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- NEWS & COMMENTARY
A new era of Jewish leadership in L.A.?
Los Angeles chose Eric Garcetti as its first elected Jewish mayor, one of a number of political contests on Tuesday that reflected the city’s diversity, as well as its numerous…
Stone-walling
In the last two years, the Western Wall in Jerusalem — also known as the Kotel — has become a place of controversy as much as of worship. It’s the site of a battle that has long been waged by…
Gun violence in America: Scandal!
Two years after his mother was shot and killed, Dallas Sonnier received a phone call from the police: His father had just been shot and killed.
- HOLLYWOOD
Spielberg to produce ‘Halo’ television series, plus other news from the Xbox One announcement
Microsoft Corp gave the world a first look at its new Xbox One on Tuesday, announcing that its first gaming console in eight years will come with exclusive video and…
Justin Timberlake and Coen brothers answer Jewish questions at Cannes
Using his preternatural smoothness, Justin Timberlake saved the Coen brothers from some serious awkwardness at a Cannes press conference for their folk singer film “Inside Llewyn Davis” on Sunday. “Jewish…
Sean Penn lobbies for Charedi man imprisoned in Bolivia
Actor Sean Penn urged a congressional hearing to pressure Bolivia to release a haredi Orthodox father of five under house arrest in the country.
- LIFE & CULTURE
Sarah Silverman sings about staying home in ‘Perfect Night’
For your listening pleasure, “Perfect Night,” in which Sarah Silverman recounts the benefits of skipping the club for the couch. Because this is a Silverman production you can expect references…
Maccabi Tel Aviv back on top but coach future uncertain
Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have reasserted their dominance of Israeli soccer but media reports on Tuesday suggested they might have to continue their revival without coach Oscar Garcia.
7 Rules for Perfect Hummus
When was the last time you opened a tub of hummus and swooned? When was the last time a restaurant put a plate of hummus in front of you, and…
- BLOGS
State 194: A Documentary About Palestine
Opening this weekend at Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 is a very hot-button new documentary called State 194, which follows the recent history of Palestine. Many will approach this film with…
7 Rules for Perfect Hummus
When was the last time you opened a tub of hummus and swooned? When was the last time a restaurant put a plate of hummus in front of you, and…
What would my Israeli grandmother think?
When I hear about the latest events in Israel – the air strikes on weapons facilities in Syria, the flare-ups over women donning prayer shawls at the Western Wall –…
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Beverly Gray
Ladies, grab your coat and get your Red Hat
The first fashion show by the Shayna Punims, a Red Hat Society chapter based at Jewish Home for the Aging's (JHA) Eisenberg Village campus, gave former models an excuse to come out of retirement and provided nervous novices an opportunity to shine among their peers.
Krayzelburg Keeps Swim Program From Taking a Dive
Just a year ago, the Lenny Krayzelburg Swim School, headed by the four-time Olympic gold medalist, opened with fanfare and big ambitions at the Westside Jewish Community Center (JCC), a once lively place that in recent years has been seeking to reinvent itself. Living up to the center's dreams, as of late July, Krayzelburg now has 896 students on his roster.
Jews-by-Choice: A Look 10 Years Later
Ten years ago, I interviewed a dozen graduates of the Miller program who had followed through with conversion. Although Rabbi Neal Weinberg, who has long directed the program, tries hard to keep track of alumni, many slip out of his database. He was able to supply me with contact information for 10 Jews-by-Choice I had interviewed when I wrote my previous article.
Davening for Dollars
Talmud teaches that a righteous act is its own reward. But if that's not inducement enough, a rabbi in Woodland Hills is offering $10 cash plus a Krispy Kreme doughnut to teens who attend his 7 a.m. minyan.
Bar/Bat Mitzvah - Author-Baker Rises to Bimah—at Last
Joanne Rocklin is obsessed with food. On her 60th birthday, she began summarizing her life with the essentials: "I love to cook. I love to eat". But it's her passion for writing that has enabled her to come to terms with her life and her faith.
