Jewish Community News

Simchas: April 2004

by Donna Frankel

We are pleased to announce Births, B'nai Mitzvahs, Engagements, Marriages, and Happy Events.

BABY NEWS

Former long-time Saratoga residents, Margo & Dr. Meyer Heller, now of South FL, joyously announce the birth of their third and fourth grandchildren, twins, Nora and David Goodsell-Heller born on December 30, 2003. The first-time parents are their daughter-in-law & son Amanda & Lorin Heller of Alameda, CA. The other set of proud grandparents are Kathleen & Greg Goodsell of SF. Also thrilled with the two new babies are aunt & uncle Julie (Heller) & John Hockey of Palm City, FL and their children, Emma (5) and Gabriel (4). Margo and Meyer send greetings to their many friends at Congregation Beth David and the South Bay Jewish Community, where the Hellers were well known and active for many years.

Rabbi Aaron & Frumie Cunin of Los Gatos, with reverence to Hashem, joyously announce the birth of their second daughter, Sheva Esther. The baby arrived on Jan. 7, the 13th of Tevet. The new big sister is Rochel, both granddaughters of Rabbi Yonah & Leah Fradkin of San Diego and Rabbi Pinchas & Bineh Cunin of Brooklyn, NY. The proud great-grandparents are Rabbi Tzvi & Chaya Felder and Rabbi & Mrs. Willhelm all of Brooklyn, NY.

Shari & Kevin Saul of San Jose proudly announce the birth of their second son, Jack Grady, born on January 19. Welcoming his new playmate is Bode (2) much to the delight of their grandparents, Rocki & David Kramer of San Jose and Renee & Richard Saul of Philadelphia, PA. The great-grandpa is Mitchell Kramer of Brooklyn, NY, newly of FL. The bris took place at the baby’s parent’s home with Channan Feld officiating.

Elana & Jason Feinsmith of Sunnyvale are thrilled to announce the birth of their daughter, Leora Rose, born on February 18. She is the sister of Ari Benjamin Feinsmith (3). Her proud grandparents are Susan & Marvin Adleman of Ithaca, NY, Ilene & Leslie Feinsmith of Delray Beach, FL, and Arlene & Morris Horesh of Atlanta, GA. Leora’s baby naming was held at Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto during Torah Services on March 20.

Myrtle & Joel Schwartz of San Jose are thrilled to announce the birth of their first grandchild, Jason Daniel, who arrived on March 1. The proud parents are Karin & Joseph Schwartz of San Jose. The other proud grandmother is Kay Gilles of Los Gatos. The bris was performed by Dr. Richard Green.

CALLED TO THE TORAH:

Nava Jacobson, daughter of Michelle & Dr. Jeffrey Jacobson of Hashmonaim, Israel, celebrated her bat mitzvah on Jan. 7 with a class party featuring an unusual Tzadaka project. At the party, she and her friends creatively dressed and decorated 50 teddy bears with personal notes which were delivered to area hospitals for very ill children. Dinner, singing and dancing were also part of the celebration with Nava and then her mother delivering D’vrei Torah. That Shabbat, the males in her family received honors at Glenwood Synagogue followed by a lovely kiddush for the community. Attending the simcha were Nava’s grandparents, Rita & Jerry Jacobson of San Jose, & Naomi Schreiber of Stamford, CT, and of course Nava’s brothers, Chaim and Eliezer, and sister Elisheva.

ENGAGEMENTS

Susan & Ron Remba of Sunnyvale are delighted to announce the engagement of their son Daniel to Emily Brodie, daughter of Leslie & Art Brodie of Long Grove, IL, formerly of Los Gatos. Emily & Daniel are undergraduates in the Joint Program with Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. Upon graduating in May, Daniel plans to work in the information technology field, and Emily will pursue her interest in child psychology. The couple met in Congregation Beth David’s Hebrew School in 1995 at the age of thirteen. They are planning their August 15 wedding in Illinois and will make their home in San Diego.

WEDDINGS:

Anne Engbretson, daughter of Cameron & Pete Trowbridge of Los Altos and Jackie & Jerry Engbretson of San Jose married Oren Shachal on September 6, 2003. Oren is the son of Hanna Beneli of Sacramento and Sue & Eli Shachal of Santa Clara. Flower girls, Sue & Eli’s daughter, Neely Shachal and Sunny Beneli, attended the couple. Rabbi Dana Magat performed the wedding ceremony at the Sonoma St. Francis Winery. Anne is an infant development specialist at Lucile Packard Hospital, and Oren is a marketing analyst for Intuit and teaches political science at Mission College. The couple honeymooned in St. Lucia and have made their home in Mountain View.

Ellen Rahn, daughter of the late Camilla & Karl Rahn, married Howard Schumaker, son of Bernice Schumaker of St. Louis & the late Joseph Schumaker, on December 22 at Congregation Shir Hadash. In the wedding party were the bride’s children, Ellen, William, & Lauren Abramson of Cupertino and Howard’s sons, Todd and Ross Schumaker of St. Louis. The matron of honor was Ellen’s sister, Carla Warner who attended along with her husband Tony and daughter Mia from TN. The brother of the groom, Robert, was the best man arriving with his wife Shelley from Fremont, CA. Ellen is a nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital; Howard is a service manager at A & D Automatic Gate Co. in Redwood City. After a honeymoon trip to Cabo San Lucas, the Schumaker’s have made their home in Cupertino.