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BULLETIN Volume 103, Number 10 • November 2016 Reflections of Our Ancestors

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BULLETIN Volume 103, Number 10 • November 2016 Reflections of Our Ancestors WILSHIRE BOULEVARD TEMPLE BULLETIN Volume 103, Number 10 • November 2016 Reflections of Our Ancestors he Temple’s current art exhibit, I See Myself in You: TReflections of our Ancestors, added an intimate, visual dimension to our High Holy Days experience with photographs and portraits from the personal collections of Wilshire Boulevard Temple family members. The curated display opened in September in the central hallway in between the Mitchell Promenade and the Irmas Family Courtyard at the Glazer Campus (eastside) to coincide with this season of introspection, contemplation, reflection, and inspiration. Many who walked through the gallery during the High Holy Days remarked that it felt like they were wandering through a home. The faces of our ancestors, their expressions, their wardrobe, the settings—all preserved in these photographs—appear as reflections of ourselves and of our children, of those whose memories are a blessing, and of those whose legacies are our treasures. A special thank you to the congregants who submitted photographs for this exhibition! At a time of year when we consider the present, look to the future, and reflect on the past, the images inI See Myself in You: Reflections of Our Ancestors tell many stories and invite us to see the best of ourselves. If you did not visit the exhibit during the These walls are filled with the faces of our ancestors, guiding us to reflect on High Holy Days, it will be on display through November 30. ourselves, our future, and our past. This Month ELIE WIESEL SALON SHABBAT: BOOK FAIR 2016 In Remembrance More on page 7 NOVEMBER 15-18 Friday, November 18 Sunday, November 20 Tuesday-Friday, November 15-18 Irmas Campus Glazer Campus More on page 7 WBTLA.ORG/BOOKFAIRGlazer and Irmas Campuses More on page 4 6:00 p.m. 12:30 p.m. Torah Portion Righteousness after the Flood Noah Genesis 6:9-11:32 oah is living in a time of great corruption and rampant up to 31 inches of water doused the state in what some are Nlawlessness. Humans have turned their backs on one calling a 1,000-year flood.” Homes and lives were devastated another and are narcissistic and self-absorbed. This leads by this flood. The Jewish people’s legacy of righteousness to God’s disillusionment with humanity, deciding that no and choice to walk with God compelled individuals from one is worth saving—except Noah, who alone possesses the Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s Disaster Response Team to redeeming qualities of righteousness and wholeheartedness. bring hope to those impacted by the flood. Our volunteers Following the great flood that wiped out humanity, walked for a few days on mildew-encrusted floorboards and the quality of righteousness survives with Noah’s lineage. handled mold-saturated insulation. They chose to engage God realizes that in order for the next generation of in backbreaking labor to ensure that our world and our Abraham to meet with success—as the first generation of humanity continue to be leading character traits that compel Jews did—human nature must be grounded in a desire us to act (see more about the trip on page 6). for righteousness. Have we sustained this legacy of The lesson and challenge ofparashat Noah is to find righteousness? Do we, like Noah, walk with God? opportunities for righteousness and wholeheartedness in On September 2, 2016, The Wall Street Journal today’s world. Unlike those in the time of Noah, we need not published: “On the 11th day of the eighth month, the wait for a 1,000-year flood to act in humane ways that inspire floodgates of the heavens opened over Louisiana. others to strive toward righteousness. Rain fell for 32 consecutive hours, and in two days Rabbi Elissa Ben-Naim Volunteer Scott Cunningham, “Navigator” cott Cunningham has been doing for granted,” he said. “Initially you’re dealing with people who Sothers as long as he can remember, have food needs, then once a bit of trust is built, you find out from his youth in Alabama to his law that there are other needs.” school time in Chicago to his career Resolving issues has always been part of his DNA, years in Atlanta, Birmingham, and now he said. It’s been only recently, however, that his DNA Los Angeles. This sense of community has “changed.” Cunningham grew up Protestant with a brought him to Wilshire Boulevard yearning for spiritually something more. While working in Scott Cunningham Temple and the Karsh Family Social Birmingham at a family business, he began studying Judaism Service Center, where he volunteers as a at Temple Emanu-El, and last February he converted. “I’m a “navigator,” helping to assess which services clients need, and