You can find Rabbi Einhorn’s lectures at YUTorah.org (just search for “Shlomo Einhorn” and sort by latest).
On Monday evening March 17th, 2014, Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn, Dean of Yeshivat Yavneh, began a repeat of his first-rate 14 part “Series on the History of Orthodox Judaism in Los Angeles”. Originally presented over a 4 month period on Shabbos afternoons before Mincha, the response was so phenomenal that Rabbi Einhorn decided to repeat the series on Monday evenings so that others can relive or discover the history of their Los Angeles Jewish community.
A native of L.A., Rabbi Einhorn began the task of researching the history of the orthodox communities in Los Angeles from its early days to the present as a result of a personal interest. The research developed and grew and before long it took on a life of its own. In an effort to add substance and interest into the series, Rabbi Einhorn interviewed Los Angeles old timers, who fleshed out many of the attention-grabbing events in the last 80 years of LA’s orthodox development.
The first in the series, “Oy Vey Kabom: The Wild West”, Rabbi Einhorn laid the groundwork by presenting the first Jews who came out west and wanted to maintain a connection to their Jewish upbringing, by establishing a synagogue, hiring a rabbi and providing many of the trappings required to create a true Jewish presence in Los Angeles. This was over 150 years ago.
The second in the series covered the depression era and Hollywood, aptly titled, “From the Depth I Call Out”. These two events were held at the Young Israel of Century City.\
In speaking of the series, Rabbi Einhorn stated, “I really started this as a small series, but as I began my research and was given the opportunity to use the UCLA archives, I uncovered far more information than I originally anticipated. I discovered that we have a most remarkable history and many of us do not realize it. LA didn’t start the way most communities do. It wasn’t the result of an influx of a large group of Jews that came out west as an existing community, reestablishing themselves in Los Angeles. Nor was it the accomplishment of one individual Rabbi who came out west and built up a community.”
