Shorts: Bay Area

Vocational program cites star employees

When Pavel Krepkiy moved from Russia to San Francisco, the Jewish Vocational Services helped him secure a job at a law firm. At 26 years old, he is now studying for the California Bar Exam.

Krepkiy, Izabella Angert, Jason Flory and Pearl Kariakin will be honored with Employee of the Year Awards at the 13th annual JVS Strictly Business Awards luncheon. The event will be held 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 12, at the Marriott Hotel, 55 Fourth St., S.F.

All the honorees are JVS clients and Bay Area residents. In addition to the four winners, JVS will honor Wells Fargo with the Business Leadership Award for its contributions to JVS. Information: (415) 391-3600.




'Unity, redemption' Shabbat with Chabad

Local Chabad rabbis are asking people to observe Shabbat on Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9.

It's part of an international campaign called "Shabbat Devoted to Unity and Redemption," now in its fourth year. San Francisco is participating for the first time.

Free Shabbat kits are being distributed with candles, a brochure with blessings, information and a calendar with the candle-lighting times for one year.

Additionally, Chabad Rabbis Yosef Langer, Menachem Landa and Aaron Hecht will lead a Shabbat together with singing, praying, dining and learning. The evening service will begin 6:15 p.m. at 834 28th Ave., S.F. The next day, the event will begin at 10 a.m. at 423 10th Ave., S.F. Kiddush lunch will follow.

To attend or receive a candle-lighting kit, call (415) 668-6178. Cost is $25 each to attend the whole program, or $18 for either the evening or the daytime program.




'Tot Shabbat' includes stuffed animals

Children are invited to bring their favorite stuffed animal for a special "Tot Shabbat" service at Conservative Congregation B'nai Emunah, where the children will tell stories about their animals.

The service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 9, at 3595 Taraval St., S.F.

Parents are requested to call the congregation office in advance to receive a certificate with the animal's Hebrew name.

Information: (415) 664-7373.




Israeli playwright touring Bay Area

Israeli playwright and performer Robbie Gringras will be performing five shows throughout the Bay Area as part of the Israel Center's Scholars-in-Residence Series "Engaging Minds."

A British native, Gringras creates humorous plays addressing issues affecting Jews and Israel today. He has worked as a freelance director throughout Israel since 1996.

Gringras will be performing Friday, April 1 through Tuesday, April 5 at Congregation Beth Sholom in Napa, Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, Berkeley Hillel and U.C. Davis. All performances are free. For times, call the Israel Center, (415) 512-6203.




Portuguese Righteous Gentile honored in New York

Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese Righteous Gentile, will be remembered and honored next week for saving the lives of an estimated 30,000 Jews and others during the Holocaust.

A reception will be held Wednesday, April 6, at the Museum of the Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City.

The event will mark the opening of the museum's exhibit of the registry book used by Sousa Mendes for the first 2,000 visas he issued on June 17, 1940. The exhibit also features the pen used to enter those names in the book.

In 1986, Robert Jacobvitz, then executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Greater East Bay, and Anne Treseder, a San Francisco attorney, worked with relatives of Sousa Mendes to start the International Committee for the Commemoration of Aristides de Sousa Mendes. They established branches in Israel, Portugal, and Canada, coordinated efforts with French and English-based organizations and campaigned internationally for recognition of Sousa Mendes' heroism.

Jacobvitz and Treseder will be honored for their efforts at the reception.

Almost 20 years later, Sousa Mendes has been exonerated and honored by the Portuguese government, and his story is viewed as an example of moral courage by Portuguese schoolchildren.




Warriors will hold Jewish Community Night

A number of Jewish community organizations have joined forces with the Golden State Warriors to put on Jewish Community Night at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 10. The Warriors will face the San Antonio Spurs at The Arena in Oakland.

Representatives from both the San Francisco and Marin JCCs, San Francisco Hillel, PlanitJewish.com, Brandeis Hillel Day School, San Francisco Hillel and the Northern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame contacted the National Basketball Association club to establish the event. Members of the Jewish organizations are hoping a strong turnout will make Jewish Community Night a yearly event.

Jenny Clabaugh, a group sales representative for the team, said discounted tickets for the event, available to all, are priced as low as $12, or $30, $40 and $55 for lower-deck seats.

Information: (510) 986-5704 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).