1 Shevat ● Parshat Va’era ● Rosh Chodesh Shevat
SHABBAT SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, January 27
5:00 pm CANDLE LIGHTING
5:05 pm
MINCHA/KABBALAT SHABBAT
SATURDAY, January 28
8:15 am
RABBI’S GEMARA SHIUR
9:00 am
SHACHARIT
4:15 pm
Pre-Mincha Shiur
5:00 pm
MINCHA
5:20 pm
SEUDAH SHLISHIT
6:00 pm
MAARIV
6:05 pm
SHABBAT ENDS
PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN SHABBAT TIMES
Gemara Shiur Begins at 8:15am
Shacharit Begins at 9:00am
Weekday Davening Times
Sunday Jan 29
Monday Jan. 30
Tuesday Jan. 31
Wednesday Feb. 1
Thursday Feb. 2
Friday Feb. 3
8:00am & 5:05pm
6:20am & 5:05pm
6:30am & 5:05pm
6:30am & 5:05pm
6:20am & 5:05pm
6:30am & 5:10pm
SHABBAT SCHEDULE FOR KIDS
10:00
Free play, games & books.
10:50
Parsha story & questions
11:10
Into shul to kiss the Torah
11:15
Circle time - davening, singing,
Shabbat songs & games.
12:00
Kids service ends
Rabbi Aryeh and Sharona Kaplan
OU Sponsored JLIC
Chaplains at UCLA
who are joining us for
our 7th annual JLIC
UCLA Shabbaton!
Welcome to UCLA
Students! The
Kaplans will be
speaking during the
Kiddush luncheon.
Ed & Cecile Gromis
for sponsoring Kiddush
luncheon this week in honor
of Ed’s mother, Chana Bat
Moshe’s, yahrtzeit and their
son Daniel’s Birthday!
Dearest Members and Friends,
January 27-28 2017
This past Monday I arrived in Israel to begin a whirlwind tour with thirty millennial
Evangelical pastors from across the United States, all but two of them on their first visit to
Israel. The experience was both breathtaking and heartwarming. None of the pastors on
the mission was a seasoned “Christian Zionist”, but bubbling below the surface of each
and every one of them was a passion for the Bible, for the land of the Bible, and for the
People of the Book, that puts our own religious feelings towards Israel to shame. We have
a lot to learn from our Christian brethren, and we would do well to learn it.
There were many highlights on the trip – too many to fit into this short dispatch.
Instead I would like to use the limited space to focus on Jerusalem, and particularly our visit to Temple
Mount, and alongside that to reflect on the ongoing debate and discussion in diplomatic circles and the
media about moving the United States Embassy to Jerusalem.
You can hardly swing a cat in the holy city and its environs without hitting a holy shrine or an
archaeological dig that is deeply meaningful to one religion or another – or, indeed, to all of them. We
visited many such holy sites, and must have certainly passed many others unknowingly – seemingly
meaningless piles of collapsed masonry covered in moss flashing past our eyes as we drove from one
place to another. Some of the sites we visited seemed more authentic than others, and a spiritual vibe
seemed to animate those places, while others seemed contrived and inauthentic, leaving us unmoved
and occasionally disappointed.
There was only one site we visited that made us all angry. On Wednesday morning we patiently
waited in line at the security booth next to the Western Wall, and after a few minutes walked up the
temporary wooden walkway onto Temple Mount. Our hour-long visit was an exercise in frustration and
disillusionment. We were all immediately struck by the shabby condition of this ancient site. Believe it or
not, wherever you look it is dirty and grubby, and all the buildings are in an absolutely dreadful
condition – including, shockingly, the two mosques, ostensibly the third holiest prayer shrines of the
Islamic faith.
I have seen Temple Mount from afar thousands of times, but this was my first ever visit, and it was
the first time I was able to take a closer look at the holiest geographic location of Judaism. What a
disappointment it turned out to be. I must admit I had always imagined Temple Mount to be an
awesome and impressive place, and have always longed to visit and spend time there. Over the years I
have had the privilege to visit many well-known national heritage sites all over the world – in countries
such as Italy, France, Greece, China, and of course countless sites in Israel – all of them revered and
cherished, protected and lovingly treated by their national or religious patrons, who clearly see their
own collective dignity and beauty reflected in the way their precious monuments appear to visitors and
outsiders.
Like you, I have seen pictures of Mecca and Medina, the two holiest shrines of Islam. In Mecca, the
Masjid al-Haram – the “Great Mosque of Mecca” – has gone through numerous facelifts, and is
purported to be one of the most beautiful and well-maintained religious shrines in the world. In Medina,
the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi – the “Prophet’s Mosque – although more modest than its Mecca counterpart,
is a wonderful prayer space, visited by most of the annual Hajj pilgrims after their time in Mecca.
Considering that the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount is the third holiest shrine on the Muslim holy
shrine shortlist, one would imagine its treatment and appearance would reflect the care and attention
devoted custodians pour into the two primary mosques of Islam in Mecca and Medina. Similarly, the
Mosque of Omar, or the “Dome of the Rock”, whose copper cupola dominates the Jerusalem skyline.
How shocking is it, therefore, that these two ancient shrines are so dilapidated, and the plaza on which
they stand so badly maintained. As one of the pastors put it to me – how hard would it be to pressurewash the flagstone floor of the Temple Mount plaza once a week so that it looked clean and fresh? And
