jvalley.org | jewish community news

Jewish Community News

Simchas: January 2004

by Donna Frankel

We are pleased to announce Births, B'nai Mitzvahs, Engagements, Marriages, and Happy Events.

BABY NEWS

Marvin and Barbara Spielman of Cupertino are delighted to announce the birth of their newest grandson, Sidney Spielman Polston on July 17. His first-time parents are Lisa Spielman and Joshua Polston of Berkeley. The other proud grandparents are Dr. Betty Polston and Bernard Polston of Tarzana, CA.

Miriam and Rabbi Yisroel Hecht of Sunnyvale happily announce the birth of their third child, Menachem Mendel Hecht, who was born on October 28, corresponding to 3 Cheshvan 5764. The baby was greeted by his brother, Shmuli, and sister, Chani. The proud grandparents are Pearl and Dr. Reuven Rockford of Coral Springs, FL, and Dov Lent of Manchester, England.

Mel Cotton of San Jose proudly announces the birth of his first great grandchild, Devorah Toledano born in Israel on October 28. Devorah is the daughter of first-time parents, Sarah and Josef Toledano and the granddaughter of Leta and Eliazer Cotton all of Jerusalem. Devorah is named after her great-grandmother, long- time San Jose resident, the late Dorothy Cotton.

Mazel Tov to first-time parents Rebecca and Arnnon Geshuri of San Jose on the birth of their daughter, Adinah Bella Geshuri, on November 21. The proud grandparents are Debrah and Richard Miller of Walnut Creek, and Irena and Yosef Geshuri of Porterville, CA. Adinah's great- grandparents are Sarah and Itzik Moskovitz of Los Angeles and Blanche Miller of FL. Adinah, who is named for her late great-grandfather William Miller, will have her baby-naming ceremony in January at Congregation Beth David.

CALLED TO THE TORAH:

Hallie Deanna Altshuler, granddaughter of Ed and Ellie Kiss of San Jose and Bob and Shirley Altshuler of Anaheim Hills was called to the Torah at Temple Beth Sholom of Orange County on October 11. Hallie is the daughter of Jeff and Amy Altshuler and the sister of proud brother, Jake. For her mitzvah project Hallie worked in the library reading at story hour and doing numerous other jobs. She especially liked reading to the children and they hoped she would be back again soon.

Michael (Misha) Zaliznyak, son of Maya and Arkady Zaliznyak of San Jose was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Nov. 1 at the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School, Bar Yochai Minyan. Rabbi Avi Mansura conducted the service with Michael's bar mitzvah tutor, Yacov Avitan. Sasha Zaliznyak, a UC San Luis Obispo student, was pleased to attend her brother's service along with the proud grandparents, Sofia and Mark Zaliznyak of San Jose and Zina and Jacob Bronsteyn of Daly City.

Family arrived from San Jose, San Francisco, Concord and Daly City for the simcha. Samantha Hoffman, daughter of Debby and David Hoffman of Campbell, was called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on Shabbat Lech L'cha, November 8 at Beth David. Samantha's extended family, including all of her aunts and uncles, participated in the Torah service, with aunts Cheryl Lamin of Highlands, Deborah Gonzalez of Sacramento and uncle Dan Hoffman of San Carlos reading from the Torah, along with Samantha's parents. Younger sister Kira helped lead Ain Kelohanu, and more than 20 first and second cousins from Southern CA, NY, PA and NJ helped lead Adon Olam. Samantha is the first grandchild of Martha and Barry Biegun, of Los Gatos, Berenice and Sid Shtulman of Palo Alto, and Taffy and Saul Hoffman of Ben Lomond, all of whom kvelled with pride.

WEDDINGS:

Rachel Lenore Davis and Steven Everett Strell were married on Aug. 10 at La Foret in San Jose. The couple wed under a chuppah made in Jerusalem, the birthplace of the bride's late grandmother, Sylvia Cohen. Rachel is the daughter of Jacqueline Davis of San Jose and Arthur Davis of Salinas, the sister of Bryan Davis of San Francisco, and the granddaughter of the late Alex Cohen, formerly of Salinas. Steven is the son of Ronni Strell of West Orange, NJ, and the late Leon Strell. Rabbi Daniel Pressman of Congregation Beth David officiated, while Richard Moline, director of the Department of College Outreach/KOACH volunteered as cantor at the ceremony. Elissa Strell, the groom's sister, dedicated a song to the couple, which she sang at the wedding reception. The bride is in her senior year at San Jose State University, where she will receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. She will continue her education toward a MFA. The groom is a hardware design engineer with Apple Computer. Steven graduated from Cornell U. with a BS in engineering, and a MS in computer systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti-tute. After a honeymoon cruise of Mexico, the newlyweds reside in Sunnyvale.

MAZEL TOV:

Alma M. Garcia, has published her latest book, "Narratives of Mexican American Women: Emergent Identities of the Second Generation," (Altamira Press of Rowman and Littlefield). This book was developed from her three-year study of identity formation among daughters of Mexican immigrants. This qualitative analysis of women in higher education focuses on the processes of cultural continuity, cultural change, and the potential for upward mobility. This is her fifth book. Alma is a professor of sociology at Santa Clara University and co-chair of Congregation Beth David's Adult Education Committee, and serves as secretary for its Sisterhood.

Shira Yom-toubian, daughter of Orna and Reuben Yom-toubian of Saratoga, was a recipient of a "2003 Youth Appreciation Week" award, which stands for "Thinking, Working and Expecting the Best." Only two of the 1500 Miller Middle school students were selected for this award based on a high achieving grade point average and community service (Tikun Olam) performed with enthusiasm, cheerfulness and optimism. Of the 24 area schools that presented students with the award, eight of the 44 students were Jewish. The award ceremony took place at Quinlan Com-munity Center in Cupertino.

Congregation Beth David celebrated its 40th anniversary Nov. 21-23 with a glorious weekend that honored the past, celebrated the present and envisioned the future. Friday night services were led by the original founders, who shared loving memories of those early days when a few Jewish families united to form the new congregation. Shabbat morning services honored past and present Beth David presidents, and they in turn sponsored a gourmet Kiddush luncheon for all. The highlight of the weekend was the Ruby Gala during which a black-tie-attired crowd of over 225 enjoyed a gourmet reception, dancing, schmoozing and some very special entertainment by a dedicated corps of Beth David veterans. Sunday's event, a family-centered bowling, pizza and movie activity, was enjoyed by over 80 members, young and not-so-young! The entire weekend could not have been more ably orchestrated by anyone other than its two co-chairs: Thelma Ramm and Sandy Silver.

Simchas Submissions

If you have news to include in this column, please contact Donna Frankel by the deadline date. You can call Donna at (408) 257-3455.

Photos may be submitted by email or by mail to JCN, marked "Simchas."

Photos must include the names of the people pictured, and the date of the event.

Announcing...