Eyes on Wise 1.10.19

A Blessing for an Elephant
by Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
There’s a blessing for seeing an elephant. This might surprise you but, when you pause to think about it, it really shouldn’t. After all, there’s a blessing for most everything in our tradition: a blessing before eating bread, for putting on a tallit, when lighting the Sabbath candles, after finishing a meal. There’s a blessing for drinking water and a blessing for seeing a rainbow. There’s even a blessing traditionally said after one uses the bathroom.
READ MORE

L’Dor Vador: Adult B’nai Mitzvah Service Celebrates Three Generations and Beyond
Mazal Tov and Yashar Koach to all of our 2018-19 Adult B’nai Mitzvah students!
In December and January, 10 Wise members became Bar or Bat Mitzvah as adults under the guidance of our Wise clergy as part of a year-long program coordinated by Cantor Emma Lutz. For some it was a first-time occasion and for others, a renewal of their commitment to Judaism that they had made when they were 13. The Koss and Kravetz families (pictured above) had even more to celebrate: both Corie Koss and Eileen Kravetz became Bat Mitzvah at the same ceremony where their newborn granddaughter, Lucy Koss, received her Hebrew name before the Wise community.
Kol HaKavod to our Adult B’nai Mitzvah Participants: Jeremy Goldstein, Olivia Gordon, Joan Isaacs, Sheila Kharrazi, Corie Koss, Eileen Kravetz, Eugenia Rosenthal, Nancy Satenberg, Phil Sniderman, Atosa Veiseh.

Wise Religious School Presents: Hebrew Word/Phrase of the Week
by Ashley Marx, Director of Religious School
If you have been on the Wise campus during Religious School, you may have noticed signs announcing our Hebrew letter and word or phrase of the week. We are excited to now bring this to Eyes On Wise as a regular weekly feature! Through our partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Builders of Jewish Education, Wise Religious School has studied current best practices in Hebrew education. In response to that learning, this year we introduced Jewish Life Vocabulary: a curated list of commonly-used Hebrew words and phrases. Jewish Life Vocabulary is based on the idea that we absorb words through context and regular use. These words and phrases – which range from holidays (“Chag Hanukkah Sameach”) to ritual (“seder”) – are designed to expose our learners to Hebrew vocabulary that is part of life as a 20th century American Jew. 
By introducing Jewish Life Vocabulary in Religious School (and many other Hebrew learning programs) we aspire to have Hebrew become not just what we learn but part of who we are.

This Week’s Torah Portion: Bo

FRIDAY, JANUARY 12
6:15 p.m. | Shabbat Services | Sanctuary
Led by Rabbi David Woznica and Cantor Emma Lutz
8 p.m. | Soulful Shabbat Service | Plotkin Chapel
Led by Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Cantor Nathan Lam
*Rabbi Woznica will deliver his sermon at both services.
Please note there will be no pre-service nosh this week.
Watch live on Friday night: Facebook | WiseLA.org

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13
Shabbat Morning Services | Plotkin Chapel
Led by Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Cantor Emma Lutz
9 a.m. | Lay-led Torah Study
9 a.m. | Baby Playdate | Parenting Center | RSVP HERE
10 a.m. | Shabbat Morning Services 
10 a.m. | Tot Shabbat | Taub Annex | RSVP HERE
Led by Rabbi Sari Laufer and Rabbi Josh Knobel 

NEXT WEEK

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18
6:15 p.m. | Shabbat Services | Plotkin Chapel
Led by Rabbi Sari Laufer and Cantor Nathan Lam

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19
9 a.m. | Lay-led Torah Study | Sanctuary
10 a.m. | Shabbat Morning Services 
Led by Rabbi Josh Knobel and Cantor Nathan Lam

Learning Opportunities with Clergy
Talmud Study with Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback: Classes will resume January 23
Bible Study with Rabbi Ron Stern: Classes will resume February 4

Kol HaKavod to Wise School alum Joey Freeman who has been appointed by Governor Gavin Newson to become Chief Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary for Policy. Joey was most recently Policy Director for the Newsom for Governor campaign. He was also a longtime aide to former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel. Mazal Tov to kvelling parents Carin and Glenn Freeman (pictured with Joey and Governor Newsom).
READ MORE

