On September 30^th, the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles ran the article, "Acting Rabbi Brings Rebirth to 1920s Shul;" a profile of the work fifth year Rabbinical student, Susan Goldberg, is doing at Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock (TBI). Recently named the acting rabbi of "what is believed to be the city's second-oldest shul still operating out of its original location," Susan completed an internship at TBI last year. Before Susan's new appointment, the synagogue had not had a rabbi on a regular basis since the 1970s. The article noted that synagogue leaders said the time had come and Susan was exactly the right person for the job. "There really wasn't that spiritual direction as far as introducing a new generation into the faith and connecting the older generation to the new one," said Ed Leibowitz who organizes the shul's family services. "Susan's really been spectacular at that."

"Rosh Hashana a time for reflection,"an article which ran in the September 28th issue of the Arizona Republic, covered the Friday, September 23rd pre-Rosh Hashana program that featured Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman, '05 talking about the holiday to over 250 Scottsdale, AZ-area pre-schoolers and their parents. During the event held at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, Rabbi Sharfman told the children that Rosh Hashana "is about being the best you can be," a chance to be "nice to your mothers and fathers. Be a little better than you were last year." Later, the article reported, she "reflected on how many adults had gone through a difficult year during a tough economic time." "There is a lot of pain, a lot of fear," she said. "Rosh Hashana is an opportunity to think about what the year has meant and it's a time to start fresh." Rabbi Sharfman is the spiritual leader of Kehillah of Arizona as well as the President of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix.

On September 27^th, Rabbi Meredith Cahn, '11 was one of three "guests of honor" at an event held in Reno, Nevada and sponsored by the Nevada Clergy Association. Local clergy representing various religions welcomed Rabbi Cahn, the new rabbi of North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation in Tahoe Vista, Nevada as well two other new clergy members; the rabbi of a congregation in South Lake Tahoe as well as the new imam of the Northern Nevada Muslim Community Center.

The article, "Rabbi Mendel Silber and Jewish Musical Achievement, 1911-1933," by Cantor Jonathan Friedmann, '10, has been published in the fall issue of Western States Jewish History (vol. 44, no. 1). Cantor Friedmann's review of Cantor Harry Newman's autobiography, Thirty-Four Years on the Bimah: My Life as a "Professional" Jew, is also included in that issue.

Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, recently named AJRCA Board Member, Michael M. Berger, JD, as the "Los Angeles Best Lawyers Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law Lawyer of the Year" for 2012. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community was honored as "Lawyer of the Year." Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. Mr. Berger, a partner in the law firm, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, is one of California's preeminent appellate lawyers and is co-chair of Manatt's Appellate Practice Group.