Happy Tu B'Shvat! Ten Things to Do On Tu B’Shvat from Rabbi Eger and Rabbi Levy!
02/05/2023 09:00:51 AM
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February 5, 2023 * eKoleinu * 14 Shevat 5783
Shabbat Services Friday, February 10 at 6:30 PM Join Rabbi Ross Z. Levy, Student Rabbi Frankie Salzman, and Piano Accompanist Dr. Alin Melik-Adamyan for our services in-person at Kol Ami or online on our Facebook page, YouTube channel, or on thetemple website. To purchase a prayerbook, Mishkan Tefillah, available in print or in kindle version click here.
Tonight we begin the celebration of Tu B'Shvat, one of the four Jewish new years according to the Mishnah. This one is called Rosh HaIlanot, The New Year of the Trees as this was an agricultural holiday to count a tree's growth and know when you might be able to harvest the fruit. According to Jewish tradition you must wait three years until fruit can be picked. In the fourth year all the harvest was given as an offering to God at the Temple. Only in fifth year, could you sell it or utilize it!
Rabbi Levy and I compiled 10 ways you can observe this holiday at home! Happy New Year of the Trees
Rabbi Denise L. Eger
Ten Things to Do On Tu B’Shvat! 1. Purchase a Tree to plant in Israel! The Jewish National Fund always welcomes donations to plant a tree in Israel. If you donate to the JNF for this purpose, you can easily print out the acknowledgment and share. 2. Buy Parsley seeds and plant them in a container at home. Water and nurture it. It will be ready by Passover to use at your Seder. 3. Take a Hike at the Coldwater Canyon Park, Home of the Tree People, and spend some time around the beautiful trails and trees of the Santa Monica Mountains located at Coldwater Canyon and Mulholland Dr. 12601 Mulholland Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. 4. Have an olive oil tasting with friends. Olives are one of the seven species -the 7 native fruits tied to the land of Israel. Get Olive Oil from different locals, California, Greece, Israel, Spain, etc., or go to one of the many olive farms like Rancho Olivos in Santa Ynez, CA for a day trip and olive oil tastings! Or head southeast to Temecula at the Temecula Olive Company for a tasting at: 46780 Hwy 371, Aguanga, CA 92536. 5. On this holiday you are supposed to eat the seven species mentioned in the Torah (from Deuteronomy 8:8), some of the fruits and nuts of Israel: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. Almonds and carobs have also become a traditional food eaten during this holiday. You can easily add some of these foods to a snack tray or to your dinner on the night of Tu B’Shevat. Or try a recipe including the seven species like these 7 Species Muffins! 6. Participate in a beach clean-up! Help keep our coastline beautiful and remove harm from the environment to help safeguard our planet. Some options for organizations include Surfrider LA, Heal the Bay or the California State Parks. 7. Start composting- find the right form of composting that will work for your lifestyle and reduce your impact on the environment. To learn more, visit this guide with Compost LA. 8. Have a Tu B’Shvat Seder! Passover is not the only holiday that includes a symbolic meal. Beginning with the medieval kabbalists, many Jews began doing Tu Bish’vat seders centering around the seven species and different varieties of wine (or grape juice). For some guides, check out MyJewishLearning, Sefaria, or check out this Hazon Family Seder. 9. Buy produce from a local farmer’s market. Help reduce your carbon footprint by supporting local farmers. You can find a catalog of farmer’s markets across Los Angeles here. 10. Donate to a nonprofit organization committed to safeguarding the environment. There are many such organizations here in LA. Click here to find a list of ten organizations that could use your support!
Join Rabbi Levy for this special 4-week mini-course introducing us to the wide world of midrash, collections of ancient teachings, and reflections on the Hebrew Bible. This class will begin by discussing what midrash is: what it is, where it comes from, and how it impacts the way Jews have read sacred texts for centuries. We'll then dive into more well-known texts from midrash with a special focus on Genesis Rabbah, the collection of teachings around the book of Genesis. All levels of Jewish learning are welcome! REGISTER HERE
Saturday, February 11, 2023 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Location: East Observatory Trail Meeting point: Vista Del Valle Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
This week, we'll be walking along the East Observatory Trail in Griffith Park. The trail is very easy and good for all hiking levels, and we'll be able to enjoy some lovely views from the Observatory! There should be ample parking along Vermont at either the Roosevelt Golf or Vermont Tennis Court complexes, or along the street on Commonwealth Canyon Dr. Hope to see you there!
Take a break from the craziness of the week (and the city) and join Rabbi Levy for a Shabbat morning 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. REGISTER HERE
MEN OF KOL AMI (MOKA) PLANNING AND BRAINSTORMING MEETING BAGEL BRUNCH
Sunday, February 12, 2023 11:00 AM – 12:45 PM
Rooftop Garden at Kol Ami (or Conference Room if raining) Come with your event/program ideas, suggestions or willingness to help in some way! Any self identified males, non binary individuals and interested people of all ages are welcome.
Lunch n Learn with Rabbi Eger and Special Guest Speaker Rabbi Ayala Miron
Thursday, February 16, 2023 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Join our monthly online lunch & learn here on Zoom! You bring the lunch, Rabbi Eger will bring the learning, just like she would in Downtown LA! REGISTER HERE
Shabbat Service with Special Guest Speaker Rabbi Ayala Miron
Friday, February 17, 2023 6:30 PM
Join us for a special Shabbat with guest speaker Rabbi Ayala Miron.
