Tu B’Av is an ancient day of Jewish romance and celebrating the love in our lives on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Av. It’s older than St. Valentine’s Day and Sadie Hawkins Day by a few thousand years. We dusted off this gem of a Holyday which had seen little activity here in LA, and together with JconnectLA created LoveFest last. Over 300 people jammed into the event last year, so we realized that we were intoan annual event, and we had to take this one higher than ever before.

Enter the totally cool and hip vibe at Bungalow Club, on Melrose, Los Angeles’s hipster road. Add some of the best Jewish music in the country: Moshav, Rav Shmuel, Dov Rosenblatt (Blue Fringe), DJ Eric Rosen, DJ Cajami. We have a vendor fair with interesting swag, delicious ala carte dining, special Love Fest drinks at recession prices, and HurryDate®. HurryDate® speed dating is a great way to meet lots of new people in a quick, fun, no-pressure environment. They hold speed dating parties for Jewish singles in cities all across the US each week.

JconnectLA presents a LoveFest of cosmic proportions this year on WED. AUG 5, 8PM. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Hosted by The Bungalow Club, and sponsors Jdate and HurryDate®, LeDoVaDor, JewC, Modern Tribe and Cool Jew.
Make sure to buy your tickets soon for LoveFest – it’ a mini-Jewlicious Festival in the middle of LA, with a full bar.

I remember as a college student in the late 1980’s in Eugene, hearing stories from the members of local Temple of the intentional community that had just collapsed.

Seven families and several singles shared organic gardens, Jewish holidays, hosted thousands of people for spiritual retreats over five years from l983-88 at Moshav Shivtei Shalom, on the shores of Dorena Lake, l5 miles east of Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Composed of hipped out Jewish Renewal folks, followers mostly of Reb Zalman and Reb Shlomo, they had rejected the boring Judaism and Jewish community and sought to create an intentional Jewish community…in rural Oregon.

I was just returning from a year in Israel on Habonim Workshop, a majority of which I spent at Kibbutz Gezer. The spiritual communal aspects of the Oregon Moshav sounded wonderful, as I had become disillusioned with the highly secular life of kibbutzniks. But the Moshav couldn’t make a living just hosting spiritual retreats, and commuting to jobs outside the community. By the time I got there, the Moshav families were attempting to integrate into Eugene’s Jewish community. Many become friends and mentors, including Rabbi Hanan Sills, my first real spiritual mentor.

Twenty plus years later a new community, this time centered around a Reconstructionist congregation in Ashland Oregon is being built. “The planned development, called Aleph Springs, features eight single-family units and six condos that will wrap around Havurah Shir Hadash, the local Jewish Renewal synagogue. The development received its final approval from the City of Ashland about a month ago.”

Will Aleph spring make it? I don’t know. Part of the problem of all intentional communities is funding- how to make money. Assuming the community can come up with some revenue generating businesses like hospitality, consulting, a clinic etc. they have a chance at overcoming the first hurdle. The second major hurdle are the challenges presented by micro-community living. If there is a central leader, that can be problematic, and if there is a consensus model that can be problematic. Who makes decisions on big issues can literally tear a community apart.

There are the positive sides, the things which draw one to intentionally community. Its a Utopian dream. But all Utopias have troubles with their kids, who are not part of the decision to pull away from the mainstream, they feel trapped by the community. They are not the idealists, it was their parents. And they get to know each other too well. And while it doesn’t mean they will be messed up, it means they will likely leave the community.

Aleph Springs – based on just what I have read- will be smarter, and just use the community for living in proximity to each other. They have a chance – they are not a commune, or an intentional community in the traditional sense, but an intentional development. Like ones built for avid golf players, theses are avid shul goers. It could work, with the right shul, the right city, the leaders, and the right tude.

These Jewtopians by building an intentional development are using a mostly successful model and applying Jewish needs. I would recommend that they 1) hold back an apartment or two for rentals. People come to the area all the time for the Shakespeare Festival, and they can earn some money to support the shul. They should consider 2) a community space, multi-purpose room, as well for functions. Lastly, I don’t know if this is part of their plans, but without a 3) Mikvah, their community will not have the spiritual help and foundation it needs to survive. The mikvah is the most important facility, far more important than a shul. You can pray in a converted garage, you can’t mikvah in a swimming pool.

With so much craziness going on in the world, we have to stick together and show solidarity for Israel. Jewlicious has joined the largest Israel Festival in the USA to help bring you an amazing show by MOSHAV. Join us for an afternoon of fun, music, and friends. Vendors, food, Israel vibe everywhere – there will be 10-20,000 people there. ONLY $5 Check out the Jewlicious Booth where we will have a free gift! This is going to be a huge party and we look forward to seeing you!

