November 24, 2003

New Y.U. President Richard Joel to Deliver Keynote:

OU West Coast Torah Convention in Los Angeles to Explore ‘The Secret to Jewish Survival: The Jewish Family,’ in Community-Wide Event, December 11-15

With the theme of The Secret to Jewish Survival: The Jewish Family, and featuring a keynote address by Yeshiva University’s new President Richard Joel and an appearance by Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn, the West Coast Region of the Orthodox Union will hold its 13th annual West Coast Torah Convention at synagogues and other sites throughout the Los Angeles area from Thursday December 11-Monday, December 15.

The Convention will include religious services and programs at 14 area synagogues, as well as at local yeshiva high schools. A distinguished group of Convention faculty (or scholars-in-residence) will fan out through the community and lead sessions at the various sites. Convention Co-Chairpersons are Jeff Presser of (Beverlywood) and Geri Wiener of (Beverly Hills).

“The Convention is our annual opportunity to participate in a very significant experience, including leading rabbanim (rabbis) and rashei yeshiva (senior scholars of yeshivas) from beyond California,” declared West Coast Region President Dr. Larry Eisenberg. “The Convention is a tremendously concentrated opportunity to hear these religious leaders address the community on the issues of the day. The Convention is topical rather than text-based,” added Dr. Eisenberg, comparing it to a “university experience.”

“We try to provide an intellectual, religious and practical experience; we try to have something for everyone,” Dr. Eisenberg said.

“The uniqueness of the Convention is that it’s a community-wide event, not just a community event,” added Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, Director of the OU’s Los Angeles-based West Coast Region. “It truly represents the concept of amcha, or the entire people, and that is how we see the Convention.”

According to Martin Nachimson of Los Angeles, who is Chairman of the OU’s National Board of Governors, “The Convention is a function of how the Orthodox Union serves Jewish communities throughout the United States. This is one key example of how it does so.”

The Convention theme, The Secret to Jewish Survival: The Jewish Family, is consonant with the Orthodox Union’s heavy concentration nationally on strengthening the Jewish family through such events as “positive” Jewish parenting and Jewish marriage programs, both of which have been held in Los Angeles before large audiences.

The Convention will also feature a Conference for Healthcare Professionals on Sunday morning December 14, with Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler, Professor of Biology at Yeshiva University and Rosh Yeshiva of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), the Y.U. Division which trains and ordains rabbis.

Two Beverly Hills-area synagogues, B’nai David-Judea and Beth Jacob-Beverly Hills, will serve as central Sabbath locations, close to the Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills, the hotel that will accommodate guests attending the Convention from outside of Los Angeles or from Los Angeles neighborhoods too distant to walk to those synagogues on Shabbat. B’nai David will be the location of the Friday evening service and program, and Beth Jacob for the Sabbath day services and program. (A full list of participating area synagogues will be found at the end of this release.)

The faculty, which will conduct sessions at both the synagogues and yeshivas, includes OU President Harvey Blitz, OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, and a stellar list of rabbis, scholars and distinguished Jewish professionals. (See list, below.)

Yeshiva University President Richard Joel will address the Convention on its family-related theme on Thursday, December 11 at 7:45 p.m. following the Keynote Dinner, at Congregation Shaarei Tefila in Beverly Hills. Mayor Hahn will greet the participants at 7:00 p.m.

Convention sessions relating to the theme will deeply explore the successes and challenges of the Jewish family. Sessions will include:

• The Jewish Idea of the Family in the Teachings of Rav Soloveitchik,
  with Rabbi Mordechai Willig;
• Sholom Bayit (Peace in the Household): Keeping Our Marriages Spicy,
  with Rabbi Joel and Aviva Tessler;
• When Generations Clash: Kibbud Av v’Em (Honor to the Parents) in Conflict with Other Religious Imperatives,
  with Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky;
• Spiritual Dynamics of the Father and Mother Roles (for women only),
  with Shira Smiles (note: Shira Smiles is a well-respected former Los Angeles yeshiva teacher who now lives and teaches in Israel);
• Harei at Mekudeshet Li (“Behold, You Are Consecrated to Me,” from the Jewish marriage service): How to Fulfill the Ongoing Responsibilities of Marriage,
  with Rabbi Hershel Schachter;
• The Family of Am Yisrael (the Jewish People): Becoming United and Fulfilling Our Destiny,
  with the OU’s Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb;
• Flipping Out: How to Maintain Balance Between Family Relationships and Religion,
  with Rabbi Joel and Aviva Tessler;
• If Judaism Is an Ideal Life, Why Do Our Families Have Such Tzuris (problems)?,
  with Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg;
• Why Aren’t My Children Observant: What Are We Doing Wrong?,
  with Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter;
• Is an Ivy League Education Worth the Spiritual Price?,
  with Dr. David Luchins; and
• Inspiring Dignity in Our Lives (for women only),
  with Shira Smiles, at the Andy & Beverly Ligget Women’s Beit Midrash.

