Bay Area Midrasha in Oakland is a fun social, learning, and community building opportunity for Jewish 8th-12th graders.  We are a pluralistic, community based program offering classes, retreats, leadership opportunities, tzedaka and tikkun olam programs, and social events to students regardless of synagogue affiliation.  Our students love the program and come because they want to.  It’s a chance for them to connect with their friends, develop a sense of what Judaism is to them individually, and have fun! 

Our program meets on Tuesday evenings on the Temple Sinai campus from 7:15-9:15.  We offer a core class each week, by grade, that focuses on a particular aspect of Judaism:  Ethics, Identity, Israel, The American Jewish Experience, and Spirituality.  We aslo offer a series of elective classes, so that each semester students can choose an area of particular interest to them.  And, we have a social break in the middle of the evening to give our students a chance to connect with each other and build a solid Jewish community through their friendships here.  We work in tandem with the other three East Bay Midrasha campuses and the CJLL (the Center for Jewish Living and Learning at The Jewish Federation of the East Bay) to offer 3 retreat experiences a year to our students.  We believe that this merging together of formal and informal educational and social experiences is a powerful model for connection for our teens.  We also work with our various sponsoring organizations to offer social, leadership, and social justice opportunities for our students. Our program is open to all students interested in enrolling.

Bay Area Midrasha is jointly sponsored by Temple Beth Abraham, Temple Beth Sholom, Temple Israel, Temple Sinai, Kehilla Community Synagogue.  Our retreat program is run in partnership with the Center for Jewish Living and Learning at The Jewish Federation of the East Bay.   Bay Area Midrasha is supported by a joint grant from The Jewish Federation and The Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay, and a  grant from Sinai Memorial Chapel and our generous individual donors.