Tot Shabbat and Baby Playdate
Saturday, January 12
9 a.m. | Baby Playdate (12 months and younger!)
10 a.m. | Tot Shabbat Service
Gather together with our community for a festive service! Our Clergy and song leaders lead our music- and story-filled service that introduces the youngest members of our community to the joy of Shabbat. Parents and grandparents will love it too! Special for parents with newborns, we’ll have a baby playdate for an hour leading up to Tot Shabbat.
REGISTER HERE FOR BABY PLAYDATE
REGISTER HERE FOR TOT SHABBAT

Wise Religious School Tu B’Shevat Hike with Rabbi Yoshi and Rabbi Josh
Sunday, January 13 | Meet at Wise at 9:30 a.m.
Join Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Rabbi Josh Knobel for a hike (weather permitting!) in celebration of the approaching holiday of Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees! The group will meet in the Wise circle (outside the main Sanctuary entrance) at 9:30 a.m and then travel to Upper Canyonback trailhead (view info here). The hike will be moderate and will last about one hour.
RSVP HERE

Wise Melton School presents
Community Connections: A Three-Part Series for Early Childhood Parents
Tuesdays: January 15, February 12, March 12 | 7 p.m.
Get to know six Wise rabbis in our three-session series from Wise’s award-winning Melton School. This curriculum is specially designed for parents of little ones, based on Melton’s Foundations of Jewish Family Living: Jewish Values for Parents to Share with their Children.
No homework. No grades. No tests. Just wine, cheese, friends, and Torah.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER
Questions? Contact Wise Melton School Director Rabbi Karen Strok.

Rosh Hodesh Women’s Gathering
Wednesday, January 16 | 8:30 a.m.
Join us to celebrate Rosh Hodesh, a beautiful experience for women by women filled with Torah, poetry, song, love, community, and friendship. Please feel free to bring a friend and include in your RSVP.
RSVP HERE

Lam Music and Media Center presents
Nava Tehila in Concert
Saturday, January 19 | 8 p.m.
Nava Tehila is a Jerusalem-based community for Jewish renewal, dedicating to creating musical, engaging prayer spaces where people feel comfortable to come as they are. Nava Tehila’s musical spiritual leaders generate new prayer modalities, compose new music for prayer, and train Jewish leaders, including rabbis, cantors and students, in the art of musical and innovative prayer leading. Experience a taste of this incredible group of musicians and spiritual leaders at a special performance co-sponsored by our friends at Temple Beth Am.
Tickets: $18
BUY TICKETS 

Center for Jewish Life presents
Museums with Mario
LACMA
Tuesday, January 22 | 1:30–3 p.m.
Mario will select five pieces on exhibit and drill deep into the desire for “aesthetic arrest.”
Cost (does not include admission):
$15: Stephen Wise Temple Members
$20: General Public
Museum Admission: $18: payable upon entry to the museum
Parking $15 per car
REGISTER HERE

Center for Tikkun Olam presents
Housing the Homeless: A Five-Part Series
Thursday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Monday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m.
March: TBA
How is LA housing the homeless in your neighborhood? With over 50,000 homeless citizens on the streets of Los Angeles the voters of our city and county have made the decision to get a significant number of them safely housed in the next several years. Money has been allocated and plans are underway throughout the city to develop a variety of housing alternatives. Every city council district is committed to providing units. How will these decisions effect you? Wise will host a special series to answer questions that you might have about the housing options being considered.
LEARN MORE AND RSVP

Center for Jewish Life presents
Caring for our Elders—And Ourselves: The Status of Senior Care in our Society
with Molly Forrest
Monday, January 28 | 7:30 p.m.
The gift of aging comes with a new set of challenges that most of us will face in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. Almost all are unprepared. As our parents and others age, some are in need of care beyond what we can provide. What are the options for our loved ones to continue to stay at home? If it is their preference, is it necessarily wise for them to stay in their homes? What about home caregiving? Should we invite our elderly or infirm parents to live with us? If they are to live outside their home, how do we go about choosing the best facility for them to live out their years? What are the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing long-term care insurance policies for ourselves and our loved ones? What role do Medicare and Medicaid play in our decision?
Molly Forrest is CEO-President of the L.A. Jewish Home, the largest non-profit elderly continuing care community in the Western United States. She oversees an annual budget of $140 million that provides care to 4000 seniors. With 46 years spent in senior services, Ms. Forrest has worked in governmental and for-profit agencies and, for the last 22 years, at the L.A. Jewish Home.
$15: Stephen Wise Temple Members
$20: General Public
REGISTER HERE

