Scout’s Honor

By Rob Eshman
Published on January 25, 2001

Marvin Himlin believes with all his heart that the Boy Scouts of America and the United States Supreme Court did right by keeping avowed homosexuals from leadership positions in the Scouts. "Young kids coming into their sexuality are too impressionable, and I don't think kids need to be introduced to that."

Marco Polo Redux

By Rob Eshman
Published on January 22, 1998

The affinity of Jews to Chinese food reaches its apotheosis in John Krich's "Won Ton Lust: Adventures in Search of the World's Best Chinese Restaurant" (Kodansha, $24). It's no outrageous stereotype to state that, as a people, American Jews seem to need a good Chinese meal to kick-start us into the week. It's nothing to be ashamed of;neither is it anything to take lightly.

Dining Out…

By Rob Eshman
Published on December 11, 1997

As a rule, you don't go to museums to eat. Unless you're like me -- someone who, when push comes to shove, prefers great food to great art. I make no apologies: The last time I visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, I ate a tasteless, watery and expensive fruit salad in the cafe there. That I remember. What exhibit I was there to see I've long forgotten. It had something to do with famous dead artists.

Reviving a Shul, One Goat at a Time

By Rob Eshman
Published on December 4, 1997

Note to future rabbis: If you want to make a lasting firstimpression with your congregants, nothing beats farm animals on thebimah. Just ask anyone at Temple Adat Shalom in West LosAngeles. It's been almost four months since Michael Resnick took overthere, and they're still talking about his goats.

The GA: Missing Out

By Rob Eshman
Published on November 27, 1997

If a Jew yells in Indiana, will a Jew in Los Angeles pay attention?

For six days in mid-November, 4,400 mostly bright, all intenselycommitted Jews gathered in Indianapolis to wrestle with the toughissues of contemporary Jewish life. And, if you're like the bulk ofLos Angeles Jewry, you probably couldn't care less.

An Officer and a Peacenik

By Rob Eshman
Published on November 13, 1997

Retired Maj. Gen. Oren Shachor, former Israel Defense Forces chiefintelligence officer, held a field briefing for his subordinateofficers and field operatives last week at Cava restaurant on westThird Street.

Actually, it was just an interview with a Jewish journalist.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

By Rob Eshman
Published on November 13, 1997

Aish HaTorah's guest list includes many of Hollywood'smost famous and influential players

A Wolf Among ‘Sheep’

By Rob Eshman
Published on October 16, 1997

Sinai Temple Opens Center for Judaic Studies

By Rob Eshman
Published on October 16, 1997

With a faculty of noted scholars, Sinai Temple has adapted an "adult education" program with an eclectic curriculum that is carefully designed to satisfy a wide range of interests, from serious courses in Jewish spirituality, and discussions of the Jew's role in Society to special classes in Jewish rituals, and interactive sessions for improving synagogue skills, Hebrew reading and lessons in cantillation. Two seminars are scheduled: from October through January and February through May.

Up Front

By Rob Eshman
Published on October 16, 1997

Last Tuesday evening, we had dinner with Dick Morris. Can you think of a more fitting person to dine with during these days of atonement? Dick Morris: one-time adviser to the president of the United States. Widely credited with winning President Clinton's re-election. Caught on a tabloid video, sucking a prostitute's toes in a Washington hotel room. Admitted to letting his special friend listen in as he consulted with the commander in chief. Fired. Mocked gleefully by the media. Told to take a hike by his attorney wife,Eileen McGann. Dick Morris is the poster boy for atonement.

Up Front

Published on October 9, 1997

Up Front

The Year of The Grudge

By Rob Eshman
Published on October 2, 1997

The dominant stories of 5757 centered around ourcontinual war of words fought over religion, sex, politics andhistory

Cedars-Sinai Merges with Two Westside Hospitals

By Rob Eshman
Published on October 2, 1997

When Cedars-Sinai Medical Center announced last Monday that itplans to take over management of two smaller West Los Angeleshospitals, the headlines could easily have read, "Man Bites Dog."

