The Eighth Annual Ariel Avrech ZT'L Memorial Lecture will take place Sunday, June 5, 2011, at 10 AM at the Young Israel of Century City, followed by brunch.

Young Israel of Century City
9317 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90035

We are pleased to announce that Yossi Klein Halevi will deliver this year’s lecture: What Is Expected of a Survivor People: Lessons My Father Taught Me.

World-renowned journalist and author Yossi Klein Halevi will address the following questions: What would today's Jewish world look like from the perspective of a Holocaust survivor? Where have we as a people succeeded and where have we failed? For the first time in his life, Yossi Klein Halevi will confront this challenge from a very personal viewpoint — the worldview of his father, a Holocaust survivor.

This past weekend at YICC is already being referred to as one of the year's highlights by those who had the privilege of being in attendance. Our guest on Shabbat was Rabbi Marc Penner, the Rabbi of Young Israel of Holliswood Queens, and director of professional education and advisement at the Center for the Jewish Future of Yeshiva University. Rabbi Penner gave a powerfully moving drasha Shabbat morning on the importance of true kindness. Rabbi Penner's stimulating afternoon shiur entitled, "Gedolim: wanted dead… or alive?" left the entire crowd buzzing. Rabbi Penner discussed with great passion the threats of misusing our great rabbis and the importance of relating to them, and God, correctly.
Sunday Morning Rabbi Penner returned to kickoff a most fascinating Yom Iyun entitled, "Leading the Jewish Future." Rabbi Penner discussed the challenges facing contemporary Jewish leaders, some of his ideas for producing male and female Jewish leaders, and the innovative improvements being made in Yeshiva University's rabbinical school's professional development program. We then heard a fascinating, and entertaining, presentation by Dr. Bruce Powell, the head of school at the New Community Jewish High School. Dr. Powell explained how to raise our children to become future Jewish leaders. This was followed by a wonderful panel discussion titled, "Charting the Jewish Future" in which we were treated to a very wide variety of speakers and issues. Rosalie Zalis, Senior Vice President of Pacific Capitol Group, passionately explained the importance of making sure that Jewish Education is the highest priority of the community. David Suissa, of the Jewish Journal and Ads4Israel.com then made a powerful presentation on the importance of curiosity, both for Jews who are "connected" and those who are not, to search for meaning and excitement in the vast smorgasbord of Jewish life. Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug, the executive director of Jewish World Watch then gave us an intense and unforgettable first hand account of the horrors of contemporary genocide, and explained the importance of the Jewish community playing a leading role in fighting such evils around the world. Seth Berkowitz, our Shul's President and Vice President of Edmunds.com concluded the morning with a brilliant discussion of specific Jewish values that can lead the way to a positive Jewish future, despite the grim realities facing much of our contemporary world and community.
The entire morning's program will be available on our website, yicc.org under the "Torah on the Web" link by the end of the week, along with many of our other fascinating lectures and programs.

He said the Modern Orthodox had to take back political power in Israel from the chareidim.

Good luck.

The rigorists win out in Judaism. The Chareidim study more Torah, perform more mitzvot, sacrifice more for their religion, and are better organized and more dedicated than the Modern Orthodox.

YICC and Beth Jacob have Young Professionals minyans on Shabbos morning but these don't get many single females.

Aish Ha Torah is great at outreach and gets some singles.

I don’t know why Beth Jacob is not succeeding with singles. They have a young charismatic rabbi and a bunch of young couples.

Chabad has single young women but they marry quickly and only to hardcore Chabad guys.

JConnectLA throws the best singles events for Los Angeles Orthodox Jews.

Sinai Temple’s ATID program throws great events for the less observant.

Beth Am attracts much of the American Jewish University crowd, including many singles (particularly at the Shlomo-Carlebach-style Neshama minyan Friday evenings).

Unfortunately, these new friends did not include the other rabbis in Pico/Robertson.

Rabbi Muskin at Young Israel of Century City (YICC) felt like Rabbi Weil did not give him sufficient kovod (honor) as the senior Modern Orthodox rabbi of the neighborhood.

Rabbi Weil began referring to Rabbi Muskin in uncomplimentary terms, words that I can’t use on a family-friendly blog such as this one.

This absence of a loving relationship particularly gnawed on Rabbi Muskin who often confided to his congregants how much it hurt him that Rabbi Weil didn’t seek him out.

Rabbi Weil didn’t give a flip.

At a meeting with Christian Zionists a couple of months ago, Rabbi Weil said something that caused a fellow rabbi in the ‘hood to walk out.

Rabbi Weil does not have warm relations with any other synagogue rabbi in Pico/Robertson.

Rabbi Muskin is an intense man who likes to run things. His shul does not need an executive director. Rabbi Muskin does that job. Rabbi Muskin runs his shul, not the shul’s board of directors. Rabbi Muskin runs the simchas (celebrations) of his congregants. They get in big trouble if they try to hold a simcha outside the shul. Rabbi Muskin has a particular vision for his community — a community that I loved during my year there — and he enforces it.

YICC and Bnai David-Judea have excellent relations. Even though Bnai David is too liberal for Rabbi Muskin’s tastes, his criticisms are muted at best.

Members of the three Modern Orthodox shuls in Pico/Robertson often hang out with each other, as do members of the two chareidi non-Hasidic shuls — Aish HaTorah and Anshe Emet.

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, the likely next rabbi of Beth Jacob (which has about 800 member families, many on paper only, and a budget twice that of the other Modern Orthodox shuls in the hood), has excellent relations with the rabbis at Bnai David and YICC.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Weil will run the Orthodox Union. I predict he’ll do a great job. He’s the CEO type more than the pastoral care type. He delegated the visiting the sick type stuff to Rabbi Marc Mandel.

Rabbi Weil has an MBA. He loves to run things by delegating. He prefers to concentrate on the big picture and the big donors.

Beth Jacob now has four minyans on Shabbat. A year ago, Young Israel of Century City added a young professionals minyan and a few months later Beth Jacob followed suit. For a while it had an age limit (35 or something), but that’s been dropped. Beth Jacob is going to hire an assistant rabbi to cater to this minyan.

Most of the young single women go to the Happy Minyan or Bnai David (and a few at Aish, almost none to Beth Jacob and YICC).