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JFGSB Blog

Explore news and featured stories about Jewish Federation programs, volunteers, donors, special events and updates from our partners in Israel. Learn how you can become more in engaged with the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara.

Jun 29, 2020

A Sabbath Message: What Will You Take With You From This Journey?

“I would rather think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to come together and make sense.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner

As the weekly gift of Sabbath arrives once again, I am reminded of a story told in a prayer book my father had in his library, which…

Jun 19, 2020

A Sabbath Message: A Tribute to Fathers – and Father Figures – In Our Lives

“You achieve immortality not by building pyramids or statues – but by engraving your values on the hearts of your children, and they on theirs, so that our ancestors live on in us and we in our children, and so on until the end of time.” – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, MBE, Chief Rabbi (Eme…

Jun 12, 2020

A Sabbath Message: Participating in a Moment in History

“For many of us the march from Selma to Montgomery was about protest and prayer. Legs are not lips and walking is not kneeling. And yet our legs uttered songs. Even without words, our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying.”

– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, theologian and Civil…

Jun 8, 2020

SB Jewish Community Statement on Racism

We the undersigned organizations of the Santa Barbara Jewish Community are united in our horror, heartbreak, and anger at the killing of George Floyd by members of the Minneapolis Police Department. All of the officers involved must be held accountable for taking Mr. Floyd’s life.

We stan…

Jun 5, 2020

A Sabbath Message: A Commitment to Stand Up for Justice – and Hope

After a week of unrest and rage in our country, Sabbath brings a much needed moment of reflection… Our tradition has much to teach us about the role we must play when we see injustice in the world. As noted above, the Torah reminds us that we must not “stand idly by” while others are …