By Cantor Emma Lutz
After our meaningful weeks of praying together as a community during the Days of Awe, our tradition springs us immediately into the holiday of Sukkot. This Festival of Booths is known as z’man simchateinu, our time of rejoicing. After the intensely spiritual and self-reflective fast day of Yom Kippur, we quickly shift into this eight-day festival of welcoming strangers, sharing meals, and celebrating the change of the season.
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Todah Rabbah to Our Guest Speakers and Annual Campaign Donors
With tremendous gratitude we wish to thank our guest speakers for these High Holy Days: Susan Berger, Susan Plutsky, and Faramarz Yousefzadeh all spoke beautifully and inspired us with their personal stories of how the Wise community has affected their lives and the lives of their families. We broadcasted services live from the Wise sanctuary and Faramarz Yousefzadeh’s remarks are now viewable online. We are so grateful to the hundreds of members and guests who contributed during our appeal this year and who support our Annual Campaign. Your generosity makes our vibrant programming and tikkun olam activities possible.
WATCH VIDEO
DONATE ONLINE

 

High Holy Days 2018/5779 – We Want Your Feedback!
G’mar Tov! What an incredible few weeks it has been – from our Tiny T’filah and Praying with Parents family services to a “beta-test” of our new Wise machzor to meaningful musical contemplation and learning sessions with lay leaders to the final “dueling shofar” blasts. Now we want your feedback! Let us know what was particularly helpful and special about your experiences and how we can continue to improve for the future. Our survey will take about 5-10 minutes to complete depending on what you participated in during the High Holy Days.
TAKE OUR HIGH HOLY DAYS SURVEY

 

 
Worship

This Week’s Torah Portion: Haazinu

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
6:15 p.m. Shabbat Services | Sanctuary
Led by Rabbi Sari Laufer and Cantor Emma Lutz

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Shabbat Morning Services | Plotkin Chapel
Led by Rabbi David Woznica and Cantor Paul Dorman
9 a.m. Torah Study
10 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
Sukkot Morning Service | Plotkin Chapel 

Led by Rabbi Ron Stern and Cantor Emma Lutz

 

NEXT WEEK:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28
6:15 p.m. Shabbat Services | Sanctuary
Led by Rabbi David Woznica and Cantor Nathan Lam

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29
Shabbat Morning Services | Plotkin Chapel
Led by Rabbi Ron Stern and Cantor Paul Dorman
9 a.m. Torah Study
10 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service

 

Learning Opportunities with Clergy
Talmud Study with Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback: Wednesday, September 26 at 12 p.m. | Udko Annex

Bible Study with Rabbi Ron Stern: Monday, October 8 at 9 a.m. Temple Conference Room

 

 
Wise Bulletin Board
 

Wise Religious School Open House
Sunday, September 30 at 9 a.m. | Sanctuary
Now is the perfect time to learn what Wise Religious School is all about! Experience our vibrant and dynamic program first-hand by visiting our Open House. Kick off the morning our community Simchat Torah celebration, after which Kindergarten through 6th Graders will have a chance to try out our experiential learning environments while families meet with school leadership to learn more about our curriculum. All prospective families are invited to join us in the Sukkah on Nahmias Plaza at the end of the day – you bring a picnic lunch, we’ll provide desserts!
RSVP HERE.
LEARN MORE ABOUT RELIGIOUS SCHOOL.

 

Send a Wise Back-to-School Gift to Your College Student!
It’s that time of year – our college kids are hitting the road (or taking a quick trip down the 405) on their way back to school and we want them to know Wise is wishing them a sweet new year! If you would like us to send them a special back-to-school gift, please let us know.
SIGN UP HERE.
PACKING DATE: Friday, September 28. If you’d like to help, contact us.

 

Wise Years Kicks Off 2018-19 Season
Thursday, October 11
Note new times:
10 a.m. | Check-in
10:30 a.m. | Program begins
Become a part of our growing group of members 60 years and better as we kick off another year of fascinating speakers, terrific films, and community engagement! At our first meeting of the 2018-19 year we will hear from Adam Feldman, a Supreme Court blogger, about the changes coming to the nation’s highest court. A representative from the League of Women Voters (Los Angeles) will present a non-partisan review of November’s key ballot measures. We will enjoy a delightful documentary about the creators of the much-beloved Curious George books and films. Annual Wise Years memberships and individual event registrations are available now on our web site.
REGISTER HERE.

 

 
 

Celebrate the harvest chag with us as we gather together in sacred community!

Visit our sukkot on campus for these events or at any time during the festival to simply enjoy nature with friends and family.

