High Holiday Audio: Oseh Shalom
09/08/2015 02:00:00 AM
CLICK HERE to download Oseh Shalom, an audio track in celebration of the New Year from Cantor Phil Baron.
Wishing you and your family a safe, healthy and joyous New Year from the staff and Clergy of Valley Beth Shalom
Read more...Parashat Mattot-Ma asei
07/15/2015 02:00:00 AM
I've always prided myself on finding the best, fastest and most creative ways to avoid traffic. It's as if Los Angeles traffic and I were made for each other. We're natural adversaries. 405 stop and go this morning? No problem. I have work-around sneaky back-road solutions so hidden and unexpected that only the Fire Department and I know about them. Ventura blvd. a parking lot this afternoon? Why would you...Read more...
"The Power of Silence"
04/15/2015 01:55:37 PM
“The Power of Silence”
The UCLA department of Ethnomusicology has a new Chair in Jewish Music, endowed by a grant in the name of legendary Jewish performer Mickey Katz. This is a ground-breaking event, and the new chair's first occupant, Dr. Mark Kligman is already actively beginning to stimulate a Jewish music renaissance here in Los Angeles.
On Monday night, I attended the second in a series of...Read more...
“The Power of Silence”
04/14/2015 11:00:00 PM
The UCLA department of Ethnomusicology has a new Chair in Jewish Music, endowed by a grant in the name of legendary Jewish performer Mickey Katz. This is a ground-breaking event, and the new chair's first occupant, Dr. Mark Kligman is already actively beginning to stimulate a Jewish music renaissance here in Los Angeles.
On Monday night, I attended the second in a series of public concerts which express the...Read more...
Parashat Bo: 4 Sh'vat, 5775
01/22/2015 10:54:22 AM
Parashat Bo: 4 Sh'vat, 5775
This week's parasha is the telling of the final plagues sent to persuade Pharaoh. It is exciting, dramatic, moving, and certainly liberating. But is it true? Is there any proof at all that the Exodus from Egypt really happened?
Some years ago, Rabbi David Wolpe made a controversial statement during his High Holiday sermon. He suggested that the Exodus might not be true; that there may have...Read more...
Nava Tehila: "Beautiful Prayer" Comes to VBS
12/04/2014 02:14:22 PM
NAVA TEHILA: “BEAUTIFUL PRAYER” COMES TO VBS
Most of us, clergy included, would like to have a more meaningful prayer experience. We all want to connect with the transcendental, with the ineffable, with the Holy One.
This morning I asked the Day school 3rd graders if they talk to God. Many responded that they do -- especially when they say “Sh'ma” before going to sleep. So I did an experiment. We...Read more...
Parashat Lech L'cha: The Woman Who Named God
10/28/2014 03:09:22 PM
Parashat Lech L'cha
8 Cheshvan, 5775
Cantor Phil Baron
“The Woman Who Named God”
The title of my Clergy Corner article is borrowed from a current novel by Charlotte Gordon. The dust jacket describes this biblical tale as, “A story of fidelity and abandonment, birthright and expulsion, the saga of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar is the myth of origin for three monotheistic faiths. Ms. Gordon gives us a...Read more...
From the Clergy Corner with Cantor Phil Baron: Parashat Chukat
06/26/2014 08:32:22 AM
Parashat Chukat-30 Sivan, 5774
by Cantor Phil Baron
Our many centuries of Torah discussion and commentary, called midrash, are an essential part of who we are as a people. Normally this process is conducted verbally " out loud or written, and often preserved or added to a kind of ongoing forum which engages and merges the opinions of contemporary Jews and scholars from the distant past.
Composer...Read more...
Andalusian Music and the Music of Adam Del Monte
02/13/2014 09:43:22 AM
Andalusian Music and the Music of Adam Del Monte
On February 22 and 23, you will have the opportunity to hear music rarely played in the synagogue ' and played brilliantly by a world-renowned musician.
The music has its roots in Andalusia, a region of Spain, and you may recognize it as flamenco, that exciting, energetic Spanish music, usually played on guitar and danced with great emotion, pulsating rhythm and...Read more...
Parashat Vayeitzei, 6 Kislev 5774
11/07/2013 09:37:22 AM
Parashat Vayeitzei, 6 Kislev 5774
by Cantor Phil Baron
“The Forgotten Imahot”
I occasionally continue learning with my young students privately -- beyond the age of bar or bat mitzvah. These are usually highly motivated students who want to improve their Torah reading or davening skills. What teacher would not welcome students...Read more...
Fri, May 3 2024
25 Nisan 5784
