Days of Awesome 5787
Each year, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the days in between invite us to reconnect
with what matters most. In Jewish tradition, they are called the Days of Awe.
At SIJCC, we call them the Days of Awesome.
Bring your family, your friends, your big questions, and your imagination.
Everybody-friendly. God-optional. Community-created.
Saturday, Sept 12th:
Rosh Hashanah
Gather up what matters most: one another, community, imagination, and the sacred sensory experience of living. Art, music, apples, honey, and the raw, wild call of the shofar - all inviting us to remember our holy humanity.
Monday, Sept 21st:
Yom Kippur
On this holiest day, connect with the courage to introspect, to accept, and to act. Answer the ancestral call: We - you - are needed.
Rosh Hashanah
Saturday, September 12th
Rooted in ritual, expansive in expression. A sacred, sensory invitation to reconnect with what matters most.
9:00 am: Check-in begins
9:30 am: Tot Service
9:45 am: Childcare + Youth Programming open
10:00 am: Rosh Hashanah experience begins
Member / Non-Member Pricing:
Adult (18+) - $125 / $175
Teen (6th-12th grade) - $100 / $125
Kid (2 years old-5th grade) - $45 / $55
- Childcare is included for ages 2–TK
- Youth programming is included for grades K–5thChildren Under 2 - Free
Childcare and youth programming are drop-off programs held separately from the main Rosh Hashanah experience.
Please note: You must purchase a ticket to attend Tot Service
Yom Kippur
Member / Non-Member Pricing:
Adult (18+) - $125 / $175
Teen (6th-12th grade) - $100 / $125
Kid (2 years old-5th grade) - $45 / $55
- Childcare is included for ages 2–TK
- Youth programming is included for grades K–5thChildren Under 2 - Free
Yoga + Soundbath Add-On - $10 / $15
Childcare and youth programming are drop-off programs held separately from the main Yom Kippur experience.
Please note: You must purchase a ticket to attend Tot Service
Monday, September 21st
Gather open-hearted and in community among the wisdom, words, and melodies of our ancestors.
9:00 am: Check-in begins
9:30 am: Tot Service
9:45 am: Childcare + Youth Programming open
10:00 am: Yom Kippur experience begins
12 pm: LIGHT Yoga + Sound Bath Session
Our Yom Kippur observance will include Yizkor, a collective remembering of those we’ve lost. You are invited to submit images of loved ones - ancestors, friends, sonograms, even cherished pets - for a community slideshow honoring the fullness of memory and mourning. Please email your photos to babs.gray@sijcc.net by September 14th.
Yom Kippur Workshop:
LIGHT Yoga & Sound Bath
Led by Lea Lion and Odeya Nini, this deeply gentle and meditative yoga and sound bath experience invites you to slow down through soft movement, shared breath, and ambient vocals. The yoga practice helps calm the nervous system and prepare the body for deep rest, while the sound bath creates space for restoration, reflection, and healing.
Available as an add-on for your Yom Kippur ticket.
Days of Awesome 5787
The Days of Awesome are an ancestor-rooted invitation to show up just as you are. To recast belonging. To reconnect with yourself and what matters most. And to remember that we are a part of something creative and courageous today and across generations and geographies.
Ritual Leaders & Musicians
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As a ritualist, teacher, and spiritual counselor, Rabbi Kerry Chaplin (yes, that is her real name) practices and preaches an embodied, living spirituality through authentic relationship with one’s own mind, body, and spirit. He believes that sharing this authenticity with others and with the Divine, however you understand the Divine today, deepens connections that help us live better.
Before becoming a rabbi, Rabbi Kerry was a community organizer, living all things justice. In every community where she has served as a rabbi, from Hillel at UCLA and Vassar College, to Lab/Shul, to Beit T’Shuvah, Rabbi Kerry has been committed to helping those at the margins experience connection with themselves, others, and Something Bigger.
She is grateful for her teachers at the Ziegler School, Washington University in St. Louis, her yoga teachers, and so many others known and unknown. She lives and plays with her kiddo Frankie, wife Julia, and kitty and Smudgy.
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Marnina Schon Wirtschafter (she/they) loves co-creating joyful, accessible, and meaningful ritual experiences, from 30+ b'nei mitzvah services, to the SIJCC Days of Awesome. Rooted in a pluralistic Jewish upbringing in Berkeley, Marnina studied at UCLA, organized with Bend the Arc, and explored Yiddishkayt in Germany and Eastern Europe. As a performer, Marnina starred in the Sundance dramedy series Chanshi, sang and fiddled in the musical Once, appeared in series on Netflix & Hulu, and played violin on Dropout TV with the Play It By Ear band!
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Micah O’Konis (they/them) is a musician and comedy writer originally from the Chicago suburbs. Micah leads Jewish music professionally with Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the Silverlake Independent JCC, and Hebrew Helpers, where they have helped to soundtrack the unique and personal family milestones for countless b’nei mitzvah services. Micah also composes and produces music for film scores, commercials, and finds the time to write funny songs whenever possible.
Marnina & Micah are a couple that loves to collaborate! Married earlier this year, they work together to lead religious services and perform together as the musical comedy duo Couplet, most recently at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where they premiered their original show Honey Honey Moon Moon. It also happened to be their honeymoon! Additionally, they appear monthly at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade comedy theater as a part of Quick & Funny Musicals. They feel honored to return the Days of Awesome for a second year with the SIJCC community!
