkeley
BOTH Global and Local Membership pricing are based on a Sliding Scale
Membership prices are for the number of adults in the household. Both single and two adult rates include any children in the family.
Partial work exchange may be possible upon request.
Membership is on an annual basis and runs from July 1st of one year to June 30th of the next. If you sign up after June 1st, your membership will be applied to the upcoming year. To purchase tickets for non-members, please go to our High Holy Day registration page.
From a Previous Appeal:
About 2020 / 5781 Membership:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
We are emerging from the Pandemic - meeting in person again and continuing most of our programming virtually. We invite you to get involved both ways - whatever is most convenient and works for you .
The Minyan is continually evolving from its early days and has entered the new Era of Hybrid Jewish life with gusto and renewed energy and devotion.
Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi z”l, our Rabbi in Residence at the founding of the Aquarian Minyan, gave us the gift of insisting that each and every member find their inner rebbe, their unique spark of the Divine that they then share with the community. In these dark and challenging times, again and again we are being bathed in the light emanating from each and all of the holy souls who keep stepping forward, creating the vessels through which we can be nurtured.
The creation of the Aquarian Minyan Yeshiva, which hosts daily classes has skillful, knowledgeable teachers who support the minds and hearts of the Minyan’s ever-growing national and global membership. Our Yeshiva reaches hundreds of people locally and internationally in real time, and thousands via our ever-growing video-on-demand archive of adult education classes.
And then there’s Shabbos (“ay yah yay..shabbos!!!”): Hannah Cohen, Juli Moskowitz and Marty Potrop sparked into existence our now-weekly Zoom-based Erev Shabbat/Friday night services and Reb Jonathan Seidel sparked and hosts on Shabbat morning. This grass-roots “living-room Judaism,” mostly-members-and-friends-led davenning is infused with kedusha (holiness) and humility, joy and yearning, originality and tradition. They are done with support and encouragement for each one of us to find our own voices, our own roles, our own makom (place) in this “rolling crap game,” as Reb Zalman z”l called us, 46 years ago, when “we" founded this Mothership of Jewish Renewal, the Aquarian Minyan.
It’s the series of small things that are the building blocks to community connectivity in these crazy times: when you show up with your face in a square at a class, when you speak your truth at an evening gathering, when you bring some food to a sick community member and of course, when you sign up for another year of membership
Membership in our community, wherever you are geographically, means that there is always someone who cares about you and/or someone who knows someone who can help you, in your time of need.
Membership means that we will have the funds to support our staff, and to grow, and continue, many of our online events even when it's safe to meet again in the same physical space.
Membership in the Aquarian Minyan is a mitzvah; supporting this community, this kehillah, is a privilege. Whether you pay up front or make monthly installments, it’s your contributions that fuel our operations and allow everyone’s “sparks” to manifest.
Membership means you have a voice in defining the direction in which our ship sails, whether you vote for others to serve on the Aquarian Minyan’s Council or choose to take a seat yourself.
So this is it: We’re looking forward to “Transforming Together,” as our 2020/5781 High Holy Days theme reminds us. But we can’t be “together” without you; we need your unique spark of the Divine, to be here with us. Please sign up or renew your membership, at our link: https://aquarianminyan.com/membership
With gratitude
The Aquarian Minyan Council