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: Shoftim

Shof’tim: “And judges and police you shall place in your gates,” so our parashah begins. But why? Evolutionary psychology explains that we are bred for altruism to enable survival as a group and yet simultaneously, we have a strong impulse to put our own needs first. Sadly, exaggerated fears, greed, and selfishness create disorder and suffering. Rabbi Hananiah, the Deputy High Priest of first century…

Torah: Eikev

Eikev: I feel sad for Ryan Lochte. He achieved so much as an Olympic swimmer. One lie and he lost his endorsements; one act of misbehavior and the rewards of years of focused effort were forfeited. Our parashah this week, Eikev, begins with the word “if”, which is repeated including the paragraph that will find a place in the Shema: If you follow my commandments…

Torah: Ve’Ethanan

Torah: Ve’Ethanan: Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell explains his new podcast, “You think with your eyes; your feel with your ears.  Complex ideas are conveyed in writing; tears may flow from what you hear.” In this week’s Torah, we read: “Hear O’ Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one”  (Deuteronomy 6:4). The core concept of Judaism is that there is only…

Torah: Devarim

Torah: Devarim- Moses begged off at the Burning Bush as lacking a facility for speech. In this the fifth book of the Five Books of Moses, Moses speaks and speaks. His orations are composed of three major addresses, a closing song, and farewell blessings. The rabbis, who are teachers, give Moses their highest accolade by calling him, Moshe Rabbenu, Moses our teacher.…

Torah: Matot-Masei

Torah: Matot-Masei- “Like a sword in my bones are the taunts of my adversaries, by saying to me all the day, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:11). My friend, Len Saxe, recently pointed out that this verse from Psalms is the rebuttal to the children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” In the Jewish tradition…

Torah: Pinchas – Women challenge the status quo in this week’s Torah reading

Torah: Women challenge the status quo in this week’s Torah reading of Pinchas. At Mount Sinai, Moses learns the laws of inheritance: sons will receive the tribal land of a deceased father. A problem arises. Zelophachad has died with no sons. His five daughters plead to Moses, “Why should our father’s name be disadvantaged in his family merely because he did not…

Torah: Balak

Torah: Moab’s King Balak commissions a prophet for profit, Bilaam, to curse the Israelites. Bilaam agrees, but emphasizes that his words come from God” (Numbers 22:18). Four times, when Bilaam’s words flow from his vantage point of the hills overlooking the encamped Israelites, blessings emerge. Among the most famous of those words are the mah tovu, “How goodly are your tents O’ Jacob, your…

Torah: Hukkat

Torah: Hukkat These past two weeks have seen too much violence. I write under the shadow of painful images. What light can our Torah reading this Shabbat, Hukkat, shed? At the center of our Torah reading is the punishment of Moses and Aaron for the failure to “honor God in the midst of the people” (Deuteronomy 20:12). What was their sin in…

Torah: Naso

Naso: In this week’s Torah reading are the three-fold priestly blessings: “May the Ever Present One bless you and protect you; May Ever Present One deal kindly and graciously with you; May Ever Present One be present for you and grant you wholeness” (Numbers 6:24-26) As you may note, I have chosen to translate YHVH as “Ever Present One” rather than the…