Growing up in Soviet-era Ukraine in the 1970s and ’80s, attending Jewish summer camp was not an option for Rabbi Shimon Margolin of San Francisco. The “first time I stepped into a synagogue was in 1989 when I was 17 years [old] in my native city of Dnepropetrovsk,” he told J. by email. “Later on,…
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Jewish Life
Parenting
Summer is a real page-turner in my book-happy family
My grandparents’ basement is a magical place. Always cool in summer, it’s filled with piles of old movie posters from our family-owned movie theater,…
Organic Epicure
Fire Swamp’s bagels and babka are sizzlin’ hot at Novato market
The beginning of the pandemic for Alex Tishman was like that of so many other chefs. Employed at the time by the company Big City Chefs, he was mostly…
Religion
‘My Unorthodox Life’: Uninteresting and superficial
To paraphrase Shakespeare: In the Jewish world, this has been the “summer of our discontent.” First, there was Gaza. Then, there was the pandemic of…
Torah
All of Judaism in one tidy Torah portion
The Torah column is supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon. Vaetchanan Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11 Looking to find…
Jewish Life
Obituaries for the week of July 23, 2021
Obituaries are supported by a generous grant from Sinai Memorial Chapel. Richard Chaitin Nov. 8, 1931–July 17, 2021 Richard (Dick) Chaitin was born in…
Community
Lifecycle announcements for the week of July 23, 2021
Births Grandparents Ellen and Dan Hartford of Palo Alto, along with 6-year-old Genzo Hartford, 4-year-old Yoshi Hartford, parents Mark and Midori Hartford…
Our Crowd
Honors, happenings, comings & goings — July 2021
Honors & Awards Four executives of Bay Area Jewish organizations have been selected for the Leading Edge CEO Onboarding Program: Marcella White…
First Person
The lasting impact of a 1975 Camp Swig visit to San Quentin prison
A San Quentin inmate with a swastika tattooed on his hand greeted our class as we stepped off the bus outside the prison. It was 1975, and we were 30…