new Jew,” he said proudly. making sure they are provided. He came to realize that the next chapter in his life was to At least, that’s what navigators are supposed to do. be elsewhere, and once Cunningham decided to move to L.A., Cunningham, 44, has taken it a step further. For example, his Birmingham rabbi recommended Wilshire Boulevard through his work at the Karsh Center, he learned about Temple, telling him, “They do a lot of social justice initiatives, several single-parent families who, because of illness, needed and it’s a great place to go.” We’re happy he listened. food delivered; for the past few months, he has been packing and delivering food to them every Friday. Cunningham For more information on the Karsh Center and found that a family’s food insecurities may be just one part of volunteer opportunities, visit karshcenter.org or contact its social services’ needs. “It’s amazing, the things we take for Stephanie Bressler at [email protected]. 2 Glazer and Mann Early Childhood Centers Picnicking Sukkot Style nderneath student-decorated sukkahs, the families of Jason Mesches on guitar, ruled the day. Around the sukkah, Uthe Early Childhood Centers came together to usher we enjoyed the sights of the clay nature prints created by the in the new school year and celebrate the holiday of Sukkot. children in their atelier (art studio). Joined by Rabbi Shapiro At the annual Sukkot Picnic, which took place at the Erika and Rabbi Eshel, we engaged other senses by partaking in the J. Glazer ECC on October 19 and at the Mann Family ECC holiday traditions of shaking the lulav and smelling the etrog. on October 20, families experienced the holiday through To honor the concept of harvest, a Farmers Market stand was food, music, and fun activities. At the Glazer Campus, we set up and offered fresh seasonal fruit to take home in reusable partnered with Brawerman Elementary School East to share bags that the children in the festivities. had decorated. We had a great time celebrating Sukkot During the events, holiday spirit and songs, together. accompanied by music specialists Ari Kaplan and Brawerman Elementary School Exciting Fall Enrichments ribbling, passing, innovating, product marketing, robot is the creator of and instructor for Bizainy, in which Dracing, script writing, costume designing, strategizing, schoolchildren become entrepreneurs delving into such team building, shark dissecting, sanding, drilling, sawing, business topics as negotiation, focus groups, logo creation and singing and dancing to The Lion King are just some of and marketing campaigns, new product development, and what one would see when walking through the hallways Invention Conventions. of the Brawerman Elementary School campuses. Activities Participants are excited with the creative and hands-on offered for the fall enrichment program include Lego projects these enrichment programs offer. Students expand their Robotics, Marine and Wildlife Biology, Woodworking, horizons while pursuing personal interests—and have a great Musical Theater, and Cinemagic. deal of fun in the process. It is not odd to hear a Grade 2 student exclaim, “I can’t wait to create a business!” This just means that the student has discovered Bizainy. Temple member Carolyn Enenstein 3 Camps One Teen’s Journey to Israel This past summer, 55 teens from Camp Hess Kramer and beast, but I was aware of my mother and grandpa motivating me, Gindling Hilltop Camp spent a transformative four weeks in Israel. and knew that my group was there to support me. As we scaled For many of these youths, this experience would not have been the mountain, it got tougher and tougher. At one point we were possible without the generosity of those who contributed to our Israel climbing almost vertically, hanging on to the guardrail for dear Scholarship Fund. The following is a recollection from one recipient: life. We leaned on one another, literally and figuratively, and our a.m. wake up after sleeping under the stars. It was Mount pulled through as a community. FShlomo day, one of the most difficult climbs of our four- Though exhausted, our group celebrated at the top with day Negev experience. Our counselors handed out Sharpies and hugs and photos. As a final activity, our counselor brought out asked us to write down on our forearms the names of people who onions and lemons. She told us we should never forget this inspired us. After long thought, I remembered the reason I was moment and instructed us to take a bite! Thinking she was crazy, there: my mother had worked endlessly with scholarship funds I sank my teeth into that onion—and understood. I will forever to get me to the Holy Land. I put her name down, along with remember and cherish the feeling of being on top of Shlomo, my late grandpa’s, who would have been thrilled to know I was and on top of the world.
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