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Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

March 16, 2016

Jonathan Gold on eating your entire city

Leave a Comment / Blogs /

The first question I asked Jonathan Gold after watching “City of Gold,” the new documentary about his life, was basically this: Did you set out to change Los Angeles, or just to find the best tacos?

In the film about the Los Angeles Times food critic, the food Gold has spent a lifetime uncovering gets at least equal billing to the city in which it is cooked. 

We follow Gold into South Los Angeles, where he enjoys a fat, grilled hot dog at Earlz Grille, then east to Boyle Heights for tacos slathered in a pumpkin seed-based salsa at Antojitos Carmen, on to Alhambra for a staggering plate of Chengdu Taste lamb cubes pierced with toothpicks and drenched in cumin, and west to Attari Sandwich Shop, which Gold describes as basically re-creating a Tehran cafe from 30 years ago.

You like to eat? You will love this movie — and you will grow to love L.A.

I have extolled Gold in these pages since 1999, from the first time I read him compare a rolled South Indian pessret in a Cerritos deli to an Eero Saarinen structure, “a beige, lentil-flour pancake with the dull, smooth sheen of a freshly pressed pair of gabardine slacks, as big around as a phonograph record and bent into a kind of ’50’s-curvilinear shape.”

That was eight years before the Pulitzer Prize judges found Gold, who at the time was writing for the LA Weekly, and awarded him their prize for criticism, the first ever for a food writer.

And now comes this 90-minute documentary, the near-perfect vehicle to distribute Gold to the masses. 

The film weaves Gold’s descriptions of great L.A. meals from his Times and LA Weekly columns with stories of the people who cook the food, Gold’s life story (and quirks) and the music, architecture and life of Los Angeles. Director Laura Gabbert has managed to make one of the finest movies ever about Los Angeles, without once mentioning the movies or Malibu.

Jonathan Gold’s L.A. unfolds before us as a flat, mini-malled and traffic-choked metropolis, far more brown than blond, whose Technicolor allure explodes solely in plate after plate of food.

“That was intentional,” Gabbert told me in a Q-and-A session I led with her and Gold after a screening at the Landmark Theatre on March 12. 

“We just followed the lead in his writing. This is his Los Angeles, and it’s many of ours. This is the way we see the city.”

“City of Gold” depicts an L.A. of immigrant bounty. The most moving moments of the film, hands down, come when once-struggling restaurant owners — Thai, Latino, Ethiopian — tell how a single Jonathan Gold review brought hordes of new customers to their restaurants and transformed their lives.

The delicious irony is that these immigrants succeed by cooking the most authentic native food possible. They resist the urge to Americanize their food, and when Gold discovers and rewards their craft with his words, they become successful Americans. 

At a time when entire political movements have organized against immigrants, I wondered aloud if the movie wasn’t a full-throated retort.

“I’ve been writing about immigrant communities for 30 years,” Gold responded. “I like immigrants. I think we should pretty much let everybody in — well, maybe they should be able to cook. Donald Trump is a guy who eats a lot of white bread.”

I asked the 300 people in the sold-out audience how many had visited a restaurant because of a Jonathan Gold review. Most of the hands went up, like the many toothpicks jutting out from that Chendu Taste lamb. That’s why I asked Gold if his mission was to find great food, or to transform L.A.?

“If I’m doing anything that’s beyond writing about food,” he said, “it’s to get people in Los Angeles to be a little less afraid of their neighbors. And it’s easy to live in one part of town and not really interact with other parts. There are a lot of ways to do it. But you might not go some place to see an Indian movie or a Nigerian art exhibition, but if I tell you that someone is making a bowl of noodles like you’ve never had in your entire life, maybe you’ll make that drive.”

Gold grew up in a “highly Reform” L.A. Jewish household, where his father was “the most overeducated probation officer in the history of Los Angeles County.” The household was filled with high culture, if not great food. The links between food, tradition and family that Gold has spent a lifetime searching out didn’t exist in his childhood home.

There was one exception.

“My father definitely considered deli to be a sacrament,” Gold said.

I quickly asked Gold to name his favorite deli in a city rich with them.

“Langer’s,” he said, to wild audience applause. “The pastrami sandwich — there should be a marble statue of it in the Civic Center mall.” 

In a scene in the film that takes place in New York City, Gold and his wife, L.A. Times Arts and Entertainment Editor Laurie Ochoa, dine at an Italian restaurant with New Yorker food writer Calvin Trillin, whose books “Alice, Let’s Eat” and “American Fried: Adventures of a Happy Eater” influenced Gold, then a UCLA liberal-arts graduate, concert cellist and nascent punk rocker, to explore his food obsession through words. Why is it, I asked Gold, that so many great American food writers, from A.J. Liebling to Calvin Trillin to Gold to Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman — are Jews?

“Um, “ he semi-joked, “we think about food a lot. We’re a hungry people.”

But if a good appetite, as Liebling wrote, is the first requirement of a great food critic, Gold’s achievement goes well beyond that, as does this movie. Hunger leads to curiosity; curiosity leads to discovery; discovery leads to empathy. It is a recipe as simple as a slice of sashimi, and as beautiful.

At the Sundance Film Festival, where “City of Gold” premiered to critical acclaim last January, a viewer pointed out that it was the only doc that wasn’t “a social issue documentary.”

Yet somehow, Gold said, it is exactly that. Most journalism focuses on the things that divide us. Gold’s focus is on one of the few things that unites us.

“The idea, which is so completely obvious,” he told the Landmark crowd, “is live in your entire city. Reach out to people. Everybody has something worthwhile and delicious for you.”

“City of Gold” is screening across the city. Follow Rob Eshman's thoughts on food on Instagram and Twitter @foodaism. 

Rob Eshman is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Jewish Journal.

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Torah portion: Remember

Leave a Comment / Judaism, Torah /

Shabbat Zachor — the Sabbath of Remembering — calls on us to remember and reflect on events that are not the most pleasant of memories. It is the annual Shabbat preceding Purim when, in addition to the weekly Torah portion, we take out a second Torah scroll and read three verses that evoke memories from a distant yet not-so-distant past: 

Remember [Zachor] what Amalek did to you on your way out of Egypt. When they encountered you on the way, and you were tired and exhausted, they cut off those lagging to your rear, and they did not fear God. Therefore, when God gives you peace from all the enemies around you in the land that God your Lord is giving you to occupy as a heritage, you must obliterate the memory of Amalek from under the heavens. You must not forget (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).

