Photos

Photos by Rachel HellerAugust 18, 2008

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

By Rachel Heller

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.

Featured

Cover photo illustration: Dan Kacvinski Photos: Jeff LoweWednesday, August 6, 2008

Trendy, traditional and taboo:
An incomplete guide to Jewish funerals and burial

By Jane Ulman

While not everyone is jumping on the 'I gotta be me' funeral bandwagon, a funny thing is happening on the way to the mortuary. When it comes to thinking about the end of life, be it in the business of funeral homes or in the minds of Jews everywhere, the world is changing.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Photo essay: Mayor Villaraigosa in Israel

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa inaugurated a state-of-the-art computer learning program in the besieged Israeli town of Sderot Friday, June 13.
Leading a delegation of LA community leaders and politicians, Villaraigosa presented the computers to Sderot residents so that their could continue learning despite constant rocket-fire by Palestinians in the neighboring Gaza Strip.

Los Angeles-based Israel Leadership Club (ILC), which initiated and -sponsored the computer initiative, provided the Journal with these photos. Danny Alpert, ILC's Co-Founder and co-Chairman said during a memorable speech in the city he said, "Today we mark a significant milestone in fulfilling our commitment to the young generation in Sderot. We mark a key point new stage for the relationship between the community in Los Angeles and the city of Sderot. Together, we provide the children of Sderot with the opportunity to receive proper education just like the children of Los Angeles receive."

Latest

Akedah, 1995 Photo by Albert J. WinnThursday, June 5, 2008

Albert Winn’s photography captures the intertwining influences of Judaism and illness

By Nick Street

"A funny thing happens when you become ill. Even though you're the person who's sick, you have to be a caregiverin a way. You can't just dump information on people."

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Set a place for Shatner at the seder

By Tom Teicholz

William Shatner is God. And Pharaoh. And Moses, too.

Just in time for Passover, the Jewish Music Group (a division of Shout Factory) has released "Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts," performed by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. It is conducted by David Itkin, who created and composed the Oratorio, sung by baritone Paul Rowe and includes dramatic readings from the Bible and from the haggadah, spoken by none other than Shatner.

Sandy Koufax, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, early 1960s. Photo by Photo File/Getty ImagesThursday, April 17, 2008

Dodgers hit grand slam in history of Jewish players

By Robert David Jaffee

When the Dodgers celebrated their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles on March 29 with an exhibition game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, it seemed almost fitting that a Jewish ballplayer, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, would hit a pivotal home run that helped Boston win the game. During the Dodgers' final home game against the Chicago Cubs at the Coliseum in 1961, a young left-handed pitcher named Sandy Koufax won the ballgame for Los Angeles.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Calendar Girls picks and clicks for April 19-25

By Dikla Kadosh

Events Calendar

JQ International's alternative seder plateThursday, April 17, 2008

An old story finds new life in LGBT haggadah

By Nick Street

Detail of Had Gadya page from Szyk haggdahThursday, April 17, 2008

Had Gadya —according to S.Y. Agnon

By Rabbi Daniel Bouskila

Both the composition and inclusion of "Had Gadya" into the Passover haggadah are shrouded in mystery.
This popular Aramaic song, chanted at the end of the seder purportedly to keep the children awake, is dated no earlier than the 15th century. Composed of 10 stanzas, "Had Gadya" follows a cumulative pattern similar to "The House That Jack Built," where a new detail is added in each stanza.

Nitzan and Shaul BarakanThursday, April 17, 2008

Israelis build new traditions at L.A. seders

By Ayala Or-el

Nitzan and Shaul Barakan had to come all the way from Israel to the United States to learn words like "afikoman" and "seder plate."

The couple, both born and raised on Kibbutz Kinneret, didn't have a clue that there is a haggadah that looks nothing like the one they used on the kibbutz.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Livni asks Arab moderates for help with peace process

By Leslie Susser

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni flew to the Qatari capital of Doha in the Persian Gulf this week with an ambitious goal: changing moderate Arab attitudes toward Israel.

Michal Taviv/ Photo by Jonah Light PhotographyThursday, April 17, 2008

The intercontinental JConnector dreams big

By Danielle Berrin

Just try to put Michal Taviv in a box -- she won't fit.

Lori SchneideThursday, April 17, 2008

Leading . . .  by pulling back

By Amy Klein

When Lori Schneide was 16 years old, she lived in India for the summer.

"I had this deep impression of calling," she said. "There's something we all can humbly contribute."

The Four Sons, Lodz, 1934. Arthur SzykThursday, April 17, 2008

The classic Szyk haggadah becomes a modern masterpiece of the digital age

By Tom Tugend

There's a 1,000-year-old haggadah, there's an Internet haggadah, and now there is a new $15,000 Arthur Szyk Haggadah.

(From left) Marci Goldberg, Adat Chaverim president-elect; Rabbi Miriam Jerris, community development director, SHJ and president of the Association for Humanistic Rabbis; and Bonnie Cousens, SHJ executive director. Photo by Jodi GoldfingerThursday, April 17, 2008

Humanistic Judaism Society ponders growth question

By Tom Tugend

In the 1960s, when "God is dead" debates were fashionable on college campuses, graffiti scrawled on a Harvard dorm wall proclaimed, "God isn't dead. He just doesn't want to get involved."

Participants in the Chai Lifeline Spa Day try yoga at Exhale Spa in Santa MonicaThursday, April 17, 2008

Chai Lifeline helps families facing life-threatening diseases

By Nancy Sokoler Steiner

Last August, Lori Paulsen's 4-year-old son, Aaron, was diagnosed with Wilms' tumor, a rare form of kidney cancer. Soon afterward, a friend offered to call Chai Lifeline on her behalf.

Sev AszkenazyThursday, April 17, 2008

Anti-Semitism charge colors liquor license fight in City of San Fernando

By Roberto Loiederman

Real estate developer Sev Aszkenazy recently settled a lawsuit with the city of San Fernando over a liquor permit he was denied for a planned steak house. He said the denial was due, in part, to anti-Semitic bias.

Roman Freulich, Kibbutz Fruit Picker, 1960s. �© Skirball Cultural Center; Gift of Judith and Allan Caditz and Ellen and Joan AbramsonThursday, April 17, 2008

Celebrating Israel’s 60th, Skirball Style

By Tom Tugend

There are many ways to celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary, and the Skirball Cultural Center is leading with its strength by offering a series of wide-ranging programs of art shows, music, film and lectures.

Morgan Spurlock in his new documentary *Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?* Photo by Daniel Marracino/The Weinstein CompanyThursday, April 17, 2008

Spurlock embarks on a cinematic quest for Osama

By Pat Sierchio

When writer/director Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me") discovered he was going to become a father two years ago, he was concerned about the tumultuous state of the world into which his child was being born. Spurlock's wish was to give his child a safer and more harmonious place to live. So, after a crash course in combat survival, the filmmaker set off on a journey through the Middle East to find the one man who has shaped the world's perception of that region in recent years: Osama bin Laden. The results of that quest are documented in his new film, "Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?"

Director Nicholas Stoller on the set of *Forgetting Sarah Marshall.* Photo by Glen WilsonThursday, April 17, 2008

Teen angst bring laughs film director won’t ‘Forget’

By Naomi Pfefferman

Nicholas Stoller remembers the day he joined the "Jew-Tang Clan," the creative posse led by comedy wunderkind Judd Apatow ("The 40-year-old Virgin," "Knocked Up").

Apatow was interviewing the then-24-year-old writer for a job on his 2000 college sitcom, "Undeclared."

From left: Joe J. Garcia, Cynthia Marty, Monica Louwerens and Christopher Guilme in the musical *The Immigrant* at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.Thursday, April 17, 2008

Theater: ‘Immigrant’ sings the story of the ‘Only Jew in Town’

By Naomi Pfefferman

In 1909, an impoverished Jewish immigrant arrived in Hamilton, Texas, hawking 1-cent bananas from his pushcart.

Haskell Harelik had fled Russia to escape pogroms, docking not in Ellis Island but in Galveston, Texas, via a plan to route Eastern European Jews to the West. He spoke no English and was the first Jew the Hamilton residents had ever seen. But he found some friendly faces, and he stayed in that Baptist town, founding a dry goods store and raising three sons there.

Community Calendar

9/8/08 10:00 am
Picturing the Process: Landscape Through Time and Space

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Candlelighting

9/12 6:45 p.m. PDT


Featured Stories

Arts
Not your average ‘schlub’—a memoir

Max Gross, by his own admission, used to be your average schlub: He sported an unkempt Jewfro, the bottoms of his jeans were tattered and he'd gamely put a good burger before a diet.

Elections
McCain accepts nomination, offers little new on Israel, Iran

John McCain closed out the Republican convention Thursday night with a speech in which he defended traditional GOP policy points, while criticizing his party's recent performance and pledging to work with lawmakers across the aisle.

Israel
Ehud Olmert should be indicted, Israeli police tell prosecutors

Ehud Olmert should be indicted on corruption charges, Israel police recommended Sunday. Bribery is the most serious of the charges that police recommended against the prime minister to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz. Others include fraud, breach of trust and money laundering.

U.S.
Michele Obama’s cousin’s cousin is a rabbi; Abbas met with Kuntar

A cousin of the wife of Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, is a cousin of this country's most prominent black rabbi, according to a report in The Forward.

Los Angeles
Rabbi Sharon Brous wins $100,000 award for ‘Inspired Leadership’

Since Sharon Brous, 34, founded her alternative synagogue four years ago, IKAR's young rabbi has frequently been identified as an innovative spiritual leader, someone successful at engaging disaffected younger Jews by marrying Torah learning with progressive social action.

World
Will new ‘Cold War’ play out in Middle East?

With talk of a new Cold War in the offing following Russia's recent military successes in Georgia, Israel is worried Russia might reassess this policy and use the sale of new weaponry to Syria -- or the threat of it -- to strengthen Russia's hand vis-à-vis Israel's primary

Kids & Teens
Cambodia’s killing fields revisited

I can vividly remember the first time I visited the Museum of Tolerance, in seventh grade. Not personally knowing anyone who had survived the Holocaust, I had been shielded from the grisly details of World War II.

Music
Cancer gives musician a new song

This time, Charlie Lustman hadn't come to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for medical tests or to endure another round of chemotherapy. Despite having lost three-quarters of his jawbone, Lustman had come to celebrate, to inspire -- and to sing.

Los Angeles
Rabbi Sharon Brous wins $100,000 award for ‘Inspired Leadership’

Since Sharon Brous, 34, founded her alternative synagogue four years ago, IKAR's young rabbi has frequently been identified as an innovative spiritual leader, someone successful at engaging disaffected younger Jews by marrying Torah learning with progressive social action.

Calendar
Calendar Girls picks and clicks for Sept. 6–12: Hip hop art, veggie Jews, string theory & laughs

Singles
True confessions of an online dating addict #5: Shopping for a new date

There's nothing better than coming home from a bad date and shopping for someone else.

Torah Portion
Moving beyond charity

Parshat Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9) One of the biggest misnomers in the Jewish vocabulary is the translation of tzedakah as "charity." This mistranslation has gone on for so long in the American Jewish community that it's a hard habit to break.

Religion
PETA says Agriprocessors misled rabbis about slaughter procedures [VIDEO]

An undercover video shot at the Agriprocessors kosher meat plant is prompting new claims that the company engages in inhumane slaughter and misled Orthodox rabbis who visited the plant in July.

Opinion
Joon

Since 1978, Iranian Jews have injected into a stable, maybe even staid Jewish community talent, industry, a profound connection to their Jewish roots and a desire to have a positive political and social impact on the city. They have energized a Jewish community that could always