I met Bruce Bierman last year, while he was teaching after school program students how to dance two Jewish dances for the Hanukkah holidays. Actually, we met twice in the same day. He later pulled me up from my seat at Congregation Sha’ar Zahav to dance... Read more
In October 2013, 20 staff members representing the JCCs of San Francisco, the Peninsula and Silicon Valley JCC participated in the 8th annual Staff Israel Seminar. From the outset -- even in the preparations for the trip -- the group kept in mind their obligation to share their insights and experiences... Read more
In October 2013, 20 staff members representing the JCCSF, PJCC and SVJCC participated in the 8th annual cohort of the Staff Israel Seminar. They traveled to Israel to spend 10 days immersed in Israel's history, politics, culture, cuisine, geography and natural beauty. The trip was rich and challenging and raised... Read more
The main entrance of the Chinese Immersion School at De Avila in San Francisco reminds me of the public elementary school I attended in New York. Six or seven granite steps fan out in a semi-circle beneath a pair of thick, castle-heavy oak doors. The tarnished brass doorknobs... Read more
Israeli film director and cinematographer Dror Moreh burst into the consciousness of the American public in 2013 with his Oscar-nominated documentary, "The Gatekeepers," a tour de force investigation into the viability and morality of Israel's occupation of the West Bank as seen by the last six directors of the Shin... Read more
In the beginning, there was just the sand and the Mediterranean sea and the promise of a life after the Holocaust. The young artist Jelena Stark made her way to Israel with her family, which had escaped German-occupied Sarajevo during the war. The year was 1949. In 1952, renamed Ilana Shafir,... Read more
Santa Claus is a Righteous Gentile. I know, because not only do I believe… I knew the man. I used to hang out in his toy shop (located in Berkeley, NOT in the Arctic). In fact, by the time I was in my teens, I would visit... Read more
Witnessing my husband struggle with cancer has deeply affected my life. As I ran at Baker Beach this morning I found myself seeing the beauty in all that nature has to offer. Marcus and I both need time outdoors in nature. It is like our spiritual path is to feel... Read more