Now I know folks are complaining a lot these days; they’re quick to criticize.

They’re saying it’s the end of Pax Americana, and they start to eulogize.

But let’s stop with the doom and gloom, and take a moment to recognize

That America’s artistic talents transform the world before our eyes.

It starts with an eternal optimism; we call it the American dream.

With no caste system or royal family, anyone can join the team.

We’re made up of all types of folks, including the crop of the cream.

There’s a place for everyone here, especially those who swim upstream.

Built by immigrants and dreamers, it’s the original melting pot.

From steamer boats to covered wagons, they came to claim their spot.

This new world birthed something special, from the talents each one brought.

As Lin-Manuel Miranda sang, “They didn’t throw away their shot.”

We are called the “land of opportunity,” of that I’m sure you know.

It’s a laboratory for creativity, encourages artistic genius to grow.

Especially for those who break the mold and hate the status quo,

Like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harper Lee, and Maya Angelou.

The infinite possibilities here birthed a literary well-spring.

Capote and Fitzgerald, Raymond Chandler and Stephen King,

JD Salinger the recluse, and Hemingway in the boxing ring,

They invented a new type of writing and paved the way for other things.

Like American photographers, whose incredible talent was brought to light.

Visionaries like Ansel Adams captured images in black and white.

And others came along, who were blessed with unique sight

Like Annie Leibovitz and Richard Avedon, coaxing stars out from the night.

Jasper Johns painted Old Glory and Albert Bierstadt our beautiful home,

With soaring landscapes, golden vistas, bluffs, and flowering brome.

From the Grand Canyon to the Colorado River, where the deer and the antelope roam.

The majesty of the Rocky Mountains, and the bison in Yellowstone.

Iconic images were immortalized by painters who came along,

Like James Whistler’s famous mother who stares off all day long,

While Thomas Cole shows an empire crumbling when leaders get it wrong.

Hopper, O’Keeffe, and Rockwell’s art each sing a perfect song.

Then there’s Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein,

Inventors of a whole new style, put American pop-art on the scene.

Along with David Hockney and Peter Blake, and the colorful Keith Haring.

Their images overflow with energy like a hundred cups of caffeine.

They came after European masters, and improved on what came before

Because that’s the American way – to stand upon the shore

And look out on the infinite horizon and imagine what to explore.

If you can envision something new, it may not be a dream anymore.

American artistic talent wasn’t limited to a canvas or a pane.

Ben Franklin captured lightning, and Edison’s bulbs lit up our brain.

Alexander Graham Bell’s phone carried our voices over the plain.

While Ford invented the motor car, and the Wright Brothers gave us the plane.

The radio and phonograph brought forth music from the dark

And allowed the world to hear the greats, who’ve uniquely left their mark.

Jazz giants Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis lit the spark

Then Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane set a new benchmark.

So did Elvis, Sinatra, and Bob Dylan, who came along the way,

Followed by Madonna, Prince, and Taylor Swift, and of course, Beyonce.

Don’t forget the king of pop, the moonwalking, Thriller MJ.

They’re all just like the Boss himself, Born in the USA.

American art can inspire you, like a lightning bolt from Zeus.

Creating sublime joy, heartfelt tears, or laughter it may induce,

Especially if it’s from stand-up comics like Amy Schumer or Lenny Bruce.

While Eddie Murphy and Kevin Hart always know how to cut loose.

Great American comedians like George Carlin and Mel Brooks

Were funny and irreverent too, generating nasty looks.

While Carl Reiner and Jerry Seinfeld never held us on tenterhooks.

Clearly American humor will go down in the history books.

Along with Hollywood for producing the movie industry,

From Orson Welles to Stanley Kubrick, Coppola and Scorsese.

Whether Spielberg or George Lucas, or the incomparable Spike Lee.

Cohen Brothers and Tarantino flicks are my favorite ones to see.

The artists in front of the camera, created characters to be seen.

