Sholem Community

Sunday School
2021-03-07 10:00 - 13:30, 2021-04-18 10:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Jan & Jerry’s house
Sholem’s secular Jewish Sunday school meets for online classes: ALEF/BEYS (preK-2nd) & GIML (3rd/4th) begin at 10am. DALED (5th/6th) at 11am. HEY (7th/8th) begin at 11:15am. VOV (9th-12th) begins at 12:30pm. Enrollment is open! Questions about Sholem’s school? Email ross@sholem.org.

Enroll Now

Sunday School + David Pettit, Natural Resources Defense Council
2021-03-14 10:00 - 13:30 | Jan & Jerry’s house
Sholem’s secular Jewish Sunday school meets for online classes: ALEF/BEYS (preK-2nd) & GIML (3rd/4th) begin at 10am. DALED (5th/6th) at 11am. HEY (7th/8th) begin at 11:15am. VOV (9th-12th) begins at 12:30pm. Enrollment is open! Questions about Sholem’s school? Email ross@sholem.org.

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Sholem is pleased to present David Pettit, Senior Attorney, Climate & Clean Energy Program at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council.) David is returning to Sholem, after his talk four years ago, to offer his perspective on what we may expect with the environment during the next four years under the Biden-Harris Administration.
David will be introduced by Sholem member, Deborah Gregory, President of the non-profit Ballona Creek Renaissance.

Talk is at 10:30am.
Check back for link.

Sunday School + Holocaust Survivor Story: Dr. Marianne Richter @ 11:30 am
2021-04-11 10:00 - 13:30 | Jan & Jerry’s house

Sunday School; Community Kibbitz @ 10:30am (PT)
2021-04-25 10:00 - 13:30 | Jan & Jerry’s house
Sholem’s secular Jewish Sunday school meets for online classes: ALEF/BEYS (preK-2nd) & GIML (3rd/4th) begin at 10am. DALED (5th/6th) at 11am. HEY (7th/8th) begin at 11:15am. VOV (9th-12th) begins at 12:30pm. Enrollment is open! Questions about Sholem’s school? Email ross@sholem.org.

Enroll Now

It’s been a while since we’ve kibbitzed together. Here’s another opportunity for the community to check in and support each other’s well being in this moment as we navigate 2021. Let’s tawk!
CLICK HERE to register for Kibbitz.

1st Day (9/12) of Sunday School Classes
2021-09-12 10:00 - 12:30
Join us on the first day of Sholem’s 2021-2022 school year for an in person meet up outdoors at Stoneview Nature Center in Culver City. Come meet Sholem’s principal, teachers and Sunday school families, both continuing and prospective. (Remember to bring your own water, snack, sunhat/block, face mask.)
FREE – All are welcome!
If you are new to Sholem, please send an email to ross@sholem.org so we know to expect you!
Note: We expect our second session of Sunday school, September 19th, to again be via Zoom. We are currently waiting to hear if and when we will be returning to weekly meetings on the campus of Short Avenue Elementary School. Sign up for our mailing list, if you aren’t subscribed already, to be informed.

Sunday School - 2nd Day
2021-09-19 10:00 - 13:45 | Jan & Jerry’s house
Sholem’s secular Sunday school engages kids (ages 4-17) in an exploration of Jewish identity rooted in Jewish cultural literacy and traditions of social justice. This day, our ALEF/BEYS class (preK-2nd grade) meets outdoors at Well Baby Center in Mar Vista; the rest of the classes will meet via Zoom.
During these first weeks of September, prospective families are invited to have their child try out a class for free. RSVP to ross@sholem.org so we know to expect you.

Sholem’s Sunday school is currently meeting ONLINE unless noted otherwise:
ALEF/BEYS (preK-2nd) – 10:15-11:45am
Outdoors at Well Baby Center
12316 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066
GIML (3rd/4th) 10am-11:30am
DALED (5th/6th) 11am-12:30pm
HEY (7th/8th) 11am-12:30pm
VOV (9th-12th) 12:15-1:45pm

The school meets most Sundays, September through May, and offers rolling admission. For more info, CLICK HERE.
Enrollment is open! If you have questions about Sholem’s school, email ross@sholem.org.

