June 25, 2016 AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION P.O. BOX 442 SANTA MONICA, CA 90406

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1 Torah Portion: Behaaloteha Numbers: 8:1-12:16 Torah Teacher: Rabbi Bruce Skolnik Torah Chanter: Therese Attias Greeter: Helene Silber A.T. Receives Rebates From Purchases Through Our Site Double CLICK HERE TO SHOP AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION P.O. BOX 442 SANTA MONICA, CA THIS SHABBAT 9:00AM Ethics/Mussar Rabbi Miriam Hamrell Rabbi Bruce Skolnick 10:00-12:15 PM Shabbat Services 12:15 PM - Potluck Dairy Lunch June 25, 2016 AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION 343 South Church Lane, Los Angeles, CA (310) ONE TORAH, ONE COMMUNITY, MANY TEACHERS COMMITTED TO REPAIRING THE WORLD ahavattorahla.org Rabbi: Miriam Hamrell MHL,MAEd Cantorial Soloist: Gary Levine Associate Cantorial Soloist: Kimberly Haynes Co-Presidents: Shoshi Wilchfort & Greg Metzger Treasurer: Hal Jaffe Secretary: Mary Kalifon Board Members: Debra Barrath Barbara Burbank Vicki Crawford Vivian Gold Ben Greenberg Rita Reuben Renee Schwartz Jonathan Troper Andrea Yahudian Newsletter Editor: Linda Badger Past Presidents Judy Kollack Michael Stevens Rena Jaffe Jean Katz Ron Estroff Sid Rosenblatt Blanche Moss Mauthausen Memorial, Austria Photo taken by Dnalor-01 in Wikimedia Commons This week s parsha is Behaaloteha which is Hebrew for when you step up. God tells Moses to speak to Aaron and tell him to light the Menorah. The Menorah, although associated with Hanukah, has come to mean spiritual conquest which is achieved not by might nor by power but by God s spirit. -The Pentateuch and Haftorahs edited by Dr. J.H. Hertz Continued on Page Two!1

2 Parsha Behaaloteha Continued: In Egypt the tribe of Levi was the only one who had observed the Torah and kept the covenant and did not practice idolatry. In the desert only the Levites did not worship the Golden Calf. God found them worthy. He chose the Levites as servants of God and initiated them in service in the Sanctuary. The men who could not partake in the offerings to God on Passover go to Moses. Moses asks God for guidance and He gives Moses instructions on the Second day of Passover. God commands the Israelites to depart from Sinai and journey towards Moab and the Holy Land. They are guided by the Cloud. After leaving Sinai the Israelites are rebellious and complain which angers God. He causes fire to devour part of the camp. The people go to Moses and he prays to God and the fire abated. But the Israelites rebellion results in their being excluded from the Promised Land. The Israelites complain that they don t have meat. Moses is discouraged and God has him gather and appoint 70 of the elders to help govern the People. The view from Mount Nebo in Jordan, from which Moses, having guided the Israelites almost to their goal, reputedly glimpsed the Promised Land Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses. Miriam is punished with leprosy. Moses prays for her healing and the Israelites wait 7 days for her to recover. PLEASE WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBER DORIS LION I am delighted to be a new member of Ahavat Torah after going to many services and events with my good friend Judy Kollack. I have met wonderful people including of course, Rabbi Miriam, who is a great Rabbi and a loving person. I am looking forward to belonging to a Synagogue where I feel welcome and have a new spiritual home. I am a Psychotherapist and have had a private practice in Encino for 35 years and now I am volunteering at a low fee clinic. I conducted a therapy group Women in Transition. I guess I am always in transition and hope to keep growing with all of you. Thank you for being there for me and all your congregants. Last Shabbat Michael Stevens found a pair of lady s sunglasses. Do you know whose they are?!2

