Steve has a Masters Degree in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles and a BA from UCLA. For the last 20 years he has managed support and training teams across Silicon Valley. In October 2017, Steve accompanied a 200-year-old Torah Scroll back to its ancestral home in Olomouc in the Czech Republic for the first time in 78 years. It was an amazing, historic, one-of-a kind adventure. Steve has blogged widely about the experience and is a recognized expert in the stories of the Olomouc Scroll and its sister scroll from Cheske Budejovice.
What are your memories of that fateful day, 20 years ago? Mine are somewhat like yesterday, though the specifics are fading. … More 20 Years since 9-11: What a difference a few days makes?
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=225132949570827&id=523541507&sfnsn=mo I wish everyone Shanah Tova U’metukah, a Healthy, Happy and Safe 5782, starting tonight! The Mitzvah is to “hear” the Shofar, not to “sound” the Shofar so you’ve now fulfilled the tradition! There are 3 basic Shofar Blasts: Tekiyah (one un-interrupted blast) Sh’Varim (3 blasts) T’ruah (More of a Staccato, traditionally 9 blasts) There’s … More Last Shofar of 5781
It is time we gave our communal leaders a break when it comes to decisions related to the Chagim. … More Give our communal leaders a break
In October, 2017 I visited the town of Ceske Budejovice on the way down to the beautiful Czech town of Ceske Krumlov (the Hearst Castle of the Czech Republic). Here is took a few minutes to bear witness to the town that once housed our Sefer Torah and the beautiful synagogue that once stood there. … More The beautiful Synagogue building of České Budějovice
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Justin Turner was wrong. Foolishly wrong. Stupid and unbecoming a sports role model. Turner endangered his teammates, coaches and support staff. He set a horrible example. He blew it, big time! He should not have celebrated on the field with his teammates after it was announced he … More Justin Turner and his Positive COVID-19 Test
A recent story in the LA Times got me thinking about all the crazy disruptions in this weird COVID world we find ourselves in. The author muses about “missing the comfort of ‘my’ seat in synagogue when the whole world is askew.” “One Saturday morning last fall I arrived at my synagogue, only to discover … More Psst, you’re sitting in my spot
Yes blood…human blood, vampires, Bela Lugosi, Dracula… OK let’s not, but let’s talk about donating blood and why, especially in this Corona virus-afflicted world, donating blood is so much more important than it normally is. I have been a regular platelet donor at Stanford’s Blood Bank for over 25 years and this week, I donated … More Let’s talk about Blood (donations, that is)
An article in the LA Jewish Journal by Ed Rodman got me thinking about the concept of the Bar Mitzvah partner. … More Thinking about my Bar Mitzvah Partner
I have been to Prague twice. Once in 1998, a few years after the 1989 Velvet Revolution where a repressive Communist Czechoslovakian government was peacefully overthrown by Vaclav Havel and his associates, and split into the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia. The second time, was in October, 2017, as part of a delegation … More How did the 1564 Scrolls get to Prague? Debunking a widely held myth
