Jewish Life

Adolph, Leopold and Simon Goldsmith, AKA the Brothers Goldsmith, emigrated from Prussia in the late 1800s and made their way to California, where in 1870 they made a typical Jewish immigrant move and opened and operated a general store in San Bernardino County. This location worked quite well for awhile, until Leopold decides there are greener pastures elsewhere and teams up with one Adolph Kolsky, an active member of the Los Angeles Jewish community, to establish Kolsky & Goldsmith General ...

Educator and philanthropist Doris Chasin notes, “The JCC became more than an impressive building, it became a second home. It is a place for sports and speakers, to explore broader views on Israel and Judaism. And most importantly, it is a place of belonging.”

Often, being cool is related to the latest technology gadget or toy. Sometimes it is cool to have a special talent or knowledge about arcane subjects. Rarely is anything that parents or adults in general want to “teach” teens considered cool.

Well at least we know what was served for second night Rosh Hashana dinner in Anaheim in 1894/5655 – goose! According to the local Anaheim news, “a number of fat ganders have been spotted whose heads will fall into the basket on Monday morning,” referring to the preparation for the evening’s festive meal. Jewish-owned businesses in Anaheim at the time included P. Davis & Bro. General Store and Bank, Hippolyte Cahen General Merchandise, Rudolph Luedke Jeweler, and ...

It might seem a bit odd, but the person who single-handedly introduced modern Latin American art as a legitimate field of study was not, herself, Hispanic. She was Jewish, and her name was Shifra Meyerowitz Goldman. Born in New York in 1926 to Russian immigrants Abraham and Sylvia (née Perla Kadish), she spoke only Yiddish until the age of 6. Her father was a waiter and her mother a seamstress, but they loved the arts and spent any free time they had immersing Shifra and her younger ...

The Merage JCC is honored to present Mila Gokhman: Light & Shadow, an exhibition devoted to a selection of art and design by a remarkable, 88-year-old Ukrainian-American artist of soaring creativity, who resides in Orange County. 

Strength and weakness are measured by how a society’s vulnerable members are treated. February is Jewish Disabilities Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month, raising awareness of people with special needs. We are honored to introduce Dr. Adrienne Matros, Jewish National Fund USA (JNF) Orange County’s Co-President, a pillar of the community and a prominent activist. Dr. Matros has been a resident of Orange County’s Newport Coast for 21 years. She is a clinical ...

A few days ago was Tu Bishvat – the birthday of the trees. Tu Bishvat was first designated in order to calculate how old are the trees. On this day, the trees are considered to have aged one more year, and all of the trees that are five years or older can be eaten from. Tu Bishvat is actually the name of the date in the Hebrew calendar. Tu means 15 and Shvat is the name of the month. On a regular year, we celebrate Tu Bishvat by planting trees and eating dried fruits. I remember every ...

Felix Stein and Fred Strauss were German Jewish immigrants who came to America as teenagers in the early 1900s, eventually making their way from New York to Fullerton. Both found work at Stern & Goodman Mercantile, and in 1916 Stein purchased the store from the original owners. Strauss, meanwhile, had opened his own shop around the corner; in 1925 they merged and started the Stein-Strauss Company, which remained in business until 1970. Originally a general store, it expanded into a much ...

Growing up in Israel, one of the things I loved most about Chanukah was going to the Festigal every year. The Festigal is an annual musical show for children. It is held every year during Chanukah and throughout the month of December, traveling from city to city throughout the country. The first Festigal was in 1981 and since then it became a popular Chanukah activity for Israeli families. The performers at the Festigal are well-known Israeli singers and actors. Each year’s Festigal has ...