“After attending Jewish day school while growing up in South Africa, and searching for a synagogue that was right for me, I finally found my religion "on the inside" at Makom.

...Jo Elen and I met quite by accident at a Makom Shabbat service the night before we were supposed to go on a blind date together! That was 22 years ago. Since then we have married and raised three terrific children. My kids have all attended Makom’s Religious School, and had a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. There is such a strong sense of community here, with meditation, Torah study and the encouragement to find my own spiritual path... I have found my Makom.”

-- Harold Giddish, President of Makom Ohr Shalom, pictured with his wife Jo Elen and their three children.

“I was teaching full-time at the University of Judaism, and I heard that the legendary Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi would be leading High Holiday services at Makom Ohr Shalom. I came for Reb Zalman, but I stayed for the community. I so appreciated its loving spirit, joyous music, and meditation. Makom brings Torah to life. Today, I am the rabbi at Makom. It’s still the single most welcoming place I know, including Disneyland. And I am privileged to lead High Holiday services with one of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time, Reb Zalman.”

- Makom Ohr Shalom's Rabbi Debra Orentstein pictured with her husband, Craig Weisz, and their children.