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Jewish Community News

Simchas: June 2006

Simchas from Silicon Valley

BIRTHS

Mazel tov to Hazel & Bob Raskowitz of Saratoga, and Penni Goldman of St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada on the birth of their granddaughter, Alysa Sarah, daughter of Sheri & Alan Klapper of San Jose and sister of Jordan Matthew, 4. She was born November 29, and was named at Shir Hadash on January 6. Alysa is the niece of Debra & Michael Sweet of San Francisco and her cousins are Adina Nicole Sweet 3, & Raquel Elizabeth Sweet, 1 ½. Alysa is also the niece of Marcy and Steve Howe of Exton, PA.

We wish a hearty mazel tov to Beth David members Ronee & Ike Nassi of Los Gatos on the birth of their first grandchild, Zachary Oscar Nassi, born to Jennifer & Mark Nassi on January 13 in Arvada, CO. Zachary’s uncles are Jason & Alex Nassi of Los Gatos. His grandmothers are Carol Nassi of Northridge, CA and Ruth Howard of Saratoga.

Miriam & Charlie Marr of Beth David returned from Jerusalem where they met their first grandchild, a granddaughter, Jocheved, whose mother, Rachel Marr Blumenthal grew up in Los Altos. She and her husband Yonoson Blumenthal were pleased to welcome their daughter on January 17. The happy aunt and uncle are Rebecca & David Stashower of San Jose.

Congratulations to Carol & Howard Zolla of Sinai on the birth of their daughter, Abigail Rachel on March 22. Her brother Aaron turned two in April. Abigail is the granddaughter of Maxine & Gerald Zolla of NJ and Charles Elias of San Pedro, CA and Emilie Elias of Palos Verdes, CA.

Rabbi Shalom Bochner & Orli Loewenberg of Santa Cruz had a baby boy on March 17. He was named Yuval Lavi (Brook of a Lion) at the Brit Milah at their home on March 25. Rabbi Channan Feld served as the Mohel. Rabbis Shalom Bochner, Paula Marcus, Lori Klein, Shifra Penzias-Weiss and Chaim Schneider co-officiated. Yuval, joins his older brother, Nitzan Yoel Bochner Loewenberg. Rabbi Bochner is currently the director of Jewish Campus Life for Santa Cruz Hillel. Orli is an educator for Life Lab Science Program promoting recycling and waste reduction in the classroom.

Jewish Federation Executive Director Jyl Jurman & her husband, David are thrilled to announce the arrival of her granddaughter, Maya Rose, on March 31. Maya is the daughter of Jodi & Kevin Weisman of Los Angeles. Maya’s other grandparents include Jack & Laurie Tanowitz of San Jose, Mickey Weisman and Andi Weisman of Los Angeles. Maya is the cousin of Neve, 5, and Aiden, 3, children of Jayme & Eylon David. She is blessed with 5 great grandparents. Maya is Jodi and Kevin’s first child. Kevin currently plays Marshall in the ABC show “Alias” and Jodi is a preschool teacher at Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

CALLED TO THE TORAH

February 25 was a very special day at Beth David in Saratoga. For more than two years, seven women worked toward the celebration of their adult B’not Mitzvah. Seema Cicerone, Barbara Davis, Pat Field, Sheryl Lewis, Marina Pevzner, Felicia Shaffer and Janet Witkin formed close bonds with one another and this occasion was one which will be long remembered by them, their families and the entire congregation.

Beth David was the place for the Bar Mitzvah of Evan Hirsch, son of Lee & Bonnie Hirsch of Cupertino. Evan is a student at Kennedy MiddleSchool in Cupertino where he enjoys baseball and Boy Scouts. His older brother, Scott, 15, had his Bar Mitzvah at Beth David two years ago and his younger sister, Jessica, hopes to follow in her brothers’ footsteps. Evan’s grandparents, Norman & Sandra Coplon of Portola Valley who belong to Kol Emeth in Palo Alto were proud to attend Evan’s Bar Mitzvah as was his grandmother from Florida, Barbara Weinstein.

We wish a hearty mazel tov to Michael & Jenny Segal whose son Shai, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Beth David on March 11. Shai is a student at Redwood Middle School in Saratoga and he is interested in basketball, chess and math. His sister, Lee, 10, was pleased to celebrate this milestone with her big brother.

