Jewish Life

Community and Leadership Heartbroken. I have been searching for other ways to describe what I was feeling throughout the events of this past Wednesday. How is it possible that such things were playing out in the United States Capitol and literally right before our eyes, before the eyes of the entire world? A breakdown in our society. Decency abandoned. Betrayed by our leaders. The events of January 6 did not emerge out of the blue but were rather the not entirely ...

During a non-pandemic year, December 25 evokes holiday thoughts of delicious celebrations, presents, and family. For many Jews, the joke is that we go to the movies and eat Chinese food. Not at the Merage JCC. Seven years ago, JCC Cares, a social action committee at the Merage JCC in Irvine, launched a December 25 Day of Service with a variety of volunteer projects for families and individuals. In our first year, 150 volunteers participated, cooking holiday brunches for shelters, delivering ...

For 28 successful years, the OC Jewish Arts Festival at the Merage Jewish Community Center (Merage JCC) has provided our community with a cultural extravaganza, featuring lauded lineups of authors, musicians, filmmakers, celebrities and influencers. Through the years, we have played host to superstar Matisyahu, famous DC satirists Capitol Steps, Tovah Feldshuh, Dennis Ross, Alan Dershowitz, George Mitchell, Rita Rudner and Ed Asner – just to name a few! From history to mystery, fact to ...

Pepper Bernstein visits the Blaze Bernstein School of Culinary Arts, which is named for her late son. The school is located within the Stern Family Teaching Kitchen in Irvine. (Patrice Apodaca) As seen in the Daily Pilot Thanks largely to the popularity of television shows centered around food and cooking, we have in recent years elevated culinary pursuits to a new level in our culture. American palates, once mocked for appreciating little beyond burgers and hot dogs, are ...

When Matzah is Good According to Max, 6 years old, matzah tastes like a cracker. Sydney, 10 years old, is a bit more dramatic – and perhaps correct – that matzah tastes like “wet paper put out to dry.” It’s true, most commercial matzah is about as tasty as the cardboard box it comes in. Making matzah with our kids has to improve the “bread that tastes like the baker failed” (Ada, 10 years old), in at least it is a fun activity and we get to talk about ...

The evolution of how, what and when a Jew learns is quite interesting. Shabbat is known as a “challah-day” to our preschoolers. For our youth, Hanukkah is a day of miracles, celebrating the little cruise of oil which lasted eight days, which in some households coincides with the number of gifts.  And Purim is a day when you can dress up in costume, make lots of noise when the bad guy Haman’s name is called out and eat triangular baked cookies, which either represent his hat or his ear…depending on your belief system.

One of the mitzvot related to the lighting of the Chanukah candles during this eight day celebration is the placement of the Chanukiah, the special menorah used. The Code of Jewish law declares that in the days of our ancient rabbis, the Chanukah lights were lit in the doorways that led to the public thoroughfare. Nowadays the candles are lit in the house, and if there is a window facing the public place, they should be lit there.” In the rest of world though, the placement is ...

Rosh Hashanah deals with serious topics, like forgiveness and thinking hard about how to be a better person. It is also said to be a celebration of renewal and of the world’s birthday. In addition to the traditional family dinners and going to services, there are many ways our JCC families add fun and meaningful activities into their holiday traditions. Below we share just a few. Of course, apples and honey are the cornerstone of many families’ traditions. Rather than just picking ...