Brando’s Godfather, Bogart’s Rick, and the Rebel, young James Dean

Along with leading ladies like Marilyn, formerly Norma Jeane.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced as the raindrops fell between.

And our athletes are artists of a different sort, so we hold our heads up high

When Lebron dunks, Serena aces, and Air Jordan touches the sky.

There was no denying it when Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson let one fly.

Sandy Koufax was a baseball legend, while proudly wearing his chai.

American artists of today are rewriting everybody’s fates.

They’re modern prophets like Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Bill Gates.

Turning closed doors into Windows through which everyone communicates.

Expanding the artistic legacy of the great United States.

Yeah, America isn’t perfect, but our creative genius has helped me realize

That transcendent beauty and provocative art, we must immortalize.

So, thank you for giving me a moment, and not for rolling your eyes

To share my pride, brag a bit, and even evangelize.

In the land of the free and the home of the brave, this I know you’ve heard:

Everyone’s created equal here, so no endeavor will be deterred.

The right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, no dream shall be deferred.

That’s why when I sing America the Beautiful, my heart is always stirred.

This country is not just my home, it’s an idea, an aspiration.

Spurred on by visionary artists, who keep me fueled with inspiration.

So, join me in raising a glass today, filled with your favorite libation.

On this Fourth of July, I want to say, happy birthday to my nation.

On October 9, 2023, the airplane lifted off the Tel Aviv tarmac. As the flickering lights along Israel’s coastline grew smaller in the distance, my eyes swelled with tears. I had waited since summer to visit my family in Israel. Two days into my holiday, war had broken out and I am utterly heartbroken at the horrors that have transpired. Israel has been my home since the age of thirteen.

My plane touched down in London, my birth town. From there I flew to California, which has been my home for the past ten years. “Welcome home,” said the customs officers in each of these countries as they waved me through to baggage claim. ‘Where is home? What is home?’  I wondered as I lugged my baggage off the carousel and passed through the green light with nothing to declare.

Home is community. Home is a place that fosters a sense of belonging, understanding and appreciation among its members. The OFJCC is a place that I’m proud to call my home. For me, the OFJCC has been a cornerstone of cultural enrichment, education and empowerment.

Judaism has always had a special relationship with books. November is Jewish Book Month and this season’s OFJCC Cultural Arts author series offers a wide range of perspectives, styles and themes.

Authors have the ability to convey complex emotions, share profound insights and inspire readers to face life’s challenges with renewed vigor and determination.

By celebrating diverse artistic expression, we are able create a sense of unity within the community, encourage dialogue, cultivate learning and stimulate growth. By embracing these community values, we are a space where creativity and compassion thrive, relationships flourish, inspiration flows, hope is found and a sense of belonging is fostered. I hope that, for you too, the OFJCC is a place where you feel like you’ve come home.

This week, the OFJCC was fortunate to sit down with the one and only Lieutenant Colonel Yaniv Nimrod, who will be gracing us with his presence this year at the 2022 OFJCC Annual Benefit.

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 the hospital, they had to verify their identity with a security team before pulling into our driveway. Sitting in our driveway at that moment was Barbara Walters, interviewing Michael Dukakis, the Democratic Presidential Nominee.

Michael Dukakis did not win the 1988 Presidential election. On that first Tuesday in November, 1988, Michael Dukakis lost the race. He came home to the street where we lived. He returned to regular civilian life. I knew him as a neighbor, not a President. For me, Michael Dukakis represents the day-after-Election-Day. He represents the next four years. He is a reminder why we vote at all.

When Michael Dukakis lost the election, he never held official political office again. But he never stopped serving his country. I remember seeing him walking our street on Saturday mornings with paint cans, repainting mailboxes or street signs that needed fixing. He showed that one person can contribute to making a better, safer, healthier America. Every city block matters. Every neighborhood accumulates. We are a nation made up of many, many, many parts. Every single one of us and every single piece counts.

