Spiritual Fitness / כושר רוחני
Torah + Learning at The Kitchen
SHABBAT + BOOK CELEBRATION
OCTOBER 16 + 17 at Potrero Hill Neighborhood House
Join us to mark the arrival of Pretend You Believe. We'll celebrate Rabbi Kushner's long-awaited book with readings during services and a festive Shabbat dinner & kiddush lunch. Purchase your copy of Pretend You Believe with your Kabbalat or Morning Shabbat registration, to have it personally signed by Rabbi Noa Kushner and available for pick-up at either service.
Event Registration + Book Purchase:
CLASS SERIES + INTERVIEW
Taught by Kitchen-ite Todd Asher Ormsbee, PhD
Wednesdays, 7:00–8:30 PM
First Session on 10/28 at The Firehouse with Rabbi Noa Kushner
Additional sessions at The Kitchen Office on 11/4, 11/11, 11/18, 12/02, 12/09
What if everything we thought about religion was wrong (or maybe just slightly askew)? Explore Rabbi Noa Kushner’s teachings about what it means to be religious and to live your life in relationship to God, whether or not you believe. The series begins with an interview-dialogue between class teacher, Kitchen-ite Todd Asher Ormsbee, and Rabbi Noa Kushner, followed by five weeks of diving into, arguing with, enriching, and expanding our understanding of her teachings led by Ormsbee.
Exclusively for Kitchen members and included in Kitchen membership.
Classes & Workshops
Siddur Hebrew:
The Ve’ahavta (and you will love) and More!
Taught by Kitchen-ite Karla Suomala, PhD
Wednesdays from 6:15–7:00 PM
Oct 7, 14, 21, 28; Nov 4, 11, 18; Dec 2, 9
Hybrid Learning: Online via Zoom & The Kitchen Office at 2601 Mission Street, Suite 201, San Francisco, CA
This fall, we will build the skills needed to read and understand Hebrew in the Siddur, using the Ve’ahavta prayer as our foundation. As we work through the prayer, we’ll learn/review the essential building blocks of Hebrew: letters, vowel sounds, common verbs and vocabulary, and basic grammar. We’ll also explore the meaning of the Ve’ahavta — its role in Jewish life, how it has been understood throughout history, and what it might mean for us today. Basic knowledge of the Hebrew aleph-bet will be helpful for this class.
Exclusively for Kitchen members; included in Kitchen membership.
About Karla Suomala
Karla Suomala earned her PhD from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute on Religion and before moving to the Bay Area, she was a religious studies professor, teaching a wide range of courses in Judaic studies and Hebrew Bible. She has continued this work in community and academic settings, particularly in adult education programs focused on making Jewish tradition accessible to diverse learners. Today, she is also a tech consultant working to bridge the digital divide for older adults and people with disabilities. Karla can’t think of anything more exciting than spending time with Kitchen-ites studying Jewish texts. This is Karla’s 3rd year teaching classes for The Kitchen community.
Hebrew Club
Taught by Merav Rozenblum
Monthy on Mondays, 7:00–8:15 PM
Oct 19, Nov 16, Dec 7, Jan 11, Feb 22, Mar 15, Apr 12, May 10
The Firehouse — Anne Germanacos' studio space in Cole Valley
Address provided upon RSVP
Picture this: a cozy, relaxed space where Hebrew flows as easily as wine, led by a brilliant teacher who makes learning fun. If you’ve dabbled in Hebrew before and want to level up, this is where it’s at.
This isn’t your typical Hebrew class — it’s a vibrant, engaging experience. Each session kicks off with a lively, thought-provoking discussion led by our incredible teacher. From there, it’s all about conversation — entirely in Hebrew! You’ll chat with two partners each week: one whose Hebrew is stronger (so you can soak it all in) and one whose Hebrew isn’t as strong (so you can share what you’ve got).
No lectures. No pressure. Just pure Hebrew fun. This is a conversational club and not a language instruction class, while every level is welcome, you’ll be most comfortable if you can speak basic conversational Hebrew.
Merav Rosenblum has spent nearly 30 years teaching Hebrew to adults and teens around the world — from Jerusalem to Moscow, Madrid to San Francisco. She currently teaches at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay and Ulpan USF, and she’s a skilled translator and interpreter. Her teaching style? Warm, approachable, and endlessly energizing. Hebrew doesn’t just get taught — it comes alive.
