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The Torch / May 6, 2015 / 17 Iyar 5775

In This Issue

Musician Dan Nicholsis returning!

People of the Book

Pop up Choir

Sisterhood CreativeService

Mishkan HaNefeshPrayerbooks

Community Calendar

This Week

Fri. 5/8

7:30pmShabbat Evening ServiceRabbi Simonds

Sat., 5/9

9amMinyan with Cantor Shapiro

Sun. 5/10

9:15amAROMA! Coffee,Conversation and TorahRabbi Simonds: Mishkan HaNefesh:Sanctuary of the SoulBeit Midrash of theWeinstein Family Library ~~~~~Please note:The AnnualCongregational Meetingis Tuesday, June 2nd,at 7:00PM; Gray Family Chapel

Religious Action Center at Work in Washington D.C.Consultation on Conscience

Rabbi Joel Simonds

Rabbis Mona Alfi (Congregation B'nai Israel in Sacramento, CA),Charles Briskin (Temple Beth El in San Pedro, CA)and Joel ThalSimonds (University Synagogue in Los Angeles, CA) wrote thispiece together. They are members of Reform CA and representatives of the CCARon the Joint Commission on Social Action.

Justice work can happen in the halls of Congress and it can happen on thestreets. This past Tuesday we did justice work in both places.We had been in Washington D.C. participating in the Religious Action Center'sConsultation on Conscience; Tuesday was our lobby day. As we were hearing fromprominent Senators and Representatives at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, twoblocks away at the Supreme Court, our Justices were hearing arguments onMarriage Equality, perhaps the most important civil rights case of this generation.Rabbi Denise Eger, a leading advocate for Marriage Equality and President of theCentral Conference of American Rabbis, and Rabbi Lucy Dinner were speaking at arally on the steps of the Supreme Court and we wanted to go hear them. Althoughwe missed their speeches, we might not have heard them anyway over thecacophony of competing rallies from both the Marriage Equality advocates andthose who oppose equal rights for all (and whose signs and banners wereparticularly hateful). Click here to continue reading...

Thank You

Michael Isaacson forwriting a beautiful piecethat was premiered herethis Sunday by CantorShapiro, Rabbi CantorAlison Wissot, and theSong of the Angels FluteOrchestra.

Mazal Tov

Two of our UniversitySynagogue studentswere honored this weekby Johns Hopkins Centerfor Talented Youth. ZevSpencer­Shapiro, sonof Scott Spencer andCantor KerithSpencer­Shapiro andAlexander Weisberg,son of Nicola Bird andSeth Weisberg, wererecognized as HighHonors Achievers.

Cantor KerithSpencer­Shapirowas reelectedto the Board of theAmerican Conferenceof Cantors.

ZichronamLivrachah

Nicholas Morina,remembered by Tony

Rabbi Simonds with Julie Bank and Reuben Bank

We are thrilled to announce that musician Dan Nichols is returning to University Synagogue!

Morina & Sally Sussman­Morina and family Faith Pearlman,remembered byRosemary Greener andfamily

UniSyn SoftballUpdate

Both teams lost theirrespective games lastSunday.

Next up Sunday, May 17:

UniSyn (Div. B) v. Temple Israel ofHollywood, 1pm atPointsettia Park in W.Hollywood.

Unisyn Too (Div. D) v.Temple Beth Hillel at11am, Van Nuys / Sherman Oaks Park

'People of The Book'Friday, May 22, 7:30pmAuthor and Lecturer, Gina B. Nahai

"The Luminous Heart of Jonah S."

Gina B. Nahai is a best­selling author, anda lecturer in the Master of ProfessionalWriting program at USC. Her novels have been translated into eighteen languages,

and are taught at a number of universities and high schools nationwide. Herwritings have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, San FranciscoChronicle, Los Angeles Magazine, Huffingtonpost.com, and Truthdig.com. Shewrites a monthly column for the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.

If you wish, there are several copies of The Luminous Heart of Jonah S. for sale inthe Synagogue office. Please contact Sue Share at sshare@unisyn.org.Or, you can purchase her books on Amazon by clicking here.

It's a POP UP CHOIR! Dear Musical Friends, Do you ever wish you had the chance to sing in a choir, but don't feel like youhave the time to commit to it? If so, we have a great opportunity for you! Everyoneis welcome to join. There are no auditions. We will be celebrating the festival of Shavuot with six other synagogues onSaturday, May 23rd at 7:30 PM at Stephen S Wise Temple. Click here for moreinformation about the evening:https://unisyn.org/sites/default/files/images/SixTemplesFlyer_lowres.pdf All of the synagogues will have members joining a choir for one song, Hold Fast toDreams (words Langston Hughes, music Susan LaBarr). You can hear the songhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do­8ZdQtsN4 There will be recordings of the music and the written music sent out to allparticipants ahead of time and there will be one rehearsal on May 13 at 7:30 PM atStephen S Wise Temple. Please consider joining us! The more the merrier. If you would like to participate,contact me at cantorshapiro@unisyn.org . B'shirah,Cantor Shapiro

With honor, we invite you to usher in an exciting era of worship bydedicating our new High Holy Days prayerbook, MishkanHaNefesh. With your donation of $54, a special nameplate will beplaced in each of the two volumes of Mishkan HaNefesh and willserve as a lasting tribute during our High Holy Days for years tocome. Dedicate your prayerbook here!

