A Place of Unity and Learning

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, the couple decided to do something about it, opening a nonprofit center in Valley Village--thought by leaders in the Jewish community to be the first of its kind in Los Angeles--where any Jew, at 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, specially in America,” Aviva Kohl, 30, said. “They didn’t know what to tell their kids. 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.

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

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

“We’re not a synagogue, we’re an educational institution and we accept all,” he 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 also teaches several courses.

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.

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

This week, Aviva Kohl discussed 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 Encino physician Debbie Mund, use the center to reconnect with their Jewish roots. Mund 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 through the years 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.”