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Jewish Community News

Simchas: March 2007

Simchas from Silicon Valley

Simchas of Silicon Valley

BIRTHS

Karen & Allen Guggenheim of Congregation Beth David are the proud grandparents of Connor Matthew Berkowitz who was born January 24. He was named for his maternal great-grandfather, Harold Guggenheim, and his paternal grandmother, Molly Berkowitz. Connor is the son of Lori & Greg Berkowitz of Walnut Creek. Lori grew up at Beth David. Greg grew up at Temple Isaiah in Moraga. His parents are Lillian & Gene Berkowitz who now live in Danville, CA. Connor has a big brother Brendan, 2. Uncle Scott & Aunt Shannon Guggenheim live in Campbell with their daughter Lily, 4, who attends the APJCC Pre School in Los Gatos. Uncle Stephen Guggenheim lives in New York City and Saratoga where he is both an opera singer and a Cantorial singer. His uncle Michael Berkowitz lives in the East Bay.

Sandy & David Mayer of Congregation Beth David welcomed their first grandchild into the family on February 4. Gabriel Matthew Mayer was born in Memphis, TN to Jonathan & Penny Mayer in Memphis, TN where Jonathan is now finishing his residency in OB/GYN at the University of Tennessee. Jonathan grew up at Beth David and attended Camp Ramah for eleven years. He is a Captain in the Medical Corps of United States Air Force. Penny grew up in Tupelo, MS. Her parents are Caren & Dr. Frank Nichols. She graduated from the University of Rochester and received her MSW from the University of Chicago. Gabriel is the nephew of Oren Mayer of Atlanta and Adam Mayer of San Francisco. Gabriel’s great-grandparents, Joheved and Arie Egon Mayer live in Tel Aviv. His California great-grandparents are Harriette & Dr. Morrie Kirschen of Modesto and his great-grandmother in Mississippi is Rosemary Hilbert. Gabriel’s middle name is in memory of Penny’s brother, Matthew, who died when he was in high school.

Mary & David Rockman of San Francisco, along with big brother Nathan, happily announce the birth of Noah Jordan Rockman on Sept. 27. Proud grandparents include longtime Temple Emanu-El member JoAnn Shank of Los Gatos, Joseph Shank of San Jose and Anita Hoffman and Stanley Rockman of San Mateo. Great-grandmother is Elinor Shank of Portland, OR. Noah is welcomed by Aunt Molly & Owen Seitel and Aunt Suzanne & Brian Towns and cousins Sofie Seitel and Kate Towns all of San Francisco.

CALLED TO THE TORAH

Zachary Ellenberg, son of Susan & Steve Ellenberg of Congregation Sinai will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on March 10. He is the grandson of Maureen Ellenberg and the late Dr. Sandy Ellenberg and Harvey & Beverly Slater of Pittsburg, PA. His sisters, Molly, 11, and Naava, 8, are happy and proud to participate in the service as is his Uncle Steve & Aunt Kris Ellenberg of Marina del Rey and his Uncle Adam Slater of Toronto, Canada and Uncle David & Aunt Heidi Slater of Portland, OR. Cousins Lola and Eden Ellenberg and Julia, Audrey & Max Slater are excited to attend their older cousin’s Bar Mitzvah. Dr. Al Sporer, his great-uncle, of Congregation Sinai has been his Bar Mitzvah tutor. Zach is a seventh grade student at Yavneh Jewish Day School and his mitzvah project comes from his class there. In lieu of giving gifts to one another, each member of the class makes a donation to a class fund. Students allocate the money from that fund to an organization which in Zach’s case is Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence. In addition to the class fund, Zach will donate 10% of the gifts he receives for his bar mitzvah to Next Door. Zach enjoys playing flag football, basketball and building things and making videos.

Aaron Schneider, son of Maureen & Andrew Schneider was called to the Torah February 10 at Congregation Beth David. Aaron is a student at Kennedy Middle School in Cupertino where he plays the clarinet in the school band and is on the swim team. He enjoys photo editing and art on the computer. His older sister, Dina, 16, did a Torah reading at her brother’s Bar Mitzvah and his sister, Emma, 10, led Ein Keiloheinu. His grandparents, Natalie & Stanley Schneider, flew in from Swarthmore, PA as did an uncle from Denver and an aunt from Philadelphia.

