A Jewish Olympian Reflects
I had no idea of the impact that our gold-medal victory in the 1984 Games would have on not only my life, but on the lives of others as well.
I had no idea of the impact that our gold-medal victory in the 1984 Games would have on not only my life, but on the lives of others as well.
The Torah reading for the first day of Rosh Hashana always strikesme as odd. For starters, the section focuses primarily on Hagar and Ishmael,characters that are ultimately marginal in Jewish historical terms. On topof that, the story that the section deals with is arguably the leastflattering episode in the lives of our forefather and foremother, Abrahamand Sara. It is the story of their expelling Hagar and Ishmael from theirhome to face a highly uncertain future in the wilderness. Why did our sagesselect this story to be read on this day?
Sitting at Rosh Hashanah services tonight and tomorrow, imagine that the liturgy\’s abstract ideas about the birth of the world, the fate of our souls, God\’s relationship to the universe – that all of these ideas were so real to you, you could actually see them and touch them and feel them.
The first thing you see when you walk through the rear entrance of the Westside Jewish Community Center (WJCC) is the pool where Lenny Krayzelburg used to swim. It\’s the evening of Sept. 21, and 50 kids are cheering and shouting as they watch a taped Olympic swimming race on a large-screen TV in an upstairs room, its back wall lined with a Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Krayzelburg is on the screen, and he has won his first gold medal for the 100-meter backstroke.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi was met by more than 100 angry protesters Saturday evening as he wound up a four-day visit to Southern California with a reception in Orange County.
The imprint of the Baby Boomers, those middle-aged men and women who today dominate our community as rabbis, synagogue leaders and congregation members, is felt more emphatically every year.
In Israel, Re\’ut School is unique: a religious school that\’s part of the nonreligious school system, and committed to halachic practice and a completely pluralistic curriculum at the same time.
Iran appears to have made a concession by reducing jail time for the \”Iran 10,\” but American Jewish advocates insist it\’s not nearly enough.
Once you spill your guts, they\’re a little hard to mop up.