NASHUVA Chanukah Shabbat–Invite your Friends!

NASHUVA Chanukah Shabbat–Invite your Friends!
Friday, December 3
6:45pm – 9:30pm

Brentwood Presbyterian Church
12000 San Vicente Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA

Come for an amazing experience of song and prayer and great Chanukah food (sufganiyot, gelt…).

In the SOCIAL HALL (not the main sanctuary)

Also that evening, please contribute to the

NASHUVA/JEWISH FEDERATION TOY DRIVE!

Bring joy for the Festival of Lights to children in Los Angeles County.
For the second year in a row, Nashuva is joining forces with the Jewish Federation to collect and distribute toys for the holidays.

Please bring your new and gently used toys to Nashuva at our 12/3 service.

A representative of the Federation will be there to pick up your donations.

Nashuva is Judaism that touches your soul. Come, invite your friends, celebrate Chanukah with Nashuva. Nashuva is the Jewish spiritual outreach movement.

For more information, please visit:
http://nashuva.com/

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A Thanksgiving Prayer by Rabbi Naomi Levy

For the laughter of the children,

For my own life breath,

For the abundance of food on this table,

For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,

For the roof over our heads,

The clothes on our backs,

For our health,

And our wealth of blessings,

For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,

For the freedom to pray these words

Without fear,

In any language,

In any faith,

In this great country,

Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.

Thank You, God, for giving us all these.  Amen.

From TALKING TO GOD: Personal Prayers for Times of Joy, Sadness, Struggle, and Celebration (Alfred A. Knopf, New York); used with permission of the author, who is the spiritual leader of Nashuva in Los Angeles and also the author of TO BEGIN AGAIN and HOPE WILL FIND YOU.

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Breakfast with human rights activist and 6-time academy award winning producer

I had breakfast over the weekend with six-time academy award winning producer, Arthur Cohen and human rights activist, Natan Sharansky.  Two extraordinary men.  I spent my childhood wearing a necklace with Sharansky’s name on it, praying for his release and now he heads the Jewish Agency!  Together with my husband Rob, we spoke about hope for Jewish survival.  Question: Which Jewish organization do you think are doing the best job at ensuring a Jewish future?

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Day 5: A Shabbat Meditation

I long to change the world, but I rarely appreciate things as they are.
I know how to give, but I don’t always know how to receive.
I know how to keep busy, but I don’t know how to be still.
I yearn to succeed, but I often forget what is truly important.
Teach me, God, to slow down. May my resting revive me.
May it lead me to wisdom, to holiness, to peace,
and to You. Amen.

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Day 4: Gossip: A Prayer

Help me, God, to control my tongue. My words have caused far too much pain. Remind me that my words can cause joy. My words can praise, enlighten, encourage, inspire. My words can comfort, my words can heal.
Place wisdom on my lips, God, blessings on my tongue, honor in my heart. Amen.

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Day 3: “An angry person is not fit to pray.” Rabbinic Proverb

How has my anger poisoned my relationships? Who I have hurt? What do I wish I could take back? What can I do to restrain myself when I feel my temper bubbling up inside?

We all have so much more control than we believe we have. Take time today to rethin…k your way of reacting. Know you can step back, regroup, rewire yourself. Begin today.

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Day 2: Intention & Action

What have I been meaning to do, wanting to do, but not doing? What is standing in the way? What are my excuses? Can I get beyond my own obstacles?

Spend time quietly and start with one small item on your intention list. How will it feel to turn it into an action? What will it take to see i…t through? Breathe. Pray for the strength to turn “I’ve been meaning to” into “I’ve done it!”

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Day 1: ENVY

“Envy, lust, and pride remove a person from this world” (Avot 4:28)
Whom do I envy? Why? How does envy affect my life? How does it poison my experience of joy?
Breathe.
Remember and know that you are unique, not here to compete with anyone. No one can replace you. Take time right now to embrace the full blessing of who you are, what you have and what you have to offer.

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‎30 Meditations for Elul

For each meditation, take time to be alone. Sit up tall, quietly. Read the meditation then put your computer to sleep. Turn off the phone. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply, evenly, in and out. Allow your muscles to relax. Imagine yourself free of a trait that weighs you down, keeping you far …from blessings. Breathe and pray for the strength to release a quality that is imprisoning you.

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The Key to the Human Heart

So Elul comes to us every year to give us a month to prepare for the High Holy Days instead of cramming our teshuva in at the last minute. We keep asking God to open the gates for us. But Elul is when God asks us to open OUR gates, to soften, listen, to assess our selves. God holds the keys to many gates, but one ke…y God doesn’t hold is the key to the human heart. That’s in our hands.

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