About Us
The SJC is Seattle’s home for secular Jews. We are a vibrant community that celebrates our Jewish traditions, history and culture in a non-theistic context. The SJC is a proud chapter of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, and aligns itself with the global Humanistic Judaism movement, which focuses on the values of reason, justice, and responsibility. Our welcoming community includes and supports multi-racial people and families, differently-abled people and families, intergenerational families, mixed-faith families, and the LGBTQ+ community. We welcome everyone who wants to include the Jewish values and secular humanism as part of their contemporary Jewish identity!
Learn about our Sunday School, B’nai Mitzvah program, holiday celebrations, and more by contacting us today and seeing what you have been missing. We would love to meet you at our next event!
We are a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) organization.
Why a circle?
Our name, Secular Jewish Circle, refers to the roots of secular Judaism in the Yiddishist movement of the late 19th century. Eastern European Jews were accustomed to self-run mutual aid and other civic-social groups as a sort of nation within a nation. They brought these types of organizations with them when they immigrated in large numbers to the USA. Most of these organizations were socialist, such as the Workers Circle, which still operates a school and summer camp in New York.
Board Members
Jacob Kosman (he/him) President/Secretary
Jacob grew up in an observant Jewish household outside Philadelphia, and went to a private Hebrew day school, and then public school, before moving out west for college. Settling in Seattle, he sought a Jewish group that focused on the cultural, moral, artistic, and intellectual aspects of Judaism, not on the theistic aspects. That's how he discovered SJC and broader secular humanistic Judaism. Jacob was elected to the Board in 2021. |
Seth Levenson (he/him) Treasurer
Seth is a trans man who was born and raised in an interfaith home (Conservative Judaism and Roman Catholicism) in Buffalo, NY. The push-and-pull nature of living under two strict religions simultaneously, which both insisted they were the correct one, drove him to question theism itself. He relocated to the Puget Sound in 2009 in pursuit of higher education, and brings more than a decade of financial services experience to the Board. Seth was elected to the Board in 2022. |
Jeff Treistman (he/him) Program Director
Jeff grew up in a Secular Jewish household in the Philadelphia suburb of Springfield Township. He moved to Seattle in 1976 and has been involved with the Secular Jewish Circle for twenty years. He retired from teaching at Seattle Public Schools after 18 years, 14 as a school librarian. He is the Founding Director of the Jewish Comics Library of Seattle. Jeff was elected to the Board in 2017. |
Diamond Crawford (they/them) Social Media Manager
Diamond is a patrilineal Jew raised in a non-Jewish household. They began learning about their culture as a teenager before returning to it decades later, after feeling the call of a secular cultural Judaism. They were born and raised in the Seattle area. They're a non-binary trans woman. Diamond was elected to the Board in 2023. |
The Secular Jewish Circle of Puget Sound is a proud chapter of the Society for Humanistic Judaism.
Tue, 19 March 2024
Upcoming Events
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Sunday ,
MarMarch 24 , 2024Purim Fest at The J
Sunday, Mar 24th 10:00a to 3:00p
Community Purim Festival hosted by the Stroum Jewish Community Center -
Tuesday ,
AprApril 16 , 2024
Tuesday, Apr 16th 7:00p to 9:00p
Community viewing of the new WWII indie film Irena's Vow at Regal Thornton Place -
Sunday ,
AprApril 21 , 2024Sunday School
Sunday, Apr 21st 9:30a to 11:45a
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Sunday ,
AprApril 28 , 2024SJC Passover Seder
Sunday, Apr 28th 5:00p to 8:00p
Join the community for a secular seder and potluck! -
Sunday ,
MayMay 5 , 2024Sunday School
Sunday, May 5th 9:30a to 11:45a