The name Amalek has become synonymous with anti-Semitism and violent evil. The Amalekites were a nation who launched a surprise attack against the Jewish people shortly after the Exodus from Egypt. This unprovoked attack was deemed by the Torah as an act of pure evil and resulted in an eternal blacklisting of the Amalekites as the archenemies of the Jewish people.

In our distant past, Amalek is directly associated with the Purim story. The Book of Esther relates that Haman was a descendant of Agag, an Amalekite king. Haman the Amalekite was the first tyrant to ever conceive of a plot to annihilate the entire Jewish people: 

There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed in the kingdom, whose laws are different from all others … if it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed (Esther 3:8-9).

Haman’s plot was ultimately foiled, but the lurking evil of Amalek remains permanently ingrained in the Jewish consciousness. 

In our not-so-distant past, the word Amalek evokes haunting memories of Haman’s plot coming to life in Nazi Germany. For Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk, who spent 13 years writing his epic novels “The Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance” about World War II and the Holocaust, the theme of Amalek looms large over his literary masterpieces. Indeed, as the epigram to “War and Remembrance,” Wouk used a quote from the Torah:

Write this for remembrance in a book … that the Lord has a war with Amalek from generation to generation (Exodus 17:14-16).

As an author who brought one of history’s darkest periods to life for millions of readers and viewers (the books later became a television miniseries), as a veteran of the United States Navy in World War II, and as an Orthodox Jew who identified with his people’s collective sense of loss and mourning after the Holocaust, Wouk drew a direct link between the Amalek of our distant past and our not-so-distant past. He did not see Amalek as a mystical force that persists in the cosmos, but rather as the persistence of evil within human beings that drives mankind into tirades of violence, bloodshed and genocide. In the reissued editions of his masterpieces in 2001, Wouk wrote these reflective words in his new preface:

In the last global war, before VE day and VJ day came, there befell the collapse of France, the Bataan death march, the fall of Singapore, the siege of Stalingrad, bloody Tarawa, and bloodier Guadalcanal; and at the hidden heart of that global war, concealed by the smoke of battle, there burned the Holocaust. That eternal benchmark of barbarism, let us remember, was set by the Germans, an advanced European nation. The evil in human hearts knows no boundary, except the deeper, stronger will to freedom, order and justice. In the very long run, that will, so far, has prevailed.

Many in the Jewish community view the persistent remembering of Amalek as a form of paranoia. “Why do we insist on constantly remembering Amalek?” they ask. “Can’t we just get over it and move on?”

My answer to their question: Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur and modern-day Syria. That, along with ISIS’ daily beheadings and rapes, the Charlie Hebdo attack and the Bataclan and related massacres in Paris, the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe, and the almost daily stabbings of Israelis on the streets of the Jewish state — to name just a few. The evil of Amalek persists, so … we continue to remember.

Zachor. 

Rabbi Daniel Bouskila is the director of the Sephardic Educational Center, an international educational and cultural organization with its own campus in the Old City of Jerusalem. Follow his blogs at rabbidanielbouskila.blogspot.com and jewishjournal.com/through_sephardic_lenses.

Torah portion: Remember Read More »

A marriage of Purim and Persian New Year

Leave a Comment / Food, Holidays /

Leave it to us, the Iranian Jews, to overdo it. One holiday with our name on it and you are faced with the ultimate Jewish experience in just two days. Purim is dramatic; a holiday that rivals Passover, as it begins with a grand-scale departure and concludes with a triumphant liberation. It brings Yom Kippur, Tisha B’av, Shabbat and Simchat Torah to life when we fast, repent, read and feast. 

Indeed, Purim is special for the Iranian Jews in many ways. First and foremost, there is the obvious relationship with the physical place we have called home for more than 2,600 years. Many of Iranian Jews have had the privilege of visiting the tomb of Esther in the Iranian city of Hamedan (biblical city of Shoushan), and a good number can trace their ancestry back to the city itself. While establishing an ancestral lineage to Queen Esther is not easy, the mere claim of this heritage is serious enough to have gained these “royal” Hamedanies a special place among their peers, sometimes even a favorable one. 

My grandmother, of blessed memory, grew up in a city near Hamedan and prided herself on her special connection with this holiday. Her delicious cookies, called Koloocheh Purimi, were famous and sought after. Indisputably a prototype to hamantashen, these cookies were made by the women of each household and distributed to friends, family and neighbors in celebration of Purim.

My grandmother made three kinds of cookies, two with fillings and one plain. The plain were small circles, and those with a pasty mass of cooked dates were larger circles. Her third kind were dumpling-shaped and stuffed with hazelnut filling. As a child watching my grandmother knead the dough, I had the special privilege of making the Haman dummy (Haman is the antagonist in the Purim story). In contrast to my grandmother’s highly sophisticated work, my dummy was a rough figure made of plain dough that was baked with the other cookies, then thrown away. No one wanted to eat Haman anyway, so it was permissible to have the figure’s disposable existence defaced by my unskilled hands. There was halvah as well, served as a second offering. The memory of my grandmother’s beautifully decorated dishes filled with sumptuous sweet offerings invokes a magical blend of the aromas of rosewater, cardamom and saffron — the scent of Purim. 

My grandmother took Purim very seriously. She fasted, went to the Megillah reading twice, and considered giving away her cookies her divine duty. She had developed a science of producing the perfect dough. She would wake in the middle of the night to cover the dough with the fastidiousness of a mother tending to her firstborn. Days in advance, she baked practice batches to pick out the perfect ingredients in perfect proportions. After she immigrated to Los Angeles, her nieces and nephews and their children would drive from miles away to take her on “cookie getaways.” These were weekends during which they would together make industrial numbers of cookies under my grandmother’s supervision. Koloocheh Purimi were her trademark. A generation or two ago, all Iranian-Jewish households had their own brands of Purim recipes — just ask them.

Today’s Iranian Jews celebrate Purim in the same way as everyone else. They purchase their casino-night tickets in advance, buy hamantashen baskets as offerings for their friends, and catch a few minutes of the Megillah reading if they happen to be at the synagogue for their kids. But why would a kosher Persian Jew suddenly become a goldfish lover around Purim? Who has ever seen a live fish costume at Purim masquerades anyway? Or, could there be a special goldfish dish for the feast that we do not know about?

