SWEET RETURN
OCTOBER 2–13
Discover the festival
Nu things are coming. Sweet Return arrives this fall with twelve days of awesome — starting with a Persian Rosh Hashanah seder and feast, a brunch for recent college grads, and Shabbat dinners all over Los Angeles
With AishLit, Base L.A., The Braid, Jewish Studio Project, Jewtina y Co., JQ, The Lunar Collective, Moishe House, Nefesh, OneTable, Repair the World, and Valley JCC
EMERGE
The fall moon of Tishrei sets the tone for a brand new year. A push into sweetness and creation. An invitation to the possibility of change. A step into an exhilarating new season. Rosh Hashanah kicks off a jubilant process of reflection and forgiveness. Then comes Yom Kippur, where hearts are polished like sacred gems. And in between is a whole new rhythm. Time moving forward. An invitation to be in community. To get together. Breathe together. Move together. Eat together. Living and loving, on all the levels
FROM STILLNESS
TO LIFE
Judaism profoundly emphasizes the celebration of life, and we remain steadfast in our hope for renewal even in our most challenging times. Light overcomes darkness. As we navigate the complexities of a world changed by October 7, may we find strength in shared values, cultivating sweetness on a path forward together
FROM REALITY
TO IMAGINATION
Now is the moment to imagine the new. Sweet Return is a playground — hopeful and free. Invent your adventure. Take risks. Experience yourself. Who will you meet? What’s around the corner? What will amaze you?
FROM ONE FORM
TO ANOTHER
At the heart of the season is Teshuvah — a return to ourselves, and to our relationship with the self and the other. What is our impact? What’s been sticky? What’s been sweet? Internal and external, imagined and physical. A journey of transformation. An always present opportunity to do it better, to do it right
BEGIN AGAIN
A Persian Rosh Hashanah
seder & feast
TUESDAY 10.8
BEVERLY HILLS
It’s the beginning of a nu age
Feed your spirit and taste the season in an epic evening of food and community celebrating the new year, Persian style. Stretching back to the Babylonian Talmud and building on Mizrahi and Sephardi traditions, this beloved ritual contains nine symbolic foods reflecting goals and blessings for the year ahead. Abundance. Connection. Goodness. Release. Preservation. Safety. Thoughtfulness. Weightlessness. And sweetness
Over Persian inspired drinks, visionary chef Nicole Dayani will lead us in a cooking demonstration of our sweet feast before we dine. Think new year’s eve and come dressed in your festive, extravagant best — sparkles, feathers, silver and gold. Deliciousness. Community. Life affirmation. That’s the recipe! Come through! It’s going to be beautiful. Limited tickets while they last — don’t miss out
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Open to all our Jewish young adult friends 22–40
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72.00 each
This event is sold out. Please join our waiting list, and we'll reach out should there be any available tickets
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Our feast will be a meat meal (no dairy) and all meat will be kosher. Please message us at nuroots@jewishla.org by October 1 to let us know about any allergies or restrictions
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Street parking will be available, and the address will be emailed to guests prior to the event. Carpooling and ride sharing are encouraged, especially if you plan to drink alcohol
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Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at nuroots@jewishla.org if you have questions or concerns, if you need help paying for this, or if you need any accommodation to be able to join us
NUCOMERS BRUNCH
Let’s get started
SUNDAY 10.6
WEST L.A.
Are you new to L.A. or to NuRoots? Join us in the garden of a sweet west side bar for a brunch just for recent grads and new folks 21–26. Make new friends. Hang in the sun. Get your nu on. We’re excited to give you a warm welcome and intro to our beautiful NuRoots community as we celebrate a season of newness and beginnings
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Open to Jewish folks 21–26 who are recent grads, new to L.A., or new to NuRoots
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18.00 each
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Our brunch buffet will be fully vegetarian and a drink's on us. Just message us at nuroots@jewishla.org by October 1 to let us know about any allergies or dietary restrictions
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Street parking will be available, and the address will be emailed to guests prior to the event. Carpooling and ride sharing are encouraged, especially if you plan to drink alcohol
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Just let us know by October 3 so someone else can take your spot
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Please don’t hesitate to message us at nuroots@jewishla.org if you have questions or concerns, if you need help paying for this, or if you need any accommodation to be able to join us
FESTIVE
ROSH HASHANAH
DINNERS
WEDNESDAY 10.2
THURSDAY 10.3
PICO ROBERTSON
Join AishLit for delicious and inspiring takes on the Rosh Hashanah seder
THURSDAY 10.3
VENICE
With Moishe House Venice and Base L.A.
