On February 26^th, Rabbi Daniel Bouskila, AJRCA Professor of Talmud, was featured prominently in the Los Angeles Times article "Telling the remarkable stories of Sephardic Jews." Rabbi Bouskila, who serves as the Executive Director of the Sephardic Education Center, noted that there is now renewed pride and interest in Sephardic Jewish heritage, even in North America, where the Sephardic experience has largely been overlooked. "Here you had 'Fiddler on the Roof' and bagels and lox, but not the other tradition," he said. "There are large numbers of writings from significant Sephardic rabbis, but they were not translated into English. New ventures in education are starting to change that."

The original song, "Heart of Mine," by second year Cantorial student, Marsha Attie, was selected for and recently released on singer/songwriter Craig Taubman's new Celebrate Series CD, Jewish Lullabies. It can now be found on iTunes under Marsha's name.

J. Weekly, the Jewish newspaper of Northern California recently ran the article "Rosh Hodesh girls' group sticks together, even in new schools," which detailed a program being implemented by AJRCA second year Rabbinic student Batshir Torchio. The group, now 9^th graders at various high schools throughout the San Francisco area, began when the girls were starting their eighth-grade year at Brandeis Hillel Day School where Batshir is a seventh and eighth grade Judaic studies teacher. The program, "Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing," created by the national nonprofit Moving Traditions, provides a curriculum which ties each month to a Jewish theme. There are over 300 such groups meeting across the US and Canada. As the article pointed out, what's different about Batshir's group is that it was the first large group to continue to meet after its students had moved on to other schools. As Batshir noted, "We focus on the challenges of being a young woman in this culture. This group is a deeply meaningful experience for all of us, and I feel so blessed to be a part of it."

Rabbi Elisheva Beyer, '06, the founding Rabbi of Temple Beth Or in Reno, NV, is now writing for the Reno Gazette Journal's weekly "Faith Forum," providing the "Jewish response" to a variety of religion-related topics. Recent columns have focused on such issues as the level of religious knowledge in the US; how religious leaders can best reach out to youth; and whether or not leaders should be a moral example. Launched by Northern Nevada clerical leaders, the objective of the Faith Forum is to "create constructive dialogue" between peoples of various faiths.

Rabbi Miriyam Glazer, PhD, AJRCA Professor of Literature has recently been asked to continue to serve on the Executive Committee of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, and to join the Advisory Board of the journal, Conservative Judaism.  In March, she was the invited speaker/Scholar in Residence at the Rabbinical Assembly Shabbaton in Las Vegas, and led a session on "Love and Darkness: The World of Israeli Literature" at the Rabbinical Assembly National Convention.  Rabbi Glazer also spoke, in March, on the Psalms of the Liturgy at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. 

AJRCA Professor of Mystical Thought, Rabbi Stephen Robbins, recently wrote two articles for the Second and Fourth Quarter issues of Microcap Review magazine. The first article was entitled "Overcoming Loss" and the second focused on "Rebuilding Respect." In both pieces, Rabbi Robbins provided a spiritual perspective on the world of economics. Microcap Review is the market leader in the micro-cap marketplace; stocks that are $300 million in market capitalization or lower.

As Education Coordinator for the Jewish Museum of Florida, Rabbi Cheryl Weiner, PhD, '07 has developed educational materials relating Jewish values to topics in American social justice, exploring themes of immigration and acculturation as well as racism, anti-Semitism, and hate crimes.  She recently made presentations at two professional development workshops in Miami, FL. On January 21, 2011, with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), she co-directed a day-long workshop entitled, The People v. Leo Frank. On February 18, she presented a program for the Council for Social Studies entitled, How to teach Social Justice and Diversity: Experiential Activities from the Jewish Museum of Florida. In addition, Rabbi Weiner has developed two educational Museum Guides. In Auktion 392, she examines these themes related to the history of Nazi looted art and the process of restitution. In Seeking Justice-The Leo Frank Case Revisited, she analyzes the Leo Frank murder trial and its impact on US Supreme Court cases, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan, and the galvanizing of the ADL. These programs and materials were based on current exhibits at the Museum.

Rabbi Randall Brown, '10 recently addressed the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee (ILC), the official body through which the Vatican dialogues with Jews, as part of the ILC's 40^th anniversary gathering in Paris (February 24^th - March 4^th). Rabbi Brown, the Director of Interreligious Affairs and Intergroup Affairs for the American Jewish Committee's (AJC) Los Angeles office, was the main Jewish presenter for the Emerging Leaders cohort. His remarks focused on the need to utilize 21^st century technology to advance dialogue efforts and encourage the Jewish community to progress from a mentality of victimization to Jewish pride. Closer to home, he was an interfaith panelist/presenter at the Brentwood School's "Diversity Day" on February 16^th.

The CCAR Journal/Reform Jewish Quarterly published Rabbi Mordecai Finley's article, "A Clearing" in the Winter 2011 edition. This edition was devoted to the theory and practice of the rabbinate, and several rabbis, including Rabbi Finley (AJRCA Professor of Jewish Thought), reflected on their spiritual paths toward and since rabbinical school.

The book, From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival, by Rabbi Alicia Magal '03 was recently published by Outskirts Press. It is the true story of a young Polish-Jewish woman, Rabbi Magal's mother, Nika Kohn Fleissig, and her determination to live through the horrors of the Holocaust. The narrative is told through the perspective of Rabbi Magal, whose childhood in America was impacted by her mother's stories, revealed in fragments at unexpected moments. A chronological record of her many suspenseful escapes from death, this is "a story of empowerment, hope, and healing for all generations."

Chaplain Ruth Belonsky, '06 was invited to deliver the prayer and blessing on the evening of March 24th, at the Opening Celebration of the 2011 Annual Conference for the Association of Professional Chaplains in Dallas, Texas.

In addition to serving as Cantor of Bet Knesset Bamidbar, a Reform congregation and Valley Outreach Synagogue - P'nai Tikvah, a Reconstructionist congregation, both in Las Vegas, NV, Cantor Jonathan Friedmann, '10 is now the music writer for The Daily Rabbi (http://www.thedailyrabbi.com/), a new online, pluralistic Jewish magazine covering news and topics of Jewish interest.

The Academy is proud to be a co-sponsor of "Our Families," a Photographic Exhibit of the "1939 Club" of Los Angeles that will open on  Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 7 to 9 pm, Gindi Hall (2nd floor), Hillel at UCLA. The exhibit runs through June 10th. Gallery hours Mon through Friday are 10 am to 4 pm. This exhibit includes photos of Jewish communal life and personal history through "The World That Was" photographs of Jewish family life in 19th and 20th Century Europe. Each photograph is a personal treasure of an individual who survived the Holocaust and includes at least one person who did not survive.

Upcoming: AJRCA Ordination and Graduation