good morning. i'm honored to be host this morning were going to have a conversation some of our jewish professionals here in the bay area of about how they observe the jewish high holy day the jewish new year and the jewish day of atonement. this is the high holy day season where in between an end to jewish tradition is still here coming up of 5773 since the dawn of creation. woke up maxine the director of institutional advancements the jewish community high-school of the they and also the regional director of the american jewish committee of the bay area of welcome.

and as a jump in why do you tell us with the american jewish committee is altogether. the american jewish community or a j.c. a select colors all suspended in 1906 and that interesting circumstances. was founded by a german jewish banker from new york and the time of pogroms and russia and abroad and his fellow german jews to establish an organization trying to alleviate their suffering. we are 106 year-old organization which is concerned with human rights and concerned with israel security and i do love out reached to the ethnic community all over the united states with 26 offices in this country and nine overseas offices and our work is so wide

footprints. it's taken a put the issue simic to think that we are making a difference both in the bay area and wider fields. what does the encompass for that a j.c.? as the regional director of a tracy anything and everything from san jose in the south to santa rosa in the north and if necessary for the fields as well. there are many universities and some interaction with the universities that certainly with the population's the ethnic populations. and all thoth also been to religious population. working on the issues trying to project predict issues that are important and help with the issues that they feel are important and where we can be of assistance. the jewish committee high- school of the bay. it is fabulous them back in high school.

i get to relive those very important years and certainly for identity formation. was founded 12 years ago the visionaries for this school nancy zimmerman and noah fromthose who look to the bay area and basically said what are we missing in this incredible area that we live then? and it was a high-school and it was the late herbert friedman who had a list of 10 things every community should have and nancy was sharing with me the other day how a blessed memory. herbert medical cost issues taking and she looked up a list and set you know we don't have a high school there should be it jewish community high school and

then she set about trying to make it happen and it did in the 12 years old just a baby. what that classes'? what that fellowship this greta it's been around publicly it 15 years maybe 20 offended by it wexner and was a program that gave various communities around the country the ability for intensive immersion jewish steady and landing you had to be nominated and go through rigorous interview process and my guess is it was about connecting the life people in every committee to also take the teachings and to give back to the community in no way that was vital and important to the community. in lead of her to the

leadership involved in the creation of the jewish high- school of the bay it totally speaks to jewish education why it's so important. were going to take a minute before we go to our first break a new club in south africa and new or appear in the bay area in different parts of the world in different ends of the quieter and as research of start before we go to the brink what was growing up in south africa like a jewish committee coming to the high holy days they had a vibrant jewish committee her little smaller than when i was growing up and had excellent jewish day schools and excellent synagogues in the sense of a wide number of them and that on the have wonderful memories of this year's growing up in south africa. i lived in a neighborhood with

some new friends there and so many children and i knew all the parents and all of the very best of memories and pleased to be able to say the committee itself as for a stroll on to issues zionism a mother was born here my father enough yet and they brought to the country a strong feeling for jewish education and also a strong feeling for zionism that permeated the out the community so when it came to a celebration of israel's but they the entire community turned up in that the indication of that type of jewish community and i had. let's go back occasionally and certainly still has all the smaller number today we're off to a wonderful start taking a quick break and hispanics here in a moment.

welcome back. i am honored to roost this morning having a wonderful conversation with mervyn was the regional director of the american jewish committee of the bay area annexing the director of institutional advancement of the jewish community high school of the bay talking about your experiences growing up respectively in south africa and he and northern california and how you approach the high holy days. so what are your experiences growing up here locally when you came to the high holy days. i went to a public school both high-school and elementary and i was one of maybe a handful of jews saw as a plea: absent when the holidays came about.

and it was something you just did. we did it because we return to michigan and this identified as such and hanukkah time i had to sing the drivel song in second grade which has forever left and the erotic and upon my soul having to consult and saying so i grew up in a different kind of group ruled that i don't experience here in the bay area. think jewish is part of the prison of who lives in the bay area but my favorite memory was coming in late from college and remember running into my son to go than there was my family. my father lifted his arm up with his picked hollis and i just jump tried in and felt very safe

and protected so and i think of it as the than the smallest i think of that memory. in the jewish community lots of people know and some don't know they're not religious the required actually to go to some to go up to prey on a theological level soot that what people really talk about chicago or not and how do i feel there and in a commune with pride and when the star of creation and of course there's a lot and between about what it means to be a part of the community to see people do with familiar faces some talk about how you yourselves personally experienced the different traces of a snake about how to celebrate the new year. i've been going to synagogue since i can remember some of the family tradition

that we do go to synagogue and a time for introspection and as you said it's the communal fields they how when you compare his the people you haven't seen for a long time two days and also their inner family and traditional days to go to the synagogue and there was so wonderful radio message on cbs radio by our executive director where he spoke of the introspection and especially looking at your behavior over the past 12 months and examining ways you could improve the behavior. he spoke of the idea and this is an added church recall in the united states the golden rule 21 to others as you like them to do on to you that certainly applicable to all the religious

and if we had to consider that an and the new year and provide behavior and do the things our weekend attribute better world and the supply us to all religions. when you come to the synagogue it's not necessarily to operate continuously but rather to look back and forward and save it and always in your own life you can do bettencourt perform the commandments and a better way end generally to make life better for you and your fellow citizens. space see it in an almost universal way in terms of celebrating the new year. what kind of trace this to you make? it's very different given over the years to think of their first time i give myself permission not to go to synagogue one iota in israel's because and it's really go to the beach and in a way that was

really a lot of fun because i was in the community has in the water with of my friends and not us who we did clinic that was ironic that it took me to go to israel to to that. the days of of this constant in the house because i have to hormonal teenage daughters knees to the days of or and trembling so i am now conversation with one of my daughter's refuses to go to the synagogue on the rush, and i am not sure exactly how it's going to end up. a little fog the continued anemometer going to take a quick break and 652 who mervyn and thank him for being a guest here kick keeping maxine for the rest of the show. please return in a moment with us.

off good morning the middle of the 01 so conversation with their but the jewish communal professionals talking about how they come into an observance of the rich jewish new year and the jewish day of atonement. we are joined by lease said the executive director of the jewish community foundation of the east bay which is affiliated with the jewish community federation of the east bay. welcome back where to " up and how it should come to observe the jewish high holy days. when i grow up and sent to cisco and the sunset district coach has a lot of ethnic communities

and when i grew up in the '70s, there were a lot of jewish families and holocaust survivor of families both my parents for children during the holocaust so we affiliated with the conservative santa paws and i just remembered buying brand new clothing and having to is sort of fill going to synagogue in minute clothing but feeling like a special time. and i love all of the beautiful traditions around this time of year. your mind about from one of the demographic reasons were i think the sunset district had a number flush of the holocaust victims but also jewish

experience cuomo to that had gone to china and from shanghai came to san francisco's the first port on the pacific rim of china. was that your recollection growing up? yes in fact my uncle on the other side was a shanghai jew and settled here in san francisco and that took from my aunt and uncle and my mother to the city of san francisco. ditch your group during chinese around two as well in your family and other languages 0 yes very multi lingual and syrian and yiddish and politian chinese because of the neighborhood it's fascinating. so today how does it change for you when you come to the jewish high holy days? greta one tradition of picked up the disassembly do with the family greenock the love doing especially with my family now is

where between the dais refined to lake where there are fish and you kind of stroke breadcrumbs into the lake and it symbolizes kind of your behavior such you want to give up and the things about shoe that is contemplated that you no longer want to go forward in the new year with new short of giving them up during your sins away few low to start the new year fresh and clean into this actually in the area rent of nine oakland with three synagogue said of the together a lot of people that don't belong to synagogues, to this beautiful lake and a half a mile to denominational service and it's a really lovely way to go into the new year. both of you have children

and for the pri consider action in the midst of a conversation with one of the daughters and whether not a critical the synagogue and what it is toward being a tune with the family and put in remind me that it always have a conversation with no matter what the faith is on what the customer next generation and how to treat children about our spiritual traditions him just wondering in the broad picture where you end up with two daughters conversation sort of what's gone with the generation and think above how to teach his wonderful experiences to my children and what's important about what they should get a in a jewish new year. i think this anything avoiding doing the home is what is so important in which kids remember.

whenever is inappropriate the toddler or teenagers needed to be a little more sophisticated but teenagers of the believer to hit puberty aliens come down and put certain chips in their brains and a once trace sophisticated young person is not taken to granting i think what you do in the common- separate and have a light candles and in what to do for the high holidays past to infuse why it's important to you and so many of us don't really know why it's important. i think it's today are little bit more sophisticated but what does it mean for you and why and i think through and by example i think that's what's important. we will continue this

conversation in just a moment.

for n galt welcome back. i am honored to be your host and the middle of zero wonderful conversation with lisa who is the executive director of the jewish committee foundation of the east bay also sold affiliated with the and the director of institutional advancement at the jewish committee high-school of the bay area welcome back. we reynolds had a conversation how to pass on values toward children but before that and once even a chance to see what the jewish committee foundation of the east bay is and what it does. the jewish defense foundation of the east bay confederation and east bay has been around for 95 or more

years if the era of the comedian is the center for jewish philanthropy in hopes donors of all sizes think strategically about their dollars and how those dollars housed with us, as a bunch of options for people in terms of where they can get those dollars to and help them make those decisions and how diadem on their path towards making the world a better place. greta another version of how to pass on our values to that next generation. career and a lot of generation to generation consulting work with families his natural to think now that i have a young child that i want to make sure the values get passed on to him and i will say making the holidays and everything we do judiciously fund for its especially is a very important.

a group and a camp in ventura look forward to going to camp every summer and i was my jewish outlets i had fun at camp and that's rather a lot about how judea's a missile in full and meaningful and now with my toddler i want to make hollow with some of weekly basis have been tipped apples and the handing it to taste this witness and help me prepare family dinners and think about his actions in his traces even as the to and have your old is he beginning to make the right choices in life is a beautiful thing senate tradition and his holidays to just to really practice and not to think about. when you look at the larger landscape of the jewish community and taken o review with this diversity of the excess water some of the things

that its income important for us to pay attention to this will look at the coming year earner community? called in for active participation and think we want people to lean forward as opposed to leaning back because it means you're here and care center not apathetic and for our jewish world and certainly in the bay area my charge right now is to make high-school which is an incredible boom valuable asset in the bay area that much stronger than to advance its replacement eminencies its value and will embrace that. and touch the future high school kids and a jewish averments are our future. in about 20 seconds to come to the end of the show what to think it's important for the jewish future i think we of people want to make a difference and i hope this year people take a more

active stance in making a difference out of that difference is made for those people and there's a lot of work to be done. thank you for being with us and for those of you wondering what to say to jewish friends of the year simply sang happy new year is perfectly wonderful have a wonderful day. off