She arrived in the Jerusalem court of King Solomon with camels weighted by gifts of gold, incense and precious stones. She was armed with questions to test the king\’s legendary wisdom. She eventually was thought to be his consort.
Last February, a class of 17 retirees jumped at the chance to pursue a Jewish rite of passage bypassed in their youth by circumstance or cultural rigidity.
\”At age 76, I\’m finally coming of age,\” said Arthur Oaks, who read directly from the Torah during the b\’nai mitzvah service, which is more traditional. \”I never thought I would have the opportunity. When they announced the class, I jumped at the chance.\”
Sean Samuels, a Beth Jacob board member, was instrumental in the quest to erect Irvine\’s eruv, which should be operational by Rosh Hashanah.
While federal laws require public buildings to provide access for the handicapped, Jay Kruger still encounters restaurants without ramps, public restrooms with hard-to-open doors that trap him inside and theater seating that is spitting distance from the screen.
Overlooking bruised thumbs, sore muscles and sunburns, by week\’s end the construction crew will bubble excitedly over their measurable progress that began with a bare foundation, said Thayne Smith, construction director for Orange County\’s Habitat for Humanity.
\”I want to create a place of wonder,\” said Lindy Lane-Epstein, who spent the summer attempting to animate her vision for a scaled-down preschool and kindergarten for members of Santa Ana\’s Temple Beth Sholom.
After sharing space with Irvine United Church of Christ since 1991 and growing from 80 families to 600, University Synagogue starts a new chapter in its history, moving on Aug. 22 into its own building.
The Bermans and Michaels expect their daily routines and social lives will alter substantially mid-August because of membership in the county\’s greatly expanded Jewish Community Center (JCC), relocated in Irvine.
Block\’s father owned the lithograph collection, because he was a childhood friend of Abraham Rattner\’s publisher, New York art dealer Bill Haber.
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