Posts by Doron Krakow

Power in Partnership The San Francisco Bay area is home to six Jewish Community Centers (Addison-Penzak JCC, Los Gatos; JCC of East Bay, Berkeley; JCC of San Francisco, San Francisco; Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael; Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto; and Peninsula JCC, Foster City). Depending on traffic, it can take as many as three … Continued

Jewish Renewal This past Monday, I was privileged to represent the JCCs of North America at a private reception for Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, shortly after he delivered his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. We gathered on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, at the Moise Safra Center, one of the newest … Continued

Is This the Dream? Boulder County in Colorado has a population of roughly 320,000, with perhaps the fastest-growing Jewish community per capita on the continent. During a period of little more than 10 years, the Jewish population has gone from 19,000 to 35,000, which includes growing numbers of professionals and young families interested in a … Continued

Reflection and Renewal There’s something about the passing of the years. Attending services on Rosh Hashanah was always a big deal, I suppose. Thinking back on my childhood, the High Holidays stand out. The synagogue was full to overflowing. Seats were assigned. The hazzan (cantor) and the choir filled the room with music, at once … Continued

“Self-trust is the essence of heroism. It is the state of the soul at war, and its ultimate objects are the last defiance of falsehood and wrong, and the power to bear all that can be inflicted by evil agents. It speaks the truth, and it is just, generous, hospitable, temperate, scornful of petty calculations, … Continued

Ein Li Eretz Acheret | אין לי ארץ אחרת | I Have No Other Country In the midst of the first Lebanon War, a conflict ripe with internal division and debate in Israel about the aims of the war and the growing list of casualties, Ehud Manor—perhaps Israel’s foremost poet of the day—penned a verse … Continued

  לחזור| Lachzor | To Return At 1:45 p.m. I left home for the airport. Check-in and security went smoothly enough and there were few surprises after two recent domestic trips. Lots of paperwork as travel to Israel has still not resumed without authorization and extensive verification of COVID-19 vaccines and a recent negative PCR … Continued

Of Dreams and Heroes   Earlier this week, as part of Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), I was extraordinarily privileged to participate in a conversation with a hero. Kerry Samuels grew up in Vancouver, Canada. A student leader, an accomplished athlete, and an aspiring philosopher and mathematician, he took a summer trip to … Continued

Illumination Last night, we began the celebration of Hanukkah. The story of the Festival of Lights chronicles the heroic rebellion of the Maccabees against the Greeks and their Assyrian allies, who had ruled over the former Jewish Kingdom since its conquest at the hands of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.E. Prior to this rebellion, … Continued