With the New Year in 2018, we are inaugurating a new project for the congregation, 52 Weeks of Mitzvot. Each week during 2018 we will highlight a different mitzvah project in the community. Some weeks we will be collecting things, some weeks we will be asking for monetary contributions, other weeks we will be working hands-on at different projects. We want to show everyone how easy it is to be involved in repairing the world, Tikkun Olam. We are kicking off the project wit

David Samuel Levenson places his novel "Tell Me How This Ends Well" about a dysfunctional Jewish family in 2022, where American Jews face an increasingly unsafe and anti-Semitic landscape. But as the Jacobson family gathers for Passover in Los Angeles it is clear that their immediate problems are more personal than political. The three adult children, Mo, Edith, and Jacob, in various states of crisis blame their father, Julian, for a lifetime of mistreatment. The siblings hav

Midbar Kodesh Temple's Tiffany Doctors was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the Pacific Southwest Region of United Synagogue. PSWR President Belinda Sacks said that Tiffany has been, and continues to be, a tremendous asset to Midbar Kodesh Temple and looks forward to having her help the Region to achieve great strides as the regional board assists all of the Kehillot of the region. Tiffany has served on or chaired several committees at Midbar Kodesh Temple and w

In January, Midbar Kodesh Temple will kick off "52 Weeks of Mitzvot" that will, each week, introduce the congregation to different Social Action and Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) projects that they can learn about and support with time or donations. The congregation will celebrate this year-long gift of giving that will enhance their own lives and that of the community, and the projects that need attention. On January 26-28 Midbar Kodesh Temple will welcome author Linda C

It’s not too late to join us in volunteering at Opportunity Village’s Magical Forest on December 24th. We are volunteering to fill in for the workers so they can enjoy Christmas Eve with their families. You need to be at least 16 years old. The plan is to meet in the parking lot of the Magical Forest. At 4:30 PM Sharp! The address is 6300 W. Oakey Blvd and the parking lot is in the back. We will all go in together for a short orientation and divvying up of the jobs. Click h

Thank you for welcoming us into your community. We are the Raphaels, proud parents of Eve Esther who is 15 months old! Alec, from New York, by way of Guam, is a deputy district attorney. Elizabeth, from California by way of Hawaii, is an elementary school teacher, currently staying at home as a full-time Mom, where she also pursues her other loves of songwriting and painting. Rabbi Tecktiel officiated our beautiful wedding, with Cantor Gale, in the Midbar Kodesh courtyard. W

This week we ushered in the holiday of Hanukkah. Each year on Hanukkah I am reminded of a nagging question. We are told we celebrate Hanukkah for eight days because there was only enough kosher oil to last for one day and it lasted for eight. If there was enough oil to last for one day, then perhaps we should only celebrate Hanukkah for seven days. The miracle did not kick in until the second day. I read recently that someone has a list of over one hundred possible answers

“One day a leopard came stalking into the synagogue, roaring and lashing its tail. Three weeks later, it had become part of the liturgy” – Franz Kafka One of the most difficult aspects of my rabbinate is coming up with topics to talk about on Shabbat. It is doubly difficult at Midbar Kodesh Temple where the tradition is to give a talk at both Friday night services and on Shabbat morning. Once I come up with the topic, I can usually find an interesting and intellectual way o