Down and Out in Beverly Hills?

By Rob Eshman
Published on August 28, 1997

Ronald Weiner sits on a bench in a serene Beverly Hills park on a perfect, sunny day, filled with rage and frustration. He's shaking, his fingers tremble, and his voice cracks with every other sentence. The source of his anger is the city in which he sits. For the past year, Beverly Hills has thwarted Weiner's efforts to build a large senior-housing project on property he owns.

All the Tenacity

By Rob Eshman
Published on August 21, 1997

For Robert Anthony Siegel,April is indeed the cruelest month.Siegel's first novel came out in April -- that was kind. But so did novels by Norman Mailer, Saul Bellow and Philip Roth. That was very,very cruel.

As book reviewers wrote fevered mini-tomes, dissecting the latest works by the greats, and publishing-house publicity budgets emptied to push Saints Norm, Saul and Phil, Siegel's exceptionally funny and entertaining novel, "All the Money In the World," received zero attention.

Tisha B’Av Times 4

By Rob Eshman
Published on August 7, 1997

Tisha B'Av, the day of mourning in commemoration of the destruction of the two Temples, is notable for at least two reasons. For one, it may be the only holiday that Hallmark hasn't designed a card for. And it seems to be the one holiday that most Jews have heard of, but few seem to know much about. As with quarks and RNA and Rothko, we can drop "Tisha B'Av" into a conversation, hoping all the while that we won't be asked to actually explain it.

Up Front

By Rob Eshman
Published on July 24, 1997

I love cookbooks, but on lazy summer days, I usually read fiction -- few cookbooks are engaging enough to replace a good novel. And when I go into the kitchen at all, it's usually just to stand in front of the open freezer. But when I do find a cookbook that captures me, cooking with it is just a plus.

Navigating Sexual Turmoil

By Rob Eshman
Published on June 26, 1997

Naomi Wolf, author of "Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhood"
Sex will always be with us, but thoughtful, non-hysterical conversations about sexual issues are few and far between. With the publication of her newest book, "Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhood" (Random House, $24), social critic Naomi Wolf has helped bring the subject of girls' sexuality to the national spotlight in a serious way -- for at least as long as it takes to conduct a book tour.

Who Was Bart Crum?

By Rob Eshman
Published on June 5, 1997

Who was Bart Crum? Now there's a question that separates the young from the old, or, to be kind, the younger from the older.

Up Front

By Rob Eshman
Published on May 22, 1997

At the Dixieland Jubilee in Sacramento, the annual super bowl of jazz, the band that got the most ecstatic reception a couple of years ago was cradled a few thousand miles east of New Orleans.

It was the Jerusalem Jazz Band, whose members hail each other by such fine old Southern names as Boris, Mika, Shmulik, Stanislav and Aaron.

Taking on the Bible

By Rob Eshman
Published on May 8, 1997

Remember that great scene in "Inherit the Wind," when Clarence Darrow asks William Jennings Bryan if a book that details rape, incest, slaughter, nudity and sodomy should be banned? The fundamentalist Bryan answers, "Of course!" and Darrow, with a flourish, whips out a copy of the Bible and declares, "Then you must ban this book!"

Eastward Ho

By Rob Eshman
Published on May 8, 1997

From where Phillip Liff-Grieff sits -- literally -- the Jewish community is looking better all the time.

UJ Layoffs

By Rob Eshman
Published on May 1, 1997

The last days of the Passover holiday brought a shocking message to 14 faculty and staff members at the University of Judaism: They're laid off.

Filing His Claim

By Rob Eshman
Published on May 1, 1997

A payment slip from 1927, part of the documentary evidence to support Freddy Jackson's claim. Sitting in the Fairfax Avenue deli where he worked for four decades of his life, Freddy Jackson reflects on his chances of getting the millions of dollars due him.