It is no secret to the inhabitants of Beverly Hills that Iranian Jews are not ordinary Jews. About 40 years ago, when the wave of Jewish Iranians fleeing the Islamic revolution arrived in Beverly Hills, it brought with it Nowrouz, otherwise known as the Persian New Year. The majority of Jews in exile celebrate the Persian New Year, which, following the solar calendar, usually occurs a few days before or after Purim, celebrating the onset of spring. Although Nowrouz originates in Zoroastrianism, it is considered a secular holiday. To celebrate, Iranians set up a table called Haft-Seen with seven obligatory items whose names begin with “s.” The goldfish, whose name does not begin with an “s,” is exempt from this rule. It is there to represent the stars and their movements with its sparkling gold color and circular swimming pattern. Moments before our planet shifts into a new path around the sun, Iranians, along with Afghans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turks, Kurds and some other nationalities, gather around the table, filling their hearts with hopes and dreams for the New Year.

Remarkably, this holiday still thrives 900 years after the arrival of Islam in Iran. The new rulers may have managed to convert all but a negligible portion of Iranians to Islam, destroyed Zoroastrian literature in its entirety and changed the Persian alphabet to Arabic script, but Nowrouz survived. Along with the Persian language, Nowrouz defied this cultural annexation. 

In the Iran of the 1970s when I was growing up, this holiday was all the rage. Spring cleaning began a month before, and people rushed to prepare for the festivities. At least 15 days before the end of the year, everyone grew Sabzeh, a plate of green-colored sprouts, to decorate their Haft-Seen table. Garlic (seer), apple (seeb), vinegar (serkeh), gold coins (sekeh), sweet pudding (samanou), dried oleaster (senjed) with additional items such as a mirror, a prayer book, a poetry book and, of course, the bowl of goldfish, would be laid out for a period of two weeks. The country would revel in festivities until Sizdah-beh-dar, when the entire nation would welcome the spring and the new year by picnicking and becoming one with nature. 

Our family, like most other Jewish-Iranian families of this period, celebrated this holiday. Yet I could not help but notice my grandmother’s unusual awkwardness in setting the Haft-Seen table. Always in command when it came to Jewish holidays, she appeared lost with regard to Nowrouz. She would often ask her grandchildren to help with the preparations and setting the table. She would never make the essential sweet pudding herself, and she even sometimes passed the crucial moment of spring equinox absent from the table, tending to her Purim cookies.

One day, I asked her: “Grandma, how did you celebrate Nowrouz when you were young?” In response, she looked away, screwed up her face and bit her lower lip, searching for a way to dodge the answer. “Times were different when I was growing up” was all she managed to say.

It would take more than mere questions and answers to understand her reaction. Truth be told, celebrating Nowrouz for Iranian Jews is a relatively new phenomenon. My grandmother, along with other Jews born at the beginning of the 20th century, never really celebrated Nowrouz while growing up. Subjected to periodic pogroms in addition to natural and manmade calamities, the Jews did not have an easy life. There are always exceptions, but the majority of Jews in Iran lived in such poverty that they were lucky if they could meet their needs and observe their Jewish holidays.

As recently as 90 years ago, Iranian Jews lived as disenfranchised subjects, and tending to their affairs was the task of the ministry of foreign affairs. Exorbitant extra taxes for being a Jew were officially enforced until 1881, a practice that endured unofficially for decades after its suspension. They were confined to ghettos, and their living conditions were lower than country’s average. Even if they wanted to, the Jews of Iran could not celebrate Nowrouz. It was a gentile’s holiday.

But stars shifted, and Jewish life in Iran changed for the better. During the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty, which started in the 1920s and ended with the revolution that began in 1978, Iranian Jews enjoyed equal status as citizens. For a short-lived historical moment, they thrived. They were able to leave behind their ghettos en masse and climb the ladder of social and economical success. They felt Persian more than ever and as loyal subjects, gave much back to their country.

My grandmother never confided in me, but I believe it was only after her children entered the university and socialized with other Iranians that she had started to celebrate Nowrouz. After all, her children’s friends would come to pay their respects for the New Year and taste her delicious cookies; and how could one not have a goldfish?

My Persian-Jewish home has been bustling with action. I have spent a good part of the past few days preparing. Casino-night tickets in the purse, kid’s costume in the closet and the goldfish is on the credenza. I still have so much to do, but I just had to try to make my grandmother’s cookies myself. This is her holiday, after all. I prepared the dough last night and have already made a batch. My cookies are nothing like Grandma’s, but they are better than what you buy at Ralphs, for sure. I place a new batch in the oven and set the timer. I use the time to organize my Haft-Seen table. I still need to drop by the Persian supermarket to pick up the senjed, but the green sprouts are looking good as I look at their reflection in the mirror. I check the timer to see how much time I have. 

Good. I have enough time to select the clothes I want to give away. Purging closets is important when you do your spring cleaning, is it not? And think about how much ahead I will be when it is time for Passover cleaning! I pick out the traditional Persian outfit, which was sent to me 30 years ago. It doesn’t look that bad; if it still fits, I might wear it to the masquerade. I rush to put it on. There is even a headpiece that goes with it, and a pair of traditional clogs, too. I am looking around for a mirror when the goldfish catches my eye. I am mesmerized by its movements. Shining like a star, it moves around the fishbowl in circular motions. They say that at the moment of vernal equinox, the fish makes a sudden move and shifts its path of motion, just like our planet. Goldfish have been part of Nowrouz for thousands of years, even at the time of Queen Esther. I imagine her tending to her royal Haft-Seen as she prepares for the New Year. I imagine her staring at the goldfish while contemplating when might be a good time to ask the king for her people’s salvation. Who would turn down a favor on Nowrouz?

The timer rings. I look away from the goldfish and into the mirror. I see a Jewish woman in traditional Persian garb next to her goldfish. It all fits.

Abigail Dayan is a freelance writer reporting on social and cultural topics related to Judaism.

A marriage of Purim and Persian New Year Read More »

THAT Taharah: Dying to Serve & Serving to Live

Leave a Comment / Advice / Living, Blogs, Culture, Judaism, Living Well, Mitzvahs and More, More Culture, Personal Voice, Survivor /

[Editor’s note: Most of the entries in this blog focus primarily on the deceased, or on the mourners, because that is the nature of the mitzvah. Here we are given a view of how the work of the Chevrah Kadisha impacts those who engage in this particular aspect of our human dance with death – how life changing, and life-affirming it can be.

NOTE: This article is factual and correct. The name of the author and a few of the details have been changed to protect the privacy of the author. The contents may be disturbing or difficult for some readers. — JB] 

The hell that is depression has haunted me for over twenty years; severe clinical depression and anxiety was the original diagnosis. It took nearly ten years of therapy and countless medication combinations to get me to the point where I became a functioning individual. Even today, doctors still tinker with different dosages to try and boost my mood; I have good days, even weeks, but eventually clouds of darkness return. What’s different is that I have the skills to recognize when they’re present and dig myself out of the hole before being swallowed up.

