Congregation Sha'ar Zahav Family Retreat 2022

We are excited to spend Labor Day weekend with you all praying, playing, eating and enjoying the beautiful environment of YMCA Point Bonita in Marin Headlands.

Communications

This website has a lot of information you will need to know for the retreat, so we ask that you read it carefullly. If you have any questions between now and the retreat don’t hesitate to write to us at family-retreat-committee@shaarzahav.org.

Waiver

Please fill out and return YMCA’s waiver form (1 per family) at your earliest convenience, and send it back to brad.aaron.friedman@gmail.com. Sending it now will prevent you from getting another email about this later!

Volunteering

Your retreat committee has been working hard all year long planning the details of the retreat, but now we need YOU to help lead activities and other tasks for the retreat. Please take a moment to look at the volunteer tasks and sign up.

Schedule

The campus will be open for check-in starting at 4 PM on Friday, September 2, 2022, and will close after lunch at 1PM on Sunday September 4. We’ve put together a draft schedule, which will continue evolving over the next few weeks, in part depending on which activities people have volunteered to lead. In addition to all the (optional) scheduled activities, we will have use of the gaga court, basketball court, badminton, soccer and also an indoor space with board games for the entire weekend.

Attendees

15 “family units” and a total of 45 people have registered for the retreat! This includes Kerasa and Susie, our synagogue administrators, and Sue Bojdak, who will join us for the day on Saturday. These three are our guests and we’ve asked them to join without any responsibilities. Please don’t bug them with questions about the retreat! Bug us instead: family-retreat-committee@shaarzahav.org.

Talent Show

We will have a talent show on Saturday night at the amphitheater as Shabbat goes out! We will provide a PA system as well as a piano keyboard. Please think about your act and sign up to wow us! Patty Caplan will be organizing—let her know if you have any questions, pcaplan@comcast.net. The spectacular ANSHEL MAMET has graciously offered to provide piano accompaniment to anyone who wants it. If you would like accompaniment, contact us at family-retreat-committee@shaarzahav.org and we will put Anshel in touch with you. There will be time on Saturday afternoon for you to practice before the show.

Food and Snacks

Although all meals will be provided, feel free to bring extra food and snacks for in-between. If you want to make these available to the community, there is a mini-kitchen in the Bothin room that we can use with a fridge. In particular, please sign up to bring challah, grape juice or wine for our rituals, and smores kits, on the signup sheet.

COVID Policy

To do our best to ensure a healthy and safe gathering, we have developed some COVID protocols for the week leading up to our retreat and some guidelines for our stay.

All attendees who are eligible must be up to date with COVID vaccinations.

For the 7 days before the retreat, starting August 26:

• Limit your indoor activities to just work and school. Always wear a mask at work and school, preferably N-95, KN-95, or KF-94, which filter more particles.

• Do not dine indoors at restaurants.

• Do not gather indoors unmasked with people from another household. If you must gather indoors with people from another household, be masked and maintain distance.

• Mask in crowded outdoor places.

• If traveling by air, wear a N95 or KN95 mask for the entirety of the trip, in the airport and on the airplane, except for quick sips of water or bites of snack.

• Please only come to the retreat if you are healthy.

Pre-Retreat Testing:

• We urge everyone to get a PCR test within 72 hours of the retreat. It is the most accurate test out there for early detection. We know for some this could be cost prohibitive. Below are some resources for no cost testing.

• Friday before leaving for the retreat, take a Rapid Antigen test at home.

• If you have had COVID within 8 weeks prior to the start of the retreat, you only need to take the day-of rapid antigen test on Friday. A PCR test could result in a false positive.

• If a PCR test is not an option, take 2 Rapid Antigen tests earlier in the week ( twice between M-Th) in addition to the day-of test on the Friday of the retreat. Free at-home tests are available through https://www.covid.gov/tests. Order them now to ensure they get to you on time. Also, health insurance providers are required to reimburse for 8 at-home test kits per month, there are local community organizations providing them free of charge, and the SFUSD sometimes has them available.

Guidelines for our stay at Point Bonita:

• Mask indoors in common spaces except during meals

• Keep food separate from activity

• Enjoy food outdoors if preferred

PCR Testing Resources (may be free):

• CityHealth

• Color

• Curative

• Test The People

Bedding/Linen Service

The registration fee does not include bedding/linen service. Please plan to bring the following for each person in your party:

• fitted sheet

• flat sheet

• pillow

• pillow case

• blanket or sleeping bag

• towel

• washcloth

Ritual Objects

If you have them and want to use them, please plan to bring ritual items for your family:

• Friday night candlesticks (we will light in dining room)

• Havdalah candle

• Kiddush cup (we will provide cups for those who don’t have, but if you have a nice cup it will make the mitzvah more beautiful) for Friday night and havdalah

• Migdal besamim (spice box for havdalah)

• Kipot and talit (prayer shawl) according to your family’s preference

We will provide prayer books or handouts for all of the services.

See you in Point Bonita!

Your Retreat Committee

Alisa Dichter

Jim Frazin

Brad Friedman

Shelli Rawlings-Fein

Marty Rawlings-Fein

Julie Mamet