During Yom Kippur services at Stephen Wise Temple on Sept 16, 2021, Phil Koosed shared his family story from the past when his grandfather was the only survivor in his family from the Holocaust to the current generation when his own father now has eight grandchildren and Phil is spearheading the efforts of The Big Fill to Save the Syrian children. His family’s leadership has saved countless children, brought hope and sent over 50 pallets of supplies to Syria. They have raised over $550,000 with over $127,000,000 in-kind donations.
I had never felt bigger in my life. I was 6 years old and I had just received my celebratory Torah during the Hagigat ha torah ceremony at Wise Temple. My grandfather, a holocaust survivor with one amputated leg, hoisted me high onto his broad shoulders. I could feel his pride radiating out as he marched around Wise with a joyful smile across his face. But just four decades before that moment, my grandfather’s life had been shattered. His entire family had been murdered in the holocaust. His father, his mother, his brother, all his cousins, all his aunts and uncles. All of them. And as he rode alone in a packed train car heading to the camps, it seemed as if Judaism would die with his generation.
Yet, through a miracle of G-d, he escaped and survived and here he was, carrying his grandson around this beautiful temple continuing the link of Judaism. L’dor v’dor. From generation to generation.
Fast forward ahead to last year and I am at my son’s Hagigat ha torah. It is a little different because it is during Covid and Rabbi Stern is in my front yard with a mask on, a hazmat suit and some kind of contraption to hand a torah to my son from 6 feet away. But as Rabbi Stern starts to say some beautiful words and a prayer, my eyes well up. First a single tear streams down my face, then a waterfall. This was yet another link in the chain. I was doing my small part in the 5,000 year history of our people. I was doing to my part for my grandfather. L’dor v’dor. From generation to generation.
Koosed Family
Eight Grandchildren
Wise Temple was not only a part of this journey for me, it made this journey possible. My parents, who are here today, signed up to be members of this temple over 40 years ago. A young couple just trying to figure out how to raise Jewish children in LA, and not face the traffic of going to the city. They started going to services and then put me and my two sisters in the Wise school. As time went by, we all had our Bar and Bat Mitzvahs with Rabbi Herscher, went through the confirmation program, spent every high holy day here, got married by the Wise clergy and made lifelong friends. In recent years, the Wise community supported my family to help our charity, Save the Syrian Children, send over 50 pallets of humanitarian aid to children in war torn Syria! And now, our sons and our 3 nephews attend Wise school causing even more chaos than I caused when I was here. I am sorry Ms. Itri, Coach Star, Ms. Volterra and many of our multigenerational teachers who have had to deal with multiple generations of us. As we all pursued our careers and got caught up with the busyness of life, the one constant for our whole family has been Wise Temple.
There is no doubt that Judaism has struggled to find its path with my generation. Sadly, I have seen some of my friends over the years become jaded and completely disconnected from Judaism.
Without a place like Wise Temple, life can get busy and Judaism can fade away. Not all at once. Just slowly, generation by generation.
But Wise Temple won’t let that happen. Because Wise Temple is an amazing community of love and tzedakah that lives up to its creed of making meaning and changing the world. But it is not just that. It’s bigger than that. It is also fundamental to the continuity of our Jewish faith and traditions. Wise Temple gives families like mine and yours the opportunity to pass Judaism from generation to generation making sure, that not only does Judaism survive, but that it thrives.
I ask that you join me in supporting this vital mission. Give today not only to support this incredible community, all it stands for and the change we make together. But give today to preserve the very existence this Jewish faith that we all so dearly love. Too many generations before us, too many, have made the greatest sacrifice for us not to do everything we can to make sure that our bright light continues to burn from generation to generation. Shana tova.
There is a benefit of roasting food on skewers, à la shish kebab. By cutting meat and vegetables into smaller uniform pieces, the marinade coats more and the food cooks evenly.
The tight relationship between Trump and Netanyahu masks the real debate over Israel churning in the Republican Party, and Israel’s standing among Democrats has never been lower.
Some emphasized the importance of combating antisemitism and protecting Jewish safety, while others called for political engagement and cooperation across party lines.
So here we are, stuck with just a few bad options to consider. And that’s just the political superposition of undetermined future – alongside it there’s also the possible – probable? – war with Iran.
At a time when Jewish education is competing for attention in a world dominated by screens, sports, short-form videos and endless streams of content, these easily collectable cards offer a different kind of engagement.
