By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Editor’s note: This article has been corrected regarding the status of the Buckholtzes lay leadership certification. Alison Buckholtz became the Jewish lay leader of the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station — by default. As the family — husband Scott and little ones Ethan and EsteeContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Every year we do the same thing for Hanukkah — light the candles, make a few latkes. I know there are probably a lot of books that have information and, I am sure, some Web sites, too, but I do not haveContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Even though he is now an Ohio resident, and has been for a while, Sam Chestnut says he draws upon his education at the Seattle Hebrew Academy and growing up in Seattle, “almost weekly in my professional experience,” calling the school “one of the keyContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy , All I hear these days is of our foreboding economic circumstances — and for good reason. People are losing their homes, retirement savings are plummeting, and some people’s sources of income are severely threatened if not evaporating by the minute. WeContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Julia Eulenberg has been doing some detective work for the past three years — the historical kind. She’s writing a book about Jews who came to the Washington Territories in the 1850s and 1860s, mostly young men looking for opportunities in the far west. “TwelveContinue Reading
By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist Marvin Stern is the new executive director of Washington Appleseed, a non-partisan, non-profit public interest law center that works to identify and address injustices in the community through education, legal advocacy, community activism and policy expertise. The Seattle native says the work dovetails nicelyContinue Reading
By Diana Brement , JTNews Columnist Last we heard from nationally known women’s health educator Toni Weschler, almost four years ago, she was writing another book. Cycle Savvy, her book for teen girls, is now available. It grew out of one of the most common responses to Toni’s first book,Continue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I have heard a number of people talking about Mussar of late. It sort of seems like it is this year’s Kabbalah, so to speak. From what I understand, it is a Jewish self-improvement program from the past. Can you enlighten me?Continue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist It’s taken almost 15 years from conception to birth, but Michael Schein has published his first novel, Just Deceits, a work of historical fiction set in post-revolutionary Virginia. At its heart is the infanticide case brought against Nancy Randolph and Richard Randolph, one of theContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy: Thinking about the rapidly approaching High Holiday season, it dawned on me that Rosh Hashanah is very different than all the other holidays. The other holidays are very Jewish days, in that they commemorate singularly Jewish events, moments in Jewish history. ButContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Standing on a beach, or a bluff overlooking the ocean, we are impressed by the power of crashing waves, and opening our electric or gas bill we are distressed by the cost of powering our lives. Alla Weinstein came up with a way to linkContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Growing up, our home was, for lack of better words, very pessimistic. The approach to everything was always negative and foreboding. I have tried very hard to get beyond this way of thinking and to rise above it. Something inside me hasContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I am so deeply disturbed by the faces of the people in Lebanon cheering the return of the terrorist Samir Kuntar. I cannot fathom celebrating a person who murdered innocent children. I wonder if this decision of the Israeli government was theContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Ari Livne of Mercer Island was named a Presidential Scholar in the arts last month. Ari, who just graduated from Lakeside School, explained to me that the award is an honor and also an opportunity. Most Presidential Scholars are nominated through SAT scores, but artsContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, After I purchased a new suit, a friend asked me if I had had it checked for “shatnez.” I have never heard of such a thing. He proceeded to tell me something about a prohibition involving the combining of wool and linen.Continue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Recent Oberlin College graduate Laura Kanter has received the Oberlin Hillel Award for Leadership in the Oberlin Jewish community, presented by the Cleveland Hillel Foundation, for the work she has done over the past four years. Among the jobs she held there, Laura was co-chairContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist With their fundraising auction on June 8, Chamber Music Madness will celebrate its 10th year of teaching young people to play chamber music. The program teaches sight-reading, repertoire, and the democratic process required of small groups of musicians (usually the string quartet, two violins, aContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, Though there always seems to be some controversy du jour in the Jewish community, of late there is much ink being spilled over conversion issues. My concern is not the current dispute over whose conversions are acceptable, but more the intrinsic mattersContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist I spoke to Sonya Schneider after she had wrapped up the production of her play, Wake, which she began writing about a year ago. “It’s the first production of any play I’ve written, so it was exciting and terrifying on many levels.” Wake had eightContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist The Legacy Heritage Fund has awarded a grant to 16-year-old Lucas Eggers that will allow him to study science in Israel this summer through their Internship for Young Scientists. The program sends high school juniors on a five-week study trip to Israel. Participants tour theContinue Reading
