Temple Talk - Creative Arts Temple

FEBRUARY 2011
VOL. 26 NO. 4
Creative Arts Temple
The Joy of Judaism
Through The
Creative Arts
Temple Talk
www.creativeartstemple.org
(310) 470-3888
Rabbi’s Message
Rabbi Jerry Ram Cutler
.
Because of Rabbi Cutler's pneumonia, hospital stay and
recovery, he hasn't written a message this month.
Our next services
will be dedicated
to LOVE
with RABBI JERRY CUTLER and
Cantor Mitzi Schwarz and Tanja
Solnik who will co-officiate.
We will be honoring CAT's founding
president, the late Norman Brooks.
FRIDAY, FEB. 4TH, 8 PM
at
Westwood Presbyterian Church
(ample parking)
10822 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90024
The Church is approximately 2 blocks east of
Westwood Blvd. next door to the Avco Movie
Theatres. Enter the parking lot by going south
on Malcom (which is th.e first street east of
the Church) off of Wilshire Blvd., then take the
first right on Ashton which dead-ends into the
Church parking lot. Take a right to the main
Sanctuary
*********************
Candle Lighting Times
Fridays:
FEB. 4, 5:08 pm
FEB. 11, 5:15 pm
FEB. 18, 5:21 pm
FEB. 25, 5:27 pm
He does want to thank everyone for their prayers and warm wishes for his
speedy recovery and hopes to thank all of you personally at our February
4th shabbat service.
Join us for our Shabbat Service Friday, February 4 at
8:00pm at Westwood Presbyterian Church.
Cantor Mitzi Schwarz and Tanja Solnik will co-officiate with Rabbi
Jerry at our services dedicated to love.
Actor, Stephen Macht, who is studying for his rabbinic degree, will
deliver a short Biblical discourse.
In commemoration of Presidents Day, we will be honoring CAT's
founding president, the late Norman Brooks, at this service.
Throughout the year, we will be honoring past presidents who have
with their wisdom and dedication guided us through our over 30
successful years.
It promises to be a very spiritual, celebratory evening.
Join us in Hoffman Hall following the service.
Absolute Recycling
Be The Solution For Future Generations
Creative Arts Temple will receive payment for your
discarded cell phones. It will cost you nothing to help
us earn much needed funds while we are all giving
back to the planet.
Please round up your old cell phones and call the
temple office. It's a win win situation.
Creative Arts Temple Contact Info:
Creative Arts Temple
P.O. Box 241831
Tel: (310) 470-3888 Los Angeles, CA 90024
Fax: (310) 470-2949
FEBRUARY 2011
CREATIVE ARTS TEMPLE
Creative Arts Temple
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS
Board of Directors
2010/11-5771
Co-Presidents-Joann Roth Oseary, Lou Milkowski
Vice President - Arne Charitan
Secretary- Julie Gold
Treasurer- Jerry Gold
BoardAl & Evey Friedkin
Chad & Melissa Lasdon
Malcolm & Barbara Marmorstein
Gloria Milkowski
Irv & Mallory Sobel
Executive Director: Jeff Cutler
Director Emeritus: Lois Bennett
Immediate Past President- Larry Crestol
Past presidents:
Arnold Charitan
Steve Ellman
Stuart Kricun
Norman G. Brooks*
Irving Dersh*
Max Guefen* Call the Temple and find
deceased *
out how to become a
Lifetime Member
Lifetime Members
Lois Bennett
Joni Berry
Fern Field Brooks
Ross & Fern Bloom
Mitchell & Rochelle Blumenfeld
Ted Blumenfeld
Dorothy Frieband
Artie Butler
Jack & Roxanne Carter
Arnold & Gladys Charitan
Larry & Alexis Crestol
Sidney & Harriet Crestol
Jennifer Crestol
Steven Crestol
Norm & Joanie Crosby
Carol Jean Delmar
Allan & Harriet Diamond
Gloria Green
Karel Guefen
Charlotte Heller
Arthur & Gwen Hiller
Arthur Kassel
Rhea Kimmel
Les & Laura Landau
Joseph & Shirley Leibowitz
Stephen Maitland-Lewis
Dr. Steve Matlin
Art Metrano
Joann & Yossi Oseary
Harvey & Hope Schechter
Sharon Shaw
Ruth Veprin
Barbara Weinger
Michael & Lynn Zaifert
2011 Calendar
Fri. March 4, 2011
Shabbat Service
at Westwood Presbyterian Church
10822 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90024
Sara Silver
Hyman La Vere
Saul Turteltaub
Evelyn Friedkin
Daniel Klei
Ruth Veprin
Ella Birnbaum
Rose Ourieff
Dr Edward Kantor
Rhea Kimmel
Freya B. Miller
Aaron Bush
Daniel Chesler
Eunice Brown
Richard Brown
Joel Diamond
Barbara Schulz
Phyllis Green
Paula Fenton
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
2
8
8
9
9
10
11
12
14
16
18
19
19
20
20
20
21
25
26
Fri. April 1, 8 PM
Shabbat Service
Westwood Presbyterian Church
Fri., May 6, 8 PM
Shabbat Service
Westwood Presbyterian Church
Celebrating Mother's Day
Fri., June 3, 8 PM
Shabbat Service
Westwood Presbyterian Church
Celebrating Father's Day
PROPOSED EVENTS
Play Day
Bring your game Mah Jongg, Bridge - Invite your friends.
