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Opposition continues despite new Boy Scout policy
In 2001, Temple Israel of Hollywood (TIOH) overwhelmingly decided to end its sponsorship of Cub Scout Pack 1300 to protest the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) policy banning openly gay…
Jews should get offended
If there’s one thing the Palestinians are great at, it’s saying no. For years now, many peace-loving Jewish heads have been bruised from banging against the brick wall of Palestinian rejectionism.
NSA and JEW
If you ever needed a sign that Jews feel fully integrated and accepted by society, consider this: Not one major Jewish group made a peep over the revelations of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance.
- HOLLYWOOD
“Curb” star Jeff Garlin spends two days in jail following parking lot confrontation
Actor Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") was released from a Van Nuys jail yesterday, at approximately 7:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) website. An incident…
‘Man of Steel’ screenwriter David S. Goyer on Superman and religion
“People are always so quick to point out the Christ allegory in “The Man of Steel” but Superman has always struck me as a combination of Old Testament and New…
Superman is a Jewish Fantasy
This past week my wife surprised me with tickets to the new Superman movie “Man of Steel” for my birthday. So late Saturday night, we sat in a packed movie…
- LIFE & CULTURE
Archie Comics feature film in the works
Archie comics lovers, rejoice!
Israel’s SodaStream inks deal with KitchenAid
The Israeli company SodaStream agreed to develop a home system for making carbonated drinks for KitchenAid appliances.
Barbra Streisand receives Honorary Doctorate from The Hebrew University
Barbra Streisand, after receiving an honorary doctorate from The Hebrew University, stands in front of the plaque of the Institute of Jewish Studies Building, established in 1984 in honor of…
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Summer Peaches Are Here
I always figured peaches were a super sugary fruit as they are so darn good. But it is not so. Peaches: are often less than 100 calories, making them a…
The Power of Language: Cultivating Positive Emotions
Language affects the heart. When we’re surrounded by others who speak negatively, it can really affect our mood and disposition. Are we aware of how much negative language there is…
Attention Forward: We Aren’t That Radical
It has been said that most of us believe newspaper reporting to be generally accurate, until we read an article on a subject with which we are intimately familiar. It…
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Georgia Freedman-Harvey: The art of healing
“By the way, I forgot to mention,” Georgia Freedman-Harvey said at the end of a long interview, “I was a bone marrow donor for a stranger 10 years ago.” That Freedman-Harvey physically gave of herself wasn’t a surprising revelation.
Connie and Harvey Lapin: Two-person army for their son
Just try asking Connie and Harvey Lapin to recap 44 years as parent activists in the world of autism. In hyperactive tag-team, the couple bursts forth with stories and ideas, only to interrupt themselves and one another with still more anecdotes, ideas and accomplishments.
Federation re-evaluating Board of Rabbis
When Rabbi Mark Diamond was honored for his 12 years of service to the Board of Rabbis of Southern California during a farewell lunch a few weeks ago, colleagues from synagogues from across the city and spanning denominations hugged and chatted, catching up on everything, both personal and professional. “One of the strengths of the Board of Rabbis is that people know each other,” said Rabbi Denise L. Eger, immediate past president of the region’s only cross-denominational rabbinic professional organization and spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood.
Schools amp up safety precautions following Sandy Hook tragedy
When Sarah Shulkind, head of school at Sinai Akiba Academy in Westwood, was a child in Winnetka, Ill., a woman walked into the elementary school four blocks from Shulkind’s house and opened fire, killing one student and injuring five, as well as a college student.
Cedars-Sinai’s chaplaincy program puts spirituality on the medical charts
Usually, the frantic words, “Someone get the rabbi!” uttered in a hospital room mean only one thing. So Debbie Marcus burst into tears when Rabbi Jason Weiner was summoned to her grandfather’s room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in July 2008.
A Chaplain’s calling: ‘It drew me in’
For Rabbi Jason Weiner, his one-year chaplaincy internship at Beth Israel Medical Center on New York’s Lower East Side was a not-so-pleasant requirement while he was a rabbinic student at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah.
New Fishel Fellowship
John Fishel says one of his favorite parts of his 17-year tenure as president and CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles was visiting communities around the world, where he could tap into his background as an anthropologist and social worker to determine how Jews in Los Angeles could have a global impact.
Rabbi Sheryl Lewart dies at 65
Rabbi Sheryl Lewart, who served as associate rabbi at Kehillat Israel (KI) in Pacific Palisades, died Nov. 30 at the age 65 after a second battle with breast cancer.
Rebooting Bubbie
Who’s your bubbie? When it comes to food, she might not be the short, Yiddish-speaking grandmother that comes to mind.
Rabbi Sharon Brous vs. Rabbi Daniel Gordis: Betrayal or compassion?
When Rabbi Sharon Brous first read an essay by Rabbi Daniel Gordis, a colleague and former teacher, accusing her of betraying Israel, she was shocked and angry, she said. Nevertheless, her initial instinct was to refrain from feeding the publicity machine.
Richard Sandler: A philanthropic life
In 2007, when philanthropist Stanley Gold was asked to become board chair of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, he knew he would need an effective partner to accomplish the reinvention of Federation he envisioned.
Brous, Gordis exchange heated words on Israel
A focus on special needs
Eliza Wilson’s holy moment in Israel didn’t come at the Western Wall. Sure, the 21-year-old with autism was honored and moved to place a note in the Wall on behalf of the 40 people traveling with her on a mission to learn about Israel’s programs for adults with special needs.
Fighting for religious pluralism in Israel
The arrest of Israeli feminist Anat Hoffman at the Western Wall last month sent ripples of alarm across the Jewish world, and leaders in Los Angeles will address their concerns about religious pluralism in Israel to Los Angeles’ Israeli Consul General in a public forum Nov. 26 at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills.
Cheers turn to jeers at GOP event
Amid life-sized cutouts of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, Republicans gathered in a backroom at the Daily Grill in Santa Monica on Tuesday night to watch Fox News election returns on two large screens. The mood was festive as the evening kicked off with drinks and appetizers and the waiters set down oversized plates of pasta and chicken on tables decorated with red, white and blue tinsel centerpieces.
JFS announces program, staffing cuts
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles (JFS) announced layoffs in some areas and expansion in other areas of its operation Oct. 16, saying it was looking to position JFS for success as it responds to shifts in how programs are funded.
Rabbi Mark Diamond: From Board of Rabbis to AJC
After 12 years as the top professional at the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, Rabbi Mark Diamond took his post this week as director of the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Los Angeles chapter, the local arm of the more than century-old global Jewish advocacy group.
A Torah falls, a shul bonds
There was a crack and a gasp and then a murmur that traveled in a wave back through the rows of seats at Temple Beth Am’s Library Minyan on the first day of Rosh Hashanah.
Rabbi reverses interfaith marriage policy
It’s not often that a rabbi’s High Holy Days sermon is interrupted by a standing ovation. But that is what happened — twice — when Rabbi John Rosove, senior rabbi of Temple Israel of Hollywood, dedicated his sermon on the first day of Rosh Hashanah to explaining why he was changing a long-held position and would from now on officiate at interfaith weddings.
Ariela’s legacy gives others direction, purpose
Aviva Dese believes that without the Ariela Foundation, she’d probably be back in Nazareth Ilit, the factory town in the Galilee where she grew up, maybe with a low-paying assembly-line job, or maybe still wondering, like so many of her friends, what to do with her life.
A family in grief chooses life
In July, Ivonne Goldberg was at the park with her 3-year-old son, Mikey, and with Nofar Mekonen, a sunny 14-year-old girl visiting from Israel. Nofar was chatting on and on about her trip to Los Angeles, her family, her school.
Q&A With Rabbi Elliot Dorff
In the age of 140-character tweets and 38-second video clips, the Conservative movement is putting its foot down with a nearly 1,000-page reference tome, “The Observant Life: The Wisdom of Conservative Judaism for Contemporary Jews.”
Community Profile: Gerald Bubis
Gerald B. Bubis is 88, and he knows there are things he’ll never do again. He’ll never travel to Israel again, for one, and after 46 trips, that’s a tough one to swallow. Then there’s the fact that this author and/or editor of 12 books and 200 articles on serving the Jewish community now has a tremor in his hand that prevents him from putting pen to paper. He also can’t drive anymore, and he can’t stand up long enough to wash dishes.
LimmudLA honors founders
LimmudLA honored its founders, Linda Fife and Shep Rosenman, in an evening of dinner, music and study on Sunday, Sept. 9, at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens. LimmudLA is the local outlet of an international model of interdisciplinary, interdenominational, no-boundaries Jewish conferences and events. Founded in the United Kingdom more than 30 years ago, Limmud now conducts 60 conferences in 30 countries, all of them almost entirely run by volunteers.
Shalhevet looks for financial security in property sale
Shalhevet high school is close to finalizing a deal to sell more than half of its 2.4 acres to a property developer who plans to build an apartment complex on the lot at the corner of Fairfax Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard. The plan will put Shalhevet on firmer financial footing, head of school Ari Segal told the Boiling Point, Shalhevet’s school newspaper. The school currently carries heavy debt and has limited funds for capital improvements and programming, Segal said.
JFS awarded Obamacare contract to reduce hospital readmissions
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles is heading up a collaborative effort, funded by President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, to reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions for Medicare patients. The newly formed Los Angeles-Mid-City Integrated Care Collaborative will involve three hospitals and 14 nursing facilities, as well as a roster of community-based organizations in providing the medical, social, case management and mental health services needed to keep the elderly at home after they have been released from a hospital.
A place for special-needs children to grow
Tani Lazaroff had some news to share with his mother a few months ago. “Chanie, do you know what I have?” the 10-year-old asked his mother, addressing her, as he usually does, by her first name. “I have a neshama. Did you know that I have a neshama?”
Navigating the process of conservatorship
For a parent who has been caring for a child with special needs, it can be jarring to realize that at age 18, the child is considered a legal adult, whether or not he can sign his own name or understand the value of a dollar.
Pool trusts ensure care of adults with special needs
“Keys! Keys!” David Weisbord says as he tugs at his father’s hand, pulling him toward the door.
Federation offers $2 million for educational programs
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has some money to give away for programs targeting Jewish youth. Federation has put out a request for proposals for formal and informal Jewish educational programs based on four age groups it has identified as needing the most attention: birth to preschool, preschool to first grade, the years surrounding bar and bat mitzvah, and the later teen years leading into college.
Rabbi’s use of discretionary funds spurs new policies
In response to the Haiti earthquake in January 2010 and the Carmel forest fires in Israel in December 2010, members of Congregation Ner Tamid of South Bay, like so many others, wanted to donate money to help the victims. So, many of them directed donations through Rabbi Isaac Jeret’s discretionary fund.
Who knows who L.A.'s Jews are?
Susan Goldberg, rabbi of Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock, grew up in nearby Echo Park. “There were no Jewish families around when I was growing up,” Goldberg, 38, said. Now that these neighborhoods are being gentrified, and a young, creative crowd is moving in, the Jews are coming, too.
ZOA prevails in wrongful termination suit
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in Beverly Hills cleared the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) of all claims brought against it by a former employee alleging wrongful termination as well as pregnancy and sex discrimination.
HEALTH CARE DECISION — Jews React: Bikur Cholim Jewish Healthcare Foundation President
Rabbi Hershy Ten, president of Bikur Cholim Jewish Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles, never thought the health care system needed much reform.
HEALTH CARE DECISION — Jews react: Los Angeles Jewish Home CEO & President
Molly Forrest, CEO and president of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, had surgery to alleviate arthritis in her neck in December 2010.
HEALTH CARE DECISION — Jews react: Jewish Family Service CEO
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles CEO Paul Castro lauded the announcement of the Supreme Court's decision this morning to uphold President Obama's Affordable Care Act, saying it will benefit JFS's target population.
AJR-CA graduates 10th class of transdenominational rabbis
The Academy for Jewish Religion, California (AJR-CA), graduated its 10th class of rabbinic and cantorial ordinees last month. The transdenominational seminary has graduated close to 90 rabbis, cantors and chaplains since 2003, and nearly all have found work in Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and non-denominational synagogues, as well as in schools, hospitals and other institutions.
ZOA defends itself against discrimination suit
Zionist Organization of America President Morton Klein took the stand last week in a Beverly Hills courtroom as the final witness in a sex discrimination and wrongful termination case filed against the ZOA.
ZOA sued for discrimination, national president Morton Klein takes the stand in Beverly Hills courtroom in defense
Zionist Organization of America President Morton Klein took the stand Thursday in a Beverly Hills courtroom as the final witness in a sex discrimination and wrongful termination case filed against the ZOA.
A song in his soul
Quinn Lohmann closes his eyes and tilts his head slightly. His fingers find their place between the frets of his guitar, and his voice rings out, soft and crystal clear. "We all got a life to live. We all got a gift to give. ..."
Giving himself a sporting chance
“Yeah, those years of seventh to ninth grade were not the greatest years for Jacob Cohen,” Jacob Cohen says, trying to bring a little levity to a pretty grueling litany.
Day School Security Guard Loses Wife, Daughters in Drunk Driving Accident
Fueling the jFed generation
Jennifer Rheuban wasn’t exactly plucked from Jewish obscurity. Rheuban is a self-described “JCC kid from a JCC family.” She grew up at the West Valley Jewish Community Center and went to Camp JCA Shalom in Malibu for years. But in college she dropped out of Jewish life, and then she never quite re-entered Jewish life as an adult.
Can millions of dollars power a new kind of community?
In a not-so-quiet corner of Café Stella at Sunset Junction in Silver Lake, Jill Soloway and Ayana Morse look around and see a model for Jewish connection.
‘60 Minutes’ Investigates Eden Cemetery Allegations
Trader Joe’s comes up against some tough cookies
Trader Joe’s got slammed last week by a combination of hysteria and hoarding by kosher bakers when word leaked out that its semisweet chocolate chips were going from pareve to dairy.
‘Prime Ministers’ author to speak in Beverly Hills
Ambassador Yehuda Avner, who served as a diplomat, speechwriter and prime ministerial adviser in Israeli governments from the 1950s to the 1990s, will speaking this weekend at Beth Jacob Congregation in Beverly Hills. Avner wrote “The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership” (The Toby Press, LLC, 2010), a 700-page opus based on notes he took while serving as adviser or secretary to five prime ministers. The book, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards in 2010, is now being made into two motion pictures.
Children’s art exhibit gives expression to illness
Artwork created by children with serious illnesses will be auctioned off, along with works by professional artists and celebrities, at Chai Lifeline’s “Through the Eyes of our Children” on May 21.
Leading feminist theologian to be ordained … at last
In the first few weeks of Rachel Adler’s rabbinic internship at Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC), Rabbi Lisa Edwards had a hard time introducing Adler. For decades, Edwards had quoted Adler; she had taken classes with Adler and had been deeply influenced by Adler’s acclaimed works on Jewish feminism and feminist theology.
From Bar Mitzvah to Yahrzeit, Breed Street Shul comes full circle
Milton “Muttie” Siegel celebrated his bar mitzvah in 1937 at the Breed Street Shul, the largest synagogue in Boyle Heights.
Israeli activist brings educational ideals, message of hope to L.A.
Chaim Peri understands that many of the at-risk children who land in the Yemin Orde Youth Village he founded 30 years ago in northern Israel probably hate God.
All aboard for the Expo Line
Why would the Metropolitan Transit Authority invite ethnic media for their own tour of the new Expo Line, the regional train line set to open April 28? Because the line is as much about getting from Culver City to Downtown L.A. as connecting to the spots in between.
$20 million gift to L.A. Federation is its largest ever
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has received its largest gift ever — a $20 million bequest from Geri Brawerman to create a scholarship and fellowship program for needy Jewish college students from Los Angeles. Brawerman is a Westwood resident who, along with her late husband, Richard, has long been a major force in funding educational initiatives.
Jewish-Japanese seder honors Boyle Heights history
Tess Friedman passes Ethel Kamiyama a bowl of charoset, and Kimayama spreads a spoonful of the fruit and nut paste onto her shard of matzah. Kamiyama leans over her plate as the small sandwich crumbles at her bite, and nods at Friedman, signaling that she finds this foray into Jewish culture quite tasty.
DIYers take on Pesach
At first glance, it’s hard to tell if Eileen Levinson’s Alternative Seder Plate is deeply thoughtful or merely playful. Or perhaps just coolly irreverent.
Q&A with pastry chef Chris Hanmer
Award-winning pastry chef Chris Hanmer doesn’t let a little matzah meal scare him. Hanmer, who, in 2011, came in first in the second season of “Top Chef: Just Desserts,” has been pastry chef at catered Passover programs at Ritz-Carlton hotels in Lake Las Vegas, Nev., and Naples, Fla.
From Valley to Vegas, Phillip Wells is remembered
It was Patrick Hoffman’s first time in a gay bar, and he was terrified. Until he met Phillip Wells. Wells was tending bar at the Rainbow Club West in Knoxville, Tenn., that night some 10 years ago, and he flashed Hoffman his signature oversized smile.
L.A.’s French Jews react to Toulouse killings
French Jews in Southern California reacted with sadness and disgust, but not surprise, to the shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, that left three children and one teacher dead.
UCLA homeless aid group headed to White House
A UCLA student group that supports the homeless is headed to the White House, one of five initiatives to win the White House’s Campus Champions of Change Challenge. The White House selected 15 finalists from hundreds of applicants, and online voters chose the top five.
LA Principal Supports Former Students In Basketball Shabbat Standoff
UCLA Homeless Aid Group Has White House Hopes
Birthright trip for Crohn’s and IBD patients
Disabled adults find second family in group home
Tamir Appel scampers to his room to pull out a photo album of his latest trip to visit family in Israel. He sets it on the dining room table, where some of his housemates are gathered to talk about their daily life at the Ryzman Family Group Home for Men in Valley Village, one of three run by the Etta Israel Center, the only Jewish group homes on the West Coast.
Whose reality is real?
A little while ago, Hendel Schwartz got a call from a city bus driver. “Your son walks with God,” the driver told her.
Finding their place [VIDEO]
Lauren Levine is settling in with a group of friends apartment to watch “American Idol,” when a look of panic comes over her face. She rummages around, finds her keys and darts out.“I left the hair thing on,” she says when she returns, breathless, from her own apartment downstairs. “I was straightening Jasmine’s hair before we came up here, and I forgot to turn it off. Wow. That was close.” Levine has wide blue eyes accentuated with sparkly eye shadow, and her voice is spiced with a sense of interested wonder.
Britain’s Chief Rabbi visits L.A. … Cue the choir
With pomp and ceremony, the Los Angeles Modern Orthodox community in Pico-Robertson welcomed the British Commonwealth’s Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and Lady Elaine Sacks for a full weekend of appearances Feb. 3-5.
February is Inclusion Awareness Month
Jay Sanderson visited Vista Del Mar’s Ness Gadol Shabbat services last week, and it was a personal as well as communal inspiration for him to see kids and young adults with autism and other disabilities lead prayers for the wider community.
Hail to the chief rabbi
The chief rabbi of the British Commonwealth, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, will address several Los Angeles gatherings Feb. 3-5 in a scholar-in-residence program sponsored by a consortium of Modern Orthodox organizations.
Two reform clergy to take their liberal spirit to Israel
Rabbi Don Goor of Temple Judea and Cantor Evan Kent of Temple Isaiah announced to their congregations on Jan. 11 that they will be moving to Israel next summer. Both will leave behind successful careers in Los Angeles as they jump into the rich but contentious world of liberal Judaism in Israel.
Head of school loves learning from kids
Rabbi Larry Scheindlin takes the mike. He squats behind a thick plastic sheet that forms the screen of a cardboard television set, and lobs questions in Hebrew to the first-graders assembled on a rug in front of him.
Up in the air, but down-to-earth
The strange thing about talking with Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld is that in a 90-minute conversation, we hardly discussed the plane crash that almost killed him and that forms the dramatic centerpiece of his new book, “Above All Else” (Skyhorse Publishing). We talked about the demands of competitive skydiving, his kids — who aren’t old enough to skydive — and what he hopes to teach people about life through the lessons he’s learned jumping out of planes more than 25,000 times.
Eden cemetery trial set for May
A Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge has denied a motion that would have ended a class action lawsuit alleging that the owners of Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills desecrated human remains.
LAFD cadet fired up about helping the community
Like many little boys, Noah Applebaum used to wave in awe whenever a sparkling red fire truck roared by. But Applebaum, 18, never got over his fireman phase, so two years ago he signed up for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Cadet program, and today he is a badge-wearing cadet, sleeping at Fire Station No. 94 in the Crenshaw District most weekends, training junior cadets and riding along on calls to help firefighters at the scene.
‘We’re here to make other people’s lives easier’
Many people avert their eyes when they walk by the homeless. Hanne Mintz opens her hand, her heart and her home.
Financial exec Rubin pleads guilty
David Rubin, chairman of the board of Yavneh Hebrew Academy in Hancock Park and president of YULA girls’ high school, pleaded guilty in federal court in New York on Dec. 30 to wire conspiracy and fraud involving proceeds from municipal bonds. Beverly Hills-based CDR Financial Products, which Rubin founded and runs, pleaded guilty to related antitrust charges.
Chanukah Goes Greek at the Grove
Kosher Club closes its doors
The sudden closure on Dec. 9 of Kosher Club, a warehouse-style kosher market on Pico Boulevard near La Brea Avenue, saddened but didn’t really surprise industry experts or the kosher consumers who had been shopping at the store since it opened in 1987.
Kosher Club to close its doors after 30 years
Kosher Club, a warehouse-stye kosher market on Pico Boulevard, near La Brea Avenue, will close its doors on Friday, a victim of the competitive kosher retail industry in Los Angeles.
Wind closes synagogues, schools
Gusts that peaked at 97 miles per hour whipped through the Los Angeles area Wednesday night, downing trees and power lines and leaving some synagogues and Jewish schools with minor damage and no power.
Friendship Circle Walk not quite rained out
A little rain wasn’t going to scare The Friendship Circle — but a lot of rain was a different story.
Federation day of learning to look at the next 100 years
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles is capping off its year of centennial celebrations with a day of Jewish learning and culture called “Imagining Our Future.”
Washington’s Letter on Religious Freedom Not So Free
Social service agencies facing more complex needs
Two years ago, I did a series of interviews with Jewish community members hit hard by the recession. At that time, they were mostly optimistic that things would turn around soon, but when I checked back this month, I found that they’re all still struggling to find their footing in this unstable job market. Social service agencies I contacted say this is not surprising.
Still unemployed: Out of luck but not out of hope
In July 2009, when everyone could see that the financial collapse of September 2008 was not going to be short-lived, I tracked down and interviewed for The Journal several people who had been hit hard by the recession. I also wrote about what Jewish organizations locally were doing to help and was heartened to find that the community had stepped up its efforts to reach out to those unable to find a job...
Rabbi marries Orthodox gay couple
Can young Jews give as good as they get?
On the last day of a Birthright alumni mission to Israel last year, participants got a taste of something that was not a part of their initial trip to Israel: a fundraising pitch.
Federation’s Sanderson one of few L.A. Jews on Forward 50 List
Jay Sanderson, president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, made it onto this year’s The Forward 50, an annual list of sometimes unexpected people who the judges believe most helped shape the past Jewish year. The list represents “a snapshot in time, an impressionist picture of the American Jewish story during a given year,” Forward Editor Jane Eisner wrote.
Expert in Jewish law, women’s health offers intimate help
Recently, a young woman who had suffered a miscarriage called Shoshana Samuels, who is a yoetzet halacha, a trained adviser in the Jewish laws of family purity. Samuels was able to answer the woman’s halachic (Jewish legal) questions about the bleeding following a miscarriage, but she had some questions for the woman.
Fan who fights the odds is LA King for a day
22-year-old Dies in Car Accident
Jewish Family Service Wins Agency of the Year
Jewish organization honors Catholic surgeon
Dr. Vaughn A. Starnes, a top cardiothoracic surgeon in Los Angeles, was recently honored by Bikur Cholim Jewish Healthcare Foundation, and the fact that Starnes is a Catholic being recognized by a Jewish organization made the occasion that much more meaningful, the doctor said.
Following her heart: A Yom Kippur story
This is what Ava Kaufman was wearing when she negotiated with God while in a seven-week coma following a heart transplant: a white turtleneck leotard with a white leather miniskirt, and white thigh-high boots.
California leads nation in anti-Semitic incidents
For the second year running, California led the nation in anti-Semitic incidents reported in the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) 2010 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents.
Food banks short, SOVA amps up High Holy Days appeal
Adire situation is looming at regional food banks and distribution centers, as ever-increasing demand collides with government cuts, threatening the food supply chain for the neediest.
New machzor delves into heart of Rosh Hashanah
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, has published enough books to earn his many titles — around 20 tomes, ranging from scholarly commentaries to analysis of contemporary culture.
10 years after 9/11, what has changed?
Even before the 110-story cloud of smoke cleared 10 years ago, America, and American Jews, grappled with a new desire to seek out the enemy — on the one hand to thwart him, and on the other to find out who he is, why he hates us so much and what we can do about it.
Is Tel Aviv/L.A. partnership still working?
It’s one of those visions that becomes so natural in its realization it’s easy to forget just how cutting-edge it once was.
On road to renewal, Shul gets multipurpose life
A plastic bag whips in the breeze, trying in vain to free itself from the coil of barbed wire atop a chain link fence that surrounds the Breed Street Shul just off Cesar Chavez Avenue (originally Brooklyn Avenue) in Boyle Heights.
Tel Aviv-Los Angeles Partnership Chair Convicted of Fraud
Camp kids, homeless benefit from Federation Community Service Day
More than 250 volunteers participated in The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ Community Service Day on June 5, the second of four volunteer opportunities in celebration of The Federation’s 100th anniversary.
Combining rigorous debate, humble leadership
At the end of Danny Hirsch’s first week at New Community Jewish High School (NCJHS), a fellow freshman tapped him on the shoulder as he sat eating lunch, alone. Showing genuine concern, the student wanted to know if Danny was mute, since he had yet to speak to another student. Having his voice heard is no longer a problem for Hirsch.
Rallying 3,000 students
On a Friday last March, before Sophie Trauberman left home for her first class at 9:45 a.m., she got a call from a friend at Hamilton High School, where she’s a student in the music magnet. Twenty-two Hamilton teachers were being pink-slipped, the friend told her, and some positions — including those of much-loved advisers at Hamilton’s music and humanities magnets — were being eliminated altogether, because of proposed state budget cuts.
Less is more for LimmudLA
Organizers are hoping to attract more people to an annual festival of Jewish learning and culture by shortening the conference and lowering the price. LimmudLA, which debuted on Presidents Day weekend 2008 with a 600-person conference at the Costa Mesa Hilton, will shift its schedule to end on Sunday night, while maintaining the bulk of the programming, according to Yossi Kastan, executive director of LimmudLA.
L.A. leaders visit White House in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month
Four leaders of the Los Angeles Jewish community were among about 200 people who met President Obama Tuesday during a White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month.
Can L.A. support an Israel Festival?
This year, for the first time in decades, Israel Independence Day came and went without a major public celebration in Los Angeles, and local Jewish leaders are vowing that won’t happen again. “We are completely committed to having a communitywide celebration for Israel’s Independence Day,” said Jay Sanderson, president and CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater of Los Angeles. “We need to create something that is really a community event, something people X off on their calendars and look forward to and talk about afterward.”
Tuition grants, endowments to benefit day schools
More than half the students in Los Angeles Jewish day schools receive financial aid to pay tuition, which runs between $12,000 and $30,000 per year. And with both tuition and the number of students requiring aid expected to continue climbing, BJE: Builders of Jewish Education is partnering with local donors and national organizations both to alleviate the immediate crisis and work toward long-term solutions for lowering the cost of Jewish education.
Chabad rabbis denounce one of their own for lighting torch at Israel Independence Day ceremony
A group of Chabad rabbis in Israel this week signed a letter denouncing one of their own for lighting a torch in the State of Israel’s official Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration.
Rabbis measure response to Bin Laden’s death
As details of the special operation that took out Osama bin Laden continue to unfold, rabbis in Los Angeles are pulling from biblical verses, Jewish traditions and their own gut reactions to help formulate an appropriate Jewish response to the news. Early Monday morning, Rabbi David Wolpe posted this on Facebook:
Visiting scholars examine Jewish identity of Jewish state
Eight religious and social leaders from Israel will visit Los Angeles synagogues May 6-7 to engage in conversation about the state of religious Zionism.
Diversity-focused trip to D.C. for teens
The Anti-Defamation League is accepting applicants from current high school sophomores for a program bringing diverse students together to learn about the Holocaust and ways to fight prejudice. The centerpiece of the Grosfeld Family National Youth Leadership Mission is a free trip to Washington, D.C., in November, where 100 students from across the country will tour the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
At Beit T’Shuvah, they sing a song of ‘Freedom’
“How long must I roam, to find my way home …”
Annual Israel festival at Woodley Park canceled
A lack of funding has forced organizers to cancel this year’s Israel Independence Day Festival in Woodley Park, a community event that at its height attracted as many as 30,000 people. An immediate donation of around $30,000 could reverse the decision, according to Yoram Gutman, executive director of Israel Independence Day Festival, which runs the event. The festival honoring Israel’s 63rd birthday was scheduled for May 15.
Janice Kamenir-Reznik’s moral imperative
On the morning of April 10, Janice Kamenir-Reznik will march up Topanga Canyon Boulevard holding up signs and a megaphone to lead thousands of people in chants to raise awareness of the ongoing genocides in Sudan and Congo. And while she probably won’t show it that morning, cheerleading is Kamenir-Reznik’s least favorite part of her job as co-founder and president of Jewish World Watch.
The Chametz search takes a new turn
Professor Plum in the library with a lead pipe? That might be the solution to a game of “Clue,” but in the new board game “Chametz: The Search Is On!” the more likely culprit is Professor Slivovitz, who is sullying the house with bits of a dreaded cupcake.
Jay Sanderson pushes for change but some lose heart in the face of his leadership style
“I want everyone to be a LeBron James.” It’s early January, and Jay Sanderson is talking in his corner office on the 11th floor of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ headquarters about his first year as president of Federation, explaining the versatility and passion he expects of his staff.
Orthodox students fighting to keep presence at UCLA
A program that is credited with creating a vibrant Orthodox community at UCLA needs to prove by the end of March that it can raise $80,000 annually to ensure its future on the Westwood campus. The Orthodox Union (OU) has paid the salaries for two professionals who founded and have been running Shabbat programming, Torah study and daily services at UCLA for ten years, and now OU (http://www.ou.org/) says Los Angeles needs to put up a share of the cost, as other communities have done to support the program at 15 campuses across North America.
Junior Mints and Tootsie Pops Go Kosher
Federation adds service to Super Sunday
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles is asking community members to give time and elbow grease in addition to what’s in their pockets.
Conference confronts day school future
What was so remarkable about the diversity of the 625 educators gathered at the North American Jewish Day School Conference at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Feb. 6-8 was that the diversity was unremarkable
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