Articles from David A.M. Wilensky

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The Jewish News of Northern California

Norman Fischer (back, left) and Rabbi Alan Lew (back, center) meditate at an early Makor Or event. (Courtesy)

What’s the sound of Jews sitting in silence? 25 years of meditation at Makor Or in S.F.

by David A.M. Wilensky December 2, 2025December 2, 2025

Left: The original Temple Emanu-El, which was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Right: Portrait of Julie Rosewald from "A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-Seventy Biographical Sketches," 1893

From the Archives

Meet Madam Julie Rosewald, the world’s first woman cantor

by David A.M. Wilensky October 21, 2025October 21, 2025

Rabbi Amanda Russell chants the opening lines of the Torah as an entire scroll is unrolled during the Simchat Torah celebration at Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco on Oct. 14. (David A.M. Wilensky/J. Staff)

Simchat Torah: ‘I need to dance with some Jews ASAP’

by David A.M. Wilensky October 15, 2025October 15, 2025

David A.M. Wilensky wishes everyone a Happy Hanukkah before going up to help light the giant Union Square menorah in San Francisco, Dec. 29, 2024. (Aaron Levy-Wolins/J. Staff)

Tylenol didn’t make me autistic — but autism made me a journalist

by David A.M. Wilensky September 29, 2025September 30, 2025

People mingle in the remodeled courtyard of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco during a reception celebrating the building's reopening, Sept. 12, 2025. The main sanctuary is to the left of the frame, while the stairs on the right lead down to the main entrance. (Aaron Levy-Wolins/J. Staff)

Emanu-El celebrates end of $97M renovation project

by David A.M. Wilensky September 16, 2025September 26, 2025

The author's 101-year-old family siddur. (David A.M. Wilensky/J. Staff)

My grandpa’s 101-year-old time-traveling siddur

by David A.M. Wilensky May 8, 2025May 9, 2025

The pile of haggadahs in intrepid haggadah correspondent David A.M. Wilensky's home grows ever taller. (Aaron Levy-Wolins/J. Staff)

New haggadahs for 2025 include sage wisdom, JewBelong’s take — and one ‘in the original Klingon’

by David A.M. Wilensky April 1, 2025April 4, 2025

Barbara Drapińska as Marta in "The Last Stage," a film made in the ruins of Auschwitz by women who had been imprisoned there.

Film

Exploring the Holocaust films of the 1940s, ‘made in the shadow of the ruins’

by David A.M. Wilensky January 22, 2025January 23, 2025

(Aaron Levy-Wolins/J. Staff)

Our 10 most popular Bay Area Jewish stories of 2024

by David A.M. Wilensky December 27, 2024January 8, 2025

a cluster of musicians play off to the side of a stage as a black and white film plays above them

Music

Local musicians reanimate 1937 Yiddish horror film ‘The Dybbuk’ at JCCSF

by David A.M. Wilensky December 17, 2024December 17, 2024