Everyone’s experience with depression is different, but in my case, as I’m sure for many other sufferers, there were periods of despair so deep that living seemed to be too much. Suicide, unfortunately, is the ‘answer’ for many. I never attempted it, but I certainly ideated about what life for others would be like without me. And that’s the insipid nature of this disease; it doesn’t just plunge one into periods of extended despair, it maligns how one sees the world through non-reality based thinking.

So as someone who ritually prepares the dead for burial — and on a fairly regular basis — I have derived some therapeutic benefit from being part of a community Chevrah Kadisha. I know what death looks, feels, and smells like, and while others might come away with a renewed sense of spiritual fulfillment, it’s different for me. Death, or what I felt it might be like in my life, took on a real sense of perplexity. People who died of old age didn’t really impact my sensibilities since they had lead (or one might imagine so) a full life, and their time had come. But a Taharah for someone my own age always invokes the feeling of “There but for the grace of G-d”. Tragic, yes, whatever the circumstances, when someone dies ‘before their time’. But for someone who still sometimes had views that the world might be better off without me, such encounters serve as reality checks.

Situations in life often serve as beneficial incidents towards improvement and recovery from depression or depressive episodes. My condition has never stopped me from working or performing with our Chevrah Kadisha, but one Taharah in particular served to finally rid me of suicidal ideation.

I received the text message to come one stormy evening, the freeway rain-swept and covered with blown palm fronds. There were two Taharot that evening, one for an older individual, and another for a young one. The first Taharah was, like so many others, respectful, incident free, and almost mechanical in its precise execution. The second was for a young individual who had committed suicide by jumping from a structure to the parking lot below.

None of us had any warning this was the case. Unzipping the body bag revealed the devastating effects of the jump; the crushed, mangled corpse of someone driven by despair, by thoughts or circumstances that I, too, have probably experienced. But to see the devastating effects of suicide laid so bare confronted me with demons I fought so hard to fight back. “This could have been me”.

The details of this person’s condition are too graphic to detail, but the shock of seeing them was life changing. When I have my infrequent boughts of dark visions and I’m able to climb out of them, I no longer envision a world without me. Suicide is inherently selfish, and thinking about what I would have done to others always kept my ideations in check. But seeing what others would see has ‘cured’ me of these thoughts.

We who do this work are often affected by it. Some are drawn closer to something; be it G-d, religion, some inner form of spiritual renewal, or life in general. In my case, on that night, it was life . . . not life in general, but my own life, and its value to others.

 

Author’s Name & Bio Withheld by request [Ed.]

 

  

 

 

TASTE OF GAMLIEL

 

Taste of Gamliel registration is open. Join us for this 5 part webinar series with the theme The World To Come – Do You Have Your Ticket? The series will include one session each month from January to June, each on Sundays. 

 

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE – You Can VIEW ALL the sessions on recordings! Register, watch the rest of the sessions live, and see the earlier sessions on recordings! This also works if you are busy for one of the sessions scheduled! For those registered, the sessions will be recorded and may be accessed afterwards (instructions will be provided following each session) so those who cannot watch live can still view the presentations.

 

Free, with a suggested $36 donation for the entire series to help us defray the expenses of presenting these amazing webinars.

 

View the program titles and speakers by clicking   

Register ” target=”_blank”>http://bit.ly/1PvJ5kw.

 

 

 

KAVOD V’NICHUM CONFERENCE:

Be on the lookout for information about the 14th Annual North American Chevrah Kadisha and Jewish Cemetery Conference, to be held in Lexington, MA Sunday to Tuesday, June 5-7, 2016. Register Check online for information on almost anything you might want to know. Click here to ” target=”_blank”>more about the conference and our plenary ” target=”_blank”>options. Look at the direct  Gamliel Institute students (past and present) are also encouraged to attend the conference and plan to remain for an additional day (through mid-day Wednesday) following the conference for a live educational program. During the conference, we will be celebrating the first group of graduates of the Gamliel Institute, and looking forward to the next cohort. Immediately following the close of the conference, we continue with learning specifically geared to Gamliel Students. We have as our instructors for this fabulous closed session Reuven Kimmelman on Kaddish, Eddie Feld on Psalm 49, and Ruth Langer on Tziduk Hadin. This will be an in-depth, informative, and inspirational program! Mark your calendar, make your plans, and register to attend now! The class is free to Gamliel students, but donations to help us offset the cost are very welcome.    

 

GAMLIEL STUDENT PROJECTS

 

GAMLIEL INSTITUTE COURSES

Please Tell Anyone Who May Be Interested!

Spring 2016:  

During the coming semester, the Gamliel Insitute will be offering the online course. Chevrah Kadisha: Education, Organizing, & Training (EOT) [Course 3]. The prerequisite for this course is prior successful completion of Course 1, 2, 4, or 5. This course will run from May 3rd to July 19th, 8-9:30 pm EST/5-6:30 pm PST/9-10:30 pm AST. (12 class sessions). If there is sufficient interest, we may be able to run a second session duuring the day in the US (evening in Israel), as we did for Course 2 in Winter 2016.

There will be an online orientation session Monday May 2nd at 8-9:30 pm EST (and possibly another time, if the course is offered at more than one time).

Past Students, please note: We are using a new (to us) online Platform for the classes, so definitely plan on attending the orientation sessions if you have not beein a Gamliel student since January 2016 and intend to take this course! 

For more information about the course, visit the “>Kavod v’Nichum website.

Course 3 has a full academic curriculum that teaches principles of organizing, training, education, and working within a community. Even more than that, however, the focus of this course is as a practical, hands-on course that helps students bring Jewish practices and values to fruition. It is designed as both an academic course and a practicum. Its central deliverable is the support and mentoring of students in conceiving and carrying out useful projects of their own related to the Chevrah Kadisha world, whether in their own community, congregation, or business, or on a larger scale. Thus, the course offers students a way to make a difference and have a meaningful and positive impact in the world—a “real-world” effect. The course includes material on principles of education and organizing, and projects can range from academic research and writing, to community organizing, to creative and artistic endeavors. Organizing efforts might include starting a new Bikkur Cholim/Caring committee, educating the community about the Chevrah Kadisha’s work, teaching about the running of the local Jewish mortuary or cemetery, helping the Chevrah Kadisha to expand its services, or producing materials for education or to share the beauty and meaning of this work. This course is a vehicle for those who will undertake a project, with guidance and support from the Gamliel Staff and other students, that will provide benefits and information to their own community and/or other communities. You can see examples of completed Student projects at Fall 2016:

Gamliel Institute Course 5, Chevrah Kadisha Ritual, Practices, & Liturgy (RPL) will be offered from September 6th, 2016 to November 22nd 2016. This course has no prerequisites. Please note it on your calendar, and plan to attend. You can register online, and a full description of the course is there as well.