There is little chance that the combination of a weakened Trump and an emboldened Democratic Congress produces similar levels of support for aggressive action against Iran and its proxies, and other policies that a wide spectrum of Israelis see as crucial to their security.
In the diaspora and in Israel, we cannot turn back the clock and undo the harm that was done to us. But we can shape our own future. Israel is strong and resolute. So must we be.
Democrats who were long considered “moderates” or even pro-Israel have been signaling over the course of the last year that they can no longer be relied upon to back a Jewish state under assault by Iran and its terrorist proxies.
The Torah offers a comforting view of a life beyond this life. We aren’t told what it will be exactly — yes, it’s abstract and vague — but we are told it’s waiting for us as it was for Abraham.
For me, the disaster isn’t that Democrats won or Republicans lost. It’s that politicians who demonize Israel, deny Jewish self-determination and explain away antisemitism are finding an increasingly receptive electorate in the world’s most important democracy.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.
Stephen Wise Temple: A Place to call Home
Lisa Ellen Niver
During Yom Kippur services at Stephen Wise Temple on Sept 16, 2021, Phil Koosed shared his family story from the past when his grandfather was the only survivor in his family from the Holocaust to the current generation when his own father now has eight grandchildren and Phil is spearheading the efforts of The Big Fill to Save the Syrian children. His family’s leadership has saved countless children, brought hope and sent over 50 pallets of supplies to Syria. They have raised over $550,000 with over $127,000,000 in-kind donations.
I had never felt bigger in my life. I was 6 years old and I had just received my celebratory Torah during the Hagigat ha torah ceremony at Wise Temple. My grandfather, a holocaust survivor with one amputated leg, hoisted me high onto his broad shoulders. I could feel his pride radiating out as he marched around Wise with a joyful smile across his face. But just four decades before that moment, my grandfather’s life had been shattered. His entire family had been murdered in the holocaust. His father, his mother, his brother, all his cousins, all his aunts and uncles. All of them. And as he rode alone in a packed train car heading to the camps, it seemed as if Judaism would die with his generation.
Yet, through a miracle of G-d, he escaped and survived and here he was, carrying his grandson around this beautiful temple continuing the link of Judaism. L’dor v’dor. From generation to generation.
Fast forward ahead to last year and I am at my son’s Hagigat ha torah. It is a little different because it is during Covid and Rabbi Stern is in my front yard with a mask on, a hazmat suit and some kind of contraption to hand a torah to my son from 6 feet away. But as Rabbi Stern starts to say some beautiful words and a prayer, my eyes well up. First a single tear streams down my face, then a waterfall. This was yet another link in the chain. I was doing my small part in the 5,000 year history of our people. I was doing to my part for my grandfather. L’dor v’dor. From generation to generation.
Wise Temple was not only a part of this journey for me, it made this journey possible. My parents, who are here today, signed up to be members of this temple over 40 years ago. A young couple just trying to figure out how to raise Jewish children in LA, and not face the traffic of going to the city. They started going to services and then put me and my two sisters in the Wise school. As time went by, we all had our Bar and Bat Mitzvahs with Rabbi Herscher, went through the confirmation program, spent every high holy day here, got married by the Wise clergy and made lifelong friends. In recent years, the Wise community supported my family to help our charity, Save the Syrian Children, send over 50 pallets of humanitarian aid to children in war torn Syria! And now, our sons and our 3 nephews attend Wise school causing even more chaos than I caused when I was here. I am sorry Ms. Itri, Coach Star, Ms. Volterra and many of our multigenerational teachers who have had to deal with multiple generations of us. As we all pursued our careers and got caught up with the busyness of life, the one constant for our whole family has been Wise Temple.
There is no doubt that Judaism has struggled to find its path with my generation. Sadly, I have seen some of my friends over the years become jaded and completely disconnected from Judaism.
Without a place like Wise Temple, life can get busy and Judaism can fade away. Not all at once. Just slowly, generation by generation.
But Wise Temple won’t let that happen. Because Wise Temple is an amazing community of love and tzedakah that lives up to its creed of making meaning and changing the world. But it is not just that. It’s bigger than that. It is also fundamental to the continuity of our Jewish faith and traditions. Wise Temple gives families like mine and yours the opportunity to pass Judaism from generation to generation making sure, that not only does Judaism survive, but that it thrives.
