IKAR explained

IKAR
Religious Affiliation:Judaism
Rite:Non-denominational Judaism
Festivals:-->
Organisational Status:Congregation
Organizational Status:-->
Functional Status:Active
Location:Shalhevet High School, 910 South Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90036
Country:United States
Map Type:United States Los Angeles Western
Map Size:250
Map Relief:1
Coordinates:34.0598°N -118.3629°W
Established:2004
Year Completed:2015
Date Destroyed:-->
Elevation Ft:-->

IKAR is a non-denominational Jewish congregation and community founded in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. The congregation was founded in 2004 and is led by rabbi Sharon Brous,[1] [2] who was one of its founders.[3]

History

IKAR (transliterated from Hebrew as "essence"), was founded in 2004 by CEO Melissa Balaban, senior rabbi Sharon Brous, and others in a Santa Monica home.[3]

In September 2015, IKAR announced that it had signed a two-year lease to relocate to the newly built campus of Shalhevet High School.[4] In August 2018, the synagogue announced that it paid $6.9 million ($ million in dollars) for a building on South La Cienega Boulevard near 18th Street, although the move was not immediate due to time needed for construction.[5], IKAR still met at Shalhevet.[6]

Activities

IKAR schedules its services to avoid conflict with Shalhevet's school days, meeting in the gymnasium on Shabbat and other holidays where Shalhevet is not in session. Weekday morning services take place at IKAR's daycare center, which operates elsewhere.

Notable members

Notes and References

  1. News: Weiner . Rex . December 30, 2012 . IKAR Looks To Build Without Losing Magic . .
  2. News: Julie . Gruenbaum. How Different Is IKAR; Rabbi Sharon Brous Inspires Change … and Controversy . The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. June 23, 2010 .
  3. News: Feldman . Ari . June 2, 2018 . Ikar is building something. Just don't call it a synagogue. . . December 3, 2023.
  4. News: Torok . Ryan . September 3, 2015 . IKAR announces its move to Shalhevet . . December 3, 2023.
  5. News: Torok . Ryan . February 14, 2018 . IKAR readies its next chapter . . December 3, 2023.
  6. News: Hartog . Kelly . September 18, 2019 . Remembering Ruby and Hart Campbell . . December 3, 2023.
  7. News: Ben-Moche . Erin . September 14, 2020 . Mayim Bialik joins L.A. shofar wave that aims to bring Jewish community together for Rosh Hashana . . December 3, 2023.
  8. Web site: Trakin . Roy . 2021-03-26 . Rock ‘Hazzan’ Hillel Tigay Shines Light on Progressive L.A. Synagogue Where Steven Spielberg, Eric Garcetti Are Members . 2022-10-06 . Variety . en-US.
  9. Web site: Staff. Toi. Jurassic World’s Jewish writers. Times of Israel. June 20, 2015. Silver was born to Jewish parents in New York. Jaffa was raised Christian but had a Jewish great-grandfather. The two told the Los Angeles Jewish Journal in 2014 that they regularly attend Los Angeles’s IKAR congregation with their two children..
  10. Web site: Our Story . IKAR. June 20, 2024. IKAR was launched on a hope and a prayer, setting out with a small group of founders (Joshua Avedon, Stephanie Avedon, Melissa Balaban, Celia Bernstein, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Richard Foos, Shari Foos, Nan Friedman, Adam Gilad, Lynn Kilroy, Ross Levinson, David Light, Paulette Light, Rachel Light, Paula Mazur, Robert Mickelson, David N. Myers, Andrea Blaugrund Nevins, Yazmin Ibarlucea-Peebles, Mac Peebles, Amy Povich, Jeff Rake, Daniel Sokatch, Adam Wergeles).
  11. News: Miller . Gerri . April 20, 2020 . A fourth grader solves a murder in Home Before Dark . . December 3, 2023.