Eyes on Wise 4.12.18

Counting the Omer: The Vital Link of Passover to Shavuot
by Rabbi David Woznica
We have entered a period of the year where we count the Omer. Historically, the Omer was a measure of grain collected by Jewish Pilgrims as an offering to the Temple, helping ensure its ongoing operation. Over time, counting the Omer commingled with the Biblical injunction of highlighting each of the 49 days (7 weeks) between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot.
READ MORE

Wise and Save the Syrian Children Team Up to Provide Vital Aid and Support
Last fall, the Wise community stepped up in a huge way to help our partners from Save the Syrian Children, an incredible organization founded by Wise members Tamar and Philip Koosed, through The Big Fill project. By filling our 20-foot storage container with medical supplies, clothing, toys, and more, Wise families inspired some amazing results. The Wise drive led to additional outreach from medical companies and hospitals. In addition, other Los Angeles synagogues have followed Wise’s example to establish their own Big Fill drives to support these efforts. Save the Syrian Children has provided beautiful pictures of the kids with their stuffed animals donated by kids from Wise. Thank you to Tamar and Phil Koosed, Rachael Sonntag-Bloom, and to everyone who participated in this incredible effort to change the world and make meaning for kids and families in need.
READ MORE
VIEW PHOTOS

This Week’s Shabbat: Casual, Musical, Relaxed
Friday, April 13 at 6:15 p.m.
Rabbi Yoshi and Cantor Emma invite you to unplug and relax at Shabbat services this week. Our musical, casual service will give you a chance to unwind after your busy week and schmooze and nosh with our community in Zeldin-Hershenson Hall.
Click here – they’d love to tell you all about it!

This Week’s Torah Portion: Shemini

FRIDAY, APRIL 13
6:15 p.m. Shabbat Service | Zeldin-Hershenson Hall
Led by Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Cantor Emma Lutz

SATURDAY, APRIL 14
Shabbat Morning Services | Sanctuary
Led by Rabbi Sari Laufer and Cantor Emma Lutz
9 a.m. Torah Study
10 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service

10 a.m. Tot Shabbat | Witzman Court
Led by Rabbi Josh Knobel
RSVP HERE

NEXT WEEK:

FRIDAY, APRIL 20
6:15 p.m. Yom Ha’Atzmaut Soulful Shabbat Services | Sanctuary
Led by Rabbi Ron Stern, Rabbi Sari Laufer, Cantor Nathan Lam, and Cantor Emma Lutz
REGISTER FOR DINNER

SATURDAY, APRIL 21
Shabbat Morning Services | Plotkin Chapel
Led by Rabbi David Woznica and Cantor Emma Lutz
9 a.m. Torah Study
10 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service

Yom Hamoreh Celebration: Former Wise School Teachers Invited!
Friday, May 4 at 1 p.m.
Wise School will celebrate Yom Hamoreh on Friday, May 4^th, by inviting past teachers back to Wise School to honor them for all of their hard work and dedication. Our students will begin the day with an assembly, followed by a luncheon for the past and current educators. If you are a former Wise School teacher, please call our office at 310.889.2300 to learn more!

Alumni Family Day
Sunday, May 6
11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Alumni students, parents, and their families are invited to celebrate a family friendly afternoon at Wise School as we celebrate 40 year of Wise and Coach Starr’s 40 years of teaching. Event is free.
RSVP HERE

Religious School Open House
Sunday, April 15 at 9:30 a.m. 
Want to learn more about Religious School at Stephen Wise Temple? Have friends you think would love to become part of our program? Then visit us on April 15 to meet with the Director, members of our clergy, and to see our exciting school in action. The day will start with a meet-and-greet with a Q&A session. Visitors will join our school as we celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, with games, cooking, and fun for the whole family. The day is designed for families so please bring any prospective students along with parents!
RSVP HERE

Center for Jewish Life presents
Jewish Spirituality & Mindfulness: Accessing Deeper Consciousness, Meaning and Joy through the Lessons of Our Tradition
Starts Next Week
with Cantor Emma Lutz
April 18 & 24, May 8 | 7-8:30 p.m.
“Spirituality” has been a buzzword in the American lexicon for a number of years, but the Jewish spiritual tradition runs thousands of years deep.  Though the texts of our tradition, we will gain a deeper understanding of what the Jewish sages about attaining a deeper sense of spirituality and mindfulness in our everyday lives.
REGISTER HERE

The Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles presents
Yom Hazikaron Official Ceremony
Tuesday, April 17 at 7 p.m. | Sanctuary
All in our community are invited to this special ceremony for Israel’s Memorial Day commemorating Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror. Per security protocol, please bring your photo I.D. and refrain from bringing bags to the service.​

Women’s Rosh Hodesh Gathering
Service for Healing and Wellness
Wednesday, April 18 8:30 a.m.
Please join Wise women as we gather in song and study, creating a time and space for reflection and connection. In partnership with the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health, we are offering a healing service. Whether you or someone you know is in need of physical, emotional, or spiritual healing, we hope that the texts and music we’ll share will offer the opportunity for learning, meaningful prayer, and a sense of shleimut, wholeness, with which to begin a new month. (For female identified people only).
RSVP HERE