Early Childhood and Wise Elementary School Sukkot Celebration
Sunday, September 23 | 4:30 p.m.
Nahmias Plaza
REGISTER HERE

Wise 40s and 50s Sukkot Celebration
Sunday, September 23 | 7 p.m.
Shapell-Feintech Plaza
REGISTER HERE

Sukkot Festival Services
Monday, September 24 | 10 a.m.
Plotkin Chapel

Young Adult Division (YAD) Sukkot Night
Thursday, September 27 | 7 p.m.
Nahmias Plaza
REGISTER HERE

Sukkot Shabbat Services
Friday, September 28 | 6:15 p.m.
Sanctuary

Sukkot Shabbat Morning Services
Saturday, September 29 | 10 a.m.
Sanctuary (Torah Study begins at 9 a.m. in Chapel Study)

Center for Youth Engagement Sukkot and Simchat Torah Celebration
Open to all Wise members
Sunday, September 30 | 9 a.m.

Sanctuary and Nahmias Plaza

Sukkot Yizkor and Shemini Atzeret Services 
Monday, October 1 | 10 a.m.
Plotkin Chapel

 

 
Upcoming Events
 
 

Jews United for Democracy and Justice and Community Advocates present
The Assault on Ethical Democracy: Ambassadors Norman Eisen and Dennis Ross

Co-sponsored by Stephen Wise Temple
Wednesday, September 26 at 7:30 p.m. | Valley Beth Shalom
Hear two former ambassadors, Norman Eisen and Dennis Ross, in dialogue with Rabbi Ed Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom. This special evening is sixth in the Community Conversations series funded by Wise’s partners Jews United for Democracy and Justice and Community Advocates.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER 

 

Tot Shabbat
Saturday, October 6
9 a.m. | Baby Playdate (12 months and younger!)
10 a.m. | Tot Shabbat Service
Gather together with our community for a festive service! Our Clergy and song leaders lead our music- and story-filled service that introduces the youngest members of our community to the joy of Shabbat. Parents and grandparents will love it too! Special for parents with newborns, we’ll have a baby playdate for an hour leading up to Tot Shabbat. Service: Recommended for kids up to age 5.
REGISTER HERE FOR TOT SHABBAT
REGISTER HERE FOR BABY PLAYDATE

 

Rosh Hodesh Women’s Gathering
Wednesday, October 10 at 8:30 a.m.
Please join Wise women as we gather in learning, prayer, and community to celebrate the beginning of the month of Sivan. We will usher in the holiday of Shavuot, celebrating its themes of revelation, learning, growth, and compassion. As always, we’ll join in song and study, creating a time and space for reflection and connection. Bring a friend, bring your spirit, bring a song.
RSVP HERE

 
Soulful Shabbat
Friday, October 12
Dinner | 6:30 p.m.
Services | 8 p.m.
Soulful Shabbat is a one-of-a-kind musical service, one of Wise’s most popular traditions. Join our clergy and our Soulful Shabbat musicians and singers for a spiritual evening featuring the rhythms and melodies our members have come to love.
REGISTER FOR DINNER
 

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion presents
Symposium 2
November 11-12 | Stephen Wise Temple
Join esteemed clergy and scholars from all around the world, including members of our own clergy team, for HUC-JIR’s Symposium 2, an engaging exploration of ideas and attitudes. Nowadays, there is “my news” and “your news,” “your truth” and “my truth,” and consensus about facts is increasingly elusive. Even the university, once the place where young minds pursued “veritas,” is more likely today to teach its students the postmodern prioritization of subjectivity over objectivity, discourse over reality, perspective over universal truth. Against this backdrop, HUC-JIR Symposium 2 will explore the various ways in which contemporary Jews grapple with the concept of the truth.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER 

 

 
Lifecycle • Yahrzeits

We remember with love those who died in recent days and weeks:

Toba Barkohanai, Malihe Benyamini, Howard Besbris, Helen Dardashti Shadgoo, Hooman Farahmand, John Goldsmith, Cliff Goldstein, June Klein, Frances Leigh, Harvey Reisman, James Ring, Dr. Jeffrey Rosenberg, Edward Rosenson

We observe the yahrzeits of:

Lillian Ruth Adler*, Molly Berman, Sadie Biegel*, Jonas Bienenfeld*, Annie Dubman*, Hans Erlanger*, Jennie Federgreen*, Joyce Freed *, Irving Geldin*, Sadie Goldberg*, Stanley Norman Gore*, Jean Greenbaum*, Carol Greenberg*, Minnie Greenberg*, William Hill, Bernard J. Kurtin*, Louis Lamberg*, Sally Leventhal*, Rubin Levin*, Louis R. Rizzo*, Albert Rosen*, Henry Rosenberg*, Robert Joel Sackler*, Sam Shapiro*, Herbert Shultz*, Sarah Leah Stein*, Frieda Weisman*,

*Designated on our memorial walls

 
Lifecycle • Condolences

We reach out as a community and offer our support and deepest sympathy to those among us who are mourning the loss of a loved one.

