TEMPLE'S 'HEART AND SOUL' RABBI KAUFMAN TO BE LAUDED AT BETH HILLEL MILESTONE.Byline: HOLLY J. ANDRES Staff Writer VALLEY VILLAGE -- He is as comfortable dressed as Superman greeting revelers at a Purim carnival as he is dressed in his rabbi's robe leading a holiday service. He is as down-to-earth chatting with fourth-graders at a weekly "Rap with the Rabbi" session as he is leading the annual Seder in the Desert camping trip at Passover. For all of his synagogue-life roles, Rabbi James Lee James Lee is the name of:
Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . "He is the heart and soul of Temple Beth Hillel," said longtime member Bonnie bon·ny also bon·nie adj. bon·ni·er, bon·ni·est Scots 1. Physically attractive or appealing; pretty. 2. Excellent. Goodman. "One reason why Beth Hillel has been successful for 60 years is due to leadership consistency. Rabbi Jim has been here for over 30 years and that sets a tone. He has a friendliness and humor. He's within touch." Kaufman's personal roots in Temple Beth Hillel's neighborhood run deep. He grew up in North Hollywood and first came to Temple Beth Hillel as a kindergartner kin·der·gart·ner also kin·der·gar·ten·er n. 1. A child who attends kindergarten. 2. A teacher in a kindergarten. . "I went to the temple as a kid. I felt a sense of community and spirituality there," said Kaufman, who was inspired by the late Rabbi Morton Bauman, who led Temple Beth Hillel from 1949 to '77. As a student at North Hollywood High School North Hollywood High School, originally called Lankershim High School when it opened in 1927, is a secondary school in North Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. The school mascot is the husky, and the school colors are blue, white, grey. , Kaufman volunteered and used his singing and guitar-playing talents at the temple. He immersed im·merse tr.v. im·mersed, im·mers·ing, im·mers·es 1. To cover completely in a liquid; submerge. 2. To baptize by submerging in water. 3. himself in Jewish life and decided to become a cantor cantor [Lat.,=singer], a singer or chanter, especially one who performs the solo chants of a church service. The office of cantor, at first an honorary one, originated in the Jewish synagogues, in which from early times it was the custom to appoint a lay member to . That dream was dashed, however, while he was studying at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an . It was there he found that while he may have had the right voice for singing around a campfire, it wasn't so fine for synagogue prayers. But through his experience with regional and Temple Beth Hillel youth groups, Kaufman decided that his destiny was as a rabbi. Kaufman was ordained or·dain tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains 1. a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on. b. To authorize as a rabbi. 2. and became an assistant rabbi in 1973 at Temple Beth Hillel. He discovered the joy of teaching Judaism and helping individuals through Jewish core values. "Jews grow spiritually through study. If someone asks me, 'How do I become more spiritual? Should I come to services more often?' I tell them, 'Study. Take a class,'" Kaufman said. In his years as rabbi, Kaufman said, he hasn't noticed a big shift in the types of spiritual questions he gets. At the top of the list always seem to be: How do I cope with the death of a loved one? How do I find God? What can I do to mitigate my loneliness? The most frequent question, however, is: How can you help me find a comfortable niche at Temple Beth Hillel? "There is a lot of coldness, alienation and anomie anomie, a social condition characterized by instability, the breakdown of social norms, institutional disorganization, and a divorce between socially valid goals and available means for achieving them. out there," said Kaufman. "We pride ourselves that we're an inclusive congregation. We welcome everyone. "One of the reasons why I think we've been successful is that the staff is accessible. We return phone calls. I am an accessible rabbi. I'm a rabbi to anyone in the community." Faith Tessler, a member of the temple for 18 years, is a testament to Kaufman's attention to each individual who asks for advice or counsel. With Kaufman's encouragement, Tessler was inspired to become a rabbi. She will be ordained this year. "He's real. He's not pretentious. He's humble, wise and caring. Fabulous as a teacher," said Tessler. "He's passionate about us, the Beth Hillel community, and about social justice, equality and helping people find what Judaism means to them. He's the perfect rabbi." Temple Beth Hillel, 12326 Riverside Drive A number of cities around the world have a Riverside Drive. In the United States:
holly.andres(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3708 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Rabbi James Lee Kaufman leads a "Rap with the Rabbi" session at Temple Beth Hillel in Valley Village. (2 -- color) - Rabbi James Lee Kaufman David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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