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Jewish Journal
October 2, 2003
Letters to the Editor, Point of View in response to Articles.
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October 2, 2003
Baddest Heeb Nails Down Distributor
Naomi Pfefferman
October 2, 2003
After months of distribution hell, the Jewsploitation spoof \”The Hebrew Hammer\” will burst onto the large and small screens this Chanukah season. The saga of Mordechai Jefferson Carver (aka the \”baddest Heeb this side of Tel Aviv\”) debuts on Comedy Central Dec. 8 before moving to theaters courtesy of Cowboy Pictures.
Taking the Chazan Home
Julie Gruenbaum Fax
October 2, 2003
When Josh Sharfman started tracking the number of hits on his year-old educational Web site, www.virtualcantor.com, he was struck by how many people were visiting the site on Shabbat.
It turned out that people who were shut-ins or who lived far from a shul were using his digitized voice to lead in-home Shabbat services. One man brought the recordings to his father\’s hospital bed, while another woman used the site to learn the tunes so she would feel more comfortable in shul. A student in Florida taught himself the \”Kol Nidre\” and will lead campus services.
Sisterhood in the Big House
Rachel Brand
October 2, 2003
As she enters her 23rd year in prison, Doris Roldan realizes that she has two choices: she can wallow in self-pity or she can continue to have hope.
On Tuesday evening, Sept. 30, while standing in front of her fellow inmates at the California Institution for Women (CIW), Roldan made her choice: \”My body is incarcerated but I will not allow my mind, heart or soul to be in prison,\” Roldan said.
Roldan is one of 26 members of the Shalom Sisterhood, a group of inmates that meets twice a month for Jewish study at the Chino maximum-security prison, who participated in a joint Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur service.
‘O.C.’: How a Young Creator Spells Success
Keren Engelberg
October 2, 2003
Josh Schwartz doesn\’t sleep much on Tuesday nights anymore.
That\’s the night his new show, \”The O.C.,\” airs on FOX, and the weekly insomnia awaiting the public\’s response has become an occupational hazard ever since.
Over coffee early one morning, Schwartz, the 27-year-old who\’s being touted as the youngest person ever to create his own television network drama, discussed his recent starburst since the show debuted in August. \”We\’re starting to settle now,\” he said, looking disheveled by design in vintage green T-shirt, powder blue cords and sneakers.
A Journey to Home
Heather Fuller
October 2, 2003
Christmas \’95 I received the most ironic of gifts — Rabbi Morris N. Kertzer\’s \”What Is a Jew?\” The book was given to me by a friend, who originally bought it as a gag gift for her boyfriend. He had Jews in his family somewhere but apparently wasn\’t too proud of his Hebrew roots. He rejected the book and it became mine.
\”What Is a Jew?\” spoke to me. This characteristically Jewish way of questioning stood out in weekly Sunday school at church, where a large leap of faith was required. I don\’t remember exactly what my Sunday school teachers said to me, but phrases like \”Don\’t question,\” \”That\’s the way it is\” and \”Jesus died for our sins\” were the answers I remember receiving to my most deepest questions on faith.
Turn the Tide
Rob Eshman
October 2, 2003
One of the best things about being the editor of a Jewish paper is I get to meet a lot of Jews.\n\nLooking back over the past year, I see it\’s a fascinating perk of the job.
Start the Sin Cycle
Elliot Fein
October 2, 2003
Here we go again: the Yom Kippur confessional is upon us, our annual alphabetical recitation of our sins and transgressions, from ashamnu to ti\’tanu, from avarice to xenophobia and zealotry. The list never changes; the question it poses, somewhat tediously, is whether we have changed.
Giving Adult Students Credit They Deserve
Andrea Adelson
October 2, 2003
A group of local Jewish educators are seeking funding to start a novel adult-education academy that would grant a certificate of recognition to students who complete its requirements over three years.
The Orange County Academy of Jewish Growth and Learning is envisioned as a way to impose a quasi-academic structure on an array of existing courses offered by local synagogues, the Bureau of Jewish Education and the Community Scholar Program.
Look Who’s Talking
Andrea Adelson
October 2, 2003
Spiritualists, Dead Sea scholars and psychoanalysts are but a sampling of the varied menu of Jewish speakers that are to make scheduled appearances in Orange County over the next few months.
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