“Conversation & Cocktails” Takes Place in Orange County
Last night, I led a discussion with over a dozen young adults (20s-30s) in Costa Mesa to hear their ideas about what they are interested in doing for Jewish learning opportunities. Suggestions from participants included topics, locations, and events to do. It was a nice opportunity for them to haveContinue Reading
Re-Branding SoCal Jewish Young Adult Enrichment
A year-and-a-half ago when I was creating a new brand for reaching out to young Jews in their 20s-30s in the greater Orange County and Long Beach area, I realized that my focus was getting something out quickly. I needed an additional brand to Southern California Jewish Student Services (SoCalJSS),Continue Reading
How Am I Spending My Summer?, part 1: June 2014
A question I frequently receive is “What are you up to for the summer?” As it turns out, it is not time off. Yes, school is out, so there is no programming, per se, with university (or high school) students. However, there are occasional Shabbat dinners with Beach Hillel, meetingsContinue Reading
Profiled in this Month’s Issue of “Long Beach Jewish Life”
It’s been a while since I’ve been profiled in a Jewish news medium, which is why I’m glad to share that I was profiled in this month’s issue of Long Beach Jewish Life (pages 6-9). The writer, Jon Strum, kicks off his article “To date, our Meet the Rabbi series hasContinue Reading
Convening on Post-Birthright Israel trip Engagement
Last week, I attended a Birthright Israel NEXT Western Regional NEXTwork Convening in Southern California, designed for Jewish communal professionals who work with young adults. The convening, which took place at The Ranch of the Leichtag Foundation in Encinitas on 16-17 June, focussed on engaging post-Taglit-Birthright Israel participants and encouragingContinue Reading
Back from “Birthright”: Follow-Up from our Taglit-Birthright Israel Trip Begins
A week and a half ago, I returned from Israel, having – for my first time – led a Taglit Birthright Israel trip. It was quite a trip and there is much to say about it! Look for future posts about the trip on this blog 🙂 One thing thatContinue Reading
Leading a Taglit-Birthright Israel Trip
I will be serving as one of two leaders on an upcoming Taglit-Birthright Israel trip and I’m very excited, as it will be my first time ever going as a trip leader (I went 13+ years ago on a trip as a participant). The trip provider with whom we willContinue Reading
Leading Discussions with SoCal Hillels this Spring
As the spring semester is wrapping up, I wanted to share which discussions I have led at which campuses here in Southern California, through my current position as rabbi of Southern California Jewish Student Services. I will start off with my two discussions at California State University, Fullerton with theContinue Reading
“Bourbons & Boundaries”: Discussion on Intermarriage in Classical Jewish Texts
The other night, I led an in-depth textual exploration of the prohibition of intermarriage in Judaism. It was the fourth and final event in a series to combine a spirits-tasting alongside a deep textual exploration of a topic in Jewish tradition in the 2013-2014 (5774) year. One of the moreContinue Reading
Celebrating a Bar Mitzvah
Last week, I joined with a family (and their friends and family) to celebrate their son becoming a bar mitzvah. A question I got frequently was, “Where is the Torah-reading?” When this family initially reached out to me in the summer of 2012, they indicated that they wanted to doContinue Reading