So come already, and LAUGH WITH LEV!* Sunday, March 14, 1:30 p.m.
Celebrate with Lev Eisha, and meet the remarkable women, Fanny Brice, Molly Picon, Gilda Radner, Joan Rivers, Sophie Tucker, and Wendy Wasserstein, who forever changed comedy!

Did we mention that these women are also Jewish? Being Jewish and women means that their comedy comes from their kishkes as well as their hearts, voden?**

So, invite your family, your best friends, your worst friends... What? You think it would hurt to invite your enemies? Spread the word throughout the Jewish community. Help put tuchases in seats to make this the most exciting, entertaining and successful event in Lev Eisha's history!

Lev Eisha is screening a brilliant new documentary: MAKING TROUBLE, a project of the Jewish Women's Archive; a history of funny famous Jewish women, directed by noted film-maker Rachel Talbot. Followed by a lively discussion with distinguished comediennes and comedy writers, Cathy Ladman, Betsy Salkind, Monica Piper and Ellen Sandler. Followed by a good time was had by all.

Did we mention that this is Lev Eisha's major fundraising event of the year? And it's your opportunity to help us make even more Jewish hearts blossom!


*R.S.V.P. by March 4

**what else?

At our fundraiser, you will have the opportunity to bid on a dinner for 10 at Rabbi August's home on the Westside. Picture yourself and your guests enjoying a scrumptuous meal with engaging conversation. So be ready to outbid everyone and win this delightful opportunity while supporting Lev Eisha. Date to be mutually decided. Let her entertain you and you'll have a real good time.

• Kate Rosloff, Craig Singer and Arielle in honor of Reuben Rosloff's 87th Birthday
• Kate Rosloff, Craig Singer and Arielle in honor of Shirley Munch's 80th Birthday
• Robin & Bruce Winston in honor of Shirley Munch's 80th Birthday

• Gail Heim

Seven or eight years ago I attended a women's service at my synagogue called "Lev Eisha." Back then, Lev Eisha was a diverse group of 35 or 40 women. I barely knew anybody in the group, and in the beginning months I felt a bit lonely as so many of the women brought mothers, sisters or daughters. I had none. And my Jewish friends had no interest in going to a service.

I remember how much I enjoyed it when Robin Winston and Mollie Wine got up to sing with the cantor, Cindy Paley. The three of them were so joyous and happy; they were in the moment. Rabbi August was learned, and her teachings almost always seemed to be directly relevant to some issue in my life. After growing up in an atheist home, and yearning for some spiritual connection as an adult, I felt I had found a comfortable place to explore Judaism.

A chance meeting with Elaine Craig Segal, the first president of Lev Eisha, at the Kiddush after one of the services, led to my service on the Board of Directors. I wasn't sure if I would fit in, as I had had no religious education, didn't really follow the services all too well, and felt "less than" the many women for whom synagogue was a second home. But it did not take long before I felt welcome, and purposeful. I wanted to spread the word of Lev Eisha so other women would have an opportunity to feel the joy that permeated our services. I also recognized that unless people were willing to volunteer to help keep Lev Eisha running, it would cease to exist.

After one year as a member "at large," I was elected to Treasurer, and two years later to President of Lev Eisha. The best part of my service to the organization was meeting all of the amazing and interesting women that comprise the Board. Now I don't have to worry about not having friends or family to bring to the services. I see my friends at Lev Eisha services, and at the Board meetings.

It has been an incredible sense of accomplishment to put together fundraisers, unique educational programs, and to keep our Shabbat services going. I encourage all of you to try your hand at volunteering to help Lev Eisha. It is so true what is said about volunteering: you will get more out of it than you put in.

If I were to ask you to share your favorite part of the Passover Seder, or to explain what theme stirs your imagination, what would it be?

I try to contemplate what it meant to be a slave and I wonder if we are truly "free."

In a Hasidic commentary, slavery was defined as a state of being where there was no TIME. No time to dream, to hope, to have a vision of possibilities for a future. Can we imagine being in a world with no time to contemplate or meditate?

Yes! Because that is how life is for too many of us right now! We were slaves...but now are we really free?

In a new Haggadah called the Un-Haggadah, Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg states, "...the message of Passover is that human slavery is created not only by chains and whips but frequently we enslave ourselves. Our ancestors were slaves to Pharaoh, but too many of us are slaves to our jobs, our errands, and our busy routines!"