Rachel Lyn Levy, daughter of Bob & Judy Levy, was called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah on February 24 at Temple Emanu-El. She is a 7th grade honor roll student at Moreland Middle School in West San Jose. She enjoys performing in the theatre arts program, singing and talking on the phone with friends. Rachel asked her parents to join Temple Emanu-El in October 2003 after meeting Paula Marsh, principal of the Religious School, during the High Holy Days. Having had minimal exposure to Judaism before joining the synagogue, her passion and commitment to becoming a Bat Mitzvah have inspired all of those around her. Her parents, older brothers Eric and Aaron, Grandmother Nell Levy, Grandfather Ed Kraft, aunts, uncles and cousins took part in the service. Rachel looks forward to continuing her “spiritual journey” by learning Modern Hebrew, attending services and going through confirmation.

Rachel Hansen, daughter of Rhonda & Bob Hansen and sister of Nicole Hansen, was called to the Torah as a Bat Mitzvah on March 3. In addition to her parents and sister, her Uncle Steven & Aunt Sue Fishoff, her grandmother Flora Fishoff and her grandparents Kathleen & Henry Hansen of Vineland, NJ, attended. Rachel is a 7th grade student in the accelerated program at Ida Price Middle School in San Jose where she was elected Fall Secretary for the Student Council. She is involved in the leadership program at school, has performed competitively on the Ida Price Color Guard and Winter Guard teams and is a member of the National Junior Honor Society. She enjoys piano and dance lessons, spending time with friends and family and her bunny, Midnight. As a result of her passion for animals, her Mitzvah Project involved soliciting donations (blankets, towels, food, toys and money) for animals in need at the Humane Society.

Aliza Aitchison of Los Gatos, daughter of Rabbi Leslie Alexander & Dr. Kenneth Aitchison will celebrate her Bat Mitzvah at Congregation Beth David on March 17. Her grandparents, Rabbi Ted & Gertrude Alexander of Danville and Henia Aitchison of New York, NY will be on hand for this special occasion as well as her big sister, Shira, who will fly in from NYU. Aliza is in the 7th grade at Yavneh where she participates on the Blaze basketball team. Her mitzvah projects included collecting books in Hebrew for the Jews in Uganda, Aba Yudaya and creating a Torah binder to wrap a Torah rescued by her grandfather and great grandfather from their burning synagogue in Berlin on Kristalnacht. Aliza enjoys Yavneh Day School and looks forward to returning to Camp Ramah this summer.

ENGAGEMENTS

Judith Leah Uffer, daughter of Glenda Uffer and the late Roy Uffer, who grew up in San Jose and graduated from Leigh High School is engaged to David Hugh Malcolm formerly of London, son of Jennifer Jane Malcolm and the late William Maurice Malcolm, O.B.E. Judy’s sister, Rachel Uffer lives in Ventura, CA and David’s brother, Ian Malcolm lives in England. The happy couple now live in Boston and plan to be married there in early October, 2007. Judy graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a B.A. in psychology and from Northeastern University with a M.S. in Counseling Psychology. She is now employed by DIMOCK Health Center as a Counselor in Early Intervention. Her fiancée is a Senior Software Engineer at Red Hat. He graduated from Balliol College at Oxford University with a Bachelors degree in Mathematics and Computers.

Mila & Alexander Sedletsky of Fremont, CA announce the engagement of their daughter, Natalya Sedletskaya to Michael Shaun Cristol of San Jose, son of Linda & Mark S. Cristol. Natalya, a graduate of the University of San Francisco, is an accountant with PG&E in San Francisco. Michael is a graduate of California State University at Chico with a Bachelor and Masters of Art in English. He is employed by the City of San Jose. A February, 2008 wedding is planned.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Miriam Turk, daughter of Herb & Edith Turk of Ahabat Torah, was recently named vice president of NEFESH, an international organiza-tion of orthodox mental health professionals. She received her Masters degree in Social Work from the Wurtzweiler School of Social Welfare of Yeshiva University and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. After living in San Jose for more than 44 years, Edith & Herb Turk are in the process of moving to Los Angeles to spend time with their other daughter, Rachel, her husband and their five children.

Melissa Reisner, daughter of longtime Temple Emanu-El congregants Harriet & David Reisner, attended the Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill where she was a part of the delayed entry program (D.E.P.) for the armed services. She has now graduated from the Marine Corp Basic Training at Parris Island, SC and will go on to study aviation electronics in Pensacola, FL for the next year.

Please send announcements and photos to Andrea Greyber at agreyber@yahoo.com or 377-6224.

Simchas Submissions

If you have news to include in this column, please contact Andrea Greyber by the deadline date.

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