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Dave Wilder is a Grammy nominated songwriter, film and TV composer, and multi-instrumentalist who has written songs for Macy Gray, De La Soul, and Rod Stewart to name a few. You can hear Dave’s bass playing on albums by Norah Jones, Ziggy Marley, De La Soul, Empire of the Sun, and everywhere in between.
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Davey Chegwidden is a professional percussionist, drummer, producer, and songwriter from the Philadelphia area. Since 1996, he's been based in Los Angeles, working with artists like De La Soul, Harry Styles, and the Black Eyed Peas. He has numerous credits in film, TV, and video games, including Ocean's 13, Captain Phillips, and Red Dead Redemption.
Davey also ventures into production and songwriting, contributing to Grammy-nominated projects like De La Soul's And the Anonymous Nobody and working with artists such as Aloe Blacc and Raheem DeVaughn. He's served as a musical director for De La Soul, Scion, and XBox/Microsoft.
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Odeya Nini is a Los Angeles based interdisciplinary vocalist and composer. At the locus of her interests are performance practices, gesture, textural harmony, tonal animation, and the illumination of minute sounds, in works spanning chamber music to vocal pieces and collages of musique concrète. Her solo vocal work extends the dimension and expression of the voice and body, creating a sonic and physical panorama of silence to noise and tenderness to grandeur.
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Leah has the unique pedigree of being an accomplished musician with impeccable taste and a beloved educator with a true understanding of how children connect to music. Leah has been praised by the LA Times, KPCC and can be heard on countless albums, tv shows and films as a flutist and composer. A native of Buffalo, NY, Leah studied flute performance at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After college Leah moved to Brooklyn where she was active in the indie and new music scenes as well as establishing her own reputation as a composer with a distinct and compelling voice. Leah moved to Los Angeles in 2011 where she began working as an orchestrator in film and television, as well as a studio musician on the flute. Sweet Potato Music was created after the birth of her daughter in 2017 as a way to actively engage children musically. Her children's music is filled with exuberant pop riffs, soaring string arrangements and toe-tapping drum beats. This is children's music you will want to hear on repeat.
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Lea Lion is a yoga teacher at Silverlake Yoga, Still Yoga and the founder of the Temple of the Trees school of yoga.
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Originally from Minneapolis, MN, Lily is a former JLC teacher at SIJCC. She loves to use Jewish stories, traditions, and shtickiness to build community with incredible kids!
For the Kids
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Tot Service begins at 9:30 am and lasts approximately 20–25 minutes. Led by Leah Paul of Sweet Potato Music, it is designed for younger children. A parent or caregiver must remain with their child throughout Tot Service.
Tot Service is included with any ticket purchase. Children ages 2 and under attend Days of Awesome for free.
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Childcare for kids 2 - TK is included with your child’s ticket. Drop-off begins at 9:45 am. Our ECE teachers will lead supervised playtime and provide a snack.
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Youth programming for K - 5th is included with your child’s ticket. Drop-off begins at 9:45 am and includes holiday creations and learning, a snack, and good community fun with former JLC teacher Lily Goldfarb and Camp Manager Joey Devine.
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Absolutely! We are everybody-friendly and God-optional.
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Yes. We have a security checkpoint with professional security personnel. We ask that every adult show a photo ID that matches the name on their ticket. Please arrive early.
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Children are welcome at all Days of Awesome events. They may attend the main experience with you, or be dropped off for childcare (ages 2–TK) or youth programming (grades K–5), both included with their ticket.
Children 2 and under are free and must remain with their parents are all times.
Childcare includes playtime and a snack. Youth programming includes holiday creations and learning, a snack, and good community fun.
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You may drop your children off at childcare (ages 2–TK) or youth programming (grades K–5), both included with their ticket.
Childcare and youth programming include age-appropriate activities, a short Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur ritual, and a snack.
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Tot Service begins at 9:30 am and lasts approximately 20–25 minutes. It is led by Leah Paul of Sweet Potato Music.
A parent or caregiver must remain present with any child attending Tot Service.
Tot Service is included with the purchase of any adult ticket and is designed for younger children. Children ages 2 and under attend Days of Awesome for free.
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A ticket must be purchased for each child over the age of two.
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Childcare is only available for attendees of our Days of Awesome services.
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Yes, the Box is wheelchair accessible and accessible bathrooms are available in the ECE building. Please contact us for additional accessible needs at info@sijcc.net.
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Whatever feels comfortable! Everything from jeans to suits is fine. Some people wear white on Yom Kippur, but that’s not required. We want you to be able to focus on what’s happening on the inside, not the outside.
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If you need to cancel your tickets, we’ll miss you! Refunds are available up to 7 days before each event. After that, we cannot provide a refund.
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There will be no on-site parking available for these events. Please plan ahead for parking, rideshare, or public transit. The streets surrounding SIJCC have various street parking options.
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Yes! We love to have community members join us for various volunteer roles. Please email us at info@sijcc.net if you’d like to volunteer.
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We don’t have sliding scale tickets - However, we understand that cost may be prohibitive for some. If price is a barrier, please reach out about volunteer opportunities—we’d love to have you with us.
DOA
FAQs
Parking
There will be no on-site parking available for these events. Please plan ahead for parking, rideshare, or public transit. The streets surrounding SIJCC have various street parking options.
Public Transit
We are about a 14 minute walk from the Sunset/Vermont Metro station on the B Line (formerly the Red Line).
The #2 bus also drops off right in front of the center on Sunset.
Plan your trip here: https://www.metro.net/riding/trip-planner/