Southland Synagogues Plan Observances to Mark Shavuot
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Synagogues throughout Southern California will celebrate Shavuot next week, a holiday that marks the giving of the Torah to Moses and the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai. Shavuot will begin at sundown Thursday. Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, comes exactly seven weeks after Passover. It was known as an agricultural holiday in biblical times and was sometimes called the Feast of First Fruits.
Many rituals surround the observance of the holiday, including studying the Torah, reading the Book of Ruth, the story of the Moabite woman who joined the Jewish people and became the grandmother of King David, and publicly reaffirming one’s faith.
The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership has created a World Wide Web site with texts that can be downloaded, the history of Shavuot and other information at https://www.shavuot.org.
Some local services:
* Stephen S. Wise Temple, 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive, Los Angeles. Thursday 7 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m.; Yizkor service 9 a.m. (310) 476-8561.
* Temple Etz Chaim, 1080 Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. Thursday, confirmation and Shavuot service, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.; next Saturday, Yizkor service 10 a.m. (805) 497-6891.
* University Synagogue, 11960 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. Thursday, 6:30 p.m.; Friday, Shavuot Yizkor, 10:30 a.m. (310) 472-1255.
* Valley Beth Israel, 13060 Roscoe Blvd., Sun Valley. Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.; next Saturday, 9 a.m., Yizkor 11 a.m. (818) 782-2281.
* Etz Jacob Congregation, 7659 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. Thursday, 7:45 p.m. and all-night learning midnight to 4 a.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m.; next Saturday, 8:30 a.m., Yizkor 10:30 a.m. (323) 938-2619.
EVENTS
For more than a decade, thousands of people of Central and Southern Sudan--Christians, moderate Muslims and members of traditional African religions--have been subjected to slavery and other atrocities in that nation’s civil war. Next week, two Catholic bishops from the Sudan will be in Los Angeles to speak on the plight of the Sudanese people.
* Bishop Caesar Mazzolari, who served as a priest in the Irwindale-Covina area and was ordained as Bishop of Rumbek, Sudan, by Pope John Paul II, will speak at morning Masses at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 16026 E. Cypress St., Irwindale, on Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. (626) 962-3649.
* Exiled Sudanese Catholic Bishop Macram Max Gassis, who relocated to Nairobi, Kenya after being forbidden to return to his diocese in Sudan by the Sudanese government in 1990, will deliver the morning liturgy at St. Andrew’s Russian Greek Catholic Church, 538 Concord St., El Segundo on Sunday at 10 a.m. with a reception at noon. At 4 p.m., he will deliver a speech at an Ecumenical reception at the Westchester Christian Church, 8740 La Tijera Blvd. On Monday, Bishop Gassis will be a guest on the KCRW-FM (89.9) radio program “Which Way L.A.?” at 1 p.m. On Tuesday evening at 7:30, he will be at a San Fernando Valley Deanery reception at the Los Angeles Times Chatsworth office, 20000 Prairie St. Next Saturday he will be the main celebrant at Mass at St. Paul the Apostle Church, 10750 Ohio Ave., Westwood. For more information on the bishop’s scheduled events call the Sudan Project at (818) 487-0929.
CELEBRATION
“Rendering the Buddha Universe” will be the first in a weeklong series of events to mark the Buddha’s birth at the Hsi Lai Temple, 3456 S. Glenmark Drive, Hacienda Heights. The public is invited to participate by sponsoring and drawing--in colored chalk provided by the temple--an image, prayer or wish for peace on courtyard tiles Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The week will culminate on May 22, the Buddha’s birth date, with a parade, bathing ceremony and garden party. Preregistration is suggested, (626) 923-5150.
CONFERENCES
A “Conference on Racial Reconciliation” will be held at the Ambassador Auditorium, 300 W. Green St., Pasadena, today beginning at 8 a.m. and Sunday beginning at 3 p.m. Speakers will focus on bringing Christians of various ethnic groups together, undivided by race or social standing. It is sponsored by the Greater Pasadena Area Churches and Organizations. (626) 794-2951.
* Nearly 4,000 women from throughout California are expected to attend a Christian Revival conference, “Chosen Women: The Lord Reigns,” at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater Friday and next Saturday. Attendees will be led through personal reflection, prayer and rededication. The event will be emceed by Stephanie Edwards and will feature a Saturday night concert by the Tommy Coomes Praise Band. (714) 696-2000.
MUSIC
The St. Paul Baptist Church of Pacoima, 11137 Herrick Ave., will sponsor a community gospel music workshop Tuesday through Friday. Workshop classes, held from 7 to 10 p.m., will be led by recording artist Gregg Lattimore. The week will conclude next Saturday with a prayer service and luncheon from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and a mass choir concert at 6 p.m. at the New Paradise Church of God in Christ, 11511 Herrick Ave., Pacoima. (818) 368-1783.
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Notices may be mailed to Southern California File, c/o Religion Editor, Metro Section, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053 or faxed to (213) 237-4712. Items should arrive at least three weeks in advance of the event and should include pertinent details about the organization, address, phone number, date and time.
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