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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/39658/full/39658/faces6/ <br /><br /> <b>Spiritual healing, Harping on it, Parental kvelling redux, Rally rabbis, Short shorts ...</b> <br /> Thursday, August 20, 2009 | by suzan berns <br /><br /><h2>Spiritual healing</h2> <p>When she was a patient at the Jewish Home of San Francisco’s STARS unit (Short-term and Rehabilitation Services), <strong>Audrey Eichorn</strong> started going to services in the Home’s synagogue — even though she wasn’t Jewish.</p> <p>But now she is. Finding the Home’s <strong>Rabbi Sheldon Marder</strong> to be “a great spiritual leader who brings art and poetry to bear on his religious and spiritual teachings,” she began to learn Hebrew with the help of her friend and Jewish Home resident <strong>Rebekah Finer</strong> and volunteer <strong>Helen Luey</strong>.</p> <p>Earlier this month, Eichorn took the Hebrew name Advah and converted to Judaism. “I came to the Jewish Home with a broken wrist,” she said, “and now I have a healed soul.”</p> <p>The STARS unit, by the way, offers short-term rehab care and is open to people of all religions and backgrounds.</p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p> <h2>Harping on it</h2> <p>Labeling his e-mail with “chutzpah 101” in the subject field, frequent Faces contributor <strong>Don Linker</strong> of Marin writes tongue-in-cheek, “I am waiting for my harpsicle tune to be played on your station.”</p> <p>Well, turn up the volume, because here it is: The former urologist’s latest avocation is playing a bright purple harpsicle (it looks like a toddler-size harp). He learned to play it at the Institute for Health and Healing at Marin General Hospital and had his first recital there, which he accompanied with a poem he wrote.</p> <p>Here are a couple lines: “If the strings are plucked right, music will play / A soothing comforting sound that may help ‘make your day.’ ”</p> <p> </p> <h2>Parental kvelling redux</h2> <p>Reading about Michael Pearce’s success in epee at the Maccabiah Games in Israel prompted <strong>Andy and Reeva Safford</strong> of San Francisco to report that their daughter, too, was an epee winner at the same games. <strong>Hannah Safford’s</strong> women’s epee fencing team also took home a silver medal at the competition in Ma’alot. She’ll present a slideshow about the experience at services, 7:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 21 at Congregation Beth Israel–Judea in San Francisco.</p> <p> </p> <h2>Rally rabbis</h2> <p><strong>Rabbi Camille Angel</strong> of Congregation Sh’ar Zahav and <strong>Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller</strong> of Congregation Sherith Israel participated in a rally for comprehensive health insurance reform last week, arranged by the San Francisco Organizing Project. Both congregations are members of the group.</p> <p>Before the rally, Angel was among faith leaders who met with staff members from the offices of Sens. <strong>Dianne Feinstein</strong> and <strong>Barbara Boxer</strong> to ask for their support for legislation that makes coverage affordable to all families.</p> <p> </p> <h2>Short shorts …</h2> <p><strong>Dan Cohen </strong>and his East Bay public relations firm Full Court Press were honored with the 2009 Small Business Innovator award by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce for the group’s commitment to teaching and counseling philanthropies, nonprofits and businesses on the effective use of strategic communications during difficult economic times ... <strong>Alon Shalev</strong> of Berkeley has published his second novel, “Oilspill dotcom.” It’s based on a libel trial in England in the 1990s and, according to his Web site, “humorously describes the transformation of a carefree yuppie, empowered first by romance and then by a genuine desire to change the world, one pixel at a time.” Visit <a href="http://www.alonshalev.com">http://www.alonshalev.com</a> for ordering information … <strong>Andrea Carla Michaels </strong>writes, “It finally happened!” Her original crossword puzzle appeared in the New York Times on Aug. 9. She created it, she notes, with her “pal puzzle-genius” Patrick Blindauer. It also appeared in the International Herald Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle.</p>

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