Temple Beth Am Podcasts

Elul Study: Our Mother Our King - The Hidden Women of the Rosh Hashana Liturgy

September 9th, 2020  |  1 hr 4 mins

Rabbi Shoshana Cohen leads a discussion on Rosh Hashana, the day in which Jews coronate God as king, acknowledge God as all powerful creator and in which we celebrate our submission to Divine will at the Akeidah. What does it mean for us today to stand before this kind of God? What other messages, encoded in the liturgy can we turn to as we seek a relationship with the Divine that includes intimacy and love, not only fear and submission?

Rabbi Shoshana Cohen teaches Midrash, Talmud and Gender Studies at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

This class took place via Zoom on September 9, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Meditation and Mindfulness with Rabbi Adam Kligfeld

September 9th, 2020  |  14 mins 18 secs

Rabbi Adam Kligfeld offers up short bursts of meditation infused with the imagery, wisdom, and the rhythms of our Jewish calendar including selected verses from the Torah. Many of these meditations are performed in sitting positions; some standing. Simply find yourself a comfortable space and let Rabbi Kligfeld's voice and direction guide you into a world of serenity and tranquility.

Rashi Class: Shemot/Exodus 2:14

September 9th, 2020  |  1 hr 20 secs

Rashi Class conducted by Rabbi Adam Kligfeld at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 9, 2020.

Elul Study: The Seven Questions You're Asked in Heaven: Reviewing and Renewing Your Life on Earth

September 8th, 2020  |  45 mins 3 secs

Dr. Ron Wolfson leads a class based on his best-selling book “The Seven Questions You’re Asked in Heaven”. What they are so you can prepare your answers this year? The High Holidays are our yearly opportunity to engage in what the Rabbis called: cheshbon ha-nefesh - “spiritual accounting.” They imagined when we get to the Pearly Gates, we will be asked questions about how we lived our lives on earth. The cool thing is we get to know them now.

Dr. Ron Wolfson is the Fingerhut Professor of Education at American Jewish University and president of the Kripke Institute.

This class took place via Zoom on September 8, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Siddur Class #21 Shacharit: Shema Part 4

September 8th, 2020  |  32 mins 19 secs

Rabbi Avi Havivi's siddur class at Temple Beth Am Los Angeles - September 8, 2020 via Zoom.

Elul Study: Don't Fear the Reaper: Rabbinic Views on the Fear of Death

September 7th, 2020  |  56 mins 30 secs

Dr. Joshua Kulp leads a stimulating class on a difficult subject. The Angel of Death is not merely a haunting presence in scary movies. This character appears in some rabbinic stories as well, where the rabbis take a somewhat surprising view of how this character is to be encountered. While the class might be a bit grim, how often do you get to sing Blue Oyster Cult with a Rosh Yeshiva?

Dr. Kulp is co-founder and Rosh Yeshiva of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem where he has taught Talmud and halakhah for the last 20 years. He also coordinates the Mishnah Yomit project through the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

This class took place via Zoom on September 7, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Elul Study: Just Breathe

September 6th, 2020  |  54 mins 54 secs

Rabbi Aderet Drucker leads a session of text study, discussion, and guided meditation. The class is designed to foster a space for both thoughtful introspection as well as intentional goal setting as we strive to be as awake as possible to our lives and to our needs during this time of transition.

Rabbi Drucker is an innovative spiritual leader, inspired educator, social entrepreneur, and relationship-based community organizer. After receiving her rabbinic ordination and a concentration in pastoral care from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Aderet served as senior rabbi for a congregation in Northern California. Upon moving to Maryland, she served as the Campus Rabbi for Maryland Hillel at the University of Maryland, where she was also part of UMD’s Interfaith Campus Chaplaincy and a co-founder of UMD’s first Interfaith Student Fellowship.

This class took place via Zoom on September 6, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Elul Study: A Word To Light Your Path

September 6th, 2020  |  1 hr 22 mins

Master calligrapher Joanne Fink, founder of Zenspiration, teaches a class that focuses on exploring and synthesizing two important spiritual practices: the ancient Japanese practice of Enso circles, and the contemporary practice of preparing for the new year by choosing a focus word. Participants will have an opportunity to learn about the process and create their own unique Prayer-Space decoration. Joanne Fink is intrMaster calligrapher Joanne Fink, founder of Zenspiration, teaches a class that focuses on exploring and synthesizing two important spiritual practices: the ancient Japanese practice of Enso circles, and the contemporary practice of preparing for the new year by choosing a focus word. Participants will have an opportunity to learn about the process and create their own unique Prayer-Space decoration. Joanne Fink is introeduced by Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner.

