What is it about the word “spiritual” that throws so many people off? Why is it that when I invite people to a Torah salon, I get a great reaction, but when I invite the same people to a “spiritual” salon that includes meditation, I get a rolling of the eyes? Is it just that the notion of spirituality is too nebulous to be taken seriously?
If Meg Whitman is elected governor of California, hers could become a crucial bully pulpit for the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. She is running to lead a state that — more than any other in our nation — is the central battleground in the effort to delegitimize Israel. And she is uniquely equipped to take on this anti-Israel campaign.
For California’s Jewish voters, the gubernatorial contest represents a clear choice between a candidate, Jerry Brown, who has a proven track record of support for Israel and a robust commitment to the progressive Jewish values of tikkun olam, and his opponent, Meg Whitman, who has a thin public record that tells little about her views toward Israel or her commitment to the ethical values of tikkun olam.
“Sarah’s lifetime was one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years; the years of Sarah’s life. Sarah died. …” (Genesis 23:1-2).
Virginia Thomas and Anita Hill are at it. This is quite a story.
In a brightly lit classroom on a Wednesday morning, Rabbi Deborah Silver leads a standing-room-only crowd of pupils in an absorbing dissection of Psalm 27.
On Oct. 30, as talk-show host Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity and Stephen Colbert’s March to Keep Fear Alive take place in Washington, D.C., they will be simulcast at a Los Angeles rally at the Levitt Pavilion at MacArthur Park.
“I’m not a temple Jew, I’m not a ritual Jew, I don’t follow the holidays, but I am a Jew from the tip of my toes to the top of what remains of my hair,” actor Richard Dreyfuss announced at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton, where the Gala Awards Dinner, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Israel Film Festival (IFF), took place Oct. 20. “I have a pride that I am a member of a group of people who have astonished the world in such a consistent way and who have given more gifts to mankind than anyone else.”
Volunteers spent five hours uprooting dead trees and planting new ones; setting up herb planters in front of stores; repainting curbs, poles and fire hydrants; sweeping mulch and dirt off the sidewalks; and lugging heavy garbage bags in the predominantly Orthodox neighborhood of Pico-Robertson in West Los Angeles.
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