It seems to me that this year’s election is operating at human-scale more than ever. Barack Obama’s election, by contrast, was seen as an election that would upend the system – to give hope, to make change, to break boundaries, set new standards. The rhetoric was abstract and it was lofty. But today’s election comes at a moment of such crisis in our country – the crisis of Coronavirus and all the other dormant crises that the virus awoke – that this election’s rhetoric can’t afford the luxury of abstract ideals. We are voting for real, pragmatic, visible fixes that need to happen and need to happen fast.

And tomorrow, the results will be in. Our most important wish is that we hear an answer announced and an announcement accepted. And then, after that, we can remind ourselves of every other important day of the year. The-Day-After-Election-Day and the many days that follow are about more than just the President’s duties. It will be on us to make sure that no one gets forgotten in the aftermath of this election cycle. We each must do our part to protect and sustain our families, our schools, our communities, and our health centers.

If Michael Dukakis, the almost-President, can walk the neighborhood painting mailboxes, then we must each do our part, too. We are lucky to live in a country where every vote matters – because we live in a country where every person can make a difference. Today is about the President; tomorrow is about us.

My husband and I play Maj regularly with another couple from our temple. We are, at best, cheerfully mediocre. We don’t play for money; we play to connect, eat See’s bridge mix, drink wine and amiably trash talk each other’s Maj acumen. Needless to say, we were bereft when the order came through to shelter at home.

“How can we survive without Maj?!?” we wailed. Endless texts ensued about options. Happily, my husband, aka Mr. “I Love To Search The Internet” found us a solution: Realmahjongg.com. You can sign up for a free 14-day trial (no credit card info required to sign up, $5.99/mo after the free trial) and that’s it – you’re ready to start throwing out those cracks, bams and dots.

It’s not perfect and there is no audio or visual of the other players, so we set up a simultaneous Zoom call so we could watch each other drink wine and continue our kibitzing during the game. Still a little weird, but better. You can’t really study the other players’ faces (did he just wince when I threw out that green dragon?) or watch their body language (why did she just move six tiles to the other side of her rack?!?). but over time, we got used to it and fell into our old rhythm of banter, gossip and random conversations with each other’s daughters when they wandered through the room(s).

Some Tips:

• To play with a group of your choosing, one of your foursome needs to start a game. Then the other three players can search by username and request to join the game. If you don’t have four players, the computer will play with you.
• You must already have a Maj card to play (if you don’t know what this is, you probably should NOT attempt this …). You have the option to choose which card you want to use.
• There are three game speeds. Start on “slow”. We started with “medium” and the site got impatient with folks very quickly. I got thrown out of the game during the Charleston because I was taking too long to figure out what tiles to pass. When I got back into our game, the AI had taken over and passed a key tile that I had hoped to use to build a hand. (You can imagine how well that went over) During the game, whilst you are pondering a move, the screen will suddenly start flashing an “Are you there?!?” message and, if you don’t move your mouse – out you go. The “slow” setting mitigates a lot of that, although it will still happen. Think of it as the cranky floor monitor in your temple Maj tournament.
• Set up a group call via Zoom, FaceTime, etc. so you can interact with each other during the games. Otherwise, how can three of you speculate about what hand the fourth person is playing and make snarky comments when someone throws a joker? (I did mention that we were cheerfully mediocre, didn’t I?)

Is the online game perfect? No. Is it worth trying. Absolutely! It will allow you to continue playing with your mishpucha so what’s not to love?

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 things away, an Israeli posted that her friend had started to work as a teacher in a school in East Palo Alto. The teacher, Heidi, realized she was missing class supplies and had a very small budget. She asked if anyone had notebooks or supplies to help her out.

Shuli Zilberfarb Sela, the head of Beged Kefet Hebrew language afterschool program, saw the post and said to herself, What if we can do more than that? What if when we buy new school supplies for our kids, we buy double and we give that to kids in East Palo Alto to start the year on the best terms?

