Upcoming events

Mondays from 8:30-9 am PT, after our virtual Monday Morning Minyan, we open a short Grief Garden Circle, a sacred listening space. Please join us here if you are holding grief. Have questions? Please email [email protected]

In the Book of Genesis, humanity has multiple origin stories. What do these different stories teach us about our relationships with one another, our purpose on this planet, and the nature of God? Join Rabbinic Intern Jacob Schatz in conversation with Rabbi Brett Kopin from the Six11 Project.

Parenting is amazing. And hard. Really hard. But it can be so much better when we do it in a community of thoughtful, caring, supportive, inquisitive parents. Here’s a chance to be part of an amazing community from the comfort of your couch, one night a week. We will take up different parenting challenges and questions, share information and ideas from experts and from each other, and enjoy a bit of grown-up time. Facilitated by Beth Weisman, M.A., IKAR’s Early Childhood Engagement Consultant. Free and open to grown-ups with children ages birth-5 years. Members and non-members welcome. We will meet virtually Wednesdays from 8:30-9:30 pm 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, and 10/21. A Zoom link will be sent once we receive your RSVP. We hope you’ll join us!

Join Rabbi David Kasher, Director of Hadar West Coast and past IKAR rabbi, for a virtual literary study of the text of the Torah, aided by the keen eyes of the classical commentators. This series is co-sponsored with Hadar. It will run from Wednesday, October 7 through Wednesday, November 18, 2026.

Are you an IKARite who feels daunted by this year’s ballot? Are you someone who wants to do your homework before you vote, but you’re not sure where to start?? Join us and our partners at JPLA for this meeting where we’ll learn about every single ballot measure at the state and local level. We will also discuss the two ballot measures IKAR has endorsed this year. Please join us and then you can help educate your friends and family before they cast their votes!

Wind down and get ready for Shabbat. We are diverse: still working and retired; single, divorced, widowed, and in a relationship; have children, grandchildren, pets, plants, or none of the above; Angelinos and transplants. What we have in common is ikar, a multitude of experiences, and a desire to spend some of our time enjoying events and experiences with those in our age group (60+).

Off-Mic Kabbalat Shabbat Services + Community & TRIBE (20’s-30’s) Dinner IKAR Event Space (1729 S. La Cienega Blvd), 6:30pm Services, dinner Come together for our tech-free (off-mic) Kabbalat Shabbat Services with a focus on lifting our voices in song as a community. Enter through our alleyway and down the ramp into our event space. For those with accessibility needs, you can be dropped off and enter through the front door. Following Services, join us for dinner and TRIBErs come for dinner, dessert, and board games!

Every Saturday morning at 9:15am, join Dev Brous and/or Dr. Barry Goldstein for a meditation session on the 3rd floor/rooftop Art Room, located next to the elevator. And find your way to sip some homemade herbal tea blends, FromSoil2Soul, near the coffee station.

We welcome everyone to our Shabbat morning services at 9:30am PT, no matter their level of observance, experience, or familiarity with Hebrew. Daven with us in person at Shalhevet, or join us virtually on YouTube or Zoom. Childcare is available during Services for kids ages 2-5. Stay afterward for our kosher, vegetarian community lunch. 10/17/2026 Ayla Morchower 10/24/2026 Samuel Ethan & Joshua Gabriel Goldstein 11/7/2026 Lucille (Luci) Halpern-Fingerhut 11/14/2026 Henry Posalski 11/28/2026 Ezekiel Mataan Brous-Weber 12/5/2026 Samuel Rafael Marquit 12/19/2026 Finch Rhodes  

Join us for a craft, and then drum and dance your way through our always awesome family service. Don't forget to bring your Shabbat dinosaur!

Location: YouTube Live Stream & Shalhevet Beit Midrash (Rooftop Classroom) Mission in Captivity: One Woman’s Struggle to Survive and Save Her Family in Gaza A powerful, firsthand account of a woman’s fifty-day struggle to protect three generations of her family while held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. For fifty days, Dr. Shoshan Haran was held captive alongside her family—including her three-year-old granddaughter—under the constant threat of terrorists and the horror of IDF bombardments. After their release, words began to pour out of her. Mission in Captivity is a story of physical and psychological survival in a place where the threat of death looms over every moment. It is an account of the determination to look pure evil in the eye through long, harrowing conversations with her captors. This firsthand account also documents the ongoing struggle to return all the hostages, describes the depths of entrenched hatred within Gaza, and issues a wake-up call to the free world to act against a murderous ideology that threatens its very existence. Mission in Captivity is a powerful testament, written with a sensitive hand, that will haunt the reader long after the final page. About the Author: Dr. Shoshan Haran is a humanitarian leader and the founder of FairPlanet, a nonprofit dedicated to providing smallholder farmers in developing countries with food and economic security. Her life’s work was met with unimaginable tragedy on October 7, 2023, when she was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri and held hostage in Gaza for fifty days alongside her daughter and grandchildren. Despite the murder of her husband and close family members during the attack, Dr. Haran has emerged as a powerful global witness. In her book, Mission in Captivity, she shares a profound story of survival and resilience that transcends politics. By testifying before international bodies and sharing her journey with audiences worldwide, she has become a vital voice for humanity, alerting the world to the universal threat of terrorism and the enduring power of hope.

This Saturday class offers opportunities for connection, learning, play, and community. Classes include music and movement, child-led play, and grown-up discussion of developmental and Jewish topics. Open to members and non-members. Ages: from birth to walking

The IKAR Writers Circle is a space for adult fiction and nonfiction Ikar writers to gather, share their work, and receive feedback. The circle is an intergenerational community that seeks to uplift Jewish writers and authentic Jewish stories removed from the pressures of writing and entertainment industries. Writers will meet once a month in person or virtually, at 7:00 pm, usually on one of the last Mondays of the month. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

TRIBE is gathering for another evening of creativity and community. What to expect: snacks and chatting, a warm up activity (think scribbles and stick figures), and a few options for free art making. All are welcome. No art making experience needed (we mean it!) For more information, please contact [email protected].

