TEBH “Billy Joel” Shabbat Gala, Bronfman Fellowship

On Aug. 26, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills (TEBH) held a “Welcome Back Shabbat Gala,” honoring Lorraine and Jerry Factor and the Factor Family with the Legacy Award and Stacy Kesner with the Community Service Award.

The Factors are longtime members and supporters of the Reform congregation, and Kesner is director of TEBH’s Early Childhood Center. 

The Billy Joel-inspired service was held outdoors at the Beverly Hills Civic Center Boat Court. True to the theme, TEBH Cantor Lizzie Weiss, supported by the synagogue backing band, performed V’Shamru to the music of Joel’s “Uptown Girl” as well as Shma/V’ahavta to the “Piano Man’s” ”She’s Always a Woman to Me.” 

Midway through the evening, TEBH Rabbi Jonathan Aaron invited the honorees to the bimah to light the Shabbat candles.

“It was such a wonderful feeling to see everyone together again, celebrating our Temple Emanuel community, and honoring the Factor family and our beloved Early Childhood Center Director, Stacy Kesner!,” the synagogue posted on Facebook, where the video of the event was viewable.

“Next year’s Kiss!” Aaron said at the end of the evening. 

Weiss, however, had other ideas.

“No! Stevie Wonder!” the cantor said.

The Bronfman Fellowship has announced that it is now accepting applicants for the 37th cohort of its transformative program, which is open to high school students in the U.S. and Canada who self-identity as Jewish and will be in 11th grade in the fall of 2022.

The 2023 fellowship, an all-expenses-paid program, selects 26 outstanding North American teenagers for an intellectually challenging year of programming, beginning with an immersive seminar that includes a five-week summer in Israel between the Fellows’ junior and senior years of high school, followed by monthly virtual experiences and two seminars in the U.S.

“The Fellowship is an opportunity for dynamic personal and intellectual growth in a group of carefully chosen peers,” Bronfman Fellowship Executive Director Becky Voorwinde said. “We seek to increase communication between young people across the Jewish spectrum including fostering bonds between Jews in North America and Israel. This program serves as a creative force that has inspired some of our best Jewish young adults to become leaders in their communities.”

The Fellowship was founded in 1987 by the late Edgar Bronfman, formerly CEO of the Seagram Company and a visionary Jewish philanthropist.

Applications for the 2023 Fellowship are due Dec. 5, 2022 and are available online at bronfman.org.