FEATURED EVENTS
02.08.12 Community of Elders Wednesdays at the Temple Full Day On the second Wednesday of the month - LBT’s Community of Elders offers classes and interactive presentations in the morning, followed by a bag lunch, and choice of Yoga with Norm Gee or Fun & Games.
FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH . . . Arrive at 9:30am for coffee, tea, fruit - followed by:
10:00 - 11:15 CLASS with Bob Farrell, Freedom Rider and former Los Angeles City Council member for 17 years, speaking on: LA City Council . . . Then and Now.
11:30 - 12:30 CONVERSATION with Sandy Banks, Los Angeles Times journalist, activist/writer.
Then stay the afternoon for a 12:30 Bring Your Own Bag Lunch (Dessert & Coffee provided)
1:30 - 3:00 Yoga with Norm Gee (for ALL ages) OR
1:30 - 3:00 Fun and Games: Stay the day and play bridge, Scrabble or enjoy our lending library of books.
02.09.12 Research Training Action Community Organizing at LBT is taking off! "Research Training Action" takes place Thursday, February 9, 7:00-9:00pm at Leo Baeck Temple. Join us as we launch the research phase of our work. For the next two months we will be researching opportunities for strategic action on the economy, education and health care system, at the local and state level, with a goal of finding the most strategic focus for our campaign. Then, mark your calendar for Contact us by email at
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or call the temple office at 310.476.2861 to let us know to expect you.
02.09.12 People of the Book Club Join us for our monthly meetings on the second Thursday at 7:30pm in the LBT Community Lounge.
Book title for February 9 - The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II by John E. Nevola. All are welcome.
For March 8 begin reading The Last Resort by Douglas Rogers.
02.10.12 Shabbat Evening Service / Scholar-in-Residence with Professor Daniel C. Matt - "Shekhinah: the Feminine Half of God" (see details below and on 2/11 and 2/12)
Each year, since 1980, an outstanding scholar visits Leo Baeck Temple for a weekend of study and discussion. Join us this year, as we welcome our 2012 Scholar-in-Residence: Professor Daniel C. Matt
Topic: From Kabbalah to the Big Bang: Ancient Wisdom and Contemporary Spirituality
Professor Matt will introduce us to some of the central themes of Kabbalah. On Friday night he will focus on the concept of Shekhinah (the feminine aspect of God) in the context of Shabbat. In his subsequent presentations, he will show how the Zohar interprets and reimagines the Torah, and how the mystical tradition enables us to discover God in the material world. Finally, he will address the question of “God and the Big Bang,” exploring parallels between Kabbalah and contemporary cosmology, and seeking to find harmony between science and spirituality. Please see the February/March Bulletin (page 5) for additional information and to register.
02.11.12 Scholar-in-Residence Program with Professor Daniel C. Matt
Kabbalah to the Big Bang: Ancient Wisdom and Contemporary Spirituality
Shabbat Morning Minyan / Session One 9:30-12:00 Join our Shabbat morning minyan for song, prayer, and learning, as Professor Matt teaches a passage from the Zohar on the Shabbat Torah portion. Minyan is followed by a vegetarian potluch Kiddush lunch.
Session Two 1:30-3:00 The Mystical Meaning of Torah
Session Three 3:15-4:45 Raising the Sparks: Finding God in the Material World
Havdalah 5:00
See 2/10 and 2/12 for additional topic information. Go to page 5 of the February/March Bulletin to attend Saturday's program.
02.12.12 Scholar-in-Residence Program with Professor Daniel C. Matt
From Kabbalah to the Big Bang: Ancient Wisdom and Contemporary Spirituality
On Sunday morning - Session Four 9:30-11:30, Professor Matt will address the question of “God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony Between Science and Spirituality.” Please see 2/10 and 2/11 for additional topic details; to register go to page 5 of the February/March Bulletin.
Temple President
Lori Stein
President
Lori Stein joined Leo Baeck Temple in 2003. Along with her family, she has been deeply engaged in synagogue life ever since. Prior to becoming President elect, Lori served on LBT’s Board of Trustees for three years, and was the VP of Communications. She participated in the Jewish Federations’s Synagogue Leadership Institute, and was in the first Adult B’nai Mitzvah cohort lead by Rabbi Chasen. Lori served as Chair of the Youth Education Committee and then as Chair of “Reimagine Education,” a program of the URJ to re-design K-7 learning to forge strong Jewish identity. Along with past president Laurie Sobelman, she co-chaired the recent Assistant Rabbi search committee. Lori has been deeply involved in social action projects at LBT, including organizing and participating in trips to help the rebuilding effort in the Gulf Coast, and serves on the leadership team of LBT’s Community Based Congregational Organizing project. She joined several of her predecessors on the leadership team of LBT’s Israel Matters initiative.
Lori and her husband Bob Welsh are the delighted parents of Jason (16), a Milken Community High School student, and Brian (31), President of Overbridge Productions.
Jeff Mirkin
Immediate Past President
Jeff Mirkin was President of Leo Baeck Temple from May of 2008 through May 2011.
In the first year of his three-year term, Jeff oversaw the completion of the new Synagogue Center, as well as the hiring of two new clergy members, Rabbi Rachel Timoner and Cantor Linda Kates. In Jeff’s eyes, LBT now has one of the strongest clergy teams in the city. Jeff had been on the Board of Trustees for the five years prior to being asked to serve as President. Prior to that he had been responsible for managing and growing the yearly Annual Fund drive and was, and continues to be a co-chair of the Lech L’cha Capital Campaign.
Jeff is the President of Budget Rent a Car of Southern California (SoCal). Budget Rent a Car was founded by his father, Morrie Mirkin, in 1958. The national corporation was sold to Transamerica in 1968, but the family kept the rights to Southern California. Jeff took over as President when his dad passed away in 1985.
Jeff and his wife, Allison, have been married since 1981, and they have four beautiful children. Matthew (26), a graduate of Lehigh University, recently joined Jeff in the family business. Stephanie (25), a graduate of Bucknell University, works for Princeton Project 55, a non-profit associated with Princeton University. Ryan (23) is in his fourth of five years at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Nick (19) is a freshman at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.