Enroll Now

Sunday School - Sukkot Observance at Stoneview Nature Center
2021-09-26 10:00 - 12:30 | Jan & Jerry’s house
All are welcome for the 3rd meet up of Sholem’s 2021-2022 school year: Sukkot-themed classes outdoors at Stoneview Nature Center in Culver City. REMEMBER to bring your own water, snack, sunhat/block, and face mask.
Stoneview Nature Center
5950 Stoneview Dr.
Culver City, CA 90232
General: (310) 202-3002

Sholem’s secular Sunday school engages kids (ages 4-17) in an exploration of Jewish identity rooted in Jewish cultural literacy and traditions of social justice. The school meets most Sundays, September through May, and offers rolling admission. For more info, CLICK HERE. During these first weeks of September, prospective families are invited to have their child try out a class for free. RSVP to ross@sholem.org so we know to expect you.
Next week, the school returns to our regular schedule, meeting online unless noted otherwise:

ALEF/BEYS (preK-2nd) – 10:15-11:45am
Outdoors at Well Baby Center
12316 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90066
GIML (3rd/4th) 10am-11:30am
DALED (5th/6th) 11am-12:30pm
HEY (7th/8th) 11am-12:30pm
VOV (9th-12th) 12:15-1:45pm
Enrollment is open! Questions about Sholem’s school? Email ross@sholem.org.

Enroll Now

MLK Day (at Sunday school)
2023-01-15 10:00 - 12:30
THIS SUNDAY we commemorate a holiday Hershl Hartman, our Education Director, is fond of saying is as important a Jewish holiday as anything else on the calendar: Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Adults are warmly invited to join our students in the outside gathering area at noon for a Civil Rights songs hootenanny/singalong.
We will also be listening to audio clips of some heroes of the Civil Rights movement, as well as exploring the strong Jewish involvement in the movement, why the specificity of Jewish history gives us as Jews a strong moral calling to support the civil rights of ALL PEOPLE, and to fight the scourge of racism with the totality of our beings.

Sunday, January 15
10:00am Bagels & Coffee
10:20am Classes (students)
+ schmoozing (adults)
12:00pm Assembly & Singalong
Sholem Sunday School
Meets on the campus of:
Short Avenue Elementary School
12814 Maxella Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066
All prospective families are welcome to come check out a class.
We offer rolling admissions.
Click here for more information about our school
Contact our principal Ross Helford ross@sholem.org, so he may plan to greet you.

Sunday School - Open House
2024-09-22 | Short Avenue Elementary School, 12814 Maxella Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90066, United States
Our School Principal, Ross Helford, will discuss the importance, urgency, and value of a secular Jewish education. We will also have an overview of our school, curriculum, philosophy and classes, as well as our bmitsve program, teen/belfer program, and our multigenerational community offerings.
The presentation will be followed by a tour of classes, and then an opportunity for some community building amongst adults.
Sholem Open House
Sunday, September 22
10:00 a.m. Bagels, Juice & Coffee
10:30-11:30 a.m. Program
Help spread the word. Invite friends.
All are welcome!
Questions: ross@sholem.org

Sunday School + CA Ballot Measures Forum with Mona Field
2024-10-06
CA Ballot Measures Forum
w/ Mona Field, Professor Emerita, Political Science

We are delighted to have longtime Sholem member Mona Field back to lead one of her always popular and informative pre-election forums. Mona will help explain the measures and share who is supporting and opposing each. Participants are welcome to bring their sample ballots, political junk mail, thoughts and questions so we may analyze our choices together.
Mona is past President of the Board of the League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles and Professor Emerita of Political Science. She literally wrote the textbook on California politics, California Government and Politics Today, now in its 15th edition.
This will be a nonpartisan conversation – NOT about candidates.
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Come at 10am for bagels & coffee
Program 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Short Avenue Elementary School
12814 Maxella Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(Plenty of free street parking)
FREE to Attend – All are welcome!

Questions: info@sholem.org

Sunday School + Klezmer Dance 101 with Bruce Bierman
2025-05-04 10:00 - 12:30 | Short Avenue Elementary School, 12814 Maxella Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90066, United States
Classes will meet as usual this Sunday, May 4, beginning at 10 a.m. Please come early for coffee, bagels and schmoozing.
Also, we are delighted to bring back Bruce Bierman for another workshop in Jewish dance. All are welcome! There will be a one hour adult workshop from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., followed by a workshop for the entire school and parents from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Klezmer Dance 101: A Mitsve to be in Simkhe
Come move, laugh, and connect at this joyful workshop for youth and their families! Once nearly forgotten, the traditional Jewish folk dances of the Ashkenazi Jews—like the Freylekh, Joq, Husidl, Sher, Bulgar, and Patsh Tanz—are now joyfully returning to life, thanks to a renaissance sparked by the tireless work of passionate Yiddish music and dance folkologists and researchers.
No experience is needed. whether dancing in community, with a chaver (a friend), or stepping out solo in a moment of shayning—showing off your own unique flair—there’s room for everyone. Led by an experienced dance leader—but always invited to dance to the beat of your own drummer—this is dance for the Folk, where joy matters more than perfection.
Bruce Bierman is the co-artistic director of the award-winning Yiddish Theatre Ensemble of Berkeley and is a leading presenter of Jewish dance throughout California. Bruce has studied with a handful of great Jewish dance masters including Felix Fibich–who with his wife and mentor, Judith Berg, choreographed the 1937 Yiddish classic film, ‘The Dybbuk’. Bruce was a lead dancer and teaching artist with the acclaimed Aman Folk Ensemble of Los Angeles and a regular at the Skirball Museum with Mostly Kosher and John Anson Ford Theater with the L.A. Jewish Symphony. He recently served as Yiddish dance and theater dramaturg for several productions of Paula Vogel’s ‘Indecent’ at the Arena Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the critically acclaimed production at the San Francisco Playhouse. Here’s a short video introduction to Bruce.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH2Uh7fxSQw