3 THE WEEKLY MESSAGE FROM OUR CO-PRESIDENTS ONE CONTINUING, ONE NEW CO-PRESIDENT... and Toda Raba to Judy Kollack for her service and love who is now our Immediate Past-President Shalom Haverim, We were blessed with another wonderfully busy week at Ahavat Torah. Friday night we had a beautiful Soul Shabbat celebrating family. We have a number of people to thank for last Saturday s services and installation of new board members. First, we were blessed to have Suzie Shiaman join our Rabbi at the bimah as our cantorial soloist. Our brilliant rabbinic intern Florence Dann delivered a special d var Torah on leadership. Jean Katz and Rabbi Miriam led the installation and blessings for our new board and shared their gratitude for the hard work of those rotating off the board. We are looking forward to serving a holy community alongside such talented, engaged and inspiring leaders. B Shalom Shoshi & Gregory A MESSAGE FROM SHOSHI WILCHFORT OUR CO-PRESIDENT TO AHAVAT TORAH S NEW BOARD MEMBERS Dear fellow ATers...Andrea, Ben, Mary and Greg, and all the continuing members of the board, committee members, contributors, friends and volunteers; Mazel tov on your election to the board of our beloved Ahavat Torah Congregation. Thank you for fulfilling your roles this past year. Because of good folks like you, great things happen. May you have a fruitful and deeply satisfying experience on the leadership team of our congregation and in all of your roles, in furthering the goals and mission of our community...of seekers, learners, teachers and healers...it takes a village! We are committed to healing the world, and I welcome and invite those of you who will consider joining the shul, offering your contributions and giving of your unique 'neshama'. May we all go from strength to strength. Hazak, hazak, v'nithazek! Be strong, be strong and strengthen one another! With gratefulness and much love,!3

4 MEET AHAVAT TORAH S NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT Leaders July 2016 to July 2017 Andrea Yahudian (Directory Marvin Warsofsky) Renee Schwartz Social Action Co-chairperson 2 years 1 (1/2 ea) Vivian Gold Rita Reuben (with Gary Hirschl- Shopper) Hospitality, Blanche Moss is Rita s partner.!4

5 Gary Hirschl Barbara Burbank Gala Chairperson Tribute Cards Chairperson Parparim -support for Program Planning!5

6 DONATIONS FOR MAY-JUNE 20, 2016 TRIBUTE CARDS Ellen Dubois, to Bobby Prebis, prayers for a swift and total recovery Barbara Burbank, to Ellen Dubois and Beverly Feinstein with thanks for organizing a marvelous Gala Judy Dubin for purchase of tribute cards Judy Kollack, to Ellen Dubois & Beverly Feinstein for a job well done as Gala Co-chairs Judy Kollack, for purchase of tribute cards Arlene & Sid Rosenblatt, to Blanche Moss for a speedy recovery and celebrating our anniversaries together Barbara Burbank, many thanks to Joel Warren, for providing the joyful, rockout, and spirited music for the Gala Barbara & Alan Burbank, to Blanche Moss wishing a speedy recovery and return to full health SOUL SHABBAT Phil Bell GENERAL FUND Phil & Vivian Danufsky, donation for Purim Party Judith Rafael Linda Schorin SOVA Linda Schorin YAHRZEIT Arlene & Sid Rosenblatt MUSIC FUND Linda Schorin JNF TREES Barbara & Alan Burbank, to Judy Wendorff in memory of her son Barry Shoshi & Izydor Wilchfort, to Mrs. Dvorah Colker for a Refuah Shlema Shoshi & Izydor Wilchfort, to Mrs. Maxine Henig, for a Refuah Shlema Shoshi visited Estelle Markowitz last week. Estelle said to say hello to all of her friends at Ahavat Torah.!6