HOTEL ANGELENO has a benefits agreement with UniversitySynagogue and our members!The Hotel Angeleno will offer a discounted rate of 10% off the best available rate to University members clergy,guests, parents, teachers, staff and friends. Hotel Angeleno will provide a code that can be used to book on­line atwww.hotelangeleno.com/universitysynagogue. For any rooms booked at the hotel, ten percent (10%) of the roomrevenue will be given back to the synagogue to be reconciled and paid out on a quarterly basis. This rebate is alsoapplicable for any groups of 10 rooms or more. For special events held at the hotel referred by University Synagogue,Hotel Angeleno will give back 5% of the consumed catering revenue to the Synagogue. Please contact Bonnie Kebre,Facilities Coordinator, bkebre@unisyn.org for a complete list of applicable events.

For more information and updates on what's happening at University Synagogue...like us on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/UniSynagogue

Community Calendar SYNAGOGUE EVENTS Saturday, May 9, 10:30amJoin Silver Generation for bagels and discussion with Rabbi Stanley Davids: "Fifty Years a Rabbi ­ Would IDo it All Over Again??" Please RSVP here by May 7th. Friday, May 15, 6:30pmFamily Shabbat Service with Mechinah class participation and special guest Dan Nichols. Tuesday, May 19, 7­9pmgriefHaven Open Support Group for Grieving ParentsGrief Support for Parents Who Have Lost A Child. This is a"drop­in", open group, with a suggested donation of $20. Room 243 on the main floor. This group will continue to meet on the 3rd Tuesday evening every month. To learnmore about griefHaven, visit www.griefHaven.org This group will be facilitated by Susan Whitmore, GriefSpecialist and founder of griefHaven. Friday, May 22, 7:30pmShabbat Evening Service with 'People of the Book', featuring author Gina Nahai,"The Luminous Heart of Jonah S."

Saturday, May 23, 7:30pmSHAVUOT: 6 Temples, 10 Commandments, and endless ways to experience ShavuotJoin University Synagogue with 5 other temples for a special evening of learning, music and traditional and non­traditional rituals. Join a breakout group on experiencing Shavuot.Stephen Wise Temple, 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive, Los Angeles. Friday, May 29, 7:30pmSisterhood Creative Shabbat Service, Our One Touch of Sabbath LightHonoring the women who came before us connecting us to a rich tradition Food Forward and University Synagogue Farmer's Market connection:Food Forward events page to volunteer to glean at the Brentwood Farmer's market on Sundayshttp://foodforward.org/events/Anyone who wants to volunteer to drive the boxes of gleaned food to PATH should email Leah (leah@foodforward.org)or Sarah (sarah@foodforward.org ) by the Thursday before each glean. This way they will know if they need to findsomeone else to make the delivery. PATH is at 2346 Cotner Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

COMMUNITY EVENTS Sunday, May 10, 10­10:30amMother's Day Remembrance Service at Hillside Memorial Park, led by Cantor Kerith Spencer­Shapiro andRabbi Cantor Alison Wissot of Temple Judea. Special guest speaker, Fredda Wasserman of OUR HOUSE GriefSupport Center, presents, A Mother's Day Journey Through Memories, Hope and Healing. To obtain more detailsabout this special event click here.

Sunday, May 17, 11am­6pmCelebrate Israel Festival! Israel's 66th Independence Day FestivalSpecial events for the whole family will be happening all day at Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, located at 2551 MotorAve. in Los Angeles. This year 15,000 people are expected to attend the celebrations. Please mark your calendar withthis date! For much more information and to purchase tickets, click here!There will be free buses running from Steven S. Wise to the Yom Hatzmaut Festival from 10am­6pm onMay 17th.

Sunday, May 31, 9am ­ 3:30pmPlease Join the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies for our fourth annual "Israel in 3D"Conference, with a special focus this year on the city of Jerusalem! Presented in partnership with the JerusalemFoundation and Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. The conference will explore Jerusalem from many dimensions,with speakers from government, education and civic and cultural organizations who are working each day to create athriving city for all Jerusalem's residents. Keynote address by Michael Oren, former Israeli Ambassador to the US andnewly elected member of the Knesset. UCLA COVEL COMMONS. For more information and to register now, click here.

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