Lunch and Gift Packaging for Wise Parents with College Kids
Wednesday, April 18 at 11:30 a.m. | Private Home in Beverly Hills
We are delighted to once again invite our Wise parents with college kids to get together for lunch to socialize and pack “finals survival packages” for their students in cities all around the country. We will gather at the home of our gracious host Alison Kronenberg (address provided upon RSVP.) If you’re a parent of a college student and have not already provided us with your child’s address, please email Lucy Harel, Director of Membership, so that we can add your child to our list.
RSVP HERE BY APRIL 13

Lunch Bunch: Caring for the Stranger
Tuesday, April 24 at 5 p.m. | Sanctuary Building
Help our Lunch Bunch care for the stranger by assembling lunches for residents at LA Family Housing’s valley shelter on Tuesday, April 24. Delivery of the lunches will take place on Wednesday, April 25. To RSVP for Tuesday’s food preparation or if you have questions, contact Diane Kabat at 818.981.5485 or email [email protected].

Center for Jewish Life presents
Reform Judaism: An Exploration of our Role and our Future 
Thursday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Many of the greatest contributions of Reform Judaism also present its greatest challenges. It seeks to be innovative while at the same time embracing tradition. It casts a wide tent while at the same time seeking to have core beliefs. It allows for personal autonomy while at the same time desiring a community based on shared values. It holds the Torah as sacred while concurrently not holding all its teachings to be binding.
LEARN MORE

Soulful Shabbat and Confirmation: Celebrating Our Graduating Seniors
Friday, May 18
Services: 6:15 p.m.
Dinner: 7:30 p.m.
Celebrate the graduating seniors in our Wise family with a Soulful Shabbat service, presentations by our Confirmands, and special blessings for any of our departing seniors. Our entire community is invited to dinner after services to help congratulate our Confirmands and graduating class. NOTE: Special service time of 6:15 p.m.
REGISTER FOR DINNER 

Kol HaKavod to Past President Lynn Bider, who will be honored this Sunday, April 15 by JQ International, a leading LGBTQ Jewish and ally community. She will receive the JQ Community Leadership Award at the annual Awards Garden Brunch. This annual event celebrates those who have inspired, forged new paths, and created the highest visibility for the LGBTQ community.
LEARN MORE HERE

The BFOR Study: Genetic Research to Save Lives
Wise is partnering with the BFOR (BRCA Founder Outreach) Study to help get the word out about some important genetic research happening in Los Angeles and other major cities around the U.S. Women and men with a BRCA gene mutation have a greater risk of developing several types of cancer, including breast, ovary, prostate and other cancers. Individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry are ten times as likely to carry a BRCA mutation as the general population. Most carriers do not even know they are at risk. Genetic testing is performed using a simple blood sample.
LEARN MORE AND PARTICIPATE

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.

Bill Feldman on the loss of his wife Joan Blum Feldman.

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!

To our B’nai Mitzvah — may the Torah guide and inspire you every day of your adult life.
Mazal tov to:

Cathy and Darin Charles on their son Ryan Charles becoming Bar Mitzvah.

Jennifer and Kenneth Davis on their son Spencer Davis becoming Bar Mitzvah.

Lea Garbe on her son Benjamin Stein becoming Bar Mitzvah.

Penni Ziers and Matthew Kaplan on their daughter Ariel Kaplan becoming Bat Mitzvah.

We honor people through charitable giving.
 

RABBIS’ DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN HONOR OF:

the Bar Mitzvah of our son Justin, by Karen and Benjamin Levine

IN MEMORY OF:

Roslyn Levy, by Evy Lutin

Alice Handelman, by Ira Handelman

Myron Kurtzman, by Selma Kurtzman and family

CANTORS’ DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Alice Handelman, by Ira Handelman

2017-2018 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
IN MEMORY OF:

Arthur Levine, by Ben Levine

RABBI ZELDIN RABBINIC CHAIR FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin, by Karen and Joel Zeldin, and Laurie Crasnick

SOL AND ESTHER SMITH LIBRARY FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Alice Handelman, by Irene and David Smith, Erin, Danny, Noah, and Oliver Muskat, and Alana and Jonathan Dintzer

PRAYER BOOK FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Martin Otelsberg, by Jerry Otelsberg, Emily, Scott, Charlotte, and Finley Otelsberg, and Michelle and Eric Massi

WISE READERS TO LEADERS FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Abba Martin Sirkin and Shirl Horowitz, by Carol and Ed Horowitz

LIFELONG LEARNING ENDOWMENT
IN MEMORY OF:

Alice Handelman, by Roz and Bob Weiner

SOCIAL JUSTICE FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Louis Weiss, by Steven Weiss and family

Jacob Lieberman, by Gloria and Art Waldinger

YAHRZEIT FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Richard Mylon, by Lillian Mylon, Robin, and Terry

Simpson Marcus, by Barbara and Joel Marcus

Julius Winokur, by Connie Winokur

Anna Fidler, by Brenda and Morel Fidler

Solomon Baggin, by Sally and Marty Levine

Annette Michaels, by The Bialosky Family

Manuel Ruderman, by The Gad and Ruderman Family

Dr. Sherwood Berman, by Saul J. Berman

Gene Goodwein, by Eleanora Goodwein

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