About Our Synagogue
The Synagogue For The Performing Arts was founded in 1973 by members of the entertainment community of Los Angeles. The original membership -- actors, screenwriters and behind the scenes professionals in the diverse fields of the performing arts -- shared a desire to worship together unencumbered by the pressure and politics associated with most congregations. Over the years, little has changed.
Today, the Synagogue is thriving with a diverse membership that extends beyond its show business roots. It remains "a synagogue without walls," still meeting once a month for Friday night Sabbath services with overwhelming attendance, and our High Holy Days Services are generally filled to capacity with members and their guests.
The Synagogue's spiritual leaders are Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and Rabbi David Woznica. Rabbi Telushkin is not only a world renowned scholar and author, but a screenwriter with film and television credits, whose work has appeared most recently on Touched by an Angel and The Practice.
Rabbi Woznica is a sought after speaker, past Director of the 92nd Street Y and a member of the Rabbinic staff at Stephen S. Wise Temple in West LA. Cantor Judy Fox, who appears often in concerts and on the Jewish Television Network, is the congregation's musical director.
The Synagogue For The Performing Arts was the first entertainment congregation to provide an affordable, yet spiritually satisfying place for the unaffiliated to worship. While the services are essentially traditional with a mix of both Hebrew and English, there is explanation and transliteration of the Hebrew liturgy included. The emphasis on the blending of the performing arts and Judaism remains in the themes and presentations at the Sabbath services held on the first Friday of each month