Lunch, Boutique and good games.
Enjoyment of Opera
William Toutant, writer and host of the
weekly radio program "The KCSN
Opera House" heard Sunday nights at
8 over 88.5 FM and at kcsn.org., will
take us on a 6 week journey through
opera in the spring.
Some of the composers we will focus
on will be Rossini, Mozart, Verdi,
Puccini and Bizet to name a few and
we will have live performers perform
illustrative excerpts.
FEBRUARY
ANNIVERSARIES
Arthur & Gwen Hiller
Feb. 14
Barry & Cindy Smith
Feb. 14
Rad & Vernique Kessler Feb. 15
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CREATIVE ARTS TEMPLE
FEBRUARY 2011
Rabbi Jerry Ram Cutler's
Connie Martinson Talks Books
"Walking Wisdom : Three Generations, Two Dogs, and the
Search for a Happy Life" (Hyperion $24.99) Gotham &
Deepak Chopra
Review From The Pew
John Lithgow: Stories By Heart
Mark Taper Forum
Five years ago, my wife and I went to see "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" in New York
starring Norbert Leo Butz and John Lithgow.
Butz had just won the Tony for Best Performance in a Musical two days prior.
As the theaters are dark on Monday, the Tuesday show we attended was the first
since Butz' well deserved recognition.
As "Scoundrels" was nearing the end of the performance on that night, the two
stars, Butz and Lithgow, were sitting on beach chairs absorbing the sun when
Lithgow rose from his chair and started to applaud and Butz was startled by his
impromptu gesture.
The audience responded to Lithgow's lead and joined in a standing ovation.
When the applause died down, the performance continued as if nothing out of the
ordinary happened. The guy is a total mensch.
My wife and I were aglow by the magic of live theater and the unselfish actions of
a co-star honoring the achievement of Norbert Leo Butz. It's what the theater is all
about.
Five years later, we were in the audience at the Mark Taper Forum for John
Lithgow's one-man show, "Stories By Heart" where he owned, mastered,
manipulated and cajoled a sold out theater with his superb rendition of a P.G.
Wodehouse story, "Uncle Fred Flits By." He brought each of the 10 characters to
life as he moved with agile grace across the stage. This was John Lithgow's turf
and his every nuance, step and stride complimented Mr. Wodehouse's words.
Following the intermission, Lithgow chose a story by Ring Lardner "Haircut" - a
classic mistake - the theater classic mistake. The theater must remember to follow
the strong first act with a stronger second act. Lardner's story of a barber in a
small town paled by comparison. Added to the characterization was an annoying
laugh concocted by its star, which seemed as if he fashioned it after the radio
show, "The Great Gildersleeve." Long on time and short on the usual magic put
forth by the multi-faceted Lithgow, arguably one of the most capable actors of his
generation.
At the beginning of the evening performance, Lithgow tells us that the stories were
favorites of his dad and read aloud in his home. One could only hope that his dad
also enjoyed a writer like Damon Runyon, the affable Mr. Lithgow could bring
Runyon's off-beat characters to life and beyond.
Send us your opinion by email [email protected]
Rabbi Jerry's movie reviews which appear in the
Beverly Hills Courier and the revised Brooklyn Eagle.
Sends Get Well Wishes and a Speedy Recovery to
Philip Bloom
Jackie Magar
Terry Cohen
Tibor Rubin
Alexis Crestol Warren Sefton
Allan Diamond
Ligia Toutant
Sends Condolences to:
The Frandzel family on the passing of CAT member,
Esther Frandzel
Gotham credits his mother as being the glue of the family, but during the
time of the book she was in India where her father was in the hospital and might
need a heart bypass surgery. When we taped Gotham agreed that her absence
brought him and his father closer than they had been. It is hard to be the son of a
man whose followers all want to be his son. One of those was Michael Jackson,
who also became a good friend to Gotham.
