An Active Community...

COMMUNITY | CLERGY & LEADERSHIP | EDUCATION | MEMBERSHIP | HISTORY

Our team works vigilantly to ensure there are enriching social, educational, and spiritual opportunities for the members of our community, like our upcoming Shavuot celebrations!

Shavuot combines the celebration of two major religious events the offering of the new growing season as offerings at the Temple, and God's giving the Torah to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai. At PJTC this year, we are celebrating Shavuot with services, making flower crowns for the Torah scrolls, and Tikkun Leil Shavuot. Tikkun Leil Shavuot will include a variety of learning sessions to choose from and oneg refreshments sponsored by Sinai & Synapses, an organization that builds bridges between spiritual wisdom and scientific understanding.

Tikkun Leil Shavuot Shavuot Learning

Join us Thursday, May 25 at 7:30PM for a short service, Tikkun Leil Shavuot learning beginning at 8PM, and a lovely oneg funded by Sinai and Synapses. You will have the opportunity to attend two of the following sessions.

Dr. Bonnie Buratti
Astrology—Good for the Jews or Bad for the Jews?: Astrology and other types of soothsaying are widely condemned by both Biblical and Talmudic traditions. As a pseudoscience, astrology has also been ridiculed by the scientific community. But throughout the ages, Jews have widely practiced astrology, and astrological observations drove the scientific measure of the heavens until recently. What's a Jew to do?

Rabbi John Carrier
Write It on Your Doorways—Technology, Accessibility, and Boundaries in Jewish Law: The COVID-19 era forced us to rethink traditional boundaries of technology and spiritual connection. How many “Zoom rooms” make a minyan? And if we turn the cameras off now, who is left out? We’ll discuss these questions and more through the lens of ancient customs and current thinking in Jewish law.

Rabbi Jason Mann
Shavuot Teachings from the Book of Ruth: A short book with great teachings about, practicing loving kindness and accepting all others.

Dr. Victor Zlotniki
Oceans in Torah and Modern Science: Are Noah's flood and the parting of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) compatible with the laws of physics as we understand them?

Flower Crown Making

Join us on Wednesday, May 24 from 4:00-6:00PM at PJTC to make Flower Crowns for the Torah scrolls. It is with much excitement that these crowns continue to be made with fresh flowers. If you want to learn more about the tradition of these flower crowns, read more here. Contact Michele Browning to RSVP to make Flower Crowns or with any questions.

To learn more about our weekly, monthly, and special events and programming, visit our Upcoming Events page.

OUR COMMUNITY & CENTER: With a diverse membership, we have a variety of ways to get involved for all ages. Newcomers are always welcome to join in our events and our special interest groups & activities—and even start their own! If you need any accommodation(s) when you arrive, or while you are at the PJTC campus, please call Theresa Breken at (626) 798-1161. PJTC seeks to include and accept all those who wish to worship, study, or develop cultural or social ties to Judaism and we warmly welcome interfaith, LGBTQ and non-traditional families into our community.

OUR CLERGY & LEADERSHIP: Our clergy and leadership work together to share and promote Jewish tradition and values in our lives, homes, community, and the world and offer an array of spiritual opportunities. For more information about us, what we stand for, and our goals as a Jewish temple and center, please click here.

JEWISH EDUCATION: We offer both youth and adult educational programs through both regular classes and pop-up learning events, B’nai Mitzvah preparation, one-on-one tutoring, and our vibrant religious school. The PJTC also shares its campus with B’nai Simcha Preschool.

HISTORY: PJTC proudly celebrated 100 years in 2021 and 2022. Over many years, other congregations have merged with us, which has provided us with a diverse, rich and continually growing community. You can read more about PJTC's history here, and you can see all the ways we celebrated 100 years here!

For membership information, click here.

It is our hope that you will want to join us as we continue to build our warm and welcoming community. We encourage you to contact us and explore the possibilities with PJTC.

Celebrating Together...

There are opportunities year-round to come together as a community to celebrate, like in the below video. We are proud of our Simchat Torah holiday tradition - come join us next year!