Through IKAR’s PATH Meals collaboration, a small group of volunteers will serve and enjoy warm meals with residents who are temporarily housed at PATH Cotner residence. Drop off a prepared dish or join us in person to serve warm meals for residents getting back on their feet at PATH Cotner. FAQ: How can I participate? You can participate by donating items before the event begins or signing up to bring donations and serve. Those who donate food and serve during the event will have the opportunity to eat with the clients we serve. Who can participate? Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age to serve meals at PATH, but we encourage you to make a dish at home with younger children and drop it off if they are too young to serve. Does food need to be home-cooked? No, participants can feel free to prepare meals at home or bring store-bought items to serve. Should participants expect to cook items onsite? No, please bring pre-cooked dishes. There will be an oven to warm up items, if needed. How much food should I prepare/purchase? We expect to serve 25-30 PATH clients during each event. Please bring enough food to serve 20 guests, as it will be served potluck style. Other accessibility info: There are steps to access the building and a handicap lift – if needed, please reach out in advance for assistance. There is only street parking available with no guarantee of handicap spot

Poetry can often heal, elevate the soul and awaken the heart. Come join IKAR’s Jewish Poetry Circle as we read Jewish poets — the Oneg Shabbos poets of the Warsaw Ghetto, Medieval Sephardic poets, Israeli and Jewish-American poets up to the present—the historical context of their writing, spiritual relationships, personal agonies and joys. The Circle is not an academic writing class but rather an informal experience of a committed group of participants to explore and hopefully bond with Jewish poetic expression and with each other.

We are an intergenerational circle of men who support one another in becoming the men we want to be in the world.

Join Rabbi David Kasher, Director of Hadar West Coast and past IKAR rabbi, for a virtual literary study of the text of the Torah, aided by the keen eyes of the classical commentators. This series is co-sponsored with Hadar. It will run from Wednesday, October 7 through Wednesday, November 18, 2026.

We welcome everyone to our Shabbat morning services at 9:30am PT, no matter their level of observance, experience, or familiarity with Hebrew. Daven with us in person at Shalhevet, or join us virtually on YouTube or Zoom. Childcare is available during Services for kids ages 2-5. Stay afterward for our kosher, vegetarian community lunch. 10/24/2026 Samuel Ethan & Joshua Gabriel Goldstein 11/7/2026 Lucille (Luci) Halpern-Fingerhut 11/14/2026 Henry Posalski 11/28/2026 Ezekiel Mataan Brous-Weber 12/5/2026 Samuel Rafael Marquit 12/19/2026 Finch Rhodes

Looking for a way to spend a bit of quality time with your little ones on Shabbat? Join IKAR's Preschool Director, Cindy Stansbury, for an hour of hands-on fun and learning with an IKAR twist. Then stay for IKAR's free vegetarian community lunch! For families with children ages birth-4. Meet us from 11am - 12pm in Shalhevet's Beit Midrash (3rd floor/rooftop classroom).

For decades, Barry Michels has been one of the most sought-after psychotherapists in Hollywood—a practitioner whose no-nonsense, transformative approach earned him the devotion of some of the most creative minds in the industry. Bret Easton Ellis, Adam McKay, and Mark Levin are all patients who spoke openly in a 2011 New Yorker profile about how his methods changed their lives and their work. The book he co-wrote with his mentor and colleague Phil Stutz, The Tools, became a New York Times bestseller that has sold nearly 500,000+ copies, recently finding a new generation of readers through Jonah Hill’s acclaimed Netflix documentary STUTZ. Two years ago, Barry was, by any measure, a man at the height of his powers. And then a doctor delivered a diagnosis that changed everything: Lewy Body Dementia—the same degenerative disease that had taken his father’s life—would take his own. Ahead of All Parting: On Learning to Live with an Open Heart is a remarkable and unexpected book. Where one might anticipate a story of grief and loss, Barry has written something far more surprising: an expansive meditation on what becomes possible when we stop running from our deepest fears and allow ourselves to be truly seen. Barry is still practicing, still hiking, and very much present in the world, and that comes through on every page of this remarkable and deeply moving memoir. Michels shows us that being alive is more fragile and more astonishing than we usually allow ourselves to feel.

Join this virtual, interactive circle using the Jewish Studio Process, facilitated by Ross Berman and Ann Bohrer. Explore the power of making process art in community as a tool for personal and collective renewal. All are welcome – no art experience needed. Unlock your creativity. Your confirmation email will include the Zoom link and information on art supplies to have on hand. We meet from 6-8 pm PT. Please arrive a few minutes early.

Join Rabbi David Kasher, Director of Hadar West Coast and past IKAR rabbi, for a virtual literary study of the text of the Torah, aided by the keen eyes of the classical commentators. This series is co-sponsored with Hadar. It will run from Wednesday, October 7 through Wednesday, November 18, 2026.

Off-Mic Kabbalat Shabbat Services + Community & TRIBE (20’s-30’s) Dinner IKAR Event Space (1729 S. La Cienega Blvd), 6:30pm Services, dinner Come together for our tech-free (off-mic) Kabbalat Shabbat Services with a focus on lifting our voices in song as a community. Enter through our alleyway and down the ramp into our event space. For those with accessibility needs, you can be dropped off and enter through the front door. Following Services, join us for dinner and TRIBErs come for dinner, dessert, and board games!