TUITION:

NOTE: Tuition for Gamliel Institute classes is $500 per person per course. Groups of 3 or more from the same organization can request a 20% discount. There are also clergy and student discounts available, and we work to find Scholarships and help students seek sources of funding to take Gamliel Institute courses. Contact us to inquire about any of these matters.

REGISTRATION:

You can “>jewish-funerals.org/gamreg.

INFORMATION:

Please contact us for information or assistance. info@jewish-funerals.org or j.blair@jewish-funerals.org, or call 410-733-3700, or 925-272-8563.

 

 

DONATIONS:

Donations are always needed and most welcome. Donations support the work of the Gamliel Institute, help us provide scholarships to students, support programs such as Taste of Gamliel, and many other things. You can donate online at   You can also become a member (Individual or Group) of Kavod v’Nichum to help support our work. Click __________________________________________________

 

MORE INFORMATION

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Alexis Gershwin carries on the family tradition

Leave a Comment / Culture /

Every day, somewhere on the planet, someone is performing a song or concert composition by George Gershwin. Open a newspaper, peruse a season music schedule, and the name is bound to turn up.

Simply put, everybody likes a Gershwin tune.

Few offerings, however, can boast the title, “Gershwin Sings Gershwin.” On March 22, Alexis Gershwin, niece of George and Ira Gershwin, will sing favorites from their songbook at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. She also will appear at Temple Sinai in Palm Desert on April 10. Both concerts feature a four-piece band and the Gershwin Singers, directed by Steven Applegate. 

“I grew up being spoiled with good music,” Gershwin said, after welcoming a reporter into her Westside home, her cat draped over her shoulder. “My father’s side was as great in classical music as my mother’s was in jazz.”

Gershwin’s mother, Frances, who died in 1999 at age 92, was George and Ira’s younger sister. With George at the piano, Frances sang their newly composed songs. (George wrote the music; Ira, the witty lyrics.) Frances was in the room when her brothers were working on a classic of the American Songbook, “Fascinating Rhythm,” from “Lady, Be Good!” The tricky tune’s misplaced accents challenged Ira’s ability as a lyricist, and he complained, “For God’s sake, George, what kind of lyric do you write to a rhythm like that?” Frances recalled Ira musing, “It’s a fascinating rhythm … ”

Like her mother, Gershwin began singing at an early age. “I used to sing at my parents’ dinner parties,” she said, “but I never had the Gershwin pressure. My mother always showed me unconditional love. I sang a mix of songs, and concentrated on my uncle George’s music as I got older.”

George was only 38 when he died of a brain tumor in Los Angeles in 1937. Gershwin recalled going to dinner every week at Uncle Ira’s house. He lived in Beverly Hills and died in 1983.

“We also played tennis,” Gershwin said. “Ira was a very good tennis player, almost as good as his lyrics. I’m told George was more extroverted. Ira was more of an introvert — soft-spoken. He wasn’t vivacious, but his vibrant lyrics couldn’t come out of nowhere. He had to have a big heart for love and romance.”

A big heart for love and romance seems to run in the family. Gershwin’s take on the family songbook is unashamedly heart on sleeve. “I want to make people feel the lyrics of a song,” she said. “I like to move people.”

Elegance, too, plays a part in her interpretations, something she learned from her father, Leopold Godowsky Jr., son of the great pianist-composer. Her father, who played violin, also had a scientific bent. Today, he is best remembered as the co-inventor of Kodachrome color photography.

“My father was a very elegant gentleman,” Gershwin said. “I like elegance. There’s not much left of it anymore.”

Gershwin, who began playing piano as a girl, recalled her father as an understandably tough teacher. “My parents wanted me to become a pianist, but my father would be furious if I made the tiniest mistake. I was a little girl, and it was intimidating. My father wasn’t the best psychologist, but he cared in his way. They were all good people.”

A particular favorite in the Gershwin-Godowsky family was Aunt Dagmar Godowsky, a silent film actress. Indeed, on one wall of Gershwin’s home, just below an accomplished pencil sketch by George of his mother, Rose, is a photo of Dagmar in a scene from “A Sainted Devil” (1924) with Rudolph Valentino.

“I adored my father’s sister,” Gershwin said. “She always had everybody laughing. You have to have a sense of humor.”

Gershwin said she plans to tell a few family stories during her upcoming performances, but tries to balance speaking and singing. The approximately 75-minute program, consisting of 18 songs, isn’t all Gershwin. She is also singing a song by Ned Washington, and another by Cy Coleman. New to her Gershwin repertory is “For You, For Me, For Evermore.”

Applegate, her music director, said he works with Gershwin on phrasing and experimenting with fresh approaches to the Gershwin songbook. For example, “Embraceable You” is set to a bossa nova on her “Gershwin Sings Gershwin” CD (2012). 

“Alexis is singing her uncles’ music, which is unusual,” Applegate said. “She doesn’t just sing. She’s a song stylist who knows what to do with those clever lyrics. Her love of the repertoire comes through.”

Though Gershwin said her focus was always on music, she also studied with acting teacher Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. “Being a good actress makes you a better singer,” she said. “You put the drama into your singing.”

For Gershwin, who left Sarah Lawrence College before graduating (“I fell in love”) and raised two children, gearing up for more gigs is exciting. She recalled her mother, who re-emerged as a singer later in life with “Frances Sings for George and Ira,” a well-received 1975 album.

“Frances sacrificed and forfeited a career for her family,” Gershwin said. “My mother could have been in Broadway shows.”

For her part, Gershwin has no regrets. “I most prefer having my own instrument. Singing is who I am. I have Ira’s lyrics in my head at night. I dream Ira’s lyrics.”

For more information about Alexis Gershwin’s March 22 show at the ” target=”_blank”>Temple Sinai in Palm Desert, click highlighted text.

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Reactions to Obama’s Supreme Court nominee

Leave a Comment / United States /

President Barack Obama nominated veteran appellate court Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, setting up political showdown with Senate Republicans who have vowed to block any Obama nominee. 

