Rachel Brodie is the Chief Jewish Officer of the JCCSF. A New Yorker by birth and temperament, Rachel moved to the Bay Area in 1997 for religious freedom and has never looked back.
World View May 15, 2014
As the search for the 276 schoolgirls abducted by terrorists continues on the ground and from the sky over Nigeria’s northeastern states, I search for their names and find a partial list. It begins: Abigail, Aisha, Aishatu, Amina, Anthonia…. I say each name aloud, imagining myself as... Read more
Jewishing January 14, 2014
Being attuned to the seasonal changes in the natural world is part of the Jewish holiday cycle. Just as the last holiday celebrated—Hanukkah—marked the depths of winter, Tu B’shvat is a Jewish holiday that draws our attention to the first signs of spring (in... Read more
Each time I read the words or join in the communal singing of Unetaneh Tokef I feel as if I have been hit by an object that bluntly pierces the physical and psychological armor I rely on to repel thoughts of mortality. Recited only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom... Read more