Welcome to PJTC's one-stop-shop for community news, events, Jewish resources and Torah study discussion. Simply scroll down to see what's new! Want the newest news sent to you monthly? Join our mailing list using the links to the left. Stay connected...
What can you find throughout...Read more...
Sisterhood - September
Now is the time to Join Sisterhood
Give yourself the gift of building lasting friendships and relaxing with those you have already welcomed into your life. The Sisterhood of PJTC is a multi generational group, with varied interests. We are all busy women with hectic lives so it is a real pleasure to meet on the first...Read more...
Social Justice Committee - September
By Carl Selkin
The Holocaust in Hungary: Watching “1945” Together
The film “1945” will inaugurate the Social Justice Committee’s occasional film eve(nt) on Sunday, August 27 at 5:00 p.m. in Wolman Hall. The black-and-white film brings us back to the bleak aftermath of the holocaust in Hungary, as an elderly observant father and his...Read more...
Board Report - July
Summary of
Board of Directors Meeting, Not including Executive Session
July 24, 2023
Rabbi Goldstein’s devar Torah noted that transformational leaders should not forget the “why” of their mission while working on the “what and how”. Treasurer Clark Linstone reported that we ended the 2022-23 fiscal year with a nearly $10,000...Read more...Member Recognition - July/August
Bnai Mitzvah August
Josh Copi
Josh Copi, 14, has been a dedicated artist and student for many years. Always curious and eager to learn, he applies his energy to his studies as well as his school and home art projects
with equal drive. Josh is an excellent group facilitator who uses his empathy to help...Read more...
Sisterhood News
By Aty Rotter
PJTC Sisterhood begins its 2023-24 year with a fabulous, devoted and strong leadership. We have an active and dedicated Sisterhood board and committee chairs who will need your help and support to assure the success of Sisterhood programming. First become a dues paying member...volunteer....become involved. Keep an eye out for...Read more...
Men's Club July-August
Hello PJTC,
The July heat wave is behind us and the hot August nights are on the horizon (with apologies to Neil Diamond)...which means your PJTC Men's Club (MC) year is underway.
By now you should have received (via email and/or snail-mail) our membership letter giving you several easy ways to join/rejoin MC. If you haven't joined for the 2923-24 year I'll make it simple: just by clicking on this link you'll be...Read more...
Social Justice Committee July-August
a communicator who is unafraid to be a voice of social justice inside and outside the Jewish community”
Commitment to tikkun olam and Jewish values including SOCIAL JUSTICE and encourages for a more just society embodying a voice of compassion, and encouragement to s PJTC and its members to discuss and engage in the...Read more...
Message from Rabbi Ben Goldstein
Forty-five days. If you’re reading this on August 1st, we are 45 days away from the new year, Rosh Hashanah. While the calendars for the rest of the world won’t change for a few more months, many of us are feeling some sort of beginning. Students are getting ready to go back to school, buying their binders and back to school clothes. The summer is ending, and before we...Read more...
Message from Rabbi Carrier
I’m Telling You for the Last Time
There is a peculiar occupational hazard among rabbis: The immodest attraction of comparing oneself to Moshe Rabbeinu, our teacher Moses. We feel called to service (sometimes as a second career, or in Moses’s case, a third). The more we learn in conversation with God and in dialogue with God’s Torah and God’s people, the more humbled we are by the vastness of what we have yet to...Read more...
Guardians Update - May
On Sunday May 21, nearly 60 Guardians and guests gathered in the charming backyard of Nancy and John Carlton for our “Summer Comes Early” event.
A few days prior to the event, the weather was predicted to be warm and sunny, but by the day of the event, there was a grey sky and some thunderstorm warnings. Two hours before the event it started to sprinkle and then drizzle (or is it drizzle, then sprinkle?). I was...Read more...
Membership Recognition - May
Volunteer Opportunity
Read more...
Sisterhood Supports Friends In Deed Women's Room
Friends in Deed - Doing Together What We Cannot Do Alone
Friends in Deed (FID) is an interfaith organization that provides supportive services to meet basic human needs so those experiencing homelessness and at-risk neighbors can rebuild their lives.
Your PJTC Sisterhood continues to support our chosen Tzedakah project – Friends in Deed Women’s Room. Sisterhood provides once a month luncheon delivery (on the third Thursday...Read more...
Board Report - May
Board of Directors Meeting
May 22, 2023
The Board of Directors held its regular meeting on Monday, May 22. The Treasurer’s report indicated that PJTC is in a strong cash position for the end of the fiscal year. During the executive session after the regular meeting a line-by-line review of the budget for the coming...Read more...