Following is a selection of reaction to the decision:

MITCH MCCONNELL, SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER:

“The American people may well elect a President who decides to nominate Judge Garland for Senate consideration. The next president may also nominate someone very different. Either way, our view is this: Give the people a voice in the filling of this vacancy.”

CHARLES SCHUMER, DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATOR OF NEW YORK: 

“If Merrick Garland can't get bipartisan support no one can. … We hope the saner heads in the Republican Party will prevail on (U.S. Senator) Chuck Grassley and (Senate Majority Leader)Mitch McConnell to do their job and hold hearings so America can make its own judgment as to whether Merrick Garland belongs on the court.”

PAUL RYAN, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SPEAKER, THE TOP ELECTED U.S. REPUBLICAN:

“This has never been about who the nominee is. It is about a basic principle. Under our Constitution, the president has every right to make this nomination, and the Senate has every right not to confirm a nominee.”

ORRIN HATCH, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR OF UTAH:

“Everybody I know who works with him thinks highly of him, but I do think it ought to be put off. This is a toxic environment right now. It's terrible. And I've been through enough of these where I'm sick of the way the court is treated. And this would be just another one.”

SUSAN COLLINS, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR OF MAINE:

“Judge Garland is a capable and accomplished jurist. The White House has requested that I meet with him, and I look forward to doing so, as has been my practice with all Supreme Court nominees.”

HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:

“Evaluating and confirming a Justice to sit on this nation's highest court should not be an exercise in political brinkmanship and partisan posturing. It is a serious obligation … That obligation does not depend on the party affiliation of a sitting president, nor does the Constitution make an exception to that duty in an election year.”

NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER:

“Judge Garland has the experience and the legal acumen to serve on the highest court in the land. … The American people expect Judge Merrick Garland to be given a fair hearing and a timely vote.”

REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: 

“When Americans head to the polls in a few short months, they will have a unique opportunity to determine the direction of the court – President Obama is doing a disservice to voters with this attempt to tip the balance of the court with a liberal justice in the eleventh hour of his presidency.” 

ROB PORTMAN, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR OF OHIO

“We are in the midst of a highly-charged presidential election that is less than eight months away, and this lifetime appointment could reshape the Supreme Court for generations. I believe the best thing for the country is to trust the American people and allow them to weigh in on this issue.” 

LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL:

“His (Garland's) impeccable credentials, steadfast fidelity to the law and firm devotion to the public interest make him an outstanding choice to sit on our nation's highest court, where I am certain he will serve with integrity and wisdom.”

MARK KIRK, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR OF ILLINOIS:

“The Senate's constitutionally defined role to provide advice and consent is as important as the president's role in proposing a nominee, and I will assess Judge Merrick Garland based on his record and qualifications.”

JOE MANCHIN, DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATOR OF WEST VIRGINIA:

“I look forward to evaluating Merrick Garland's qualifications to be a justice on the Supreme Court. Senators have a constitutional obligation to advise and consent on a nominee to fill this Supreme Court vacancy and, simply put, we have a responsibility to do our jobs as elected officials. 

PAT TOOMEY, REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR OF PENNSYLVANIA:

“Should Merrick Garland be nominated again by the next president, I would be happy to carefully consider his nomination.”

DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRWOMAN:

“Justice Garland has earned the support of Republicans and Democrats alike since 1997. I urge Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley to fulfill their constitutional duties, hold hearings, and quickly bring this nominee up for a vote, the exact same thing called for in 2008 when President Bush nominated judges that were then confirmed by a democratic Senate.”

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Calendar: March 18-24, 2016

Leave a Comment / What's Happening /

FRI | MARCH 18

HAPPY HOUR PRE-SHABBAT SOCIAL MIXER

Come socialize prior to a Gospel Shabbat service featuring the 40-member Spirit of David gospel choir from the City of Refuge Church. This is a great opportunity to network and meet other young adults in the Beverly Hills Jewish community. Drinks and appetizers will be served. 7 p.m. (mixer), 8 p.m. (service). Free. RSVP required. Temple of the Arts, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. (323) 658-9100. ” target=”_blank”>bcc-la.org.

SAT | MARCH 19

“SELECTED SHORTS: DANGERS AND DISCOVERIES”

The popular annual radio podcast “Selected Shorts” returns for its 25th season with a weekend of live readings that explore themes of darkness and light. Inspired by the Getty Center’s exhibition “Noir: The Romance of Black in 19th-Century French Drawings and Prints,” stage and screen actors will interpret adventurous fiction that guides the audience through a landscape of treachery, madness and redemption. Hosted by Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle”); starring the likes of René Auberjonois, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara and Josh Radnor. 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Through March 20. $20. Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 440-7300. ” target=”_blank”>tasteofisrael.net.

SUN | MARCH 20

KLEZMER JUICE

Klezmer Juice is the new generation of Jewish soul music, featuring wide-ranging international influences, a youthful vibe, and a Latin undertone to the band’s traditional and original tunes. The group is led by clarinetist Gustavo Bulgach, who was raised in Buenos Aires and now lives in L.A. Other members include Dan Weinstein (fiddle and trombone), Hiroo Nakano (drums) and Federico Ramos (guitar). 2 p.m. Free. RSVP at eventbrite.com. Seating is first come, first served. Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles. (213) 228-7388. THUR | MARCH 24

DAVID ORLOWSKY TRIO

The trio, founded by the young clarinetist David Orlowsky, presents klezmer music in an entirely new and hip dimension. In “The Soul of Klezmer,” the audience will be taken on a musical journey from the Jewish villages of Eastern Europe to the buzzing klezmer madness of New York City. The trio mostly composes their own music, which the members refer to as “chamber.world.music.” 8 p.m. $39-$99. The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 746-4000. ” target=”_blank”>civicartsplaza.com. 

PURIM CARNIVALS

SUN | MARCH 20

Wilshire Boulevard Temple

This day of fun will feature rides, games, activities and food. 10 a.m. (spiel and kids costume parade), 11 a.m. (carnival). Free admission. Individual game, ride and food tickets $1 each. Games and rides are 1-5 tickets, lunch is 7-10 tickets. Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Irmas Campus, 11661 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. (424) 208-8906. ” target=”_blank”>stsonline.org.

Temple Judea

Purim characters, live performances, rides, carnival games and a KidZone will be part of this celebration, as will kosher barbecue and a vendor marketplace. The day begins with a spiel, “Shmaltz,” a spoof of the musical “Grease.” 9 a.m. (spiel), 10 a.m. (carnival). Free admission. $1 tickets to play games and purchase food. Attend the spiel and get into the carnival early, receive five prize tickets and five fast passes to jump the lines. Temple Judea Purim Carnival, 5429 Lindley Ave., Tarzana. (818) 758-3800. ” target=”_blank”>wisela.org.

