Jul 2, 2021
Parshah Pinchas An Israeli and American duo met to learn the weekly Torah portion together. In the process, they discovered they had two totally different but equally meaningful interpretations of the same text. Eyal’s perspective incorporates the words of Israel’s beloved national poet, Chaim Bialik, while Brad’s perspective grounds us in the...
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...
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...
Jan 28, 2020
“She is such a force of nature,” says Susan Wolfe, good friend of Deb Kurland and a longtime leader at the OFJCC, having served as Director of Communications, Vice President of the Board and Chief Development Officer. But Susan is not the only OFJCC leader that has clear memories of those...
Aug 30, 2019
Shuli Zilberfarb Sela is closing the door on a meeting room so full of school supplies, you can’t sit down. It all came out of the power of weaving an idea across multiple groups who were primed to help. Two weeks ago, in a Hebrew-speaking Facebook group where people can give...
Aug 26, 2019
If you’re picturing an absolutely irresistible, hilarious member of the community who you wish was your aunt, you’ve found her in Deb Kurland. A retired LCSW, Deb and her husband got involved in this JCC in 1984. “My kids went through preschool, summer camp and our daughter became a counselor...
Aug 5, 2019
For longer than the biblical Israelites wandered in the desert, the Jewish Community Center of Palo Alto wandered in search of a home. Although the Palo Alto JCC existed in some form since 1961, we didn’t have a permanent location until 2009. It was a miracle that the Taube Koret...
Mar 27, 2019
This week, two preschool teachers from the Krakow JCC are spending a week of intensive learning at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, California. The visit is focused on incorporating Jewish values into their teaching practice and also learning more about the constructivist educational philosophy followed by the Oshman...
Feb 25, 2019
What’s your background? My name is Zhibo and I’m an engineer at Google. My hobbies include traveling to Europe, mathematics and weight loss. I joined OFJCC in January 2018 and I’ve been coming to the gym six times a week. Why did you decide to change your lifestyle? My original weight was...