Reflections - Living and Dreaming in LaLa Land

I arrived in Los Angeles in July 2005. It was the hardest year of my entire life.

The trauma of my brother’s serious accident and almost marrying a person who could not have possibly been more wrong for me weighed heavily on my heart. I’d been in LA all of 6 miserable months and had just walked out on the man I was to marry only weeks hence.

Yet, at the height of all this turmoil, G-d had a plan that was way beyond my comprehension at the time.

The day I ended my engagement, is the exact same day of the meeting that birthed JconnectLA. Thankfully, instead of what would have certainly been a failed marriage, I committed myself to and married a vision- one that would change the course of my existence.

Although I was working for LINK (a Jewish non-profit in Westwood) at the time, Cheston and I decided that I would put my energy into a new project called ‘JconnectLA’. It was the vision of Jewish Unity- a plan to create a Jewish experience in LA that would bring together Jews from any cultural or religious background in a space that was warm, fun and hip.

Within months, Jconnect had grown so much that I had to leave LINK to develop this project full-time. I took the leap, even though Jconnect was not yet registered as its own entity, and left LINK- running Jconnect from a computer, desk and phone in my apartment for the next 6 months.

Jconnect’s success and growth led to our establishment as a 501(c)(3) and subsequent substantial donations eventually led to moving from my bedroom into a nice new office in Century City. That was around July of 2006.

I put all the passion and energy I had into my new life in Los Angeles and the vision of bringing the Los Angeles Jewish community together.

After the pain of the previous year, it felt so good to be driven by a purpose larger than myself.
I lived and breathed Jconnect for the next 3 years. I was at every birthday party, every hike, every trip and every social gathering I knew of. Sometimes, doing the circuit meant 3 or 4 parties in a single night….. And I was loving every minute.

I got to meet wonderful, creative, friendly individuals who were interesting and were supportive of the work I was doing. The relationships Cheston Mizel had created around his Shabbat table all those years ago had solidified into not just a well known and respected organization, but also into a community of friends- and some even deeper. Family.

So, as I explored my surroundings and met Jews from all possible walks of life, I always carried with me this passion and love of the Jewish people. It was my drive- the source of my energy and my inspiration.

Yet, I was never content. I could not sit at home EVER, for fear of missing the fun. I did not want to admit it, but I was still on the run. I was having a blast, living the life, driving my convertible around sunny LA, and regular roller blading sessions on the beach… Does life get any better?

YES, it does.

In 2008 I met my soul-mate. In true poetic justice he waltzed into my life at the Jconnect event we had Lynn Finson, the Educational Director of Midreshet Rachel in Israel speaking.

Her topic: "Finding your basherte (soul-mate), why does it take so long?"

So, a new chapter began. Being omnipresent in the Jewish LA social scene became less of a priority as I was faced with the internal challenge of being in a real, meaningful relationship. Having been hurt in the past, I had to change my focus to trusting. Being vulnerable and able to receive proved to be more of an effort than expected. I found myself shifting and changing and confronting insecurities and fears that, until that point, I had not recognized even existed.

On our first date we discussed our mutual dream of spending a year in Israel learning together- building a foundation for our marriage built on Torah spirituality and service of Truth. Throughout the months we dated we continued to communicate our life long goals. At some point the hypothetical scenario’s of our ideal reality began to take shape into definite plans. We began to follow through…

"Hineni" - Here I am.
Saying farewell.

The last few years in LA have been the best I’ve ever lived. I discovered my essence, made peace with my past. Now I go to my future, to Israel, and the next adventure.

Thank you for being a part of my journey. May your journey be pleasant, full of light and laughter


Although Israel seems far away, with technology, its easy to stay in contact.

Please be in touch, it would be great to hear from you:
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