Lev Eisha   A joyous community of Jewish women engaged in prayer, study and spiritual growth

Happiest Chanukah! May your holiday be filled with light!

Join us on December 6, 2008 (9th of Kislev, 5769) promptly at 9:30 a.m. The Torah portion is Vayetzei from the book of Genesis. Our service will be led by Rabbi Toba August and Cantorial Soloist Cindy Paley.

If you'd like to sponsor a Kiddush, in honor of a simcha, or just because, many options are available. Send an e-mail, at least two weeks before the date you wish to sponsor, to info@leveisha.org and a board member will get in touch with you.
  2008/2009 Calendar of Events
December 14      Chanukah Happenings and Magic Show at Adat Shalom
  
December 21      First Candle of Chanukah
  
January 3      9:30 a.m. Lev Eisha Service in the Sanctuary
  
 
  Mollie's Kosher Kitchen



Fondue


Chanukah is so much more than latkes. It's also a time for eating dairy in commemoration of the brave Judith Maccabee who saved the Jewish people and brought the Chanukah battle to an end. Yes, JUDITH! She plied the general Holofernes with salty cheeses and wine. When he was drunk, she cut off his head and voila! The rest is history.

Here's a fresh idea for Chanukah.

California Cheddar Cheese Fondue

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons ground dry mustard
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups shredded Cheddar cheese.

(The "Little Farm Girls" brand cheese is both kosher and vegan.)

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, mix together milk, Worcestershire sauce, ground dry mustard, garlic, wine and flour. Heat until almost boiling.

2. Gradually stir in Cheddar cheese. Don't worry if the cheese separates from the wine: just keep stirring and it will gradually become smooth and creamy. If not, pour yourself a nice glass of wine and you'll never notice!

3. Continue heating until all the cheese has melted and you can successfully yodel "Oh Chanukah! Oh Chanukah!" After all, fondue did originate in Switzerland. Keep the mixture warm and melted in a fondue dish.

4. Carefully pour into your fondue pot and serve with little cubes of French bread stuck onto those spindly forks we never know how to use. If it thickens too much, drink more wine and stir in a little warm milk.


In This Issue

Chanukah Candles: Searching for Our Inner Selves
by Rabbi Toba August

Chanukah is a time to get together! It is more meaningful to light candles, sing songs, eat greasy latkes, and play dreidel with other people. Trying to celebrate alone is a challenge, but on those nights we are home alone, here are some thoughts for meditation.

In Proverbs it is written that "A candle of the Lord is the soul of a human being searching out all the belly's chambers." Once the Temple was destroyed, we are told, it was harder to find the Dwelling Place of God: the Shechinah. The Talmud states that the Shechinah is hidden until we search with "candles" which are our good deeds, our mitzvot.

The word for candle, ner, can be seen as an acronym for nefesh ruach, which means soul and spirit. When we seek with all our spiritual strength to fulfill mitzvot, we uncover what is hidden and find God.

Lighting the candles can arouse the inner life-energy, says the Hassidic master, the Sfat Emet. When Proverbs states: "Seeking out all the belly's chambers," it means: "By the power of inwardness, we can find the hidden light within all our own inner chambers."

What does this mean? We must conduct ourselves as if a holy being dwelt within us! On Chanukah, using the colorful, dancing, flickering lights of the candles, let us find the Divine within. Embrace your inner beauty. Find holy peace and contentment of spirit. May the lights of Chanukah bring hope and gladness to us all!

Chanukah Samayach! May we have a sweet, meaningful holiday season. Amen.

A Minute for Membership from Julie London

What do you get the woman who has "everything" for her birthday? Are you having trouble thinking of what to get a special friend or relative for Chanukah? Why not give her a gift membership to Lev Eisha?

Complete a membership form or submit your membership online at www.leveisha.org . If you need a membership form and wish to pay by mail, you can print a membership form from the leveisha.org website. Membership forms can also be found on the table just outside the sanctuary on the day of the service.

Gift premiums are available for memberships of $96 (choose one gift premium), $136 (choose two gift premiums) and $360 and above (choose three gift premiums).

This year's membership premiums are a custom Lev Eisha heart keychain, the Lev Eisha CD: Shabbat Songs from a Woman's Heart, The Lev Eisha Haggadah, Journey of the Heart, the Lev Eisha Pesach Cookbook, Passover Recipes from the Heart, and Rabbi August has chosen the book Filling Words with Light: Hasidic & Mystical Reflections on Jewish Prayer by Lawrence Kushner and Nehemnia Polen as this year's book premium.

Premiums will be given out at the service starting in December. Other arrangements can be made if necessary

Gratitude

We would like to thank the following Lev Eisha members who are also sponsoring this year's breakfast teachings with Rabbi August:

Sandy Terranova
Julie London

The remaining "Breakfast and Brucha" programs are February 7th (note the date change) and May 2nd. We shared a lively "Breakfast and Brucha" discussion about Eve in the Garden of Eden before the service on November 1st.

Thank you to all of our members who have taken the time to renew their membership in the Lev Eisha community. It is not too late to send in your membership information or participate in sponsoring the Rabbi's teachings.

Milestones

Condolences to Chaplain Ruth Belonsky on the loss of her dear friend Moriya Singh Chahal.

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.

Lev Eisha Lev Eisha of Adat Shalom
3030 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
info@leveisha.org

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