Torah
What childbirth teaches us about the Omer
Tazria-Metzora Leviticus 12:1–15:33 II Kings 7:3–20 Right now we are in a period of time on the Jewish calendar called the Omer, when we are instructed to…
Obituaries
Deaths for the week of April 20, 2018
Alkmene Georgia Bandar, née Smernes July 15, 1929-April 13, 2018 Alkmene Bandar entered into peaceful rest at home as per her wishes after an extended…
Lifecycles
Lifecycles for the week of April 20, 2018
Births It is with gratitude and joy that Michaël Devyver and Andrea Longini of Palo Alto announce the birth of their son, Noah Sacha Devyver, on Jan. 24,…
Jewish Life
4 tales from the fire zone: luck, faith, healing — and a deli
Over six months after devastating wildfires swept through the North Bay, we caught up with four families from the area. Are they healing? Are they…
Israel at 70
This beautiful, messy country … my Israel
Sticky arms and face from three popsicles too many. Dirty feet from running around barefoot in orange orchards. Hair wild from dipping in and out of the…
420
The secret Jewish history of 420
“Today we have an interview with the J. because 47 years ago, we smoked a ‘j.’ ” So says Steve Capper, one of five former San Rafael High School students…
From the J. Archive
What we wrote about S.F.’s Israel celebration in 1948
May 21, 1948 Birth of the State of Israel was celebrated in San Francisco in the Veterans Building with a rousing mass meeting sponsored by all the…
Israel at 70
How I met my brother
When our tour guide Gadi rolled down the window and addressed the security guard as “achi” — “my brother” — I was surprised that he just happened to have…
Israel at 70
My joy and my heartache
On a beautiful fall day in 1966, finally fulfilling a longtime dream, I took a train from Amsterdam, then a boat from Genoa, Italy, to Haifa. It was a…