Rachel Heller

The house that David built

Published on January 29, 2010

David Cygielman was a sophomore at UC Santa Barbara, a business major and the energetic president of the school’s Hillel, when he found out his father didn’t have long to live.

Lindsy Seidel: A Hunger to Supply Relief

Published on January 5, 2010

From the cheerful campus of Milken Community High School, Los Angeles’ Skid Row can seem worlds away. But the realities of homelessness and squalor plaguing L.A. city streets were brought home for student Lindsy Seidel last year on a “life-changing” visit.

Merrill Alpert: Inspiring Youth

Published on January 5, 2010

Sometimes, in the midst of Shabbat morning davening with her USYers, Merrill Alpert will fall silent for a few moments and listen to the teenagers’ voices.

A Brief History of Jews in Public Schools

Published on November 30, 2009

With the many LAUSD schools having spotty reputations, and given the array of private schools to choose from, Jewish support for Los Angeles public schools in recent years has been at best tepid. But that wasn’t always the case.

Healing the World, One School at a Time

Published on November 25, 2009

When Robyn Ritter Simon first checked out Canfield Avenue Elementary School for her sons in 1995, she didn’t like what she saw.

Jewish Home-Schooling Advocates Band Together

Published on September 23, 2009

On a typical Monday, school starts with an hour of davening for Shari Rosenman’s two children. They next spend two hours with a music teacher and work with online grammar and math curricula before unwinding with lunch and recess at a local park. Swim team practice and an art history DVD round out the evening, with Rosenman and her husband joining their kids on the couch to share in the learning.

Industry Pros Point Way to Post-Addiction Creativity

Published on September 23, 2009

Some recovering addicts call it their “moment of clarity.” Others call it their “bottom.”

Nachshon Reaches Out to Unfulfilliated

Published on September 16, 2009

In an airy Encino dining room, Cantor Judy Greenfeld instructs 12 women gathered around a lace-covered table on how to relax. Eyes closed, she tells the women to lean back in their chairs, abandon stressful thoughts and picture themselves on a pristine white beach.

One God or More? Ancient Texts Can Raise Questions of Practice

Published on September 16, 2009

When asked if we’re monotheists, most Jews will hardly flinch before answering, “Yes.”

Immersed in Hebrew, Ulpan Learners Make Great Strides

Published on September 16, 2009

As Charles Goldsmith became more active in his synagogue, he yearned to know more about the meaning of services and the sacred texts. So the retired physician, 66, decided to enroll in a Classical Hebrew course at the Whizin Center’s Hebrew ulpan.

Performances, Classes Spark Connections and Joy

Published on September 16, 2009

Celebrated Jewish thinker Mordecai Kaplan, whose philosophy helped shape American Jewish University (AJU), once wrote that one of the most powerful ways to bond a community is through the performing arts.

Up Next: Clinton, Bush Share Wexler’s Stage

Published on September 16, 2009

It’s T-minus five months to one of the most high-profile headlines in the history of American Jewish University’s (AJU) annual lecture series: On Feb. 22, former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are slated to share a stage at Universal’s Gibson Amphitheatre, with AJU President Robert Wexler probing their perspectives on world affairs.

Rabbi-Novelist Mines Ancient Treasure

Published on August 26, 2009

Of all the prophets, Jeremiah has always been the personal favorite of Rabbi Zoë Klein. So in a series of two fictional works, the prolific pulpit rabbi and fiction writer did him a favor: She gave him a lover.

Innovative Religious Schools Take Hold

Published on August 26, 2009

When the Silverlake Independent JCC (SIJCC) opens its new Jewish Learning Center on Sept. 22, it hopes to enroll a new kind of student along with the target crowd of grade-school children: their parents.

Orthodox Students Thrive at Milken

Published on August 26, 2009

Barbara Schloss had gone to Orthodox day schools her whole life. When it came time for high school, she figured, why change?

Service Honors Victims ofTel Aviv Attack

Published on August 11, 2009

In the flicker of a yahrtzeit candle, congregants and community guests rose and draped their arms around each others’ shoulders. As Cantor David Berger strummed the first chords of “Oseh Shalom,” men and women began to swa

Advocates Offer Support for Facing Family Court

Published on August 11, 2009

After a while, Rachel (who didn’t want her last name printed) stopped calling the police. They never believed her when she told them her husband was physically abusing her — no one could see the bruises because he would hit her around her head. Afraid for her two young sons, she went to court in November 2005 and filed for divorce.