7 Rabbi Miriam Hamrell and A.T. members and friends will be going to Israel shortly. If you want give them a message to be placed in the Kotel please bring it to Shabbat this week. THIS COULD BE YOUR NEXT MEAL! Fisherman Phil is back from his vacation to Mexico. He brought back more fish. Phil will be making the fish available for members and friends to purchase at a major reduction in price. All funds will go to Ahavat Torah to support our Friday Night Shabbats. Please call Phil Bell at (310) or shalvah@aol.com. You may also contact lindabadger0713@yahoo.com or (310) It is never too early to get ready for Sukkot. If you or anyone you know would like this SIEGER SUKKAH Slightly Used 6 x 10 Donation Requested to Ahavat Torah Congregation Call Linda Badger (310) or lindabadger0713@yahoo.com!7

8 Hi everyone, I m very excited that my song Light of My Soul from my soon-to-be-released album Awaken Me has been nominated for the Global Peace Song Awards People s Choice category! And the really cool part is that YOU get to vote on who wins! So I m asking if you would be so kind as to participate by following the instructions below and cast your vote in support of not just my music, but some of the other great songs that have been nominated in other categories, including my friend and producing partner, Vito Gregoli, as well as my friends Wouter Kellerman, Tina Malia, Vivi Melody, Madi Das, Shakil Mohseni, Stephanie Spruill and many others About Global Peace Song Awards: When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace, said Jimi Hendrix. Music has the power to speak directly to the heart. It can inspire enlightened awareness and lovingly empower us to see and treat each other as brother and sister. When our souls know such liberation, war as we know it will end and peace on earth will prevail. The 2016 Global Peace Song Awards serves as a search for our world s most enlightened musicians and songs that can guide the way to peace on earth. YOU ARE ABLE TO AND CAN VOTE (you, Your Family and Friends, Fans, etc) STEP 1: Go to Press the VOTE NOW! button in the center of the page to register a) Once you've registered (NEW USER REGISTRATION) you'll be sent a verifying with an automatically generated password. b) next, Create and type in your user name. c) next, paste your given/initial password into the box (you can change this later to a personalized password). You are now registered! HOORAY! STEP 2: Read the Public Voting Rules and Regulations NOTE - ONLY ONE VOTE PER CATEGORY OF MUSIC The Artist with the most Public Votes in their given category becomes the 'Fan Favorite.' "Light of My Soul' in 'ACOUSTIC CONTEMPORARY'. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VOTING!!!!!!8

9 Date: Wednesday, June 22nd Time: 10:00AM-12:00 Noon Place: A Private Home AHAVAT TORAH CLASS Master Teacher Rabbi Miriam started a new class TORAH & HAFTARAH PORTION OF THE WEEK In the Mid-Wilshire Area Our third class was fantastic! Thank you M & Ms for your gracious hospitality. Please RSVP to mwarsofsky@roadrunner.com, or pooshieboy@roadrunner.com. Enjoy learning Torah like you never did before! Come and bring a friend TANYA - A Manual for an Ethical Life For the Seeker & the Perplexed The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions about life. It has revolutionized the way we think about God, the human soul, the world and our place within it. When: Every Thursday Time: 11:-12:00 Noon 12:25 Potluck Dairy Where: At Rabbi Miriam s Home Cost: $5 Members; $10 Non-members 12:30PM Torah & Haftarah of the Week Class Rabbi Miriam is the honored Coach & Teacher for this mystical class. Come and bring a friend to these fascinating and rare classes.!9

10 LAST FRIDAY NIGHT SOUL SHABBAT!10

11 LAST SHABBAT Rabbi Miriam and Suzie Shiaman have a special chemistry when they lead services. Rabbi Miriam and Rabbi Bruce Skolnick What do Rabbi Miriam s hugs mean to you? Rabbi Miriam says each hug is a HINENI moment. Here I am. I connect with God and the person I hug. PLEASE JOIN US NEXT SHABBAT!!11

12 LAST SHABBAT CONTINUED THE INSTALLATION OF AHAVAT TORAH S BOARD CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RECORDING SECRETARY MARY KALIFON CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR!12 NEW CO-PRESIDENT GREG METZER

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