Traffic as a Jewish issue

The cover story of this week's Jewish Journal explores the ways that Los Angeles traffic has altered community life, by spreading Jews out in the region, making it harder to get to Sabbath services and at some temples pushing the times of services later to avoid the rush hours.

A huge portion of Los Angeles’ Jewish community is centered along these most congested parts of the city, especially along Pico Boulevard north of the 10, on the Westside near the 405, and near the 101 in the Valley.

Is traffic a Jewish issue, then? You bet. How to handle it, how to schedule around it, how to build and create community despite it — and what we can do to make it better — is of ever-increasing concern...

Some L.A. synagogues have found creative solutions to increase participation despite rush-hour traffic. In some cases, services and activities are best timed for commuters to come directly from work. "My people explain to me that once they get home, it’s so hard to get up and go out again [in the] hassle of traffic. [That’s] something they really don’t want to do," [Rabbi Sally Olins of Temple B’nai Hayim in Sherman Oak] said.

The Jewish Journal also has a piece on KFI talk host Bill Handel that quotes L.A. Times' radio reporter Steve Carney saying, "Bill is strongly opinionated, but his menu of pet peeves isn’t what you’d expect."