Temple Etz Chaim

The community-wide carnival has it all: food, games, live entertainment and activities including a dunk tank, face painting, bungee jumping, arts and crafts, a puppy petting zoo and bounce houses. 11:30 a.m. Free admission, $1 tickets to play games and purchase food. Temple Etz Chaim, 1080 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. (805) 497-6891. ” target=”_blank”>templebethemet.com.

WED | MARCH 23

IKAR’S PURIM JUSTICE BONANZA

Eat, drink, spiel and party the night away, IKAR-style! 3:30 p.m. events kick off with ECC Purim potpourri and micro-megillah and continues from there; 7:30 p.m. adults’ megillah and spiel; 9 p.m. carnival. Café Club Fais Do-Do, 5257 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 634-1870. ” target=”_blank”>leobaecktemple.org.

TEMPLE ETZ CHAIM MEGILLAH READING AND SPIEL

The megillah reading is a family-friendly service, and children are encouraged to attend in costume. After the reading is an adult spiel, “According to the Eagles.” The story of Esther will be told through songs of the Eagles. 6:15 p.m. megillah reading; 7:30 p.m. spiel. Free. Temple Etz Chaim, 1080 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, 91360. (805) 497-6891. ” target=”_blank”>stsonline.org.

PURIM IN THE WILD WEST

Come party with DJs, live performances, a full bar, hookah and hamantashen! 8:30 p.m. (megillah reading); 9:30 p.m. (party). Free for students with ID; $5 for non-students. Chabad at USC, 2713 Severance St., Los Angeles. (213) 748-5884. THUR | MARCH 24

DAYBREAKER: PURIM

Wake up with this early morning dance party! It is the perfect way to start your day, meet new people and celebrate Purim as part of this partnership between Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills and Open Temple. 5:30 a.m. Free. The Rose Room, 6 Rose Ave., Venice. (310) 288-3737. ” target=”_blank”>picoshul.org

PURIM IN MOROCCO

Dress in your favorite costume and celebrate Purim in Morocco as part of this event for children with special needs and their families. There will be a live band, arts and crafts, a henna artist, a Moroccan feast and a megillah reading. Teen volunteers will be on hand to assist the children. 6 p.m. Free. RSVP requested. The Friendship Circle, 1952 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles. 310.280.0955. ” target=”_blank”>eventbrite.com. Create Nightclub, 6021 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 309-3711. 

Calendar: March 18-24, 2016 Read More »

Incendiary?

Leave a Comment / Dennis Prager, Opinion /

After the recent disruption and cancellation of a Donald Trump campaign event in Chicago, the media — and Trump’s Republican opponents — blamed Trump for what had transpired. Specifically, he was blamed for the incendiary remarks he had made at previous events encouraging violence against some protestors. For example, he announced that he would pay the legal bills to defend a man who punched an anti-Trump protestor as he was being escorted out of a Trump event (while extending his middle finger to the crowd).

That those comments were incendiary is incontrovertible. In my last column, I listed many additional reasons for my opposition to Donald Trump.

However, when the left levels the charge of “incendiary,” it betrays a lack of self-awareness that is a marvel to behold. When it comes to incendiary statements in American life, the left has close to a monopoly. And these statements are not made by one individual whose affiliation with the left is new and tenuous — as Trump’s affiliation with Republicans and conservatives is — but by the most distinguished politicians, artists, writers, academics and journalists on the left.

Such comments are made so often that most folks on the left do not consider them incendiary — just everyday truths.

The president of the United States has contributed to a level of racial tension unlike any we have seen in a generation. Black anger at America has actually increased since Barack Obama was elected. Perhaps this was inevitable given how many hopes most Black Americans placed on having a Black president. But incendiary statements by the president have exacerbated this tension. 

The most egregious and damaging has been the president’s reiteration of the term “Ferguson,” as if the killing of Michael Brown by a white police officer in that Missouri city was an act of wanton — and race-based — murder. That is incendiary, because it is a lie. Blacks who witnessed that incident and who have no love for the police testified to how legitimate the white officer’s actions were. 

Nearly every Democratic leader and liberal columnist has stated that much of the Republican criticism of Barack Obama is due to racism — as if Republicans were easier on Bill Clinton or will be on Hillary Clinton because they are white. 

Writing during the debate over the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote that Republicans are “probably reacting less to what Mr. Obama is doing, or even to what they’ve heard about what he’s doing, than to who he is.” It’s not Obamacare the Republicans opposed, he suggests, it’s largely Obama’s race. “The driving force,” he continued “is probably … cultural and racial anxiety.”

Is that incendiary?

Former President Jimmy Carter: “I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a Black man, that he’s African-American.” 

Is that incendiary?

New York Times editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal: “There has been a racist undertone to many of the Republican attacks leveled against President Obama for the last three years.” 

Is that incendiary?

What about the “White Privilege” doctrine that the left uses in almost every college to indoctrinate students against whites? Or the notion close to universally held among left-wing academics that only whites can be racist?

Are those incendiary?

The left labels every white who opposes race-based affirmative action a racist, and labels every Black who opposes it an “Uncle Tom.”

Is that incendiary?

While Donald Trump’s provocative comment that he’d like to punch the nose of a protester who disrupted one of his rallies may have led to one man being punched at a different rally, the left’s drumbeat of incendiary anti-police rhetoric has led directly to police and innumerable others being killed. So many police have disengaged from proactive policing in Black neighborhoods because of the “Ferguson Effect,” that the number of murders in cities such as Chicago has increased dramatically. 

But the left’s incendiary comments are hardly confined to charges of racism.

Left-wing professors at virtually every American university regularly call Israel an “apartheid state.” In my debate at the venerable Oxford Union in 2014, one of my opponents, a left-wing Ph.D. from Berkeley, said that Israel is doing to the Palestinians what the Nazis did to the Jews. And during the last Israel-Hamas war, actors Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, and director Pedro Almodovar labeled Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide” and a “war of extermination.”

Are these left-wing libels of Israel incendiary?

For that matter, recall the left-wing reactions to my completely respectful column in the Jewish Journal on the Torah teaching the importance of maintaining the male-female distinction. I was accused of cruelty, intolerance, bigotry, hate, publicly humiliating someone, being like a murderer, ignorance, and much more by left-wing rabbis and other left-wing Jews in leadership positions.

