Births
Benji Rhodes Knapp was born on April 3, 2025, the day before his mother’s birthdate.
He is the son of Talia and Sam Knapp and the brother of Liav Brea, Levi Simon and Noah David. His uncles, aunts and cousins include Josh and Adara Citron and their children, Evan Joseph and Mara Rae; Arielle and Danny Leonard and their children, Theodore Solomon and Mayer Leroy; and Jacob (Coby) Citron, who lives in Tel Aviv and has served in the Israeli Air Force. His grandparents are Sloane and Judy Citron and Ted and Laurie Knapp, all of Menlo Park.
Benji’s middle name, Rhodes, recalls the island of Rhodes where his great-great grandfather, Rabbi Marcus Breger, led Talmud study at the well-known rabbinical college. Rhodes was one of the last sanctuaries of the Italian Jews — it was then under Italian rule — and only through the heroics of Breger’s wife, Bertha, were they able to escape and come to Tucson, where he served as the first rabbi in that dusty town. The name is also in honor of his great-grandfather, Dr. Ralph Citron, who as a child escaped the Holocaust and moved to Israel before it was a state. He left to study medicine because there were no medical schools in Israel.
Benji’s mother, Talia, was very close with her maternal great-grandmother, Bertha, who, amazingly, was friends with Talia’s paternal great-grandfather, Julius Citron. The two of them had lived near each other in Berlin in the early part of the century.
B’nai Mitzvah
Lilah Aparton
Daughter of Tamara Barak Aparton and Bruce Aparton, Saturday, April 5, at Temple Israel in Alameda.
Eliza Fisher Braun
Daughter of Jessica and Ben Braun, Saturday, April 26, at Temple Sinai in Oakland.
Joseph Leibick
Son of Jennifer and Seth Leibick, Saturday, April 26, at Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael.
Aaron Daniel Lockard
Son of Melissa Lockard, Saturday, April 26, at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette.
Jacob Norek
Son of Magi and Josh Norek, Saturday, April 26, at Temple Isaiah in Lafayette.
Jeffrey Pardes
Son of Elizabeth and David Pardes, Saturday, April 19, at Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton.