Sep 15, 2016
With reports of this past month being the hottest August since recordings began, it’s important to take a moment to think of how we are treating the environment and the world around us. There is a story that comes from the Mishnah, part of the Hebrew oral Torah. There is a...
Sep 8, 2016
Pirkei Avot, the traditional compilation of Hebrew ethical teachings, contains a well-known line attributed to Rabbi Tarfon about accomplishment: “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it (2:21).” The meaning of this line is that while it may not be possible...
Aug 18, 2016
Many professionals have had the experience of interning during their college years. Completing an internship can have a formative effect on students and their soft skills. This summer, four college students had the opportunity to intern in a variety of departments at the Oshman Family JCC including Member Services, Camps,...
Jul 11, 2016
As I sit on the plane flying home after our first-ever Silicon Valley Community Trip to Israel, I want to reflect on the passing of Elie Wiesel. We were in Jerusalem when we heard that Elie Wiesel had died, and it just so happened that our group was slated to...
Family Life / Food / Jewish Life
Jun 30, 2016
Greetings from Israel, where we’re kicking off the first-ever OFJCC Silicon Valley Community Israel Trip. Our journey began with a rousing speech by former Hillel International President Avraham Infeld, in which he forcefully declared, “Judaism is not a religion! We are a people WITH a religion!” He said he was taught this by...
Jun 23, 2016
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” –Martin Buber Where will your journey take you? Oshman Family Jewish Community Center (OFJCC): What brought you to the OFJCC? Shai Atanelov (SA): The Jewish Agency for Israel sends 1,200 Israeli Emissaries all over North America for summer camps....
May 5, 2016
I returned a couple weeks ago from leading Shalhevet, a two-week journey through Poland and Israel to educate Bay Area high school juniors and seniors on “the history, heritage and future of the Jewish people.” A more intimate trip than March of the Living, which gathers thousands of teenagers from...
May 4, 2016
Did you know tomorrow is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day? What will you do differently? Maybe you will wear white. Maybe you will go to a ceremony at your local JCC or synagogue. Maybe you will light a yahrtzeit candle. Or maybe you won’t do anything special at all tomorrow. But...
Apr 25, 2016
I look forward to Passover every year. I love getting together with family and friends. I’m a big fan of charoset, and I even have a special place in my stomach for gefilte fish. But around day three or four, I’ve had enough matzo! There are however a few recipes...
Apr 22, 2016
What was your favorite childhood Jewish experience? For me, it was our family Passover Seders. Every year, my family would schlep across the country to Maryland or New Jersey or Florida—depending on whose turn it was to host—to join my aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents, so we could retell...