Join us for Shabbat Services: Friday at 6:00 pm, Saturday at 9:30 am
An egalitarian Conservative congregation serving the diverse Orange County Jewish Community

Welcome to Congregation B’nai Israel! We are delighted that you are considering joining our village.

We are an inclusive and family-friendly community, welcoming members at all levels of religious observance, those born Jewish, those who have chosen Judaism, and interfaith families. Our diverse, multi-generational congregation welcomes people of all ages, racial and ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those at any point on their Jewish journey.

Belonging to the community means taking an active role in shaping our future and demonstrating your commitment to helping Judaism to flourish in OC and beyond. In addition, members access clergy support throughout life’s ups and downs, Jewish education for children – from preschoolers to teens – participation in High Holy Day services and events year-round, and a precious and priceless sense of belonging and home.

We look forward to having you as a member of our congregation!

To learn more, please see our list of contacts. To schedule a conversation, please contact the office at cbi18@cbi18.org or (714) 730-9693. We look forward to welcoming you.

We also invite you to join us for upcoming events. Information is shared in our weekly e-newsletters. To receive updates: sign up here.

Click here for our new member information form.

July 2023 – June 2024 – Click here for our membership payment form

Family Category
(please note that financial assistance is available to those with need)
Donation Amount
Couple (ages 36-67)$3,550
Single (ages 36-67)$1,950
Senior Couple (age 68+)$2,100
Senior Single (age 68+)$1,250
Young Couple (ages 35 and younger)$600
Young Single (ages 35 and younger)$330
Sharon” Families (Building Maintenance)$525
“Friend of CBI” (associate membership for those outside our area, does not include High Holiday tickets)$360
Benefactor Membership: Platinum Chai Honors Circle*$18,000
Benefactor Membership: Golden Chai Honors Circle*$11,000
Benefactor Membership: Silver Chai Honors Circle*$8,000
Benefactor Membership: Bronze Chai Honors Circle*$6,000
Benefactor Membership: Copper Chai Honors Circle*$4,500
*Honors Circle membership is accompanied by event tickets and sponsorships throughout the year.
Specific details can be found within the membership forms and documents.

Membership at CBI includes many wonderful benefits including:

  • Belonging to a community with people to share life’s joys and ease life’s sorrows.
  • Our Rabbi, Cantor, and staff are there for you through important life cycle events and every day for counseling, teaching and care.
  • Opportunities for Jewish education for children, including B’nai Mitzvah training, and continuing education for adults.
  • Priority enrollment and reduced fees at our preschool.
  • High Holy Day tickets (unless otherwise noted)
  • Opportunities to live your Jewish values by caring for others in need.
  • Leadership opportunities to become a board or committee member, or to lead worship services.
  • A varied and rich offering of events, programming and classes to enrich and engage.
  • The ability to secure a place in CBI’s section at Harbor Lawn cemetery.

Torah: Va’Yishlach

Va’Yishlach What does it mean to be “the children of Israel,” as in Congregation B’nai Israel? In this week’s Torah reading, an angel blesses Jacob with that new name. Jacob, Ya’akov, means circumventer. As his name conveys, he has acted with deception in obtaining the first-born blessing from his blind father instead of Esau, the first-born twin. Now on the night before…

Torah: Va’Yetze

Torah: What is the origin and meaning of the word Jew? It comes from Judah, the largest tribe during the Second Temple. Our name conveys qualities of who we are as a people. Leah, Judah’s mother, felt neglected by her husband, who was also married to her younger, more beloved sister, Rachel. Leah’s named her first three sons to fill in a…

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving The United States was the first country to offer Jews the right to vote in national elections. Although we endured much discrimination, we simultaneously found opportunity and made great contributions. For most of us, our experience of anti-Semitism differed from that our parents. We have lived openly and proudly in a country of diversity. Remarkably, when the Pew Research Center asked…

Torah: VaYera

VaYera: The huppah [wedding canopy] symbolizes the tent of Abraham and Sarah, the model Jewish home. In the opening verses of this week’s Torah reading, Abraham is sitting at the entrance to his desert tent when he spots strangers. He rushes out to greet them. Bowing, he says, “Please my master, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass from before your…

Torah: Lekh L’kha

Lekh L’kha marks a new beginning of an uncharted future. Abram hears a call to go forth to the land that God would show him. At the same time, Canaan is the once sought destination of Abram’s father (Genesis 11:31). Rabbi Wolfe Kelman commented, “There is no greater influence on a child than the unfilled dreams of a parent” and pointed to…

Tune in: High Holy Days 5777

Tune in: Our High Holyday services were a joy. If you missed Kol Nidre, please consider watching the youtube of what was live-streamed. We have had over 850 views. And to hear Rabbi Spitz’s sermons, click the links below: Erev Rosh Hoshana: The Importance of “Why:” Why Judaism Matters (Video or Audio) Rosh Hoshana Day 1: A Tribute to Shimon Peres,…

Torah: B’reishit

B’reishit The Bible’s creation story conveys vital lessons: the world is good; there is a unifying intentionality in creation; and humans are fashioned in the image of God, with the culminating charge to make time holy. These descriptions of creation are not scientific, but a foundational worldview. Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson writes in  Renewing the Process of Creation (Jewish Lights, 2016) that…

NYC:2017 Travel Adventure

Please visit this link to register. $1,150.00 per person (if register prior to December 15, 2016) Discounted price of $975 per person for CBI Benefactors and CSP Patrons Join Rabbi Spitz and travel to NYC: CBI and CSP are partnering for an encore trip to New York (May 2-7, 2017). Some highlights of our trip: Opening night…

Torah: Sukkoth

Sukkoth The prophet Amos declared (3:8),“Shall a lion roar and who would not fear?” My Talmud teacher, Dr. Elieser Slomovic, said that in the mountains of Eastern Europe where he grew up they did not have lions. But, pious Jews lived with fear of God and read the word lion in Hebrew- ERYeH- as an acronym for the milestones of this penitential…