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Elliot Cosgrove is a leading voice of American Jewry and a preeminent spiritual guide and thought leader. The rabbi of Park Avenue Synagogue since 2008, he was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999 and earned his PhD at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
The history of the Jewish community of Los Angeles began before California became a state: Jewish settler Jacob Frankfort arrived in 1841 while the region was still a Spanish colony.
![Le-shanah tovah. A Happy New Year [Postcard for the Jewish New Year] Williamsburg Art Co., New York, printed in Saxony (Germany), n.d. Yiddish and Hebrew The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley](https://lapl.org./sites/default/files/styles/blog_latest_list_120x90/public/blogs/2024-05/rosh-hash-header.jpg?itok=q2UriL_f "Le-shanah tovah. A Happy New Year [Postcard for the Jewish New Year] Williamsburg Art Co., New York, printed in Saxony (Germany), n.d. Yiddish and Hebrew The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley")
Happy New Year! May your year be sweet and filled with joy!
Last week, I came across a perfect Mother’s Day gift in the form of Mazal Bueno! a new board book by Sarah Aroeste sprinkled with Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language of Sephardic Jews.
Bourekas (savory stuffed pastry) and shakshuka (eggs cooked in a spicy tomato sauce) are favorite foods for some Jewish people, while knishes (pastry filled with mashed potatoes) and potato latkes (pancakes) are preferred by others.
In 2022, inspired by Anne Frank’s story, 10-year-old Anne Frank LA student-activist Olivia Prince, with the support help of Anne Frank LA, approached Councilmember Paul Koretz (CD5) about declaring an official day to honor Anne’s legacy. And he agreed.
Jews rock! You know it even if you don’t know it.
I was a curious and strongly opinionated tween girl growing up in the 90s and the books I treasured centered around characters of the same mind: Kristy in The Baby-Sitters Club by
Julius Levitt (1885–1952) was a promoter of Yiddish culture and a community activist, most importantly through the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) to bring attention to the horrors of Nazism throughout the world.
President Joseph Biden may have put it best in his 2021 proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month: “The Jewish American experience is a story of faith, fortitude, and progress.