top of page
Click here to sign-up for our e-newsletter!
(574) 245-5850 | Email Us |
3202 Shalom Way, South Bend, Indiana 46615
Congregation Beth Jacob
A shul in Union Pier, Lakeside (Michigan) by Michael Eliasohn Union Pier, population 609, is a small summer resort town in the southwest...
How a Benton Harbor merchant helped a family escape from the Nazis
Anne Schmitz lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, but if it wasn’t for the efforts of the owner of a men’s clothing store in Benton Harbor,...
Jewish Life in the Benton Harbor / St. Joseph, Michigan Area - Past & Present
Growing up in Benton Harbor, or elsewhere in Southwest Michigan, was like growing up Jewish elsewhere in small city/small town America –...
August Pohl Auto Parts
Michael and Adam Lieberman, father and son, are the third and fourth generation owners/operators of August Pohl Auto Parts.
The company buy
Flamm Pickles
Flamm Pickle and Packing Co. near Eau Claire in Southwest Michigan traces its origins to 1917, when Joseph Flamm began making pickles for hi
Bringing Israel to Michiana
September 2007, over 10 years ago (!) I said goodbye to my family and friends and got on a plane to the US. Being 22, right out of the army,
Connecting to the land & people
Debby Barton Grant says her first awareness of Israel may have been bringing five dollars to Temple Beth-El Religious School to buy a tree f
A recent experience in Israel
Going back to Israel was an easy decision for Pat Boettcher who recently returned from his second trip to Israel. In 2004 he and his wife, M
From South Africa to South Bend
If you meet a Wulfsohn in the wild, it’s likely their branches stem from the same family tree. The unique spelling of the surname has German
Memories from Argentina
Nazis fled to Argentina after World War II—now that’s a story we’ve all been led to believe. Danny Bruetman says when he was growing up in B
Reconnecting to her roots by coming to America
Rozi Wax grew up in Istanbul, Turkey, and can trace her ancestry back to Portugal before the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions in the late
Step inside an Australian sukkah
Why on earth are these people decorating their sukkot (plural of sukkah) with pumpkins, gourds, and squash? And why are there huge corn-sta
The Hanukkah Mom
I’m a native Hoosier, born and raised in that humid Indiana heat by a Jewish mother. I don’t mean “goes to services twice a year” Jewish, I
The Particulars of our Practice
Most of what's important to me, I've come to realize, I learned at the kitchen table. As I begin to organize my own Passover seders
Schmoozing about the Holidays
Did you know that on Rosh Hashanah afternoon – back in the day –children walked from one synagogue to another to see their friends? At that
Remembering Camp Ideal
I remember packing my metal lunch box, securing my hat (as we had to wear a hat), putting on sun tan lotion, and waiting excitedly to be pic
The tradition continues today
In our current world, where there are an infinite number of specialty camps aimed at kids getting ahead in their lives and their careers, wh
Yarmulkes on the go
Welcome to lunch at the JCC Day Camp at Sinai, probably 1954.
After assuming our places at the table, we would remain standing as the boys
Something exciting every day
Each morning my camp buddies and I gathered around a tree in the back of Sinai Synagogue to wait for the bus to take us to another day of Ca
A look back at Hands on History 2016
Approximately 150 children and adults from throughout the community had a great time learning where their families came from, their...
Sharing our South Bend Jewish stories
Pictured right - Bottom left: Doug Barton and Marilyn Gardner at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph...
A beautiful mind
Pictured right - Lauren Gitlin and Rose Zar, circa 1990s. It’s pretty much impossible for me to remember the first time I met Rose Zar....
A Stroll Down South Bend’s Western Avenue in the 1950s
Pictured right - Ruth and Irving Rosenbaum behind the counter at their store on Western Avenue, circa 1950s Zonenberg’s or Sofan’s? ...
Progressive Bakery's Famous Apple Slices
Pictured right - Louis and Gertrude Cohen with their children Ina (Rosenberg) and Lorraine (Davis), circa 1950s 1. Pie crust recipe of...
bottom of page