QUEER THE
NEW YEAR
FRIDAY 10.4
HANCOCK PARK
Connect with JQ and our beautiful LGBTQ+ community of friends for a night of inspiring guests and reimagined rituals — affirming, inclusive, nurturing, and rejuvenating Jewish practices — over dinner, drinks, and sweet desserts
SUPERHOST
WITH ONETABLE
FRIDAY 10.4
FRIDAY 10.11
L.A., we’re coming over. Sign up to host a Rosh Hashanah Shabbat dinner on October 4 or a pre Yom Kippur dinner on October 11 (while spots last) and get double resources and gift cards to cover your costs and elevate your night. Go for the good wine. Get flowers. Welcome more guests. We’ve got you
JAPANESE GARDEN
TASHLICH
SATURDAY 10.5
BALDWIN HILLS
The Lunar Collective invites Asian Jews and their loved ones to the ultimate spiritual cleanse. After a picnic kiddush lunch, we’ll cast away the heaviness of our souls into beautiful lily ponds beneath the torii. As we fold the things we wish to leave behind into paper cranes, guitarist Sam Lyons and singer Lillian Mimi McKenzie will perform and lead our group in songs of reflection and renewal
It’s been a tough time for all Jews, and definitely for Asian ones, who can often feel overwhelming emotions at a time when our own Jewish identity is still not always recognized. Tashlich is a profound opportunity to come together, affirm our Judaism, and turn the page. The renewal that comes from this experience will give us what we need to step into the future, proud of our identity and feeling part of a deeper community
NOCHE DE
ALEGRÍA
SATURDAY 10.5
WEST HOLLYWOOD
Join Jewtina y Co. for a vibrant celebration honoring Latin Jewish culture, identity, and resiliency through the sweetness of alegría — joy. Centered around a Rosh Hashanah seder featuring recipes from Latin America, our beautiful community will invoke unity and optimism, welcoming the new year with open hearts and uplifted spirits
SHABBAT SHUVAH
HAVDALAH
SATURDAY 10.5
MID CITY
Join Base L.A. ambassadors Steven Fields and Elianna Bernstein to reflect on the season’s themes of renewal and return through storytelling
FOOD JUSTICE
VOLUNTEERING
SUNDAY 10.6
DTLA
The high holidays emphasize reflection, repentance, and renewal. Join Repair the World to extend these concepts to food justice, an ethical call to care for one another, address hunger and inequality, and advocate for a more compassionate society, where every person can partake in the blessings of sustenance and dignity. In this spirit, we invite you to come help our friends at Project Angel Food, as we prepare and package some of the three thousand meals they make each day for the local community
CANDLELIGHT
STORYTELLING &
TASHLICH
ON THE BEACH
SUNDAY 10.6
VENICE
Gather with The Braid for a late afternoon of true stories and song performances inspired by the season’s themes of forgiveness. After beachside ritual Tashlich, where our anonymous apologies will be shared — both the ones we want to offer and the ones we wish we’d receive — we’ll climb to a hotel rooftop together to eat and connect as the sun sets
ROSH HASHANAH
PAINT & SIP
THURSDAY 10.10
ENCINO
Join Valley JCC to create a masterpiece symbolizing new beginnings and sweet resolutions for the year ahead
THE ART OF
POSSIBILITY
10.11–10.13
SIMI VALLEY
Jewish Studio Project invites you to an immersive Yom Kippur retreat, drawing on the power of our inherent creativity to access the deep meaning and healing potential of a sacred time in the Jewish calendar. Through a mix of art making, ritual, text study, and prayer, led by Rabbi Adina Allen and with music from Candace Goodwin and Jeff Kasowitz, open yourself to the possibility of release and renewal in the year to come
EMBODYING
CLIMATE GRIEF
FOR RESILIENCE
SATURDAY 10.12
KOREATOWN
Close out the festival with Nefesh in a Yom Kippur workshop exploring the embodied and emotional impact of our climate crisis. Using Jewish grief technologies — like Rabbi Joshua Heschel’s three ways to mourn (silence, tears, singing) — as a guide, we’ll be led through a practice of shared grief, collective action, and community care. Together, we’ll cultivate strategies of resilience to fight compassion fatigue and moral injury from an ever worsening climate disaster, dreaming on the holiest of days of a world settled in peace and safety
SWEET RETURN
OCTOBER 2–13
Discover the festival
AT YOUR SERVICES
Sweet Return is reimagining the high holidays — but if you’re looking for services, we’ve got you, whether you’re on the east side, west side, or in the valley. Classic? Radical? Inclusive? L.A. has it all. Let us know and we’ll help you find your fit