The Orchard

The Orchard is a Jewish community for adults in their 20s and 30s (with or without children) in Silicon Valley. Our mission is to co-create an inclusive community, deeply rooted in ethics, values and spirituality, that — through leveraging Jewish wisdom — positively impacts the participants, and works to increase social good.

The Orchard began in the Fall of 2019 as way to meet the needs of young (ish) Jews in the area. We believe that Jewish wisdom has relevance and importance in our modern lives.

We are a project of Congregation Beth Am, a progressive reform synagogue in Los Altos Hills, California. For years, we have had a young adult group but recently we realized this format needs to be updated. We are a diverse and dynamic group of people and the way we incorporate Judaism into our lives should fit our generation.

The Orchard is a name unique to both Judaism and to Silicon Valley. We know that our area was once covered with walnut, apricot, almond, and cherry orchards. The name connects us to the rich agricultural heritage of the area. The Orchard (pardes in Hebrew) also connects to a way of reading Torah with different layers with a goal of expanding meaning. It seems like a fitting metaphor for what we want to do.