Wilshire POV

As we conclude the Book of Numbers with the double Torah portion Matot-Mas'ei , we reflect on the Israelites' 42 journeys through the wilderness and what they teach us about honoring every stage of our own lives. Through Cantor Lisa Peicott's personal story of letting go of years of baby gear and embracing a new season of family life, this episode explores how even our most difficul...

As graduation season invites us to reflect on what lies ahead, this week’s Torah portion reminds us that while uncertainty is inevitable, we can choose curiosity, courage, and faith over fear. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Bouleva...

As summer begins and new adventures lie ahead, this week’s Torah portion reminds us that growth often requires leaving behind what is familiar and embracing the possibilities that come with change. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Bo...

The smells of barbecue and sweet Moroccan treats wafted through the air as I walked through Gan Sacher (Sacher Park) in Jerusalem in the days after Passover, during the years I was living in Israel. Thousands of people would spend the day there, commemorating Mimouna, the North African celebration that marks the end of the holiday. Most years, Mimouna is a giant public celebration in Israel. But t...

Monday was a day we’ve been looking forward to for a long time: moving day. On Monday morning I sat alone in our apartment, surrounded by boxes, and breathed a deep sigh of relief. It was 10:26 AM and the movers were scheduled to arrive at 10:30 AM. Everything was done and ready just in time. And then I remembered…the mezuzot!  Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on...

Vayikra, the opening portion of the Book of Leviticus, discusses the first details of the sacrificial system that the priests will operate on behalf of the Jewish people. The text describes the particular sacrifices that will be offered, what is being offered, how the priests will carry out the ritual, and the reason that one makes an offering. While the system certainly seems obsolete and foreign...

Ran Gvili’s funeral was a moment unique among all others, but the collective need to rise to the next chapter is a feeling familiar to the Jewish people. It is on full display in the Torah portion we read this week. At the core of Parashat Beshalach are two songs, sung not when Pharaoh first freed the people from Egypt, but after they crossed the sea and the waters closed in on the Egyptian armies...

Imagine: You are an ancient Israelite, and all you have ever known - all your recent ancestors have ever known - is oppression. You witnessed the plagues and the sea splitting and you fled for your life into the wilderness. And now, three months later, you are gathered at the foot of Mt. Sinai together with your fellow Israelites.  Morning dawns, thunder and lightning begin, a dark cloud descends...

Well folks, we are in the thick of it. In just the last few weeks, we have witnessed the abuse of unchecked power against a group of outsiders, the rising up of a people against a heartless dictator, the crumbling of an authoritarian regime, and a people’s chance at true freedom. 2026 is off to a bang, right? Well, not quite. While this description could be the homepage of any news publication tod...

In our Torah portion this week, Parashat Vaeira, we see an important moment for Moses to speak the truth. God has told Moses that he will be the savior of the Jewish people, the prophet directly communicating God’s words to Pharaoh to let the Israelites go and bring them back to the land of Israel. But Moses hesitates to take on the task, and he tells God that he is unable and unprepared. Moses sa...

For thousands of years, Jewish parents and parental-figures have been saying this exact same blessing. So who were Ephraim and Menasseh, that the Torah warrants blessing our children in their names each Shabbat eve?  We are living through what feels like an inflection point in the history of American Jewry. Antisemitism is sharply on the rise and the broader Jewish community is splintered, especia...

Today is the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. On the fifteenth day of any month on the Hebrew calendar, there is a full moon in the sky. But when the full moon of Kislev arrives each year, it feels as if the light of the moon is wrestling with the darkness of the darkest season of the year. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice,...

Taking responsibility to care for those who are vulnerable has always been core to Jewish tradition, but living this value has always been an imperfect endeavor. That is why this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim , which begins with instructions about setting up systems of justice, ends with a seemingly abstract law about how those in positions of responsibility should handle an unknown person who is...

