About Us

Founded in 1973, Ahavat Zion is a vibrant, warm and family-friendly community in West Los Angeles.  We are inspired by a vision of Jewish life, renewed in Messiah, that is traditional, egalitarian, and engaging.

We exist:

  • To provide a spiritual home for those who are Jewish or intermarried;
  • To impart the holiness of Jewish life, renewed in Yeshua, from one generation to another; and
  • To welcome Jewish spiritual seekers, providing them with a safe place to engage with our claim that Yeshua is the Messiah.

We are affiliated with the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC) and the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council (MJRC).

 

OUR VISION

We share a vision for the preservation of the Jewish people through a Messianic awakening.  We believe that faith in the Jewish Messiah should inspire greater fidelity in one’s own Jewish identity and greater involvement in Jewish communal life. Therefore, we also envision a Messianic Jewish spirituality that is founded upon the three core pillars of Torah (study), Avodah (prayer), and Gemilut Chasadim (social action).

 

OUR CORE VALUES

We are further inspired by the prophetic vision of Ezekiel 37:21-28 and desire to pass on to future generations our joyful commitment to the Land of Israel, Jewish Unity, Spiritual Renewal, Yeshua the Messiah and Torah Living.

Land of Israel

  • We believe the Land, the People, and the God of Israel are all deeply interconnected and we have a clear responsibility to care and advocate on their behalf.
  • We believe God is regathering the Jewish people through aliyah and we support the return to our land.
  • We believe this support is vital to prepare the world for the return of Mashiach.

Jewish Unity

  • We believe we are called to live and dwell among our people as joint bearers of God’s covenant with our ancestors.
  • We believe the texts our people have studied for centuries can facilitate a vibrant spiritual life. We therefore receive sustenance and wisdom from the dialog of our tradition, while simultaneously engaging it in lively debate.
  • We believe all Jews are “us,” not “them.”

Spiritual Renewal

  • We believe as partners with God we should be deeply engaged in the world.
  • We believe that a synagogue community should be a house of prayer, study, and holy action.
  • We believe that God is in search of a relationship with humanity, and it is our responsibility to respond to that call.
  • We believe that spiritual renewal is intimately tied to our return to covenantal life and responsibility, as expressed in the Torah, rooted in tradition, and renewed and applied in the context of the New Covenant.

Yeshua the Messiah

  • We believe the fullness of Torah is understood most deeply through the Living Torah, Yeshua the Messiah (John 1).
  • We believe that the greatest mitzvot are the love of God and the love of others, and that Yeshua’s life and teachings provide a compelling template to pursue these mitzvot.
  • We believe that Yeshua, as One Man Israel, is an embodiment of the experience, joys, and sufferings of the entire Jewish people.

Torah Living

  • We believe that matters of faith are intimately linked to matters of the world, and that our tradition, texts, and history mandate the loving pursuit of justice, tikkun olam, and shalom.
  • Consistent with the teachings of our prophets and our Messiah, we believe that Jewish ritual life takes on its fullest meaning when it is relationally focused and informed by the weightier matters of justice, mercy and peace.