A California forest synagogue experiments with nature-based spirituality

A California forest synagogue experiments with nature-based spirituality

OCCIDENTAL, Calif. (RNS) — On an unseasonably warm Friday evening in March, 40 people gathered for a Kabbalat Shabbat service in a grove of redwoods and California live oaks, about an hour and a half drive north of San Francisco. A group of musicians led the Jewish congregation in singing Hebrew psalms as an owl made its presence known from somewhere above. For the silent Amidah prayer, the rabbi invited the congregants — dressed in jeans, hats …