By STEVEN HERBERT | City News Service
Rosh Hashana begins at sundown Friday with the Laugh Factory and several other organizations conducting free services for the two-day Jewish New Year for the year 5787 on the Hebrew calendar.
The Laugh Factory Hollywood will begin its 46th annual High Holiday services with a Rosh Hashana morning service at 11 a.m. Saturday.
“People around the world are facing the threat of war, severe economic challenges, and a growing sense of isolation and division,” Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada said in a statement. “Our High Holiday services are about bringing people together to pray with one voice for hope, healing, and peace. These are values that can inspire and uplift us all.”
The Chai Center will conduct its services at 7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday, with shofar blowing set for noon Saturday, at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills.
A free New Year’s Eve singles party will also be hosted by the Chai Center with an open bar and specialty drinks set for 8:30 p.m. Friday.
The Chai Center describes itself as “a very nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the Jewish community of Greater Los Angeles” with such events as a “Dinner for 60 Strangers” each Friday evening, classes on a variety of topics of Judaism and singles parties “for Conservative, Reform, non-affiliates and any Jew that moves.”
The Sholem Community will conduct Rosh Hashana in the Park at 11 a.m. Saturday at Barbecue Area 2 at Clover Park in Santa Monica.
The secular observance will draw from Jewish history, folk traditions, contemporary readings and social justice themes, according to Sholem.
Sholem describes its celebration as family friendly and “perfect for interfaith families and those seeking cultural Jewish celebration without religious requirements.”
Attendees are asked to bring their own picnic lunch and a dessert to share and blankets or chairs to sit on. Traditional apples, honey and challah will be provided.
The Sholem Community bills itself as “a secular and progressive Jewish educational, cultural, and social institution.
Other free services will be held at Chabad locations throughout Los Angeles County, the JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills and the Jewish Community Center in Redondo Beach.
Most congregations require membership and tickets for High Holy Days services.
Rosh Hashana is a time when Jews gather with family members and their communities to reflect on the past year and the one beginning. Celebrants also eat festive meals featuring apples dipped in honey, symbolic of the wishes for a sweet year.
Rosh Hashana ushers in the Days of Awe, a 10-day period of repentance and contemplation culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Judaism’s most solemn and somber day.
During the High Holy Days, Jewish tradition holds that God records the fate of each person for the coming year in the Book of Life, which is sealed at the end of Yom Kippur.
In his Rosh Hashana message, President Donald Trump said, “The Jewish community around the world marks the anniversary of when the Almighty created Adam and Eve and the story of humanity began. These two days open a solemn season of prayer, repentance, and spiritual renewal in preparation for Yom Kippur.
“My administration reaffirms our steadfast commitment to ushering in a historic renewal of faith across our country, eliminating the scourge of antisemitism and defending the sacred right of religious liberty for every single American.”
As is customary, law enforcement organizations will conduct increased patrols around Jewish institutions during High Holy Days services, augmented by private security.