Our Stories

Rediscovering S.F.’s pioneering 19th-century ‘girl reporter’

Rediscovering S.F.’s pioneering 19th-century ‘girl reporter’ – J. The books section is supported by a generous donation from Anne Germanacos “The United States, founded upon the belief that a just government can exist only by the consent of the governed, is calmly making up for the bloody fifth act –…...

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Who is wise? Who is mighty?

My father’s father grew up in a small city in western Poland. Inspired by Theodor Herzl, he was frustrated by his yeshiva’s unwillingness to embrace Zionism and its inability to address his deepest concerns. Expelled for reading Spinoza (hidden under his Talmud tractate), he joined the Zionists and never looked back. My…...

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Changing The Way We Think About Jewish Learning

The car pulled into the synagogue parking lot; a Sunday morning like any other. The rear doors flew open and two kids jumped out of the car and ran to the front door. “Here, kids run to our school,” one congregant observed proudly, sparking smiles among the adults nearby. The students’ excitement…...

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CEO Letter: The Blessings of Grandparenting — Jewish LearningWorks

When I was ten years old, our family saw Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway.  This was a big deal.  My grandparents, who NEVER went to the theater, came.  As immigrants from Eastern Europe, Fiddler felt like their story.  The first act climaxes with a wedding, punctuated by a pogrom,…...

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New books: Detailed looks at WWII Jewish refugee crisis, and FDR

New books: Detailed looks at WWII Jewish refugee crisis, and FDR – J. For students of American Jewish history, few topics are as haunting and controversial as the Roosevelt administration’s response to the oppression and annihilation of European Jews. It is a topic that continues to be elucidated and argued,…...

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