Archives

The Bell Family of El Cerrito Rabbi Yanky and Shternie live in El Cerrito with their son Mendel (2). They moved to the Bay Area two years ago. Hailing from Montreal, Canada (Shternie) and Leeds, [...]

Do you know an East Bay Jewish community member that we should feature in “A Day in the Life of…”? Send your suggestions to mollie@jfed.org.

The Greenbaum Family of Walnut Creek Todd and Assia Greenbaum live in Walnut Creek with their children Amaya (11) and Kenzo (7). Their story is a typical East Coast Jewish Boy meets African [...]

The High Holidays are almost upon us! They’ve come early this year, so you might have been caught off-guard in terms of your preparations  (“Wait, Rosh Hashanah is when this [...]

The Perez-Litman Family of San Leandro Vanessa and Alberto Perez-Litman live in San Leandro with their daughters Saasil (age 6) and Itzel (age 4). A Spanish-speaking family, they are raising [...]

Dear Friends, After 14 years of service to the East Bay Jewish community, Rabbi James Brandt has resigned from his position as CEO of the Jewish Federation and The Jewish Community Foundation of [...]

Following an earthquake, fire, flood, or terrorist attack, you’ll be in a much better place if you’ve prepared for such a disaster beforehand. And yet, less than half of Bay Area residents have [...]

The Sklar Family of Castro Valley Rachel and Aaron Sklar live in Castro Valley with their kids Elijah (age 10), Levi (age 9), and Asher (age 5). Members of Congregation Shir Ami, they are active [...]

Eleanor Grunbaum, of blessed memory, was a beloved member of the East Bay Jewish community–a lifelong member of Temple Sinai and a Federation donor with a remarkable story. Born in 1925 in [...]

“It’s our belief that Jewish day school lays the foundation for each student to have a full and meaningful connection to Jewish life, because it’s what they live every single day.” – Amy Friedkin [...]

The Jones Horton Family of Richmond Jennifer and Barry Jones Horton live in Richmond with their children, Adeline (age 5) and Jayden (age 7). They also own Sanctuary Bistro, a vegan restaurant [...]

“I love reading, gymnastics, Hamilton, animals, and coding! I am excited to read and review some great books, get creative with the website and reviews, and meet a team of people that love what I [...]

“[Through our legacy gift], we hope to enhance the vibrancy of local Jewish life, to ensure that this and other Jewish communities thrive and are here for generations to come.” Few have had the [...]

The Gemme Family of San Leandro The Gemma family consists of Amy and her two daughters, Barack Adam (age 2) and Raquel Adam (1.5-months-old).  Both a recent parent and a recent convert, Amy is [...]

“[A legacy gift] doesn’t have any downsides… It’s an easy choice.” In a time of deep societal upheaval and uncertainty, our shared communal bonds – our Jewish community – is more important than [...]

“The East Bay Jewish community is our community. If we want Judaism and the Jewish people to survive on a local level, a legacy gift is a great way to have a say in that.” Being Jewish means [...]

“I made my legacy gift because I want to continue to give back to the Jews of the East Bay, to ensure that we will always be in a position of strength.” It takes a village, they say, to raise a [...]

To celebrate Israel’s 70th birthday, we must party hardy! In this spirit, we invite you to celebrate Israel’s seventieth with the talented Israeli-Iraqi-Yemeni folk rocker Dudu Tassa, [...]

The Daoust Family of Orinda Liz and Mark Daoust live in Orinda with their three daughters, Lucy (age 8), Annie (age 6), and Phoebe (age 4). An interfaith family, the Daousts felt immediately [...]

If all the headlines coming out of college campuses are to be believed, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the first thing UC Berkeley Junior Shira Klasky-Gamer thinks when she wakes up is “Oh [...]