On Sunday, May 6 over 720 Sinai Temple members and friends gathered to honor Max Webb Senior Rabbi David Wolpe’s twenty years of leadership, building a sacred community. The themes of the evening were inclusion, acceptance and unity. The Sinai Temple Gala not only celebrated Rabbi Wolpe’s legacy of leadership and community building, it also marked the official announcement of the naming of The Elaine & Gerald Wolpe Parenting Center of Alice and Nahum Lainer School of Sinai Temple, in memory of his parents. In his remarks of award acceptance, Rabbi Wolpe spoke words of great admiration and appreciation for his parents, who shaped him into the inspirational, spiritual leader he is today. Other highlights of the program included a choir performance by Alice and Nahum Lainer School and Sinai Temple Religious School students, led by Cantors Marcus Feldman and Lisa Peicott; a musical performance by Craig Taubman; a moving invocation by Rabbi Brad Artson; a video presentation highlighting the profound effects of Rabbi Wolpe’s work, featuring Jewish community leaders Julie and Marc Platt, Dr. Robert Wexler, Francine Kahan Weiss, Soraya and Younes Nazarian and many others; and a special Ha’Motzi recitation, led by a diverse group of rabbis who have each touched Rabbi Wolpe’s life over the years. Host Rick Lieberman kept the program flowing seamlessly and infused a strong dose of humor into the festivities. Thanks to the generosity of the Sinai community, including a lead gift from the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation, the Gala raised over $1.6 million for enriching synagogue programming, and support of the Parenting Center. The event was co-chaired by Judy & Tom Flesh and Lida & Ebi Simhaee.
Learn more about The Elaine & Gerald Wolpe Parenting Center in this moving video.
View the commemorative video celebrating Rabbi Wolpe’s twenty years of leadership HERE.
View Rabbi Wolpe’s moving remarks of acceptance HERE.
View event photos in our Facebook album HERE.
View post-event coverage from the Jewish Journal HERE.
Interested in supporting enriching Sinai Temple programming and/or The Elaine & Gerald Wolpe Parenting Center in honor of the 2018 Gala? Contact Rachel-Ann Levy at (310) 481-3256 or [email protected].
Photo (left to right): Gala Co-Chairs Ebi & Lida Simhaee, Rabbi David Wolpe, Gala Co-Chair Judy Flesh, Sinai Temple President Angela Maddahi, & Gala Co-Chair Tom Flesh
