Rabbi Rebecca Schatz

Elul Study: Music As Midrash, Behind The Music Of Prayer - Class 4

September 10th, 2020  |  42 mins 27 secs

Rabbi Josh Warshawsky leads an online session 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 10, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Elul Study: Moving Forward, Looking Back - Reflections on Forgiveness

September 10th, 2020  |  55 mins 24 secs

Rabbanit Sara Wolkenfeld leads a discussion on apologizing and asking for forgiveness, things which can allow us to move past old mistakes. What is the impact of granting - or withholding - forgiveness? The traditions of the new year are built upon the belief that asking for and receiving forgiveness allows us to leave old mistakes behind us. But how does the act of granting forgiveness change us as human beings?

Sara Wolkenfeld is the Chief Learning Officer at Sefaria, an online database and interface for Jewish texts. She is also a fellow at the David Hartman Center at the Hartman Institute of North America.

This class took place via Zoom on September 10, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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: 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

Elul Study: Ruach in the Chadar Ochel: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps

September 1st, 2020  |  54 mins 35 secs

Dr. Sarah Bunin Benor explains how "Hebrew infusion" helps to build community. At most American Jewish summer camps, the primarily English environment is infused with Hebrew signs, songs, and mixed Hebrew-English sentences, like “Madrichim [counselors], please bring your chanichim [campers] to the teatron [theater] immediately after Birkat Hamazon [Grace After Meals].” In this discussion, Dr. Genor draws from her most recent book. "Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps".

Sarah Bunin Benor is Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, where she teaches mostly masters students in the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management and undergraduates at the University of Southern California.

This class took place via Zoom on September 1, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Elul Study: Cultivating a life of Chesed

August 30th, 2020  |  57 mins 6 secs

Rabbi Aaron Schonbrun explores how we might find our way back to a posture of gemilut hasadim, caring and compassion, as individuals and as a society during this High Holy Days season.

As we approach this New Year during such uncertain, unusual, and challenging times, it is easy to get caught up in the negativity. From a global pandemic to a divisive political climate, many of us spend at least some portion of most days feeling angry, bitter, or frightened. Yet ours is a tradition that invites us to cultivate life of chesed, of kindness, caring, and compassionate – – both within ourselves and towards one another. As we approach the Days of Awe, this season of reflection and renewal, we are fortunate that the stories, texts, and lessons, of this season have much to teach us about how to cultivate such a life.

Rabbi Aaron Schonbrun is the first spiritual leader of Congregation Torat El, a Conservative synagogue in Oakhurst, New Jersey.

This class took place via Zoom on August 30, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Shabbat Sermon - Morning: Ki Teitzei

August 29th, 2020  |  26 mins 55 secs

Rabbi Rebecca Schatz and Rabbi Matt Shapiro's Shabbat Sermon/Discussion at Temple Beth Am, Los Angeles, on August 29, 2020.

Elul Study: Unleashing Invisible Voices with Urban Voices Project

August 28th, 2020  |  1 hr 3 mins

Leeav Sofer, Artistic Director & Co-Founder of Urban Voices Project, leads a Zoom workshop designed to empower individuals to bring music and art into their lives - both for self-care and for the care of others. The session is equally intended for those with or without a background in music and art. Leeav Sofer explores how the theme of finding one's own voice doubles as a means to unleash the voice of the oppressed.

Urban Voices Project creates supportive community spaces with music to bridge vulnerable individuals to a sense of purpose and improved health. UVP engages men, women and families across the greater Los Angeles area with music workshops in partnership with social, civic and healthcare organizations.

This workship, hosted by Rabbi Rebecca Schatz, took place on August 28, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.

Elul Study: Music As Midrash, Behind The Music Of Prayer - Class 2

August 27th, 2020  |  49 mins 9 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 August 27, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.