“Scotches & Separation” Explores Divorce in the Jewish Tradition
On Sunday, I led a Scotch-tasting and learning event for adults. This was the second in a 2013-2014 series that combines a spirits-tasting, in-depth exploration of a topic in Jewish tradition and an opportunity for people to give tzedakah to the Jewish enrichment endeavors for young adult Jews with whichContinue Reading
50 Months of Working Here in SoCal!
Fifty months ago today, my wife and I began working here in sunny Southern California! Having arrived the night of November 8, 2009, we then began working the very next day on November 9th. So, that means 4 years and 2 months ago, we began and we have made itContinue Reading
Classes with Hillels this Fall
This fall, I had the pleasure of leading four different discussions with a few Hillels on various topics. The first was in October at a Starbucks in Oceanside with North County, San Diego Hillel, leading a discussion with MiraCosta College students on the topic of Relationships, where we explored textsContinue Reading
Sad About Hillel Institute Moving
Ever since Rachel and I came out to begin working with Long Beach Hillel, we have enjoyed attending the annual national Hillel staff conference in St. Louis at Washington University. Entitled “Hillel Institute” and organized by Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, the conference, which took place at theContinue Reading
On Not Worrying About Decreasing Synagogue Membership in America
A couple of months ago, I attended an OCCSP lecture in Irvine by Dr. Ron Wolfson, essentially advertising his new book, Relational Judaism. It was an interesting talk – he definitely did a great job highlighting problematic issues that are in Jewish life, focussing on issues synagogues have been havingContinue Reading
Online Donations Now Accepted!
Having worked for four years out here in SoCal and being able to accept donations via check for my activities, I frequently have been asked about accepting online donations. For years (despite my best efforts), I have tried getting a PayPal account set up and haven’t been able to (althoughContinue Reading
More Meetings with Young Adults Next Couple of Months
Having formally begun my young adult work (with 20s-30s) less then a year ago (under the organizational name, Southern California Jewish Young Adult Enrichment), I have experimented with different program modalities, different days of the week, and different cities in Southern California. In November and December (perhaps, January, as well),Continue Reading
Working a Lot with Beach Hillel This Fall
This fall, I have found that I have been spending a lot of my work with/for Beach Hillel. To be specific, about 62.5% of my energy has focused on working with Beach Hillel. In contrast to throughout out last year where 44% of my time was with Beach Hillel, thisContinue Reading
New Facebook Profile
Just as I have done with Twitter and Instagram, I have now created a separate Facebook profile for my professional use. Feel free to Friend Me.Continue Reading
My Vodkas-tasting Last Week
Last week, I held a vodka-tasting event, which paired up with discussing Jewish angles on vampires. It was interesting. Having never taken part let alone running a vodka-tasting, it was a new experience for me. Having heard a suggestion for this year’s October tasting and discussion to do “Vodkas andContinue Reading