Wallis Annenberg, who in more than 20 years in leadership positions at her family’s Annenberg Foundation oversaw more than $3 billion in grants and donations to projects that include the arts, wildlife, and older adults, died on August 11 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 86. Philanthropic projects have included the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; PetSpace, an animal adoption hospital and humane education [...]
Across more than 40 years as a popular New York talk-show host on WNYC and WBAI, Leonard Lopate interviewed writers, artists, actors, directors, politicians, scientists, journalists, musicians, athletes, designers, and explorers, including 42 Nobel Prize winners, one U.S. President (Jimmy Carter), and two future presidents (Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden Jr.) Mr. Lopate died on August 5 at his home in Brooklyn. He was 84. In 2010, he told The Brooklyn Rail, an arts [...]
Daniel Warren Hoffman, an American-Israeli klezmer violinist, composer, and documentary film producer, died on July 18, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Mr. Hoffman founded the klezmer-jazz fusion ensemble, the Klez-X and co-founded Davka and Trio Carpion. He also produced the documentary film “Otherwise It’s Just Firewood,” the pilot film for a television series that explores the role of the Italianate violin in disparate cultures worldwide. The film was aired widely on American PBS stations in [...]
Morton Meyerson, an understated Texas businessman who helped H. Ross Perot build Electronic Data Systems into a world-leading data processing company, and who later advised Mr. Perot during his 1992 presidential campaign, died on August 4 at his home in Dallas. He was 87. Mr. Meyerson was the quiet, stubborn, moneymaking computer programmer in the backroom who helped make his boss a billionaire. Mr. Perot had started E.D.S. in 1962 with a $1,000 check. In [...]
Saturday, September 13, 7-7:30 p.m., hybrid Shul member and Judaic scholar Chuck Simon will step onto the bimah for an inspiring Selichot Service on Saturday, September 13, from 7-7:30 p.m. Chuck’s talks are always insightful, providing listeners with a thoughtful takeaway. Join Chuck and our members and friends for his perspective on the Selichot observance. The Selichot service is offered traditionally during the Jewish month of Elul as a transition between the current year [...]
Download High Holiday Calendar here. Leading services this year are Rabbi Debra Cantor, and Cantor William Weinstein. (Not to be confused: Debra Cantor is a rabbi; William Weinstein is a cantor.) Shul members and friends joined Rabbi Cantor in the sanctuary on the Shabbat weekend of August 22 and 23, where she provided inspirational services and learning. She is the spiritual leader of Congregation B’Nai Tikvoh-Sholom in Bloomfield, CT, having previously served as rabbi [...]
As we approach the High Holy Days, I am reminded of a discussion held in our sanctuary one recent Shabbat morning. A question was posed: “What is holy?” It was a reasonable question. Prayer after prayer in the Siddur refers to holiness — the holiness of God, the holiness of Shabbat, even the holiness of prayer itself. If you Google “holy,” you will find terms as inscrutable as the word itself — words like [...]
Be sure to join us as we celebrate the holiday of Tu B’Av, the Jewish Valentine’s Day. We’re planning a festive wine and cheese party on Friday, August 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the community room, followed by a love-ly Shabbat service at 7:30 p.m. Sisterhood President Adrianne Greenberg is overseeing the offerings and libations to complement the theme. There will be a full moon that night, giving off positive vibes for love and [...]
Back-to-school for the young set means pencils, glue sticks, paperclips, notebooks, dividers, rulers, scissors, index cards, markers, pens, and the like, plus backpacks to haul all that stuff and — oh yes — schoolbooks and homework assignments. All those fresh supplies get kids off to a good start in the school year, and the Tikkun Olam Initiative is supporting that effort with a call to our members for donations of school supplies that will [...]
Morning clouds evaporated on July 20, and glorious sunshine filled the sky for the second annual Garden Party held in Andrew Levin Park. Co-chairs Helaine Teperman and Nancy Torchio were the sterling hosts of the event, welcoming shul members, family and friends of the 2025 Journal honorees, Miriam Gabriel and Adrianne Greenberg, and overseeing every element of the splendid event, from food and drink, music by Ron Rothman and company, seating, and the ceremony saluting [...]
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