The westernmost member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Memory, Forgetting, and Accuracy
Drash on Va’etchanan
by Alex Golub
There’s an old joke about a guy who is sent to prison. He’s terrified to be there and nervously, he sits down with some of the oldest convicts to try to blend in.… Continue reading
Irony and Role Reversal
Parsha Balak Drash
by Fran Margulies
Our word irony comes from ancient Greek theater device erroneia. A comic character was an eiron, a faker who pretended to be dumb but was really smart. At end of the play the… Continue reading
Grasshoppers and Giants
Parashat Shelach Drash from visiting Rabbi Norman Levin
I want to thank you for inviting me to give the dvar Torah this Shabbat. This is my first time in Hawaiʻi and I am very pleased to be here. Feel… Continue reading
Spiritual Acts of Faith
Parsha Chukat Drash by Donald Armstrong
I have always enjoyed the poetry of Ogden Nash. He wrote:
The cow is of the bovine ilk. One end is moo, the other milk.
A short, clean and humorous poem that is so… Continue reading
Slate of Officers, Board Members, Committee Chairpersons & Beit Din
Elected During Annual Membership Meeting on June 13, 2022
Officers *
* All officers are board members
Officer Position | Designee |
President | Sandra Armstrong |
Vice President | Morris Rabinko |
Treasurer | Robert Littman |
Recording Secretary | Margie Walkover |
Corresponding Secretary | Donald Armstrong |
Recent Sof Drashes
Shabbat HaGadol & Story
May 4, 2022
Drash by Reb Daniel Lev
According to the great scholar of the Jewish Time-Cycle, Reb Eliyahu KiTov,
For as long as the days of the Tanna’im and Amora’im, it has been customary in… Continue reading
Books & Book Club News
Jewish in Hawaiʻi Book Club
The JIH Book Club reads Jewish fiction and non-fiction picks which are selected by the group. Members rotate as “wranglers” leading the group in lively and interesting discussion. The group is a fun mixture of… Continue reading
From the Yiddish Book Center
The Yiddish Book Center Weekly Reader
From Lorna Holmes
May 2022
Detroit Gefilte City
Each year, the Hermelin family of Detroit comes together to celebrate Passover, and central to their seder meal is the family’s homemade gefilte fish. Now that… Continue reading
Some Amusement
In the Field
May 2022
From Peter Fritz & Les Rosenthal
Schwartz, an elderly man, is resting peacefully on the porch of his small hotel outside of Boca when he sees a cloud of dust up the road. He walks… Continue reading
Sofʻer Profiles
Naomi Olstein Jewish Education Fund
May 2, 2022
by Sandra Z. Armstrong
The Naomi Olstein Jewish Education Fund at Sof Ma’arav has been created to honor the memory of Naomi in a way that will keep her close to us.… Continue reading