At the conclusion of this Shabbat, the Jewish community will commemorate Tisha B’Av , the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. It’s a day steeped in mourning and reflection. Traditionally, it commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples—the first attributed to the ancient Israelites’ idol worship, immorality, and bloodshed; the second to Sinat Chinam , or baseless hatred. In each c...

We come to the end of the book of Numbers this week with the double portion Matot-Massei. The Israelites wrap up a challenging chapter of wandering through the desert and they have started looking ahead to life in the Promised Land. The closing of this book offers an important message for the Israelites and us today. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of...

Lucky for us, our tradition has a secret weapon to help us deal with the never-ending mishigas of our time, and no, it’s not a giant space laser  Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or history. Facebook: Wilshire Boulevard Temple Website: wbtla.org Youtube: Wilshire...

By definition, ritual becomes habituated and in its familiarity lies much of its power. But when we never stop to consider why it is that we engage in the first place, the ritual loses its meaning and will eventually fade away. Each week, a member of the clergy offers their personal perspective on a topic of their choice, such as the week's Torah portion, a Jewish holiday, ritual, custom, or...

This has been another difficult week. As we wait and watch and hold our breath over the news coming out of Israel, we feel tension, concern, and hope. The events unfolding in Israel and in our own backyard fill up our thoughts and trouble our sleep. In the past week I’ve had several conversations with congregants about Israel in particular, and what many of us keep coming back to is the awe we fee...

As we approach the festival of Shavuot, most years (and this year included) we read from the torah portion Bamidbar - “in the wilderness”. For our ancestors, bamidbar meant leaving what they knew - slavery in Egypt. For us, bamidbar can infer leaving what we know. For us and our ancestors, bamidbar invokes traveling in uncertainty. In this week's Shabbat Message, Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro...

For weeks we have been wading through the many ritual laws of the book of Leviticus, known in Hebrew as Vayikra .  In short, Vayikra consists of rules about a specific holy place (Mishkan), with very specific kinds of sacrifices (korbanot) , that can only be performed by a specific group of people, the priests ( Cohanim ), who are the mediators between God and the Israelites. And then this week’s...

We are currently in the midst of the Book of Leviticus, a book dedicated to both the concept of purity and, more importantly, the values and actions a community must adhere to in order to create a holy society. We are a people who spend the majority of our central text wandering through a barren wilderness, just like that little boy, Bodin, in Arizona, found safe with only minor scratches, thanks...

Spring has arrived in Southern California, signaling a time to embrace warmer weather and prepare for Passover. Rabbi Hannah Elkin expands beyond the story of the Exodus from Egypt and shares the other Jewish traditions, including the reading of Song of Songs, symbolizing new beginnings. This seasonal transition is mirrored in the Torah portion, Parashat Vayikra, which calls for spiritual and emot...

For this week's Shabbat Message, Rabbi Leah Lewis reflects on the emotional weight of Passover this year, marked by the ongoing captivity of 59 Israelis in Gaza. Yet, Passover also emphasizes the coexistence of bitterness and sweetness—represented through traditional foods and rituals. This duality is echoed in the reading of Song of Songs during Passover, a poetic celebration of love and hop...

Rabbi Joel Nickerson, on the occasion of his installation as the seventh Senior Rabbi in Wilshire Boulevard Temple's 163-year history, shares four pillars that will shape our future together: Hope , Vision , Community , and Courage . These words serve as the foundation for the next chapter of our Temple’s journey.  Tikvah, the Hope to inspire the next generation, Chazon, the Vision to innovat...

This week’s Shabbat message comes from Cantor Lisa Peicott—not just as a clergy member, but as a mother. As we collectively mourn the devastating loss of Kfir and Ariel, the heartbreaking fate of the Bibas family, Cantor Peicott offers a promise—to Kfir and Ariel, to her own children, and to us all. "I promise to hope."  " Hope is not easy, hope is not pretty, hope is not a zero sum...