“We want to address the problems confronting the Orthodox family but there are also a lot of successes, so we will try to find a balance,” said Dr. Eisenberg, the Region President. “Even tzuris – problems or challenges– can be looked at from a positive point of view, in how they are being dealt with. Our people will come away from the Convention with a positive feeling – and this is traditional at our Conventions.”

The Conference for Healthcare Professionals, to be held Sunday morning December 14 at the Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills, will explore two topics of great concern to the Orthodox community: The Genome and the Jews, Responding to New Discoveries and Tests; and Providing Care/Withdrawing Care: Halacha (Jewish Law) in Conflict with Bio-Ethics. Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler, who will be the featured speaker, is a leading authority on medical ethics and Jewish law in the Orthodox community. (Note: MCLE – continuing legal education – credit will be given on the second session to lawyers who register.)

Other key Convention sessions will explore Pitfalls in Kashrut Certification and How to Avoid Them, with Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Executive Rabbinic Coordinator in the OU’s Kashrut (Kosher) Division; and a panel discussion on Developmentally Disabled Teens, conducted by the OU’s Yachad Program for the developmentally disabled.

The Convention will also include a Saturday night concert with Chazzan (Cantor) Elli Kranzler of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, in New York. After the Convention concludes, another special day of learning (Yom Iyun) will follow on Thursday, December 25, the sixth day of Chanukah, at the Westwood Kehilla, featuring local rabbis and their wives.

Convention faculty includes: Harvey Blitz (NY), National President, Orthodox Union; Rabbi Moshe Elefant (NY), Executive Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Kashrut Division; Rabbi Yosef Furman (LA), Magid Shiur, Daf Yomi, Young Israel Century City, Rebbe at YULA High Schools; Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg (Detroit), Executive Director, Kids Kicking Cancer; Richard Joel (NY), President, Yeshiva University; Dr. David Luchins (NY), Chairman, Political Science Department, Touro College, National Vice President, OU.

Also, Rabbi Hershel Schachter (NY), Rosh Kollel and Professor of Talmud, Y.U./RIETS and OU Senior Halachic Advisor; Shira Smiles (Israel, Ramat Beit Shemesh), Educator, lecturer, Darchei Bina & Afikei Torah Seminaries; Mrs. Efrat Sobolofsky (NJ), Candidate for doctorate, Y.U./Wurzweiler School; Social worker, Jewish Association for Developmental Disabilities; Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky (NJ), Young Israel of Paramus, Professor of Talmud, Y.U./RIETS; Rabbi Sholom Strajcher (North Hollywood,) Dean, Emek Hebrew Academy.

Also, Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler (Monsey, NY), Y.U. Professor of Biology, Rosh Yeshiva, RIETS and Rav, Community Synagogue, Monsey; Mrs. Aviva Fox Tessler (Potomac, MD), Judaic Studies teacher, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and founder of Operation Embrace (national effort to help Israeli injured victims of terror); Rabbi Joel Tessler (Potomac, MD), Beth Sholom Congregation; Founder, B'shert Institute for Jewish Studies; Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, OU Executive Vice President; Rabbi Mordechai I. Willig (NY), Professor of Talmud, RIETS; Rosh Kollel, Wexner Kollel Elyon; Rav, Young Israel of Riverdale; Rabbi Jeff Wohlgelernter (La Jolla), Congregation Adat Yeshurun.

The participating synagogues include Congregation Shaarei Tefila Los Angeles; Young Israel of Highland Park; B’nai David-Judea; Aish Hatorah; Beth Jacob-Beverly Hills; Calabasas Shul; Kehillat Yavneh; Mogen David Los Angeles; PJC-Venice; Shaarey Zedek North Hollywood; Westwood Kehilla; West Coast Torah Center; Young Israel of Century City; and Young Israel of North Beverly Hills.

For further information on attending the Convention contact Rabbi Alan Kalinsky at 310-229-9000, ext. 3, or rakalinsky@ou.org.

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 275,000 products manufactured in 68 countries around the globe.

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