For the last eight years, Chadorchi, a Beverly Hills resident in her 20s, has become a rare jewel in the Persian Jewish community, quietly mobilizing a small army of friends, family members and local students to respond to the plight of the homeless in Los Angeles.
Saul Kroll is a firm believer in yetzer hatov, and the 87-year-old Westside resident translates it into practice six days a week as an emergency room volunteer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Joyce Rabinowitz, 76, is a volunteer Braille transcriber. She takes the printed word and, using a special computer program called Braille 2000, transforms it letter by letter into a prescribed set of dots that she saves to disk and gives to the Braille Institute. Each disk, with the help of an embossing machine, is used to produce a book written in raised dot text that a blind person can read with his or her fingers.
This week\’s cover story celebrates not make-believe angels, but real live ones.
\”David Karp made it possible for us to have this program,\” said attorney Yacov Greiff, scoutmaster of Troop 613 at Shaarey Zedek. \”Aside from personal kindness and modesty, exemplary menschlichkeit and tireless efforts on behalf of the Jewish community, he deserves particular recognition for going out of his way to reach across sectarian lines.\”
Although the organization originally began in 2001 as a pro-Israel advocacy group, when other organizations like StandWithUs began to effectively fill that role, the CIC changed direction to try to foster a relationship between Israelis and Israel, its culture and values.
The Cohens understand desperation. Eight years ago, Nouriel\’s beauty supply business went under, and the family had to give up their Beverly Hills home. He hasn\’t had steady employment since then and has had to rely on his parents and family to get by.
In 1994, a year after his brush with mortality, Firestein founded a nonprofit that would eventually become the Kids Cancer Connection. A descendant of cosmetics magnate Max Factor — whose family has donated millions to local charities — he invested $10,000 to get the project going.
During my genealogy research I was surprised to learn that my great-grandfather was a real scoundrel. While it\’s impossible to know what was happening inside of his head, I\’ve found clues that give me a better understanding of who he was.
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