Mar 11, 2016
What’s not to love about a drunken, raucous holiday with a built-in excuse to dress in drag? Here are seven reasons why even non-Jews should get on board with Purim: 1. A Juicy Story Full of Death and Deception Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people in the 4th century BCE when...
Mar 4, 2016
Mah Nishtana HaVacation HaZeh? What makes the JCC-led Community Israel Trip different from all other tours? For us, figuring out the answer to that question was the key to unlocking our decision to not only join the trip, but to chair it as well. We’ve been to Israel...
Feb 18, 2016
What could be better than exploring Charlie’s chocolate factory or visiting Gepetto’s workshop? We think it was our trip to Scientific Art Studios (SAS) where the OFJCC’s Oasis Playground is being fabricated. In January, the OFJCC senior management team visited SAS at their Richmond workshop to see the progress on our Oasis and...
Feb 2, 2016
If you engage in any sort of media these days you will be confronted with the discourse on the roles of women and their autonomy, value, rights and access. The discussions vary from reproductive rights, parental leave, access to STEM education to religious roles. It is often the case that the fault...
Jan 26, 2016
Until the winter of 1938, John and his family led a charmed life in the small university town of Würtzburg, Germany. He and his two brothers had a childhood filled with love and laughter. Who could have known what imminent horrors awaited? Sadly, we know too well what tragedy lay in...
Jan 21, 2016
For more information on the Mitzvah Corps, please visit our website.
Jan 15, 2016
In a world where we’re increasingly consumed by smart phones, video games and social media, encouraging our teens to build meaningful relationships is more important than ever. Since 1982, JCCs across the country have sent teams of teenagers to participate in a week-long sports competition focused on team bonding and good old-fashioned, face-to-face...
Dec 29, 2015
As a non-Jewish person working at a Jewish Community Center I had to ask myself…Mitzvah…what the heck does that mean? As I’ve done so often since I began working at the OFJCC I turned to Google to find out the meaning of another Hebrew word I’m not familiar with. Simply put,...
Dec 18, 2015
More than 750 people gathered at the OFJCC on November 22 for an extraordinary conference on the future of Israel, its relationship with American Jewry and the relevance of Zionism today. Presented in collaboration with Haaretz newspaper, Zionism 3.0 brought outstanding journalists, political thinkers and members of Israel’s Knesset to the...
Dec 16, 2015
On Sunday, November 22, over 750 attendees participated in an all-day conference at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, California called “Zionism 3.0: Israel’s Place in Tomorrow’s World.” In partnership with Ha’aretz newspaper, we hosted speakers from across the political spectrum – from Bret Stephens to Peter Beinart, from...