Chat with friends in Yiddish at the monthly Shmueskrayz (Conversation Group) in West Hollywood, every third Thursday. Write to Rabbi Golden for the location at golden@dernister.org.

No place is beyond the possibility of return, of teshuvah. Even from places that feel distant, broken, or devoid of holiness, the path back remains open—if only we are willing to seek. 

Our deepest freedom is the freedom to seek. Our greatest refuge is found in choosing.

These High Holidays, join Der Nister on a journey of teshuvah, of dialogue with the Divine and the sacred act of choosing.

Together, with your neighbors and friends Downtown, we will celebrate with traditional High Holiday services rooted in classic melodies, profound and heartfelt teachings, and poetry in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Whether you are returning after many years or coming for the first time, there is a place for you in this journey.

Register here

No place is beyond the possibility of return, of teshuvah. Even from places that feel distant, broken, or devoid of holiness, the path back remains open—if only we are willing to seek. 

Our deepest freedom is the freedom to seek. Our greatest refuge is found in choosing.

These High Holidays, join Der Nister on a journey of teshuvah, of dialogue with the Divine and the sacred act of choosing.

Together, with your neighbors and friends Downtown, we will celebrate with traditional High Holiday services rooted in classic melodies, profound and heartfelt teachings, and poetry in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Whether you are returning after many years or coming for the first time, there is a place for you in this journey.

Register here

No place is beyond the possibility of return, of teshuvah. Even from places that feel distant, broken, or devoid of holiness, the path back remains open—if only we are willing to seek. 

Our deepest freedom is the freedom to seek. Our greatest refuge is found in choosing.

These High Holidays, join Der Nister on a journey of teshuvah, of dialogue with the Divine and the sacred act of choosing.

Together, with your neighbors and friends Downtown, we will celebrate with traditional High Holiday services rooted in classic melodies, profound and heartfelt teachings, and poetry in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Whether you are returning after many years or coming for the first time, there is a place for you in this journey.

Register here

No place is beyond the possibility of return, of teshuvah. Even from places that feel distant, broken, or devoid of holiness, the path back remains open—if only we are willing to seek. 

Our deepest freedom is the freedom to seek. Our greatest refuge is found in choosing.

These High Holidays, join Der Nister on a journey of teshuvah, of dialogue with the Divine and the sacred act of choosing.

Together, with your neighbors and friends Downtown, we will celebrate with traditional High Holiday services rooted in classic melodies, profound and heartfelt teachings, and poetry in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew. Whether you are returning after many years or coming for the first time, there is a place for you in this journey.

Register here

Der Nister Downtown Jewish Center and Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park will hold a traditional Selichot prayer service. It will be held at the Der Nister Downtown location Saturday, September 5, 2026 starting with Havdalah at 8 PM.

The Selichot service, which will be led by Cantorial Soloist Zach Golden, is both a spiritual and musical warm-up for the High Holidays. It includes some unique piyyutim (medieval poetic prayers) as well as liturgical sections that are familiar to us from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services.

Register here to learn more.

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Join Der Nister and shuls across LA for a night of music and Torah at Pico Union Project.

The Jewish people have always drawn their greatest strength from togetherness. Yet too often, labels and divisions quietly separate us — synagogue from synagogue, community from community, one Jew from another.

Ahavat Chinam — unconditional love — asks something simple of us: to meet one another as family. Music removes the barriers words cannot. A melody sung together reaches past difference and creates genuine, unguarded connection.

We welcome Jews of every background. No labels. No divisions. Just community.

Learn more here and reserve tickets using discount code Dernister10 on Thursday, September 3, with doors opening at 7:30 PM.

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Enjoy Kabbalat Shabbat at Der Nister! Rabbi Zach Golden leads the musical services and Rabbi Ye'ela Rosenfeld will teach us philosophical ideas related to the parshah. Then we eat and the discussion flows. We'll have a fantastic meal from Holy Grill — fish, chicken, rice, veggie options and drinks.

Get tickets here

Chat with friends in Yiddish at the monthly Shmueskrayz (Conversation Group) in West Hollywood, every third Thursday. Write to Rabbi Golden for the location at golden@dernister.org.

The Cabaret is back, with the full weight of our soul in tow. We'll sing our hearts out to klezmer and bawdy Yiddish song, fill our hearts with wine, enjoy wonderfully weird acts and take in the atmosphere and the company of friends. Join us at Der Nister with our merry crew, Shiri and the Shiribims and host Tirosh Schneider, to celebrate the beginning of the month of Elul.

Featuring artist Liz Berger, using charcoal, paper, a soul in a body, sounds in a room; choreographing Elul, Tishre Teshuva and Tashlich, in collaboration with Machrozet.

Liz Berger is an artist and organizer based in Los Angeles, CA. She creates work that explores the concept of connection and its relationship to our material and immaterial experiences as humans on this earth. She is interested in collaborative and process-based work, alternative spaces, and facilitating meaningful interactions between humans and non-humans alike.

Machrozet is the multi-disciplinary studio of Shelly Badal, producing and curating cultural programs, community events, and artistic performances for and in partnership with non-profits, cultural institutions, artists, and the general public. The spaces and works we create are inspired by Jewish texts and mysticism.

Tickets here

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

ReynHartsik (heartfelt, sincerely), a duo project from musicians Yoshie Fruchter and Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz, explores Yiddish poetry, loshen koydesh, prayer and nign in an intimate folk setting.  Using a combination of their voices with cello, guitar, bass and mandolin, Fruchter and Sacks-Mintz bring new melodies to the Jewish music canon using intricate song, sensitive musicianship and a sincere desire to connect with audiences.  

Some of the Yiddish poetry they are working with includes pieces by Celia Dropkin, Itzik Manger, Mordkhe Gebirtig plus a new collaboration with contemporary Yiddish poet and composer Josh Waletzky.  The vocal chemistry between the duo is paramount, and the unique arrangements and compositions provide a setting that evokes past and present in perfect harmony.

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Reynhartsik is currently working on their debut record with renowned producer Benjamin Lazar Davis in LA, slated for release in 2027.

Yoshie Fruchter’s skills as a multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader transcend boundaries. His original music is singular in its questioning of what it means to compose based on Jewish heritage, and fearless in the answers it produces. Among his most prominent projects have been Sandcatchers, a beautiful marrying of the middle eastern oud and lap steel guitar, Pitom (Tzadik records), a Jewish experimental rock band featuring wild electric guitar and shredding violin, and Schizophonia, a "Radiohead meets Rosenblatt" take on historic cantorial music. 

An educator and practitioner of Jewish communal music, Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz supports those who seek a deepened practice of empowered prayer and song. A celebrated composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Deborah has collaborated on over two dozen records with a diverse array of voices in the Jewish soundscape, including three albums of her own of original spiritual music: The Narrow and the Expanse (2020) Yetzira (2023) and Songs from the Beit Midrash (2026).  Deborah serves on the faculty of the Hadar Institute as Director of Tefillah and music. 

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Duvid Swirsky & Sally Dworsky create soulful, roots-inspired Jewish music that is both timeless and deeply personal.

Israeli-born singer-songwriter and producer Duvid Swirsky is a co-founder of the acclaimed band MOSHAV and the indie-pop group Distant Cousins, whose music has appeared in film, television, and live performances around the world.

Sally Dworsky is an acclaimed singer-songwriter whose unmistakable voice has been heard by millions as the singing voice behind iconic films including The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt, and Shrek. A celebrated solo artist, she has also recorded and performed with artists including Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, and many others.

Together, Swirsky and Dworsky serve as the Co-Musical Directors of Nefesh LA, where they have joined forces to create a new body of music inspired by the Jewish midot—timeless teachings of character and spiritual growth. Their music weaves together folk, Americana, and Middle Eastern influences into an intimate acoustic sound rooted in Jewish text, prayer, and lived experience.

With rich vocal harmony, heartfelt songwriting, and a shared commitment to creating spaces of connection and transcendence, their music invites audiences into an experience that feels both ancient and new, deeply Jewish yet universally human.

Tickets here

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

“Khazn Elektrik” is a concert of Khazones-inspired experimental music by Eli Berman featuring Judith Berkson. Following the concert is a kumsitz (khazones improvisation workshop) led by Judith Berkson — come ready to learn the art of traditional cantorial music!

Eli Berman will perform original music in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English. This will include her electronic dance music from the Kleztronica scene as well as solo excerpts from “Litanies of Lilith,” an electro puppet opera written, composed, and performed by Eli Berman with Yiddish translations by Moishe Dolman. Sounds are generated live on stage via voice and wearable electronics in additions to beats made entirely from vocal samples.

Before there is Eve, there is Lilith. “Litanies of Lilith” depicts her transformation from the first wife of Adam into the primordial mother of demons. She is created from the same earth as Adam and refuses to lie beneath him. She cries the ineffable names of God in order to grow an owl-like head and wings, crossing the Sea of Reeds to flee from Eden. This story is based on a Hebrew/Aramaic fable written in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a medieval text from ~1000 CE. The title also references Diamanda Galás’ piece for voice and electronics, “Litanies of Satan,” itself drawn from poet Charles Baudelaire.

The Lilith backpack puppet, about 8ft tall, is constructed from PVC pipes, plastic tubing, wood, fabric, and electronics. Lilith’s eyes are battery-powered instruments with embedded speakers. Built from resonant PVC pipes, microphones, transducers, goat skin, and delay pedals, each requires onstage amplification rather than direct connection to a venue sound system. Two microphones in Lilith's wings feed into battery-powered, Teensy delay pedals worn in Berman’s bra, allowing her to manipulate the sounds from Lilith's eyes in real time.

This work-in-progress was performed April 24-25 at Dixon Place for the 2026 Object Movement Puppetry Festival. These performances were the culmination of a nine month residency with the Center at West Park.

Sunday, August 2nd, doors open 7 PM. RSVP

EXPLORE DER NISTER’S NEWLY ACQUIRED LIBRARY OF 2000 JEWISH VINYL ALBUMS and 78s.

Meet up at Der Nister (mostly) the first Saturday night of the month for Havdalah and a chance to dig through Der Nister’s massive Jewish music collection. Pick a vinyl, 78s or even a CD, and we’ll play it on our sound system and see what it holds! 

BYOB (and BYOV (vinyl!))

Register here

August 1st, 8:30 PM

September 5th, 8 PM (Leil Selichos Special)

SKIPPING OCTOBER

November 14th, 6 PM

December 5th, 6 PM

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Zingt un tantst (sing and dance) at the Goldrich Center’s second annual summer celebration of Yiddish songs and klezmer music. The brand new indoor Gonda Auditorium will provide a meaningful atmosphere to celebrate klezmer and Yiddish music, an important part of Jewish life that flourished both before and after the Holocaust.

Lider Fun Der Heym translates to "songs from the Old Country" or just "songs from home," as the emphasis of this program will be on familiar songs that would be easily recognizable in Yiddish speaking homes.

This program will feature opening remarks from Miri Koral, founder and CEO of California Institute for Yiddish Culture & Language (CIYCL), and musical acts by Gustavo Bulgach, Nicholas Hylander, and renowned actors Bernard Hiller and Mike Burstyn.

This program is in community partnership with CIYCL, Kultur Mercado, Der Nister, and the So Cal Arbeter Ring.

RSVP here

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Join us for a meaningful Tisha B'Av observance at Temple Beth Israel as we commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temples and reflect on the enduring lessons of this solemn day. Ma'ariv will begin at 7:30 PM, followed by the chanting of Eicha (Lamentations). 

Tisha B'Av invites us to reflect not only on the destruction of the Temples, but also on the brokenness we encounter in our own world. It calls us to examine sinat chinam (senseless hatred), embrace our communal responsibility, and consider how each of us can help bring healing and compassion into our communities.

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Shmueskrayz! Get together and speak in Yiddish with your friends and neighbors here in LA. This event is good for Intermediate and Fluent speakers, though all are welcome. Bring drinks, snacks, and/or a verterbukh!

Write to golden@dernister.org to let us know you’re coming and for the address.

You're invited to the Niggun Chevrusah: an evening of singing, community and inspiration, at the Der Nister Downtown Jewish Center. Come meet new friends, share your favorite tunes, as well as earn new ones,  and experience the peacefulness of Shabbos singing on a weeknight!  (*A niggun is a wordless melody often sung repeatedly, and zmirot are songs with words often sung on Shabbos.) Led by multidisciplinary performer, Ilana Zackon, who has been leading the Montreal Niggun Circle with Rabba Briah Cahana since 2024.

Register here

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Enjoy Kabbalat Shabbat at Der Nister! Rabbi Zach Golden leads the musical services and Rabbi Ye'ela Rosenfeld will teach us philosophical ideas related to the parshah. Then we eat and the discussion flows. We'll have a fantastic meal from Holy Grill. Register here.

Come join us for traditional davening and pleasant company every Saturday morning at 10:30 am. Rabbi Zach Golden leads the davening and Rabbi Henry Hollander delivers a sermon, followed by a kiddush lunch with bagels from our friends at Boichik Bagels.

To learn the building code or inquire further, please write to golden@dernister.org.

Read more about the experience of our heimish service here.

Zoom Discussion with Israeli Institute for Hebrew Literature at Der Nister. Tehila Hakimi and Joshua Cohen's books, Hunting in America and The Netanyahus, engage directly with the cultural meeting/clashing between the two cultures — and it's complicated, funny, and deeply human. Cohen's Pulitzer-winning novel drops the Netanyahu family onto an American campus. Hakimi follows an Israeli woman in Middle America, drawn into the world of hunting. Both books capture the fascination, the friction, and the feeling of being caught between two worlds. Join us to talk about literature, identity, and the relationship between the two cultures, in the first of series of monthly discussions hosted by actress Jamie Denbo. Sunday, June 7th at 9 AM. Register