Rabbis of LA | Rabbi Zalmy Fogelman: Building a Village Community

Seven years ago, the husband and wife team of Chabad Rabbi Zalmy and Rebbetzin Chana Fogelman established the Village Synagogue on the corner of Fairfax and Fountain, today a thriving congregation of around 500.

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Ari L. Noonan

July 6, 2023

Rabbi Zalmy Fogelman

West Hollywood is not known for its religious character. The small city in the heart of Los Angeles is better known for its nightlife and large LBGTQ+ community. But seven years ago, the husband and wife team of Chabad Rabbi Zalmy and Rebbetzin Chana Fogelman established the Village Synagogue on the corner of Fairfax and Fountain, today a thriving congregation of around 500.

Building a synagogue is something both Fogelmans were destined to do. The rabbi and rebbtzin were both born into Chabad families: The rabbi in Los Angeles, the rebbetzin in Australia, where in 1968 the Lubavitcher Rebbe dispatched her grandfather to grow the Jewish community of Melbourne. “Chana’s whole family is made up of Chabad emissaries,” Rabbi Fogelman said. “I come from a family also immersed in that world. My grandfather was an emissary of the previous Chabad Rebbe. In 1942, he was sent to Worcester, Mass.” where the rabbi was born.

Although he grew up in Los Angeles, his travels helped his understanding of Jewish life. “Seeing different communities, with different backgrounds, traditions and levels of interest,” he said, “I was able to learn so many different ideas from different communities. I was in France, Ukraine, South Africa, Israel, India and Australia. Nothing, though, prepared me more for Los Angeles than growing up here.”

The rabbi and rebbetzin met when she was leading Hebrew schools in New Jersey and New York (as she does here at Village Hebrew). “A lot of friends were suggesting us to each other for a long time,” Rabbi Zalmy said. “For whatever reason, we were saying no. But we kept being suggested to each other by family members and friends. When we went out, that was it.” They married in 2011, and have four young children.

When they moved to the Beverly Grove neighborhood in West Hollywood, the Fogelmans were surrounded by Jewish families who identified as traditional and even went to synagogue but their children attended public schools. The Fogelmans decided to start a Hebrew school and, in 2016, established Village Hebrew School in Pan Pacific Park. “We started in March with seven kids,” Rabbi Zalmy said. “By June we had 17, by September, 40.” The budding school/community soon had a network of families and began hosting holiday events and programs. “But since we didn’t have a home yet,” the rabbi said, “it would have been hard to start a shul.” While seeking a long-term landing place, they began holding services in backyards. This meant schlepping equipment every time.

They knew the kind of space they wanted. “We were looking for 10,000 square feet in the vicinity of where we were living, Fogelman said. “When I saw this building, at Fairfax and Fountain, I wondered what was going on since there was no signage.” When the property came on the market, the rabbi quickly sat down with the landlord. “We came to a very, very good agreement,” he said, “and in August we moved into the building.”

“We attracted people because we really were devoted to building a certain brand, authentic, genuine, steeped in tradition — but also trendy and hip.”

The Fogelmans’ challenge was obvious: How to create the ultimate Jewish experience for the disenfranchised, the unaffiliated, young professionals and families in a contemporary world. The Fogelmans integrate the two contrasting worlds. “Everything we do,” he said, “offers authentic, deep tradition in the most trendy and hip way.” In the beginning, Facebook pumped up attendance. “We attracted people,” said Rabbi Zalmy, “because we really were devoted to building a certain brand: Authentic, genuine, steeped in tradition — but also trendy and hip.”

The young couple was not doing anything on the cheap. “With my wife’s personality and mine, we are like, whatever we do, we are going to do the best,” the rabbi said “We are not going to be frugal or cut corners.” The thought the Fogelmans put behind every decision is evident even in the name they chose for the synagogue. There were two names in contention: WeHo Synagogue and Village Synagogue. WeHo, they thought, would appeal to the trendy side of West Hollywood. But “the Village sounds warm and welcoming,” the rabbi said. “Back in 2016, my wife and I would walk the streets every day with our kids, and randomly we would ask people what they thought, would appeal to the trendy side of West WeHo or Village Synagogue? Village won. Some people said WeHo had the wrong connotation.”

He shuns competing with established synagogues. “I see myself competing with other people’s interests,” Rabbi Zalmy says. “I want someone who perhaps would rather be elsewhere — they have a birthday party to go to or a trip to take.” The eclectic crowd that attends the Village Synagogue’s different programs is proof they’re on the right track. The Shabbat turnout is more traditional, but not necessarily Orthodox. It’s an older group, and the attendance ranges from 50 to 60 people. At the school, many of the parents are not synagogue-involved, the rabbi told the Journal, but they want their children to have a sense of Jewish pride, Jewish identity.

The Fogelmans next goal is to open a pre-school. But whatever they do, they will do as a team. “My wife is extremely involved in the success of the Village,” he said. “She’s the co-director of everything.”