Lag B’Omer Calendar 2013

By Ryan Torok
Published on April 23, 2013

LGBT-friendly congregation Beth Chayim Chadashim hosts its inaugural Lag B’Omer celebration with singing around the fire pit at its new campus. Sat. 7-9 p.m. Free. Beth Chayim Chadashim, 6090 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 931-7023. bcc-la.org.

Temple Hopping, Rabbi Shopping & Faith Meditation

By Ilana Angel
Published on February 5, 2013

Kidsave changes lives for orphaned children, adoptive parents

Published on July 19, 2012

Santiago Brown calls himself a “cashew.” It’s his way of combining the words “Catholic” and “Jew,” to refer to his unusual religious background. He lived in Colombia in a Catholic orphanage until being adopted into a Jewish family a year ago, at the age of 12. His mother, Lori Brown, a graphic artist and Nashuva member, says Santiago has Jewish music on his iPod and tells his friends, “It’s awesome to be Jewish.”

Nashuva Lag Ba’Omer [SLIDESHOW]

By JewishJournal
Published on May 18, 2012

Dream big, y’all

By Rob Eshman
Published on February 15, 2012

In synagogue last Friday night, just after her sermon, the rabbi announced she had invited a special guest in honor of Jewish Disabilities Month. The woman next to me leaned over and whispered. “What’s Jewish Disabilities Month?” “That’s for Jews who get B’s in school,” I said.

Spreading the Thanks at Thanksgiving

By JewishJournal.com
Published on November 21, 2011

If you stream Kol Nidre, they will watch

By Tom Tugend
Published on October 23, 2008

When Rabbi Naomi Levy conducted Kol Nidre services this year, her congregation numbered 200,000, stretching from Canada to Colombia and from Japan to Norway

Calendar Girls Picks and Clicks Oct. 4 - 10: Yom Kippur observances, fashion frenzy, Naomi Wolf

By Dikla Kadosh and Danielle Berrin
Published on October 2, 2008

How I returned

By Rob Eshman
Published on September 11, 2008

But as much as she loves the pulpit, Naomi, like me, finds the modern synagogue problematic. She believes that Judaism offers people a sense of purpose, a mission to heal society and a fulfilling spiritual path, but that too often standard synagogue services don't attract or inspire Jews, much less compel them to commit to a community.

Shul tripping—a nostalgic hippie tours the alternative scene

By Roberto Loiederman
Published on October 11, 2007

So, this past summer, I made the rounds of alternative synagogues, minyans and chavurot in Los Angeles, to see whether any spoke to me. I visited more than a dozen places that aspire to the spiritual life I associate with the 1960s: They're egalitarian, inclusive, committed to social action and steeped in music. They seek joyful experience instead of dogma, connection to one another and the outside world rather than status, healing instead of judgment and passionate involvement rather than merely showing up and mouthing prayers.

New Prayer Communities Seek Spiritual High

By Jane Ulman
Published on August 19, 2004

Don't call them synagogues.

They are minyanim, or spiritual communities. They have evolved from shared and individual dreams and from serendipitous, profound and beshert connections. They are new, egalitarian, independent, warm, collaborative and vibrant.

And they are all led by female rabbis.