Daniel Adelberg celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at Beth David in Saratoga on March 18. His parents are Davida & Charles Adelberg of San Jose. Daniel attends Miller Middle School in Cupertino where he sings in the choir. He enjoys playing chess and piano. His older sister Janine attends Lynbrook High School and his younger brother Mayer is in first grade at Yavneh Day School. Daniel’s grandparents, Barbara & Mervin Adelberg flew in for this special occasion from Boynton Beach, FL.

April 1, was a special day for the Bendahan family. Arielle Bendahan, who attends Miller Middle School in Cupertino celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at Beth David and her older sister, Tamara, who attends UCLA, turned 19 on that day. Arielle is the seventh grade representative to Senior Kadima. She enjoys tap and jazz dance. Joining the family celebration from Israel was her grandmother, Rebeca Serruya and her local grandparents, Abe Eshel & Bina Guerrieri of San Jose. Her older brother, Aurie, 17, and her younger brother, Rafi, 6, were delighted to participate in this festive occasion.

ENGAGEMENTS

Sharon & Ron Joseph of Beth David are pleased to announce the engagement of their son David Joseph to Jennifer Beck of Flint, MI now of Oakland, CA. Jennifer is the daughter of Sharon Hallen of Flint, MI, and Brian Beck of Romero, MI. David & Jennifer originally met in 1990 through Young Judea, a national Jewish youth organization and renewed their friendship at the University of Michigan where he took an honors degree in history. He is currently working on his PhD dissertation in Clinical Psychology at the Alliant School of Psychology in San Francisco. Jennifer has a master’s degree in Education Leadership from the Bank Street College of Education in New York and is director of the Jewish Coalition for Literacy of the East Bay. The couple will be married at Maison du Lac on August 20, 2006. David’s sister Danya Joseph is a film editor living in Los Angeles.

Linda & Joel Zizmor of San Jose are pleased to announce that their son, Daniel Zizmor and Elana Segal will marry on July in Long Beach, CA at the Ebell Club. Elana’s parents are Dr. Gary & Phyllis Segal of Huntington Beach. Elana has a BS in Biochemistry from the University of California at San Diego, a Masters in Education of the University of California at Davis and was a Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow for Hillel at UC Davis. She is a high school chemistry teacher and sings in the woman’s ensemble a cappella group, Ya Elah. Daniel is a visual and special effects artist at Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco. He is currently animating “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”. He recently completed work on the most recent Star Wars films where he acted as the green Jedi action figure, Kit Fisto.

WEDDINGS

Mazel tov to Beth David congregants Roberta & Marty Schwartz of Cupertino on the marriage of their son Bryan to Alicia Cernitz, daughter of June & Cy Cernitz of Brooklyn, NY on April 9. The wedding took place at the Mount Airy Mansion outside of Washington, D.C. Bryan is a civil rights attorney practicing in the District of Columbia; Alicia teaches English as a second language in an elementary school in Maryland. The couple now resides in Bethesda, MD.

Michael Schaffer & Felicia Alvarez of Saratoga, CA were married on December 11 at Beth David where they are both congregants and synagogue board members. Michael has a BS in Accounting from California State University at Northridge and a Masters in Taxation from Golden Gate University. Felicia has a BA in Theater Arts and Communication from UCLA and California State University, Los Angeles and a Masters in Fine Arts from UCLA. Michael’s mother, Rae Schaffer, resides in Las Vegas, NV; his father Rubin Schaffer is deceased. Felicia’s father, Ben Alvarez lives in Terrace Heights, CA, her mother, Edna Bruhn, is deceased. Michael has two children from his first marriage, Tatiana and Maximillian Schaffer.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Mazel tov to Aaron Bernell Zisser, son of Laura Bernell & Alan Zisser, who graduated from Georgetown Law School in Washington, D.C. on May 22. In addition to his law degree, Aaron earned a Certificate in International Human Rights from the Georgetown Law Center.

Please send news of simchas by August 1
to Andrea Greyber, agreyber@yahoo.com or call (408) 357-7505.

Please send news of simchas to Andrea Greyber, agreyber@yahoo.com, with the notation “JCN Simcha” in the subject line. Accompanying photos should be emailed as jpeg attachments. The JCN requests, but does not require, a $25 donation for each simcha announcement to help defray the cost of the newspaper and support Federation. Send checks to Jewish Community News, 14855 Oka Road,, Los Gatos, CA 95032-0100.

Simchas Submissions

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

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