County’s Jews Mark Start of the New Year

Proclaiming a time for awakening and remembrance, Ventura County’s growing Jewish community marked the start of High Holy Days on Monday night with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.

Nearly 1,000 Jews filled Temple Etz Chaim in Thousand Oaks for Rosh Hashanah services that spilled over into the neighboring United Methodist Church.

Hundreds came to Temple Beth Torah in Ventura to hear readings from the biblical book of Genesis and trumpeting blasts from the shofar, a ram’s horn blown to reawaken Jews to their faith.

And Ventura County’s newest Jewish congregations celebrated Rosh Hashanah and the establishing of their new synagogues this summer in Ojai and Camarillo.

Traditionally, the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a time for Jews to reflect on their lives and renew their faith.

“I’m kind of addressing the modern dilemma we have with time,” said Rabbi Michael Berk, who leads Temple Beth Torah.

“I’m encouraging people to look at time differently, to not feel that every moment has to be filled with activity--time becomes very oppressive for us otherwise--but rather to look at the quality of that time,” Berk said.

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In a ceremony planned for today at Marina Beach in Ventura, Berk said he and fellow synagogue members will throw bread crumbs into the ocean, symbolically casting away their sins.

During holy days, Jews may also go to visit relatives’ graves, he said.

“It’s a time where, if you take it seriously, you think about your mortality,” Berk added.

Rabbi Shimon Paskow said Rosh Hashanah strikes three spiritual chords for Jews. It celebrates the sovereignty of God, calls them to lead a moral life, and asks God “to remember us for a good year of life and health.”

In Ojai and Camarillo, Ventura County’s newest Jewish communities are preparing to celebrate Rosh Hashanah for the first time in congregations formed this summer.

For the past year, Cindy Wolfsohn’s dining room in Camarillo had served as a Hebrew school for her children and those in 10 other families. Then they began holding Sabbath services together, led by student rabbis.

This year they took the plunge, Wolfsohn said.

The families rented a 2,500-square-foot building on Flynn Road and asked Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles to send their favorite student rabbi to serve the fledgling synagogue.

“It’s a real exciting time for us, because not only is it the Jewish new year, but it’s the beginning for our organization,” she said Monday.

Student rabbi Allison Flash said she, too, is excited.

“I think it’s a great time to get a congregation started,” Flash said. “I want to create an environment where people feel welcomed . . . where people feel like they want to continue their relationship with this congregation.”

In Ojai, many Jews who felt disaffected by mainstream Judaism had been gathering informally in each other’s homes for events such as Hanukkah and Passover, said David Feigin, a founder of the Ojai Jewish Community Center.

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This year they decided to get serious about building their own community.

They pooled their money to buy a tiny 115-seat building in Meiners Oaks that once housed the Church of Christ. And they phoned Hebrew Union College, which assigned them student rabbi Peter Lee.

“Many of us grew up with our religious experience being more or less empty and foreign to us. We wanted to make (the center) whatever everyone wanted it to be,” he said.

The prospect of building a new community from scratch is thrilling, Feigin said. “There’s only one first time, so we’re excited about that,” he said. “The most important thing for people to know is we’re doing things with an open and tolerant approach, so that everything we do will have meaning.”

Student rabbi Lee said he, too, is eager to see the community give shape to its open format, from the structure of services to the text of their prayers.

“It means we have a lot of freedom to explore the type of worship and community and education and camaraderie,” Lee said. “Since there’s nothing in place, we’re really starting from zero . . .. We’re not starting with any preconceived notions of what the community should be like.”