Ruth Andrew Ellenson

Unfashionable Crisis

Published on July 28, 2005

Dov Charney, founder, CEO and president of American Apparel, has been hailed by many anti-sweatshop activists as a pioneer in the fair treatment of garment workers in Los Angeles, in an industry notorious for substandard working conditions and abuse. But now, a competing, unflattering reputation is beginning to overtake his good press, as allegations of sexual harassment come to light.

Mother’s Life No Longer a Mystery

Published on April 14, 2005

When Eleanor Freedman died of breast cancer in 1974, she left behind three children, a husband, and a life marked by failed promise.

Sugar, Spice and a Binary Device

Published on March 17, 2005

Stories and symbols intersect in unexpected places in Pearl Abraham's intricate and complex third novel, "The Seventh Beggar," a vivid meditation on the nature of creation.

Attack on Writers Verges on Ridiculous

Published on February 3, 2005

This past week, the New York Times Book Review ran a lengthy essay by writer Wendy Shalit titled "The Observant Reader." In it,

Shalit harshly criticized books she deemed to be unfriendly to Orthodox Judaism. Even worse than the books, she asserted, were some of their writers, including such literary luminaries as Tova Mirvis ("The Outside World") and Nathan Englander ("For the Relief of Unbearable Urges").

Choreographer Puts Kick in Torah Tales

Published on January 6, 2005

Andrea Hodos cuts a sprightly figure directing 14-year-old Sophie Porter-Zasada, dancing the biblical story of Sarah laughing as she hears of her pregnancy with Isaac.

Rabbinical School Dropout

Published on September 30, 2004

Women who join the rabbinate may be venerated as spiritual and feminist icons, but what about a woman who tries out being a rabbi and can't handle it? That's one of many questions Amy Sohn's novel, "My Old Man" (Simon & Schuster, $23) explores.

A Quick Trip to Evangelical ‘Hell’

Published on September 23, 2004

Born-again Christian youth pastor Shari Putney is standing at the top of a stairway outside a theater in Hollywood presiding over a group of young adults, decked out in a sequined, pale-blue mother-of-the-bride dress and a huge diamond cross.

Hidden Impact of Sweatshop Laws

Published on August 28, 2003

Is your image of a sweatshop a black-and- white photograph of Jewish garment workers marching for labor rights 100 years ago, or the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911, in which hundreds of Jewish workers were trapped inside a burning building in New York (see sidebar)?

Happy Trails to You

Published on July 10, 2003

At Ramirez Canyon Park in Malibu, Happy Trails offers an opportunity for city-dwelling kids to interact with nature.

Magnolias and Menorahs

Published on October 17, 2002

"Shalom Y'all: Images of Jewish Life in the American South" photography by Bill Aron, text by Vicki Reikes Fox (Algonquin Books, $24.95).

While the idea of Southern Jews may be as improbable for some as snacking on matzah while drinking a mint julep, in fact, the American South has had a thriving Jewish community since the early 1700s.

USC Names First Jewish Board Chair

Published on October 3, 2002

The University of Southern California, once considered a bastion of WASP elitism, has capped a decade of transformation by naming Stanley Gold as its first Jewish board chairman.

Hamilton High’s Sour Note

Published on September 19, 2002

Most parents dream of having a school administrator like Jeff Kaufman.

Caped Crusaders

Published on May 16, 2002

The $114 million opening weekend for the release of "Spider-Man" on May 3 was not only a box office record breaker but a resounding triumph for two wily Israeli entrepreneurs.

The Faces Behind Fairfax

Published on February 28, 2002

Ask Boris Dralyuk about his student days at Fairfax High School and the impish young man with startlingly blue eyes will mockingly compare himself to one of the great anti-heroes of literature. "I know about the experiences of Saul Bellow's Augie March and the little Jewish kids growing up in tough urban areas, but Los Angeles is not one of those places. There is very little in common between the Lower East Side and Los Angeles. It's not a battle to grow up here. It is not a struggle."

Watching Big Brother

Published on January 24, 2002

In the culmination of what has been a tumultuous year for the Jewish Big Brothers (JBB) of Los Angeles, Executive Director Jeff Kahn stepped down from his position last week to serve as interim director until a replacement is found.

The Secret History

Published on November 15, 2001

"The Woman Who Laughed at God: The Untold History of the Jewish People," by Jonathan Kirsch (Viking Press, $14.95).

Jonathan Kirsch lives a double life that many lawyers only dream of.

‘Sea’ Changes Tide

Published on October 18, 2001

In recent years, Israeli writer Amos Oz has become as well-known for his liberal political views as for his fiction. In his newest book, "The Same Sea," he has created a novel infused with literary artistry that never directly addresses politics, but allows them to hover undiscussed in the corners of his character's lives. "The Same Sea," a complex weaving of narratives written in verse and prose about a family coping with loss, features Oz himself as "The Narrator," and he reveals for the first time the suicide of his mother when he was 12. The immense vulnerability Oz describes in himself also drives all of his characters in "The Same Sea."

Holy Land Exploration

Published on September 27, 2001

In a compelling collection of 19th and 20th century images and objects, the Skirball Cultural Center's new exhibit of photographs, lithographs and archaeological artifacts tells the story of Israel as, literally, a "holy land" -- a place that has long held fascination for the three monotheistic faiths, academics and Western tourists hoping to discover the exotic world of the East.

A Citizen of Jerusalem

Published on September 13, 2001

In His New Book, "At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden" (William Morrow, 2001), Yossi Klein Halevi, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Jerusalem Report and The New Republic, chronicles his journey as a Jew searching for understanding of Christianity and Islam in Israel.

Finding the Perfect Match

Published on August 16, 2001

As the end of summer nears, a new exhibit offers a glimpse into the world of one of the most sacred and ritualized events in Judaism: the wedding.

Coastal Divide

Published on May 31, 2001

As the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies (ZSRS) at the University of Judaism (UJ) in Los Angeles completes its fifth year, it marks not only a transition within Conservative Judaism but the emergence of Los Angeles as a center for Jewish intellectual life. While it used to be that the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) in New York City was the one center for training Conservative Rabbis (with the University of Judaism as an appendix established in 1947), the development of the ZSRS reflects a maturation of the UJ as its own entity, much like a younger sibling emerging from the shadows of an accomplished older child.

Virtual Schmooze

Published on March 8, 2001

We all hear rumblings about a global community, but a global schmooze? That's just what the Jewish Community Centers of North America, in conjunction with the 92nd Street Y in New York City, propose to execute. Starting on Sun., March 11, the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles will host an innovative new lecture series through Kallah -- a program sponsored by The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and supported by the Charles and Dora Mesnick Cultural Arts Fund -- by bringing such speakers as Alan Dershowitz, Elie Wiesel and Anne Roiphe to you live, via satellite. The lectures will be broadcast from the 92nd Street Y in New York City directly to JCCs across the nation, allowing participants to ask questions to their lecturers in real time for what is being termed a "virtual gathering."

DNC Protest Puts Jewish Values First

Published on August 17, 2000

On the first day of the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, a small group of Jewish men and women used the occasion to raise their voices in protest against what they saw as the growing economic divide in this country and the increasingly centrist policies of the Democratic Party.

Musical Matzah

Published on April 13, 2000

"Celebrate Passover" is the second of a planned three-part series, following "Celebrate Hanukkah," with "Celebrate Shabbat" scheduled for release later this year.