2025 Summer Planning Meeting
2025-08-17
This meeting is open to the entire Sholem community, and is for anyone interested in serving in leadership or in taking on a volunteer role.

Jewish Sunday School Begins, Los Angeles
2025-09-07 10:00 - 12:30
Jewish Sunday School | Secular Jewish Education for Kids Ages 4-17
Join Sholem’s secular Jewish Sunday school serving families throughout Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Westwood, Venice, Culver City, Beverly Hills, and the greater West Side.
Next Session: Sunday, September 7th at 10:00am Location: Sholem Community
Why Choose Sholem’s Jewish Sunday School Alternative?
Sholem’s secular Jewish education program offers an engaging curriculum for children ages 4-17, focusing on Jewish identity, history, culture, and social justice traditions – perfect for families seeking non-religious Jewish education in Los Angeles.
Our inclusive approach welcomes:

Interfaith families from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills
Parents seeking cultural Jewish learning without religious doctrine
Families looking for progressive Jewish education in West LA
Children interested in Jewish history and traditions

What to Expect at Our Jewish Sunday School
10:00am: Classes begin with bagels and community time
12:15pm: Weekly assembly brings all ages together
12:30pm: Dismissal
✨ Try Before You Commit: Families are welcome to visit any Sunday to experience our secular Jewish community firsthand.
Serving Jewish Families Throughout Los Angeles:

Los Angeles
Santa Monica families
Brentwood and Westwood communities
Venice and Culver City residents
Beverly Hills area families
Mid-City and Hollywood families welcome

Registration Information
Online registration opening soon – or attend any Sunday and register in person. No family turned away.
Questions? Contact our principal, Ross Helford, to learn more about our Jewish cultural education program.
Perfect for families seeking:

Alternative to traditional Hebrew school
Jewish education for interfaith families
Secular Jewish community in Los Angeles
Progressive Jewish values and social justice education
Jewish Sunday school that welcomes all backgrounds

Learn more about our amazing community by following us on Facebook or Instagram.

Sunday School Open House
2025-10-26 10:00 - 11:30

Sunday School
2026-01-25 10:00 - 12:30, 2026-02-01 10:00 - 12:30, 2026-02-08 10:00 - 12:30, 2026-02-22 10:00 - 12:30
Are you culturally Jewish but not religious?
Would you like your children (or grandchildren) to connect with their Jewish identity?
Do you have an intercultural family?
Sholem’s secular Sunday school engages children 4-17 years old in an exploration of Jewish identity, history, culture and traditions of social justice.
Classes meet 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m most Sunday mornings during the school year.

Click here for more information about our school
All prospective families are welcome to come check out a class.
We offer rolling admissions.
Contact our principal Ross Helford ross@sholem.org, so he may plan to greet you.

Tu Bishvat Assembly
2026-02-01 11:15 - 12:30
Traditionally Tu Bishvat was the New Year of Trees, originally established as a way for Jewish farmers to keep time. In modern times, it has been adapted for the planting and care of trees and as a reminder to be kind to our planet – similar to Earth Day.
11:15 a.m.* – Principal Ross Helford will give a presentation about Tu Bishvat from a secular perspective – adults are welcome!

12 Noon* – Assembly with songs

*Times to be confirmed

Sholem Does Not Meet (President's Day Weekend)
2026-02-15
Sholem will not meet on this Sunday (Feb 15).
Classes resume Feb 22nd.

Sholem Field Trip to Skirball Center
2026-03-29
All Sholem classes will participate in a field trip to the Skirball Center.
Sholem families – Please check your email for details.

Year End Assembly
2026-05-17
This will be our final meeting at Short Avenue for the current school year. Classes will meet as usual, beginning at 10:00 AM. Please come early for coffee, bagels and schmoozing.
Following classes, we will be having a year end assembly to wrap up the academic year.
