User:Peter Chastain/Sandbox

The Aquarian Minyan is a Jewish congregation in Berkeley, California. Formed in 1974 as an informal group of people wishing to celebrate Shabbat after the manner of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, it eventually became a congregation, conducting services and study sessions a few times a month, usually in private homes and led by the hosts or lay leaders. The Aquarian Minyan considers itself part of the Jewish Renewal movement and supports the work of Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal.

Spiritual leaders

 * Rabbi Diane Elliot (2007–2009)

Influence
Jweekly reporter Dan Pine writes, "The Aquarian Minyan’s influence on other local Renewal congregations, as well as on the Jewish Renewal movement overall, has been incalculable since its founding in 1974.


 * Barry Barkan - ?? is this the same as ASHOKA fellow Barry Barkan, who advocates for elder care ??
 * TBD: How involved were Carlebach and Schachter-Shalomi after AQM was formed? or were they merely the inspiration beforehand?
 * Rabbis Burt Jacobson and Avram Davis were part of the minyan's spiritual community before founding the Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont, California and Chochmat HaLev in Berkeley, California, respectively.


 * Rabbi Ellen Bernstein was raised in an assimilated Jewish family. She studied Conservation of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley. After attending an Aquarian Minyan Passover seder, she began studying weekly Torah portions, discovering ecological wisdom in them. She founded Shomrei Adamah, the first American nationwide Jewish environmental organization in 1988 and is (as of 2015) the Campus Rabbi and Advisor for Identity and Praxis at Hampshire College.