On Sunday, as word began to leak out that Edan Alexander, the last remaining American-Israeli hostage who was kidnapped on October 7 and held in captivity for 583 days, was about to be freed, the Jewish world, as well as those who had been following the situation, had a chance to celebrate. …
In the closing scene of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris, played by Matthew Broderick, looks directly into the camera and says, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
I've been thinking about this over the last week or so as we contin…
As a kid, I always loved playing soccer and baseball, especially being part of a team. I enjoyed the camaraderie, the shared experiences, and the competition. Being a part of something, working together with others, competing, and working towards the same goal is powerful.
Over the last…
Before I begin this week's column, I hope you and your family had a meaningful Passover this year. For me, this year's celebration held a more profound meaning with everything our Jewish world has faced these last several years.
With Passover now ended and in our immediate rearview mirror, …
As I write my column today, Senator Cory Booker is well into his marathon floor speech. What fascinates me about this moment in time, whatever side of the aisle you align yourself with, is the conviction and passion he is expressing. Even more so, how he made the decision to take a stand and…
This past Saturday, March 22, our Jewish Federation brought the community came together for our Seventh Annual Every Person Has a Name – our 25-hour Holocaust Commemoration and Vigil, supported once again by the City of Pasadena (and the steps of Pasadena City Hall).
As we have done in t…
The following is an Op-ed our Executive Director wrote about this weekend's 7th Annual Every Person Has a Name Holocaust Commemoration and Vigil. This piece was published in the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, and Pasadena Now.
Over the last dozen years,…
This past Friday, as a community partner, I was invited to visit the National Council for Jewish Women's (NCJW) new distribution center set to open the next day in Highland Park. As I looked around at the displays and the goods available for those adversely affected by the fires, I experienc…
For this week's column, I thought I would share some of the remarks I made during this past Sunday's 30th Annual Meeting:
As many of you may know, I began working at our Jewish Federation on March 1, 2005, making this past Saturday the start of my 21st year here. When I first started, I…
As the news broke and information has continued to pour out last week regarding the status of the remains of the Bibas, especially the children, to say that I was horrified, by the grotesque way Hamas chose to murder Ariel and Kfir Bibas, with "their bare hands", would be an absolute underst…
This past Sunday, people across the country came together for one of the most celebrated unofficial American holidays… the Super Bowl. It is one of my favorite days of the year because of my love of sports and competition. However, the Super Bowl has held a little extra importance for the …
Yesterday was January 27. In 2005, the United Nations established UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and they chose that day because that was the day, back in 1945, when Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. Yesterday marked the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of that death camp. In …
The last seven days since my last column have been extremely eventful around the world. Between yesterday’s Inauguration, to getting a chance to tour the Eaton Fire area in Altadena with Rabbi Hanoka from Chabad of Pasadena and the Consul General of Israel Israel Bachar on Wednesday, and t…
It has been almost 5 years since I began writing this weekly column in an effort to keep our community connected at the start of the COVID pandemic. Since then, so many people in the community have commented on how much they appreciate these messages, and because of that, I've continued. Eve…
Community.
It is very likely THE word that I think, speak, and/or write about most in all of my years as our Jewish Federation’s Executive Director. In essence, it is the very reason why the entire Jewish Federation movement was created. Jewish Federations are an amalgamation of several J…