College Uncertainty Marks Class of 2009

Published on June 3, 2009

After getting wait-listed at her top three colleges, Liora Simozar seemed poised to go to UCLA. She had already sent in her acceptance when, out of the blue, she heard back from Harvard.

Health Care Is Broken, But How Do You Fix It?

Published on May 27, 2009

As the march toward health care reform takes place nationally, the debate over what form it should take is heating up on the local level, as well. Many California doctors believe the best plan to cover the uninsured is laid out in a bill slowly gathering momentum in the California State Senate: a government-financed health system backers call “Medicare for all.”

Still Want Your Kid to Be a Doctor?

Published on May 27, 2009

Five years as a yoga instructor gave Priel Schmalbach an intuitive sense of others’ well-being and a desire to heal the medical ailments that lay beyond yoga’s reach. So the Miami native enrolled in UC Irvine’s School of Medicine as an MD/PhD student, pursuing a career as a family practitioner.

Families Look in Own Back Yards for Summer Fun

Published on April 21, 2009

Each summer, Erica Groten saves money on summer camp for her son, Ethan, by enrolling him in an exclusive program with only one opening: Camp Mom.

Groten takes Ethan, 6, to places like the Natural History Museum and the Los Angeles Zoo, and organizes beach days with other families and their children. She plans to reprise her role as camp director this summer, creating educational trips for her son.

Widow to Appeal Ruling on Torah Scrolls Ownership

Published on April 15, 2009

North Hollywood widow Rita Pauker plans to appeal a recent L.A. Superior Court decision that would bar her from reclaiming a set of Torah scrolls her late husband, Rabbi Norman Pauker, left in the care of his former colleague, Rabbi Samuel Ohana, when Pauker retired in the mid-1990s.

After-School Kabbalah Comes to LAUSD Campuses

Published on April 2, 2009

Along with homework time, crafts and supervised games, grade school students in several Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools this spring are getting something different at their after-school programs: spiritual awareness.

Heirlooms, Antiques Keep Shoah Testimony Alive

Published on April 1, 2009

A belt. Sheet music. A miniature 18th century Megillah scroll, its parchment worn and browned. People hung onto whatever they could through the Holocaust, hiding items in walls, in attics or burying them in the ground. Many gave valuable heirlooms to non-Jewish neighbors for safekeeping, hoping to reclaim them one day should the nightmare ever end.

Lisa and Alan Stern — Preserving Links to a Rich Heritage

Published on April 1, 2009

When Nazi officials confiscated the faded white Torah covering, they stamped the Reichsadler — the emblematic German eagle and swastika — onto the inner fabric. The valuable 1868 piece, stitched in Transylvania, was intended for display in the Central Jewish Museum in Prague, what Nazis conceived as the “Museum and Historic Archive of the Extinct Jewish Race.”

Eva Klein David — Clandestine Crafts That Saved Lives

Published on April 1, 2009

Working in a factory at the Reichenbach labor camp, Eva Klein David manned a soldering iron, fusing wires together to make parts for radios. The dexterous teenager was good at what she did. That, she believes, is why the Nazi soldiers didn’t kill her when she began fainting at work due to hunger and stress.

The Rev. John Neiman — Honoring Anne Frank’s Memory

Published on April 1, 2009

As a fifth-grade student, the Rev. John Neiman couldn’t fully grasp the significance of Anne Frank and her diary. It took a second reading and repeated trips to the library a few years later for him to form a bond with the text that would change the course of his life

Rachel Arazi — What They Wore

Published on April 1, 2009

Rachel Arazi gathers the blouse in her hands and brings it to her face. “I wonder if it’s still possible to smell my grandmother’s scent,” she muses.

Donald and Robert Novack Reviving a Composer’s Lost Legacy

Published on April 1, 2009

The Chosal Farm seemed like a safe place to Boris Zeltzman — it was located in Vichy, France, and owned by a Christian family. In 1941, he took two ammunition boxes, and, in secret, buried more than 3,000 manuscripts penned by Russian cantor and composer David Nowakowsky.

Rabbis’ Ethics Initiative Evokes Cheers, Criticism

Published on March 11, 2009

Doctor Calms Radiation Fears With Nature Photos

Published on March 10, 2009

The walls of Dr. Bernard Lewinsky’s office resemble the pages of a National Geographic calendar: sweeping lake vistas and verdant forests brush up against sculptured rock formations and sun-mottled Yosemite hills. Looking at his photographs, patients remember vacations, times when they felt relaxed and at peace. It takes their minds off their cancer.

