What is a Kevah group?

A Kevah group is a group of Bay Area residents who convene regularly to study Jewish texts. Each group of 8-12 people meets several times each month in someone’s home, office or a local cafe, and is open to participants and their friends. Kevah provides a dynamic teacher or a teacher’s guide, and classical Jewish texts in English translation.

Participants select a theme or book of interest to them. Topics include:

• Torah portion of the week (Parsha)
• Jewish Mindfulness
• Torah Parenting
• Judaism and Justice
• Big Questions (Jewish perspectives on sexuality, race, art, food, Zionism, etc.)
• Great Books (i.e. Bible, Prophets, Judges, Talmud, Medieval Codes, Hasidic masters)

How does my group join the network?

Joining the Kevah network connects you with resources that enhance your own ongoing Torah study. If you are part of a regular Torah study group or class, contact us if you want one or more of the following:

• New participants
• Guest or ongoing Jewish educators
• Curricular resources
• To join our network of Kevah educators
• To join our network of group organizers

How do I join a group?

Kevah’s staff tries to match new participants with an appropriate group. Kevah currently organizes 12 groups, 6 in the East Bay and 6 in San Francisco, and will be expanding to 25 groups in 2010-2011. The majority of our participants are well-educated adults with minimal Jewish backgrounds. Some of our groups are for more mature adults and/or adults with stronger backgrounds in Jewish learning.

How do I start a group?

Group organizers bring Bay Area friends and colleagues together to study a Jewish topic of choice in the comfort of their own home, office or local café. If you’re interested in starting a Kevah group of your own, we’ll provide you with curricular materials and/or a dynamic educator.

Kevah enables old friends to connect around regularized Jewish learning—for example, friends from the same hometown or university, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, members of a synagogue, mothers with young children, etc.

Kevah also builds new friendships, as group organizers often invite colleagues from different social networks who do not yet know each other. Kevah also organizes periodic meetings for group organizers around the Bay Area to share challenges and best practices.

How can my Jewish organization start a Kevah group program?

Kevah consults with synagogues, federations and Jewish organizations about how to integrate Torah study into the culture of Jewish organizations and synagogues.