Purim at Temple Ahavat Shalom -with MacGruber?

Join us for Purim (and Havdalah!) this Saturday, February 27, from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. MacGruber may not be there... but we promise some very special guests!

Stay for a 21 and over Purim Celebration at 8:15 p.m.; $12 per person at the door (designated drivers are free). Free childcare available!

Win free tickets to the TAS Purim Carnival -- follow us on Twitter and retweet our message to be entered into a random drawing! A new winner every day, through Friday!

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Israeli Army saving lives in Haiti

I have been watching the videos of the Israeli Army field hospital in Haiti; I am so impressed with what the Israeli Defense Force has been able to do so quickly and so well.

CNN has been covering the Israeli response:



This report shows how advanced the IDF field hospital is:

I have also been following the IDF on Twitter; it is incredible what they are able to do, and the lives they are able to save, in the aftermath of the earthquake. There are also some amazing videos direct from the IDF on You Tube.

Posted by:

Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Does the ECEC predict future TAS involvement?

The videos of the "So You Think You Can Shpiel?" talent show are up on the TAS YouTube channel; you can find links to all of the contestants here.

The acts were all great and you can enjoy them again or watch them for the first time and vote for your favorites. When you look at the list of acts you might notice the number of kids performing in the show. During the live performance Debi Chesler, talent show host and ECEC director, pointed out how many of those kids are ECEC alumni. It became a running joke: "yet another talented kid who went to the TAS ECEC; they must have learned it at the ECEC."

While I can not say for sure what the cause and effects are between ECEC graduates and temple involvement, there are several possible conclusions about involvement in Jewish life:

1. Families that send their children to the TAS ECEC are more likely to stay involved with TAS as their children grow up.

2. Children who grow up at TAS get involved in temple activities.

3. Children who grow up at TAS are comfortable enough in temple and in our community to get up on stage and perform for our community.

What do you think?

Posted by: Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Homeless for the Holidays

At the end of this post I’m going to ask you to do something -- but first let me tell you about one of the things I did last Shabbat.

On Saturday afternoon two of my daughters and I, along with 20 other TAS members, visited the homeless shelter run by LA Family Housing in North Hollywood. We went on a tour of the facility, and I was surprised to learn that it is one of only two shelters in Los Angeles that allow families to stay together. In most other facilities the men and women are separated. Boys as young as 12 years old are sent to the men’s section, away from their mothers, even if they have no father to go with them. It is heartbreaking to think of how those families, who are already suffering, are separated. The LA Family Housing facility, because it has private bathrooms in each room, is able to keep families together.

After the tour, our group stayed in the “Teen Room” to work on some crafts with the children living there. We made Christmas decorations and ornaments for the community Christmas tree in the hall. The children from TAS and the children from LAFH quickly made friends working on crafts together. When we finished the crafts we headed to the library to read stories. One of my daughters had made a friend during the glitter and glue portion of our visit, and the two of them squished into a chair to read together. While the library was well-stocked with children’s books, the little girl was thrilled to get to keep for her own some of the books that were donated by TAS families.

On Christmas day, the LAFH food service staff gets the day off to spend with their own families, so we have an opportunity to perform an important mitzvah. Temple Ahavat Shalom and other local synagogues are providing the food service on Christmas and volunteers are still needed. If you are interested, contact LAFH or the Social Action Committee at TAS.

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Fringed Garment

This morning Isaac and I were surprised that we both voted for the same piece of art in a contest by The Jewish Museum in New York. The contest is to promote an exhibit called "Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life"; you can find it here.

The piece we both loved is called "Fringed Garment" by Rachel Kanter. I was drawn to it not just for the beautiful design, but for the statement it makes about women's roles in Judaism. Traditionally women are not required to wear tzitzit or to follow any positive time-bound commandments; over time this has come to be interpreted by some that women are not only not required to observe such commandments, but forbidden to do so. The apologetic argument has always been that women are more spiritual or naturally closer to God and therefore do not need to follow certain ritual mitzvot, and further, women's role in the home is just as important as the man's.

Rachel Kanter's apron with tzitzit attached challenges that notion. If those apologists really believe that women are just as important than of course it would make sense for women to have fringes on their aprons, the symbol of a housewife. I love the contrast -- elevating domestic chores to ritual status, elevating women's domestic roles to religious status.

