Welcoming Shabbat with Ahavat Olam by Hamakom in Los Angeles

Today we welcome Shabbat with a rendition of Ahavat Olam by Dor Kaminka & Cantor Jenni Asher of Hamakom congregation of Los Angeles.

Hamakom is an inclusive Jewish community creating meaningful experiences through communal connection, celebrating, worshiping and learning. Hamakom means “The Place” and represents the understanding that spiritual life begins when you seek the extraordinary within the ordinary. 

Hamakom has programs for all ages, from The Nook (Infant & Toddler Center) to an Early Childhood Center, one of the city’s most respected; from a vibrant and inclusive JLC Religious School to Adult Education programs and Shabbat services. 

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom! 

Welcoming Shabbat with Lecha Dodi Sung by Gershom Sizomu, Chief Rabbi of Uganda

Gershom Sizomu (born 1969) is a Ugandan rabbi serving the Abayudaya, a Baganda community in eastern Uganda near the town of Mbale who practice Judaism. Sizomu is the first native-born black rabbi in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also the first Chief Rabbi of Uganda. Sizomu is a member of the Ugandan Parliament. 

As a Rabbinic Fellow at the Institute for Jewish & Community Research, he came to the U.S. to 2003 to study in a five-year graduate program at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. He graduated in 2008 and was ordained as a rabbi under the auspices of Conservative Judaism. 

In this video Rabbi Sizomu sings Lecha Dodi at a Kabbalat Shabbat service with Cantor Jenni Asher who has sung as a cantorial soloist since 2020. As of September 2024, Asher works as the music director and cantorial soloist for a Conservative synagogue in Los Angeles. She was ordained as a cantor in 2025, becoming the first known black woman to hold the role.  

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

Welcoming Shabbat with V'Shamru at Hamakom Synagogue in Los Angeles

Cantorial Soloist Jenni Asher leads the V'shamru prayer at the Zamru Musical Kabbalat Shabbat service at the Hamakom Synagogue in Los Angeles on March 1, 2024. 

Hamakom is a center of Jewish life that provides meaning and purpose for Jews of the West San Fernando & Conejo Valleys. It's a vibrant and dynamic Jewish community – a neighborhood – in which the synagogue is a sacred center, a communal home, and hub for its members and all others who wish to grow their Jewish identities, spirit, and communal connections.

Enjoy, and Shabbat shalom!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.