I was sitting at Carlitos Mexican restaurant last Thursday with friends drinking a Margarita, staring across the street and taking photos of the “Barbie” Marque— because newspapers have really liked my Barbie shots—when suddenly men appeared with a ladder, and “Barbie” began to transform before my very eyes! I was wondering what movie was [...]
Monica Steiner Hooray!: Abraham the Woman Would Have Stayed Monica has served as a lay leader at CBB for 11 years and on our professional staff for the past 5+, most recently as Director of Donor Relations. This month, CBB wished Monica and her family farewell as they move across country so Monica can begin [...]
Holly Goldberg: Standing up for Judaism Current events have illuminated how our culture has become complacent with outdated, non-inclusive policies and practices that marginalize minorities. Unfortunately, as a result most of us have faced unintentional as well as explicit forms of antisemitism. Being Jewish requires a refined inner grace to know when to not take [...]
Charles during his mikveh immersion at Goleta Beach. Photo by Phoebe Light Charles Perkins: Public Affirmation Speech Author's note: With much gentle nudging and calm reassurance, our own Rabbi Daniel Brenner convinced me that my public affirmation ceremony would benefit from a few short words about my conversion process -- my "journey home" [...]
Mariela Socolovsky: Reflections on a Cold and Rainy Winter Night Note: This is an email I sent to our CBB staff on the night of Wednesday, December 22nd after returning from a night of service with CBB community members at Pershing Park. -Mariela Socolovsky, Director of Community Engagement Wow! This was an amazing night. It [...]
Becca Wrench: Mi Shebeirach List I had my name added to the Mi Shebeirach list - the prayer for healing - on January 7, 2021. Two days before that I had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Every time I go to services I hear this list read and see if I recognize any names. If [...]
Michael Wasserman: Visiting GHIS in Israel I had the privilege to be the “special guest” at GHIS this past week. Can you imagine? GHIS is a private, not for profit high school in Israel that our CBB Community has taken under our wings helping them to fly and even soar. GHIS is doing the unique [...]
Susan Levine: Creating Peace One Student at a Time CBB has formed a partnership with the Givat Haviva International School (GHIS) in Israel - a diverse community of student leaders promoting cross-cultural cooperation - as part of our community's Tikkun Olam initiative to heal the world and build a more peaceful future. CBB members donate [...]
Rabbi Steve Cohen: Religious Experience and the Reality of the Unseen One hundred twenty years ago, the great American psychologist and philosopher William James was invited to deliver the prestigious Giffords Lectures in Natural Religion at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The texts of his lectures were published in 1902 as The Varieties of [...]
Asha Wilkus-Stone: Mourning & The Shmita Year On Rosh Hashanah, we began the new year in the Jewish calendar, 5782. This year is a Shmita year. The Shmita year is often translated as ‘The Sabbatical Year,’ and is likened to Shabbat. Parshat Behar (Levititicus 25:1-26:2) begins with the mitzvah: “Six years you may sow your [...]