Feb 12, 2021
As we celebrate President’s Day Weekend, I cannot overstate the importance of strong, reliable, trustworthy leadership. As we have battled COVID for the past year, we have oscillated between trusting our leaders and doubting them. From the highest levels of government in our country to our local medical officers charged...
Arts and Culture / Family Life / Jewish Life / Lifestyle & Learning
Nov 3, 2020
I was born during an election year. It was 1988 – Bush v. Dukakis. My birth and the election are tied together as one story in my family’s lore because we were, at the time, living next door to Michael and Kitty Dukakis. When my parents took me home from...
Oct 15, 2020
While in the garden at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center Leslie Family Preschool, the children experience and get to practice many Jewish values pertaining to nature and the environment. In my book Growing Jewish Values: Cultivating Your Jewish Roots in Your Own Backyard, I have emphasized ten values that can be...
Sep 23, 2020
This summer, Donna B., her husband and two sons decided to escape their home in Brooklyn for a little bit of the West Coast. They searched for a Hebrew-immersion summer camp option for their boys and were overjoyed to find the Tayasim Hebrew language program with J-Camp at the OFJCC....
Aug 19, 2020
Shuli Zilberfarb-Sela from the OFJCC’s Befed Kefet Hebrew Language Afterschool Program shares her personal take on the hardships of this year and how they relate to this week’s Torah portion. This article originally appeared in Hebrew in BAInyanim. This week’s Torah portion, “Re’eh” arrives for me with perfect timing that...
Jun 24, 2020
This is a story of finding balance in unstable times. About two weeks after the shelter-in-place started, I was feeling pretty drained. The shock of suddenly having to juggle so many balls was just overwhelming. For me, this circus act entailed parenting two toddlers (meaning keeping them not just...
May 27, 2020
Special thanks to Faith Kramer and J. The Jewish News of Northern California for the clever Shavuot inspiration for this recipe. Some will call it “Whipped coffee.” Others say it’s “Dalgona” and it originated in South Korea. But the Greeks will tell you that it’s actually “Frappe” and it was...
May 11, 2020
Sometimes, nature needs a helping hand. Though you often hear to leave nature alone, there is no denying that we are tied to the natural world around us. Walking around the backyard of my parents’ house (and my childhood home) just a few days ago, I came across an American...
Apr 14, 2020
As I spoke with my mother over the phone, she shared her plans to watch Saturday Night Seder live on YouTube this past Saturday. Curious, I asked her about it. The event was made up of an all-star cast of Hollywood celebrities, talented writers, editors and sound mixers who decided...
Apr 6, 2020
There is no better holiday to celebrate during the times of COVID-19, than Passover. I mean, really, the symbolism is almost too much to bear. We have plagues (pick your favorite), fanatical cleaning and social distancing ordinances that resemble the biblical guideline to celebrate the Passover just with one’s closest...