This Purim, The Shul On The Beach opened its doors to the entire Venice / Santa Monica community to join in a Purim Celebration. An excellent turnout from our members, friends and neighbors set the stage for a truly memorable afternoon.
Mr. and Mrs. Beithalachmi prepared a wonderful Purim feast that was partially sponsored by Yossi [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Pacific Jewish Center’
Pacific Jewish Center Purim Celebration Recap February 28, 2010
Alula Performs At Pacific Jewish Center Purim Party in Venice
Today, Pacific Jewish Center hosted a memorable Purim Celebration at the Shul on the Beach.
Well over 200 people attended, ranging from ultra-religious Jews, to unaffiliated Jews, Christians and non-Jews. It was really a great success. Fuller recap with photos here.
In the meantime, here is a taste of a our incredible performer, Alula.
You can learn more [...]
Frum Satire Show at Pacific Jewish Center Was Incredible
Wow.
Heshy Fried aka Frum Satire performed in front of a very diverse crowd of ~60 at the Pacific Jewish Center at the Shul on the Beach on Sunday February 14 2010 and it was incredible.
Heshy ranted for over an hour and the audience was captivated. He could have gone on for another hour and had [...]
Mishloach Manos Packing on the Beach 2/14/10
Yesterday was a great day for Pacific Jewish Center and our community.
A little while back, we decided that it would a lot of fun for the community to get together and pack mishloach manos together at the Shul on the Beach.
The event had a triple purpose. The goals were all met and exceeded. The first [...]
Words Are Cheap (Without a Track Record) | Drasha Vaera 2009
Special thanks to community member Elizabeth Danziger, founder of Worktalk Communications Consulting, for assisting in transforming this sermon from 2009 into an essay for this year.
Words Are Cheap
Vaera 2009
This week’s Parsha is Vaera. The Parsha begins with a command from GD to Moshe. (Exodus 6:2) And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him: ‘I [...]
Hanukkah in Santa Monica
I have had the privilege of spending this and last Chanukah as the Rabbi of Pacific Jewish Center. We are located right on the edge of Venice near the Santa Monica border. Many of our Shul members live in Santa Monica.
So, it is fair to say I have spent these last two Chanukahs in Santa [...]
PJC Chanukah Party 2009 Wrap Up and Photos
The 2009 PJC Chanukah Party was a tremendous success.
As the Shul on the Beach, a community institution, we are charged with the responsibility and opportunity to bring Judaism to the boardwalk. Our Chanukah party, the first in a series of events and programs designed to reach that end was incredible.
Thank yous are in order to [...]
PJC Chanukah Party 2009 Address
As part of the festivities of our Chanukah Party on the beach, I addressed the attended with a speech on Chanukah and this week’s parsha, Miketz.
It was an addendum to my Shabbos drasha, which I hope to publish shortly.
Enjoy the class. Audio is below.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this [...]
Invitation: Chanukah Party on the Beach 12/13/09
The only time of the year that there is an obligation to publicize a Jewish Holiday is Chanukah. It is in this spirit that we invite the entire Venice / Santa Monica Community to our Chanukah Party at our historic location at the Shul on the Beach. (Map Link)
Stop by on Sunday afternoon and join [...]
It’s A Small World After All
Every once in a while I head to our Shul on the Beach on a Sunday afternoon to drum up some business. I hang out on the Venice Boardwalk hoping to meet anyone interested in our shul or Judaism. I show interested passers-by the shul, sometimes we take a picture, (I tell them about the [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 12/06/09
We ventured further into Chapter 9 today.
The Ramchal’s insights into laziness, anxiety and rational fear continue to amaze me.
Today contrasted rational fear for one’s safety with imagined fear used to excuse laziness.
Worth a listen, as always…
Audio is below.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.
You can also [...]
The Jewish Home – In Memory of The Holzbergs Formerly of Mumbai | Drasha Vayetze 2009
Special thanks to community member Elizabeth Danziger, founder of Worktalk Communications Consulting, for assisting in transforming this sermon from last year into an essay for this year.
