The Education Committee, working with the Rabbi and the Education Director, formulates and enacts policy regarding the Religious School. We look at long term issues, such as curriculum development and training opportunities for teachers, as well as day to day issues that affect the children in the school. We also run the Parent Association and keep the Board informed of the issues in the school. Recently we have been working to create a Teen Programming Committee to do the crucial work of keeping post-B'nai Mitzvah teens engaged.

The Finance Committee works with the JCA Treasurer to develop financial guidelines, procedures, and policies, including drafting the budget and setting dues levels subject to Baord and community approval in accordance with the JCA by-laws. The committee is also responsible for dues and tuition collections and for approving expenditures within the parameters of the by-laws and the community budget.

The Fundraising Committee plans events and projects intended to generate sufficient funds to minimize dues increases. New members welcome.

The task of the High Holidays Committee is to organize all details of the services for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The co-ordinators of the committee divide responsibility for service content and support logistics by recruiting volunteers to manage various sub-aspects such as childcare, greeters and ushers, chair setup, publicity and information booklets, traffic control, service leaders and Torah readers. Many people are needed to make things run smoothly and new volunteers are always needed for this annual short-term project (about 2 months).

The committee seeks to create a welcoming atmosphere for new members. To that end, it sponsors gatherings at which new and current members can meet informally. It produces informational material about the JCA for prospective and new members, answers queries from prospective and new members, co-sponsors with other committees events for the new and existing members, and offers advice to better serve the needs of those new to the community.

The committee brings a combination of concerts, lectures, art exhibits, and poetry readings to the JCA. Anyone with expertise, contacts, or interest is welcome to participate.

The Personnel Committee is charged with the recruitment and hiring, subject to JCA Board approval, of non-professional paid staff.

The purpose of the Rabbi Liaison Committee is to:

• Act as a channel between the rabbi and the congregation for the communication and processing of comments, issues, and complaints,
• Further increase the effectiveness of the rabbi-congregational relationship,
• Provide a way for people who are hesitant about contacting the rabbi directly to do so.

The Religion Committee supports the Rabbi in meeting the needs of the religious life of the community. It meets with the Rabbbi monthly and plans most religious services and other observances, except for the High Holidays. It publishes the monthly calendar of religious services in the newsletter and makes decisions regarding religious policy in the community. It solicits input from the greater community on contoversial issues. One of the committee co-chairs sits on the JCA Board. Activities include scheduling cantors and other lay leaders for Shabbat services, organizing holiday activities such as the annual Sukkah building, maintaining ritual items, and discussing policy issues such as the Kashrut policy for the kitchen, Members of the community often take on tasks that give them the opportunity to learn more about Jewish ritual and practice, and to interpret this practice in ways that are meaningful for a pluralistic community.

The Scholar-In-Residence Committee annually brings a guest scholar to the JCA for a weekend retreat and Shabbaton that is open to JCA members and to the larger community. Past guests have included Rabbi Arthur Green, author of Seek My Face Speak My Name, ancient religions scholar Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Sylvia Boorstein and Rabbi Alan Lew in a program on Jewish meditation, and Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Minyan.

Shomerim are watchers or guardians of the soul. Jewish tradition requires that the deceased not be left alone prior to burial. "Shomers" and "Shomeretts" therefore sit at the funeral home in close proximity to the deceased, reading psalms and assisting them in making the transition from life to death. This activity is considered holy.

The Social/Fun Committee plans, organizes and runs events and activities that are fun for both members and non members alike. Such events build community and provide a positive image of the synagogue for potential members. Our activities in past years have included Hanukkah parties with live music, Family Fun Day, a Family Dance and the 36th Anniversary Raffle. We also help plan events that will be both enjoyable and energetic as well as raise funds in conjunction with the fund raising committee and other committees of the JCA.

The Tikkun Olam/Social Justice Committee is the social justice arm of the JCA. We are directly concerned with tikkun olam (repairing the world), and we operate fron the assumption that"the world" is not separate from the microcosmic world of the JCA. We examine racism, class assumptions, violence, poverty, drug addiction, and the consequences of these and many other of the world's "critical issues". We avoid the "us-them" paradigm which would separate the Jewish community from "others" whom we wish to "help". Instead, we recognize the need to look inward as well as outward for both the causes and the solutions to the world's social ills.

The World Jewish Concerns and Action Committee seeks to provide a link between the JCA and the broader world Jewish community, in particular with Israel. It attempts to bring current issues of political, social, and cultural significance to Jews to the attention of our members. It sponsors the anuual Rabin Memorial Lecture dealing with ongoing issues in Israel and the annual Holocaust Remembrance. It is also responsible for conducting the Israel Scholarship Fund, an annual program which encourages and supports visits by teenagers to Israel. The Committee also raises money for Project Rehovot which supports a part-time therapist working in Rehovot Elementary School with immigrant children, primarily from Ethiopia. The United Jewish Appeal and the New Israel Fund are also projects of the committee. The Committee also responds to current issues as they emerge.