MOSHAV play at 4pm so you want to be there by 3 to get parking and make your way to the stage.
Join the Jewlicious Facebook Event here
Israel Festival
Sunday, May 3, 2009 10 am – 7 pm
At Woodley Park Admission $5
All day fun for adults, kids and families — Rides, food, and a variety of booths and more….
For more info: www.israelfestival,com or 818-757-0123

REPEAT! Moshav @ 4pm on the main stage….don’t miss this show for Israel!

In order to attract new donors and provide a memorable prize for participants, we are creating a limited edition Best of Jewlicious Festival CD featuring artists who have performed at our Festivals in the past. This compilation will be professionally produced by our National Music Director, and crafted with beautiful eco-friendly packaging

Consider helping to fund this CD with a tax deductible donation.

All the musicians are donating their songs for this project, and the CD will be used for promotional purposes only. For donations of $18 or more we will send you a CD.

As great as it all was…

It wasn’ t Rabbi Yonah and Rachel Bookstein’s Instant Matchmaking, hot kosha buffet or the chocolate Fun-Jew.

It wasn’t the rad goodie bags from Modern Tribe and Jewcy.

It wasn’t the fabu Heebster shuk vendors, including Threaded Heritage, Dove Above, Rabbi’s Daughter’s, Hebrew School Drop-Out and more.

It wasn’t the on-site coverage from Lara Bearman and Jewish TV Network.

It wasn’t even 8th Day, the outrageously funny Smooth-E, the sneak preview of Cool Jew or headliner Moshav that made the night so right.

It was the more than 320 Yidden & Friends, including the fab duo Aron and Garron, who rocked the house and made Love Fest 2008 truly unforgettable!

Before speed dating, J-Date, Valentines Day or Sadie Hawkins Day, there was the original ancient Love Holiday -Tu B’Av. Jewish maidelach and suitors went out into the fields to see and be seen, really, the first Jewish singles event. It’s a celebration of love for everyone.

Tu B’Av, the 15th Day of Av, is a day of joy, a day for matchmaking dating back to the second Temple period (before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.).

Jewlicious and JconnectLA are producing the biggest celebration of Tu B’Av to hit the City of Angels, Love Fest, on Aug. 14, 8:30pm-1am, at Fu’s Palace Restaurant. Tickets are just $15 in advance, $20 at the door and include your first drink ticket. Students with ID can get in for $15.

Co-sponsored by Taglit Birthright Israel-NEXT, Jewcy, the Jewish Agency, ModernTribe.com, and Cool Jew Book, expect a festive romantic evening of music, humor, matchmaking, cool swag, $7 drinks, and yummy eats.

Entertainment for the evening includes the hilarious and talented Smooth-E, Jewish rockers 8th Day, the mystic rhythms of DJ Eric Rosen, and the unmatched energy and spirit of MOSHAV.

Lisa Alcalay Klug will be offering a sneak preview of her much anticipated book Cool Jew, which is not for sale until Sept. 1 – but we’ll have it on sale at Love Fest.

Rabbi Yonah and Rachel Bookstein will be unveiling Instant Matchmaking™. Love Fest’ers need to be there early to have your chance at an Instant Match – all done in the spirit of Tu B’Av. Who knows what waits in store for you at Love Fest?

If you already have a special someone, celebrate your love during this ancient festival, with hundreds of others at Love Fest. Don’t let Love Fest pass you by, it only happens once a year.

For tickets go to Jconnectla.com today!

See Matisyahu do a live set, Rav Shmuel, Moshav, Y-Love, DJ Handler and more perform at this weekend’s Jewlicious Festival. More videos to come as they get online! Thanks to Shemspeed.com for the heads up and the videotaping as well as all the others who uploaded their vids.

Michal over at JConnect LA came up with the idea that we should do a benefit concert for the holy city on Chanukah. Of course we gave her the big thumbs up. Jam for Jerusalem reminds us that the entire story of Chanukah is centered on Jerusalem. Teaming up with JConnect LA are StandWithUs and Chai Center, two dynamic and independent organizations in LA. I will be playing unplugged with my friend Infiniti. I hope you can make it if you are in LA. Happy Chanukah!

JAM FOR JERUSALEM

Featuring Live Performances by:
• Moshav
• Peter Himmelman
• Levyatan
• Rabbi Yonah and friends
• 14 yr old Rapper Ko-B
• 12 Tribes Live Percussion Ensemble

Wednesday, December 5th – 7:30 PM

For more info call Michal at 310-405-2336 or email Michal@JconnectLA.com

Camden House-430 North Camden, Beverly hills, 90210
(parking in lot next door until midnight)

$15 at the door or $10 if pre-paid by Dec. 3rd at www.JconnectLA.com
All proceeds go to The New Jerusalem Foundation

For Jewish Young Professionals ages 21-39 ONLY