What makes it even better is the connection to the Talmud. In the discussion about tzitzit and when they should be worn, Rabbi Judah does not consider the wearing of tzitzit to be time-bound, and attaches fringes to the aprons of the women in his house. It is within Judaism, within the Talmud, for women to participate in rituals that are considered traditionally forbidden.

Reform Judaism is not new in allowing women to wear fringes; we are continuing a 1800 year-old discussion about women and mitzvot. What do you do to reinvent tradition to keep it relevant?

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik: More Than the Eye Can See

This fall my family took a trip to Sequoia National Park, where we hiked through Crystal Cave, one of the marble caves found in the park. The cave is about a million years old, and filled with beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations. On our hike we learned about a new cave recently discovered in the park; it is called Ursa Minor, named for an ancient bear skeleton that was found inside. It?s likely that the new cave will never be open to the public -- too precious for the constant wear-and-tear of human visitors.
What struck me was that these caves have been forming for tens of thousands of years, silently growing underground undisturbed by human beings. These amazing works of natural beauty are just there, whether we discover them or not.
The Torah tells us God gives human beings dominion over the earth. Some have interpreted this to mean that the earth is ours to use as we see fit; others understand this to mean that we have a responsibility to care for the earth. The unexplored cave system in the Sequoias is a part of creation that most human beings will never see; the cave our guide told us about has only been viewed by about 20 people so far, and the park is committed to protecting it from the public, going so far as keeping the exact location a secret. And Ursa Minor is surely not the last such cave system in the world; no doubt more lie underneath the surface of our planet, never to be seen by people.
In a world that we have explored from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the ocean, it is amazing to me that there remain such undiscovered places. As stewards of creation, sometimes the best thing we can do is act like the world was not created solely for our enjoyment.

[Posted by Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik]

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Elul and Rock and Roll Etiquette

The first time I saw Ben Lee in concert he did something that I had never seen before. Ben Lee is one of my favorite singer/songwriters, and this concert was mostly him and his guitar on a stage decorated with flowers.

Throughout the show he offered the audience tips on “Rock and Roll Concert Etiquette” (you could almost hear him saying it with capital letters), and at the end of the show he told us that it was customary at the end of a Rock and Roll Show for the band to leave the stage and for the audience to clap and yell and demand an encore. However, he added, the audience knows that the band is coming back, and the band knows they are coming back -- but they miss all the accolades while they’re milling around backstage waiting to come back.

Ben Lee said he wanted to enjoy our cheering, so instead of going backstage he would stay on stage and just turn around to face away from the audience; that way we could enjoy the praise while waiting the appropriate interval before an encore.

He said all this very tongue-in-cheek, but that’s exactly what he did -- he turned around, and we clapped and cheered and yelled for one more song. I was in the front row, and I could see his smile when he turned back around, thanked the crowd, and started playing again.

This week the month of Elul begins. In “Jewish time” this is the last month of the year -- the time to get ready for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We spend this month reflecting on the past year. Our liturgy focuses on slichot –- asking for forgiveness -- and on recognizing our mistakes and trying to do better in the year to come. We do a heshbon nefesh, an accounting of the soul. we take stock of who we are and how we are living up to our values. This process can be somewhat self-critical; the focus tends to be recognizing where we have missed the mark and asking for forgiveness -– from others, from God, and from ourselves. Elul is the time to start saying “I’m sorry”.

Can we also prepare our souls by saying “thank you”? How often do we let the people in our lives know that we appreciate them?

The Ben Lee concert reminded me that it is just as important to listen to praise and thanks, to accept it graciously, and to allow ourselves to enjoy our accomplishments. How often do we blow off a heartfelt “thank you” from a friend or colleague by responding, “it was nothing”? We do a disservice to ourselves when we diminish our actions and a disservice to others when we say that their acknowledgement is unimportant. What are we saying to the person offering us a compliment if we brush it off like their words do not matter to us?

We have a month to prepare for the Days of Awe, a month of self-reflection to prepare for the year ahead. Use this month not only to say “I’m sorry,” but also “thank you.” As you reflect on the things you want to change in the coming year, take some time to reflect on the things that worked in the past year -– the positive changes from previous years and the best parts of yourself that you want to nurture. Take the time to acknowledge thanks and compliments, as well as offering them freely.

[Posted by Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik]