September 15-16, 2017 - BEVERLY HILLS...
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Dearest Members and Friends, A couple of weeks ago, self-help supremo and bestselling author Louise Hay died in her sleep at the age of 90. Born into poverty in Los Angeles in 1926, as a young child she was both physically abused by her stepfather and sexually abused by a neighbor. A school dropout at the age of fifteen, she gave birth to a daughter on her sixteenth birthday. Unmarried and without means to support the baby, Hay was forced to give her up for adoption, and never saw her again. Hay eventually got married at the age of twenty-eight, but the marriage ended in divorce fourteen years later. She would never remarry, nor have any more children. Just that biography is enough to dampen anyone’s day. What possible hope could someone have after such a horrible start to life? And it only got worse. In her early 50s, Hay was diagnosed with cervical cancer. But by that point that she had stumbled across the teachings of Ernest Holmes (1887-1960) – the “New Thought” guru and founder of the Religious Science movement – and adopted his metaphysical theories about a positive mindset affecting one’s physical wellbeing. Hay later claimed it was this approach that helped see off her cancer, allowing her to live a healthy productive life long after the doctors had predicted her demise. After beating cancer, Hay became a leading advocate of using positive thinking as a way of fighting off disease, and in 1984 published her bestselling self-help bible, You Can Heal Your Life, which has sold more than 40 million copies in over 30 different languages. According to the New York Times, “Louise Hay is one of the best-selling authors in history, and none of the women who have sold more — like J. K. Rowling, Danielle Steel and Barbara Cartland — owned a publishing empire, [nor did they] change the spiritual landscape of America and several of its Western allies.” It goes without saying that Louise Hay had her critics, people who accused her of being overly simplistic, or of giving desperate people unrealistic hope, based on quackery and New Age flimflam. Although such accusations are not entirely without foundation, they kind of miss the point. While it would be foolish to refuse medical attention at the onset of a fatal disease, in favor of thinking positive thoughts as the curative remedy, every doctor will tell you that patients who have been diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness who choose to adopt a positive approach, are far more likely to pull through than those who regard their fate as signed and sealed. In the end, we are only ever able to make our dreams come true if we don’t see them as dreams, but as credible possibilities. If anything, the most inspiring aspect of Louise Hay’s life is not actually her upbeat theories about self- belief as the key to health and happiness, but the fact that in middle age, after enduring a miserable life that for most people would have meant a descent into bitter old age, she rose to the greatest heights of success at no one else’s expense, and acted as an inspiration for others to do the same. Her life story is the living embodiment of making the impossible happen, against all the odds. Most of us undoubtedly believe New Age optimism and Religious Science metaphysics to be the domain of the gullible and the desperate, but that is not the view of Judaism. In one of his final speeches to the nation he had led for forty years, Moses dismissed anyone who entertained the idea that the commandments of the Torah are ethereal concepts, beyond the reach of mere mortals (Deut. 30:12): אֹ ל נוָּ לָ הֶ חָ קִ יְ ה וָ מְ יַ מָ שַ נוּ הָ ה לֶ לֲ עַ י יִ ר מֹ אמֵ וא לִ ם הִ יַ מָ שַ בּ- “it is not in the Heavens, so you say who can lift us up to the Heavens so that we can acquire it…” The medieval commentator, Rashi (1040-1105), makes an astounding assertion based on this verse. If the Torah had been in Heaven, he says, we would have been expected to go there and acquire it. Later rabbis struggled with Rashi’s suggestion, particularly as it seems to undermine the impact of Moses’ declaration. Of all the suggested answers, I particularly like the solution offered by Rabbi Abraham Bornsztain (1855-1926), author of the seminal work Shem MiShmuel. Rashi is telling us that had we needed the means to get to Heaven to acquire the Torah, God would have given it to us, because the Torah and all of its accompanying obligations must be attainable. This means that if any part of the Torah seems impossible to us, we should know that we have all been equipped to accomplish and achieve whatever God expects of us. This idea is a phenomenally liberating concept. Even when Torah obligations seem to be asking us to ascend the Heavens, we need to know that this simply cannot be the case. For some of us it might be daily prayers at the synagogue. For others it might be certain aspects of Sabbath observance. Yet others might find setting aside regular time to study Torah a remote fantasy. Moses was not suggesting we should see any of these as easy. Instead he was telling us that there is no spiritual aspiration that is impossible if we set our sights on getting there. Fundamentally, that is the core message of the High Holidays. As we consider our many limitations, and reflect on all our lofty aspirations, we might imagine that any change for the better over the coming year is as remote for us as a journey to Heaven. Moses’ message echoing through the ages is that nothing God wants us to achieve should ever be considered impossible. And while it may sound like New Age jargon, this idea is deeply embedded in our theology as the bedrock of our faith. Wishing you Shabbat Shalom and a wonderful week ahead, Rabbi Pini Dunner 25 Elul ● Parshat Nitzavim September 15-16, 2017 David and Michele Silver for sponsoring Extended Kiddush in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of their sons Sean and Jaden. SHABBAT SCHEDULE FRIDAY, September 15 6:42pm CANDLE LIGHTING 6:30pm MINCHA/KABBALAT SHABBAT SATURDAY, September 16 8:15am Rabbi’s Gemara Shiur 9:00am SHACHARIT 5:00pm Pre-Rosh Hashana Shiur 6:45pm MINCHA 7:00pm SEUDAH SHLISHIT 7:40pm MAARIV 7:49pm SHABBAT ENDS YOUTH GROUP SCHEDULE Shabbat 10:00 Free play, games & books. 10:40 Snack time, Parsha story & questions 11:10 Into shul to kiss the Torah Circle time - davening, singing, Shabbat songs & games. (Ping pong, foosball, basketball) 11:30 Kids service ends Thank You Weekday Davening Times Selichot/Shacharit Sunday Sept 17 Monday Sept 18 Tuesday, Sept 19 Wednesday, Sept 20 8:00am 6:00am 6:10am 5:45am Mazal Tov David and Michele Silver on the Bar Mitzvah of their sons, Sean and Jaden. SEE SEPARATE FULL RH SCHEDULE Sean Jaden Sharon and Elie Gindi for hosting the Pre-Rosh Hashana Shiur in their home this Shabbat. Thank You
Transcript of September 15-16, 2017 - BEVERLY HILLS...
Dearest Members and Friends, A couple of weeks ago, self-help supremo and bestselling author Louise Hay died in her sleep at the age of 90. Born into poverty in Los Angeles in 1926, as a young child she was both physically abused by her stepfather and sexually abused by a neighbor. A school dropout at the age of fifteen, she gave birth to a daughter on her sixteenth birthday. Unmarried and without means to support the baby, Hay was forced to give her up for adoption, and never saw her again. Hay eventually got married at the age of twenty-eight, but the marriage ended in divorce fourteen years later. She would never remarry, nor have any more children. Just that biography is enough to dampen anyone’s day. What possible hope could someone have after such a horrible start to life? And it only got worse. In her early 50s, Hay was diagnosed with cervical cancer. But by that point that she had stumbled across the teachings of Ernest Holmes (1887-1960) – the “New Thought” guru and founder of the Religious Science movement – and adopted his metaphysical theories about a positive mindset affecting one’s physical wellbeing. Hay later claimed it was this approach that helped see off her cancer, allowing her to live a healthy productive life long after the doctors had predicted her demise. After beating cancer, Hay became a leading advocate of using positive thinking as a way of fighting off disease, and in 1984 published her bestselling self-help bible, You Can Heal Your Life, which has sold more than 40 million copies in over 30 different languages. According to the New York Times, “Louise Hay is one of the best-selling authors in history, and none of the women who have sold more — like J. K. Rowling, Danielle Steel and Barbara Cartland — owned a publishing empire, [nor did they] change the spiritual landscape of America and several of its Western allies.” It goes without saying that Louise Hay had her critics, people who accused her of being overly simplistic, or of giving desperate people unrealistic hope, based on quackery and New Age flimflam. Although such accusations are not entirely without foundation, they kind of miss the point. While it would be foolish to refuse medical attention at the onset of a fatal disease, in favor of thinking positive thoughts as the curative remedy, every doctor will tell you that patients who have been diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness who choose to adopt a positive approach, are far more likely to pull through than those who regard their fate as signed and sealed. In the end, we are only ever able to make our dreams come true if we don’t see them as dreams, but as credible possibilities. If anything, the most inspiring aspect of Louise Hay’s life is not actually her upbeat theories about self-belief as the key to health and happiness, but the fact that in middle age, after enduring a miserable life that for most people would have meant a descent into bitter old age, she rose to the greatest heights of success at no one else’s expense, and acted as an inspiration for others to do the same. Her life story is the living embodiment of making the impossible happen, against all the odds. Most of us undoubtedly believe New Age optimism and Religious Science metaphysics to be the domain of the gullible and the desperate, but that is not the view of Judaism. In one of his final speeches to the nation he had led for forty years, Moses dismissed anyone who entertained the idea that the commandments of the Torah are ethereal concepts, beyond the reach of mere mortals (Deut. 30:12): לֹא
it is not in the Heavens, so you say who can lift us up to the“ -ַּבָשַמִים ִהוא ֵלאֹמר ִמי ַיֲעֶלה ָלנּו ַהָשַמְיָמה ְוִיָקֶחָה ָלנּו Heavens so that we can acquire it…” The medieval commentator, Rashi (1040-1105), makes an astounding assertion based on this verse. If the Torah had been in Heaven, he says, we would have been expected to go there and acquire it. Later rabbis struggled with Rashi’s suggestion, particularly as it seems to undermine the impact of Moses’ declaration. Of all the suggested answers, I particularly like the solution offered by Rabbi Abraham Bornsztain (1855-1926), author of the seminal work Shem MiShmuel. Rashi is telling us that had we needed the means to get to Heaven to acquire the Torah, God would have given it to us, because the Torah and all of its accompanying obligations must be attainable. This means that if any part of the Torah seems impossible to us, we should know that we have all been equipped to accomplish and achieve whatever God expects of us. This idea is a phenomenally liberating concept. Even when Torah obligations seem to be asking us to ascend the Heavens, we need to know that this simply cannot be the case. For some of us it might be daily prayers at the synagogue. For others it might be certain aspects of Sabbath observance. Yet others might find setting aside regular time to study Torah a remote fantasy. Moses was not suggesting we should see any of these as easy. Instead he was telling us that there is no spiritual aspiration that is impossible if we set our sights on getting there. Fundamentally, that is the core message of the High Holidays. As we consider our many limitations, and reflect on all our lofty aspirations, we might imagine that any change for the better over the coming year is as remote for us as a journey to Heaven. Moses’ message echoing through the ages is that nothing God wants us to achieve should ever be considered impossible. And while it may sound like New Age jargon, this idea is deeply embedded in our theology as the bedrock of our faith. Wishing you Shabbat Shalom and a wonderful week ahead, Rabbi Pini Dunner
25 Elul ● Parshat Nitzavim September 15-16, 2017
David and Michele Silver for sponsoring Extended Kiddush in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of their
sons Sean and Jaden.
SHABBAT SCHEDULE FRIDAY, September 15 6:42pm CANDLE LIGHTING 6:30pm MINCHA/KABBALAT SHABBAT
SATURDAY, September 16 8:15am Rabbi’s Gemara Shiur 9:00am SHACHARIT 5:00pm Pre-Rosh Hashana Shiur 6:45pm MINCHA 7:00pm SEUDAH SHLISHIT 7:40pm MAARIV 7:49pm SHABBAT ENDS
YOUTH GROUP SCHEDULE Shabbat
10:00 Free play, games & books. 10:40 Snack time, Parsha story & questions 11:10 Into shul to kiss the Torah Circle time - davening, singing, Shabbat songs & games. (Ping pong, foosball, basketball) 11:30 Kids service ends
Thank You
Weekday Davening Times
Selichot/Shacharit Sunday Sept 17
Monday Sept 18
Tuesday, Sept 19
Wednesday, Sept 20
8:00am
6:00am
6:10am
5:45am
Mazal Tov David and Michele Silver on the Bar
Mitzvah of their sons, Sean and Jaden.
SEE SEPARATE FULL RH SCHEDULE
Sean Jaden
Sharon and Elie Gindi for hosting the Pre-Rosh Hashana Shiur in their
home this Shabbat.
Thank You
New Members WELCOME Elliot and Robin Broidy
Next Shabbat... Shabbat Shuva Kiddush luncheon is co-
sponsored by Raphy and Rivka Nissel in
memory of Rivka’s mother, Pessl bat Joel a”h,
whose yahrtzeit is on 5 Tishrei; and by Howard
and Judy Raykoff and Judy’s sister Veronica
Schweitzer in memory of their father, Eugene
Schlesinger, Avraham bat Eliyahu Yehuda z”l
and also in honor of Judy and Howard’s new
granddaughter, Ava Sophia, born to Shira and
Andrew Raykoff Greenberger.
The Sisterhood proudly presents the
following upcoming events!
*See flyers for additional info
SEPTEMBER
Annual Pre-Rosh Hashanah Shiur
In memory of Anne Samson A”h
Shabbos Day, September 16th
5pm
Featuring Geri Wiener
Sponsored by Lee Samson
Located at Elie & Sharon Gindi’s home
OCTOBER Bridal Shower for Shoshana Dunner
Sunday Brunch, October 15th at YINBH
NOVEMBER Shabbat Sheva Bracha for Shoshana
Dunner and Zion Giahn
November 18th
DECEMBER
Cooking Class
Tuesday, December 5th
Location & Time TBD
Shana Tova U’Metukah.
With warm wishes to everyone for
a blessed year filled with health,
joy & peace
Cecile & Ruthie
Sisterhood Corner
Rabbi Dunner Jessica Samuel
Joshua Weisman
The weekly Parsha Shiur will meet on Tuesday,
September 19th at 8:30am.
Shiur for Ladies
Join Rabbi Dunner for his weekly Gemara
shiur on Shabbat morning at 8:15am. We
are studying Masechet Brachot
לע''נ פנחס אליהו בן שמשון הלוי
Paul Feder z’’l Gemara Shiur
Alex Tepper Avraham Mordechai z”l
Father of
Foster Tepper Yahrtzeit— 26 Elul
Rabbi Alan and Sandy Kalinsky on the Bar
Mitzvah of their grandson, Avraham Zev Kalinsky. Mazal Tov to
parents Rav Yosef & Elisheva Kalinsky.
Mazal tov to proud Great Grandmother Harriet
Kalinsky.
The artworks you see hanging around the building are all part of an exhibition titled “VIEWPOINTS: Through a
Jewish Lens”, and features artwork from five different Los Angeles Jewish artists:
Bill Aron Dave Fox Lori Shocket
Carol Goldmark Marilee Tolwin
The artwork will remain at the shul until October 15th. All the pieces on display are available for sale. A
portion of every sale will be donated by the artist to the Synagogue. If you would like to meet the artists and
learn more about what inspired them, please attend our Artists Reception on Sunday, September 17th 4-6pm.
There will also be pieces from each artist that will only be on display at the event. Rsvp to [email protected]
For information on purchasing the art, contact the shul office at 310-276-7650.
ART EXHIBIT
Sukka for the taking Jonas Herskovitz has an 11x12 Sukkah in good
condition that he would like to give away. If you are interested in the Sukka,
please be in touch with him directly.
Shabbat Observant Club and Boyscouts
Shabbat Observant Cub and Boy Scouts: Scouting program taught
in a Jewish-friendly environment. Snow retreat, campout + lots of
other fun activities. Kick off Sunday September 17, 3:00 – 5:00 at
Roxbury Park, Multi-Purpose Room B, 471 South Roxbury Drive,
Beverly Hills. 8906 West Pico Boulevard (near Robertson). Boys
aged 6 –17 and their parents… this is for you! For more
information, contact Jeffrey Feuer at [email protected].
Tot Shabbat Friday, September 8th - Children’s Erev Shabbat Program
Ted Orden Mordechai ben Ephraim z”l
Father of
Helen Sassover Yahrtzeit— 28 Elul
Penthouse Apartment Available over Sukkot 5 bedroom/3 full bathroom penthouse with patio for Succah available for rent Oct 1-Oct 15. Located a block away from YINBH. If interested please contact Bella Zaghi at [email protected]
Rabbi Dunner gave the invocation at the 9-11 Recognition Ceremony
with The City of Beverly Hills, JNF, and the Consulate General of
Israel. The only Memorial to victims of 9-11 outside of the U.S.A. is in
Israel. The Mayor of Beverly Hills, Dep. Chief of Mission Eitan Weiss,
Police Chief Spagnoli, and Fire Chief Barton addressed the audience.
The event was hosted by Gina Raphael & Jeff Gross.
We are seeking sponsors for flowers for Rosh Hashana Centerpiece flower
arrangements as well as Yom Kippur Sanctuary flowers. If interested, please
contact the shul office at [email protected]
SHANA
TOVA
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