Fast of the 10th of Tevet
12/28/2022 04:16:08 PM
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023
One the days on which we Jews pray, repent, and fast is the 10th of Tevet. We chose this date as it commemorates the Babylonians having laid siege to Jerusalem, leading to its eventual destruction in 586 B.C.E. Interestingly, this fast (along with the 17th of Tamuz, Tisha B’Av and Tzom Gedalia) was suspended during the Second Temple period, and we...Read more...
Chanukah Halacha How To
12/15/2022 09:19:07 AM
Candle Lighting:
The first night of Chanukah this year is Sunday night. Women and men are equally included in the obligation to light. Ideally we light our Chanuka lights around 25 minutes after sundown, but later in the evening is also alright. The only place where we can fulfill the mitzvah of lighting is in our own home, or if we are out of town, in the place that we will be sleeping that night. (More on traveling during...Read more...
Farewell from Rabbanit Alissa
03/10/2022 09:47:25 AM
Goodbyes are hard, but important. A chaplaincy mentor of mine once emphasized that when leaving a patient’s room, it is crucial to say ‘goodbye’. She explained that even if we think we can come back tomorrow, life can change in a second– especially in a hospital. As natural as it is to want to avoid it, we cannot squander the gift of closure. Including when it is bittersweet and tearful. Saying goodbye is not only a privilege, it’s...Read more...
Farewell to Rabbanit Alissa
03/10/2022 09:01:03 AM
בתר צלותיה אמר הכי, “after his prayer he would say as follows”. This phrase introduces a series of stories on Daf 17a of Brachot. Each of the stories presents a “post-prayer prayer” that various Talmudic sages composed and personally appended to their daily Amidah. One of these post-prayer prayers is actually the one that we all append to our Amidah to this day. Others of the post-prayer...Read more...
Chanukah Halacha How To
11/25/2021 01:13:38 PM
Candle Lighting:
Who: The mitzvah of Chanukah is נר איש וביתו- one candle for each household. The Gemara gives the option to beautify the mitzvah by having each member of the household light one candle (mehadrin). The Gemara gives an additional way to beautify the mitzvah (mehadrin min hamedrin), which is to light an additional candle each night increasing in order for eight nights. This is our practice today,...Read more...
Rav Yosef's Rosh Hashanah Drasha
09/09/2021 11:44:23 AM
The answer is such a classic, that we rarely pay any serious attention to the question that precedes it. The answer is, “on a day when the books of life and death are open, would you expect that Israel would be singing?!”
It’s an important answer, epitomizing the unsettled, even anxious feelings that we bring into the day. But it’s an answer which creates a...Read more...
Rabbanit Alissa's Rosh Hashanah Drasha
09/09/2021 11:32:39 AM
BDJ Family~~Though I am still on family leave right now caring for my father, I wanted to share my heart and some words of Torah with you. So many of you have reached out to me with love and support, and it only felt right for me to be with you on Rosh Hashanah and to honor my father in this way. I am so grateful...Read more...
Letter RE: COVID from our Community's Rabbis
12/09/2020 12:31:09 PM
Dear Community Members,
As we are all aware, there has been a significant increase of COVID cases locally. We are encouraged by the careful adherence to the safety precautions that our synagogues have undertaken in order to enable safe, outdoor, masked and distanced minyanim to continue. These minyanim are COVID-compliant, outdoor events, in line with the latest LA Department of Health guidelines, where we work...Read more...
Please renew membership by tonight!
08/30/2020 08:01:05 AM
If you are receiving this email, we still DO NOT have your membership registration information and ask thaRead more...
Membership - Last Chance to Renew to Receive High Holiday Resources
08/27/2020 02:12:49 PM
If you are receiving this email, we still DO NOT have your membership registration information and ask thaRead more...
Membership Due This Weekend
08/14/2020 04:47:08 PM
If you are receiving this email, we still DO NOT have your membership registration information and ask thaRead more...
3 Days til Membership Deadline - A Message from Andres Terech, Treasurer
08/12/2020 06:46:10 PM
It has been way too long since we have seen and spoken to each other. I hope that you and your family near aRead more...
BDJ Membership - 5 Days til Deadline
08/11/2020 06:56:09 AM
If you are receiving this email, we still DO NOT have your membership registration information and ask thRead more...
