I joined Sha’ar Zahav when my sons were 6 and 9. They are now 28 and 31. The community was an important support to me through the years of their Jewish education, and through each of their b’mitzvah ceremonies. My own roles in the CSZ community change over time, but Sha’ar Zahav remains both a buoy and an anchor in my life.

I want to do what I can so that children and adults of any age can continue to be nurtured in our inclusive Jewish environment – sometimes together!

Much of my engagement with our shul (synagogue) is through social action; I currently chair the Climate Action Committee, and am involved with our Racial Equity and Social Action Committees as well. I also work with our Building Community in considering how best to maintain and configure our physical space (290 Dolores) to match our community needs, and to reflect our concern for the planet.

I recently completed one year as CSZ Vice President, and prior to that two years as CSZ Recorder. In the early 2000s, I was an active member (and Chair) of the Beit Sefer Phyllis Mintzer Board. I recently retired after 28 years teaching ESL at City College (CCSF); I also serve on the Advisory Board of Eco-Peace Middle East, and I’m always looking to support equity and environmental sustainability in Israel and here in the Bay Area.

Contact Deborah at [email protected]

I am a relatively new member of Sha’ar Zahav, joining just less than 2 years ago.  My journey to Judaism was the culmination of a ten-year process in which Sha’ar Zahav played a critical role in both welcoming me and making me feel a part of this incredible community.  What excites me the most about Sha’ar Zahav is its sense of invitation and community.  From the very first time I came to Sha’ar Zahav I have felt loved, supported and that I belonged.

A little about my background. I have been involved in HIV/AIDS advocacy, activism, program development, organizational development and public policy efforts for over 30 years. I currently serve on the Board of the National AIDS Memorial Grove, as an honorary trustee of the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), and am one of the organizers of Burrito Project SF. I was a Health Commissioner for the City and County of San Francisco as well as Special Advisor to the Mayor on AIDS/HIV Policy.

I’m proud and thankful to be joining the Va’ad at Sha’ar Zahav. I joined CSZ for High Holy days in 2017. I was enamored by the community and just had to join this amazing family. Since then, it has been a joy to be a part of Sha’ar Zahav. I’ve been involved with helping the Young Adult group, known as the Kaf Lameds. I’m passionate about ensuring that the future of Sha’ar Zahav is secured by today’s young adults! I am also engaged in the reopening committee for covid-19, and I work on the Siddur marketing committee where I help with the designs and social media.

I hope to bring some of these experiences to the Va’ad, and specifically to communicate the needs of our young adult community and collaborate to find ways to help young folks feel welcome. I also hope to bring my mixed Ashkenazi-Mizrahi lens to the Va’ad, as my Lebanese identity is as important as my Jewish identity.

When I’m not in community, I enjoy playing guitar, exploring new restaurants, and cooking dishes that incorporate all my cultures. I live in the Sunset district with my wife, Carolina, who is an ER doctor at UCSF.

I am thrilled to be serving the Va’ad through the Federation Fellowship, which places emerging Jewish leaders with local Bay Area organizations to learn about nonprofit decision-making and community-building. This is an especially meaningful opportunity for me, since Sha’ar Zahav is also my Jewish spiritual home. I joined as a congregant in 2017 alongside my husband Ricky, because Sha’ar Zahav encompassed our values and needs. As a couple that comes from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, we needed a place where Ricky’s choice to become Jewish would be nurtured and celebrated, where our queer family and friends would be valued, and where our feminist/egalitarian expressions of spirituality would be encouraged. (We also love Rabbi Copeland, who married us in 2016!) By day, I work as the Assistant Director of San Francisco Hillel, an organization that supports Jewish student life on the college campuses across the city. It’s where I was activated as a student leader in college at San Francisco State, and where I was encouraged to pursue dialogue/conflict resolution skills relating to Israel-Palestine and build a Jewish community that reflected the beautiful diversity of Jewish peoplehood. When I’m not at Hillel, you can likely find me exploring the hiking trails of my neighborhood in Mill Valley, attempting to craft, or eating burritos with Ricky.

Contact Martin at [email protected]

Contact Rob at [email protected]

In 1980, I arrived in San Francisco, davened at Sha’ar Zahav during my very first Shabbos in the City and throughout the summer, and became a member prior to Rosh Hashanah.

I was raised in a Jewish home with first generation American values.  Yiddishkeit (the Jewish way of life) permeates my identity and influences my work.  As a social worker, I enter into the lives of children and their families during times that are frequently painful for them, and quietly pray that our time together will initiate healing.

Mentoring b’nei mitzvah students, youths and adults, has been extraordinarily fulfilling, as we transmit Yiddishkeit together and ensure the future of Judaism.  At Sha’ar Zahav I experience a community that shares my Jewish values of inclusiveness and social justice, and thrive among so many people who I greatly love and who love me dearly as well.

My CSZ objectives include sustained fiscal health and transparency, increased physical and technology-related security in harmony with our warm and welcoming ambiance, an enhanced online presence, and a safely orchestrated reopening adhering to best public health practices and science. These objectives support our preeminent goals of Torah study, sanctified service, and acts of loving kindness, which we initiate for CSZ to become a house of prayer for all people. 

I seek help from HaShem and respectfully request your active support. And throughout our holy CSZ partnerships, created together to achieve these goals.