(JTA) — Rachel Spector Peak had no idea how beloved her older brother Dan was until she posted about his death on Facebook. Tributes started pouring in immediately. “He made Memphis a better place,” read one. “His dedication to Memphis and to artists is rare and precious,” read another. Spector, who died of COVID-19 on March…
(JTA) — Every year on Purim, neighborhood children would line up outside the home of Elliot Samet in Passaic, New Jersey, waiting to show him their holiday costumes. “There would be a line up outside his house,” his friend George Matyjewicz told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “People just knocking on the door wanting to them…
LONDON (JTA) — Martin Lovett, a British cellist and the last surviving member of the world renowned Amadeus String Quartet, died in London on April 29 after contracting COVID-19. He was 93. The British-born Lovett was the last member to join Amadeus, whose other three players — Siegmund Nissel, Peter Schidlof, and Norbert Brainin —…
The Forward is taking an ongoing look at the future of synagogues in America in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have information or insights, please contact [email protected] The start of May means different things to different people, but for most synagogues, it means it’s time to start planning for the high holidays. And…
Congregation Beth Elohim, a historic Reform synagogue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has established an “emergency stabilization fund” to collect money from congregants and trustees after significant sources of revenue were eliminated during the coronavirus outbreak. “This is the most urgent message I have had to write as CBE’s president,” said president Rob Raich in a…
“Stronger than your bubbe’s horseradish on Passover.” “Thicc as your bubbe’s matzah balls.” “Your bubbe’s wet dream.” You might think that this combination of sex and yiddishkeit belongs nowhere except the pages of a Phillip Roth novel. But it’s actually a huge part of love in the time of corona, at least for the Jews….
For nearly two weeks in late November 2018, wildfires ravaged parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, much of the damage in and around the oceanside city of Malibu. The fires burned nearly 100,000 acres, destroying 1,643 structures and killing three people. Also left in the ruins were Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s two summer camps, Hess…
(JTA) — Henri Kichka was nearly broken by the Holocaust. His father died in Buchenwald at the war’s end after a death march. His mother and two sisters perished in 1942, having been sent straight to Auschwitz. Kichka was the lone survivor, and he emerged from the war distant and pessimistic, undergoing long periods of…
BOSTON (JTA) – Ask those knew Meryl Cohen best and it won’t take long before they start talking about Thanksgiving. The large, weekend-long gatherings became her calling, showcasing Cohen’s culinary talents and reflecting her passion for bringing together an ever-widening circle of extended family, friends and new acquaintances fortunate enough to snag an invite. Cohen…
An outbreak at a synagogue in the Fairfax/La Brea early in the pandemic may ultimately have saved lives
Bella Staav and Jonathan Sunshine arrived at Holmby Park wearing the accessories du jour in the Time of Coronavirus, a face mask and gloves. What set them apart was their formal attire, which had the whiff of a special occasion. Holmby Park is a verdant oasis in Los Angeles, not far from Beverly Hills, the…
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