Is that incendiary?

The left labels every American who believes that marriage should remain defined as the union of a man and a woman a hater, a bigot, and, of course, a homophobe.

Is that incendiary?

The left labels Americans troubled by the influx of many millions of illegal immigrants “xenophobic,” “nativist” and “racist.”

Is that incendiary?

Here’s a difference between conservatives and liberals one might ponder. Virtually every major Republican and conservative, myself included, has called Donald Trump’s statements incendiary. Yet there isn’t a left-wing voice of which I am aware that has labeled any of the above incendiary.

Conservatives criticize their own. The left only criticizes the right. 

Dennis Prager’s nationally syndicated radio talk show is heard in Los Angeles from 9 a.m. to noon on KRLA (AM 870). His latest project is the Internet-based Prager University (prageru.com).

Incendiary? Read More »

New grant program will extend Jewish camp outreach

Leave a Comment / Camp, Culture /

For some children, attending Jewish summer camp is a quintessential part of growing up Jewish. But not all families can find the kinds of camps that fit their children’s needs or appeal to their interests.

This month, as part of a nationwide effort to get more children, teenagers and families to attend Jewish summer camp, the nonprofit Foundation for Jewish Camp launched a $100,000 pilot grant program. 

Titled the “I Belong to Jewish Camp” initiative, the program is offering camp providers up to $25,000 each to develop new types of camps or marketing strategies that engage populations frequently left out of, or not retained by, traditional Jewish summer camps. These include children with disabilities, interfaith and multi-ethnic families, youth with a variety of perspectives on Israel, families with young children, high schoolers, emerging Jewish leaders and people from the LGBTQ community.

“We have been working for a number of years to help camps be more reflective of the diverse Jewish community of today and tomorrow, but we wanted to be a catalyst to engage even more of those who are not yet engaged in the Jewish community,” said Jeremy J. Fingerman, chief executive officer of the Foundation for Jewish Camp. “We believe camp is a wonderful, joyous way to experience Judaism and can be an important step in one’s Jewish journey.” 

Camp providers have until May 16 to apply for an “I Belong to Jewish Camp” grant. The money is for summer 2017 and can be used to support recruitment, staff training, retention and efforts that raise awareness about an organization’s programming for one or more of the targeted populations. Fingerman said if the grant program is successful, the goal is to expand it in subsequent years.

The grant program is just the latest in a string of efforts by the New York City-based Foundation for Jewish Camp to make summer camps more inclusive and to attract families that are disengaged from the Jewish community or are simply harder to reach. In the past two years, the foundation has invested at least $2.5 million in camp programs targeting specific groups of Jews such as Russian speakers, the LGBTQ population and multi-ethnic communities, Fingerman said.

As part of a strategy to reach more low-income and disengaged families, the foundation also has poured millions of dollars into its One Happy Camper program. That program offers families up to $1,000 to help pay for their child’s first Jewish summer camp experience. Around 64,000 children have attended camp over the past 10 years as a result of the program, Fingerman said.

Research indicates children who attend Jewish summer camp are more involved in the Jewish community as adults. According to a 2011 study conducted by the foundation, children who attend Jewish summer camp are almost twice as likely to attend synagogue as adults and much more likely to light Shabbat candles, donate to Jewish charities and feel emotionally attached to Israel. 

“Jewish summer experiences are the key to the Jewish future,” Fingerman said. They’re positive, they’re warm, they’re immersive, they’re spirited, so it’s a wonderful way to experience and enter into the Jewish community.”

Welcoming Jewish people of different backgrounds to summer camp is important because the Jewish community built at camp needs to be reflective of the larger Jewish community, he said.

Joel Charnick, director of Camp JCA Shalom in Malibu, applauded the “I Belong to Jewish Camp” initiative, saying it supports a trend that is unfolding across the country. Camp JCA Shalom already has efforts and programs in place to bring in the types of groups the grant initiative is targeting, including teenagers, families with young children and people with disabilities, he said.

So far, the camp’s efforts to increase diversity have resulted in greater enrollment numbers and have enriched the camp experience for all attendees, he said.

“It has made our camp healthier, stronger, and it’s also more enjoyable for our participants,” Charnick said. “I think people come to camps to meet different types of people. When you’re at home, you have your own circle of friends and your own bubble, and part of the camp experience is to meet new people.”

Charnick attended the foundation’s 2016 Leaders Assembly Conference in New Jersey earlier this month when the new initiative was announced. He said that Camp JCA Shalom likely will apply for a grant to help it expand outreach to intergenerational and interfaith families, special needs children and the LGBTQ community.

“I think we are scratching just the surface of what we can do,” he said.

New grant program will extend Jewish camp outreach Read More »

Kasich compares war against ISIS to Holocaust

Leave a Comment / Election 2016, United States /

Republican presidential candidate John Kasich on Wednesday likened the war against ISIS to WWII and the Holocaust when the United States took a leading role and stepped in to destroy evil.

Fresh off his primary win in the state of Ohio on Tuesday, Kasich held a town hall meeting at Villanova University in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

Towards the end of the event, Kasich called upon an 11-years-old boy, who identified himself as Jack Shapiro, and invited him to come onto the stage to ask the final question. “In terms of your strategy for defeating ISIS, to what extent would American personnel be involved?” Shapiro asked.

“We are going to have to be in the air, and then we are going to have to be on the ground,” Kasich responded. “Americans are going to have to be there because nobody else is going to do this.”

“There’s evil. And when there is evil in the world, it has to be destroyed,” Kasich explained. “When you have got strength, sometimes you have got to shoulder more than anybody else.”

The Republican presidential hopeful then pointed to the Holocaust as an example.”There was a time when the Nazis would find out you are a Jew, they’d take you and put you in a concentration camp, and then maybe they’d take you and kill you,” Kasich said as he put his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “We can’t tolerate that, can we? And you know what? We weren’t able to win that until the U.S. stepped in.”

“The problem we have is that sometimes there’s evil in the world, evil in so many places, that we can’t wipe it all out because then we wear ourselves out and we become a policeman, and we can’t do that,” he continued. “But America has got a great responsibility because the world — whether they like it our not – the world depends on us. That means we are going to have to do more than we think we should and more than sometimes we want to.

Earlier, Kasich vowed to take his campaign to the GOP convention in Cleveland, Ohio, and secure the Republican presidential nomination. After Marco Rubio dropped out of the race, on Tuesday, Kasich maintained that he remains the only candidate that is able to win the general election against the Democratic nominee.

Kasich compares war against ISIS to Holocaust Read More »