My Kosher Meat Market Mixer

Looking For Love, Finding Community At Synagogue

Whenever I mention Friday Night Live to young Jews in the LA area, someone will undoubtedly mutter something about a “meat market.” While the event at Westwood’s Sinai Temple is centered around a beautiful, lively Shabbat service attended by over 1,000 people, most people associate it with the Young Professionals Lounge that occurs afterward.

The lounge has a substantially different tone than the religious service itself. Walking in, you will see cellphones in hand despite the traditional Shabbos laws (it wouldn’t be a mixer if people couldn’t trade phone numbers!), free …