Grandpals Shabbat program unites seniors and preschoolers

The APJCC’s Grandpals Shabbat program has been a  hit with kids and seniors since it began on February 1. At each session, seniors sing with the children and then help them do a craft or other activity. At the end of the morning, seniors lead the children in blessing the Shabbat candles, grape juice and challah. Preschool parent Alan Josephson and APJCC Rabbi Joshua Fenton play guitar and lead the singing. More

    As the class ends, there is a great reluctance to leave. One student needs just a last moment of clarification from the teacher. Others head downstairs to the café to continue their conversation over coffee. The energy, the enthusiasm, the delight in learning — it’s all “Melton.”
   Introduced to the APJCC three years ago by Jewish educator Dottie Miller, with the encouragement of APJCC CEO Hal Bordy, the “Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, a project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,” has grown into a popular, blossoming program. More

Congregation Shir Hadash of Los Gatos is  partnering with Most Holy Trinity Church in East San Jose and the Muslim Community Association to present the third annual Healthy Living Health Fair 2008 on Sunday, April 27, from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.
     The Health Fair will provide free health screening tests to a large, medically under-served community. More than 60 exhibitors will be on hand to provide health information and tools for healthy living. Low-cost health care providers will facilitate ongoing access to health care services. More

South Bay widows and widowers come together for fun and companionship
By Laura Rheinheimer

     On Valentine’s day at the Country Gourmet restaurant in Los Altos, couples fill several tables, perhaps enjoying an early sweethearts’ lunch.
     Nearby, a group of seven people sit around a table adorned with flowers and a pink rose for every  person. The group has come to acknowledge Valentine’s Day, but in a different way than other couples. Everyone in this group has sadly lost their sweethearts. 
     “It’s a special day we shared with our spouses,” said group member Bee Shtulman.
     Meet the Widow/Widowers/Singles Group of Silicon Valley, a Jewish group started a year and a half ago when group founder Norma Slavit  searched unsuccessfully for a Jewish group that she felt met the needs of all the widows and widowers in the area. More

Local speech and debate competition slated for the first night of Passover

In response to a disappointing decision by the  California High School Speech Association’s (CHSSA) to hold its upcoming state tournament on the first night of Passover, Hillel of Silicon Valley (HSV) will hold a Seder (Passover dinner) that same evening at Santa Clara University, the location of the speech tournament.
     The goal is to allow Jewish high school students the chance to participate in both the speech and debate competition and a Passover Seder. The Seder will be open to all students, of all religious backgrounds, participating in the State Tournament. More

Bring on the five cups, but only drink four!
By Ernie Weir, owner of Hagafen Cellars

    We all know the Seder and wine go together like roast beef and horseradish, but how did this particular part of Pesach start and what is its meaning?  It has to do with a combination of history and belief.  It was traditional in Roman times for wine to be part of celebrations, and what better to celebrate than the fulfilled promises made to the Israelites by their G-d: they would leave Egypt, they would no longer be slaves, they would be redeemed by him, and they would become a nation.  As we have partaken of four cups of wine through thousands of Seders, we have shown our remembrance of these events and the proof that they are still in effect.  In a sense, when we drink our four cups, we connect with the countless numbers of our ancestors who also celebrated their freedom and united existence as a people. More

Twelve-year-old raises funds to fight human trafficking in Israel
By Keren Hendel

      As a part of my seventh grade class at Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School (Hausner) called Avodah L’Olam  we are asked to choose an organization that we would like to support, and then offer a donation from fundraising organized by the students.
    I chose an Israeli organization called Atzum.  Atzum helps Israeli survivors of terror and their families; it helps Righteous Gentiles who live in Israel; and Atzuit  runs a task force against human trafficking in Israel.
      I found out about Atzum from my uncle and as I learned more and more about this organization, I felt more confident about my decision to help these causes and the organization. More

Speakers present talks on local Jewish history and growing up Jewish in China

Conversations in Jewish Learning, sponsored by Congregation Beth David, will present its final two lectures in the spring series on April 3 and April 30, at 7:30 p.m.
     Stephen Kinsey, history teacher and lecturer, will speak on “The History of the Jews in San Jose” on April 3. Kinsey will explore the development of the San Jose Jewish community in the 19th century and its further growth into the 20th century.
    Kinsey and his wife, Lynne, have been members of Beth David since 1978. He is a middle school history teacher. As a trustee of the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks at the Judah Magnes Museum in Berkeley, he lectures on and leads tours to Jewish Gold Rush cemeteries. More

The newest art exhibit at the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center (JCC) Silicon Valley is “Cookie Addison: A Retrospective.” The exhibit is free and open to the public through April 25.
   Cookie Addison,  a regular at the APJCC, is in fact (along with her husband Arnie) the namesake of the center. She began her art career in college at the Art Institute of Chicago, but put her art career on hold to raise a family. When she and her family moved to California she took up her art again, participating in art shows and selling her work.
    Locally her work has previously been displayed at the Art Museum of Los Gatos, and she has had her paintings accepted into the annual art show of the Los Gatos Art Association. More