Home run of fun

The San Francisco Giants blew it  — badly — on Jewish Heritage Night last month, losing 11-0 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. But all was not lost. It was a beautiful, one-of-a-kind San Francisco evening — balmy, no wind, a lovely sunset and (hopefully) good company.

And Rabbi H. David Teitelbaum, sitting two tiers above first base, caught a foul ball. “I think it was beshert,” writes Teitelbaum, rabbi emeritus at Congregation Beth Jacob in Redwood City.

Also, in the middle of the fourth inning, there was a tribute to the late Frank Winston, the man who started Jewish Heritage Night, says Alameda’s Harry Gluckman. Gluckman worked with Giants officials to be sure the tribute happened.

Although he attended the game with his wife, Doris, he says he prefers watching the game from his home. In fact, the Aug. 27 game marked the first time he had attended a Giants game in 45 years.

P.S. I happened to sit next to Gluckman at the game, where I was taking notes on a flier for Jewish Heritage Night with the Warriors. Save the date: It’s April 11, 2010.

Channeling Jane Stanford

As classes at Stanford University resumed this week, co-founder Jane Stanford is alive and well — sort of. In a new service for students, Palo Alto’s Caryn Huberman Yacowitz impersonates Jane, the wife of Leland Stanford. The couple founded the university in 1891.

The idea, Huberman Yacowitz reports, is to provide a feminine face for the university at a variety of events during the academic year and to promote “askJane,” a new searchable database of commonly asked questions about the university.

Huberman Yacowitz is an actor-author-playwright who, along with Diane Clarbout and Enid Davis, wrote “JEANS!,” a musical about Levi Strauss.

Education sensation

Hal Plotkin of Palo Alto was named senior policy adviser in the  Department of Education, reporting to Martha Kanter, President Barack Obama’s under secretary of education.

Plotkin, a member of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, resigned his post as vice president of the Foothill–DeAnza Community College District Board of trustees to move to Washington, D.C., to take the position.  He’s also an author and financial analyst.

Short shorts …

Proud mom June Brott writes that her son, Oakland writer Armin Brott, has published his 19th book, “The Military Father: A Hands-On Guide for Deployed Dads.” According to his Web site, Armin is “a former Marine, [who] has devoted the last 15 years to providing men with the tools, support and knowledge to help them become the fathers they want to be — and their families need them to be.” Many of his books are about men, but he’s written books on topics as diverse as customer service and brain chemistry … Kevin Michael Hagan and Samuel Barnette Sabo, congregants at Congregation Beth Sholom in Napa, were honored last month at the temple’s first Boy Scouts of America National Eagle Court of Honor. The two were members of the temple’s Cub Scout Pack 122 and rose through the ranks … The Jewish Community Relations Council’s new officers are Ruvim Braude, president; Jerilyn Gelt and Michael Sweet, vice presidents; Rosalind Franklin Jekowsky, secretary; and Daniel Feitelberg, treasurer … Set your DVR to KPIX–Channel 5 on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 5 a.m. to hear Phyllis Cook, Joanne Greene, Sam Strauss and Ben Chaika chat with Rabbi Eric Weiss about their reflections on the High Holy Days on the show “Mosaic” … And speaking of that, Shanah Tovah! Have a warm and reflective Rosh Hashanah.

This columnist can be reached at [email protected].