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 heContinue reading “Justin Turner and his Positive COVID-19 Test”
Author Archives: ad6ab
Psst, you’re sitting in my spot
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 discoverContinue reading “Psst, you’re sitting in my spot”
Let’s talk about Blood (donations, that is)
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 donatedContinue reading “Let’s talk about Blood (donations, that is)”
Thinking about my Bar Mitzvah Partner
An article in the LA Jewish Journal by Ed Rodman got me thinking about the concept of the Bar Mitzvah partner.
How did the 1564 Scrolls get to Prague? Debunking a widely held myth
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 delegationContinue reading “How did the 1564 Scrolls get to Prague? Debunking a widely held myth”
Part of the Original עצי היים/Atzei Chaim from the České Budějovice Scroll
Yesterday, Rabbi Corey showed me something kind of cool that he discovered while cleaning his office a few weeks ago. It’s apparently part of the original rollers or staves (Atzei Chaim/עצי היים in Hebrew) from the České Budějovice Torah Scroll. Peninsula Sinai Congregation was originally allocated two Torah Scrolls in 1970, one from the CzechContinue reading “Part of the Original עצי היים/Atzei Chaim from the České Budějovice Scroll”
SPACEIL–Breisheet: So Close! “We arrived (just not how) we wanted…”
We failed. But did we? “We have a failure of the spacecraft. We unfortunately have not managed to land successfully,” Opher Doron, general manager of the Israel Aerospace Industries space program, said on the SpaceIL’s livestream of the landing attempt…” “We are the seventh country to orbit the moon and the fourth to reachContinue reading “SPACEIL–Breisheet: So Close! “We arrived (just not how) we wanted…””
Roman Gronsky’s Article: “American wanderings in the footsteps of the Olomouc scroll Torah #740”
Our good friend Roman Gronsky, from the Olomouc Jewish Community, who was primarily responsible for driving the return of the Memorial Scrolls Trust’s Scroll #740 to its ancestral home in October, 2017, published a very nice article in the November Issue of “CHAJEJNU,” (“Chayenu,” “Our Life”) the Olomouc Jewish Community’s monthly newsletter. He details hisContinue reading “Roman Gronsky’s Article: “American wanderings in the footsteps of the Olomouc scroll Torah #740””
Peter Briess’ Story
As most of you know, so many things have touched me about the Olomouc Torah story. The memories are flooding back as we approach the one-year anniversary of that amazing experience in a few days. One of the connections that sticks in my head is that of Mr. Peter Briess, who, as young boy, recalledContinue reading “Peter Briess’ Story”
The Olomouc Story is now famous in Dayton, Ohio!
Come again? Dayton, Ohio? You mean halfway between Indianapolis, IN and Columbus, OH? Just a hop, skip and a jump up the road from Cincinnati, OH, THAT Dayton, OH? Well, yes…let me explain… A few weeks ago, as I was researching the story of the 7 remaining Torah Scrolls from Ceske Budeovice, the home ofContinue reading “The Olomouc Story is now famous in Dayton, Ohio!”
