When Simmie Baum passed away last year, 13 years after her husband Eric, she left it to her son Randy to distribute the funds left in her and Eric’s charitable remainder trust. Half was to go to Oakland Children’s Hospital, but she wanted Randy and his sister Amy...
Like many young people, it took Raphael Falk a while to find his place in the world. He grew up in Berkeley and Oakland, but never felt quite at home in the U.S. Spending a high school semester in Israel was transformative for Raphael. He returned to Israel for...
Sam used to work as a nurse, but seven years ago he was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was only in his late 50s, and he faced a future of increasing weakness, paralysis, and ultimately death. Sam and Luda spent much of their savings on a...
Joshua Schwartz isn’t the only person who came to San Francisco on a visit and loved the city so much he decided to stay. He also met and fell in love with his husband Joel Villalon here, and 32 years later, the two of them are proud and happy to call San Francisco...
Join our conversation with Steve Grau about his journey from immigrant to successful entrepreneur. Steve and his family emigrated from Ukraine in 1989, arriving in San Francisco with $80 to their name. He’s now the founder and CEO of Royal Ambulance and a...
We are grateful to Donald and Roslyn Kahn, whose generous lead gift made it possible for Hebrew Free Loan to create permanent archives at the Stanford University Libraries that provide a unique lens into the history of Jewish life in Northern California. With their...
Hebrew Free Loan’s treasure trove of historical documents provides a unique lens into the history of Jewish life in Northern California. During the 128 years we have been serving the Jewish community, we have accumulated over 50,000 documents, including loan...
Yitzhar Goretsky was 14 years old when he knew that medicine was his calling. He spent that summer in England shadowing a pediatrician, where he discovered he had a knack for connecting with children and their parents alike. Yitzhar saw how a good doctor can make an...
Being active in the Jewish community has always been important to Chaim Rappaport. And now that his wife, Lisa Rappaport, is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Israel in Chico, he’s in the public eye more than ever. But over the last few years, being out in the...
Rabbi Jamie’s Corner January 2022 By Jamie Hyams Development Director Hebrew Free Loan “If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, do not act toward them as a creditor; exact no interest from them.” The text above comes from this week’s Torah...