Shuli contacted Heidi for a complete list of the supplies that were needed. She also reposted the request to the Gvanim group, an Israeli leadership program at the Israeli Cultural Connection of the OFJCC. “I saw this and it really moved me. I think every student should go back to school with what they need to make it a successful year.”

Shuli and a group of Gvanim alumni started a WhatsApp group of who would set up collection stations in front of their houses. Within a few days, collection stations were set up in Menlo Park, Foster City, San Jose, San Mateo, Cupertino, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Mountain View. People brought supplies to the Ten-Year Festival at the OFJCC. The Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School became involved at the school-wide PTA level to promote the drive because one Gvanim graduate advocated for it. Says Shuli, the school drive even went into small gatherings like an Israeli back-to-school picnic.

Together, the group amassed supplies for 500 students in 18 classrooms: notebooks, pens, markers, vacuum cleaners, scissors, cleaning supplies and more. At the end there was even one Israeli who donated a $180 gift card for any last minute purchases that might be still missing. All of the supplies were delivered to Runnymede Charter School on Wednesday, August 28. The Runnymede staff were excited to see Shuli and a team of people bringing brand new supplies. Many hugs were exchanged as the two groups got to know each other and thought about how to do more for their students and work together in the future.

“To me, what’s important is that you don’t have to wait for a big thing to happen or for an organization to come to you,” says Shuli. “It takes two weeks to do something as important and meaningful that will have an impact on kids’ lives for a whole year. You don’t have to invent everything. People see who best to weave you with. I’m weaving my idea with someone from Wornick and the group of Gvanim alumni, with the ICC, with the JCC and suddenly we have something.

“One person is interested, and they get their friends to do it. So we had this room full of supplies.”

OFJCC Personal Trainer Lyndsey Jones shares profound insight from her trip to Japan.

The last time I wrote I had just gotten back from my first solo trip to Peru, exhilarated by the perspective I gained. Even so, I couldn’t wait to embark on another journey. My goal in traveling is to experience other ways of life and to step out of my comfort zone. I decided the next great adventure was waiting for me in Japan.

Again, I landed and the excitement of being in another country sank in. But this time was different. I only spoke three words in Japanese, I looked different and my cultural norms were foreign to the people around me.

Through this, a realization of smallness came over me. I was this little speck of a person in these huge cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. There was so much life, so many people and so much going on around me. I saw a whole other world outside of my personal perspective. People all over the globe are going on about their days at all times, unaffected by my own world. People are experiencing their own issues and have their own routines.

At the same time, I discovered my own uniqueness as a person. There is a whole species of people out there, but only one me.

There is a teaching from the Hasidic leader Rabbi Simcha Bunem of Pershyscha. Rabbi Bunem carried two slips of paper, one in each pocket. On one he wrote: Bishvili nivra ha-olam—“for my sake the world was created.” On the other he wrote: V’anokhi afar v’efer”—“I am but dust and ashes.” To me, this shows each person’s uniqueness at the same time that we are one part of a larger whole.

It was a crazy feeling to know I’ve spent 24 years with myself but could learn so much about myself in one short week. I learned my strengths such as being able to navigate a totally foreign transportation system. I also was able to face some of my weaknesses, like being too shy to ask for help and experiencing a language barrier.

By realizing these attributes, I have learned my value as a person. You spend every second of your life with yourself but when you travel, you discover who you are. You go there to learn about another culture, but you come back learning about yourself. And the better you know yourself, the better you can love and take care of yourself to the fullest. Strong people know what they are made of and who they are.

In Peru, my perspective on happiness and how blessed I am emerged. In Japan, my perspective on myself was changed. I can only hope my next adventure serves another type of fulfilling purpose.

