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 ‘Venice’
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 [...]
Purim Celebration at The Shul on the Beach Invitation 2/28/10
Join Pacific Jewish Center and the entire Venice / Santa Monica Jewish community for a Purim Celebration at the Shul on the Beach.
There will be entertainment as well as refreshments. You can meet your neighbors and taste a Purim Experience at our historic Shul.
Please join us!
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 [...]
Frum Satire Show At Pacific Jewish Center
Heshy just posted this on his blog and since we are the hosts, I am reposting for your information and reference.
I know it’s a bit short notice but I (Heshy Fried / Frum Satire) will be performing this coming Sunday February 14th in Los Angeles at the Pacific Jewish Center AKA Shul on the Beach (on [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
That’s What I Call Ambition
When we are in Venice for Shabbos we stay at wonderful, little, extended stay hotel on the boardwalk called Su Casa. They try and give us an Ocean View Room. It is great to have the ocean view, but not as much for the ocean view as for the “boardwalk” view.
You see, Venice Boardwalk is [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 9/13/09
Chapter 7 continued with more inspirational words to help us do our Mitzvos with more Zrizus.
We completed Zrizus part A, beginning your good deeds with speed and we began Zrizus part B, completing your good deeds quickly.
There was also a short discussion on good review habist for Mesillas Yesharim. Aside from reviewing by listening online [...]
The Shofar: A Time Machine | Connections 9/7/09
This evening we tackled another oft discussed them of Rosh Hashana, the Shofar.
We used a deep understanding of Shofar to answer a common and troubling calendaring issue regarding Rosh Hashana and Creation.
Overall, the participation was great, the energy was high and it was a great way to continue our preparatoins for Rosh Hashana.
All audio classes [...]
Rosh Hashana: Beginning of all Beginnings | Connections 8/31/09
As we continue our journey through Elul, marching towards Rosh Hashana, Connections returned the Pacific Jewish Center.
Our approach was that if we are “preparing” for Rosh Hashana, we need to understand just what Rosh Hashana means. What is a succesful Rosh Hashana and how do we get there?
We analyzed one angle of Rosh Hashana that [...]
Mesillas Yesharim 08/16/09
I returned to Venice after a short Summer break and today we resumed our Mesillas Yesharim class.
Highlights today included a very interesting insight from Maimonides regarding laziness and the “Golden Path”. My father told me that in the Shmona Prakim, Maimonides gives a very surprising opposite to laziness.
Why FinkOrSwim?
Finding the perfect blog URL is an adventure. The choices are endless and one’s mood can affect one’s opinion tremendously, leading to potential buyer’s remorse.
As I talked on the phone with my blog consultant, Judd Magilnick, we searched for the perfect concept. Our ideas ranged from the ultra bland, finkblog.com to the ultra creative ifinkican.com. [...]
