Vista House of Loving Kindness – Beit Chesed
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High Holiday Services for All
By Jacqueline Weiss
Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services has been serving Los Angeles for 116 years, adapting to the times and the needs of the community members it serves.
Members of B’nai B’rith Lodge Number 487 were concerned about the rising number of orphaned and homeless Jewish children in Los Angeles, the result of rising mortality rates of Jewish immigrants who moved to the United States to escape persecution in Europe at the start of the 20th century. Under member Sigfried Marshutz, the lodge established the Jewish Orphans Home of Southern California in 1908.
Now called Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services, the organization has expanded and evolved over the years, which has included furthering its mission of assisting children with developmental delays, merging with other local treatment centers, and providing community care through new models.
Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services offers a variety of specialized services, including therapy and counseling, early intervention, diagnostic assessments, residential programs, adoption and foster care, family support and intensive treatments, to support more than 5,000 children and families annually of all faiths and backgrounds to help them lead fulfilling and empowered lives.
In keeping with the tradition of its Jewish core values, Vista House of Lovingkindness — Beit Chesed has become a critical part of Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services. Led by Rabbi Jackie Redner, the Director of Spiritual Enrichment since 2006, Vista House of Lovingkindness — Beit Chesed is a sacred, inclusive community that specializes in supporting Jewish people who are on the autism spectrum or have other disabilities.
“Vista Del Mar has always had this indelible commitment to the most vulnerable in society since it began,” Rabbi Redner said. “It’s just a beautiful institution. I’m proud to work there and be a part of their mission and to contribute. I feel very, very blessed.” Of Vista House of Lovingkindness – Beit Chesed, Rabbi Redner said, “It’s a growing community of inclusion, where all are cherished. It’s a very close-knit, loving, open community.”
Rabbi Redner received her rabbinic ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in 2003. Prior to rabbinical school, she worked as a registered occupational therapist and trained in process-oriented psychology, focusing on multicultural issues. She is also a certified mind-body medicine practitioner through the Center of Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C.
The Rabbi shared: “I think that because my parents were Holocaust survivors, I have a deep sensitivity to those who have been othered, and I want to create spaces for them to say, ‘Heneini, I am here, and I belong here.’”
Rabbi Redner said she always tries “to look at the human being beneath the trauma, beneath the symptoms and challenges of autism, to understand this flesh and blood before me.” She said that she loves working with human beings, to witness the variety and beauty of humanity. “Vista’s care community continues to open my mind and heart.”
Vista House of Lovingkindness — Beit Chesed offers individualized life cycle events and rituals, multi-sensory Nes Gadol (Great Miracle) Jewish education classes (in-person and virtually), B’nai mitzvah tutoring, community events, mind-body medicine skills groups, spiritual counseling and, of course, High Holiday services.
“Our residential youth who reside in Vista’s care in our units are invited to sing in our residential High Holiday choir,” Rabbi Redner said. “We have our residential kids who are not all Jewish participating. They sing in our residential choir, and it’s very moving for the people who attend to feel and hear the voices of these extraordinary youth. Parents can sit back and enjoy their children’s efforts in joy and in joyful tears. It is beautiful to witness and be a part of something this profound.”
High Holiday services take place in the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center on the Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services campus. The center is named for philanthropist Glorya Kaufman, who passed away in August 2025. The venue seats just under 300 people and is also the home of Vista Del Mar’s Therapeutic Arts Program. It serves as a community resource for teaching, music, dance, film screenings and theatrical productions.
For services, the stage is transformed into a synagogue space, incorporating the original stained-glass windows that were in the Vista campus synagogue. And a beautiful, hand-painted Torah Ark, donated by the Orden family in honor of Ted (z”l) and Heddy (z”l) Orden, is the centerpiece of the bimah.
“Vista Del Mar has given me great freedom to develop our High Holiday services,” Rabbi Redner said. “I am deeply grateful to our CEO, Lena Wilson, who emanates strength and kindness in the best and most challenging of times, and to our board of directors under the leadership of board chair Jill Friedman. Each is deeply committed to uplifting the lives of our children and families.”
The Rabbi continued: “It is an extraordinary place to work with the most beautiful, resilient young people who live, learn and thrive on our campus. The work here is holy. It is about love, compassion and cultivating joy. Sanctity is found in every nook and cranny.”
In 2020, Vista introduced a live-streaming option for High Holiday services, a change that was positively received. “It has become an important part of our community because it allows people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to come due to the distance, illness or the severity of their symptoms related to autism,” Rabbi Redner said.
Accommodations for in-person services include attention to sensory needs by keeping the lights low and letting people know that they can exit and re-enter if needed. Support staff is also on hand for residential youth, along with the Nes Gadol staff.
“Everyone is invited to attend our free High Holiday services. Come and experience the love and goodness of our community,” Rabbi Redner said. “We kindly ask people to try and be on time because it truly supports the calmness of the space. We know this is sometimes difficult, particularly for families with an individual on the autism spectrum, because the unexpected often comes up. We try to have a structure in place that supports our unique congregation so all attending can rest and rise together. People come when they come, but we ask all to keep this in mind.”
With the virtual option now available, in-person attendance generally ranges from 100-150 for High Holiday services. RSVPs are encour aged, particularly for those who wish to attend in person.
The longest service is two-and-a-half hours. “That’s our morning Rosh Hashanah service,” Rabbi Redner said. “Our morning service highlights and honors families with family members with autism and other needs, and our Nes Gadol students and alumni are engaged in many aspects of our services. And our Yom Kippur day service is dedicated to our residential program — honoring the growth of the youth who come into our program and the challenges they overcome. In so many ways, their journeys in this life and the changes they work to make are what these holidays are about. We are filled with joy as many move from surviving to thriving.”
Other community events hosted by Vista House of Lovingkindness — Beit Chesed include Every First Friday, a virtual Shabbat service that takes place on the first Friday of every month. The organization also hosts a Hanukkah extravaganza, a Purim Masquerade Ball, a pre-Passover community seder, and other holiday events and celebrations for the entire community.
“These events are designed to uplift and celebrate people with autism and other neurodiversities, along with their families and friends, as a place for long-term friendships to form and where Jewish life can be celebrated together,” Rabbi Redner said. “We’re always looking to grow and expand the services of Vista House of Lovingkindness — Beit Chesed based on the needs of our community. We’re a continually growing, expanding entity.”
Rabbi Redner explained that through her work, she tries to make Jewish life accessible for families that are exhausted, giving them a place to recharge and relax so that the organization can support students and their families throughout their lifetime as a constant Jewish home.
Although Vista House of Lovingkindness — Beit Chesed has a focus on supporting individuals with autism and their families, all people are welcome to join the community.
Contact Rabbi Jackie Redner at jackieredner@vistadelmar.org or at (310) 836-1223 ext. 209, or by visiting vistadelmar.org for more information about Vista House of Lovingkindness — Beit Chesed.