Free for members
$15 per session for non-members
Sepharadi & Ashkenazi Taámim Workshop
Taught by Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy
Coordinate directly with Hazzan Asher for a date & time
The Kitchen Office — 2601 Mission Street, Suite 201, San Francisco, CA
Has it been a while since you chanted torah? Want to learn from the beginning or brush up? Now you can give yourself a tune up to learn or relearn how to chant torah in the Sepharadi and Ashkenazi traditions. No matter your level of chanting — you do need to know how to read Hebrew letters and Torah — we’ll work on the system of pronunciations and cantillation/trope marks that create the melodies and how they relate to the text of the torah. Schedule a session with Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy and you’ll be able to chant sections of the torah without vowels or cantillation marks, i.e., it’ll be no sweat when the gabbai calls you up to read torah on Saturday mornings.
Fill out the form below and Asher will reach out to schedule a session with you. This is exclusively for Kitchen members.
Learn more about Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy here.
Kid + Teen Learning
Paytanim: Kitchen Kids Edition
Taught by Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy
Coordinate directly with Hazzan Asher for a date & time
The Kitchen Office — 2601 Mission Street, Suite 201, San Francisco, CA
For Kitchen kids who want to learn piyyutim for Shabbat, holidays, and the cycle of the year from many different musical traditions. Led by Hazzan Asher, these sessions are an opportunity for students ready to go deeper into the music of our kahal/community and perform piyyutim throughout the year in honor of Jewish festivals.
For kids & teens of all ages! Musical background recommended. Parents are welcome for the final 15 minutes of the Wednesday class. Students may join all three seasons or choose the seasons they can attend.
Registration is required for each season and included in the program fees for Freedom School, Teen Programs: Kitchen Club (KTC) and Hineni Fellowship.
Learn more about Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy here.
Rehearsals are on Wednesday afternoons, divided into 3 seasons with a themed performance (or 2). In addition to the below dates, regular Shabbat Morning attendance is required during the season. Students can join any or all of the seasons.
Season 1:
Oct 14, 21, 28; Nov 4, 11, 18; Dec 2, 9 + Hanukkah Performance at Kabbalat Shabbat on Dec 11
Season 2:
Jan 6, 10, 13, 20, 27; Kitchen Retreat Feb 5-7 for mid-season performance; Feb 10, 17, 24; Mar 3 + Purim performance on Feb 22 Purim party
Season 3:
Mar 10, 17, 31; Apr 7 + 14; May 4, 12, 19, 26; Shavuot Performance on June 10
Guests + Scholars
Ally Setton
Kitchen Fellow in Sepharadi Hazzanut
We are thrilled to welcome Ally Setton, this year’s Kitchen Fellow in Sepharadi Hazzanut. Ally is a New York-based Jewish educator, prayer leader, and writer. She is known for her work in progressive and egalitarian Sephardic-Mizrahi Jewish communal spaces like Kanisse. She currently teaches Creative Writing at The Heschel School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Ally Setton will joining us for the following Shabbaton:
September 20–21, Yom Kippur
October 16–17
December 4–5
February 5–6 for our member retreat, The Kitchen Escape
April 16–17
May 7–8
Rabbi Noa Sattath
Executive Director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI)
Rabbi Noa Sattath, ACRI's Executive Director, has led the organization during a critical period, as it battles the government's attempts at a judicial overhaul and confronts unprecedented human rights violations in Israel and the Occupied Territories following the Gaza war that erupted after October 7th. Under her direction, ACRI has had pivotal and precedent-setting legal and public successes: petitions to the Supreme Court that curbed government overreach; protecting the rights of prisoners during the war; defending freedom of protest and expression; protecting marginalized communities; and challenging abuses of power by police, the military, and public officials. Through persistent legal action, public campaigns, and field advocacy, ACRI under Noa’s leadership has remained at the forefront of defending democracy, civil liberties, and human dignity.
Noa is an ordained Reform rabbi who previously served as Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), where she led campaigns addressing religion and state, gender equality, and anti-racism. While there, she played key roles in fighting against women's exclusion in the public sphere and the election of racist Knesset candidates.
Rabbi Noa Sattath will join us for a Shabbat lunch conversation with Rabbi Noa Kushner on Saturday, November 14th.
Learn more about ACRIs work here.
The Kitchen is known for pushing boundaries, and our project of creating a third edition of our Siddur is no different. This spiritual guidebook will be the first ever in North America to include an integration of Sephardi and Ashkenazi prayers into a single nusach.
Text arrangement, translation + transliteration by Leora Koller-Fox & Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy
Editing by Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy & Rabbi Noa Kushner
Designed by Chen Blume