One of the most interesting question and answer was "Papa, what would
you do if you thought no one would ever find out?" The answer is perceptive,
"When you have to live up to an image that is not you, then sooner or later that
image is defiled. Then everyone becomes enraged and many people end up
getting hurt." But the book is more than just this "wisdom." Gotham writes about
his son, Krishu, the closeness of the family where cousins are like siblings and
infants sleep with their parents as a way of bonding for life. Gotham told me that
when as children they would visit his grandparents in India they would sleep in
the same bed. His portrayal of his father and his son is a joy to read. Up till now,
he could walk to his sister's house and they had dinner two or three nights a
week, now she has moved a fifteen minute drive away.
It is a beautiful book and anyone with a beloved relative in a distant city will
be jealous of the family's proximity. As for the dog in the title, the last line of the
book which relates to Cleo, the dog who went walking with them, "I think that is a
great idea, "Papa interrupted, "Cleo certainly has a lot to teach us all".
January Oneg Sponsors
to be celebrated with our February donors
Arne & Gladys Charitan for a speedy recovery to Rabbi Jerry Cutler
Marty & Kathy Godin in honor of Kathy & daughter,
Gabrielle's, Birthday & Birth of grandson, Cayden
Creative Arts Temple and the Board
If you see a young man and a man who looks like his father walking with a
dog while they are in engrossed conversation, it just might be Gotham Chopra
and his father, Deepak Chopra in their Socratic discussion. This is their story in
"Walking Wisdom : Three Generations, Two Dogs, and the Search for a Happy
Life" (Hyperion $24.99) author credit is Gotham Chopra with Deepak Chopra. It is
both a charming portrait of a truly wonderful family and a challenging book of
ideas, ethics and dog behavior.
The book is written with a question to begin each chapter, which is later
pursued in the text of the chapter. In the first chapter the question Gotham asks
his father, "Are you a dog person, Papa?" No, he wasn't until Gotham and his
sister, Mallika, as children, insisted on a dog when they lived in Boston. This was
before Dr. Chopra became the "Deepak Chopra".
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Jerry & Julie Gold in honor of Julie's birthday and for good health for
Rabbi Cutler.
Thank you, Oneg Sponsors who help defray costs of Shabbat Service,
hall rental, food, and personnel.
Your Thoughtfulness Is Truly Appreciated
JANUARY TRIBUTES
Carie Delmar: Get well wishes to Rabbi Jerry Cutler
Gerald & Joan Doren: In honor of Minnie Kaplan
Rosaline Gershuny: Sent condolences to the Silverman family
for the passing of Millie Silverman
Norman Kantor: Wished Larry Crestol a Happy Birthday;
Happy Anniversary to Sherwyn & Edythe Horwitz
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
CREATIVE ARTS TEMPLE FEBRUARY 2011
JANUARY Yahrzeits
Editorial: Thank You for Your Donation and May You Be
Comforted Among the Mourners of Zion
ARNE'S CORNER
"Goyim kill goyim, and they blame the Jews,"
Menahem Begin famously grumbled during
Lebanon's civil war. You can update that to
"Sharks bite tourists, and they blame the Jews,"
The Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, at the
southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, has recently
been plagued with shark attacks. A German
woman was killed and a few other tourists
mauled. An "expert" interviewed on Egyptian TV
claimed that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence
service, had planted the sharks to destroy
Egypt's tourist economy. With dismal
predictability, Mohammed Shousa, governor of
the region told a press conference that it was
"not out of the question" that Israel is to blame.
(I can't make up my mind, I don't
know whether this is "stupid" or are they just
plain "asinine.")
You remember columnist Helen
Thomas? For decades she attended the White
House briefing room from the Kennedy
administration to Obama's. When she "mouthedoff" about the Jews and how they should leave
Israel and go back to where they came from.
Which prompted her resignation. Well we now
know, the elderly Ms. Thomas' parents were Arab
Christians from Lebanon. Even in retirement, she
unbosomed herself by saying, "the US is owned
by propagandists against the Arab cause. There's
no question about that. Congress, the White
House, Hollywood and Wall Street, are owned by
the Zionists."
