Merry museum
The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco is still basking in the afterglow of what happened on Dec. 25. Proving that Chinese food and movies aren’t the only activities for Jews on Christmas, a whopping total of 4,500 people visited the CJM that day, writes museum staffer Stacey Silver, giving the museum its biggest single-day attendance since it opened last June. The café served hundreds of bowls of matzah ball soup and platters and platters of latkes, since it was also the fourth day of Chanukah. The activity rooms and galleries were packed by guests from as far away as London and South Africa, as well as by locals such as San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty and his daughter, Sydney, and CJM trustee Marilyn Waldman with her son, Jon Yolles, grandson, Andrew Snow, and granddaughter, Sasha Yolles, 22 months. Continuing its several-year-old tradition, but first in its new facility, CJM offered an admission-free day.
Sporting news
Six Bay Area folk were among 105 cyclists riding from Jerusalem to Eilat — about 300 miles – in November to raise money for the environmental organizations Arava Institute and Hazon. Yeshaya Ballon of Palo Alto, one of the riders, reports that he decided to do the ride when he was “looking for an audacious goal” to nudge him into getting more exercise. In a post-ride talk at Congregation Beth Jacob in Redwood City, Ballon said, “There wasn’t so much one huge ‘a-ha’ moment, but many small pinpricks of consciousness and delight.” Also taking part in the Israel Ride were Sheldon Kahn of Orinda, Aryeh Canter of San Francisco, Kathy Picard of Campbell, Arthur Gould of Alameda and Michael Cooper of Lafayette. To look into enjoying your own pin pricks of delight, check the Arava Institute Web site (www.arava.org) for info on the 2009 ride.
The San Francisco 49ers presented Abraham’s Vision directors Aaron Hahn Tapper and Huda Abu Arqoub with the Perry/Yonamine Unity Award in at a home game last month against the New York Jets. The award, named after former 49ers players Joe Perry and Wally Yonamine, is given to a group that demonstrates a commitment to promoting unity and giving back to the local community.
Rebbes and hazzans
Honorary Doctor of Music degrees were conferred upon three Northern California cantors at the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Convocation last month. And the awardees are Hans Cohn of Palo Alto and George Wald of Sacramento, who are both retired, and Marc A. Dinkin, the cantor at B’nai Shalom, Walnut Creek … Rabbi Irwin Keller, who has been filling in as rabbi at Congregation Ner Shalom, is now the official part-time rabbi for the Cotati congregation … Rabbi Mychal Copeland of Hillel at Stanford was among eight Hillel professionals awarded the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award “for embracing the organization’s mission and enriching its efforts” … Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills will celebrate Rabbi Janet Marder‘s 10th anniversary beginning May 29, with guest scholars Rabbis David Saperstein and Lennard Thal, and a cheesecake party.
Short shorts …
Eden Bruner has been named director of Development and Marketing at Jewish Family and Children’s Services in San Francisco … Claire Axelrad, who formerly served in the JFCS position, is now associate director for advancement at the JCC of San Francisco, a newly designated executive level position.
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