Temple Beth Am Podcasts

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

Navigating the Mahzor - Class 5

September 2nd, 2020  |  1 hr 13 mins

Enter the High Holy Days this year with a newfound mastery of the special prayer book at the heart of the season. Pencils in hand, Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny takes students on a guided tour of the structure, core texts & music that make up the thickest, richest prayer book on your shelf.

This class 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.

Siddur Class #20 Shacharit: Shema Part 3

September 1st, 2020  |  27 mins 58 secs

Rabbi Avi Havivi's siddur class at Temple Beth Am Los Angeles - September 1, 2020 via Zoom.

Elul Study: Rahamim -- Compassion, God's Essential Quality...and Ours

August 31st, 2020  |  50 mins 7 secs

Rabbi Emeritus Joel Rembaim leads a class reflecting on sacred texts of our Jewish heritage, a class designed to help you learn how deeply embedded in Jewish heritage is the principle of Divine Compassion. The session will hopefully cause each student to ask: How deeply is Rahamim embedded in my Neshamah?

This class took place via Zoom on August 31, 2020 as part of the Elul+ Pre-Tishre study program presented by Temple Beth Am Los Angeles.