Bringing Judaism to Jews

For years Rabbi Yehoshua Kohl and his wife, Aviva, were amazed to come across Jews who knew little or nothing about Judaism or the rituals of such Jewish holidays as Rosh Hashana, which begins at sundown today.

A year ago, they decided to do something about it, opening a nonprofit center--thought by leaders in the Jewish community to be the first of its kind in Los Angeles--where any Jew, no matter what level of interest or affiliation, could study any or all aspects of the ancient faith.

“We were constantly meeting Jewish people who knew nothing about Judaism, especially in America,” Aviva Kohl, 30, said.

“They didn’t know what to tell their kids,” she said. “They’ve been doing rituals for years and don’t really know what they mean, so the rituals had become meaningless.”

After months of fund-raising, the Kohls gathered a faculty of rabbis and began offering a catalog of free classes at the Kollel Valley Jewish Learning Center in Valley Village.

They named it “Kollel,” which means to join together, to signify that the center’s goal is to unite all types of Jews, they said.

Located inside donated space at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue in Valley Village, it’s a place where Jews, regardless of background, can pray and study various aspects of the faith, ranging from ancient texts to modern philosophy.

The center’s course offerings are geared from people ranging from the advanced Torah student to the beginner who knows practically nothing about Judaism. The idea, Rabbi Kohl, 30, said, is to address the needs of Jews on every level and, more importantly, at no cost to those who want to learn.

“We’re not a synagogue, we’re an educational institution and we accept all,” the rabbi said. “At synagogues you must pray a certain way, and if you don’t you don’t fit in. Not here.”

Donations--mostly from the Jewish community--support the center and pay for the salaries of the eight rabbis on staff.

Rabbi Kohl, an Orthodox Jew who lived in Israel for five years and studied at yeshivas in Jerusalem; Providence, R.I., and Baltimore, is the center’s dean, and he also teaches several courses.

The other rabbis on the faculty include a former attorney with a high-powered law firm, a certified public accountant with a master’s degree in finance and another from Russia with a master’s in physics.

Aviva Kohl, who has a master’s degree in social work from Yeshiva University in New York, also teaches several classes at the center and in students’ homes throughout the San Fernando and Conejo valleys.

The in-home classes are usually for women on such topics as parenting and other family issues.

The Kohls are also involved with the Hillel programs at Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara.

At the Kollel center, which has about 250 students, courses offered include “A Beginner’s Guide to Talmud,” “Getting High for the Holidays,” “Jewish Law 101,” “Raising a Jewish Family” and “The Laws of Shabbos.”

Those who can’t find a course to meet a particular need are encouraged to call the center for private time with a rabbi, Yehoshua Kohl said.

“Our average student is a somewhat committed ritual observer but very basic in general knowledge of Judaism,” the rabbi said. “We have college kids to 70-year-olds, but our target group is young adults, in their 20s, 30s and 40s.”

Many students have little idea what certain rituals stand for, Aviva Kohl said, which is why this week she discussed the meaning of Rosh Hashana--the Jewish new year--with students in an “Introduction to Jewish Thought” class.

“It has deeper meaning beyond dipping an apple in honey,” she said. “The apple represents the Jewish people and the honey represents sweetness, symbolic of praying and asking God that our year should be as sweet as honey.”

Some students, like Debbie Mund, an Encino physician, use the information they learn in class to reconnect with their Jewish roots.

Mund, who has studied at the center since it opened, said she has taken a variety of courses that have helped her better explain Judaism to her children.

“It’s given me a more clear Jewish understanding,” she said. “The Jewish parenting class has really helped me do a better job raising my children with moral values.”

Gail Lawler, a real estate agent from Woodland Hills, grew up in a Jewish home but said through the years she lost touch with Judaism. To reconnect, she said, she has taken several Kollel classes.

“I thought I knew a lot, but I’ve acquired so much knowledge, and it’s fascinating and interesting,” Lawler said. “I’ve really reconnected spiritually.”

Stories like Mund’s and Lawler’s keep the Kohls inspired, often working 12- to 15-hour days. Aviva Kohl jokes that her husband practically lives at the center.

In fact, when she schedules his weeks she said she always reserves time in the evening for the rabbi to tuck his three daughters--ages 5, 3 and 3 months--in bed. Then he returns to the center, which is just minutes from their home, and often works till 1 a.m.

“I want people to be educated and passionate about Judaism,” the rabbi said. “But their level of observance, that’s their choice.”