My favorite activities at the Oshman Family JCC are the lectures, talks and seminars. Mental exercise! I have always loved learning. My first job out of college was at the Brookings Institution, where going to hear dignitaries, academics and researchers was “part of the job.” Like most of us, my “grown up” job doesn’t offer the same access. Now, the OFJCC has created a forum where I can again hear speakers on important, wide-ranging, and sometimes just fun, topics. Even better, the OFJCC offers a space where I can interact with these speakers in an open environment that encourages communication. These days, that is rare. I rely on the weekly JCC emails to remind me about who is coming to speak. Most of the time I go on a whim and buy my ticket at the door. I never worry about going by myself because invariably I will see a familiar face.

Here are my top four recent talks.

Last week, I heard James Freeman, the founder of Blue Bottle Coffee tell his coffee story. Blue Bottle started when he began experimenting with buying, roasting and selling freshly-roasted coffee beans. Apparently, his company is part of a “third wave” of coffee. Who knew? Maxwell House, Folger’s and other supermarket brands were the first; the second wave was Starbucks and Peet’s. This third wave boasts an artisanal focus on crafting the “perfect” cup. Of course, I would suspect that would be what the folks at Peet’s thought they were doing too. It also helped explain why these cups of coffee command the prices they do.

A few nights later, I was back at the J to hear Rabbi Donniel Hartman from the Shalom Hartman Institute. The room was packed. I was surprised to see so many people waiting to hear this Orthodox rabbi from Israel talk about God. After a few minutes, I knew why. Hartman was engaging. He immediately connected with the audience. His talk was peppered with anecdotes and stories from the Talmud. Hartman convincingly argues that our priority in Judaism should be treating each other the way we would want to be treated. And God should be second on the list. Something new to think about. And I now have his book to explore this further.

Last year, MIT Professor Sherry Turkle came to the J and shared her views on “Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in A Digital Age.” Turkle studies the effect technology has on psychology and human behavior. Her latest research examines the impact that smart phones, iPads and laptops are having on human interaction. She concludes that these devices are isolating and we are becoming addicted to them. We converse less. These are my car rides with my teenage son. During our time in the car, I have to pry him away from his device to talk to me. Her lecture was so inspiring that I bought TWO!! copies of her book. One for me and the second for the head of my son’s school.

My very favorite was meeting New York Times writer Mark Kurlansky. Kurlansky writes non-fiction and seems to particularly enjoy exploring food history. I first came across him about 15 years ago when I read Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. I was hooked (pun intended). After Cod, I read Salt. Yes, he researched and traced how salt has impacted history and trade. From salt, I tackled the The Big Oyster, which explores the history of the oyster beds in New York City. Kurlansky was at the J to talk about his latest book, Paper. I didn’t find the story of paper as captivating as cod, salt or oysters but I loved meeting Kurlansky and having him sign my little library of his books. Lucky for me, Kurlansky is turning back to another food — milk — next.

While I go to the gym at the J and participate in the big events like the Zionism 3.0 conference, Paul Reiser and Wynton Marsalis, my favorite events are these speaker series. I feel fortunate to have such a vibrant JCC right here in Palo Alto. This is why we are contributing to the OFJCC for #GivingTuesday on 11/29.

Opera is not kind to its female characters. Most of them suffer until the bitter end. In their suffering, many female roles are decidedly vocal. In Jewish mythology, a dybbuk is a malicious spirit that possesses the body of a living person until it has accomplished its task. Until recently, S. Ansky’s beloved and tragic tale of the dybbuk focused on Leah, the bride, but gave almost all the words to Hannan, her dearly departed. In Ofer Ben Amots’ contemporary The Dybbuk, a multimedia chamber opera, opening September 24 in Palo Alto at the Oshman Family JCC, the story has been retold from Leah’s point of view. As Ben-Amots remarks in an article from J. the Jewish news Weekly of Northern California, “I decided to do everything from her perspective.”

This is not your typical opera: the classic version has been reinvented with a female lead, one of the leads is played by an instrument, it is much shorter than a classic opera, there is klezmer orchestration and it features a hair-raising score. I am passionate about this production and am thrilled to play Leah, the title role. In this version, Leah has a speaking and singing voice, where in the original play she hardly said anything.

