Author: ad6ab

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.

The beautiful Synagogue building of České Budějovice

May 13, 2021

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

Justin Turner and his Positive COVID-19 Test

October 28, 2020

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

Let’s talk about Blood (donations, that is)

August 13, 2020

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)

How did the 1564 Scrolls get to Prague? Debunking a widely held myth

February 20, 2020

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

Part of the Original עצי היים/Atzei Chaim from the České Budějovice Scroll

January 5, 2020

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 Czech … More Part of the Original עצי היים/Atzei Chaim from the České Budějovice Scroll

SPACEIL–Breisheet: So Close! “We arrived (just not how) we wanted…”

April 11, 2019

  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 reach … More 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”

November 5, 2018

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 his … More Roman Gronsky’s Article: “American wanderings in the footsteps of the Olomouc scroll Torah #740”