OU WEST COAST ANNUAL DINNER, JUNE 16 AT YINBH, TO FEATURE CANTORIAL CONCERT AND WILL HONOR JANICE AND PHILIP KAUFLER OF BEVERLY HILLS
The beautiful sounds of four great voices interpreting masterpieces of chazzanut will be heard on Sunday, June 16 as the Orthodox Union West Coast Region presents its annual Tribute Dinner and Concert, to be held at the Young Israel of North Beverly Hills, in its new home. The black tie event will begin with dinner at 5:45 p.m., with dessert following the concert. It is the first time that the Tribute Dinner will be held at YINBH, and celebrates the completion of the congregation’s stunning new building.
The program will feature four world-renowned cantors, as the OU pays tribute to Janice and Philip Kaufler of Beverly Hills as the Keter Shem Tov Awardees. The chazzanim are Yaakov Motzen of the Shul of Bal Harbour, FL; Arik Wollheim of Congregation Beth Jacob, Beverly Hills; Netanel Baram of the Young Israel of North Beverly Hills, and Colin Schachat, originally of Johannesburg, South Africa. All have won acclaim for their tours and recordings, and all feature the ability to render a joyous Hallel, a somber Kol Nidre and Unesanah Tokef, and a stirring Shabbat and Yom Tov Kedushah.
The Kesher Shem Tov honorees, Philip and Janice Kaufler, have dedicated significant time and energy to the development of the Los Angeles Jewish community. Through Janice’s selfless acts of chessed and time spent volunteering for the community, she is able to instill great values in those around her. During Philip’s four-year tenure as President of the Young Israel of North Beverly Hills, he successfully led the community through the building of the first Orthodox synagogue in Beverly Hills in over 50 years. Janice runs many of YINBH’s behind-the-scenes daily activities. As a couple, their community involvement reaches far beyond YINBH, demonstrated by their dedication to numerous charities, primarily centering on Jewish causes and needs. Honoring them as the Tribute Dinner is held for the first time at their shul, is most appropriate.
A key participant in the program will be Los Angeles’ Martin Nachimson, who this spring became the first West Coast-based President of the OU. He will be joined by OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Steven Weil, formerly rabbi of Congregation Beth Jacob of Beverly Hills.
“The decision to have a cantorial concert was taken because as a synagogue organization, the Orthodox Union encourages meaningful davening, full understanding of the tefillot, and of course, places a high value on the beauties of our liturgical music,” declared West Coast Director Rabbi Alan Kalinsky. “Because of the concert, our spirits will soar, as we reflect on the past year and plan ahead for the year to come. Having our own Marty Nachimson elected as national president certainly made the 12 months since our last dinner a most extraordinary time for OU West Coast.”
For further information, contact the region at {encode=”mailto:westcoast@ou.org” title=”westcoast@ou.org”}, or 310-229-9000.
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