David Suissa

October 9, 2008

Sermon of the Year

Film directors call this end-of-day light the "golden light." It's not the bright, naked light of the mid-day, nor the dramatic darkness of the night. It's the light that bridges those two worlds. Spiritually, it's the time when the past and the future caress each other -- the day is still fresh in our mind, but we can feel the breath of the approaching night.

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Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Holiday Heartburn

"Not eating is not suffering," he said, "it's elevating ourselves to a state of transcendence. The fast, on Yom Kippur, reminds us how little material we really need; that we can do with less meat, with less bread, with less of everything."

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Got forgiveness?

Most of us neglect what is arguably the most difficult and meaningful ritual at this time of year: Going to the people we've hurt, recognizing our hurtful actions and asking for their forgiveness

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Gov. Sarah Palin with filmmaker Elan Frank
Photo courtesy Elan FrankWednesday, September 17, 2008

Shooting Sarah Palin

Earlier this year, he called the office of the governor of Alaska to ask permission to shoot Sarah Palin for his new film, a documentary about powerful women of the world. Because he had spent a lot of time in Alaska, he'd heard about the feisty Palin and thought she'd be a natural.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Fields of Dreams

I used to think that between the time of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D., and the birth of Israel in 1948, there was no such thing as an


exclusively Jewish city. Sure, there were plenty of Jewish ghettos and neighborhoods scattered throughout the globe, but a city with only Jews in it? I never imagined it.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Before King, it was Prinz

Thus began the least-remembered great speech in American civil rights history, one that had the dubious fortune of being immediately followed by another speech: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, which America just celebrated on its 45th anniversary.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

A school with attitude

If Barack Obama and John McCain wanted to elevate the level of discourse of their presidential campaigns, they could do worse than check out the last election campaign at Shalhevet High School

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Strange Love

It was clear where the conversation was headed when Luke, speaking over melodic chants that included words like "Lord" and "heaven," asked if I had any "spiritual leanings."

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Dear Condoleeza Rice:

Last Saturday, on the Jewish Sabbath, I was attending prayer services at one of the big synagogues in Los Angeles, Beth Jacob Congregation, when something unusual happened that made me think of writing you this letter.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Lebhar’s Dream

Our Moroccan ancestors, the rabbi explained, were Torah romantics. They were so in love with Shabbat that they didn't want it to end

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

For a few good laughs

"I think I have an interesting activity for us," my sister said. "There's a guy out there who's got this laughter yoga thing going on."


How does anyone say no to a "laughter yoga thing"?

Adeena Bleich and former Assembly Speaker 
Bob Hertzberg at a bar mitzvah in Hancock Park.Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Candidate Adeena

If you want to really annoy Adeena Bleich, just ask her what it feels like to be a young Orthodox woman running for City Council. I know, because when we sat
down recently for lunch at Shiloh's, the first thing I asked her is what it felt like to be a young Orthodox woman running for City Council.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Yossi and Dror

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

A quiet hero

When Libby was not around, the young women of Shalva often had to be coaxed in order to reveal their insecurities or to talk about sensitive issues. But with Libby, it was the opposite.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

From Pico to Sheba

I'm dying to tell you about a fascinating afternoon I spent with an Israeli scientist at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer, but first, I want to tell you how I ended up there

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Thriving on the edge

Is there any hope for peace in Israel? Are things getting better or worse? Does war and conflict dominate Israeli consciousness? After spending a week in the Holy Land with very little sleep and lots of Turkish coffee, talking to bright people from the left to the right, I can report with absolute certainty that I have no idea.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Eva’s prayer

He wasn't the only one who helped Eva fight through the pain. For years, Eva has had an extended family down the street at Maimonides Academy. The head of the school, Rabbi Boruch Kupfer, often came to visit. One day, knowing what Eva was going through, he asked her what they could bring. Eva wasn't shy: Food, she said, and lots of soup.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

A Persian tragedy

The most important thing I can say to all my Persian friends is that before we are anything, we are all Jews. What binds us together is not just our humanity, but the collective Jewish identity we forged at Sinai some 3,300 years ago.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Shavuot 5768: Midrash love

When I think of Torah, the first thing that comes to mind is a divine, rigorous system of laws that guides an ethical and holy way of life. The last thing I think about is whimsy and romance

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Paris with a Jewish accent

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Israel fest or Jewish fest?

David Suissa refects on the Israel Festival at Woodley Park

Thursday, May 15, 2008

A birthday gift

Here we are, Jews in every corner of the world, awash in a frenzy of celebrations for Israel -- all because of a birthday. And not just any birthday, mind you, but one that ends in a zero.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Museum of too much tolerance?

Should the Museum of Tolerance tolerate parties and simchas in a place that commemorates the death of 6 million Jews?

Thursday, May 1, 2008

The fear of silence

It's estimated that 97 percent of Polish Jews died in the war. To this day, Geminder can't quite fathom how he ended up in the 3 percent that survived.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

The other refugees

Is there a more loaded word in the Arab-Israeli conflict than "refugee"

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Where’s the Passover story?

It's one of the great mysteries of the Jewish tradition. Every year, Jews around the world gather around a seder table to retell the story of our people's liberation from slavery. You can read a thousand articles, talk to a thousand rabbis, and they'll all say the same thing: At the Passover seder, we retell the story of the Exodus.

There's only one problem with this statement: It's not really true.

Rabbi Sherre HirschThursday, April 10, 2008

We plan, Sherre laughs

The conversation was joyful and funny, but something was bothering me. I couldn't stop thinking about the poached eggs.

We had all ordered our breakfasts at the same time. I got my Irish oatmeal, my daughter got her bagel and cream cheese, but the poached eggs? It seemed like they would never come. Every time a server would come near our table, I would arch my neck to see if they were carrying the poached eggs. Waiter after waiter walked by, only to deliver food to other patrons.

Community Calendar

10/12/08 8:30 am
Mar Vista Farmers’ Market

10/12/08 10:00 am
Writing with Light

10/12/08 10:00 am
Picturing the Process: Landscape Through Time and Space

10/12/08 10:00 am
A Literacy of Images: Nancy Newhall and the Art of Photography

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