In 1997, a small group of dedicated families came together with a vision for an innovative Jewish community guided by the power of music and led by compassionate clergy. Congregation Or Ami was established in Calabasas, California, as a Reform synagogue. Led for over 24 years by Rabbi Paul Kipnes and Cantor Doug Cotler, this congregation created a second home for Jewish families and loved ones to connect with warm, accessible, insightful clergy.
The demand for our unique approach to Reform worship led to unprecedented growth in our surrounding community. Serving the San Fernando and Conejo Valleys, Or Ami dedicated its first sanctuary in 2003. At Or Ami, we believe that “People Matter!” The congregation strives to be a light for its families and community, always looking to create a warm, friendly and supportive environment and devoted to the enhancement of Jewish life. One of our most exciting pleasures is to share “first-time” events with our families and to enjoy the evolution of those events as they grow with our community. 
Or Ami’s Award-Winning education and youth programs are unmatched because of the innovative work that Rabbi Julia Weisz brought to us. Over her 13-year tenure, Rabbi Julia developed curriculum, mentored faculty, and created engaging travel programs to carry out her blueprint to educate and nurture our Jewish youth. Or Ami’s inclusive, diverse, and engaging programs offer vital life skills and safe harbor to all Or Ami youth and those in surrounding communities.
Innovative programs led the synagogue to blossom:
In the early 2000’s, LoMPTY, our senior youth group was formed. Together with our Madrichim Leadership Institute and our Neshama [soul] Initiative, our youth program has nurtured the mental health and wellness of generations of teens and regularly developed leaders who rose up to lead the local NFTY-SoCal region as board members and educational programmers.
Beginning in Or Ami’s 3rd year, more than 47 rabbinic, education, and cantorial students have become interns at Or Ami, discovering and adapting our uniquely joyful approach to Judaism. Each has held up a mirror to our current practices, allowing us to self-disrupt and to innovate for the future.
In the 2020’s Sukkat Shalom, our organizing team, joined with a coalition of synagogues, churches, temples, and other religious organizations to respond to the growing crisis of housing insecurity throughout Southern California.
With the creation of the Or Ami Village in the 2020’s, the second Jewish Village founded in the United States, Or Ami discovered a formula to nurture friendships among our older congregants. Serving those “55 and Better”, The Village is a growing group of vibrant members that weave Jewishness into social and emotional experiences that enrich their lives and our community.
The Middle @ Or Ami began to address the needs of congregants in the sandwich generations, while our Rosh Chodesh Women’s Group and Men’s Retreat/Nights Out spoke to gender based needs.
The Mosaic Committee, committed to ensuring that Or Ami becomes a mosaic of Moses’ people, takes its embracing and inclusion work to heart. With the hiring of a Jews of Color Outreach Coordinator, herself a Jew of Color, Or Ami is working to ensure that our demographics match our inclusive values.
Or Ami’s Neighborhood invites Jews and Jewish families from around the country and world to become part of the congregation. Currently, the Neighborhood
welcomes congregants living in New York, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Wisconsin, Kansas, and throughout Northern and Southern California.
Upon Cantor Doug Cotler’s retirement, Or Ami began a multiyear process to embrace the diversity of Jewish music and craft a vision for a Jewish musical future. Thanks to the involvement of a large group of talented congregant-soloists and instrumentalists, Or Ami 
continues to inspire the “soundtrack for our souls”.
Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway came on shlichut (as an emissary) from Israel, joining Or Ami in 2023 and was an integral voice in deepening Or Ami’s adult learning programs and leading the synagogue’s compassionate, educational response to the massacres in Israel by Hamas.
Over the years, The partnership between our clergy, staff team, and congregant-leaders has contributed to the foundation upon which our congregation thrives today. It has led Or Ami to win 14 national awards for social justice, disability inclusion, use of social media, creative worship, lifelong learning, outreach, and more. With the motto, “No one is more welcome at Or Ami than you,” Congregation Or Ami invites everyone to discover deep connections with Torah, Israel, and the Holy One.