Jewish Community News

News: February 2006

Daniel Pearl’s father speaks in Los Altos

Judea Pearl has spent little of his adult life in synagogue, but today he stands in Congregation Beth Am on Shabbat addressing a roomful of South Bay Jews. The topic? A book he and his wife compiled in honor of their son Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and murdered by Pakastani militants in Karachi in 2002.
Congregation Beth Am is one stop on a nationwide synagogue book tour Dr. Pearl is taking to promote I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl.

Interfaith families sending kids to Jewish Day School

Kim Cousens vividly remembers the pre-kindergarten Yavneh party she attended with her 5-year-old daughter Molly last spring. The parents and children gathered with now-first graders for a Shabbat service.

“They were doing Shabbat and passing the loaf of bread around. I wanted to be helpful, so when they handed it to me, I held it,” recalls Cousens. “Then one of the parents told me, ‘just rip a piece off and hand it to the next person.’” More

Orthodox woman rabbi comes to Beth David

Beth David’s scholar-in-residence this spring will be Reb Mimi (Miriam Sarah) Feigelson, an unusual Orthodox rabbi. She considers herself a rabbi, but does not use the title. She did receive smicha (rabbinic ordination) from the famed Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach in 1994. But she kept it a secret from most people. A reporter from The Jewish Week in New York broke the news in December 2000. More

JDate opens up to gay searches

(JTA) — For all the nice Jewish boys looking for other nice Jewish boys — and nice Jewish lesbians looking for love — JDate.com has come to the rescue.

The popular Jewish online dating site expanded its search capabilities this month to allow gay men and lesbians to seek matches. The Web site, which is popular among Jews of all ages, now asks people for their gender and the gender they’re searching, allowing men to search for men and women to search for women. More

Orthodox Shul redefines itself Sephardic

In response to the ever-growing Jewish community of Middle Eastern descent, the well-known San Jose congregation known as Ahavas Torah has undergone a facelift: a new name, Ahabat Torah; a new nusach, Sephardic; a new spiritual leader, Rabbi David Zitter. More

A new rabbi in town: Rabbi Aaron Shushan

Rabbi Aaron Shushan is the new spiritual guide of the Am Echad community in San Jose. He studied at the Chevroni Beis Midrash in Jerusalem before coming to California in 2001 to serve as teacher and rebbe at Eitz Chayim Academy. Rabbi Shushan became the rebbe of Am Echad in June. More

Kenneth Stein to speak at the APJCC Feb. 16

Kenneth W. Stein, a professor of contemporary Middle Eastern history, political science and Israeli studies at Emory University will give the second SBI lecture on Thursday, Feb. 16 at the APJCC. His talk will focus on “The Middle East in the 21st Century: What is the Meaning for Israel?” He is the author of many scholarly books and articles, including Heroic Diplomacy: Sadat, Kissinger, Carter, Begin, and the Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace and The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East in collaboration with former President Jimmy Carter. More

My Birthright trip to Israel

By Leya Babchin

Last December, my little sister Jessica and I made the venture to Israel on the Oranim Birthright trip. The El-Al security woman checking our passports asked why we wanted to go to Israel, and my sister answered, “We’re Jewish and we’re going home!” More

Orthodox lesbians struggle in ‘Keep Not Silent’ showing Mar. 8

Miriam-Esther fights her aversion to a man’s touch for the sake of her family and 10 children. Ruth’s husband permits his wife to see her female lover twice a week. Yudith, a rabbi’s daughter, declares her sexuality openly as she believes “lies are the worst sin on earth.” More