Yizkor Memorial Service

The Jewish New Year is marked in many ways, including turning our hearts to those who left us in the past year. Our Yizkor Memorial service includes offering the names of our loved ones, family members, and public figures who touched and inspired us and the world. Join us for this short but moving tribute to those whose lives were a blessing for us.  

We dedicate this years’ service to two Jewish individuals whose life’s work and accomplishments are Profiles in Courage:
Daniel Ellsberg risked his career and jail time to leak the “Pentagon Papers” which spelled out what was really happening with the Vietnam War.
Judy Heumann raised the visibility and voice of individuals with disabilities with her tireless advocacy for the civil rights of those with disabilities.  

This service will take place prior to the 60+ Jewish New Year Luncheon.  

If you would like to add the name of someone who passed this year to our community reading of names, please send it to Shiva Schulz – sschulz@jccsf.org on or before Wednesday, 9/6/23. 

Rabbi Batshir Torchio is a rabbi, teacher, singer, ukulele and piano player, and oh so proud mother of a son and daughter, a grandson, and of two supremely fluffy rescue dogs. In college at JTS in New York, Batshir discovered the writings of Rabbi Regina Jonas which catapulted her toward rabbinic ordination: “If I confess what motivated me, a woman, to become a rabbi, two things come to mind. My belief in God’s calling and my love of humans. God planted in us a cause without asking about gender.” (C.-V. Zeitung, June 23, 1938). Batshir was ordained at AJRCA in Los Angeles, where she learned with rabbis and scholars from across the broad spectrum of Jewish movements. She is moved by the translation and ownership of ancient ritual into contemporary meaning; to “make the old new, and the new, holy.” (Rav Kook) In addition to her role as Senior Jewish Educator at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Batshir also guides tours through Israel and Poland, and is a life-cycle officiant, both locally and abroad. 

Maggid Jhos Singer is a gifted Jewish teacher, preacher, storyteller, pastoral counselor, chef, mixologist, and musician. He skillfully translates Torah and Jewish tradition into dynamic, accessible, relevant, and compelling ideas, provocative stories, and delicious cocktails. In one hand he holds a BA in Music from UCLA and an MA in Jewish Studies from the Graduate Theological Union—and in the other he wields a drum, spoon, and a dictionary of Talmudic Hebrew. He was ordained as a Maggid (a Jewish spiritualist) in 2002. He connects traditional rabbinic wisdom to our modern lives.