August 28 2020 l 8 Elul 5780
CONGREGATION BEIT T'SHUVAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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It's that time again! Join us for our virtual High Holidays and renew your commitment to BTS by becoming a member!
Tickets for High Holiday services are included in membership dues.
Click here to renew your membership and/or purchase tickets.
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JOIN US WEEKLY FOR SHABBAT SERVICES-VIRTUALLY!
FRIDAY NIGHT- 6:30PM
SATURDAY MORNING- 10:30AM
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*NEW ZOOM PROTOCOLS: Effective July 24th, all zoom community programming for Beit T'Shuvah will have the waiting room function enabled, as well as other new security measures to ensure the safety of our community. If you need assistance with getting on to our virtual programming, please contact Max Hahn. To view all of our upcoming virtual events, please click here.
*Please make sure your full name is associated with your zoom account to ensure entry into virtual programming*
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Dear Congregants,
I decided to take the week off and do a “staycation” to take care of some things around the house. The week has been relatively the same as the week before…grey L.A. summer days, another political convention, another “peaceful protest”, another update by our governor and, to make matters worse, sports boycotts.
Then I got a report about memberships and renewals. Memberships and renewals have been coming into Beit T’Shuvah and that made me smile. We are grateful for your continued support of Torah, recovery, and community at Beit T’Shuvah.
If you have not yet joined, we invite you to become a part of our community and if you are a member and haven’t yet renewed, we invite you to do so. We need each other so that the world won’t continue to be so “ordinary.” Let’s work on making it better together…in 5781.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Micha'el
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THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION
By: Rabbi Miriam Green-Potok
Parashat Ki Teitzei
As we continue our annual Torah reading cycle through the Book of Deuteronomy, the fifth of the five books of the Torah, we look ahead toward Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, holidays that are quickly approaching on time’s horizon. This week’s parashah, Ki Teitzei, contains a collection of miscellaneous laws - as if the Torah is reminding us of these last important things before the Book of Deuteronomy concludes, before we begin our Torah reading cycle anew.
One of these laws, the instruction on what to do with a rebellious child, has challenged scholars throughout the centuries, and has particular significance for us: a community of grown-up rebellious children who have made t’shuvah; who have gone through dark times and made our way back to a righteous path.
If a man has a wayward and defiant son, who does not heed his father or mother and does not obey them even after they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the public place of the community. They shall say to the elders of his town, “This son of ours is disloyal and defiant; he does not heed us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Thereupon the men of his town shall stone him to death. Thus you will...click here to read more.
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Austin O. for one year of sobriety.
Molly W. for one year of sobriety.
DJ in absentia for 5 years of sobriety.
We are still celebrating birthdays each week on Zoom!
To sign up to take a Sober Birthday cake at Beit T'Shuvah, click here.
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We honor our amazing mother, Charlotte, on her 96th birthday! Mom, you take the cake! Keep coming back...sober! Love, every last member of the Kamenir, Reznik, and Siegel family!
In honor of my wonderful husband, Paul, on the occasion of our 53rd anniversary.. Love, Andrea
By Kim Birnbaum in memory of Elias Birnbaum: The song is ended but the melody lingers on. You are missed every moment of every day.
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If you would like to sponsor shabbat at
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Check out the BTS Thrift Store’s new e-commerce website. We have a wide range of items starting as low as $15! Shop, donate and share with your friends. *Shipping is available upon request*
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OUR SINCEREST CONDOLENCES |
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... to Rabbi Kerry Chaplin and her family, on the loss of her grandmother Shirley Chaplin
If you are interested in sending a beautiful tribute, please contact Development . You can also send a tribute online by Clicking Here. Beit T'Shuvah will promptly send a card to the family or friend you are recognizing.
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Tribute donations are a wonderful way of marking life cycle events for your loved ones and friends and supporting Beit T'Shuvah.
Vita Barth in honor of Leah Pavone
Evelyn Whitehill in honor of Rabbi Kerry Chaplin
Arlene Zweben in memory of Arnold Familian
Rhonda & Bradley Snyder in memory of Marisa Weiss
Bonnie & Fred Glantz in memory of Marisa Weiss
Beverly &Herbert Sturman in memory of Marisa Weiss
Nona L. Abrams in memory of Sam Spitz
Shelly Phillips in memory of Sam Spitz
If you are interested in sending a beautiful tribute, please contact Development . You can also send a tribute online by Clicking Here. Beit T'Shuvah will promptly send a card to the family or friend you are recognizing.
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THIS WEEK'S SPOTLIGHT
Oleg B.
