Rabbi Miriam Hamrell, '03 recently returned from a trip to Eastern Europe including a four day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rabbi Hamrell was invited by the University of Sarajevo and spoke at events and meetings sponsored by the United States Embassy. At one of the events, she gave a lecture about the basic principles and history of Judaism to 125 teachers and principals, most of whom knew little or nothing about the religion. Rabbi Hamrell also had meetings with Patrick S. Moon, US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Novic Sredoje, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Minister of Education and Civil Affairs. She travelled to Mostar where she met with the principal, teachers and upper grade students at a madrassa, a Muslim religious school and she also spoke at the Jewish Community Center in Sarajevo where the President of the Community Center presented her with gifts including copies of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah. In addition, Rabbi Hamrell appeared on a television news program whose focus is on empowering women.

On October 6th, the Union for Reform Judaism's website featured an article by Cantor Meeka Simerly, '09. In  

"Al HaNisim - Upon the Miracles of Jewish Survival," Cantor Simerly explores "how the seemingly 'add-on' piece of liturgy can serve as a great teaching tool, a foundation for both religious, as well as cultural Judaism." Throughout the article, she provides examples of numerous compositions of Al HaNisim and notes how this special prayer added to the Amidah "has been providing a foundation for many religious and secular composers, to help teach about the relevance between ancient stories, and modern experiences."  Cantor Simerly is the cantor of San Jose's Temple Emanu-El, one of the oldest Reform congregations on the west coast.   

On October 12th, Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman, '05, President of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix and the spiritual leader of Kehillah of Arizona, hosted 49 faith leaders, including the Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmstead, Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, several imams, and leaders of Methodist, Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Episcopalian, and AME churches throughout the Phoenix area for a kosher, vegetarian dinner held in her sukkah. The guests also included the family of Balbir Singh Sodhim, the Sikh man who was murdered four days after 9/11 because he wore a turban. In other interfaith work, Rabbi Sharfman moderated a panel discussion on "The Hermeneutics of Dialogue and Peace," at a November 3rd event for religious leaders sponsored by the Arizona Ecumenical Council.

Fifth year Rabbinical student, Elihu Gevirtz, recently participated in the "Rabbis Without Borders" Retreat for Rabbinic Students held at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Connecticut from November 10th to the 13th. Entitled "Re-Imagining the American Synagogue," the retreat was sponsored by CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Twenty-one rabbinic students representing 7 seminaries across the United States attended. Elihu participated at the request of AJRCA President, Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, PhD. In other news, Elihu was also featured in the latest newsletter of "Amir," the organization that harnesses the power of gardening to inspire and motivate people to serve others. Amir recruits and trains young adults to build community gardens at summer camps and, this past summer, Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, was one of those camps. As a result of those efforts, Ramah California has donated nearly 100 pounds of vegetables to those in need. The newsletter notes that, as an "Amir Farmer," Elihu continues to harvest the Amir gardens and has donated much of the produce to the "Sova Community Food and Resource Program" and to "Help of Ojai," a local food pantry. "Both food pantries have been really appreciative," said Elihu. "They love it.  But the greatest reactions come from the people who actually eat the produce.  They marvel at the fact that it came from camp and that what was once nothing is now delicious and healthy food."

On October 13th, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin ran the article, "University of La Verne celebrates Jewish Holiday." Hazzan Paul Buch, '05 led the blessing and dedication of the sukkah; a fact noted in the article and the accompanying photo. The event was attended by students, faculty and administration. Hazzan Buch is the hazzan of Temple Beth Israel in Pomona and the recent past president of the Claremont Interfaith Council.

Chaplain Claire Gorfinkel, '11 recently returned from a visit to Ohio where she was invited to lead a workshop on "Aging as an Adventure" and share the insights from her AJRCA thesis ("Activist, Mystic, Quaker and Jew: Comparing the Life and Work of Rufus M. Jones and Abraham Joshua Heschel"), for two different interfaith groups.  Thanks to a grant from the Friends Foundation for the Aging, she is currently organizing workshops on the positive aspects of aging for Quaker Meetings throughout California.  Her workshops focus on planning ahead and strengthening communities, in order to maximize our ability to care for ourselves and those we love.

Upcoming Events

On December 2nd, AJRCA co-founder, Rabbi Stan Levy, JD, will be the speaker as part of a series sponsored by the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. "Let's Talk About It: New Conversations on the Holocaust" is a free series that explores the Holocaust in contemporary contexts. The BYO brown-bag lunch-and-learns are held at the Museum on the first Friday of the month from 12:00-1:00 PM. Rabbi Levy, who also serves as AJRCA Professor of Spiritual Development and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors, will be speaking about the Holocaust Survivors Justice Network for which he has served as the founding volunteer national director. For directions and parking information, please visit the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust's website.