why are there discarded chairs and sun umbrella stands standing abandoned in a Muslim holy site?
The Western Wall may represent the sad remnant of our destructed Temple, but the depth of
spirituality and dignity of this diminished spot far outshines the atmosphere on Temple Mount. Spiritually
the place seems dead. No joy. No love. No warmth. Only stony looks from disgruntled Wakf security
guards listening and watching for us to say or do something we shouldn't. It is a vast large space with
an empty soulless feeling. Jerusalem everywhere else is a bustling city, full of spiritual yearning and
religious longing. Temple Mount is the opposite – stagnant and negative, a spirit dampener, populated
by dog-in-the-manger people who just don't want to share it, or let anyone else get anything out of it.
For me it hammered home the point of how important it is for the world to recognize Jerusalem as
the capital of Israel, and for the US Embassy to move there as soon as possible. My abiding impression
was that for Muslims the Temple Mount site only has importance in terms of preventing the march of
prophecy from progressing into the Messianic era. Our mission must be to override our fear of facing up
to the antagonism of those who deny reality. This is not and has never been about Islamic claims on
Temple Mount. This is all about the forces of evil trying to thwart God’s plan for humanity under the
fraudulent guise of religious respect.
Not to end on such a sour note, let me conclude by saying that now that I have been onto Temple
Mount and seen it so decrepit, and so devoid of God’s presence, I feel elated and happy rather than
depressed and miserable – just like Rabbi Akiva, who the Talmud records told his friends after they had
all observed the desolation of Temple Mount, that he felt joyous knowing that the prophecies of
destruction had come to pass, and that consequently, so too would the prophecies of salvation,
liberation, redemption and resurrection.
Wishing you Shabbat Shalom and a wonderful week ahead,
Rabbi Pini Dunner
Sisterhood Corner
Shirley Aizenstein & Harry Finkel
Richard & Shawney Fine
The Sisterhood proudly pres ents the followi ng upcoming events!
*See flyers for ad ditional inf o
FEBRUARY
Zumba Dance Aerobics
Wednesday, February 1 at 10am
•
Hilchot Shabbat Series
Monday, February 6th at 7:30am
•
RSVP at BHSbanquet.com
Rabbi Dunner & Bishop Robert Stearns together with 30 millennial US-based
Evangelical pastors on Temple Mount on Wednesday morning. The historic
mission was sponsored by Eagles Wings and the Israel Christian Nexus
Zumba Dance Aerobics
Wednesday, February 8 at 10am
•
Zumba Dance Aerobics
Wednesday, February 15 at 10am
•
Hilchot Shabbat Series
Monday, February 20th at 7:30pm
•
Zumba Dance Aerobics
Wednesday, February 22 at 10am
MARCH
Purim is coming!
Order Mishloach Manot
No later than March 2nd
•
YINBH Annual Purim Seuda
March 12
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
Cecile & Ruthie
Sisterhood Co-Presidents
Paul Feder z’’l
Gemara Shiur
Shiur for Ladies
‫לע''נ פנחס אליהו בן‬
‫שמשון הלוי‬
The weekly Parsha
Shiur will be taking
place this Wednesday,
February 1st at
8:30am
Join Rabbi Dunner
for his weekly
Gemara shiur on
Shabbat morning at
8:30am.
Albert Azouz
Abraham ben Isaac z”l
Father of
David Azouz
Yahrtzeit—2 Shevat
EXPLORING HALACHA
Join Nati Baram every
Shabbat afternoon
45 minutes before mincha
as he explores an interesting
topic of Jewish law
with the aid of ancient and
contemporary texts.
JEWISH FEDERATION SUPER SUNDAY—FEBRUARY 12, 2017
Super Sunday is back! Rack up mitzvahs with us via
phone, text, or mail on this community-building day of
giving, and make 2017 a year of impact! Can’t make it?
Make your Super Sunday gift today.
Federation Building:
6505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90048
9:30 AM-12:00 PM
12:00 PM-2:30 PM
The Parsha Shiur for Ladies will meet on
Wednesday, February 1st, at 8:30am
Wednesday, February 8th at 8:30am
Wednesday, February 15th at 8:30am
Wednesday, February 22 at 8:30am
Bernat Block
Menachem Dov ben Yitzchak
Aryeh z”l
Father of
Eva Feldberg
Yahrtzeit—5 Shevat
Chana Gromis
Chana bat Moshe HaCohen a”h
Mother of
Dr. Edwin Gromis
Yahrtzeit—7 Shevat
Georgette Dunst
Donald Feder
Mary Gut
Daniel Gromis
Danielle Novack
Sheilagh Sadeghi
Aiden Samuel
Sarah Soroudi
Dr. and Mrs. Mark Goldenberg
on the birth of a grandson, born
to parents
Rebecca and Evan Goldenberg.
Mazal Tov to
great-grandparents
Yvette & Andrew Gardner and
Judith & Irwin Kallman and to
the entire extended family!
Sign up at
jewishla.org/supersunday
Howie & Shrin Fialkov
Next Shabbat’s Kiddush
Luncheon will be sponsored by
Michael & Susan Baum and
Moshe & Helen Sassover in honor
of the Scholar-in-Residence
Jay Sanderson, President & CEO
of the Jewish Federation of
Greater Los Angeles.
RSVP to [email protected]
Introducing ChaverWeb!
—————–——————–——————————————————————————————-————————
Dear YINBH Members:
You should have received an email from us notifying you about an upgrade to our database system with a
Web interface called ChaverWeb.
In the email we provided you with a username and temporary password to access your account.
Going Forward, you can use ChaverWeb to:

View and Pay Outstanding Balances

RSVP and pay for events

Update all your demographic information including Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Yahrtzeit information

We will also be adding more features
While you will now be able to access your account online, we are always more than happy to help you in
the office and you can continue to call in to give credit cards over the phone or to mail in checks.
YINBH Administration