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Chadeish Yameinu
Jewish Renewal of Santa Cruz
Links to Shabbat Siddurim: Erev Shabbat Shabbat Morning
Board of Directors
Jeremy Powell, Director, President
Membership Chair
Shefa Rich, Director, Vice President
Shabbat Committee, Financial Strategic Planning Committee
Shefa Rich is Jewish by choice. She became a member of Chadeish Yameinu in 2012 after her beloved husband Cal Rich's death. She is learning about Jewish Renewal and Chadeish Yameinu from Rabbi Eli and video and books by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.
She loves the CY community because everyone in CY inspires her to develop her inner space, awareness, and ability to find the longing in her heart and soul so that she can live a life with beauty and meaning
Sheila Namir, Director, Treasurer
I have been a member of Chadeish Yameinu for a decade or more. I was also involved in Jewish Renewal in Los Angeles, where I lived for 30 years. My family moved to Israel when I was 15 and I returned to the States after finishing high school and university in Israel. My family remains there and I visit often.
I am a psychologist and psychoanalyst, a member of Walnut Commons (WC) co-housing, treasurer at CY and WC. The CY community has given me comfort and friendships during hard times (my wife died in October 2018), and I love the services that Eli leads, many of the adult education classes, and just being a part of this spiritual and loving community.
Naomi Bayer, Director-at-Large
Mikey Cohen, Director-at-Large
Mikey can often be found with his wife, Myriam, and 3 children, Hadzy, Nitzana, and Ziva by his side at many Chadeish Yameinu events. He spent the last nearly 15 years managing and leading engineering efforts at Netflix, and brings his technical skills and leadership expertise to CY.
In his spare time you can find him playing banjo, wandering the forest looking for mushrooms, or digging in the garden.
Brooke Lipman, Director-at-Large
Rachelle Kenny, Director-at-Large
Marc Brown, Director-at-Large
Larry (Uri) Stone, Director-At-Large
I have been a member of Chadeish Yameinu for almost four years and am delighted to have the opportunity to serve on the Board. Although I do not consider myself religious, my connection to Judaism is deep, as are my feelings for the Jewish people. I have lived in Israel and was there during the Six-Day War, which was a completely life-changing experience. I have dual citizenship with Israel and consider myself a dedicated Zionist. I am also continuing my study of the Hebrew language, and now consider myself semi-fluent in conversational Hebrew.
I was originally drawn to Chadeish Yameinu after meeting Rabbi Eli and experiencing the wonderful quality of the services he leads. I appreciate my growing connection to the members, and very much enjoy the services in our new Shul. Although I am originally from the East Coast, I have been in California for many years, and moved to Santa Cruz eight years ago, with the intention of remaining here. I am also a psychotherapist (MFT) by profession, but I am more or less semi-retired, and am gradually cutting back on the number of hours I work. I look forward to continuing to grow my connection to our wonderful community.