A.T. Receives Rebates From Purchases Through Our Site Double CLICK HERE TO SHOP

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1 Torah Portion: Vayera Exodus 6:2-9:35 Torah Teacher: Rabbi Cynthia Copnick Torah Chanters: Ben Greenberg Michael Stevens Greeters: Ben Greenberg A.T. Receives Rebates From Purchases Through Our Site Double CLICK HERE TO SHOP SHOP AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION P.O. BOX 442 SANTA MONICA CA EVERY SHABBAT 9:00AM Ethics- Mussar with Rabbi Miriam Hamrell Greg Metzger and Rabbinic Intern Florence Dann 10:00AM 12:15PM Shabbat Service 12:15PM-Potluck Dairy Lunch January Rabbi: Miriam Hamrell MHLMAEd Cantorial Soloist: Gary Levine Associate Cantorial Soloist: Kimberly Haynes Co-Presidents: Judy Kollack & Shoshi Wilchfort Treasurer: Hal Jaffe Secretary: Linda Badger Board Members: Debra Barrath Barbara Burbank Vicki Crawford Gary Levine Jonathan Troper Co-Social Action: Vivian Gold Renee Schwartz Past Presidents Michael Stevens Rena Jaffe Jean Katz Ron Estroff Sid Rosenblatt Blanche Moss Ex-officio Members: Rabbi Miriam Hamrell & Charles Hamrell MD Editor: Linda Badger AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION 343 South Church Lane Los Angeles CA (310) ONE TORAH ONE COMMUNITY MANY TEACHERS COMMITTED TO REPAIRING THE WORLD ahavattorahla.org This week s parsha is Vayera which in Hebrew means and I appeared. God speaks to Moses and Aaron telling them to go to Pharaoh and demand that the Israelites be set free. They go to Pharaoh but he refuses to free the Israelites from slavery. God then sends a series of plagues upon the Egyptians. Pharaoh promises to free the Israelites if Moses will stop each plague. Moses does so but each time God hardens Pharaoh s heart and he refuses to let the Israelites go. The parsha ends with the plague of fire and ice which combined to cause a devastating hail upon Egypt. Pharaoh promises to let the!1 Israelites go if Moses ends the hail. Moses and Aaron stop the plague and once again Pharaoh changes his mind.

2 THE WEEKLY ARTICLE FROM OUR CO- PRESIDENTS JUDY KOLLACK AND SHOSHI WILCHFORT Dear friends 2016 is here...and our community is in the throws of many ongoing and new projects. The 13th Annual Gala will be on Saturday May 28th. PLEASE HOLD THE DATE! Ellen DuBois is event chair with Beverly Feinstein as her right-hand partner. Watch for announcements of details please join committees in formation and start thinking about those vendors you patronize whom you could solicit for gift certificates for our silent auction at this event. Our Parparim committee is planning a Soul Shabbat on the third Friday evening of each month and a variety of awesome adult enrichment workshops to be held on Tuesday evenings over the next several months. This month we are privileged to offer Kabbalistic Drumming workshops (a musical way of unlocking the secrets of MYSTICAL Kabbalah). Eli Lester is an internationally acclaimed Master Kabbalist drummer and teacher and will lead us for 3 sessions on Tuesday Jan and 26th. Please see further details in this newsletter. PRE- REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED BY JANUARY 11. One of the special things about our Makom the space we use for our synagogue activities is that it is shared space with our interfaith partners the Village Lutheran Church and the Mussalah Islamic group of worshippers. With all that is happening in our world today and even in our own country it is important that we understand and appreciate each other's views and beliefs. To that end the weekend of January the three Abrahamic faiths will have some joint teachings and sharing of ideas and participation in our respective services and teachings and Sufi chanting with the theme of "Light Guidance and Peace." Please mark your calendars so you will be able to stay after our potluck lunch for a discussion and come back on Sunday for solidarity at the Christian service and further discussion. Just as the Mussalah group was so helpful in constructing our sukka and then participating along with Pastor Janet in our meal in the sukka we want to support this weekend venture with our attendance. More details will be forthcoming. Mazal tov to our Birthday and Anniversary celebrants for January. This Saturday please join us to celebrate at Simhat Shabbat. B'Shalom Judy and Shoshi Ellen DuBois and Beverly Feinstein are planning AT s Bar/Bat- Mitzvah Gala for May 28th. They request members or friends of AT with graphic skills to contact them at edubois@ucla.edu.!2 They could really use your help! Thank you.

