Rachel Heller

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.

Cancer survivor brings art, courage to other patients

Published on September 17, 2008

Having cancer has emboldened Kaufman in other ways, too -- after her first surgery in 1999, she traveled to Israel for the first time.

Zucky’s and SOVA—knishes and compassion

Published on September 17, 2008

"Hy looked at me and said, 'He's not Jewish,'" recalled his wife, Zucky Altman, 89. "I said, 'So what? He's hungry.' From that moment on, we decided we would just feed everybody."

P. S. Tikkun Olam: Veteran Jewish educator opens charter school driven by vision of a community

Published on August 27, 2008

"We want to nurture a diverse body of students who are passionate about learning, engaged in their community and have respect for themselves and others."

Ohr HaTorah ends 15-year trip in a walk down Barrington to a new home [VIDEO]

Published on August 18, 2008

It was a sight Mar Vista doesn't see every day -- a guitar-studded procession of more than 100 Jewish revelers marching jubilantly down South Barrington Avenue with five Torah scrolls.

Picture looks bleak for mural adorning former JCC

Published on August 6, 2008

The mural was meant to be a collaboration: A public arts agency led the bid for its creation, the surrounding community approved its design and Chicago artist John Pitman Weber stayed in the homes of local residents while he and a team of volunteers painted it during the summer of 1993.

Young women find it’s not their bubbe’s Hadassah

Published on July 9, 2008

A spiritually-attuned mother of two with a background in software sales, Rabishaw might not seem like your typical Hadassah member. Then again, many young members say, this isn't your grandmother's Hadassah.

Getting ‘serious’ is no joke

Published on July 9, 2008

Some relationships progress naturally and quickly. Others reach a certain point and plateau. Still others are forcibly stunted by the desire -- however long it lasts -- to keep things casual.

The second time around, Dubin is still a mensch

Published on July 9, 2008

While most people celebrate their only bar or bat mitzvah at age 13, a passage in the Book of Psalms has in recent times led to the notion that one's first need not be the last. According to King David, the average person's lifespan is 70 years, and those who live past that age are thought to start life anew. Thirteen years later, tradition says, the time is ripe for another bar mitzvah.

Project Chicken Soup brings comfort by the bowl

Published on June 5, 2008

The notes are short, direct and never signed. They come from all over Los Angeles, from the South Los Angeles tenements to the San Fernando Valley suburbs. Their authors differ in age, ethnicity and religion, but have at least one thing in common: They all live with HIV/AIDS.


Their gratitude is directed at Project Chicken Soup, an L.A.-based nonprofit whose volunteers gather twice a month to cook nutritious, kosher meals and deliver them, free of charge, to the doors of clients across the city.

Survivors’ stories create fabric of Shoah quilt

Published on May 8, 2008

Ann Spicer's experience is not unique among the more than 100,000 Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the United States after the war. But she has chosen to share her memories this year in a unique way -- by contributing this photograph to a "Shoah Quilt" project put together by Mount Sinai Memorial Parks in honor of Yom HaShoah

Bark mitzvah goes to dogs in unique tzedakah project

Published on May 8, 2008

When the boys decided to raise funds for developmentally disabled children in Israel, they made an effort to involve their families, their community and even their four-legged friends.

Honey, you’re home!

Published on April 17, 2008

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Student gets into good university. Student obtains esteemed degree. Graduate flounders in unsteady job market; must confront the dreaded possibility of moving back in with her parents, Ima and Abba, whom I dearly love -- and come college, was all too ready to leave.

Fighting words

Published on March 7, 2008

It's been three months since we called it a wrap. We'd become different people than we were and outgrew the priorities we used to share. To say I'll miss his sarcastic jabs, one-ups or whoops of victory when he opens a single paycheck worth half my yearly salary -- that would be a stretch. But the competition did push us to improve our craft, to excel, to outdo ourselves, along with each other.