HTAA Blog

We have been following the news about Coronavirus (COVID-19), as have you. Please read the message below from our president and know that we are taking precautions at the synagogue to ensure the cleanest and healthiest possible conditions for our congregants. Most important is that if you don’t feel well, please don’t come to shul. So many in our community are in the higher risk category and it...Read more...

The first acts of God, as described in the opening verses of the Torah, were to create light and to separate the light from the darkness. Each Saturday night, when darkness falls and Shabbat ebbs away, we light a havdallah candle and praise God for distinguishing between light and dark.

Even in the parlance of our times, when one reveals information or puts a matter into perspective, we say they “shed light” on it, in order that...Read more...

With all the partisan political maneuvering going on both in the U.S. and Israel right now, one thing remains clear: our country and the Jewish State are proudly bound together in so many ways—through shared military, security, economic, and technological cooperation that is crucial to both nations’ safety, well-being and prosperity. The funds that our country provides every year to Israel makes possible, among so many other things, the...Read more...

As I was preparing this email, I received the most unfortunate news. Our dear member, Mark Olkon, has suddenly passed away. Mark was the son of our late Cantor Elijah & Anna Olkon z"l and sister of Naomi Judith Olkon (Robert Cohen), of California.

Mark was a regular and active in our daily minyanim, often leading daily and Shabbat services. He read Torah on the high holidays for many...Read more...

In Moses’ final address he instructs the people to go and write this shira (lit. song). The stated purpose of the writing is so that it is instilled in the mouths of future generations of Israelite children. Thus, a perpetual relationship would be established between Israelites and God. The language of communication is the “song.”

The Talmud understands the “song” to be referring to the Torah. The command is to go and write...Read more...

This month of Elul is spent preparing for the upcoming new year. Unlike the secular new year which is commonly welcomed with lavish parties and overindulgence, the Jewish method of marking the head of the year is much more reflective and personal. It is not about whom we are kissing at...Read more...

Irmgard Brill was pregnant with her first child, and she was terrified. Nazis had burned down the synagogue, violence reigned in the streets, and she and her husband Walter had been forced to hide in the home of a friend. After years of increasing abuse and discrimination against Jews in Germany, this horrific night focused their dilemma. Irmgard must have wondered if they should stay in their hometown of Munich, Germany. And if...Read more...

Tomorrow, at the close of Shabbat, begins the two-day festival of Shavuot. Shavuot celebrates the gift of the Torah in the world and in our lives. Some even have the custom to stay up all night studying to commemorate this glorious event. 

AT HTAA, are holding a special study session to conclude Shabbat and begin the holiday (complete with cheese cake, of course).
The study session, sponsored by Lew Strudler and family, will...Read more...

The horror of last weeks events is still in the forefront of our minds. The tragic murder of Lori Gilbert Kaye z"l and the incident at the Chabad of Poway has sent shockwaves through the Jewish community. So many people and communities bear emotional trauma as we stand speechless about how such atrocities occur.

On one level is our concern with the state of humanity. That a person can walk into a crowd of...Read more...

I often wonder what makes people want to be a part of HTAA. How do unfamiliar people feel when they walk through our doors? Often they find friends, community, edcuational and religious opportunities for themselves and their children. But what is so unique about our synagogue is how close and family-like we behave in our interactions and cooperation and how diverse, interesting, and amazing are our individual...Read more...

My father, David Suson, of blessed memory, loved three things deeply: bowling, his family and friends, and learning Torah. Potentially, in that order. I can only hope to be a fraction of the man he was in life, and perpetuate the legacy that he leaves. I have nothing to contribute to the world of bowling. But I can resolve to demonstrate love for my family, as he did, and learn as much as I can, in his memory.

Dad studied daf...Read more...

To be clear: I am not a sports fan and can scarcely have an informed conversation on the subject. But what happened in this week’s playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints caused even this football outsider to say…wow. In my ignorance about the game, I do understand that if a player is reaching to catch a pass, he is considered defenseless to an oncoming attack and he may not be tackled. To do so would...Read more...

Chanukah celebrates the season of miracles and we acknowledge all of the wondrous turns of events that culminated with the rededication of the Holy Temple.  The Chanukah lights are a symbol that when things seem dark and hopeless, if we can keep faith, extraordinary things do happen.

You might have noticed attendance at or daily minyanim is less than encouraging. Over the past couple of years, we have lost many of our...Read more...

"People of the Book" is a nickname given to, and later embraced by, the Jewish people. It describes our strict adherence to the written Torah and the oral tradition. Consequently, we take seriously our responsibility to preserve the integrity of the the original message, as much as possible. Only a Torah that is considered "kosher" may be read publicly in the synagogue. A kosher scroll is made using parchment, nerves...Read more...