Aug 30th, 2010
by rabbifink.
At Pacific Jewish Center we endeavor to share the light Judaism with the entire Beach Community. As we approach the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, the least we could do was wish the Venice Boardwalk a collective Shana Tova (A Good Year) to all the passersby.
So I set up shop outside the Shul on the Beach on a Sunday afternoon. Literally thousands of people pass the Shul on a beautiful summer Sunday like yesterday. I started all alone, but was eventually joined by Shul Co-President Alan Danziger and veteran of the Venice Boardwalk outreach scene, Rabbi Mintz and as the Klezmer Concert approached (Klezmer on the Beach Concert Was a Great Success) many, many friends, neighbors and my family. Over the course of the few hours we were there plenty of folks from the local area and as far as Australia, London, Israel (of course) and South Africa stopped by. (more…)
Aug 30th, 2010
by rabbifink.
From time to time, the Shul on the Beach hosts events on Sunday afternoons and evenings that are open to the public. Yesterday we hosted a Klezmer concert on the Beach and it was a smashing success!
Dr. Ellie Goldstein’s close friend has been playing for Dr. Goldstein and his friends at Dr. Goldstein’s home for many years. Ron Grun (along with Ken Husbands) are very talented klezmer musicians and close friends of Dr. Goldstein.
Over the last year, PJC has been privileged to have Dr. Goldstein and his friends join our shul. One of the many perks of their involvement was the concert taking place in the shul. (more…)
Aug 4th, 2010
by rabbifink.
As you can see I have added a widget to the sidebar that will allow you to “Like” Pacific Jewish Center on Facebook.
If you read this blog you are part of the PJC community and you should definitely “Like” us. So please be a pal, and “Like” us today! Certainly, if you have come to the Shul on the Beach at any point in time or join us on a regular basis you should “Like” us.
You can “like” PJC on the right hand side of this blog. Just click the “Like” next to the “thumbs up”.
If you can think of anything that should be added to the Facebook Page please let me know and I will try and make it happen!
To visit the Pacific Jewish Center Facebook Page click here: PJC on Facebook
Jul 15th, 2010
by rabbifink.
Last night I saw an interested post on Gizmodo.com, a favorite technology blog of mine.
Google Maps has sattelite pictures of nearly the entire world. When you take pictures of everything, you’re going to catch some funny things.
Google has satelite pictures and “Street View” pictures which are (the ultimate stalking tool and) depict the view from the street. Most of the wacky Google Maps pictures are Street View pictures.
For a change, Gizmodo found a really cool satellite picture.
A crazy looking plane just above a residential street was spotted.
The street was Rose Avenue. The cross street was Lincoln Avenue. That is exactly where the Pacific Jewish Center Annex is located. (more…)
Apr 19th, 2010
by rabbifink.
Six weeks ago, two well-known journalists, David Horsey and Nancy LeVine popped into the Shul on the Beach. It was Purim and they wanted to take pictures, talk with me and some of our Shul members and join in our Purim Celebration.
Never ones to turn down inviting strangers into the Shul, we welcomed them.
As I wrote at the time, our Purim Celebration was really special as we welcomed anyone and everyone off the boardwalk into our Shul. Read more here: Pacific Jewish Center Purim Celebration Recap February 28, 2010
Nancy took beautiful candid photos and David kind of blended in with the rest of us (more…)
Apr 7th, 2010
by rabbifink.
Having the most incredible location in the world for our shul comes with some responsibilities. We are the custodians of the Shul on the Beach and any chance we have to share the Shul with the public we should!
This year we have had public events on Chanukah, Pre-Purim and Purim. We also had several Sundays where we just hang out at the shul welcoming visitors.
Because Sunday was also an Erev Yom Tov (and people are making preparations for the holiday) we did not have a public event for Pesach (stay tuned ’til Sukkos). But I felt it would be wrong not to open the shul doors for at least a little while so I went to the Shul for a couple hours on Sunday. (more…)
Mar 1st, 2010
by rabbifink.
