How local elected officials like me can fight rising antisemitism By Kevin Wilk Nov 28, 2022 On Nov. 19, messages promoting “White Power” sullied my welcoming and beautiful East Bay city. This came only a month after house-to-house dissemination of vile antisemitic leaflets. City leaders began to ask: Are these hate crimes? Free speech? What can we, and the police, do about this? These are questions that we’re all asking, and… Read More
First Person Club Q shooting raises the same old questions The shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs hit really close to home. Until last month, I served as the rabbi of Congregation P’nai Tikvah, a warm,… By Rabbi Jamie Hyams Nov 22, 2022
First Person Palestinian flags at the CJM? Try ‘listening’ to what the artist is saying. This essay appears as a part of a collaboration between J. and the Contemporary Jewish Museum to interpret artworks through a Jewish lens. The series… By Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan Nov 11, 2022
First Person My phone went missing on Rosh Hashanah — and it was awesome This year on Rosh Hashanah, my day began as usual. I woke to my alarm, got myself and the kids fed and dressed, and piled everybody into the car about 10… By Samantha Grant Nov 8, 2022
First Person Why I left San Francisco to write my family’s story in Israel The final chapter of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s 1984 collection, “Stories for Children,” is titled “Are Children the Ultimate Literary Critics?” In this… By Jonathan Esensten Nov 2, 2022
First Person An 89-year-old survivor reflects on his ‘different’ life How am I different? For I am indeed different. And yet, I always strove not to be different, but I always was. Am I still? When my parents and I smuggled… By Paul Schwarzbart Oct 28, 2022
Act Two Who is that stranger in the mirror? It’s me at 80. When I applied for my Real ID driver’s license recently, I listed my hair color as gray and my height as 5 feet. I am no longer 5-foot-1, my hair is no… By Janet Silver Ghent Oct 27, 2022
First Person Kicking off 5783 with spirituality and community on the Peninsula For the first time in years, I did not lead congregational worship during the recently concluded High Holiday season. Instead, I filled my dance card with… By Rabbi Laurie Matzkin Oct 26, 2022
First Person Just in time for Rosh Hashanah, a new reason to feel guilty: tashlich My favorite Jewish food is borscht, my favorite Jewish holiday is Sukkot, and my favorite Jewish ritual is tashlich. Maybe I need to rethink that last… By Rob Eshman, Forward Sep 23, 2022