“Arbitrage” Directed by Nicholas Jarecki There’s an appealing and simple old school vibe to this well-paced story about a Wall Street patriarch (Richard Gere) who, at the age of 60, is in a frantic hurry to sell of the family company before it becomes apparent to family, friends, investors, and buyers that all is not quite as good as it seems on the balance sheet. A large investment has gone bad and the money plugging the hole is a very short-term fix at best, while the potential buyer for the firm is coincidentally stalling as a bargaining technique. This is a plot that could play out in any time period but it comes after a period of real life financial disasters and with the implicatio

The best food in world does not come from five-star restaurants that take months to get a reservation and a month's salary when you finally get one. No, the best food comes from treasured family recipes lovingly handed down from one generation to the next. That beautiful tradition will be celebrated at the upcoming Jewish Food Faire sponsored by Carmichael's Congregation Beth Shalom on Sunday, October 16th, from 9 am to 3 pm. Savor stuffed cabbage, corned beef on rye, chopped liver and a dizzying array of Jewish style baked goods, among other iconic Jewish foods. "The best food comes from the heart," said Sheila Wolfe, Jewish Food Faire Chair. "That's what we want to convey with this year

Foodies and those who just love good food in a festive atmosphere will gather at Carmichael's Congregation Beth Shalom on Sunday, October 16th, for the 35th Annual Jewish Food Faire, featuring iconic Jewish deli items such as authentic corned beef on rye, bagels and lox and noodle kugel, plus a dizzying array of Jewish style baked goods. The Faire, located at 4746 El Camino Avenue (Mission), will be held from 9 am to 3 pm, but come early because the food does tend to go fast. This year's Food Faire theme is "Generation to Generation," recognizing the rich tradition practiced by many cultures in the Sacramento area of passing down family recipes from one generation to the next. Join us f

Come for the falafel and stay for the community. That’s the spirit of this year’s Jewish Heritage Festival, being held May 22, 2011 at the West Steps of the Capitol from 1:00-6:00 p.m. “This is a day for bringing Jews and non-Jews together for an afternoon of celebration,” said Caren Zorman, Special Projects Director for The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, which organizes the annual event. “I hope everyone comes out to be with their friends from throughout the region.” Held in conjunction with National Jewish American Heritage Month, Zorman added that the Festival is representative of traditional food, live music and entertainment, dancing, cultural exhibits and displays, fam

Sitting on the edge of wonder, it is time to build the sukkah and dine under the stars with the region's young Jewish professionals, leaders, community, family, and friends. It’s harvest time. In Sacramento, perhaps more than many cities or regions around the world, we can very much identify with the spirit of Sukkot. Tomorrow evening, Friday, Sept. 24, join NextDor and PJ Library in Sacramento for a Shabbat Sukkot dinner together! We'll dine outside in the sukkah, learn about Sukkot traditions, shake a few lulavs, and read stories. PJ Library is even providing the food! This event is the evening before NextDor's own big Sukkot dinner, so take advantage of both chances to make friends and

At sundown tonight, a new year begins. The Jewish New Year of 5771, that is.  This celebratory holiday is known as Rosh Hashanah, which literally means "head of the year" or "first of the year" in Hebrew.   To symbolize one's hopes for a "sweet" new year, it is traditional to eat apples dipped in honey. NextDor, Sacramento's organization of Jewish young professionals, is taking this tradition a step further. On Saturday, September 11 from 5-9 pm, NextDor hosts a "Sweet" Open House and Havdallah complete with various desserts and dessert wine.  The spread includes pomegranate and orange muscat wines from Israel, fresh-baked cookies, baklava, and honey cake, and the infamous apples dipped i

Sure, there was a rabbi or two, kosher food and people passing out the newspaper Kabbalah Today. But Sunday's Jewish Heritage Festival seemed more like a Matisyahu concert than a festival celebrating Jewish culture. The American, Hasidic Jewish reggae artist is known for his top-40 hit "King Without a Crown," and "One Day," an official 2010 Winter Olympics Anthem. He's also known as a great live performer. It was a much larger audience than last year's festival, several thousand people lining in front of the west steps of the Capitol, with hundreds more sitting on and behind the steps. The line for a falafel sandwich was a wait of more than 30 minutes at one point. Vendors - including e

(Sacramento, CA)--The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region will commemorate May as National Jewish American Heritage Month by hosting the 2010 Jewish Heritage Festival. The Festival will celebrate the centennial founding of the Kibbutz movement and Israel's 62nd anniversary. It will include an expanded kid’s zone, an eco-friendly fashion show, and an acclaimed Israeli dance troupe from Los Angeles. This event is the largest Jewish celebration in Sacramento, is open to the public and is free. "It is wonderful that so many people throughout our region attend this event and demonstrate their support for Israel,” says Skip Rosenbloom, President of the Jewish Federation, "you won't want

Chocolate seders on Passover are growing in popularity.   The traditional Passover seders on the first and second nights of Passover will always be an important time for families and synagogues to gather around the dinner table to celebrate the ancient Jews' exodus from Egypt after 400 years of slavery.   Not so traditional is the chocolate seder, a great alternative and festive way to commemorate this holiday.  Instead of the traditional foods found on the seder plate--usually a hardboiled egg, a shankbone or drumstick, horseradish, parsley, and a fruit and nut mixture called Charoset--each item will be replaced with a different kind of chocolate.   Chocolate eggs, white chocolate for t

Looking for Israeli dancing? A piece of Judaica? A falafel, perhaps? You can find all that and more on May 2, 2010 when the West Steps of the state’s Capitol are transformed into an Israeli shuk during the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region’s Jewish Heritage Festival. Coinciding with Lag B’Omer and in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, this annual event kicks off with an Israel Unity Walk and the release of dozens of doves, the universal symbol of peace. “As American Jews we get the best of both worlds,” said Festival Project Manager Caren Zorman. “We get to openly celebrate and embrace our Judaism, while also participating in a public celebration of Israel’s independence

  According to Jewish tradition, the highest form of tzedakah, or charity, is to donate to a community fund, or kupah. Whether your donation is in the form of community service hours, survival materials or a monetary donation, it all helps to strengthen and build our community at large.   The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, and their overseas beneficiaries, work with a broad set of national and international institutes that span the world to provide relief, rescue, and reconstruction. The federation system is dedicated to inspiring community members to secure the financial and human resources necessary to achieve the mission of caring for those in need, without discrimination

  The stretch of an NBA player’s reach goes far beyond their measurable wing span. From the internet to television, player’s lives are dissected and analyzed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Savvy players create charitable foundations, Facebook fan pages and blogs to market themselves and keep the fans “close”. While the Sacramento Kings Omri Casspi is not your “average” American-born basketball player, it is clear that Omri’s impact goes far and beyond what any might have originally expected. This past December marked the launch of www.casspi18.com, an interactive website that connects fans directly to Number 18, giving them the chance to write him questions, follow in-depth Om

Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi scored a career-high 20 points Wednesday, grabbed eight rebounds and notched two assists. Thursday, he noshed and schmoozed with about 200 people at a Hanukkah party at Memorial Auditorium put on by the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region. Casspi sat in the lobby for nearly an hour signing autographs, talking to fans and posing for photos. He also spoke of how he celebrates the Jewish holiday in Israel. "I usually (celebrate it with) a small group of family, we get everybody to come together, light the candles, sing songs and pray together," he said. "Usually we do that all week (and) on the last night, we go to my grandparents' house, invite a

Join the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region for the 2009 Community-wide Chanukah Celebration! All are invited to see the one-of-a-kind performance by acclaimed supernatural entertainer Lior Suchard (click here to see exclusive video). The entire community is invited to see the show and stay for autographs and pictures with Israeli NBA superstar Omri Casspi (click here for an exclusive video invite from Omri). In addition, three generations of community leadership will be honored as we "pass the torch" from leader to leader, and hear words from Sacramento Vice Mayor Hammond. This event will be one you will want to be sure not to miss! For event details visit www.jewishsac.org and f

Judaism has always left its constituency with an interesting morale dilemma. While we grow up proud of our heritage, appreciative of our traditions, there is always some sort of inhibition when it comes to public displays of our culture and religion.   Growing up in a Hebrew speaking home, I remember vividly how I would be “embarrassed” when my mother would yell across the grocery store in Hebrew, not because I was being yelled at, growing up with an Israeli mother I became used to this type of public “affection,” but everybody would turn and look with a perplexed look on their face thinking “What language is she speaking in?” I grew up having to explain over and over to my friends why

   From the distinct smell of cooking Latkas (potato pancakes), the sound of the spinning dreidal against the hard wood floor, to the timeless visual of the burning of the Menorah candles, Chanukah provides us sensual imaginary that is forever emblazoned in our minds and memory.    Derived from the Hebrew verb "חנך", the literal translation of “Hanukkah” means “to dedicate,” celebrating the Jews regained control of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Temple.    This year, as we commemorate the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE, we must also remember our local commitment, our dedication to our local community.   

The Jewish Federation is celebrating their move to Midtown Sacramento by throwing a big party for a cause! The Big Nosh is a gourmet food and pub crawl benefiting 5 local charities where participants will get a chance to eat and drink their way across the grid sampling appetizers and cocktails at 30 restaurants and coffee shops. Tickets are $36/person and Crawl Captains may register at www.thebignosh.com and earn their ticket for free by recruiting 10 or more people to their team. Teams will start at different locations at the same time in a "round robin" format and experience Midtown as it's meant to be experienced: walking! Calling all Crawl Captains...register now at www.thebignosh.com

Congregation B'nai Israel - High Holy Days Julie Steinberg, cantorial soloist, shares a laugh with Bernard Marks and Michael Hersher as they warm up for the service held during the Shabbat open house at Congregation B'nai Israel Friday evening. As Sacramento's oldest Jewish congregation and its largest Reform synagogue, B'nai israel honors the traditions of its heritage while creating a Jewish experience that is relevant to today's society. Friday's open house began the bringing in of the new year, Selichot, which will be observed on Saturday, Sept. 12. The evening's service of prayer and song helps prepare worshippers for the Yomim Noraim - the Days of Awe. It will begin at 7:15pn with

Spring is almost over and so begins the onslaught of fun, fabulous things to do during the summer months in Sacramento! It's not quite time to break out the bikinis and flip-flops, but I have spotted some sleeveless tops and open-toed shoes lately...my all-time favorite season in Sacramento is almost here! This week, and particularly this week-end, is already jam-packed with music, festivals and outdoor events with the promise of the heat soon to come. I hope you haven't made plans already... Tuesday 4.28 Music: Rev Theory-- $12 at the door Where: Marilyn’s on K When: Doors- 6:30pm, Show- 7:15pm Why: You may get an idea for their music-style by the bands they’ve opened for: the likes of

Sacramento's premier venue for film festivals did it again, as more than a thousand people showed up at The Crest Theatre to attend the two-day Jewish Film Festival. The 12th annual Spring festival held unique, humorous and powerful films from around the world that focus on the Jewish experience. This year's festival, Saturday Feb. 7 and Sunday Feb. 8, was once again run by festival cofounders Margi Park-Landau, volunteer coordinator and Sid Heberger, Crest Theater manager. The Sacramento Friends of the Jewish Film Festival, a 60-member group, supported the festival, helped to "bring things that we might not be able to have just on ticket sales alone," Heberger said. Saturday night at 7