3 SIMHAT SHABBAT CELEBRATE YOUR HAPPY OCCASIONS WITH AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION THIS SATURDAY JANUARY 9th! A LITLE BIRDIE TOLDS US THAT THESE MEMBERS ARE CELEBRATING THEIR BIRTHDAYS THIS MONTH: ELI LESTER GARY HIRSCHL LENNY FELDER JUDITH RIVIN SYBIL MICHELSON THE LITTLE BIRDIE S BROTHER TOLD US THAT THESE MEMBERS ARE CELEBRATING THEIR ANNIVERSARIES THIS MONTH: NADINE and COLEMAN COLLA MARION and AHARON NACHSHON LINDA and GERRY OWEN We hope you will join us at services so that your fellow congregants can extend their best wishes. Let us make your moments of celebration into memories we share together. The little Birdie s sister told us that a nice way to honor these folks is by sending a tribute card or the purchase of a JNF Tree through the Congregation.!3

4 PLEASE JOIN AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION FOR ITS TUESDAY NIGHT ADULT CLASSES THIS MONTH WILL BE ON KABBALISTIC DRUMMING WORKSHOPS A Musical way of learning Secrets of the Kabbalah WHERE: 343 S. Church Lane LA WHEN: January 12 19th and 7:00 to 9:00 pm Kabbalistic Drumming (The deeper aspects of the Shema) Balancing the Feminine and Masculine energies of creation Created by Rev. Gabbai Eli Shirim Lester Come join us as we create a deep connection with the rhythms of our spirit with each other and with HaShem. You don't have to be a drummer to participate in this musical experience of Kabbalah. Using simple exercises we will explore the deeper aspects of the Shema of listening and expressing our very soul. The rhythm of drumming is easy for our bodies to take in as was the rhythm of our mother s heartbeat. The class fee is $25 for the series or $10 per class. Some drums are available. PLEASE RSVP TO LINDA BADGER lindabadger0713@yahoo.com or call (310) !4

5 KABBALISTIC DRUMMING WORKSHOP WITH REVEREND GABBAI ELI SHIRIM LESTER BEGINNING TUESDAY JANUARY 12th! WE ARE SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE that our Teacher for our Kabbalistic Drumming class is Reverend Gabbai Eli Shirim Lester. Eli was ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schacter Shalomi as Reverend Gabbai Eli Shirim Lester in Eli is a teacher and retreat leader. He conducts workshops and classes on music and creativity. He is a song writer singer musician and producer of both secular and spiritual music for a variety of performance venues. He began performing with musical theater groups at the age of fourteen and has been a professional musician all his adult life. He is internationally known as a teacher of Kabbalistic Drumming Tanya and Mussar. An unforgettable moment from Eli Lester s drumming class was when we were asked to drum chaotically not to allow any order to the sound in the room. It proved impossible chaos deteriorated into order! This was a profound teaching to be believed only in the experience. -Rabbi Goldie Milgram. One of my best friends since FOREVER I was so happy to see him. We see each other once every two years at his classes. He s so awesome. He s one of the people I ve known over many lifetimes. -Sarah He marches to the beat of the heavenly drummer. -Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi PLEASE JOIN US! WHEN: WEDNESDAY January 13th at 5:30 pm WHERE:: FACTORS DELI Located at 9420 W. Pico Blvd. L.A. I do hope you can make it. Looking forward to seeing yawls. Questions: Please contact moosemano01@roadrunner.com!5

6 PLEASE JOIN AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION FOR A SPIRITUAL FRIDAY NIGHT SHABBAT CIRCLE WHEN: WHERE: Friday January :45-9:30 pm 343 S. Church Lane LA Kabbalat Shabbat with Candle Lighting and Blessings by Rabbi Miriam Hamrell and music by Rev Eli Lester and Phil Bell. POTLUCK DINNER dairy vegetarian.) After dinner a SONG CIRCLE. We want to hear YOUR voice. Please bring a poem short story or a memorable experience to share. This month we are focusing on Jewish Arbor Day - Tu B Shvat. Our discussion theme is: MANKIND IS LIKE A TREE IN THE FIELD -Deut 20:19. How many ways can this statement be interpreted? PLEASE RSVP TO LINDA BADGER lindabadger0713@yahoo.com or call (310) !6

