The Temple Shalom of the South Bay Community

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Cantor Ari Perelmuter

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Sheila Silver

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To contact our Cantor:
Cantor Ari Perelmuter

Send all Religious School
questions and all general Temple questions and comments to
Director of Education
Sheila Silver

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Temple Shalom
of the South Bay
1818 Monterey Blvd
Hermosa Beach CA 90254
(310) 613-3855

Temple Shalom of the South Bay

Temple Shalom of the South Bay is a Jewish community serving the beach communities of Los Angeles. It is a new organization (incorporated in 2005) created by a group of individuals who yearned for a participatory, spiritual and inclusive Jewish environment with meaning, purpose and tradition.

A creative, pluralistic and egalitarian Religious School was launched in October 2005 with an emphasis on making Jewish learning a positive, stimulating and enjoyable experience. Our goal for the students is to instill a strong and positive Jewish identity, pride in being Jewish, thereby laying a foundation and desire for lifelong Jewish learning.

Our goal is to create a warm, welcoming and happy place for our ourselves and our children - to build community and have a place where we will feel comfortable, safe and at home. In forming this community, we desire to make the world a better place by practicing the principals of Tikun Olam, make ethical choices and engage in ethical
behavior based on Jewish values and have a committed and knowledgeable relationship with the land and people of Israel.

The community is forming and creating a synergy among unaffiliated Jews in the South Bay. Temple Shalom of the South Bay welcomes all who would like to participate and be part of this dynamic and growing community.

The History of Temple Shalom

“If you build it – will they come?” That was the question on the minds of Lani Zaun, Roz Bliss and Shereen Lavi on a cold winter afternoon in December of 2004. These three women, with very diverse Jewish backgrounds and experiences started sharing their ideas and dreams for the South Bay Jewish community. They shared ideas of what type of service would be meaningful to them. The service would need to be participatory, spiritual and inclusive; they yearned for a musical component, as well as, a strong link to tradition but with a progressive view.

They wondered what would happen if they invited a few close friends to a Shabbat service. Would anyone come? Would anyone care? The first service was at Lani’s home and they immediately filled all available chairs, floor space and standing room. No advertisements, only a call to a few close friends.

The three women realized that they had outgrown any of their homes and each put in money to rent a facility to have their next service. Finding a space was a bit of a challenge. The Joslyn Center had a drama class every Friday night, the Scout Center had the Scouts, the Neptunian Club had a Judo instructor there until 8pm and they would have to be quiet until his class was over – wasn’t going to work. Fortunately, Lani found the Clark Building in Hermosa Beach and their first official service was February 18, 2005. They had no idea how many people to expect, again no advertising – only word of mouth and some emails to friends. It was a cold and rainy evening and ten minutes before the service, there were eight people in the room. Their concern of not having a minyun was quickly erased, ten minutes later there were over 50 people.

The second service was held at the same location on March 18, 2005. A community member who attended the first service volunteered to host the Oneg. Another cold and rainy evening that coincided with a big community event taking place at the same time. Ten minutes into the service, they ran out of chairs. The three women had out grown this facility too.

Shereen used her technical skills and personal contributions to build a website for this fledgling enterprise as a way of keeping the community aware of their efforts. By June of 2005, the women knew the idea of starting a new synagogue in the South Bay was possible but that they needed assistance. They invited Rabbi Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben from Kehillat Israel, a Reconstructionist synagogue located in Pacific Palisades to speak to them regarding Reconstuctionism. The event was at Roz’s house and once again, attendance exceeded all expectations. The enthusiasm from the crowd was contagious and they knew there was no turning back.

A Board of Directors was formed uniting various individuals with unique skills and abilities. Registration for the one day a week Religious School was far greater than ever expected and the initial facility was unable to accommodate their substantial growth The Temple Shalom of the South Bay religious school opened October 24, 2005 with 108 students at the St. Cross Church in Hermosa Beach.

Monthly services with visiting Reconstuctionist Rabbis are scheduled for the upcoming year along with a series of guest lecturers. The community is forming and creating a synergy among unaffiliated Jews in the South Bay. Temple Shalom of the South Bay welcomes all who would like to participate and be part of this dynamic and growing community.

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