Men's Club - June
Hello PJTC,
The month of May is a relatively quiet one for Men’s Club, recuperating from a very successful and well attended Man of the Year/Service to Community Award night. The “guys” made dinner (thank you Debbie Singer for your salmon recipe), led by Chef Sean Surfas’ scrumptious corned beef and Jack Singer’s purchasing prowess. Thank you to David Snyder, Lou Friedman, Stu Miller, Josh Pais and Erich Schlecht who helped...Read more...
Bat Mitzvah - June
Sadie Moss, daughter of Noah and Emily Moss, will be called to the Torah on June 3rd for her Bat Mitzvah. Sadie is a 7th grader at Octavia E. Butler Magnet Middle School in Altadena, CA where she enjoys time with friends in addition to her studies. She has participated in Spanish immersion since Kindergarten and enjoys conversing on many subjects in Spanish. She is a kind and considerate friend who likes to help others. She enjoys volleyball...Read more...
Board Report - April
The Board meeting regularly scheduled for April 24 was postponed to Tuesday, May 2, so that the Board could review the contract with Rabbi Ben Goldstein to be PJTC’s Interim Rabbi beginning July 1. The contract was approved. Rabbi Goldstein will begin working with upcoming b’nai mitzvahs and with the Cantor and Melissa on High Holy Day preparations beginning immediately on an hourly basis.
Other items were:...Read more...
Galpert Scholarship is here again!
It's that time of the year to start thinking of children or grandchildren that could be our next Galpert Scholar. Click here for words from our 2022 Galpert Scholar who is currently in the USC Occupational Therapy PHD program, Roxana Honowitz.
...Read more...
Member Recognition - April
Your fellow congregants would like to recognize the following:
Karen Gross – for the time she spent volunteering in the office on Monday mornings. Nancy & John Carlton, Jamie Perlman, and Amy Knell for hosting beautiful Omer Shabbat Dinners in the month of April. Stacy Ober for creating beautiful “Chag Sameach Pesach” bags as part of Sisterhood’s Community Outreach Program. Bags were filled with...Read more...Israel Update by Stephanie Ivler
My kids and granddaughters live in a small community on the crest of a mountain overlooking the town of Karmiel in the Western Galilee. It is utterly quiet and on clear days we see the Haifa Bay and the towers on Haifa’s Mount Carmel.
This extraordinary period of time begins with Yom Hashoah, when the siren sounds in the morning and throughout the country, all stand, even if...Read more...
Religious School Update - May
What an incredible year it has been for LBSRS! Since the beginning of my tenure at PJTC in 2017, each school year has gotten better and better (with the noted exception that we were fully online due to the pandemic). I credit the success of LBSRS to our engaging and knowledgeable faculty and staff, our robust curriculum, and our new initiatives that focus on community building....Read more...
Bnai Mitzvah - May
Noah Posin - Bar Mitzvah
Noah, son of Stuart and Kim Posin, and older brother to Brooklyn, will be called to the Torah on May 27. Noah has attended Polytechnic School since kindergarten and is currently in 9th grade. Noah has taken a less traditional path to being called to read from the Torah, having found the calling on his own. He...Read more...
Men's Club - May
Hello PJTC,
A lot is going on with your Men’s Club. First, our (now former) president, Jack Singer, is now the PJTC Board President, so per our bylaws, as immediate past President, I resume the mantle for the balance of his term. Jack spearheaded our gifting more money this year than in any previous year in partnership with Sisterhood and the PJTC matching campaign benefiting our various youth educational and social programs....Read more...
Sisterhood's Family Favorites Cookbook
Sisterhood’s “Family Favorites” Cookbook
A perfect Mother’s Day Gift!
Buy several as this is the
perfect gift for Mother’s Day and all other special occasions. It’s the perfect gift for your friends and family members who enjoy cooking. Read more...
Sisterhood News - Get Involved!
Sisterhood’s Nominating Committee, chaired by Judy Callahan, is in the process of putting together the board slate for 2023-24. We encourage all Sisterhood members to consider taking a leadership role and discover the wonderful opportunities of serving on the Executive Committee, Board or becoming an event or program chair or co-chair. We need the support of all women in our congregation. Your involvement brings strength to our PJTC...Read more...
Board Report - March
March 27 was the final board meeting of the current board of directors, headed by President Stacey Sharp. During the meeting, Alan Whitman provided an update on the L’Dor V’Dor (“LDVD”) fund, explaining its background and investment activities, including its financial performance. Whitman addressed various board and congregant questions and concerns. Next, treasurer and incoming president Jack Singer reported that a long-pending...Read more...
Volunteer Opportunities
Read more...
PJTC Youth Update
Dear PJTC,
At the end of March, I was thrilled to see our USYers and Kadimaniks on the Bimah reading Torah and leading prayers for the USY and Kadima Shabbat service. It brings me so much joy to see teens participating in services, and it’s one of my favorite events each year. (Yes, I know I say that about every event—I’m so proud of how active and engaged the youth are!)
We’re in full gear for the Pop-Up...Read more...