The Jewish Home
Vayetze 5769
This week marks the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai, India. I dedicate this learning to the memory of the [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 11/22/09
Today’s class was another really informative and relevent topic.
We learned about fear, worry and anxiety.
With anxiety affecting tons of us it was interesting to find sources bemoaning the difficulty of dealing with anxiety as well as its debilitating nature.
Very enjoyable class, as always.
Audio is below.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 11/15/09
Last week we talked about the Healthcare plan that was ratified by the house the night before.
This week we got back on track and started Chapter 9.
In my opinion, this was one of the best Mesillas Yesharim classes to date. The Ramchal was so insightful and I shared an insight of my own which I [...]
KCET Visits PJC and Interviews Me
KCET (the local PBS affiliate) has been working on a city-wide project. It is called Departures and it focuses on the people and places that make the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. For the last six weeks they have been working on Venice. Today they came to the Pacific Jewish Center Shul on the Beach to [...]
Prayer in Judaism | Connections 11/2/09
Prayer is something so basic to all faiths and religions. Jewish ideas of prayer are decidedly different from other cultures. It is very important to learn about the Jewish approach to prayer.
I began the class by announcing that this was a topic I longed to discuss for a very long time. I finally felt that [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 11/1/09
Today, we learned the methods of acquiring zrizus.
Ramchal hearkens back to the methods of acquiring zehirus that we studied earlier and for the benefit of us all, we reviewed them together.
Along with any review comes new insights and understanding. Today was no different.
Audio is below.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of [...]
Truth and Faith | Connections 10/26/09
Two words with very different meanings were discussed tonight.
Truth on the one hand and faith on the other.
In Judaism these are really two phases of life’s various challenges. Our discussion ranged from Abraham to smokers to ferrets.
It was quite an adventure and I invite you listen.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 10/25/09
We began today’s class by delving deeper into the ground-breaking concept we studied last week.
Basically, the Ramchal teaches us that we can use our physical actions to arouse spiritual and emotional change.
We discussed a number of applications for the concept.
Then we began the next chapter.
Audio is below.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the [...]
Venice Historical Society Visits Pacific Jewish Center at the Shul on the Beach
The Pacific Jewish Center Shul on the Beach has hosted many, many guest. Jews and non-Jews from all over the world have come through its doors marveling at its charm and aura.
This morning the Pacific Jewish Center hosted a special group of visitors. Friend of the Shul, Harry Medved is an active member of the [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 10/18/09
After a Holiday break, the Mesillas Yesharim class returned today. Today’s class was a bit shortened due to the extra long Rosh Chodesh prayers.
What was short on time was long on content. The end of the Seventh Chapter of Mesillas Yesharim contains what I find to be the most profound insight in the entire text.
We [...]
Yom Kippur Wishes
On behalf of myself, my family and the entire Pacific Jewish Center Community, I wish everyone a year of blessing.
If I have insulted or hurt you in any way whatsoever. please know that it was unintended, I deeply regret it and I hope you can forgive me.
To all who are fasting this Yom Kippur, I [...]
Fast of Gedaliah: Meaning and Lessons | Connections 9/21/09
It was not easy giving my Monday night class tonight. After fasting all day to remember the tragic death of the great Gedaliah I found myself tripping over my words. So I apologize if the class sounds a bit jumbled.
We talked about the history of Gedaliah and the significance of the fast day.
I concluded by [...]
Teamwork: Important in Sports, More Important in Life
Rosh Hashana at Pacific Jewish Center was wonderful. The services were inspiring, the attendance was excellent and the mood properly reflected the importance of the days.
I spoke from the pulpit several times over the holiday.
There was certainly an over-arching theme to my sermons. Each had its own individual message but overall they reflected an idea [...]
Physical Reward For Spiritual Deeds | Connections 9/14/09
This week we learned about the actual nature of the judgment of Rosh Hashana.
Using a unique approach from Rav Dessler, we resolved a difficult contradiction in Jewish philosophy and enjoyed great questions and insight from all the attendees.
This was our final class in the Preparing for Rosh Hashana Series.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts [...]
