Purim in the Wild West at USC

I missed posting this by mistake....

Here's the first version of the edited Purim video. Enjoy!

Hey everyone,


So we’re finally back…

We had an awesome time in Israel, NY, Toronto, etc. Lots of pictures of the Israel trip are up on facebook, of course.

Now we’re back, trying to catch up on everything and get ready for next year. There’s a couple of things we’re working on currently that should be relevant to you, whether or not you’re here in LA. And even if nothing else, you can always scroll down to read the Torah thought at the end of the email J


We’d love to hear from you – and if you’re in LA, get together to catch up. So please email, call, or ring our bell…



Hope you’re having a great time, and looking forward to seeing you soon.


Dov and Runya





1) Summer Stuff – BBQ Monday night, and Shabbat this week

2) Work Study

3) Housing at USC

4) Calendar – Birthdays and Advertising

5) MAZAL TOVS

6) Planning next year’s activities

7) Thought for the Week





1) Summer Stuff – BBQ tomorrow (Monday) night and Shabbat this week

Yes, we do stuff in the summer too…

Specifically, we’re having our first big BBQ of the season tomorrow (Monday) night.

(As you may know, starting next week for the nine days leading up to the fast of Tisha B’av (the fast day commemorating the destruction of the Temple) it is customary not to eat meat. So next Monday night we’ll have a meat-free BBQ. But this week you can load up on hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and more…)

As always, we’ll grill and chill for a while, followed by some learning and discussion.

That’s Monday, July 9 at 6:30 pm in the Chabad House yard (2713 Severance St.) under the avocado tree. Come any time between 6:30 and 9:30 to grab a bite and talk.



Also, this weekend we’ll be doing Shabbat at the Chabad House. So if you’re in the LA area, this is your week. Friday night, July 13 at 7:45 pm, and Saturday, July 14 at 10:30 am. We’d love to see you there!

(Summer Shabbats are much smaller than usual, which gives us much more of a chance to actually talk to everybody there…)





2) Work Study

Are you work-study eligible? We’ve got a job for you…

Help plan and organize events for USC’s Jewish community. Interact with loads of other students. Manage an office. Run a kitchen. These are just some of the opportunities available to eligible work studies at Chabad @ USC.

Choose your own hours. Get paid. Make a difference. And have a whole lot of fun. All in a great environment, at the hub of Trojan Jewish life.

Contact Runya now at runya@usc.edu





3) Housing at USC

We’re looking for a few good women.

Did you miss out on housing last year? Are you just looking for a better option?

Well, how about a place just steps off “the Row”, with a USC tram stop right outside, parking available? How about a real home with character – not just another faceless housing unit? How about having an in-house Kosher dining option? How about living right at the heart of USC’s Jewish community, in the new Residential Hall on the top 2 floors of the Chabad House?

Competitive rents, comfortable spaces, hi-speed internet, and a great home atmosphere. What could be better.

Contact Runya at 213-748-5884 or runya@usc.edu





4) Calendar – Birthdays and Advertising

We’re way behind schedule. Usually, we’ve got our calendar wrapped up by now, but due to all our travels this summer, we’ve got to get it all done in the next couple of weeks. So we need your help.

Please don’t wait for another announcement, because there might not be one.



As you probably know, every year we publish a beautiful Jewish art calendar, with programming and dates for the coming year as well as community information and everything a Jewish Trojan needs. It gets mailed to our entire list of over 2,500 students and parents past and present, as well as supporters and friends in the broader community.



What you need to know is this: The calendar is intended as one of our annual fundraisers. And we need your help to make it happen.

There are two main elements to the calendar – in addition to the holidays, programs, etc.:



Personal Announcements. It is really special for us to include in the calendar birthdays and anniversaries of our students and their friends and families, as well as other notable dates and Yahrtzeits. These announcements help ensure that we’ll be able to celebrate with you when your special day gets here, and the support of Chabad @ USC’s activities is a meaningful way to mark the date.

Announcements are $26- each. So whether you’re marking your own or inviting your family and friend’s to do so, make sure you don’t get left out.



Advertisements. As noted, the calendar reaches thousands of people affiliated with USC and/or the Jewish community, and proudly hangs on many a wall throughout the entire year. It’s a great way to advertise your business to a really key market demographic. Competitive rates, starting at $250- per ad.

Please feel free to encourage friends and family to advertise, and help provide the funding for the calendar and the important programming throughout the year.



Contact Rabbi Dov at chabad@usc.edu to reserve your announcements/ads, discuss payment options, or for more information.







5) Mazal Tovs and announcements

One downside of our recent travels was that it unfortunately caused us to miss out on participating in the happy occasions of some of our very dear friends here in LA.

At the same time, a really special part of our travels was that both in Israel and in NY we got to participate in some very special celebrations.

So, here are the Mazal Tovs. Sorry if we forgot anybody. And there’s no room to include all the birthdays – you know who you are. (Anyway, that’s what facebook’s for.)



MAZAL TOV to Erica Waxer (’07) on her marriage to Danny Steinberger. We’re so sorry we missed it!



MAZAL TOV to Chava Frankiel (’06) on her engagement to Shlomy Lederer, and her upcoming wedding!



MAZAL TOV to Dr. Michael (’01) and Na’ama Hakimi on the birth of their second son, Yosef Yitzchak!



MAZAL TOV to Michael and Rachel Malk on the birth of their son!



MAZAL TOV to Jonathan and Zoe Klein on the birth of their daughter!







