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Membership

‘Praying without paying’ becomes more common

As summer draws to a close, tens of thousands of unaffiliated American Jews begin the yearly hunt for affordable Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services, which fall this year on Sept. 12-14 and Sept. 21-22.

Shopping for back to shul

Success in finding the perfect shul in Los Angeles for you and your family too often seems just one more visit away.

How to Be Jewish 101

There are more than 3,000 synagogues in America. Why do some of them struggle week after week to make a minyan, while others are bustling with energy, song and laughter?

New Year Rings in New Role for Rabbi

Rabbi Toba August likes to accentuate the positive, and the new year is no exception.

\”Too often for the High Holidays, we\’re told about our shortcomings,\” August said. \”I want to concentrate on what we\’re doing right…. We don\’t recognize the things we do that matter. I want us to walk out of services feeling elevated and validated and renewed.\”

August has reason to focus on the positive, because this summer she was made the principal spiritual leader of Adat Shalom, a Conservative synagogue in West Los Angeles. Currently, August is one of only two women to head a longstanding Conservative congregation in Los Angeles. (The other is Rabbi Sally Olins of Temple Bnai Hayim in Sherman Oaks.) Her appointment comes just as the Conservative movement is grappling with the disparity of women rabbis in the movement.

A Case for Pasadena

Most people are surprised, even flabbergasted, to learn that there is a sizeable Jewish community in Pasadena, one that has been here for well over a century.

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, and I had never been to Pasadena. I knew little about it — mostly that the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl were there; I had no idea how close it was to Woodland Hills, where I lived. And I certainly didn\’t think about if there were Jews there.

Pasadena is located in the San Gabriel Valley — or what locals call the \”Other Valley\” — and it\’s surrounded by the San Gabriel Mountains. It sits at the foot of Mount Wilson, home to the observatory where Albert Einstein worked during his stay at Cal Tech. It\’s also home to Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the leading U.S. center for robotic exploration of the solar system, which offers us a connection to space, science and some of the best minds in the world.

Rural Shuls Make Do Without Rabbis

There\’s been a Jewish community in Muskogee, Okla., since 1867, when furrier Joseph Sonderheim opened his import-export business.

In 1916 the first synagogue was dedicated, Congregation Beth Ahaba, a lay-led Reform congregation that served a tight-knit Jewish community of merchants and professionals.

\”As Oklahoma grew and prospered through the 1920s, so did our congregation,\” said Nancy Stolper, 77, who moved to Muskogee 50 years ago.

Beth Ahaba reached its height of 75 families in 1929 but dwindled to 40 families during the Depression, as stores shut down and people moved away to find work.

Since then, Beth Ahaba\’s fortunes have declined steadily. Its young people, including the Stolpers\’ four children, grew up and moved away.

Its last student rabbi left 15 years ago.

\”We\’re now just a group of frail senior citizens,\” said Stolper, noting that only eight to 10 members are still able to get to synagogue.

Three months ago they gave up their monthly Friday night services, and this High Holiday season, she fears, will be their last.

Lay Leaders Keep Synagogues Going

During the week, Dr. David Kolinsky practices family medicine in Pacific Grove, a sleepy Northern California coastal town. But on Saturday mornings he dons his tallit and leads Shabbat services for Congregation B\’nai Torah, a Conservative congregation in neighboring Monterey.

Kolinksy serves as spiritual leader and president of B\’nai Torah, which has been lay led since it broke off from a nearby Reform temple 13 years ago.

Visiting rabbis have passed through, but with just 24 dues-paying members, there\’s no budget to hire even a student rabbi. The congregation also lacks a building — it rents a small room in a local church, where it stores its two Torah scrolls and where, every Saturday morning, the stalwarts wait to see whether a minyan will show up.

A Provocative Talk Among ‘We Jews’

s modern Judaism facing an identity crisis? One would think so from reading \”We Jews: Who Are We and What Should We Do?\” by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. This provocative work, which Steinsaltz calls \”a private, intimate conversation within the Jewish family,\” looks to bring out into the open \”the issues and subjects that are rarely raised in a straightforward [manner].\” Included are controversial topics such as \”Are We a Nation or a Religion?\”; \”Do We Have Our Own Set of Character Traits?\”; \”Is Money Our God?\”; and \”Are We Excessively Warm or Excessively Cold?\”

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More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.