This class took place via Zoom on September 6, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angelesoeduced by Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner.

Shabbat Teaching: Nitzavim-Vayeilech

September 5th, 2020  |  29 mins 38 secs

Rabbi Rebecca Schatz's Shabbat Teaching at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 5, 2020.

Shabbat Sermon - Morning: Ki Tavo

September 5th, 2020  |  16 mins 16 secs

Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny's Shabbat Sermon at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 5, 2020.

Elul Study: Transformation Through Reconciliation, Prayer and T’zedakah

September 4th, 2020  |  53 mins 43 secs

Rabbi Ephraim Pelcovits leads a discussion on The Unetaneh Tokef prayer in a time of pandemic. Some years, we need the High Holidays to make us pause, to confront our actions, to repair our relationships, and to face our mortality. This year, in the midst of a global pandemic and political and societal turmoil, many of us have already been forced to acknowledge the fragility of our lives and the lives of our loved ones.

The Unetaneh Tokef prayer, is designed to make us confront our fragility, but just as importantly to call us to action. How can each of us intervene to ameliorate the profound brokenness of the world? This foundational High Holiday text, recited on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, suggests three routes for us to forge ahead in 5781: Tshuva, reconciliation; T'filah, prayer; and Tzedakah, dedicating our resources to build a more just world.

Rabbi Ephraim Pelcovits is Director of the New Israel Fund's LA-Southern California Region.

This class took place via Zoom on September 4, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Yoma Study: September 4, 2020

September 4th, 2020  |  22 mins 1 sec

Rabbi Adam Kligfeld explores rabbinic material surrounding Yom Kippur in tractate Yoma from Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on September 4, 2020.

Elul Study: Music As Midrash, Behind The Music Of Prayer - Class 3

September 3rd, 2020  |  52 mins 52 secs

Rabbi Josh Warshawsky leads an online discussion of music and the spiritual content of the High Holy Days. Embedded within each piece of music are stories, deep secrets, and intricate connections between Hebrew words and themes. Rabbi Warshawsky helps us deepen our understanding of the wisdom of the Jewish tradition, and enables us to sing with a newfound understanding of the words we bring into the world.

This class took place on September 3, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Elul Study: Balancing Faith And Reason, An Israeli Perceptive To This Challenge

September 3rd, 2020  |  50 mins 32 secs

Rabbi Benjy Maor (Munitz) raises a serious of important questions in this discussion on Zoom. How do we make sense of the world today as we move forward from Elul into Tishre and the New Year? Can we find all the answers rationally, or is it all simply a matter of faith? Can we learn anything from Israel, where we/they are so used to having crises all the time (almost all the time…)?

Rabbi Maor, a former Los Angelean, is now Director of Development & Israel Diaspora Relations at the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa, the oldest Reform Jewish institution in Israel, founded in 1938.

This discussion took place on September 3, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Elul Study: Opening to Forgiveness

September 3rd, 2020  |  54 mins 31 secs

Rabbi Dr. James Jacobson Maisels explores wisdom sources from our tradition and concrete practices. In this class he helps us understand how we can open our hearts more fully to forgiveness whether we are forgiving others, ourselves, or asking for forgiveness from others.

Rabbi Dr. James Jacobson Maisels is the Founder and CEO of Or Halev a Center for Jewish Spirituality and Meditation. Ordained by Rav Daniel Landes, with a doctorate in Jewish Studies from the University of Chicago, Rav James lectures internationally on Jewish Spiritual practices. He also teaches at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, Haifa University & Yeshivat Hadar.

The class was conducted via Zoom on September 3, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles

Elul Study: Towards A Fully Healthy LIfe

September 2nd, 2020  |  29 mins 28 secs

Rabbi Matt Shapiro and Rabbi Rebecca Schatz of Temple Beth Am lead a discussion on how to cope with the coivid crisis and maintain mental health.

The discussion was conducted via Zoom on September 2, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles