Beauty can arise from tragedy

By Gary Wexler
Published on September 24, 2008

As the events unfolded, it was a story that could only be measured against the biblical account of Job. It was everyone's worst nightmare.

Obituaries

Published on September 17, 2008

q 4 u re metrolink

By Steve Greenberg
Published on September 17, 2008

Survivor, rabbi recall horror of Metrolink train crash

By Tom Tugend
Published on September 17, 2008

Rabbi Leonard Muroff was driving to his home in Agoura Hills after conducting services at Temple Ner Tamid in Downey, when he heard that families of those thought to have been on the train were told to assemble at Chatsworth High School and wait for news.

Man drowns in Lake Piru while rescuing daughter

By Jay Firestone
Published on September 3, 2008

Smolyansky had taken his 9-year-old son and 5- and 7-year-old daughters out on the lake Monday afternoon when the youngest daughter fell off the boat. All of the children were wearing life vests. Smolyansky immediately leapt into the water to rescue the girl.

Hyler begins to heal

By Danielle Berrin
Published on August 23, 2008

Talent manager Joan Hyler makes slow, steady progress after a life-threatening accident.

Joan Hyler’s condition stabilizes

By Danielle Berrin
Published on August 19, 2008

Hollywood talent manager Joan Hyler’s critical condition has stabilized, three days after she was struck by a car on the Pacific Coast Highway and nearly lost her life.

Hyler condition stabilizes

By Danielle Berrin
Published on August 19, 2008

Don’t click on this story about a ‘circumcision accident’

By JewishJournal.com
Published on November 15, 2007

First Person - In This Moment

By Esther Pasternak
Published on April 20, 2006

My grandfather is my best friend. I have spent every Sunday with him since I was born -- going to restaurants, talking for hours and going to festivals. I could literally feel his unconditional love for me. When I was 5, he dropped me off on my first day at summer camp. I was terrified to be away from my family. The counselor called him and he rushed over to pick me up. He let me know that it was OK to feel afraid, and he took me to a restaurant and bought me gifts. He assured me that he would always be there for me. I quickly learned to love camp, but more importantly, my grandfather taught me to love and trust myself.

Defy Gravity

By Rob Eshman
Published on July 21, 2005

Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld and I shook hands 20 minutes before we were to jump out of an airplane together at 12,500 feet. It would be my first solo jump. Dan has made some 23,000 -- he's stopped counting except by the thousands.

Remembering Tibor

By Gloria Baran
Published on June 9, 2005

After the war, Tibor Reis was caught helping Jews escape to Austria, and was put into a Russian prison for three years. Although he was tortured, he never revealed the names of those working with him.

Power of Prayer?

By Beverly Gray
Published on April 15, 2004

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."

Clarinetist Finds His Klezmer Voice

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on March 11, 2004

"I came to klezmer quite by accident," said virtuoso clarinetist David Krakauer.

He was a noted classical musician around 1987 when a chance encounter on a Manhattan bus changed the direction of his career.

Sean’s Last Ride

By Aaron Shohet Kemp
Published on September 18, 2003

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked me. Those were the last words he spoke to me. I can still feel the grip of his handshake, and his voice still rattles around in my head.

Right Place, Right Time

By Rabbi Ben-Tzion Kravitz
Published on August 28, 2003

It was Sunday afternoon, July 6, 2003, and I was approaching the end of a successful three-week mission to Israel dedicated to responding to a new wave of missionary activity.

Death Stalks Family

By Tom Tugend
Published on December 5, 2002

A local American Israeli family, which lost a daughter in an airport shooting rampage last July 4, is in renewed mourning for a son who died Nov. 26 following a car accident.

A Siberian-Jewish Tragedy

By Larry Derfner
Published on October 11, 2001

The crash of the Air Siberia jet over the Black Sea last week was an Israeli tragedy, but more specifically and acutely, it was a tragedy for Siberian Jewry.