Wise Alumni Networking & Social Event
Tuesday, January 29 | 7-9 p.m.
Ever wonder “where are they now?” Our Wise School alums (21 and older) are invited to join us for a special night to network, schmooze, reconnect, and share stories from their glory days on our beautiful hill. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will be served. If your child attended Wise School, please be sure to share this event with them!
Address to be provided upon RSVP.
RSVP HERE

Wise School Gala: TLV > WISE 
Saturday, February 2  | 7 p.m.
Tickets to the 2019 Wise School Gala are on sale now! Join us for an incredible evening under the Tel Aviv sky as we honor Beth and Bryan Behar, Sherly and Kami Daneshgar, and Orley and Bobby Melamed. You won’t want to miss this celebration of our school and honorees, along with cocktails, dinner, DJ, silent auction, and much more! 
BUY TICKETS AND SPONSORSHIPS

Center for Jewish Life presents
The Weight Ink: Rachel Kadish in Conversation with Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback
Monday, February 5 | 7:30 p.m.
The Weight of Ink is set in London of the 1660s and of the early 21st century. It is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an immigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love for Jewish history. This work of historical fiction is about women separated by centuries and the choices and sacrifices they make to reconcile the life of the heart and the life of the mind.
Rachel Kadish is author of the novels The Weight of Ink, From a Sealed Room,and Tolstoy Lied: A Love Story. She also authored the novella I Was Here.
$15: Stephen Wise Temple Members
$20: General Public
Presented in partnership with the Jewish Book Council
REGISTER HERE

Wise Women Presents
Mahj and More
Wednesday, February 6 | 1 p.m.
Wise members and guests are invited to join other Wise Women for open play: Mah Jongg, Canasta, Bridge, or any other game you’d like on the first Wednesday of each month. Groups or single players and all levels (beginners to experts) are welcome and encouraged! If you have a Mah Jongg set, please bring it along. Snacks and light refreshments served. This is a free event. RSVP required.
For more information on Canasta Lessons please contact Rachel Goldberg ([email protected], 310.889.2227).
RSVP HERE

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
SKIRBALL CULTURAL CENTER
Tuesday, February 12  | 12:30 p.m.
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the first-ever retrospective about the famed associate justice and American cultural icon. It offers a visually rich, entertaining, yet rigorous look at RBG’s life and work. Woven throughout the exhibition are excerpts of briefs and other writings by RBG, including some of her most famously searing dissents. In addition, the exhibition also brings to light how her childhood, teachers and professors led her to pursue the law and be so committed to the nation’s highest ideals.
Join Wise Women for lunch, followed by a private group tour at the Skirball Cultural Center.
Cost: $36 for Wise Members, includes lunch, admission and group tour. 
This event is for Wise Members only. Unfortunately we cannot offer refunds once registered. 
Event is currently full, yet we are taking names for a waitlist should additional openings become available.  
RSVP HERE 

Wise Guys Men’s Ski Trip to Mammoth
Friday, March 29 – 31 
Join Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Rabbi Ron Stern on the Wise Guys men’s trip to Mammoth Mountain. Winter sports, camaraderie, good food, Shabbat! Cost of the trip includes lodging, two catered dinners, snacks, some wine, and self-prepared breakfasts (lift tickets not included). 
REGISTER HERE

We remember with love those who died in recent days and weeks:

Joseph Frederick III, Darren Neishuler, Ray Pivo, Edwin Praver, Albert Stein

We observe the yahrzeits of:

Miriam Abrams, Henry M. Alexander*, Le Roy K. Bardin*, Ruth Berman*, Rosslyn Boasberg*, Judith Susan Bradley*, Norma Burgos, Laura Chap*, Jerry Chase, Robert Aaron Epstein*, David Feiles*, Joe Feldman, Sander Freedman*, Barbara Lynn Gruen*, Lawrence S. Hill*, David Michael Igdaloff*, Dave Kahn*, Conrad Karp*, Joseph Kleiman*, Betty Klein*, Harold Kramer*, Alfred Kuchinski*, Marvin Lee, Maurice Lenack, Max Leon Levy*, Sol Nudelman*, Irving Olf*, Celia Panzer*, Maurice Praw, Matilda Pregulman*, Cecil Prober*, Abraham Rashkov*, Todd Seth Ravins*, Jack Resnick*, Mollie Resnick*, Hyman Rosenzweig*, Fay Rosin*, Arnold “Arne” Schwartz*, Dorothy Sharpe*, Ralph Skoll*, Jacob Stein*, Norman Stein*, Edith B. Zola*, Sylvia Zolan
*Designated on our memorial walls

We reach out as a community and offer our support and deepest sympathy to those among us who are mourning the loss of a loved one.

