Torah
Moses and me: chasing the flock back into the gazebo
The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek. Devarim Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22 As Moses begins his great farewell address to the…
Mixed & Matched
Does the perfect synagogue exist?
Dear Dawn: I saw your response in J. to someone in the Bay Area wanting a Conservative shul where the men wear kippahs and would accept his half-Jewish…
Organic Epicure
This NYC bond trader’s side hustle is his mom’s Russian restaurant in SF
Igor Litvak is practically a San Francisco native, having come here as a toddler from Moldova in 1988. Until two years ago, he had never lived anywhere…
Celebrity Jews
Woodstock turns 50; feminist gangsters; ‘Scary Stories’; etc.
“Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation,” a new offering in the “American Experience” series on PBS, will air at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17 on KQED…
Parenting
Our family mitzvah: picking fresh produce for those in need
Gleaning is one of our favorite family volunteer activities, though few people seem to know about it. The concept is pretty simple — and pretty old. When…
Torah
Shelter from the storm: Sanctuary cities then and now
The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek. “It is time for us all to decide who we are …” (“Red and Black” song from the…
Torah
The Torah's two very different models of leadership
The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek. Pinchas Numbers 25:10-30:1 Leadership is a central theme of the Book of…
Celebrity Jews
Tarantino’s latest; Polanski’s take on Dreyfus Affair; Captain Kirk’s Jewish values
At the movies “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which opens Friday, July 26, is a big-budget comedy-drama written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. I will…
Jew in the Pew
Time to rethink everything you’ve been told about Jews and astrology
For most Jews, the entirety of Jewish belief about astrology is based on a single line in the Talmud: ein mazal l’Yisrael — there is no astrological sign…