The Shul on the Beach Purim 2010
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 and Joannie Ziff on the occasion of their second anniversary. As always, Jeff Liss planned an excellent party, including first class entertainment (see the previous post), refreshments and a costume contest. Most importantly, our community really stepped up to the plate in terms of hospitality, friendliness and warmth. Led, once again, by Rabbi Mintz, many, many guests were ushered into the Shul. (more…)
Feb 28th, 2010
by rabbifink.
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 about Alula by clicking here and help support his music.
Alula is an Ethiopian Jew who loves to sing Jewish songs. And he did so, wonderfully.
Please check out this clip of his performance in our Shul this Purim. (more…)
Feb 16th, 2010
by rabbifink.
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 everyone laughing all the way through.
I introduced Heshy and the show with an important message. (more…)
Feb 15th, 2010
by rabbifink.
The Shul on the Beach
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 goal was to make a more creative mishloach manos that effectively reflected the spirit of the Shul on the Beach (more…)
Jan 14th, 2010
by rabbifink.
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 am the LORD. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name YHWH I made Me not known to them. And I have also upheld My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned
GD has a number of names by which we call him. What does it mean for GD to have various names? (more…)
Dec 16th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 Monica. Sure it’s different from Northeast. We never will have a “white Chanukah”. We had our Chanukah party on the beach with a moon-bounce outside. People are wearing shorts. It was 73 degrees today. It feels a little different, but we’re not complaining.
Turns out, Tom Lehrer agrees with me. Chanukah is way better in Santa Monica.
He’ll tell you about it himself, just watch this… (more…)
Dec 13th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 Jeff Liss for organizing, planning and executing the whole thing. Thank you so much. Many others contributed as well and for that we express our appreciation to you as well.
I have no way of knowing how many people came through our doors today, (more…)
Dec 13th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 page. Or just click here.
You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.
Dec 8th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 us in celebrated the Festival of Lights.
I look forward to greeting you there! (more…)
Dec 7th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 blog), I invite them to ‘something’, we shmooze and then they are on their way.
This Sunday was the last Sunday before our upcoming Chanukah party so it was a prime opportunity to publicize the party which is open to the public.
Unfortunately, (more…)
Dec 6th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.
Nov 25th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 Holzberg, who were brutally murdered at that time.
This week’s Torah portion begins with the flight of Yaakov. He is a fugitive, having just snatched the primary blessings of Yitzchak from under his brother Eisav’s nose. Yaakov begins his exodus en route to the home of Lavan his mother’s brother to find his soul mate and marry her.
Does this storyline sound familiar? Did any other biblical characters leave their parent’s home recently? (more…)
Nov 22nd, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 this page. Or just click here.
You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.
Nov 15th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 think is very poignant. It all goes back to Adam and Eve being ousted from the Garden of Eden.
Audio is below.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.
You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here. (more…)
Nov 6th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 learn about us and to be included in their upcoming Venice piece.
It was a true honor and privilege to be a part of this worthwhile project. The production should be finished in February and I look forward to seeing that.
The camera crew shot some footage of our morning services and did two interviews. (more…)
Nov 2nd, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 the time was right.
We asked all the basic questions about prayer. We asked some advanced questions about prayer.
Using ideas from Rabbi Chaim Volozhin and others we pieced together a rational approach to prayer that made sense to us.
It was a very exciting class with outstanding participation and a very alert listening audience.
I really recommend giving this class a listen.
All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.
You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.
(more…)
Nov 1st, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 this page. Or just click here.
You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.
Oct 26th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 of this page. Or just click here.
You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here. (more…)
Oct 25th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 top of this page. Or just click here.
You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here. (more…)
At Pacific Jewish Center we endeavor to share the light Judaism with the entire Beach Community. As we approach the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, the least we could do was wish the Venice Boardwalk a collective Shana Tova (A Good Year) to all the passersby.
