MARCH MADNESS from Lev Eisha

A joyous community of Jewish women engaged in prayer,

study, and spiritual growth

LEV GOES LIVE!

LEV EISHA RETURNS TO IN-PERSON SHABBAT SERVICES!

Come pray, sing, and schmooze together IN PERSON

at Beth Shir Shalom in the sanctuary

Services led by Rabbi Toba August and Cindy Paley

Saturday, March 5, 10am-Noon

We will be indoors in the sanctuary at Beth Shir Shalom. The synagogue has upgraded their internal ventilation system to comply with COVID regulations. Masks must be worn at all times, and PROOF OF VACCINATION IS REQUIRED. Please plan to arrive early to get checked in.

NOTE: We will not have a kiddush after services, but we will have a little Purim treat for everybody.

Please register to attend the in-person service so we know approximately how many people are attending. This is not required but is very helpful to us in planning our service. Register HERE.

We greatly appreciate your donations to help us provide this in-person service plus the livestream. Donate to support Lev Eisha HERE.

If you cannot attend in person, you can still watch services virtually at home. You can get the livestream link on the day of the service by going to our website, www.leveisha.org.

Shalom Lev Women! We are delighted to be safely back in person again! Hope to see you at Beth Shir Shalom this Shabbat for Purim fun for our upcoming holiday, Shabbat tefillah, and Torah reading.

The Parshah this week, Pekudei, is about creating community, as the ancient Israelites complete the building of the Tabernacle. When Moses and the people completed the work, “The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the Presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.” Through their sacred efforts, the Israelites became a Holy Community worthy of God’s indwelling presence, the Shechinah, in their midst.

As we gather in person and do our work of prayer, song, meditation, dance and connection, we too will bring the Shechinah into our midst. Join us!

Rabbi 's Reflections

Putin, Purim and Power

By Rabbi August

Both of my maternal grandparents were born and raised in the Ukraine. My Bubbie told us harrowing stories of Cossacks (military men on horseback carrying large swords) who rode through her town killing her friends and family members. My grandparents were part of the two million Jews who migrated from mainly Ukrainian lands to North America from 1881-1914, escaping antisemitism, pogroms and poverty.

Both Bubbie and Zaide told me repeatedly to be grateful for the freedom of living in the USA, and to never take it for granted. I pray for the Ukrainian people who have overcome a dark history to become a more tolerant and democratic state. I have included a prayer for their safety below.

In two weeks we celebrate the holiday of Purim. Though a joyous, raucous time for the children, its darker themes parallel our historical moments.

The book of Esther is a comedy and its characters behave in ludicrous and farcical ways. The king, with his unwieldy name of Ahasveirosh, is a dull-witted despot, who with the flick of his pen can order the murder of thousands of his country’s Jewish citizens. He is an absolute monarch and gets whatever he wants. When he is refused something, he sulks and seeks revenge. Ahasveirosh is an arrogant narcissist and shows little interest in ruling his country with concern for the betterment of its inhabitants.

Preparing for Purim, I became acutely aware of the comparison between Achasveirosh and President Vladimir Putin. Both operate from an egotistical, nihilistic perspective, concerned only with their own grievances and when refused what they desire, seek revenge. Both characters, Purim’s Achasveirosh and Russian’s war mongering president Putin, represent absolute power. We must ask, what is it besides military might which constitutes strength and authority in the world?

Our Jewish tradition has the answer in Pirkei Avot, a first century Rabbinic text of wisdom. “Who is a truly powerful person?” it asks. The response is, “A truly powerful individual is one who is able to master himself or herself, to act always in consonance with his or her own moral values.”

Putin is a depraved killer, a thug and liar, who, like the king of our Purim story, yields power with impunity. Both display no regard toward the suffering and death of the thousands affected by their ruthless actions. It is the power of might, without morals or any concession to ethical behavior. We condemn such behavior completely and it has no place in our world. Ultimately, the evil king in our Purim story was outwitted by Queen Esther, who saved her people from annihilation. If only she could do so today and end the terrible invasion of the Ukraine.

The Ukrainians need our support. Click HERE for a link to help the Jewish Ukrainian communities. Our prayers help us keep our resolve and remind us to hold the desperate Ukrainian people in our hearts.

AMEN.

A Prayer of Peace for the People of Ukraine

by Rabbi Naomi Levy

God, Our hearts are with all the people of Ukraine,

Its president, Volodymyr Zelensky,

And with our Jewish brothers and sisters in Ukraine

200,000 souls

Who crouch in fear

As the sound of sirens and bombs pierces the air.

Synagogues once filled with songs of celebration

Have become makeshift shelters.

Echoes of the Holocaust reverberate,

The memory of the one and a half million

Martyred Ukrainian Jews.

God, we pray that the panic in the streets of Ukraine

Will give way to the sound of children playing,

And the sound of sirens will give way to songs of hope.

We pray that the world community will unite

And cause the Russian army to retreat.

We pray for no more violence

Or bloodshed

And we pray that diplomacy

Will be the path to peace.

Hear our prayers, God,

Hear the prayers of the mothers and fathers,

the prayers of the children

longing for safety.

God, our Shelter,

Bring peace.

Let it rain down from the heavens like a mighty storm.

Let it wash away all hatred and bloodshed.

Peace, God. Please, God. Amen.

Rabbi Naomi Levy

Founder of Nashuva – an LA spiritual community

Author of Einstein and the Rabbi

Thank You to Our Donors

Many thanks to our donors, whose contributions are helping provide Zoom events during these challenging times. Also thank you to those who are donating in honor and memory of loved ones, and those who donated to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund.

Lynn Beliak

Carol Burns

Nancy Federman

Sara Fields

Hannah Ganezer

Leslie Geffen

Gloria Gesas

Myrna Kayton

We greatly appreciate your donations to help us provide

both in-person services plus the livestream.

Donate to support Lev Eisha HERE.

DONATE

Please note our mailing address:

11270 Exposition Blvd., Box 64256, Los Angeles, CA 90066-9998

CALENDAR FOR 2021-22

Hopefully the remainder of services this year will be in person.

March 5, 2022

April 2, 2022

May 7, 2022

June 4, 2022

(Please note: DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Lev Eisha Travel Totes

Free with donation of $36 or more!

These fashionable totes pack into pocket-sized pouches so you can show your love for Lev everywhere you go, if you've made a donation of $36 or more.

Limited one tote per donation.

2021-2022 Board of Directors

President: Carolyn Wispe Burns

Treasurer: Ruth Grossman

Recording Secretary: Wendy Aleman

Corresponding Secretary: Leslie Geffen

Membership: Robin Winston

Catering: Lynn Beliak

Ritual: Judy Fishman

Hospitality: Joan Spiegel

Newsletter: Rose Ziff

Outreach: Gail Heim

Past Presidents: Barbara Brown, Susie Yuré

Advisory Council

Janis Cohen

Linda Zweig

Holly Zucker

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