7 CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR OF THE TREES WITH AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION We are recreating the ancient mystical Tu-B Shvat Seder WHEN: JANUARY 23 PM WHERE: 343 Church Lane LA This is a vegetarian holiday. Please try to incorporate some of the following into your potluck dishes: grains raisins olives figs dates nuts carob and fruits. The internet is a great resource for traditional food recipes for this holiday. Non-cooked items are also needed so please call me if you are interested in buying these at the market as an alternative to cooking. You are invited to share a short favorite Tu B Shvat reading and of course are also welcome to be on our committee to help in any number of ways. Please RSVP to to arleneside@gmail.com and let us know what you will be bringing to the potluck. Also please indicate if your dish is gluten free or contains onions/garlic unless it is very obvious for people with allergies. If you would like to help or have any questions please call Arlene (310) !7

8 SHAPE THE FUTURE WITH GENUINE BONDS OF FAITH PLEASE JOIN OUR INTERFAITH COMMUNITIES FOR A WEEKEND OF LIGHT GUIDANCE & PEACE RABBI MIRIAM HAMRELL OF AHAVAT TORAH CONGREGATION REV JANET BREGAR OF LUTHERAN VILLAGE CHURCH KARIMA KYLBERG SPIRITUAL LEADER AT THE MUSALLAH TAUHID LOS ANGELES SUFI CENTER AND HER GUEST SHAYKH NOUR WHEN: Saturday January Jewish Services - Theme of Light Guidance and Peace 12:00pm Potluck Lunch (Dairy/Vegetarian) - with short inspirational statements from the spiritual leaders 1:00pm Shaykh Nour on Light Guidance & Peace followed by Sufi Chanting Sunday January Christian Services -Theme of Light Guidance & Peace 11:00am Meet and Greet in Fireside Room followed by questions answers & discussion WHERE: 343 South Church Lane LA 90049!8

9 Hidden in the deepest darkness is the greatest light. It s our job to light up a world of darkness; to reflect God s light in this world. YOU ARE INVITED TO OUR ETHICS - MUSSAR CLASS When: THIS Saturday January 9th 2016 at 9:00 AM Where: Ahavat Torah Congregation 343 S. Church Lane LA Rabbi Miriam Hamrell will be our teacher. BE A PART OF THIS VERY SPECIAL CLASS AND FEEL FREE TO BRING A FRIEND SAVE THE DATE 10 MAGNIFICENT DAYS IN JUNE 2016 Rabbi Miriam will be leading a trip to Israel for Ahavat Torah members and their friends! Watch for further news. PLANT A TREE IN ISRAEL AND SUPPORT AHAVAT TORAH Planting a tree or a ring of trees is a beautiful way to honor or thank someone or to remember someone who has passed or for any other occasion....and at the same time Help Green Israel. The low cost is $18 for one tree or $50 for a ring of 3 trees. Please make out your check to AHAVAT TORAH Congregation. The recipient of this gift will receive a lovely certificate. Please contact Shayna Lester for more information and for ordering the trees from the Jewish National Fund. her at!9 revshayna@roadrunner.com or call her at

10 Ahavat Torah Congregation invites you to a presentation on Solutions to Climate Change and Global Social Injustice The Citizens Climate Lobby Los Angeles will explain How climate change intensifies social injustice The ethical and moral response to climate change Viable solutions to climate change and how to promote them A slide show and lecture will be followed by discussion and opportunities for immediate political action. Where: Ahavat Torah Congregation 343 Church Lane Los Angeles CA Date: Saturday January 30 Time: 1 pm Who: Presenter Sharon Markenson is a retired LAUSD high school English teacher and life-long environmental advocate who has been speaking on climate reality to community business and faith groups for the past two years. Moderator Kathy Seal is a writer and environmental activist. Both belong to Citizens Climate Lobby Los Angeles.!10

11 LAST SHABBAT Rabbi Miriam led a very spiritual service and was also the Torah teacher. Her teaching about the midwives Shifra and Puah who saved the Hebrew male babies from mandated death was very interactive with the congregation which the members really enjoyed. Cantorial Soloist Gary Levine s voice was breathtaking. We were honored with guitarist Phil Cantor and Jeff Marder on the drum. Rabbinic Intern Florence Dann was called to give inspirational teachings throughout the service. PLEASE JOIN US NEXT SHABBAT!!11

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