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Journal Staff

Journal Staff

Tzedakah for Chanukah

The Chanukah effort is one of the first outcomes of Morasha\’s involvement with a three-year national research project of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.

Beth Sholom’s New Siddur

To address the needs of congregants not fully comfortable with Hebrew liturgy, Rabbi Shelton J. Donnell, along with a group of lay leaders, spent eight years developing a new siddur.

Rabbi Makes “Movers and Shakers” List

Rabbi Arnold Rachlis, spiritual leader of Irvine\’s University Synagogue, earned a spot on OC Metro magazine\’s \”Hot 25\” list of people who are making a significant difference in Orange County.

Lighting Up Your Life

One depicts six grandchildren. Another is gold-plated and marks the 50th anniversary of Israel. Yet another was smuggled out of Russia and made its safe passage through Ellis Island in a brown paper bag.

Eat, Read and Meet Gary

The following events are part of The Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys\’ Jewish Book Festival.

Survival Series

Thomas \”Toivi\” Blatt overpowered concentration camp guards during a mass escape by several hundred prisoners. Nechama Tec evaded Nazi detection by leading a double life, passing for three years as the daughter of Catholic Poles.

Assuming a Christian identity saved Tec, but the experience left her with the bitter feeling that she had betrayed herself and her fellow Jews. Now a University of Connecticut sociology professor, Tec has written several books that explore the mix of motivations in rescuers and resisters of the Holocaust.

Thomas Toivi Blatt, now 84, will recount his teenage experience witnessing and fleeing the Polish death camp Sobibor. Blatt, who has also written about his account, is hoping to establish an organization to maintain the site, which is not marked, said Dr. Marilyn Harran, director of Chapman University\’s Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education.

Supporting a Home for a Song

A nine-woman choral group, ranging in age from 79 to 98, and all residents of the Heritage Pointe Jewish home for the aged, will enliven the 14th annual Chanukah fundraising gala, to be held Nov. 17 at Irvine\’s Hyatt Regency.

United We Stand

Nearly twice as many residents as last year intend to participate in the We Stand With Israel trip next month, Federation Executive Director Bunnie Mauldin said,adding that \”despite what\’s going on politically or war with Iraq on the horizon, our aim is the same.\”

The trip is an opportunity for people to show their support.

The New Jewish Politic

Combative and fiesty, Larry Sternberg relishes the impact of his Libertarian views. When running in a congressional primary for Rep. Robert Badham\’s vacated District 47 seat, Sternberg advocated decriminalizing illegal drugs. Despite a lack of campaign resources, he stood out in a crowded field ultimately won by Christopher Cox. \”It was fun; it was a crazy fling,\” said the semi-retired Tustin accountant.

Community Briefs

Community Brief, news from around California, los angeles,United States.

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