Ada Pivo on the loss of her husband Ray Pivo.
The family of Albert Stein on his passing.

Shehechianu Moment
Do you have a milestone birthday or anniversary approaching? We’d like to celebrate your special day on the bima during Friday evening Shabbat Services! Invite your family, join your Wise community, make it a “shehechianu moment” – a time to give thanks for life, health, and the blessings that enable you to reach this great moment in your life. Let us know by emailing Arlene Spiegelman or calling 310.889.2272 and she’ll make sure to schedule a date that works for you. We’d love to share your celebration!

Mazal Tov to:
Jessica and Robin Hanasab on the birth of their son Yosef Chaim Hanasab.
Shirley Darvish Tabibian and Sam Tabibian on the birth of their son Remy Yehuda Tabibian.

We honor our loved ones, our family simchas, and our communal losses through charitable giving. To give in honor or in memory of a cherished family member or dear friend, please visit WiseLA.org/Giving.

RABBI YOSHI ZWEIBACK DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN HONOR OF:
Rabbi Yoshi, in appreciation, by Ira and Linda Gross
Rabbi Yoshi, in appreciation for officiating at the baby naming of our granddaughter, Lucy Joy Koss; and for officiating at Eileen’s bat mitzvah, by Eileen and Bryan Kravetz

RABBI RON STERN DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN HONOR OF:
Rabbi Stern, in appreciation for your assistance with Eileen’s bat mitzvah, by Eileen and Bryan Kravetz

CANTOR EMMA LUTZ DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN HONOR OF:
Cantor Lutz, in appreciation for your assistance with Eileen’s bat mitzvah, by Eileen and Bryan Kravetz
Phil Sniderman’s 2nd bar mitzvah, by Jeremy Goldstein

IN MEMORY OF:
Miriam Abrams, by Joan Spiegel

RABBI ISAIAH ZELDIN RABBINIC CHAIR
IN HONOR OF:
Rabbi David Woznica, by Susan and Melvin Plutsky

SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE/TIKKUN OLAM LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
IN HONOR OF:
Nancy Satenberg’s bat mitzvah, by Ellen and Michael Opell

SOCIAL JUSTICE
IN MEMORY OF:
Sol Nudelman, by The Norris Family

AVI EFRAIM GESUNDHEIT FUND FOR MUSIC
IN MEMORY OF:
Mollie Resnick, Jack Resnick and Laura Chap, by Linda and Jeff Resnick & Family
Joe Feldman, by Anida Sterman

METUKA BENJAMIN SCHOLARSHIP FUND
IN MEMORY OF:
Maurice Praw, by Heidi and Albert Praw
Marvin Lee, by Andee and Kenneth Lee

LIFELONG LEARNING ENDOWMENT / CENTER FOR JEWISH LIFE – ANNUAL FUND
IN HONOR OF:
Phil Sniderman’s 2nd bar mitzvah, by Sheila Rosenberg
Corie Koss’ bat mitzvah, by Hella and Chuck Hershson
Corie Koss’ bat mitzvah, by Ronda and Barry Lippman
Nancy Satenberg’s bat mitzvah, by Susie and Andy Marias

JOSHUA A. LEVY SCHOLARSHIP FUND / GENERATIONS ENDOWMENT
IN HONOR OF:
Shelly and Don Levy, on their vow renewal, by Sheila Rosenberg
Shelly and Don Levy, on their vow renewal, by Drazia Simon
Shelly and Don Levy, for renewing their marriage vows, by Janine and Richard Kolodny

WISE SCHOOL GENERATIONS ENDOWMENT
IN HONOR OF:
Nancy Satenberg’s bat mitzvah, by Melvin and Jean Sapiro

MELTON SCHOOL
IN HONOR OF:
DeeDee Sussman (Get Well Soon!), by Susie and Richard Friedman

We appreciate our wonderful volunteers:

Center for Jewish Life Volunteers:
Susan Firestone
Freda Moscowitz
Barbara Sampson
Tammy Steinman

Nosh Volunteer:
Susan Firestone

Gift Shop Volunteers:
Terrie Baumann
Rochelle Fox
Lori Rubin
Carol Sookman

Do you want to reach us? 
CONTACT LIST

Are you having a lifecycle event? Or would you like to be added to this email list? 
LET US KNOW

Would you like to get involved? Check out upcoming Temple and School events. 
VIEW CALENDAR