Sep 21, 2015
You may have noticed the new stock ticker that is streaming six-word tweets live in the OFJCC‘s Fitness Center lobby. It’s there as part of the Six-Word Memoir initiative begun by SMITH Magazine; the Jewish cultural mavens at Reboot have brought this interactive embodiment of the project to the OFJCC for our community members to interact with. The...
Sep 17, 2015
One of the motifs of our recent Bologna stay (besides vast gluttony) was discovering the old Jewish ghetto there. We spent some our first day wandering the maze of alleys where we thought the ghetto was but, alas, found nothing. Why? Because Google sucks at navigation in medieval cities. That night...
Sep 15, 2015
On a Jewish blog like this, you could have a whole forum just on chicken soup and matzo balls. No matter what one cook says, everyone else has an opinion. The debate is part of the fun—there is no authoritative answer, but a whole lot of traditions and regional variations. Here’s how...
Sep 13, 2015
As we begin a new year in the Jewish calendar, we traditionally use this opportunity to look back on the past year, take stock of our lives, apologize for our mistakes, wipe the slate clean and start over. This is a chance for us to be grateful for our blessings...
Sep 10, 2015
On a recent trip to Victoria, British Columbia, I indulged in the most decadent grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had at the Bard & Banker Public House. It was oozing with cheeses, dipped in lemon-apple compote, and drizzled with sherry maple syrup. I’ve been looking for an excuse to...
Sep 8, 2015
The High Holidays are fast approaching and we have chosen a few of our favorite children’s books about Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot. I’m Sorry, Grover: A Rosh Hashanah Tale (Shalom Sesame) by Tilda Balsley and Ellen Fischer For ages 2-5 Grover’s friend Brosh learns to be a better friend just in time...
Sep 3, 2015
As September rolls in you can feel Rosh Hashanah in the air. The days are shorter and the first hint of autumn crispness is blowing in on the evening breeze. The beach and pool season is still open but the remaining swimming days are numbered. Although the leaves don’t change color...
Aug 28, 2015
On Tuesday, August 25th the Oshman Family JCC hosted a live panel discussion on the highly-debated Iran Nuclear Deal, featuring well-respected experts on both sides of the topic: Abbas Milani, the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University and Professor (by courtesy) in the Division of Stanford Global...
Arts and Culture / Jewish Life
Aug 17, 2015
The Oshman Family JCC recently welcomed author and former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren to discuss the journey behind his recently-released book Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide. A former member of the Israel Defense Forces, Oren gained ambassadorship in 2009 under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a post he held until 2013. Oren is...
Aug 13, 2015
I want to start by giving a quick South African overview. South African Jews came mainly from Poland and Lithuania in the early 1900s. During the 1930s many Afrikaners (the kernel of the future apartheid government) came strongly under the influence of the Nazi movement. The primary reason for this was that Germany...