He quotes a news article from Israel that says a traffic policeman pulled over a driver in Netanyah and gave the man a ticket for driving with a cell phone in each hand! He was steering the car with his elbows and the car was weaving from side to side.

"...Between our cell phones, our Treos and Blackberries, our instant messaging and endless e-mails, we never really leave work, and never really relax! We are always wired, even when we are wireless...."


I know that sometimes when I talk to teenagers, I am competing with their text messaging on their cell phones. Hhow many of us have a conversation without our cell phones interrupting? In my home office, I can be on the land phone, the cell, and e-mailing all at once!


We were slaves, and now we are free!?#! Right? I don't think so.


There is an ad for a small light for your laptop computer so that "when you take your computer to bed you will not disturb your spouse." Previous generations thought that one of the reasons you got married was so that you could get into bed and disturb your spouse! But not anymore. "We were slaves, and now we are free?"


My dear friends, Passover is the time for Liberation. We are supposed to feel liberated from slavery. Let us consider, next time we interrupt a conversation to answer our cell phones, what are we still enslaved to?


May this Passover be a time to truly liberate us, from the tyranny of staying in touch 24/7. Let us be free to turn everything off! (Or at least keep things off during the Passover Seder.) And we say, Amen.

We were slaves, and yes, now we can be free!

"A Zizen Pesach"- A Sweet and Healthy Passover to us all!

Milestones Condolences to newsletter editor Judy Cohen on the passing of her uncle, Morris Cohen. 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.

Announcements CONSIDERATION OF OTHERS Some of us feel not quite dressed without our signature scent. Please be considerate of people with allergies when you reach for your atomizer. It makes you smell lovely and elegant, but if you're sitting near someone with allergies, she'll feel like she's coming down with the flu. Headaches, sneezing, coughing, runny nose and rheumy eyes aren't attractive or pleasant! So do please save your scent for a place where people can move around more readily, and your neighbors will thank you. PASSOVER BOOKS If you would like to obtain copies of our Lev Eisha women's Haggadah, Journey of the Heart, and/or our Pesach Cookbook, Passover Recipes from the Heart, please get in touch with Janis. FACEBOOK Are you on Facebook? You can help us grow. Become a fan of Lev Eisha of Los Angeles and invite your friends to become fans as well. Our unique URL is www.facebook.com/losangeles.jewish.spirituality. If you need help finding the site or understanding how to invite your Facebook friends, e-mail Lynda@leveisha.org for further instructions. INVOLVEMENT OPPORTUNITES Lev Eisha isn't a show that we put on for you--it's a service that we all put on for each other. The more you get involved and participate, the richer your experience will be. There are so many different things you can do to broaden your Lev Eisha experience: Go up for an aliyah. Accept an honor such as opening the ark or carrying the Torah. Lend a hand in setting up or cleaning up the kiddush. Greet people at the door and help them get into the feel of Lev Eisha. Want to do more? Assume a leadership role and become a board member. Lev Eisha has the nicest board you'll find. It's true! It's an organization where people look forward to attending board meetings! And there's nothing more satisfying than working during the month to make sure that our very special service continues. FLYER AND ANNOUNCEMENT POLICY Many women in the Lev Eisha community are involved with wonderful activities and causes. We simply cannot announce and promote them all. So, we must limit our announcements to activities specifically tied to Lev Eisha. If you have flyers, cards or materials pertaining to other events, please feel free to leave them on the table in our foyer and/or speak about them during Kiddush. Thanks for your understanding! CATERING Let's come together as a community to sponsor a Breakfast or a Kiddush. Think about celebrating your milestone with other Lev Eisha members also honoring a significant event. Contributions of $18, $25 or $36 can add up to hosting a specific month. Celebrate the good in your life such as a birthday, an anniversary, a special friend, memory of a loved one, a promotion or reaching your goal weight. What would you like to commemorate at Lev Eisha? Get a group together and sponsor a party! Please contact catering@leveisha.org to make arrangements. MAP Click Map for a larger image and directions Lev Eisha services are held at Vista Del Mar 3200 Motor Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90034 Many women have expressed an interest in carpooling to Lev Eisha services. If you need a ride, or can offer one (especially from distant neighborhoods), please contact us at info@leveisha.org or leave a message on our phone line, (310) 575-0985.