Rosh Hashana begins at sundown Monday, ushering in the High Holy Days, with the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department pledging their customary increased patrols around Jewish institutions.
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"Our officers will be visible in neighborhoods, synagogues, schools and community centers -- not only to deter crime, but also to provide reassurance and partnership," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement issued Saturday.
"We are working hand in hand with Mayor (Karen) Bass, Jewish community leaders, and our public safety partners to maintain heightened awareness and preparedness. The LAPD stands united with our Jewish communities against antisemitism and all forms of hate, and we will do everything in our power to keep every community in Los Angeles safe."
Last year, then-interim Chief Dominic Choi told KNX News the department would have "a strategic presence of our law enforcement professionals out there at critical sites."
In a statement to City News Service Sunday, the sheriff's department said it "is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our Jewish communities during the High Holy Days and beyond. In coordination with Jewish community leaders and public safety partners, the department is taking proactive steps to maintain heightened awareness and preparedness.
"The LASD has increased patrols and visibility around Jewish places of worship and continues ongoing engagement with Jewish institutions and community leaders."
Antisemitic incidents in Southern California and worldwide have spiked following Israel's response to the Oct. 7, 2023 rocket barrage and militants attack on the Gaza-Israel barrier that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 815 civilians, in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Services for the two-day Jewish New Year for the year 5786 on the Hebrew calendar will be held Monday -- the day begins at sundown on the Hebrew calendar -- Tuesday and Wednesday nights. They feature the blowing of the shofar, a ram's horn mentioned in the Torah and used by ancient Jews in religious ceremonies and as a call to arms -- and now used at Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Jews are biblically commanded to hear the shofar during the High Holy Days.
While most congregations require membership and tickets for High Holy Days services, there will be free services in at Chabad locations throughout Los Angeles County.
The Laugh Factory Hollywood will conduct a free service at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
"We are honored to open our doors again for those who can join us for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services, especially during this very fragile time in the world, when we all need to come together, break down barriers and pray for hope, healing and peace in the world," Laugh Factory founder and owner Jamie Masada said in a statement.
Other free services will be held at the Matrix Theatre in the Fairfax district at 7 p.m. Monday and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and The Jewish Community Center in Redondo Beach at 9 a.m. Tuesday
Rosh Hashana is a time when Jews gather with family members and their communities to reflect on the past year and the one beginning. Celebrants also eat festive meals featuring apples dipped in honey, symbolic of the wishes for a sweet year.
Rosh Hashana ushers in the Days of Awe, a 10-day period of repentance and contemplation culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Judaism's most solemn and somber day.
During the High Holy Days, Jewish tradition holds that God records the fate of each person for the coming year in the Book of Life, which is sealed at the end of Yom Kippur.
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