Our Latest
Audios
A CONVERSATION WITH CLERGY ABOUT HIGH HOLY DAYS 2020
Tune in to the latest Clergy Conversation as Rabbis Frimmer, Klein Miles, Cohen and Cantor Coyot discuss Isaiah’s plans for the High Holy Days: What to expect, how to prepare, who’ll be there. In an age of uncertainty and radical adaptation, Judaism and the Jewish people are surprisingly well suited to reinvent themselves and their most cherished rituals.
This year, connection and community are more important than ever. #beingisaian means being together. Let’s make our way through this wilderness together.
BYE, PURIM! IT’S MATZAH TIME
The Isaiah clergy team discusses preparations for Passover, favorite parts of the haggadah, and the 5th most important question (after the classic 4): Have you bought your matzah yet?
JEWISH WOMEN’S THEATRE & TEMPLE ISAIAH: STORIES FROM THE VIOLINS OF HOPE
On Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 2:00 PM, members of the LAJS chamber ensemble will join with Jewish Women’s Theatre and Temple Isaiah to present a World Premiere: Stories from the Violins of Hope. This event will take place at Temple Isaiah and feature violins that survived the Holocaust and have been lovingly restored by Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshi in Tel Aviv. Learn more about this historic performance as Isaiah clergy talk with Dr. Noreen Green, music curator, director and conductor of LAJS which she founded in 1994. To learn more click here
Seating is limited! Purchase your tickets today. Those who serve as a sponsor, patron or angel donor are invited to a special gathering with food and drink following the performance, in the company of the instruments, musicians, writer, and director
PBS special featuring the violins
YouTube video explaining the violins’ travels
“WE WERE NERDS JUST DOING OUR JOB” AN INTERVIEW WITH LEN KLEINROCK
Len Kleinrock, a member of Temple Isaiah, sits down with Rabbis Frimmer and Klein Miles to talk about his role in developing the internet. Beginning with a childhood love of tinkering and engineering, Len emerged as a leader and master of innovation. Listen to the podcast for a taste of his upcoming talk, coming to you live from the Temple Isaiah Social Hall on Friday, February 28 at 8:00 p.m. following services and dinner. Please join us.
SALT IN MY SOUL: A STORY OF DETERMINATION AND TRANSFORMATION
Rabbi Dara Frimmer and Rabbi Zoë Klein Miles welcome Diane Shader Smith to The Clergy Suite for a discussion about Diane’s upcoming talk at Isaiah featuring her daughter Mallory’s (z’l) best-selling book, Salt In My Soul.
Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of three, Mallory Smith grew up to be a determined, talented young woman who inspired others even as she privately raged against her illness. Mallory worked hard to make the most out of the limited time she had, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, becoming a cystic fibrosis advocate well known in the CF community, and embarking on a career as a professional writer.
For more than ten years, Mallory recorded her thoughts and observations about struggles and feelings too personal to share during her life, leaving instructions for her mother to publish her work posthumously. She hoped that her writing would offer insight to those living with, or loving someone with, chronic illness.
THE CATHARSIS OF COMEDY: STORYTELLING AT THE END OF LIFE
Jennie Fahn, author and star of the one-woman show “Under the Jello Mold,” joins Rabbis Frimmer and Klein Miles for a conversation about her upcoming performance at Isaiah and the stories we tell about the final act of life. Join the rabbis as they delve into the backstory (can you really write a comedy about death?!), giving space for grief, making meaning of loss, and the power of eulogies, in any form.
Jennie performed her show “Under the Jello Mold” at Temple Isaiah on Sunday, January
“Under the Jello Mold” — Jennie Fahn revisits her very colorful character of a mother during what turned out to be the final act of her mother’s life. Jennie’s mother was a force to be reckoned with — a former dancer never content to merely rehash her past, there was always a story to be embellished, always a name to drop, and always a lesson to teach.
RECONCILIATION AND FORGIVENESS AT THE END OF LIFE
Rabbi Frimmer – Friday Night Shabbat Sermon 5779 – The death of a loved one gives us a unique opportunity to do teshuvah — a change in direction, a new behavior – an experience of forgiveness that was previously thought to be prohibited, unheard of, or unimaginable. But, death changes the rules.
NOW? NOT NOW? HOW AND WHEN TO INTRODUCE CHILDREN TO TOUGH TOPICS
Rabbi Frimmer and Klein Miles catch up on office politics and the ever-present question: How do we talk to our children about hard topics? Based on a conversation about when and how to introduce children to literature that touches on death, the rabbis consider language, timing and awareness for anyone considering a tough conversation with kids.
WHAT TO SAY WHEN PEOPLE WISH YOU “MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Rabbi Frimmer and Klein Miles recall Christmas memories from their childhood as they consider the question of etiquette and identity in the season of vendors wishing you (and your children) “Merry Christmas!”
JEWS & CHRISTMAS MUSIC
The Isaiah Clergy Team discusses the arrival of Professor Peter Curtis on December 20 for a conversation about the hidden Jewish writers of classic Christmas music. Come and learn, sing along, and discover the history of White Christmas, Silver Bells, and Chestnuts Roasting. PS – Save the date! December 27 – Chinese Food & A Movie following Shabbat services. #MaryPoppins