A joyous community of Jewish women e ngaged in
prayer, study and spiritual growth  

May 2017
Our next service will be Saturday, May 6
 May Mishegas
We are in the in-between time and are counting upwards from Passover where we left slavery,  to Shavuot, when we receive the 10 Commandments.
 
How do we use this time in between?  For many of us, if we are waiting for appointments, for an event or for services  to begin, or if we simply have some extra time, we immediately go to our smartphones and start checking emails, texts and social media.
 
In the Jewish realm of time, the seven "in between" weeks is a time to check ourselves!  Examine your middot, your personality traits and behavior. We are in the fourth week of our Jewish counting, the week of "Netzach," meaning endurance, persistence and victory.
 
What are some things we can count on in our lives? Our Jewish heritage and our Torah are eternal, true, and represent an ultimate good. Being someone who others can count on makes us like a Torah. This week of our counting is about becoming dependable and clarifying the goals and actions you must take that lead you to an "enduring" dependability. 
 
Lev Eisha is one of the areas for you to be counted on. Be dependable! Be persistent! Show up!
 
We look forward to having you join us May 6th where we learn about counting the Omer, celebrate both Israel's Independence Day and Mother's Day, and have time to be present for each other.
 
Services start at 9:30 am, led by Rabbi August and Cantorial Soloist Cindy Paley. Readings are from the book of Leviticus. Our kiddush lunch is sponsored by Rabbi August in memory of the passing of Myna Gale's husband, Phillip Barnett, z"l; by Suzanne Schweiter in honor of her 50th anniversary, by Lynn Beliak in honor of the 95th birthday of her mother, Edith Balonoff; and by Barbara Goldstone, in memory of her husband, Bob Goldstone, z"l.
In This Issue
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310-575-0985

Lev Board of Directors
2016-2017

President-Janis Cohen
Treasurer-Ruth Grossman
Secretary-Wendy Aleman
Membership-Robin Winston
Catering: Lynn Beliak
Ritual-Judy Fishman
Hospitality-Joan Spiegel
Marketing-Rose Ziff
Outreach-Holly Zucker & Gail Heim
Past President-Barbara Brown
Women's Retreat-Linda Zweig
Welcome to Lev Eisha
A warm welcome to new members

Phyllis Henkin and Ronnie Rubin

We are only a few members away from reaching our goal of 120 for this year.  If you haven't already joined, now is a good time.  The 120th member will receive a special gift and an honor at a Lev service.  Click HERE to join!
We Are Grateful
Thank you to our generous donors:
  • Lillian Laskin, in honor of the birthdays of her husband, Herb, and her granddaughter, Matalie Antin.
  • Linda Pearlman
LEV EISHA CALENDAR 2017

Breakfast & Study at 8:15am - 9:25am
Services: 9:30am-12:00pm 
Kiddush immediately following services  
 

Only 2 more services until our summer break -
be sure to join us!

May 6 
June 3* 

 *Breakfast and teaching before services

Walk With Love  on May 21 - by Rachelle Neshkes
team-work  [ teem -wurk]  noun
1. A cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interest of a common cause.

In honor of the many sisters in our community who are or have been affected by breast cancer, either personally or through a loved one, we have decided to form a Lev Eisha team to Walk With Love on Sunday, May 21, 2017.  The costs of the event are all covered by the walk sponsors and every penny raised goes directly to the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation for innovative  breast cancer research .  The walk is a 5 km (3 m) walk through the beautiful neighborhood of Pacific Palisades.  The event starts at 8:30 a.m. from the Pacific Palisades Recreation Center.   Let your Lev Love shine as we walk together towards a future without breast cancer.  

How Do I Help?

Donating to our team is easy, and secure at the link below. You can also help us reach our goal by sharing this page on Facebook or Twitter. Or, email the link to friends you think might be interested in contributing.   Thank you for your support!

Click HERE to donate or join the Lev Eisha Team
Listen to Rabbi August Online!
Are you listening?  This is a reminder that we are offering a brand new feature so you can enjoy listening to Rabbi August's teachings on our website!  It's a wonderful way to revisit Rabbi's sermons - or hear them for the first time if you missed our Lev Eisha service. Please share your comments as we continue to enhance the special Lev Eisha experience. You will see an area for comment as you listen.

Click HERE to listen to Rabbi's December and February sermons.  You can also visit our website, HERE and click on the "Community" tab, where you will see a drop-down menu with "Teachings from Rabbi August." 