It had a bit to do with the time period of the original play. Hannan, Leah’s betrothed, often spoke for her. In our version, Hannan is instead played by a clarinet, which is a very Jewish voice in orchestrations. When the opportunity arose to do such a unique Jewish opera, with a Jewish composer, performed by amazing Israeli-American Jewish artists, I thought that it was a perfect fit.

(L to R) Efrat Levy, Ronit Widmann-Levy and Ruth Sigalis in rehearsal for The Dybbuk

The Oshman Family JCC is proud to present the West Coast premiere of this production, which represents a hybrid of genres, backgrounds and locales. The chamber opera fuses musical styles both classical and contemporary, my past and present, and, for the first time, the Old World and the West Coast. Singing this role makes a lot of sense for me as a native of Haifa, Israel who currently resides in the Bay Area. The passion that comes out of this role is unbelievable. Leah feels a lot of passion for her past. But she has to live in the present. This performance represents a unique opportunity for me, the rest of the cast and audience members to do both.

The OFJCC strives to be a platform for Jewish expressions and creativity. The Dybbuk is a perfect example of how Jewish culture embraces an age old musical art form in order to bring to life a classic, almost mythical story of love between two worlds.

As a child, I distinctly remember the gestalt of singing in a choir, being on stage with my friends and making new friends who share, experience, and exchange ideas, energy and the love of Jewish texts and music. I’m so proud to know that I come from people who have always taken an active part in creating beautiful family moments in many artistic genres. Looking back, I attribute many of my abilities to connect with people, to think creatively and to have great compassion for my fellow man to the skills I acquired as a young child playing my instrument and singing and learning to listen to my friends as they expressed their own creativity next to me.

Engaging in the arts strengthens not only children’s emotional intelligence, but also their sense of cultural identity. Whether playing an instrument, singing, dancing or acting, research shows that children who make music are more empathetic, optimistic, and less likely to act out when challenged. Science has shown that creating music and art promotes neural connectivity in the brain. It cultivates the important life skill of being able to listen to others in a collaborative process while maintaining one’s own uniqueness.

Learning about iconic Jewish composers, playwrights, authors and producers also enriches one’s Jewish experience and supports a strong Jewish identity. Most children are unaware that West Side Story, An American in Paris, Fiddler on the Roof and The Wizard of Oz were composed by Jewish Americans who helped develop the essence of musical theater.

Furthermore, kids who play piano using each hand and foot to perform a different task at the same time are more likely to experience success in school and in their social lives, and the same is true for adults. Musicians have been studied by neurologists such as Anita Collins who observed that different, large areas in the brain light up simultaneously when they play an instrument or sing. The stimulus created by engaging in artistic creativity is unlike any other and provides platforms for other forms of creativity.

We live in an environment that is very tech-oriented, almost single-tracked, and many of us forget to offer our kids an opportunity to fiercely experiment in the arts and open a door to a world that may support both their mental wellness and their overall well-being in the world. Great lifelong friendships are formed when the creative process is shared between people. In art, many times we feel safe to be vulnerable in front of our peers, leading to emotional resiliency.

At the OFJCC School for the Performing Arts, we focus on teaching children not only the craft of music, but their heritage in it. We connect the dots for children and show them that they belong to a dynasty of artists who bravely made political comments, statements on the topic of human rights through writing, acting, singing and composing and by doing so, reached a vast audience who came for the fun and stayed for the story.

The OFJCC is a safe space for the community to play instruments, act, sing, write and be creative in ways that are not possible in many of our lives today. As an adult, being able to sit at the piano or pick up the guitar and play for yourself or for your friends is unlike any other experience. I encourage you to explore creativity beyond technology. Consider this a personal invitation to discover a whole realm of expression that you and your family can share together for generations to come.

Musically Yours,

Ronit Widmann-Levy