By Darrah S.
“Did I mention to you how I became blind in my right eye?” Oleg B. asks, about midway through our interview. I shake my head. He tells me that on his way to Palm Springs in the middle of the night, he was punching himself repeatedly in the face to avoid falling asleep on the road. He was high on meth, he says, but not high enough–he was coming down, exhaustion tugging him towards slumber. Punch after punch, Oleg rejected its advances.
The initial plan was to go to rehab in Palm Springs, but somehow he found himself soliciting drugs in a casino instead. Having just been released from prison, he tells me he was feeling like a bona fide “gangster”. But the would-be dealers robbed him at gunpoint and left him in the middle of the desert.
You might be surprised to hear that until the age of 32, Oleg B. was a prosperous business owner and self-described “square” living a traditional nuclear family lifestyle. By the age of 24, he was the married father of two children and a licensed optometric technician. He regarded alcohol with indifference and had never touched any other substances, not even marijuana. In his early thirties, he hired a personal trainer, which would ultimately turn out...click here to continue reading.
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Join us this year for livestreamed, interactive services you won't forget. Leave behind your old notions of High Holidays as mandatory and monotonous. At Congregation Beit T’Shuvah, the number one concern is uplifting your soul (even from your couch).
Tickets for High Holiday services are included in membership dues. If you would like to simply purchase tickets for this year’s virtual service, tickets are a suggested donation of $36 per person, per service.
Click here to renew your membership and/or purchase tickets.
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Join us Saturday September 12th from 8pm-9pm for Selichot, Beit T'Shuvah style in conjunction with Ikar.
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Adult Ed: Building a Spiritual Program |
Join Rabbis Miriam Green Potok and Matt Shapiro for an interactive exploration of how to create, build, and sustain a program of spiritual connection in preparation for the High Holiday season. We’re going to need all the tools we can find as we head into this next year - join us in exploring the resources of our tradition as we do this work together in rich, meaningful, and deep ways!
6 Tuesdays, 8/4-9/8, 7:30pm
Please e-mail Jillian Coventry for zoom link - it will not be posted! *to ensure access to virtual programming, please make sure your full name is associated with your zoom account.
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Beit T’Shuvah Custom Masks are Here! |
Stay safe while supporting Beit T’Shuvah with masks custom made by Creative Matters. Perfect gifts for alumni, staff, residents, people in recovery or community members!
$10 per mask
Designs:
One Day At A Time
In This Together
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BTS Zoom Family Support Group! Whether your loved one is still in treatment or they have already moved on to the next chapter of their journey, we would like to provide a platform in which families get to talk about their shared experiences and wisdom.
This group is for families of our current and former residents, no need to RSVP, just drop in!
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Friday night services held via zoom at 6:30pm PT.
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Saturday Morning Services |
Saturday morning Prayer and Meditation at 10:30am PT.
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Come learn on Saturday mornings at 9:30am PT with Rabbi Micha'el Akiba.
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Baked T'Shuvah's founder Jackie Elkins is licensed by the state and you can now order the Baked T'Shuvah challah you know and love!
Pick up at BTS. Must prepay.
Available flavors: Plain, Chocolate Chip, Salted Caramel or Raisin. Contact Amy Abrams to place your order - orders need to be placed no later than Wednesday!
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We are still celebrating birthdays each week on our Shabbat Zoom.
To sign up to take a cake, please contact Jillian.
If you missed celebrating your birthday this year and would still like to take a cake via Zoom, contact Jillian.
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Life in Uncertain Times: Coping Strategies Before, During, and After Corona. With Rabbi Joseph. Mondays from 12-1pm PT/3-4pm ET.
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#NotMyCorona. Recovery-Minded Spiritual Learning with Beit T’Shuvah and the T’Shuvah Center. Wednesdays. 1pm PT/4pm ET.
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BTS community AA meeting: Thursdays at 7pm.
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Beit T’Shuvah and the Elaine Breslow Institute invite you participate in this spiritual challenge!
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Thursdays. 9-9:30am PT/12-12:30pm ET.
A powerful kaddish experience led by the Lab/Shul community. They have invited our Beit T’Shuvah community to join them.
https://labshul.org/event/virtual-mourners-kaddish-call/2019-08-29/
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Past newsletters are now available online. Please click here to view.
For anyone that shops at Ralphs, please consider registering your phone with their community care program and select Beit T'Shuvah as your charity.
For anyone that purchases items on Amazon, all you have to do is go to Amazon Smile and choose Beit T'Shuvah as your charity and a percentage of each purchase will be given back to us.
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