Innovative Hebrew School Evokes Student Enthusiasm

Published on February 25, 2009

Innovative Hebrew School Evokes Student Enthusiasm

Budget Shortfall Threatens Academic Decathlon

Published on February 25, 2009

Budget Shortfall Threatens Academic Decathlon

Financial Help Available for Summer Camp Sign-Ups

Published on February 25, 2009

Growing up in Danbury, Conn., Prissi Cohen didn’t give much thought to Judaism until she started going to summer camp at age 9. Then, the eight weeks she’d spend immersed in friends, sports and Hebrew songs became a thrill she looked forward to year after year.

Entertainment Fund Shuttering Hospital, Care Facilities

Published on February 18, 2009

Entertainment Fund Shuttering Hospital, Care Facilities

As Economy Tanks, Schools Seek Survival Tactics

Published on January 28, 2009

On a chilly night in early December, crowds of parents filed into the auditorium at Kadima Hebrew Academy/Kadima Heschel West Middle School, chatting and clutching cups of coffee. The atmosphere was almost festive as finance committee chair Brett Grauman stood at the podium, framed by blue tinsel Stars of David.

‘GED’-ing Out Early Saves Tuition

Published on January 28, 2009

Most of the kids in Jacob Schiff’s classes at Santa Monica College don’t realize he’s the youngest one there. Last semester, for instance, several students in a math class got a shock when they asked him whom he planned to vote for in the presidential election.

Questions, Dilemmas Drive Geffen-Commissioned Play

Published on January 22, 2009

When the Geffen Playhouse commissioned a new piece from Donald Margulies five years ago, the award-winning playwright bided his time.

Panel discusses strategies for dealing with recession

Published on December 22, 2008

Talking investment strategy might not top everyone's agenda for a bright Sunday morning, but about 75 local residents gathered at Young Israel of Century City on Dec. 21 to do just that.

Kadima cuts costs via Community Tuition Partnership

Published on December 10, 2008

The Community Tuition Partnership, which will take effect in the 2009-2010 academic year, will lower costs for the entire K-8 student body

Teen politico plays in the big leagues

Published on December 3, 2008

After school, Joey Freeman doesn't have much free time. He's got homework to contend with from his classes at Milken Community High School. He's slogging through a heap of college applications. And, oh, yeah -- he's also helping to run an entertainment industry executive's campaign for Los Angeles City Council.

Photographer documents life in Darfur

Published on November 26, 2008

The collection of images Grover brought back offers a tentative answer: Her portraits depict a people traumatized by war, yet able -- through the aid of relief agencies and the sustaining human spirit -- to maintain a measure of hope.

Dig, plant, grow, give—sharing the bounty of food

Published on November 18, 2008

If there's one thing Gabe Goldman wishes more Angelenos would do next spring, it's get their hands dirty.

Passage of Prop. 8 reveals rift between denominations

Published on November 12, 2008

Jewish voices had joined both sides of the bitter and costly Proposition 8 debate leading up to Election Day. Reform and Conservative leaders largely condemned the stripping of civil rights from a fellow minority population, while Orthodox officials praised constitutional protection for the biblical definition of marriage.

Teen's green book for kids hits stores

Published on November 6, 2008

It's never too early to start educating kids about the environment, says Alison Hestrin Lerner -- so the Harvard-Westlake high school senior in September published a children's book, "The Green Street Kids: The Earth Warriors," targeting future "green" advocates aged four and up.

Counselors in demand as college applications soar

Published on October 31, 2008

A growing number of families are turning to private consultants to allay the competition that marks modern college admissions, local consultants and school officials say.

‘Accidental Mexican’  Ilan Stavans probes cultural identity in first play

Published on October 9, 2008

As an "accidental Mexican" born to an Eastern European family, author and essayist Ilan Stavans has hurdled critics to become one of the nation's foremost commentators on Latino culture. As a Mexican American, he has written widely on immigration, the clash and fusion of languages and the quest for acceptance.

Jews by Choice bolster ties with first Israel mission

Published on October 9, 2008

The very best Tashlich custom is a toss-up

Published on September 24, 2008

On paper, the Rosh Hashanah ritual of Tashlich is about doffing one's sins to start the new year with a clean slate. For Jason Mauro, 16, it's also about beach football

Rabbi Freehling’s pet project

Published on September 24, 2008

For almost 12 years, Lucy traveled each day to University Synagogue in Brentwood with her owner, Rabbi Allen I. Freehling, then the synagogue's senior rabbi. The golden retriever mix soon became one of the most popular members of the Reform congregation.