More sermons coming!
Who Do You "Belong To" for Mother's Day?
by Rabbi August
I heard an interesting radio show entitled, "What We Mean When We Say Hello," about regional conversation starters.

 Based on an article in the Atlantic magazine, the author said that while in Greenville, South Carolina, a follow up to "nice to meet you," is the question "Where do you go to church?"  She was offended by the question.

 Her readers responded that this is not rude, but meant as a 'social orientation' question, and really means, "Who are your people?" or "Where do you fit in?"  One reader said that in New Orleans after "hello," the next question is, "Who's your mama?" which is the local way of asking "Who are your people?"

With Mother's Day this month, I love the question of "Who is your mama?" and I wonder if we even know how to answer this question of who our people are? So many of us are transplants from other areas, with scattered families.

Who do we belong to? Who are our people?

We have many communities, don't we? If our families are not local, friendships we have made around our children, work, and play evolve - and the people we know become our extended families.

Join us in May at Lev Eisha, YOUR community of women, and celebrate the "mothers" in your life. Let's share our stories.
Happy Mother's Day!
As May is the month to celebrate mothers, here at Lev we would like to check in on our young mothers and their children, the youngestLev members. Pictured below are L yanna Rosenfeld (mom Rachelle is taking the pic) and Levi and Frankie Buchholtz with dad (pic taken by mom Suzanne).



We Are Grateful
Birthdays are a special time in our lives that we celebrate.  Each year is a  gift.

We, at Lev Eisha, love to celebrate. When you sponsor a kiddush or breakfast in honor of your birthday, we are able to provide the bountiful meals which everyone enjoys.  Please consider sharing your birthday with Lev Eisha. 

Please click HERE to donate on our website. Don't forget to complete the form online so we get all the information.

If you prefer to send a check, please send to: 
Lev Eisha
            10736 Jefferson Blvd  # 706
            Culver City, CA 90230
Be sure to include all the details of your sponsorship.

Payment must be received no later than the 20th of the month prior to the sponsorship, or we will not be able to recognize your sponsorship in the newsletter or seat flyer.

Questions?  Click HERE to contact Lynn, our Catering Chair.
            
Milestones

Condolences to one of our long time Lev Eisha members, Myrna Gale, on the death of her husband, Phillip Barnett, z"l, on Sunday April 23, 2017. May his memory be for blessing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY  to the following friends who are celebrating birthdays this month:  

Lydia Friedlich, Ruth Grossman, Phyllis Henkin, Julie Klee, Marilyn Minkle, Marcy Perlmutter, Irene Perer, Kate Rosloff, Suzanne Schweitzer, Stacey Serber, Maddie Steinberg,
Sandy Terranova.


I f you have a milestone to share please send it to Rose Ziff at  editor@leveisha.org. 
Birthdays, weddings, graduations, Bat or Bar Mitzvot, births, special awards/honors, and exotic vacations are some of the simchas that are fun to share with our community. 

This is also the place to ask our community to join you in prayers of healing for those who are ill or in memory of those who have passed away. 
Map & Directions
Lev Eisha Shabbat Services are held at Beth Shir Shalom,
1827 California Ave. Santa Monica, 90403

Directions:

To Beth Shir Shalom
Take the 405 Fwy North or South to the 10 Fwy Westbound.  
Exit the 10 Fwy at Cloverfield/26th Street 
Turn right onto Cloverfield.  
Turn left at Colorado. 
Turn right onto 20th Street.  Continue straight, past Wilshire, one block, to California. 
Turn left onto California Avenue.  Go 1-1/2 blocks. Beth Shir Shalom will be on the right.

To parking lot
Follow above directions to get to 20th Street and turn right.
Turn right at Wilshire. 
Parking lot will be on the right behind the V Lounge.  (See map below)
LOOK FOR THE PURPLE BALLOONS!




Welcome to Lev Eisha, a spiritual prayer service by and for women.  B'ruchot Ha'baot - we invite you to join us with great blessing.  We provide a joyous environment with opportunities for soulful prayer, energetic song and dance, deep Jewish study, and meditation.  Each person, in their own way, finds what they need for their personal and spiritual growth at Lev Eisha.

  

What makes our community so unique? The answer is reflected in our name. "Lev" means heart, and "Eisha" means woman.  When women come together with open hearts, we figuratively hold each others' hearts in profound acceptance, understanding and love.

  

Join us and support Lev Eisha. By attending you are giving yourself the greatest gift; time for yourself, a "spiritual fix" to keep you balanced and centered for the month. Lev Eisha will transform your Jewish  soul.