January has been an interesting month and I am finding it hard to refrain from obsessing about the news of the day. I am thus grateful to have the Minyan as my place of sanctuary and holiness, and to have the 25 hours of Shabbat as a refuge from my phone and facebook feed and the inundation of all things political.
So this past Shabbat, I took a break from the fray to come together with community and celebrate s'machot with the Bermans, Saigers, Glazer/Elmans, Fredmans, Millers and Torah Club kids. And what an amazing Shabbat it was. Our services were led by young and old. We had a new baby in our midst. Our davening was strong and vibrant and filled with kavana. It occurred to me this is what we mean when we say Hinei matov u’manaim, shevet achim gam yachad.
And we will continue to come together as a community and celebrate in February. On Shabbat morning, February 11th, the Library Minyan is honored to host scholar-in-residence Rabbi Ed Feld (compiler of the Lev Shalem siddur) as our darshan and host the greater TBA community in the Chapel for services. The following Shabbat, February 18th, we will celebrate with the Grinblats as Jeremy becomes a bar mitzvah, and on February 25th, we will join the entire TBA community in the sanctuary to celebrate Ayden Kligfeld’s bat mitzvah. Hinei matov u’manaim, shevet achim gam yachad.
— Sandra Lepson
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Steering Committee Update |
As always, the Steering Committee has been hard at work. The various chairs have been working separately and together to enhance our davening, create opportunities for community building and present engaging educational opportunities. If you haven’t yet, please check out our new website, where you can find Notes/Minutes of Steering Committee meeting under the Governance tab.
In the interest of transparency, the Steering Committee has decided to regularly share decisions it makes with the kahal through this forum:
- On February 11, the Library Minyan will host Rabbi Ed Feld and the TBA community for Shabbat morning services in the chapel as part of the scholar-in-residence weekend.
- On February 25, there will be no Shabbat services in the Chapel as we will be celebrating Aiden Kligfeld’s bat mitzvah in the main sanctuary. This follows an earlier Steering Committee decision to support life cycle events of TBA clergy families.
- We are establishing a kiddush reserve fund of $800 that will come from the Library Minyan general fund for the purpose of supplementing and enhancing kiddushes in 2017.
- After much discussion, the Library Minyan will adopt the new Lev Shalem siddur beginning on Shabbat Shuvah 5778 (just after Rosh Hashanah). We will make the new siddurim available for use beginning with Rabbi Feld’s visit and will continue to make the Sim Shalom siddur available in the minyan for those who prefer to use it. We are looking for volunteers to help cull through the old Sim Shalom siddurim to find those with dedications for us to keep in the chapel.
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The DPL Friday night Shabbat Dinner potluck in geographically dispersed locations on January 20th went very well. We had five hosts who were generous enough to open their homes and provide, not only a warm environment, but good food too — or at least some of the good food. It was a potluck, after all.
The number of guests totaled 31, which is quite impressive, considering that the day was also Inauguration Day, which meant that many were no doubt discussing the peaceful, yet uncertain transition to a new President. It was a perfect time to get together with old and new friends, and share the blessings of peace and prosperity that we enjoy.
The next DPL event will be the Shavuot Picnic. We will keep you posted!
— Deborah Blum
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Todah Rabbah to Jerry Krautman |
A big thank you to Jerry Krautman for coming out of retirement and filling in for me as head gabbai from mid-September to mid-December while I was recuperating from my accident. Jerry was able to recruit gabbai alumni to fill in for Teri Cohan Link, himself and me during the period when the three of us were unable to perform our gabbai duties.
With much appreciation for a job well done!
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Education Committe presents Daniel Stein Kokin |
The Library Minyan will welcome Prof. Daniel Stein Kokin for his post-Kiddush lecture on 4 March. All are encouraged to attend this talk, which is open to the TBA community. The lecture is entitled "From Los Angeles to Berlin and Back: One Jew's Reflections on Six Years in Germany and Europe."
Prof. Kokin will reflect upon some key episodes relevant to Jewish life in Germany as he has experienced them while living in Berlin (e.g., the circumcision debate, the refugee crisis, etc.). He will speak about Jewish space in today's Berlin, his experience teaching Jewish Studies at a German Protestant Theology faculty, and the town of Greifswald, where he teaches. Prof. Kokin and his colleagues recently published a book about the synagogue that was set up in Greifswald in the early 18th-century to teach Christian theology students about Judaism.
Prof. Kokin recently delivered a lecture on “Rome in the Jewish Imagination” at the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, where he currently serves as Viterbi Visiting Assistant Professor of Mediterranean Jewish Studies. For more information, please click here.
— Anita Happel |
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Upcoming Social Action Opportunities |
Habitat for Humanity's Jewish Coalition Build Day will take place on Sunday, February 26th, in Montebello, from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM. Come together with other Jewish institutions and make a difference. RSVP by February 8 to Dianne Shershow at dfshersh@aol.com or 323/314-3549. Ten spots are being reserved for TBA.
The Annual Operation PB&J (no peanut butter will be used) Survival Kit Project coordinated with B'nai David-Judea will take place at TBA on March 11 following the Megillah reading. The following day you will have the opportunity to meet and personally give out kits to the homeless.
— Dianne Shershow
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2016 Minyan Financial Review |
The Library Minyan had a year-end 2016 balance of $7,730, up 19% from 2015. However, the 2016 balance was somewhat inflated by late-arriving kiddush contributions. The Steering Committee has established an $800 "kiddush reserve fund" which will be spent in 2017 in addition to the Minyan's typical contributions to co-sponsored kiddushes.
Total contributions in 2016 of $9,466 were down about 16% from 2015; both kiddush-related and general-purpose contributions declined. Tight spending controls prevented a deterioration in the Minyan's financial condition. We were still able to maintain an active event schedule, including our excellent speakers series and our Purim seudah.
Thank you for the generosity of your contributions. Please keep in mind that your general-purpose contributions sustain all of the Minyan's activities, including its support for cosponsored kiddushes. Please give generously!
— Jon Friedman
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We’ve selected The People and the Books by Adam Kirsch for our book discussion after kiddush on March 18. This book includes chapters summarizing 14 key texts or authors of our heritage.
Please select one or more that interest you most, and let me know your choices, so we can organize the discussion. Write to me at carl@fastmail.net.
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Feb. 10-12 — Rabbi Ed Feld as Colker-Klein/Shapiro Scholar-in-Residence
Feb. 18 — Jeremy Grinblatt's Bar Mitzvah
Feb. 25 — Bat Mitzvah of Ayden Kligfeld in the Sanctuary (no Library Minyan services)
Feb. 26 — Habitat for Humanity Build Day
March 4 — Daniel Stein Kokin post-kiddush talk
March 11 — Purim Operation PB&J
March 18 — Torah Club & Book Discussion
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Diane found some archival photos from 1998-2004 Library Minyan Purim celebrations. Please email identifying information and/or comments to webmaster@libraryminyan.org, and Bob will add these to the images for posterity. Here is the link:
—Diane and Bob Roosth |
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VISIT US ONLINE
VISIT US ON SHABBAT
Mishna study 9:20
Tefillot begin 9:45
Temple Beth Am
Dorff-Nelson Chapel
1039 S. La Cienega Blvd, 90035
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