BDJ Membership - A Message from Larry Handman
08/09/2020 08:52:11 AM
Retired (or close to retirement), my wife Susan and I moved to California a little over 5 years ago to beRead more...
BDJ Membership - Deadline in less than 10 days!
08/06/2020 12:21:45 PM
Thank you in advance to the almost 50% of members who have already renewed their commitment and support fRead more...
Reminder: Yom Kippur Memorial Book -- Submissions Due August 15th
08/04/2020 03:43:04 PM
Once again, as the Holidays approach, our thoughts turn to our loved ones who will not be with us, except in sRead more...
An Update on the High Holidays
08/02/2020 06:40:23 PM
At BDJ, we are hard at work putting together a Yamim Noraim plan that will make our chagim as spiritually uplifting and meaninRead more...
Yom Kippur Memorial Book -- Please Submit by August 15th
07/26/2020 04:51:17 PM
Once again, as the Holidays approach, our thoughts turn to our loved ones who will not be with us, except in sRead more...
BDJ Membership - A Message from Tzvi Wolf
07/26/2020 07:48:15 AM
No film has helped me cope with quarantine more than Thor: Ragnarok. A film by one of my favorite (JewishRead more...
High Holidays 5781 - Please Respond
07/23/2020 10:07:22 AM
As we look forward to the Yamim Noraim, we are working hard to accommodate each and every member’s needs andRead more...
BDJ Membership for 5781
07/20/2020 07:23:17 PM
Thank you in advance for your support! Whether you are a member of many years or just joining for the fRead more...
Halacha How To: The Nine Days
07/16/2020 04:35:17 PM
Beginning Tuesday night July 21, we will transition from the "three weeks" to the "nine days". The conceptual difference between the two is that while during the three weeks we refrain from celebratory and musical events that are beyond the typical daily routine, during the nine days we diminish even simple everyday pleasures. In the words of the Mishna, ממעטין בשמחה, we consciously diminish our joy. The premise of this practice is...Read more...
A Message from the President
07/16/2020 02:12:57 PM
I write this after returning home from our most recent daily minyan. Although BDJ, in consultation withRead more...
Join us in 5781
07/10/2020 01:34:32 PM
For more than 100 days this year, the B'nai David-Judea building was closed, but our community remained oRead more...
An Important Letter from our Community's Rabbis
05/15/2020 07:32:32 AM
Dear Members of Our Community,
We hope that this letter finds you and your loved ones safe and well. It has been and continues to be a trying time for all of us, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. These are the kinds of times when we look out for one another with especially attentive eyes and open hearts.
Amidst all of the difficulties, there is some very promising news. Our communal compliance with the County's...Read more...
Passover Reflections
04/14/2020 08:32:06 AM
October 2018. It was the day of Aiden Nelson’s bar mitzvah. Word filtered into shul about the shooting and numerous casualties at Tree of Life in Pittsburgh.
We had all sort of been in heightened state of alert especially over the past 14 months, since the white supremacist rally happened in Charlottesville. But nothing like this had ever happened before. Not in the entire history of the United States of America.
...Read more...
Love in the Time of Corona
03/13/2020 09:47:34 AM
My handwashing affects you. And yours affects me.
The reality of how interconnected we are is at the forefront of our minds as we face the global pandemic of the coronavirus. It’s natural to focus on the fear and palpable anxiety, which have hit us hard this past week. But I want to encourage us to take a much needed break from that and push ourselves to think as people of faith---to...Read more...
Health Notice: Response to Coronavirus COVID-19
03/06/2020 11:26:31 AM
Dear members:
We know these are anxious times. We want to take a measured response to the coronavirus while we strive to protect the health and safety of our shul community.
It is important for all of us to follow the best advice being dispensed by government health authorities. As such, we are writing to...Read more...
Rabbanit Alissa's Speech at the 2020 Gala
02/27/2020 09:57:53 AM
I am grateful to Hashem to stand before you tonight, celebrating the last five and a half years of our Torah, friendship, and holy work together at B’nai David-Judea. I have so much love and gratitude for each of you and am truly humbled by your support, touching words, and simcha in celebrating this moment.
Read more...
How We Did It
02/21/2020 09:43:42 AM
A Model for Drafting, Debating, and Adopting a Gay and Lesbian Inclusion Policy in an Orthodox Shul
Over a period of 15 months, our shul, B’nai David-Judea Congregation in Los Angeles, conducted a process of communal thinking...Read more...