Marcie and Cliff Goldstein on the loss of Marcie’s father Sidney Robinson.
Shea Rosenberg on the loss of her husband Jeffrey Rosenberg.
Dan and Linda Rosenson on the loss of Dan’s brother Edward Rosenson.

Lifecycle • Mazal Tov
Shehechianu Moment

Do you have a milestone birthday or anniversary approaching? We’d like to celebrate your special day on the bima during Friday evening Shabbat Services! Invite your family, join your Wise community, make it a “shehechianu moment” – a time to give thanks for life, health, and the blessings that enable you to reach this great moment in your life. Let us know by emailing Arlene Spiegelman or calling 310.889.2272 and she’ll make sure to schedule a date that works for you. We’d love to share your celebration!

To our B’nai Mitzvah — may the Torah guide and inspire you every day of your adult life.
Mazal tov to:

Genise Fraiman and Arash Horizon on their daughter Lexie Horizon becoming Bat Mitzvah.
Erin and Michael Rotgin on their son Teddy becoming Bar Mitzvah.

 
Lifecycle • Tributes

We honor our loved ones, our family simchas, our communal losses through charitable giving. To give in honor or in memory of a cherished family member or dear friend please visit WiseLA.org/Giving.

RABBI YOSHI ZWEIBACK DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN HONOR OF: 

Rabbi Yoshi, in gratitude for officiating at the Hebrew baby naming of our granddaughter, Mariella Luna, daughter of Amanda and Max Roessler, by Terry and Gentille Koosed
Rabbi Yoshi, in gratitude, by Ira Grose

RABBI DAVID WOZNICA DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN HONOR OF: 

Rabbi David Woznica, for officiating the funeral of Ernest Feld on April 29, 2018, by Ruth Feld

RABBI RON STERN DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN HONOR OF:

Rabbi Ron Stern, in gratitude, by Ira Grose

CANTOR NATHAN LAM DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Irving Geldin, by Lorraine and Harris Zeidler

IN HONOR OF:
Cantor Lam, by Esther Blaugrund

GENERAL CLERGY DISCRETIONARY FUND
IN HONOR OF:

Being invited to light the Erev Yom Kippur candles, and our Wise Clergy’s magnificent High Holy Day services, by Stu and Sandra Newmark

JOSHUA ANDREW LEVY SCHOLARSHIP FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Joshua A. Levy, by Patricia Ogden

CYE SUMMER CAMP SCHOLARSHIP FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Mollie Berman, by Linda and Jeff Linden

SOCIAL JUSTICE FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Eddie Rosenson, by Michael and Sussan Shore

MAX HESS LIBRARY FUND EARLY CHILDHOOD
IN HONOR OF:

Laurie Ackerman, by Errol and Marilyn Segal

WISE SCHOOL GENERATIONS ENDOWMENT
IN HONOR OF:

Laurie Ackerman, for her birthday, by Rick and Linda Cohn
Jacob Melamed, for his bar mitzvah, by Tami and Robert Weiser
Gabby Melamed, for her bat mitzvah, by Tami and Robert Weiser
Carly and Laurie Ackerman, by Scott and Dana Ehrlich

IN MEMORY OF:
Edward Rosenson, by Janine and Richard Kolodny

WISE HEARTS FUND
IN MEMORY OF:

Anna Williams, by Sunny Caine

18/19 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN
IN HONOR OF:

Frank Pinkus’ 80th birthday, by Barbara and Leon Shoag 

 
Thank You

We appreciate our wonderful volunteers:

Nosh Volunteer:
Susan Firestone

Gift Shop Volunteers:
Terrie Baumann
Rochelle Fox
Lori Rubin
Carol Sookman

 
A Welcoming Community
Have a great idea? Share it with us by submitting it to our online suggestion box.
SUGGESTIONS

Do you want to reach us? 
CONTACT LIST

Are you having a lifecycle event? Or would you like to be added to this email list? 
LET US KNOW

Would you like to get involved? Check out upcoming Temple and School events. 
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Stephen Wise Temple | 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive | Los Angeles, CA 90077
Shabbat Shalom