A Young Violinist With a Lot of Pluck
As a 9-year-old violinist performing for world-renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, Camilla Tsiperovich was told to call herself Camilla Gadjieva. Her headmaster at the Azerbaijan Conservatory considered this a more suitable name, one that reflected the Muslim heritage of her country. While representing Azerbaijan in international music competitions and spending her first year of high school at the famed Moscow Conservatory, she always understood that "there was something wrong because you were Jewish."
Classical Musicians’ Volume Decreases
There was a time when Jews dominated the ranks of American orchestras, and superstars like Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern were musical ambassadors to the world. The fact that today's master Jewish musicians tend to have proteges with names like Yo Yo Ma, Kyung-Wha Chung and Lang Lang is one hint that for many Jews, classical music is no longer a top priority.
Glimpses of Jews’ Past in Andaluca
Spain's Andaluca is romance. It's orange blossoms perfuming the air. It's golden drops of sherry sliding down your throat in a smoky bodega. It's fingers dancing on the strings of a flamenco guitar.
Holy Toledo!
Spain's Toledo contains -- along with spires, damascene jewelry and scrumptious marzipan -- a treasure trove of Jewish memories.
Rhodesli Keep the Faith in L.A.
As a student at Cal State Northridge more than 30 years ago, Aron Hasson wrote a paper about the Sephardic synagogues of his ancestral homeland, the Greek island of Rhodes.
Lack of Jewish Life in Greece Just Myth
Poets have been known to wax lyrical about "the glory that was Greece." Yet a visitor to Greece today quickly finds that the glory's not only in the past tense. While those who built the shrines to Zeus and Apollo are long gone, the people who inhabit modern Greece are unquestionably alive.
PhD on the Flying Trapeze
Edy Greenblatt is best known in Los Angeles as an energetic, knowledgeable folk dance teacher. But in search of a more stable career, she studied organizational behavior at the Harvard Business School, in a joint doctoral program involving Harvard's graduate schools of psychology and sociology.
Families Find Magic in ‘Miracles’ Musical
"Everyday Miracles" is an original musical about four Hebrew school students who travel back in time to interact with their biblical heroes.
UCLA Alumna Heads Film School
Barbara Boyle has come full circle. When she first entered UCLA in 1957, she was one of four female law students in a class of 140.
Power of Prayer?
In the wee small hours of Dec. 7, 2003, my husband and I got the phone call that every parent dreads. A matter-of-fact voice said, "This is UCLA Medical Center. Your son, Jeffrey, has been hit by a car. He's got at least a couple of broken bones, but he's alert and he's asking for you."
As I gasped, unable to take it all in, the voice added, "Your son was very lucky."
Awaken Your Inner J.K. Rowling
Scratch away at any Jew and you'll find a storyteller. The people of the book dream of spinning out personal memories and Old Country stories to a rapt circle of children. That's why the first-ever Jewish Children's Literature Conference, held in the fall at Sinai Temple through the auspices of Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries and the Association of Jewish Libraries, attracted 125 eager attendees. Many were there specifically to grapple with the question: So you want to be a writer of children's books?
Book Unpacks Shoah Memories
Karen Levine never had plans to write a book.
Then in 2001, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. radio producer came across an article in the Canadian Jewish News about a young Japanese woman, urged on by Tokyo schoolchildren studying the Holocaust, who traveled halfway round the world to find the owner of a child's battered suitcase. That child, Hana Brady, had died in Auschwitz at age 13, but the determined young woman tracked down Hana's brother George, who had survived Auschwitz and found a new life in Toronto.
Levine made a radio documentary chronicling the meeting between Fumiko Ishioka and George Brady, and that led her to write a children's book, "Hana's Suitcase," a gripping detective story and an inspirational saga.
Golfing Gran Takes Down Yiddishe Bubbe
Book publishers know that the marketplace is full of Jewish customers with a high level of secular education, a reasonable degree of Jewish awareness and strong aesthetic sensibilities. And now they're having children.
Is There a ‘Docta’ in the House?
"There's a big controversy on the Jewish view of when life begins. In Jewish tradition, the fetus is not considered viable until after it graduates from medical school." -- Old Jewish joke.
Promoting Medical Care in Israel
Even when Jews packed medical school classrooms, there were few organizations dedicated to their special concerns.
Marlene Marks’ Spirit on the Web
Jana Rosenblatt's founding partners in Five Chicks Unlimited are four local businesswomen who have been touched by cancer. They bring expertise in finance, product research, Web design and customer service to the site.
60th Anniversary Reunites Orphans
Miriam Dybnis, vivacious at 83, insists she and her husband never expected to be honored for their deeds. Still, she's deeply gratified that so many of the young orphans have thrived as adults.
Blacks, Jews Unite for ‘Sheba’
In 1939, as a child of 3, Sonia Levitin fled Hitler's Germany with her family. The first friend she made in the United States was a small African American girl. Nearly 50 years later, as a well-established writer of young adult fiction, Levitin won the National Jewish Book Award for "The Return" (Atheneum, 1987). This historical novel focuses on the plight of Ethiopian Jews, who consider themselves descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. In tracing their perilous journey from Africa to Israel via Operation Moses in 1984, Levitin combined her long-standing interest in African culture with her own childhood memories of leaving her homeland behind.
Woman of the Book
Sherrill Kushner's crusade on behalf of the Santa Monica Public Library system began with her realization that Jews are the People of the Book.
In the Biblical Sense
Experts agree that Jewish schools -- and schools in general -- need to do more to teach kids about their bodies and about the whole complex subject of human reproduction.
Being Greene
Brian Greene thinks of himself as a product of the University of Judaism (UJ).
BJE replaces L.A. Ulpan
The Los Angeles Ulpan has been reborn.
Teaching the Kids
There's a 7-year-old girl who attends second grade at a local Jewish day school. She's intelligent, but in a classroom setting, she finds it hard to focus: if a fire engine roars down the street, there goes the lesson.
Doctor of the Barrio
When Julie Korenstein speaks out on environmental matters, she credits her mother, Dr. Pauline Furth, with shaping her own crusading spirit. Korenstein, who represents District 6 on the Los Angeles Unified School District's school board, said that throughout her life her mother has been "the most important influence on me personally."
Strike Up the Klezmer
This is not your grandmother's halftime show. Unless of course, Grandma grew up in a kibbutz or shtetl with a 145-piece marching band in residence.
Susan Rubin ExploresSpielberg’s Childhood
Steven Spielberg has inspired dozens of biographies, none of them written with the filmmaker's consent.
Day Schools Cope With Attack Aftermath
After Aug. 10, 1999, when a white supremacist went on
a shooting spree at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, Abraham J. Heschel Day School quickly beefed up security at its Northridge campus, installing a high-tech video scanner in the school parking lot and posting an armed guard at an entrance kiosk.
But the events of Sept. 11 have raised the bar yet higher in terms of campus security. Heschel director Shirley Levine has now hired an additional guard. And on all school-owned buses, the Heschel name has been replaced with cryptic initials "AJH."
"It is sad," says Joan Marks, principal of Heschel's elementary school. "It just makes me sick."
Toxic Crusaders
When Sherman Oaks resident Robina Suwol drove her two sons to school in the Valley March 1998, she didn't know she was about to become a crusader. The events of that morning kicked off a chain of events resulting in the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) new integrated pest control policy, now considered a model for school districts across the nation.
Torah Lover Beats Odds
Joey Schwartzman has a passion for clocks. He is also crazy about street addresses, dates and numbers of any kind. And he has one more enthusiasm not often seen in 15-year-old boys: he loves reading Torah and Haftorah at his synagogue, Westchester's B'nai Tikvah Congregation.
What makes this truly remarkable is the fact that Joey has been diagnosed as autistic. A few years back, he was likely to disrupt services, or fall asleep on a couch outside the sanctuary. But he was fortunate to be part of a warm-hearted community that has known his family for three generations. As his bar mitzvah approached, a congregant with a background in psychological counseling devised a special Hebrew school curriculum for him and another boy with autism.
Kitchen Classroom
As he welcomed a group of home schoolers to an open house at the Slavin Family Children's Library of the Jewish Community Library, Dr. Gil Graff of the Bureau of Jewish Education cited an ancient Jewish precept: "Each child should be educated according to that child's particular needs."
Togetherness Through Yachad
Some years ago, when Lauren Mayesh was a teenager, she rarely saw her classmates reach out to people who were different from them.
Shalom and G’Day, Mate
Last summer, when Sydney, Australia, burst onto my television screen as part of the coverage for the 2000 Olympic Games, the city struck me as an urban Disneyland, full of fanciful architecture and enchanting public gathering spots.
Art of Summer
Camp Ruach, also known as the Los Angeles Jewish Camp for Music and the Arts, debuted this summer on the grounds of Yeshivath Ohr Eliyahu Day School in Culver City.
Drastic Rule Change
This change has been devastating for the families of Jewish children with special needs.
An Educator Speaks
Eileen Horowitz, an elementary school teacher for two decades, taught general studies at Adat Ari El Day School for six years. She became principal of Temple Israel of Hollywood Day School in 1995.
Rabbis’s Wives
Marlynn Dorff is typical of local rabbis' wives who have made their names in the field of Jewish education.
Not Just Summer Scholars
Many youngsters begin taking Judaism seriously as a result of their summer-camp experiences.
Giving and Getting, as B’nai Mitzvah Mentors
When Rabbi Laura Geller became Temple Emanuel's spiritual leader seven years ago, she sought to add new meaning to the familiar b'nai mitzvah ritual.
Survivors’ Stories
Many Holocaust survivors have turned to self-publication as a way of confronting their past lives.
Free Hebrew School
People insist that there's no such thing as a free lunch. But HaShalom, a small Sephardic Orthodox congregation in the Pico-Robertson area, is offering local public school children exactly that. When students in grades K-8 arrive at HaShalom at the end of their secular school day, they enjoy a hot meal, courtesy of Haifa Restaurant. And along with the food, they receive, absolutely free, classes in Hebrew and Jewish tradition.
Nurturing Yesod
As a boy in Tel Aviv, Gady Levy &'9;lived in a purely secular household. He rode his bike on Yom Kippur and had absolutely no interest in Jewish tradition.
Vital Learning
Yesod is UJ's brave new attempt to provide adults throughout the community with in-depth Jewish learning experiences.
My Best Teacher
There will be one empty seat at our seder table this year. Blanche Wadleigh Bettington, who has helped us celebrate the Jewish people's liberation from Egypt since my college-age daughter was a baby, passed away on March 1.
Love forLearning
The opera world has its Three Tenors. The University of Judaism (UJ) kicked off its day-long Festival of Jewish Learning with three stellar rabbis.
Educator Q &A: Dr. Stu Bernstein
Dr. Stu Bernstein has spent 40 years with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) as an elementary school teacher, principal and cluster administrator for Westside schools. On the occasion of his retirement, he was recently feted by the Association of Jewish Educators, with proceeds going toward the Multicultural Scholarship fund he helped establish. The National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews, will give Bernstein its Humanitarian Award at an April 26 dinner.
Forging Ahead
For the past 37 summers, the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles (BJE) has sent high school students to Israel through its pioneering L.A. Ulpan program.
Teaching Teachers
Aviva Kadosh, who serves the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles (BJE) as a specialist in religious schools and Hebrew-language programs, has been an educator for 34 years.
Performing Torah
Kids Kehilla bills itself as "a different kind of religious school." It is different partly because of its emphasis on theater as a way of introducing children to their Jewish heritage.
Jewish Educator Q & A
With this issue, the Journal launches a new feature, Educator Q & A. We will be featuring regular interviews with teachers, school administrators and others involved in public, private and Jewish education in the greater Los Angeles area.
Finding Middle Ground
First comes love, then comes marriage. But when baby makes three, an interfaith couple has to face hard decisions about their child's religious upbringing.
Addressing Anxieties
Each November, Valley Beth Shalom holds a meeting at which its youth director urges parents to send their teenagers on a summer trip to Israel. In 1999, more than 100 families attended. This past November, there were only eight. The low turnout appears to reflect parental anxiety over safety issues in the Middle East. Lisa Kaplan, who heads The Jewish Federation's Israel Experience Program office, explains that "in times of peace, the students make the decision. In difficult times, the parents make the decision."
Showing Solidarity
Back in October, 60 UCLA students learned that over winter break they would be going on the trip of a lifetime. They had been chosen from among hundreds of applicants to take part, virtually for free, in UCLA Hillel's Birthright Israel contingent. The Birthright program brings thousands of Jewish students to Israel for 10-day tours that encourage them to discover their own Jewish identity. The 1999 trip had received glowing reviews. But in December 2000, one-third of the UCLA slots were suddenly up for grabs.
Musical Gift
Anya Karlin has been fascinated with opera since the age of 4, when she was invited to join the cast of "Madame Butterfly." At 10, while performing in a Chanukah concert, she discovered the joys of singing in Yiddish.
Good Deeds
When Becca Yuré turned 13, her enthusiasm for pandas became the focus of her Bat Mitzvah celebration.
Mightier Than the Sword
Sonia Levitin has taken on the cause of the Sudanese because of an outlook that is profoundly Jewish.
Varied on Vouchers
Though many Jewish organizations, including The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Bureau of Jewish Education, prefer to remain officially neutral on Proposition 38, their members often have strong emotions pro and con.
Teen Founds Jump-n-Jive Minyan
Most Shabbat worshippers expect decorum. But Adat Ari El's new Jump-n-Jive minyan is different. Its founder, Aaron Kaychuck, describes the monthly Saturday morning service as "upbeat neo-Chassidic egalitarian." The service is unusual partly because it combines traditional Conservative liturgy with exuberant song and dance, set to the beat of an African hand-drum. It is also distinctive because Kaychuck, who leads the congregants in prayer, is 15 years old.
European Vacation
Back-to-School Roundup
Among students, this is the time of year for new shoes, new backpacks and new haircuts. And schools approach September with fresh paint and revamped goals.
What They Did for Love
The Los Angeles Ulpan is one of the nation's oldest Israel trips geared to teenagers.
Working Together
When Mark Miller arrived in Los Angeles to become the associate director of Wilshire Boulevard Temple's camps and conference center, he expected to find fierce competition among Southern California's Jewish summer camps. Instead, he's been pleasantly surprised by the spirit of cooperation that exists within the local camping community.
Funding the Future
In the past, the Jewish Community Foundation has used its grant-making powers to help senior citizens, Conejo Valley preschoolers, and teens traveling to Israel.
An Unaccustomed Sound
Today's schools tend to have only limited resources for music instruction, and Jewish day schools are no exception. And in an American Jewish community dominated by Ashkenazic-descended households, Sephardic culture remains a mystery to many Jewish children. Happily, the Maurice Amado Foundation has stepped in to address both of these problems.
Following the Money
Three Years Ago, Jewish Education in L.A. Received 1 Million Extra Dollars. What Did That Money Buy?
Right at the Start
It's not only that children are killing children.
Double Duty
A highlight of the annual religious school educators conference sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education is always the presentation of the Lainer Awards. These cash awards, established in 1989, go to talented educators who help perpetuate Jewish traditions and values in a religious school setting. Most of the winners have an in-depth knowledge of Judaica, and have committed much of their professional lives to Jewish institutions.
Such is the case of Neal
Hillel Students Return From Israel 2000 Trip
Last year, when philanthropists Michael Steinhardt and Charles Bronfman decided to give the gift of Israel to thousands of young Jews, skeptics wondered whether there would be any takers.
The Life and Times of 2 Teachers
After a combined total of 69 years in the education field, gifted teachers Dr. George and Aviva Lebovitz have chosen to retire.
ADL: December Dilemma
'Tis the season when children in public schools face the December Dilemma. As part of a classroom lesson, Jewish youngsters may be given Christmas trees to color. During holiday music programs, they may find themselves acting in a nativity scene or singing "Silent Night." Santa Claus may show up on campus, passing out candy canes and asking them what they want for Christmas.
Reviving a Public School
Four years ago, when Robyn Ritter Simon's eldest son was ready to start kindergarten, she looked at her local public school and found it lacking. It was not that Canfield Elementary School fell short academically. The Simons live in a West Los Angeles neighborhood that is heavily Jewish and her son would have been one of the few white children -- and perhaps the only Jewish child -- in his class.
Bonding Over Bonds
Monique Maas Gibbons is co-chair of the Business and Professional Women's Division, a branch of the Women's Campaign of the United Jewish Fund (and an extension of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles).
Traditional Home
Daniel Gordis is able to communicate parent-to-parent. He understands that today's moms and dads often feel unsure of their own stance toward Judaism.
Expanding Horizons
In early October, four 13-year-olds from Tel Aviv spent 10 days in Southern California.
More than a Birthright
Having recently become excited about her Jewish heritage, Michelle Block wants to start off the new millennium with a trip to Israel.
Safety First?
On the first day of school, when Barbara Gindi escorted her children to Maimonides Academy, she was appalled by what she saw: Two security guards stood out front, a Sheriff's squad car was parked at the curb, and the administrative staff was on high alert.
"It brought tears to my eyes," Gindi says. "Is this what our world is coming to?"
Beyond Puppets and Cookies
Eleven-year-old Katie Zeisl, who attends Hebrew School at Adat Ari El, knows that the High Holidays are a time to "tell God I'm really sorry and I'll try not to do it again."
The Hart of the Matter
The subject arose over dinner in a neighborhood restaurant. Have you heard, asked a friend who's generally up on current affairs, that the new governor wants to open the University of California system to the top 4 percent of every high school graduating class? The implications seemed obvious: If 4 percent of the graduating seniors of every public high school in the state were to receive automatic admission to UC, this would be one more signal that diversity was being prized over quality. Why, we all wondered, was Gov. Gray Davis putting his clout behind the dumbing-down of a once-proud university? And, more to the point, what would happen to our own teenaged children? As parents, we had worked hard to enroll them in public schools with high standards and large numbers of high achievers. If our high school seniors didn't fall into the magic 4 percent, would they be out in the cold? Would they end up wishing they had gone to school in South Central instead of Santa Monica or Beverly Hills? As parents, as UC graduates, and as taxpayers, we were sorely perturbed.
Torah For Torah’s Sake
The event, called "Meeting in Torah," was sponsored by the Board of Rabbis of Southern California and the CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and supported by a dozen Westside shuls of all denominations.
A Soaring Exchange Rate
By every measure, the first year of the Milken-Tichon Hadash exchange program has been a resounding success.
Unity 101
Building Jewish unity in one afternoon is a tall order. And the organizers of Teen Clal's "One People" conference knew better than to expect miracles.
Chaya’s Dance
Six years ago, Carol Solomon attended Yom Kippur services in Copenhagen. Flipping through the back of the English language prayerbook, she came upon a poem, translated from Hebrew, called "The Letter of the Ninety-Three Maidens." Based on an actual letter that was found after the Holocaust, it tells of young girls at a Jewish school in Cracow who took poison rather than allow themselves to be defiled by Nazi soldiers. Historians question the letter's authenticity. But for Solomon, "something about this story just captured my heart."
Haggadah
Haggadah
Books
A 1998 article about Chicago collector Stephen Durschslag's haggadah collection set the number of different haggadot on his shelves at 4,500, increasing almost daily.
Wanted: A Few Good Teachers
A Unique University
The University of Judaism is not easy to categorize. Unique among this country's Jewish institutions of higher learning, it combines an undergraduate college, a graduate school of education, an MBA program, a long list of continuing education offerings, two nationally renowned think tanks and a 4-year-old theological seminary.
School’s Out—Forever?
At a time when many Jewish day schools in the area are bursting at the seams and new ones move closer to opening their doors, Temple Isaiah Day School is making plans to go out of business.
Lessons in Civic Responsibility
Five years ago, a school group from Oakland laughed and jeered throughout a screening of "Schindler's List." This fiasco convinced Steven Spielberg that many students needed careful preparation before viewing his film.
Educating American Jewish Families
Risa Gruberger, whose children are 8 and 9, hopes they will both grow up loving the Jewish holidays as she does. "When the weather's crisp out," says Gruberger, "I want them to feel they can smell it, they can taste it, that Chanukah's coming.
Multiculturalism at Work
Among those who care about public education, "multiculturalism" is one of today's favorite buzzwords. But at the Community School, a magnet campus that falls under the auspices of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the concept of multicultural education has been in place for 25 years.
For the Sake of Fun
Lisa Stern, a Hancock Park attorney and mother of three, has identified a syndrome afflicting women that she thinks is just as real as postpartum depression -- post-Yontiff exhaustion.
A School With a Mid-Eastern Flair
The Eretz Alliance School may be small, but its lineage is long and distinguished. Eretz Alliance, which occupies a brand-new campus in Tarzana, opened this fall with 36 students enrolled in its nursery school and kindergarten classes. Ultimately the $7 million building will house students through the fifth grade.
Conference Explores Peace Through Education
Israeli-Palestinian coexistence and how to achieve it: That was the topic on everybody's lips when the 24th Annual Academic Conference convened at the Century Plaza Hotel last weekend. The panel, sponsored by American Friends of the Hebrew University, was followed by a luncheon featuring keynote speaker Dennis Prager, the KABC radio host best known for his "Religion on the Line" program.
Knowledge is Power
Though many new Jews insist their synagogue friends have become their family, others are admittedly lonesome at holiday time.
A Solid Foundation
Milken High seems like a real campus at last. And so a celebration is in order.
Honor Bestowed
Joel Grishaver, everybody's favorite hip Jewish uncle, had been up half the night, schmoozing with a rabbi's son who was visiting from England. So when Grishaver answered the phone at 6:30 a.m., he was hardly prepared for the voice that said, "You and I have a date for lunch in Washington on Sept. 15. You've just won the Covenant Award."
Back To School
As Labor Day fast approaches, colleges around the country are welcoming the class of 2002. Some of the wide-eyed freshmen now struggling with books, bedding, and brand-new computer hookups are the products of a Jewish day-school education.
Cover Story
To many American Jews in their 20s, 30s and 40s, Zionism, the ancient dream of a Jewish homeland that spawned a political movement and the birth of Israel almost 50 years ago, is little more than a footnote in a Sunday-school textbook.
Unlimited Learning
Benjamin Gampel, a historian at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, speaks enthusiastically about his Wexner students: "The Wexner Program is probably the best adult teaching that I can do. They're highly motivated; they're so successful in their chosen fields, they bring that energy to the classroom. It's thrilling."
Adult B’nai Mitzvah Gaining in Popularity
While scholars argue about the origin of the adult bar mitzvah (or bat mitzvah) ceremony, there's no question that over the last two decades it has been growing in popularity, primarily for those who had never undergone the ritual as a 13-year-old.
A Future So Bright
Meet the class of 1998. This month, they leave high school behind and careen toward adult life.
Community
Imagine that it is 1940, and Great Britain is fighting Hitler's Nazi Germany almost alone. Imagine, further, that an American who loves both America and England and hates the Nazis works in American intelligence and has access to secret files concerning Germany that, for whatever reason, the United States has not shared with Great Britain. This American gives the secrets to England and is caught.
Putting Heart
The rabbis-in-training were making the rounds at UCLA Medical Center. They stopped at bedsides to chat with patients, to inquire about their needs, to offer prayer and consolation. Then, unexpectedly, the sight of wires, tubes and surgical dressings took its toll. One student rabbi fainted.
Community
A Teacher’s Guide to Parents
What do Jewish educators think about Jewish parents?
Education Israel as a Core Requirement?
My daughter flew home for Thanksgiving with two college friends in tow. At the dinner table, the conversation revolved around computers and the antics of the Stanford Band. At some point in the course of that whirlwind four-day visit, Hilary informed me that, though she's been diligently studying Hebrew since she started college, a Junior Year Abroad at Hebrew University is no longer part of her plans. It's not that she's changed her mind about someday returning to Israel, where she spent an amazing summer two years ago. But she's convinced that, given the stringent requirements of the high-tech major she seems to have settled on, even a semester in Jerusalem would derail her progress toward her degree.
Coming Together Aboard Bus No. 2
I have never been a fan of group travel. Bernie and I like to headout for parts unknown, armed only with a guidebook and a rental car.
Education Adopting a More Accepting Attitude
Adolescence seems to have heightened Debra's fixation on herbiological origins. She asks probing questions about her birthparents. She wants to know whether her birth mother was Jewish, andwhether there are brothers and sisters somewhere. Such questions arepainful to the Rubins, who'd rather not spell out all they know aboutthe sad, sordid circumstances of Debra's birth.
Psychology at the U.J.
Sometimes we all need a good nudge before we do the right thing.
Beyond the Classroom and Themselves
Milken, affiliated with Stephen S. Wise Temple, kicks off itsschool year by sending students and faculty on a three-day Shabbaton.Under the majestic oaks of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in SimiValley, participants schmooze and discuss, laugh and pray.
Easing the Pain
Ethan Gura doesn't remember his sister. Still, he cannot forgether. He can't forget that Rebecca Alexandra Gura died in 1991 after afour and a half year battle with leukemia. She was then six yearsold. He was three.
Lifting the Language Barrier
Action by the Commission on International and Transregional Accreditation, commonly known as CITA, marks the first time that any Jewish supplementary school in the United States has been given CITA's seal of approval.
Happy Anniversary
My 25th wedding anniversary iscoming up fast. Wish me luck.
Ramah’s Happy,
During that first weekend, we found nourishmentfor all parts of our Jewish psyches. Religious services weretraditional but encouraged participation: I had my first-ever aliyahthere. The camp's weekend scholar-in-residence gave us grown-upsserious food for thought. The children had their own programs, but weall came together for a wild and wacky Saturday-night carnival and aSunday Maccabiah in which points were awarded for ruach (a favoriteRamah word, meaning "spirit") as well as for athletic skill. And, ofcourse, some lazy hours were reserved for swimming, snoozing andschmoozing. After all this, it was hard to go home.
Honors Are Just Icing for Sara Lee
In the 1950s, young women knew their place. "You are who you marry" was the gist of the covert message that mothers passed on to their daughters. And Sara Lee, having graduated from college with a degree in social relations and a burning passion for Zionism, was quite content to put her skills to work in support of her new husband's medical studies. She could never have guessed that on a June day in 1997, she'd be standing on top of Mount Scopus, accepting an honor reserved for the crème de la crème of the Jewish educational world.
The Gates of Hope
Fortunately for Elisa, she landed in a caring and effective public-school program, which taught her to make the most of her abilities. But Lora was determined that her child also have the opportunity to learn about her Jewish heritage. She found that opportunity at Shaare Tikva.
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What does it mean to be your brother's keeper? Lessons from the Cleveland kidnappings
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