Do you sing along to "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" and other songs from
Fiddler on the Roof? Well now, we can sing together.
Let's go as a group on Tuesday evening August 4th, 2009 to the Pantages theatre to see the show!
We need 15 people to make a "group" and get orchestra seats for only
$35 dollars each.
Please e-mail me ASAP.
I am going out of town and need to purchase these tickets by Monday July 6, 2009.
I look forward to hearing from you. Join me for some summer fun,
Rabbi Toba August
Send your check for $35 with your name, phone number and e-mail address to Lev Eisha.
I am excited to let you know that the Outreach and Fundraising Committee is working diligently to ensure that the joyous spirit of Lev Eisha will continue to thrive. During the next few weeks a Lev Eisha member will be calling you to ask for your support. We will be requesting donations in multiples of $18 or "Chai" which means "Life" in Hebrew. To make our campaign an outstanding success, we are hoping to receive at least $180 from each Lev participant. Of course, we are grateful for whatever you feel you can contribute. You may also donate directly by sending a check to the address below. We appreciate your ongoing support and will feature the names of all contributors in the written program at the first Lev Eisha service in September. Please think about the value that Lev Eisha adds to your life and know that our future is dependent upon your heartfelt donation. With your generous help, I know that we will keep the spirit and music of Lev Eisha alive for years to come.
Like many of you, the moment I walked into Lev Eisha services, I was hooked, and as a result my life has changed immeasurably in 4 ½ years. I have been honored to serve on the Board for 4 years and now I am delighted to be the current President of the new Lev Eisha. I work with an amazing Board of women who offer their ideas and support at monthly meetings to freshen up our services while still retaining our familiar spiritual core. This leadership team is planning educational, social and volunteer opportunities so we can share life more than once a month. I look forward to continuing this magical journey with you.
B'Shalom,
Susie Yure'
The LA Times had an article a few weeks ago responding to a recently published study from the Wharton School -University of Pennsylvania, entitled "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness."
Intrigued, I followed the articles and read parts of the original abstracts and even looked at some blogs!
My dear women, are YOU "happy"? What does this mean and how would you answer this question?
The study states that even though men's and women's happiness levels have both gone down over the last few decades, women's "subjective well-being" has declined "both absolutely and relatively to men." Additionally, the study continues, when the same research was conducted in the 1970's, women reported higher levels of happiness than they do today.
A new conservative op-ed columnist in the New York Times, Ross Douthat, responded to this story and asserted that it is not the decline of the two-parent family, nor the mounting female workload that makes women less happy. Rather it is the "steady advance of single motherhood that threatens the interests and happiness of women."
You can imagine the reaction to that explanation! Google it in and read the blogs from feminist sources.
Why are women less happy today? According to the study, one reason is that the women's movement may have decreased women's happiness.
The increased opportunity to succeed in many dimensions may have led to an increased likelihood of believing that one's life is not measuring up. Similarly, women may now compare their lives to a broader group, including men, and find their lives more likely to come up short in this assessment.
Or women may simply find the complexity and increased pressure in their modern lives to have come at the cost of happiness.
It seems to me that when our happiness is dependent on our unrealistic expectations, on societal norms, or on outside pressures, we can truly fall short, as the study shows, and be miserable.
So what is the response? If you truly want to find happiness, what should you do?
According to our Jewish heritage I have three recommendations. Let me know if they work for you.
1. Gratitude: the key to happiness is to be thankful for what you do have and recognize what is so good in your life. Remember, "Gam Zeh Ya'avor - This too shall pass." According to one medieval rabbi, "When a person faces their Maker on the Day of Judgment, they will have to give a reckoning for the joys of life that they failed to experience..."
2. Fake it! Even if you don't feel happy, act "as if." Find ways to make yourself feel better. Do something silly, read some jokes, watch a comedy, or go out and care about someone else. Your mood will change! Know what you need to face your suffering and fear, and how to work through it.
3. Join us at Lev Eisha! You will be with a fabulous community, find others to share with, be inspired, engage in meaningful prayer, sing and cry and laugh. Our Lev Eisha community provides a true antidote to sadness and way back to a meaningful life.
"Mitzvah Gedolah L'hiyot B'Simcha" - It is a great Mitzvah to be Happy!
L'Shalom, Rabbi August
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Mazal Tov to all the new graduates!!
If you have a milestone to share please send it to: editor@leveisha.org. Our
newsletter gets printed about a week before each service. Please send the info ASAP.
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