Announcements

Job Opportunity

Entry-Level Sales Representative:

Do you want to build a career in Sales? We are a Los Angeles-based community non-profit weekly newspaper with loyal readers and a devoted staff. A full-time entry-level position selling CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS has opened. We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic salesperson to help grow our classified advertisement section. You must be committed to expanding our regular advertiser base through cold calling lead generation.

This is primarily a telemarketing position. Salary commensurate with experience, plus possible draw. Experience in advertising sales is preferred. Please submit resume and cover letter to Allison Drucker at allisond@jewishjournal.com.



Roommate

I am a student in Santa Monica College, I am looking for a roomate to share my 2 bedroom apartment located on pico and robertson.The room is $700 a month. My kitchen is strict Kosher and I keep shabbat therefore I would prefer an observant roommate as well. If you know anybody please contact me:

sobo1986@hotmail.com

310-866-0570







6) Planning next year’s activities

Now’s your chance to get your voice heard. We’re in the middle of putting together next year’s calendar of events, classes, and programs, and as always we welcome your input.

Always felt something should be happening a little bit differently? Speak up now. Always wondered why nobody’s put together your perfect program? We’d love to do it with you. Heard a great idea from a friend at another school? Let’s bring it to USC together.

Please share ideas, volunteer to join us for discussions, and get involved. Right here, right now. chabad@usc.edu or 213-748-5884







7) Thought for the Week

Have you ever opened the Torah and read it? Not a book about it, not a synopsis, but just the text (or a translation) itself?

I have. And I’ve got to tell you, some parts seem pretty boring.



Take the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, for example. (Actually, it’s this week’s second Torah portion – a certain number of weeks each year we read two portions in order to still finish by the end of the year, and this week’s one of them.) The portion is called Masey – the travels. It details the 42 legs of the Jewish people’s journey out of Egypt. Forty two places where they stopped along the way.

Ok, great. So the Torah’s a travelogue? It’s as boring as a phone book. They traveled from Succoth and came to Ramses. And they traveled from Ramses and came to… What’s the relevance to me and my life? What message is this trying to teach me? And how does it relate to the events we’re commemorating this time of year – the Three Weeks of mourning commemorating the destruction of the Temple?



And actually, if I do take the time to pay some attention, I’ve got another question. Why does the Torah refer to these 42 trips as being “the journeys of the Jewish people leaving the land of Egypt”? The first step already got them out of Egypt. The other 41 are just their further wanderings as they travel towards the Holy Land. So there’s only one journey leaving Egypt, not 42!



Well, as I often do when faced with questions of this sort, I turn to the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. That’s after all what he talked about, week after week for over 40 years. Challenging, questioning. What’s the relevance? Where are the lessons? How should the Torah be changing my life? And what are the simple and obvious questions that are so glaring that many of the commentaries not only leave them unanswered but even unasked?



And, indeed, the Rebbe asks these questions. But with a glance at the inner dimension of these verses, he suddenly transforms a boring travelogue to an integral life’s lesson.



Mitzrayim—the Hebrew name for Egypt—after all is so much more than a name. It’s a state of mind. It is rooted in the Hebrew word Meitzarim, boundaries and limitations. The exodus from Egypt is about people leaving their constrictions behind, about digging deep and recognizing we can be so much more than we ever thought we could.



But that’s not a one-step process. I may have left my Egypt behind yesterday. I may have journeyed forth, sprung free. I’m no longer in Egypt. I’m living up to my fuller deeper potential. So now I can relax, right? Now I can sit back and bask in the glory of my achievements.



Uh uh! Yesterday’s freedom, the Torah’s telling me, is today’s enslavement. There’re a lot of journeys to leave Egypt. Because even though technically I may have broken through with the very first trip, yesterday’s goal is today’s starting point. And if I get held back today, even at this higher point, then I’m no less a slave now than I was before.



And so the journeys listed in the Torah are in fact teaching me a very important lesson – in fact a two-sided one:



On the one hand, no matter how much I’ve achieved in my life, no matter how high I think I’ve reached, there’s always more to do and further to grow. Life is about movement, not stagnancy. Every day brings with it a new challenge and opportunity, and I can never sit back and be satisfied to rest.



But on the other hand, the opposite is also true. No matter how lowly I may feel myself to be, I can always grow. I can never say: What’s the point? Look how daunting the task is. Look how far I’ve fallen. My work is insignificant, my challenge insurmountable.

Not at all! One journey does take me out of Egypt. Sure, there will be something more to achieve tomorrow. But with just that first step, I can get out of my current enslavement, and reach a completely new place.



And that’s the connection to the Three Weeks of mourning as well. The month during which the destruction of the Temple (in fact, both Temples) took place is known as Menachem Av – a month in which our Heavenly Father consoles us. Because, sure… looking at it at first glance it’s a month of anything but consolation. But when we look a little bit deeper we recognize that the truth of every challenge is the growth that it spurs, the truth of every darkness is the light it engenders. And that’s what our collective journey is all about.



May we speedily merit to see the light within the darkness and the peace within the chaos. May we spend this Tisha B’av—rather than growing through mourning the destruction of the Temple—rejoicing in its rebuilding together with Moshiach.





Rabbi Dov Wagner

Chabad Jewish Student Center @ USC

2713 Severance St.

Los Angeles, CA 90007

www.chabadusc.com

Chabad@usc.edu

213-748-5884

310-801-3142 – cell



“Your next act will change the world. Make it a good one!”