Speaking for the rebbe
Rabbi Shlomie Chein, leader of the Chabad center serving U.C. Santa Cruz, gave the keynote address for 5,200 attendees at the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries — Kinus Hashluchim — in Brooklyn on Nov. 8. Noting that the diverse crowd included clergy and lay leaders, religious and unaffiliated, young and old, Chein said his goal was to deliver a message about Chabad’s work that would connect with most people in the room. “I was awed by this task,” Chein reported by email. “Could I be (at least somewhat of) a satisfactory mouthpiece for the Torah, the Rebbe, and the thousands of people who committed their lives to help Jews and strengthen Judaism? Writing this gives me flashbacks of the weeks preparing … and the memory is causing tremors,” he wrote. Chein and his wife, Devorah Leah Chein, have co-directed the Rohr Chabad Student Center in Santa Cruz since 2003.
ADL heroes
Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos, the three Americans who prevented a terror attack on a Paris-bound French train last summer, were presented with ADL’s Heroism Award on Nov. 12 at Speak Up, an ADL event in the South Bay recognizing civil rights achievements. “We at ADL are so proud and humbled to be able to recognize these heroes for who they are — brave young men who saw hate up close and were determined to stop it,” said Seth Brysk, ADL Central Pacific regional director. CEO Jonathan Greenblatt was on hand to present the award to Stone and Sadler, who came from their homes in Sacramento. Skarlatos had to receive his award in absentia because he was in Los Angeles competing in “Dancing with the Stars.” (He made the finals but didn’t win, in case you’re keeping track.)
Social friction — good for the Jews
Discussing Judaism’s evolution in the 21st century, Rabbi David Wolpe of Los Angeles’ Sinai Temple spoke to a Palo Alto audience of 100-plus at the Oshman Family JCC’s Schultz Cultural Arts Hall on Nov. 15, reported the JCC’s Amy Snell. He explained one way Judaism is relevant in a digital world: “In the age of Netflix and other digital resources to entertain ourselves, we don’t go out anymore. We need to be in community and have social friction and arguments. That’s part of what Judaism has always been about.”
Short shorts
“Carolyn Is Taking a Hike” was the headline on the invitation to celebrate Carolyn Metz of Santa Rosa, who is retiring from her longtime career as a Jewish communal worker, most recently as executive director of Congregation Beth Ami. The festivities are Dec. 4, and people who make contributions to Metz’s legacy gift (a new lighted sign for the synagogue) can choose among giving levels named after (what else?) her favorite hiking trails … Cantor Jamie Shpall was installed at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills at Shabbat services on Nov. 20. Rabbi Lara Regev is being installed at Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael on Dec. 4 … The Golden Gate chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals presented San Francisco residents Barbro and Bernard Osher with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the group’s National Philanthropy Day luncheon on Nov. 10 in San Francisco. Randi and Bob Fisher, also of San Francisco, received the Outstanding Philanthropists Award, and the organization Beyond Differences, founded by Laura Talmus and Ace Smith of Kentfield, was given the Vineyards Award … And finally, I’ll be on vacation for a few weeks, returning to print on Jan. 15. Wishing you the happiest of holidays!
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