What We Believe

  • We believe in the God who, in the beginning, created the heavens and the earth.

  • We believe that God wants us to live by the values and ethics He articulated for us in the Bible, especially in the Torah (also known as the first five books of the Bible). 

  • We believe God gave us the Ten Commandments.  

  • We believe that observance of Shabbat is of paramount importance.  We believe that the calendar of the Jewish year and its various holidays are to be observed.

  • We believe in and follow the many thousand-years-old tradition, best demonstrated by the Talmud, of respectful and learned discussion, agreement, disagreement, and expressing the full range of opinions within Judaism – so long as such debate is anchored in God, Torah, and emet (truth).

  • Finally, we believe that the Torah is just as relevant today, in present times, as it was thousands of years ago.

Who We Are

  • We are a community of kindred spirits, drawn together by our shared belief in Torah as a sacred and divine document.  We are not part of a formal organization of synagogues, but are fully within the tradition of Jewish communities throughout the ages. 

  • We are a lay-led community.  Our religious leaders are commissioned in our bylaws by virtue of their scholarship, their knowledge of Judaism and Torah, their long-standing leadership in the Jewish community, their high degree of competence, and their strong moral and religious character.  

  • We welcome those who share our beliefs and enjoy our style of worship, as well as all those looking for a traditional yet non-orthodox, serious yet joyous, open and welcoming Jewish Shabbat.  We are happy to include Christian brethren in our community, who respect and appreciate the Jewish people and who share our reverence for Torah.

  • We hold weekly Shabbat services in a lovely synagogue in Studio City, California, where we have a dedicated space for both services and lunch.  There is ample parking onsite. We stream our services live on Zoom for those who cannot join us in person. Recordings are readily available for our members.

Leadership

Founders

Roger (ze”el) and Patti Golden
Dennis Prager
Allen and Susie Estrin
Dr. Stephen Marmer
Miry Rabinovitch
Steven and Marina Gray

Religious Leadership 

We are lay-led by learned members of our community. 

Dr. Stephen Marmer – Simcha Rabbeinu
Dennis Prager – Darshan
Cantor Michael Freed
Ronald Gertz, Esq. – Shaliach Tzibur

Board of Directors

Allen Estrin
Susan Estrin
Patti Golden
Steven Gray
Marina Gray
Ronald Gertz, Esq.
Dr. Stephen Marmer
Kim Ziel