Rabbi Ayala Miron was born and raised in the northern reaches of Tel Aviv (today Ramat Aviv), to parents of Iraqi origin. She holds a BA from Tel Aviv University and an MA from the UCLA film school. She lived with her family in Los Angeles, where she taught Jewish studies in a Waldorf school. Coming back to Israel, Rabbi Miron joined the education and research department of the Babylonian Jewish Heritage Museum, and created two short documentaries unfolding the story of the Iraqi Jewish Diaspora. In November 2005 she completed her studies at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, where she was ordained as a Rabbi. She is the founding rabbi of kehilat Bavat Ayin in Rosh HaAyin, a thriving Kehila of the Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) founded in September 2004. She also teaches first-year rabbinical students at HUC Jerusalem. Rabbi Miron lives with her husband Avi in the Sharon area in Israel, and they have three sons.
A Monthly Morning Torah Study. Join our monthly Torah study group exploring the weekly portions alongside the traditional Haftarah readings, the prophetic passages that pair with our annual cycle of sacred study. Join us to learn, connect, and engage with the words of our Hebrew prophets alongside Torah itself! No experience required.
Our ongoing HIV+ Support Group known as the Kol Amigos. Facilitated by Rabbi Eger, this confidential group is open only to those with HIV/AIDS. REGISTER HERE
Grab your best beachwear and get ready to go "Surfin' USA" with Congregation Kol Ami this Purim with our Beach Boys Purim Celebration! We'll come together for a fun evening filled with the music of the Beach Boys and a special retelling of the Purim story along with a megillah reading by our community members. Bring your sunglasses and get ready to kick back and enjoy some "Good Vibrations"! There will be $20 per person dinner from Al Basch. REGISTER HERE
We hope you'll join Rabbi Levy for the next installment of his series of adult education classes focusing on the five different megillot (scrolls) that are read over the course of the Jewish holiday calendar. Naturally, the book of Esther is read on Purim since it describes the founding of this holiday, but there are many aspects of this book we don't often explore amidst the joy and celebration. This class will give an overview of the book of Esther, its particular quirks, and how it has been interpreted over the ages.
Join Student Rabbi Frankie Salzman for a two-session exploration of gender.
In what ways did the early rabbis understand gender? What rabbinic stories challenge the idea of gender being binary? How do contemporary Jewish thinkers approach the topic of gender? Discuss these questions and investigate your own relationship to gender using Judaism as a guide.
This is open to everyone interested in learning, reflecting, and growing.
Shabbat Scholar in Residence Dr. Michal Bar-Asher Siegal with Lunch
Saturday, April 1, 2023 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Dr. Michal Bar-Asher Siegal is a scholar of rabbinic Judaism. Her work focuses on aspects of Jewish-Christian interactions in the ancient world, and compares early Christian and rabbinic sources. She is a faculty member at the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and she was an elected member of the Israel Young Academy of Sciences. During the 2022-2023 academic year, she is the Horace Goldsmith Visiting Professor in Judaic Studies at Yale University. Her first book is Early Christian Monastic Literature and the Babylonian Talmud (Cambridge University Press, 2013; winner of the 2014 Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award). Her second book is Jewish-Christian Dialogues on Scripture in Late Antiquity: Heretic Narratives of the Babylonian Talmud (Cambridge University Press, 2019; finalist, National Jewish Book Award, 2019).
Special exhibit: Auschwitz: Not Long Ago and Not Far Away
Sunday, April 16, 2023 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM
In observance of Yom HaShoa, join Rabbi Eger and Rabbi Levy for a visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library to see the special exhibit: Auschwitz: Not Long Ago and Not Far Away. The only West Coast exhibit of its kind. For the first time in history, this Auschwitz exhibition, co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Spanish company Musealia, is traveling to the Reagan Library to show an extraordinary collection of more than 700 original artifacts of inestimable historic and human value, that bears direct witness to one of the darkest chapters of humankind.
Kol Ami has reserved 18 tickets for Sunday, April 16, 2023, at 1:00 PM. The price of the ticket is a special group price, $28 a person, this price includes the special audio headset. REGISTER HERE
The LA County Department of Health is recommending wearing a mask indoors. While they have not yet required it, in recent weeks there has been a significant uptick in COVID-19 cases in LA County combined with a significant flu outbreak and Respiratory Virus.
LA County is experiencing high rates of COVID-19, flu, and RSV. These three respiratory illnesses can all cause severe illness. Until respiratory illness rates decline, everyone ages 2 and older is now advised to wear a mask in indoor public spaces to both protect workers and avoid getting sick and spreading these viruses this winter and holiday season. Indoor public places include public transportation and transit hubs, retail stores, event venues, schools, and worksites when around others.
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, Dr. Aaron Aronow, Tim Jordan, Heidi Kebbas, Addie Lelyveld, Cantor Patti Linksy, Peter Mackler, Michael Prince, Keith Rand, Ivan Rosenberg, Richard Ross, Lowell Selvin, Miles Senn, Karen Shanbrom
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.
