This Week: Shabbat Holiness Hike, Book Circle, WOKA and MOKA Events!
12/07/2022 04:01:42 PM
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December 7, 2022 * eKoleinu * 13 Kislev 5783
Shabbat Service Friday, December 9 at 6:30 PM Join Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Rabbi Ross Z. Levy, and Piano Accompanist Lisa Edwards for our services in-person at Kol Ami or online on our Facebook page, YouTube channel, or on thetemple website. To access a free online flipbook of our prayer book Mishkan Tefillah book, click here.
SAVE THE DATE Focus Group Meeting Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 7:00 PM
Thank you to everyone who attended our Semi-Annual Congregational Meeting on November 30, 2022. As your Board of Trustees, we are profoundly grateful to have your support, including proxies, in approving the recommended budget for the last 6-months of our fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.
We are facing challenges at every turn: our Founding Senior Rabbi is retiring, our Executive Director is moving, the impact of inflation on the economy, continuing uncertainty over COVID, and an operating budget with a significant deficit.
We are tasked with fiduciary responsibility and stewardship of our beloved community. We want nothing more than Kadima, to move forward, as we celebrate Kol Ami’s 30th Anniversary. We listened and heard your concerns about transparency, financial obligations, and three options presented for support to explore how they might transform our congregation during this difficult time.
Whatever your view is of the opportunities and risks ahead for Kol Ami, our Jewish values remain at the forefront of our communal decision-making as a Kehilla Kadosha, a sacred community. We look forward to providing additional information and details during a Focus Group Meeting on Thursday, January 12, 2023, at 7:00 PM. This will be a hybrid meeting, both in-person and via Zoom, and will be open to all members in good standing. You can register to participate in-person here and via Zoom here.
Chanukah at the LGBT Center Tuesday, December 20 | 6:00 - 7:30 PM Los Angeles LGBT Center
Volunteers are needed to perform in a Chanukah play and help Kol Ami celebrate with the residents of the LGBT Center in West Hollywood. Dinner and latkes will be provided. Please email Student Rabbi Frankie Salzman here to sign up.
Saturday, December 10, 2022 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Location: Debs Park (4651 Griffin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90031) in East LA.
Take a break from the craziness of the week (and the city) and join Rabbi Levy for a Shabbat afternoon hike! We will explore some of the great natural settings around the LA area while creating spaces for quiet reflection and a bit of text study. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned hiker, all are welcome (including your leash-safe furry friends!).
The hike will go from 1:00 - 2:30 PM, after which we'll head over to a congregant's house for afternoon tea and cake. The address will be sent upon registration.
Saturday, December 10, 2022 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Please join temple members Jane Drucker and David Glickman at The Book Circle on December 10th on zoom at 5 PM as we discuss "The Little Bride" by Anna Solomon.
The Little Bride WHEN 16-YEAR-OLD Minna Losk journeys from Odessa to America as a mail-order bride, she dreams of a young, wealthy husband, a handsome townhouse, and freedom from physical labor and pogroms. But her husband Max turns out to be twice her age, rigidly Orthodox and living in a one-room sod hut in South Dakota with his two teenage sons. The country is desolate, the work treacherous. Most troubling, Minna finds herself increasingly attracted to her older stepson. As a brutal winter closes in, the family’s limits are tested, and Minna, drawing on strengths she barely knows she has, is forced to confront her despair, as well as her desire.
For more information about the book and where to purchase it, click the link here.
Women of Kol Ami (WOKA) returns with a Get-Ready-for-Chanukah Party!
Sunday, December 11, 2022 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Join us for a little nosh, a little song, some stories, maybe a game of dreidel, and time to mingle with friends and folks who may become friends.
Please bring a new, unwrapped toy or a new book to donate to make a child's Chanukah memorable.
The party will be indoors and outside (so bring a jacket) at a Kol Ami member's home (address will be provided after registration).
