Jewish Life

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 ...

This past weekend, I shared in a series of experiences that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, a notion shared, no doubt, by all who took part in them. I’ve been wrestling with how best to convey them to you without this message becoming a magnum opus or alternatively diminishing their significance by simply saying too little. Here’s where I came out. I have been privileged to experience many powerful and emotional moments over the course of my career, but the ...

For 29 years, the OC Jewish Arts Festival at the Merage JCC has provided our community with a cultural extravaganza, featuring lauded lineups of authors, filmmakers, celebrities and influencers. In preparation for the 30th year of the Festival, a committee of culture-savvy-enthusiasts comb through films and stories celebrating the rich tapestry of Jewish culture to showcase. Those who are comfortable viewing from home can do so, and people who are excited to gather in the community will be ...

Rosh Hashanah, marking the start of the new year on the Jewish calendar, will be here soon, so it’s time to plan the menu for the annual feast. This year, go beyond the traditional apple-dipped-in-honey! There are plenty of symbolic foods that can help us reflect on the year that has passed and set expectations for the year ahead. Among Ashkenazic Jews, the apple is still the most popular – reminding us of Adam and Eve as we commemorate the creation of the world. But you ...

For 16 years, our JStage program has introduced young people to the wonders of the performing arts. With top-notch productions, JStage ignites and fosters artistic expression and talent in our kids. Despite pandemic lockdowns and obtrusive safety protocols, they say, “the show must go on!” JStage has continued to be a safe haven and a place for kids to look forward to. We asked Nicole Rosenson, Cultural Arts Assistant Director, to share why JStage continues to be so popular here ...

Operation Guardian of the Walls Editor’s Note: Leah Garber, Vice President, Israel Engagement | Director, Center for Israel Engagement, in Jerusalem, has written this update about the current events in Israel and the various factors influencing these events. She will continue to offer her personal perspectives from her home in Israel as often as warranted, and, of course, we pray that the current violence will end soon. Since last evening, hundreds of rockets have been ...

The Merage JCC is excited to welcome people back into our theatre (safely and distanced), and there’s no better occasion to celebrate than Israel’s Independence Day! Please join us on Saturday, April 17 at 8pm for some laughs and “L’chaims” as we Roast and Toast Israel on her 73rd birthday. American-born Israeli comedian Benji Lovitt will join us from Tel Aviv, along with American comedians Talia Reese and Eitan Levine from New York. Benji draws on his experiences ...

First posted in 2017, we are bringing back some of our favorite articles from Mark Lazar, who originally launched our Center for Jewish Life. It is said in the Book of Kings that the great prophet Elijah looked for God within the mighty wind, the shattering earthquake, the raging flames only to find…”And after the fire---a still, small voice.” A still, small voice…a small voice that some of us hear sporadically and others like modern day prophets, use their ...

First posted in 2017, we are bringing back some of our favorite articles from Mark Lazar, who originally launched our Center for Jewish Life. The Forbidden Fruit Contrary to Renaissance Art and Freudian thought, the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden was not an apple or a banana, but a fig! What other leaf could hide the private parts of Adam and Eve? They were after all, made in the image of God …and presumably quite well endowed. The Bowl of Lentil Stew How much could a bowl ...

“Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.” The phrase is the last line of a poem, “The Butterfly,” penned in 1942 by Pavel Friedman, who was in the Terezin concentration camp and ghetto constructed by the Nazi Gestapo in the Czech Republic. More than 150,000 Jews were sent there. The Butterfly Project, founded by educator Jan Landau and artist Cheryl Rattner Price, was created to commemorate Yom Hashoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Fainbarg and Chase ...