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L'Chaim Gala 

Celebrating our Jewish Lives

We invite you to a Gala evening celebrating our life milestones and Jewish joys as we honor Rabbi Avi Libman for his 20 years serving our congregation.

The evening will feature dinner, l'chaim toasts, and a medley of songs performed by Broadway’s Bruce Sabath, the leading Tevye touring in Fiddler on the Roof.

*Evening details below

Sunday, May 19, 5pm

Congregation Beth El

Cocktail Attire

Tickets $118 per person

Please RSVP by April 19th

*Book Of Life Submission Deadline has passed.

To register to attend the gala, please contact Joy.

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Honoring Rabbi Avi Libman

We invite you to a Gala evening celebrating our life milestones and Jewish joys as we honor Rabbi Avi Libman for his 20 years serving our congregation as our rabbi, teacher, and friend.

Rabbi Libman has served as Beth El's Rabbi for the past 20 years.  During his tenure, he has assisted in growing the religious school and teen programs, created a thriving Young Adult community and countless life cycle events.  Prior to joining Beth El, Rabbi Libman served as a Chaplain in the Naval Chaplaincy Corps.  He credits his tenue to the warm embrace he and his family have received from its membership.  Rabbi Libman is passionate about helping members find their spiritual, intellectual and social path of Jewish expression.

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Bruce Sabath

Broadway’s leading Tevye touring in Fiddler on the Roof

Bruce Sabath is a versatile New York-based actor with a rich theatrical background spanning stage, film, TV, and commercials. Notable roles include Larry in the Tony-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company (recorded for PBS Great Performances), Leyzer Volf in the historic production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, and Jack Warner in the hit Off-Broadway musical, Cagney. He has also starred in productions of Sondheim’s Follies and Michael John LaChiusa’s Hello Again. Sabath's regional credits encompass a range of roles, including Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon, and Sigmund Freud in Sabina. On-screen, he has appeared in various TV shows and films, including The Blacklist, Madam Secretary, and Ramy.

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Learn more about Bruce Sabath HERE.

About Our Honorees:

Isaac Lagnado

I am a descendent of a young rabbi who was expelled with his family from Spain during the 1492 Inquisition, ended up in Aleppo, Syria and started a family dynasty , from fathers to sons, of Rabbis, Chief Rabbis, Talmudic Scholars and Judges, for more than four years. Born with that DNA, I grew up in my parental “kosher” home learning  with my siblings the fundamental traditions and commandments of Judaism through examples, such as charity, attending Shabbat and High Holy Days Services, honoring father and mother, witnessing the respect shown towards the family Elders when visiting them after Services. I joined my father for daily morning prayers, donning Tallis and Tephilim after my Bar Mitzvah, a routine I maintained as a teenager in Cairo, Egypt, as a college student in Paris, France, as a scientific engineer in Eindhoven, Holland and a family man in the US in Boston, MA since  1958, where I was invited to pursue my career. The demands of a 50+ years of professional life took me from coast to coast, twice, before setting anchor in San Diego, CA in 1970 where  we joined, as a family, Congregation Beth El, a few year later. We fully integrated with the community, spending quality time with “haverim”,  calling Beth El “home away from home”.  I maintained equally my professional endeavors and religious commitments. Retirement came in 2005.  I started and completed the family tree to demonstrate principally to my grandchildren the roots which gave them identity, Jewish Identity,  to be proud of. The more than five hundred names in the document from the first-in-line Rabbi Samuel L. who arrived in Aleppo, circa 1500 CE, to date, reside in the computer memory of the Museum of the Jewish People, called today, ANU. Anyone connected with the family will be able today and in the future to add his/her family branch to the tree.  The second achievement, to the benefit, too, for the grandkids, is my own memoir. Meaningful retirement is incomplete without “long term” study of the Torah, a dormant desire. Attending one day the early morning prayers at Beth El offered me the opportunity to join the “Minyanaires” family.  I was hooked.  I felt proud and renewed to share with an amazing group of congregants giving their time to allow others to say the “Kaddish” for a loved one who passed away.  As a scientist, physicist, engineer, I compare the minyanaires as the atomic core of any element, giving it its characteristics, its identity.  The congregants are like the electrons orbiting the core; the closer the electrons are to the core, the stronger the attraction; for the congregant, their true Jewish identity is reflected.  I became a Proud Minyanaire.  I started to give my comments on the weekly perashat for the study session which followed the morning prayers and the breakfast offered to any one attending the class.  I wanted to do more.  I volunteered for the kitchen detail under the tutelage of Sam J., who is the kindest and most helpful man who ever walked on this planet Earth.  I assisted him, and in time, I became a “sous-chef”. In the meantime, Ran A.  approached me with an offer I could not refuse: Torah reading, my cherished desire.   Ran became my amazing mentor, and he encouraged me to start reading the Torah on a regular basis for Shabbat.  I owe Ran my deepest gratitude. The spiritual reward is phenomenal! Innovate.  Keep it simple.  I found a way to put a smile on a few faces at Beth El.  The solution is a bottle of single malt Glen Livet Scotch to share with like minded congregants and guests at the Kiddush.  That is the most successful program I ever initiated.  You do not need a Ph.D for that.

Karen Bohrer

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Taylor & David Israel

Taylor and David love being a part of the Beth El community, and are thrilled to participate in the excellent programs that engage young families, including Young Family Shabbat, VTS, and High Holiday childrens' services. David grew up and was bar mitzvahed at Beth El, and knew it was the right spiritual home for the family. Taylor's first Beth El connection was through the Introduction to Judaism class, and completed her conversion with Rabbi Avi, who also officiated Taylor and David's wedding. Their daughter Orli and son Bekin had their baby naming/bris with the Beth El community, and are now growing up here. 

 

Taylor also serves on the JCC Board, and David sits on the Beth El Board; both are also involved heavily in their childrens' schools. 

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Contact

shalom@cbe.org

858-452-1734

 8660 Gilman Drive

La Jolla, CA 92037 

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