I ask that you join me in supporting this vital mission. Give today not only to support this incredible community, all it stands for and the change we make together. But give today to preserve the very existence this Jewish faith that we all so dearly love. Too many generations before us, too many, have made the greatest sacrifice for us not to do everything we can to make sure that our bright light continues to burn from generation to generation. Shana tova.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIG FILL
Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.
Editor's Picks
Israel and the Internet Wars – A Professional Social Media Review
The Invisible Student: A Tale of Homelessness at UCLA and USC
What Ever Happened to the LA Times?
Who Are the Jews On Joe Biden’s Cabinet?
You’re Not a Bad Jewish Mom If Your Kid Wants Santa Claus to Come to Your House
No Labels: The Group Fighting for the Political Center
Latest Articles
Superstitions and the Training Wheels of Faith
At Israel’s Low Point, Montreal Federation Throws a Wild Party
Rabbis of LA | The Rembaums’ Happy Life Together
Some LA Business Owners and Residents Taking Safety Into Their Own Hands
‘The Israeli in Me Came Out’: At 81, Howard Rosenman Fought His Attackers
Jewish Activist Says She Won’t Be Silenced After Being Attacked at the University of Michigan
A Popular Skewer Recipe
There is a benefit of roasting food on skewers, à la shish kebab. By cutting meat and vegetables into smaller uniform pieces, the marinade coats more and the food cooks evenly.
Table for Five: Chayei Sarah
Commitment To Love
Settling on the Outskirts – A poem for Parsha Chayei Sara
The life of Sara ends with death.
A Moment in Time: Beyond Politics
A Bisl Torah ~ Love at First Hearing
Is attraction based solely on the physical? Or is chemistry based on something deeper?
Why Moses’ Name Is Changed to Menasseh in Judges
Why Israel’s Messy Election Should Worry Washington
The tight relationship between Trump and Netanyahu masks the real debate over Israel churning in the Republican Party, and Israel’s standing among Democrats has never been lower.
Jewish Community Weighs Implications of Democrats’ Midterm Election Victories
Some emphasized the importance of combating antisemitism and protecting Jewish safety, while others called for political engagement and cooperation across party lines.
Print Issue: Election Fever | November 6, 2026
What comes next?
Rosner’s Domain: Weeks of Known Unknowns
So here we are, stuck with just a few bad options to consider. And that’s just the political superposition of undetermined future – alongside it there’s also the possible – probable? – war with Iran.
The Switched Passport: A Lesson in Seeing the Other
That is my hope: that by finding things we can do together, by recognizing each other’s humanity, we might come to see each other more fully.
After the Last Out, Collect a Different Kind of Card
At a time when Jewish education is competing for attention in a world dominated by screens, sports, short-form videos and endless streams of content, these easily collectable cards offer a different kind of engagement.
6 Jewish Takeaways from the Midterm Elections
There is little chance that the combination of a weakened Trump and an emboldened Democratic Congress produces similar levels of support for aggressive action against Iran and its proxies, and other policies that a wide spectrum of Israelis see as crucial to their security.
Israel Drives Them Crazy
In the diaspora and in Israel, we cannot turn back the clock and undo the harm that was done to us. But we can shape our own future. Israel is strong and resolute. So must we be.
A Democratic-Run Congress Will Target Israel as Well as Trump
Democrats who were long considered “moderates” or even pro-Israel have been signaling over the course of the last year that they can no longer be relied upon to back a Jewish state under assault by Iran and its terrorist proxies.
Why Jewish Unity Is So Difficult
When each dispute seems existential, an error is a catastrophe and disagreement seems like betrayal.
Torah Portion: Chayei Sarah
The Torah offers a comforting view of a life beyond this life. We aren’t told what it will be exactly — yes, it’s abstract and vague — but we are told it’s waiting for us as it was for Abraham.
The NAZA Election — Israel and the Jews were Collateral Damage on Tuesday
History teaches that you can always trust the fanatics to overplay their hand, allowing muscular moderates to reassert power.
Present at the Scene: The 2026 Mid Term Elections and the Jewish Vote
How do voters reconcile longstanding party loyalties with changing views of Israel, communal security and American political leadership?
Hatred Opened the Door. A Missed Victory Held It Open.
For me, the disaster isn’t that Democrats won or Republicans lost. It’s that politicians who demonize Israel, deny Jewish self-determination and explain away antisemitism are finding an increasingly receptive electorate in the world’s most important democracy.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.