(It's a SHONDAH that along with
everything else, we don't own the media - then
we'd never have to hear from her)
Tribute Cards for
All Occasions
A Thoughtful
Remembrance
If someone you know is celebrating a Simcha, a
happy occasion, has been ill or has experienced a
loss and you want to reach out, please consider
sending one of our beautiful Tribute Cards. It is a
donation to your Synagogue as well as a thoughtful
way of letting your friends and family know you
care.
Take a look at the birthdays and anniversaries, if
there is someone you would like to remember and
honor, call the office and send out a tribute card this
month. We all will appreciate it.
Call office: (310) 470-3888
Lois Bennett in memory of Sydney Bennett
Joni Berry in memory of Jody Berry
Ralph & Cynthia Bovitz in memory of Anne Yasser
Judy Breitman in memory of Ruth Friedman
Sophie Caan in memory of Barbara Caan
Sydney & Harriet Crestol in memory of Louis Crestol & Harry Chernin
Norm Crosby in memory of Jack Crosby
Jay & Lois Foonberg in memory of Hyman Foonberg
Nathan Frank in memory of Katherine Capeluoto Peha
Rosaline Gershuny in memory of Irving Matsil
Mel Glickman in memory of Madeline Glickman, Eva Duboff, Beth
Glickman & Lew Glickman
Evelyn Gray in memory of Martin Gray
Karel Guefen in memory of Gregorio Guefen
Patti Hoffen in memory of Bette Sefton
Joe Ingber in memory of Eileen Ingber
Norman Kantor in memory of Charlotte Kantor & Jennie Kantor
Dolores Koffman in memory of Esther Portnoy
Marilyn Limond in memory of Bernard Limond & Beth Carol Goren
Stephen Maitland-Lewis in memory of Clara Davis
June Miller in memory of Ethel Rosenblatt
Ann Radow in memory of Edward Radow
Gloria Reese in memory of Nathan Reese
Rosalie Shulman in memory of Maurice Shulman
Arlene Sidaris in memory of Bertha Smilowitz
Phyllis Spear in memory of Sam Gomberg & Sy Gomberg
Carole Speer in memory of Jack Trystman
Joel & Tammy Steinman in memory of Shirley Reizner
Andrew Stevens in memory of Charlote Stevens
Barbara Takamoto in memory of Iwao Takamoto
Roy & Sophia Wallenstein in memory of Regina Wallenstein
Sylvia Weiss in memory of Joseph Vogel
Significant Jewish Presence in Globes' winners
By Tom Tungend
Natalie Portman at the Golden Globes
Jewish talent won some and lost some at the Golden Globe Award ceremonies, Jan.
16 in Beverly Hills, auguring a mixed outlook for the upcoming Oscar nominations.
The best news is that Israeli-born Natalie Portman waltzed off as best actress in the
drama category for her impressive turn as a tortured ballerina in "The Black Swan."
"The Social Network," the gripping, if somewhat skewed, story of Facebook founder
Mark Zuckerberg, won for best drama, but its star, Jesse Eisenberg, lost out to best
actor winner Colin Firth, who portrayed England's stuttering George VI in "The King's
Speech."
"Social Network" won additional honors for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin for best
screenplay. Sorkin beat out, among others, Britain's David Seidler, who provided the
inspiration and script for "The King's Speech."
Seidler's paternal grandparents perished in the Holocaust.
In the comedy or musical category, Paul Giamatti, who is not Jewish, emerged as
best actor for his spot-on portrayal of the very Jewish producer Barney Panofsky in
"Barney's Version."
The movie is based on the novel of the same title by Canadian Jewish author
Mordecai Richler.
Denmark's "In a Better World" won the prize for best foreign-language film. Israel's
Oscar entry, "The Human Resources Manager," did not place among the five Globe
finalists.
For the first time since the end of World War II, no movie or documentary dealing with
the Holocaust or the Nazi era was submitted for either Golden Globe or Academy
Award consideration.
Natalie Portman at the Golden Globes
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CREATIVE ARTS TEMPLE
FEBRUARY 2011
drunk bundts
A BUNDT DELIVERY SERVICE
for special occasions or just because...
Homemade liqueur cakes
Baked with lots of love and liquor
and
Delivered by
The Cutler sisters
$20.00 per bundt*
BUTTERSCOTCH AMARETTO BUNDT
with ROASTED ALMONDS and BUTTERCREAM
Chocolate KAHLUA bundt
with DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE and CINNAMON To place your order:
[email protected]
Find us on facebook and twitter
Or call (310) 995-1943
*$7.00 delivery charge for residents within the (310) city limit. A
$10.00 delivery charge is incurred outside of the (310) area.
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CREATIVE ARTS TEMPLE
JANUARY 2011
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