Have you been waiting for an opportunity to reach out to your fellow shul members, invite or be invited by someone new for a Shabbat dinner, and meet new friends over challah?  On Friday night, October 25, 2013, Temple Beth Am and other shuls, organizations and individuals throughout the Los Angeles area will participate in 1000 Shabbat Dinners, a community-wide program sponsored by the Jewish Federation.  Intended to promote unity and foster connections in the community, the program has been billed as "A Single Night When The Entire Community Shines As One."  Hosts are free to "design their own special evening," and to include as many of their own family members and guests as they wish.  The Federation will supply a number of hosts with eco-friendly "Shabbat boxes" including challah covers, Shabbat cards with inspirational quotes, blessings and recipes, refrigerator magnets and tzedakah boxes.  To start off the evening, Temple Beth Am will hold a 5:45 p.m. Kabalat Shabbat Service Under the Stars that evening. The shul encourages all shul members to sign up to host or be guests for home-based Shabbat dinners that night.  To be either a host or guest, register on line at tbala.org/communityshabbat, fill-out the on-line questionnaire, and the Temple Beth Am office will match you to guests/hosts based on such factors as level of kashrut, need to be walking distance, age of children or other common interests.  

On Sunday, September 22, about Library Minyanites, friends and family members took part in our annual Sukkah walk, travelling from one host sukkah to another for challah and wine, dinner, and dessert.  It was a great opportunity to get to know each other outside of shul and learn things we never knew about our fellow daveners.  (For example, did you know that Tal and Baruch Link raise bees and served home-grown honey?)  Overall, we had about 92 participants dining and schmoozing in 17 sukkot!  Todah Rabah to Jackie Weiss and Rebecca Friedman of the Diaspora Potluck Committee for organizing the event, to Abby and Larry Harris, Susan Laemmle and John Antignas, Mark and Dale Bodenstein, Mark Hess and Miriam Prum Hess, Gary and Lilia Hirschhorn, Baruch and Tal Link, Dafna and Scott Taryle, Batya and David Ordin, Paul and Lida Nissenbaum, Ilana and Tal Grinblat, Ed and Orley Garber,

    Did you know there is a holiday traditionally celebrated by many Jews during the supposedly holiday-free month of Cheshvan? 

    The holiday of Sigd (an Amharic word for  “worship” or “prostration”), also known as Mehlella, has been observed by the Beta Israel, the Jews of Ethiopia, for centuries.  Sigd falls on the 29th of Cheshvan, representing the 50th day of an Omer-like period starting with Yom Kippur.  (This would be Saturday, November 2 this year, but I have been unable to determine whether the holiday is shifted for Shabbat.)  In Ethiopia, Jews would commemorate Sigd by fasting and walking from their villages to high mountain tops, carrying the Orit, the Ethiopian Torah written in the ancient Geez language of the Beta Israel.  There, they would atone for sins, reaffirm their dedication to Torah, recite the Orit and Psalms, and pray for their return to Jerusalem.  The mountain top ritual is said to commorate the receipt of Torah at Mount Sinai, and to be based on an ancient ceremony promulgated by Ezra the Scribe upon the Jews’ return from the Babylonian exile.   Returning to their villages, the Jews of Ethiopia would break the fast of Sigd with a festive meal bearing some resemblance to a Pesach seder, and joyous dancing.  Sigd therefore contains aspects of several rabbinic Jewish holidays as well as its own unique aspects.

   In recent years, Ethiopian Jews in Israel have observed Sigd in gatherings on Mount Zion, or more recently on the Armon Hanatziv (“Haas”) Promenade in Jerusalem.   The Knesset has recently declared Sigd an official state holiday, and the government has made efforts to promote recognition of the holiday among all Israelis.  While the holiday has been transforming, to some degree, into a general celebration of Ethiopian Jewish culture in Israel, and some fear that it has become politicized, traditional Ethiopian-Israeli Jews are working to preserve the solemn, religious nature of Sigd.  For an interesting video on Sigd, click here.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHRVTaLZQxM

Mishna study 9:20

Tefillot begin 9:45

Temple Beth Am

Dorff-Nelson Chapel

1039 S. La Cienega Blvd, 90035

Our next Library Minyan Co-Sponsored Kiddush is set for October 26, followed by another tentatively scheduled for December 14.  We need sponsors.  Please contact Carl Sunshine.

Now that the holiday season, with its cycle of festive meals, is over, it's time to hit the exercise equipment and tighten the belt . . . but not too tight.  The Library Minyan's second annual Melaveh Malkah Ice Cream Social, sponsored and planned by the Diaspora Potluck Committee, is coming up, on Saturday night, November16. The evening featuring  havdalah, sing-alongs, laughs and entertainment by our own, home-grown Library Minyan talents, and build-your-own ice cream sundaes will be hosted at the home of Alan and Heather Broidy, a short walk from the shul.  Space is limited.  If you would like to perform or attend, please contact Dafna Taryle at 323-655-9214, dafnat3000@yahoo.com, or Sharon Grob at sgrob@ca.rr.com.

High Holidays Drashot To Be Posted Online

Thank You, Larraine Kokin, and Welcome New Greeters Coordinator Sharon Grob

After three years of volunteering, Larraine Kokin has decided to step down as the Library Minyan's Greeter's Coordinator.  Thank you, Larraine, for your hard work in recruiting and scheduling greeters for over 160 Shabbatot and holidays!  The torch has been passed to our new Greeter's Coordinator, Sharon Grob, and she would love to be welcomed by many new volunteers. If you would like to be a greeter, please contact Sharon at sgrob@ca.rr.com .