Self-identified women, transgender, and non-binary Kol Ami members, past and present, individuals of all ages, and new guests are welcome! There are only a few spaces left. Register to attend by 12:00 NOON Friday, December 9, 2022. For any questions, please contact Debbie Futrowsky at futrowsky@gmail.com PLEASE take a COVID test. You must test COVID negative to attend this WOKA event. REGISTER HERE
Event Chair Dan Blatt invites you to The Men of Kol Ami (MOKA) Chanukah Lunch Party
Sunday, December 11, 2022 12:00 NOON - 3:00 PM
At the Koreatown home of Dan Blatt (address to be provided before the event). Street parking only. Parking is challenging. Please do not park in the driveway.
$10 - includes a donation to the MOKA Fund (used for tzedakah) Bring a wrapped gift valued around $15-$20 for our white elephant gift exchange.
Enjoy lunch, latkes, and schmoozing both indoors and in the outdoor garden, so bring a coat!
Self-identifying males, transgender, and non-binary Kol Ami members, past and present, individuals of ALL ages, and new guests are all welcome. BRING A FRIEND TO INTRODUCE TO KOL AMI! Register to attend by 12:00 NOON Friday, December 9, 2022 For any questions or rsvp after December 9, 2022 email Dan Blatt at frodoblatt@aol.com REGISTER HERE
Friday, December 16, 2022 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Join our clergy for Kol Ami's signature #BeTheLight Shabbat Chanukah. Bring your chanukiah for our traditional community candle lighting outdoors! Then come inside for a musical Chanukah service. Following services, we will return outside to enjoy latkes and churros (provided by Kol Ami). A festive Mexican food truck will be offering meals for purchase. This event will be a combination of indoors and outdoors, so please make sure you bring a jacket!
Sunday, January 29, 2022 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM at Temple Israel of Hollywood
Kol Ami Tzedek Council invites you to participate and register for our Reform Movement’s Religious Action Center California regional gathering on our Climate Change Initative known as Climate Tzedek Campaign. Learn about climate change from experts and how to engage our congregation and others in the holy work of protecting the environment. Sunday Jan 29 at Temple Israel or Hollywood.
RAC-CA Regional Gatherings are a key opportunity to connect with the RAC-CA Climate Tzedek Campaign. Gatherings will include keynote speakers, training, and resources to engage your congregation in the campaign, as well as time to connect and share questions, ideas, and successes (and flops!) in the work of organizing for social justice in our congregations.
Congregation Kol Ami 30th Anniversary Trip to Israel May 30, 2023 - June 7, 2023 Give someone the gift of Israel for the Holidays! The first 8 people have already signed up! We need 8 more to meet our minimum. Reserve your spot for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
The Deadline to put your deposit for the Israel trip is January 10! Join Rabbi Denise L. Eger on Kol Ami’s 30th anniversary trip to Israel! Explore the homeland of the Jewish people, its ancient history, and Israel’s vibrant modern sights and sounds.
Kol Ami’s friends and family will travel to Israel for an 8-day trip to Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. Our trip begins in Jerusalem on May 30, 2023, winds our way north to the Galilee, and finally ending in the bustling city of Tel Aviv on June 7, 2023. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Congregation Kol Ami has adopted a Code of Ethics as a holy, respectful, mindful and safe way of interacting with one another. We join with other Reform Jewish communities dedicated to creating safe and sacred spaces. The Code of Ethics was created by a working Task force of our Board of Trustees, adopted by our Board and subsequently adopted by the congregation at our Annual meeting in June, 2022. You can view the Code of Ethics on our website at here.
Refuah Shleimah: A Speedy Recovery We keep the following members in our healing prayers: John Altschul, Stephen Hochstein, Tim Jordan, Heidi Kebbas, Larry Levi, Peter Mackler, Stan Papel, Keith Rand, Ivan Rosenberg, Richard Ross, Lowell Selvin, Miles Senn, Travis Terry
Kol Ami requires proof of vaccination including at least one booster for all events for all those eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine. If you are not yet eligible for a booster, you must provide proof a negative test within 24 hrs of the event. While masks are optional at indoor events the Los Angeles County Health Department strongly recommends that you wear a mask indoors. At Kol Ami we are mindful that there are many people who are immune compromised and as an act of loving kindness (Chesed) and compassion (Rachamim) we recommend you wear a mask except when eating or drinking indoors.
To learn more about Kol Ami's COVID-safety policy please click here.
