Hello Rabbi!
Temple Adat Elohim in Thousand Oaks will conduct a very special Shabbat service highlighted by the installation of the congregation’s new Senior Rabbi Ted Riter on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. This occasion marks the first installation of a senior rabbi at Adat Elohim in more than 20 years.
Guests for the service will include Rabbi Kenneth J. Weiss (rabbi emeritus of Temple Mount Sinai in El Paso and the current rabbi of the San Diego Hebrew Homes), Rabbi David M. Frank (senior rabbi at Temple Solel — Riter’s former congregation) and Cantor Kathy Robbins (also of Temple Solel). They will be joined on the bimah by the Adat Elohim clergy: Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe and Cantor Peter Halpern.
Riter has been involved in many Jewish and interfaith efforts to pursue social justice on the local, national and international levels. He is founding board member of Project SARAH (Stop Abusive Relationships at Home) and the San Diego program for Jewish alcoholics, chemically dependent persons and significant others. He is a former board member of the San Diego Rabbinical Association and Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside counties.
He has also been active with the United Jewish Federation and the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. He currently serves as a board member for the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis.
Temple Adat Elohim, the largest and only Reform synagogue in the Conejo Valley, welcomes the community to the event. For more information, call (805) 497-7101.
Mannon of the Year
Mannon Kaplan, an architect of the accounting firm Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co., LLP, has been bestowed as an honorary member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for his 40 years of membership and dedication to his profession.
Bank on It
Israel Discount Bank of New York (IDBBank) announced the recent opening of its new branch in Los Angeles. The new branch is in addition to the bank’s existing branch in Beverly Hills. Yoav Peled, SVP and regional manager for California, sees IDBBank’s physical presence in the booming new downtown area as a “major step toward generating additional business from existing clients and attracting new clients located in the downtown area or further east.”
IDBBank, whose total assets exceed $9 billion, is a New York state-chartered commercial bank and a member of the FDIC.
The new branch is located at 888 S. Figueroa St., Suite 550, Los Angeles. For information, call (213) 861-6440.
Bully for Barry
Barry Glassner has been appointed head of the Institute for American Jewish Life at USC. Glassner has authored nine books, including “Culture of Fear,” the book that influenced Michael Moore to make “Bowling for Columbine.”
For the Troops
The room was all smiles as young performers from the Children’s Civic Light Opera (CCLO) performed numbers from a Broadway musical for patients at the Veterans Hospital Nursing Home unit in Westwood recently.
The appearance came about due to CCLO’s new association this year with the Los Angeles Area Veterans’ Artists Alliance (LAAVAA). Keith Jeffreys, producer/chairman of LAAVAA and vice chairman of AmVets Post 116, and Cephus Daniels, AmVets District 2 and Post 116 commander, arranged the visit.
“The patients thoroughly enjoyed [the performance],” Daniels said. “They truly enjoy every activity where young people are involved … the only bad thing was that they couldn’t perform longer.”
Daniels said that he and Jeffreys hoped to make the CCLO visit to entertain the vets an annual event.
CCLO artistic directors Diane Feldman and Kelly Todd feel that community outreach such as the visit to the Veterans Hospital is an important component of the group’s mission.
“It is essential for young people to experience the rewards of serving their communities, and it is equally important for our youth to acknowledge those who have served our country,” they said. “We believe in the power of sharing creative energy, and we make certain that our students understand the tremendous ability of theater to touch people’s lives.”
CCLO is a performing arts program celebrating its 18th year of training and educating area youth ages 7-17.
For more information about CCLO, call (310) 478-5886. For more information about AmVets and LAAVAA, call (310) 559-2116 or visit www.LAAVAA.org.
